Chapter 5 Goldlight Stone Spirit

Nine days passed in the blink of an eye.

Over these nine days, Xiao Yi's cultivation had become increasingly stable, drawing ever closer to the Qi Gathering Realm.

At noon, with the sun high in the sky,

having risen early, Xiao Yi had already practiced the Eight Extremes Fist once and cultivated the Soul-chasing Life-taking Sword for two hours.

"Xiao Yi, time to eat."

Mei's voice came from outside the door. After what happened that day, Mei treated Xiao Yi a bit more gently. Seeing him drenched in sweat, she frowned and said, "Tomorrow is the family head's birthday feast. Miss asked me to check how your clothes preparations are going."

"I'll go in a bit!"

"You better take this seriously! The family head's birthday feast will bring all the notable figures of Nanhuang City, many of whom have pursued the Miss. You might not compare to those talents, but you should at least dress decently..."

Mei nagged, "The hundred silver taels the Miss gave you are enough to buy a fine outfit at the Treasure Pavilion. Remember to go, don't embarrass the Miss again!"

...

Treasure Pavilion was situated in the south of Nanhuang City, divided into an outer and an inner cabinet.

The outer cabinet mainly consisted of street stalls with a dazzling variety of goods on offer—everything under the sun, but with no guarantee of authenticity amidst a mix of the genuine and the fake.

The inner cabinet, however, dealt in high-end merchandise, extremely expensive; a single piece of clothing could cost dozens of silver taels, enough for a typical family of five to live on for half a year. It was rare for ordinary people to shop at the inner cabinet.

"Huh?"

Xiao Yi's eyes brightened as he passed a street stall.

The stall owner was a thin old man with nothing but a black iron dragon statue on his display.

"Goldlight Stone Spirit?"

With the appraisal ability and experience in antiques and paintings he had acquired from the Life-taking Scholarte, Xiao Yi could tell at a glance that there was something special about the statue; it was not an ordinary object.

"How much for this statue?"

The old man said, "Fifty silver taels!"

Xiao Yi's eyes shifted, he said, "I'll take it!"

The old man's face brightened as he reached for the silver in Xiao Yi's hand.

But just then, a lazy voice came from the side, "I'll take that statue, young master!"

The newcomer was a brocade-clad youth, lightly fanning himself, his face full of arrogance, completely ignoring Xiao Yi.

Xiao Yi's expression turned slightly cold, "It seems I was the first to take interest in this statue, wasn't I?"

"So what if you saw it first? Ask the stall owner if he'll sell to you," the youth scoffed, looking at the old man, "Old man, who do you plan to sell this statue to?"

The old man pretended to hesitate, "Indeed, this young brother was the first to show interest..."

The youth casually said, "I'm offering a hundred taels!"

The old man quickly looked to Xiao Yi.

The youth taunted, "What's the matter? Can't afford a hundred taels?"

"Quite a skilled performance,"

Watching the youth and the old man, Xiao Yi sneered inwardly. Although they masked their intentions well, the small expressions they couldn't keep in check didn't escape his eyes.

This little trick might fool others, but not the current him.

"If you're just shifting money from one hand to the other, then take it."

After finishing his words, without another glance, Xiao Yi turned to leave. A statue containing a Goldlight Stone Spirit, although valuable, was of no great use to him—he was not about to waste his time playing childish tricks with this youth and the old man.

"Huh?"

Xiao Yi's straightforward abandonment caught the old man and the youth off guard. They had used this tactic to provoke buyers many times before, and it was unexpected that this time it had failed.

"Young brother, don't leave. Although I love wealth, business is still about principles. You were the first to like this statue, so no matter how much others offer, I will sell it only to you for fifty taels, deal, and no going back!"

Seeing the deal about to fall through, the youth immediately signaled the old man with his eyes. The old man hurriedly chased in front of Xiao Yi to deliver the statue, afraid that Xiao Yi would change his mind.

"Deal!"

Xiao Yi didn't refuse, casually tossing the fifty silver taels to the old man, he prepared to leave.

"Hahaha..."

Once the transaction was settled, the youth suddenly burst into laughter, "Kid, I didn't expect you actually had some insight, knowing I was maliciously bidding up the price and unwilling to spend more money. But what of it? This statue is just made from scrap iron, not even worth one silver tael. Fifty taels, I made a killing!"

"What's going on here?"

"Didn't he just try to outbid for the statue? Why is he suddenly saying it's fake? Is he in cahoots with that old man?"

The old man respectfully stepped forward, handing the fifty silver taels to the youth, and with a fawning expression said, "Lord Bao, brilliant!"

"Damn, is this a scam?"

"Lord Bao? Is he Lei Bao from the Black Tiger Gang?"

Watching Xiao Yi get duped, the crowd felt no sympathy, only schadenfreude.

Lei Bao flipped the fifty silver taels in his hand, "Kid, there's no such thing as a free lunch. If it really were a priceless treasure, Lord Bao would have snatched it up long ago. Where would it be your turn? Hahaha..."

"So full of himself, yet blind as a bat..."

Xiao Yi glanced once, and smiled coldly.

Just at that moment...

An elderly figure emerged from the crowd, heading straight for Xiao Yi, his eyes revealing interest, "Young man, I'm quite intrigued by this statue. May I take a look at it?"

Xiao Yi shrugged, "Be my guest!"

Elder Yan took the statue and scrutinized it carefully.

The more he looked, the graver his expression became.

Seeing this, Lei Bao showed a cold sneer, arrogantly saying, "Old man, you might as well not waste your time here. This is just scrap iron my master acquired for a silver tael, not anything valuable..."

The old man simply turned to glance at Lei Bao, his tone indifferent, "I, Yan Mingli, have managed the Treasure Pavilion for thirty years. Do you think I can't tell the difference between trash and treasure?"

"What? Is he actually Yan Mingli?"

"Holy shit, Elder Yan is the Pavilion Master of the Treasure Pavilion, unrivaled in Nanhuang City for his ability to appraise treasures. And he's actually interested in this statue? Could it be a rare treasure?"

"A rare treasure?"

Lei Bao was completely dumbfounded.

He had naturally heard the great name of Yan Mingli, the bigwig of Nanhuang City's treasure appraisal scene. Swallowing his saliva with a gulp, Lei Bao tentatively said, "Elder Yan, you couldn't possibly have misjudged, could you? This is really just a piece of scrap iron…"

Smack!

Elder Yan turned around and gave Lei Bao a slap that saw stars in his eyes and snorted haughtily, "Even your father wouldn't dare say I've misjudged." Gently caressing the statue with his palm, Elder Yan asked, "Young man, would you be willing to part with this statue?"

Xiao Yi said, "If the price is right, naturally I'd sell!"

Elder Yan tested the waters, "How about ten thousand silver taels?"

Hiss!

A collective gasp of shock went through the onlookers.

Especially Lei Bao, whose eyes twitched and turned bloodshot as he stared fixedly at the statue in Elder Yan's hands.

Ten thousand silver taels!

He had originally bought it for nothing more than a single tael, and now it was worth a ten-thousand-fold increase?

He had just been smug about duping Xiao Yi out of fifty taels, thinking that Xiao Yi was a big-headed fool who didn't know anything, and now in the blink of an eye, it was a treasure worth ten thousand taels?

Xiao Yi said indifferently, "That price lacks sincerity!"

"What?"

"You find ten thousand taels too low?"

More and more people gathered around, their eyes popping in disbelief as they saw Xiao Yi reject Elder Yan's offer.

Burning with jealousy, Lei Bao felt malice rising at his gall and immediately shouted, "Brat, how dare you speak to Elder Yan like that? Elder Yan taking a liking to your item is your good fortune; you should be offering it to him as a gift…"

"..."

Elder Yan, however, completely ignored Lei Bao and after contemplating for a moment, nodded and said, "The young man is right, a statue made from a complete Goldlight Stone, ten thousand taels is indeed too stingy of me. How about this, I offer fifty thousand taels, what do you say?"

Boom!

Lei Bao swayed, almost tumbling over.

Fifty thousand taels?

I was satisfied with setting up a plot for a mere hundred taels, but I ended up gifting away a treasure worth fifty thousand taels?

Fuck me...

Lei Bao wished he could slap himself hard.

"Still too low," Xiao Yi laughed.

"Hmm?"

Elder Yan's brow furrowed, a touch of displeasure on his face.

Fifty thousand was already a very fair price, and yet Xiao Yi was still not satisfied?

Xiao Yi sighed, "I had hoped that someone capable of managing the Treasure Pavilion would not disappoint me in his appraisal skills, but it seems I was mistaken!"

Elder Yan's face darkened.

Having managed the Treasure Pavilion for over thirty years, he had seen countless treasures and no one had ever dared to question his appraisal expertise. Now Xiao Yi had the audacity to belittle him as such? Even for someone as tempered as Elder Yan, his face couldn't hide the growing anger.

Seeing this, Lei Bao's heart leaped with joy, and he vehemently reprimanded, "How insolent! Elder Yan has seen more treasures than meals you've eaten; who are you to question his appraisal skills?"

Xiao Yi completely ignored Lei Bao, his clear eyes focusing on Elder Yan, "If it were a statue made from Goldlight Stone, fifty thousand taels would indeed be fair. But what if it were crafted from the Goldlight Stone Spirit?"

Hum!

Elder Yan's body shuddered, and he began to breathe rapidly, "Goldlight Stone Spirit? You mean to say this statue is made from the Goldlight Stone Spirit?"

Xiao Yi said, "You'll know once you try!"

Elder Yan flicked his finger and pure Qi surged into the statue.

Hum!

The pitch-black statue suddenly burst forth with dazzling light, the dragon's body swiftly turning to gold, and within it flowed a ripple-like gold liquid.

"It really is the Goldlight Stone Spirit! Never in my life did I imagine, Yan Mingli, that I would encounter the Goldlight Stone Spirit, hahaha…"

Elder Yan was so excited he was moved to tears, leaving the entire crowd including a completely dumbstruck Lei Bao.

What kind of treasure was this?

Even the high and mighty Elder Yan was so excited that he cried?

Lei Bao swallowed hard and tentatively looked at Elder Yan, "Elder, this statue is really worth fifty thousand?"

Elder Yan said, "Fifty thousand? Hmph, double that is more like it!"

Hiss!

Lei Bao was struck as if by lightning, frozen in place.

Elder Yan, with a newfound respect in his gaze towards Xiao Yi, acknowledged his appraisal skills, his voice solemn, "Young man, I am willing to pay one hundred thousand taels for this statue, what do you think?"

Xiao Yi nodded, "Acceptable!"

Elder Yan glanced around at the increasingly crowded scene and frowned, "There are too many prying eyes here; shall we discuss this in the Inner Cabinet?"

The two left side by side.

The crowd turned their mocking and pitying eyes towards Lei Bao, who stood there looking like a stunned chicken, "How awesome, the Black Tiger Gang has set up a lot of traps to harm people, but today, they couldn't rob the chicken and have lost a handful of rice instead!"

"A treasure worth one hundred thousand, and he plotted with all his might to hand it over as a gift…"

"This is what they call karmic retribution!"

Lei Bao trembled all over, the surrounding voices like invisible slaps to his face, hot and painful!

"My, my money…"

Lei Bao felt dizzy, the world spinning around him, his eyes flashing with ferocity and madness as he stared at Xiao Yi's receding figure, "You damned bastard, daring to snatch food from the tiger's mouth. I will make sure you spit it all out with interest!"