Chapter 68: The Enemy Appears
Gu Liang waited in silence.
He was bewildered that it had been an hour, but not a sound from the inner chamber could be heard.
Since the opening of Golden Hall, his father, Gu Yanping, had bought seven treasures, including spiritual armor, a spiritual spear and a spiritual sword, which were all spiritual weapons.
But the quality of these spiritual weapons were not very good and they could only be considered as general. What’s more, they were very common spiritual weapons found on the market, so they still hadn’t been sold.
Gu Liang couldn’t help but doubt if his father’s plan could work.
What worried him most was that the cost of renting this shop, together with the money spent on buying those seven spiritual weapons, was about to exhaust all their assets.
If the situation continued, it wouldn’t take long for Golden Hall to completely close down!
By that time, they would have no choice but to leave in disgrace.
Gu Liang sighed. Since he was young, he had tremendous admiration for his father. Therefore, although he somewhat doubted his father’s plan, he never strongly opposed it.
“Forget it! If the worst happens, we can shut down the business and leave. But as long as we are alive, we can always start from scratch and have a glorious comeback!”
Gu Liang took a deep breath and abandoned all distracting thoughts. He inherited many of Gu Yanping’s traits, one of which was knowing that one should just do the best he can and then leave the rest to God. Worrying would just make things worse.
Just then, the inner door opened and Gu Yanping came out.
What surprised Gu Liang was his father looked like an entirely different person, full of joy and energy, like he was many years younger.
“Liang, the time for us to really make it is coming!” Gu Yanping laughed.
“Father, what do you mean?” Gu Liang asked.
“The Explosive-flame Saber that young man sold me is really extraordinary!”
Thinking of the verification he had just made, Gu Yanping felt so excited, “It’s power is about 20% stronger than its peers! 20%! One low-grade spiritual weapon of Human Rank has the power of a middle-level one! No blade can surpass it, even globally!”
Gu Liang was shocked, but still had some doubts, “Really, about 20% stronger?” As far as he knew, Explosive-flame Saber was a very common spirit weapon on the market, and even those of the best quality would be impossible to skyrocket by 20% of power!
As was well-known, the Explosive-flame Saber was refined, under the hands of spiritual tattooists, from fixed materials and spiritual tattoos, leaving no room for any change.
This meant the power of Explosive-flame Saber couldn’t make any breakthroughs, or it was not Explosive-flame Saber at all.
That was why Gu Liang was startled and had doubts after hearing what Gu Yanping said.
Gu Yanping, of course, understood his son’s feelings quite well. When he got the result of that verification, he was shocked as well and even thought his eyes were blurred.
But it turned out to be true!
“Liang, when I did the test, I used ‘The Spell of Seeking Treasure with Flying Spirit’! It was handed down from our ancestors and specially used for identifying treasures. This spell has never been mistaken when it comes to identifying the authenticity of treasures from time immemorial.” Gu Yanping explained calmly.
“This is actually true…”
Gu Liang was in a trance, saying, “I’m afraid that a common Explosive-flame Saber with power soaring by 20% will definitely cause an uproar if heard by spiritual tattooists!”
Gu Yanping also felt amazed and exclaimed, “It’s a pity that I don’t know who created this saber. That young man left in a rush, or I could ask him about it.”
Gu Liang smiled and said, “Father, he who is capable of making such a weapon must be an extraordinary spiritual tattooist, even a master. Such a character is not easy to see.”
Gu Yanping pondered for a long time, shook his head and said, “Leave this matter alone. I need you to find some people and spread news around! Make a slogan like ‘Golden Hall gets a peerless blade accidently, but which one of you are qualified to own it?’ We must let this slogan spread as far as it can!”
Gu Liang laughed slyly like a fox and said, “A peerless blade?”
Gu Yanping also laughed, “Isn’t it? It’s just a common gimmick used by sellers, intended to get more people to talk about it so to attract more attention.”
Gu Liang nodded, “I will see to it.”
Gu Yanping then said confidently, “Whether Golden Hall can have a solid foothold in Donglin Town totally depends on whether we can make a fuss and take full advantage of this chance.”
……
In Keystone Business.
After Lin Xun left, Wang Lin hurried far into the hall and treaded through into a quiet and tranquil courtyard dotted with waterside pavilions and small bridges. Mu Wansu, in a long black gown, idly sat in one of the pavilions looking through an account book.
Her black hair was put into an elegant updo, revealing a snow-white neck and her jade-like facial profile, which gave a stunning impression in the warm sunshine.
It had to be said that Mu Wansu was indeed a rare beauty.
However, after Wang Lin walked into the courtyard, he did not dare to look up at her. Instead he looked down and said reverently, “Miss Wansu, Lin Xun pulled back. I think he understands what Keystone Business meant.”
Mu Wansu closed the account book, gave a smile with her full, ruddy lips and said slowly, “I thought he could hang on in Donglin Town for a little more time, but, unexpectedly, it has been no more than 10 days before he starts selling spiritual weapons to make a living. It seems that he has come to understand that gaining a place in Donglin Town is not that easy.”
After this, Mu Wansu suddenly asked, “He didn’t give any response?”
In Mu Wansu’s view, Lin Xun was a shameless little bastard. After given the cold shoulder, how could he just leave like that?
Wang Lin thought for a while and said, “He seemed to know that all was being done per your instructions, but he didn’t show any dissatisfaction when he left.”
Hearing this, Mu Wansu inexplicably felt that something was wrong, but immediately shook her head, thinking she had thought about it too much.
Since the first day Lin Xun stepped into Donglin Town, all his moves were right under her nose.
She knew that Lin Xun, due to lack of money, had to live in the dirty and messy Slum. Besides, she also knew he was thinking about ways to settle down in Donglin Town.
Mu Wansu had thought even though this shameless, crafty young man was not a trustful person, he did have some real tricks and abilities, so maybe he could survive in Donglin Town by himself.
However, when Mu Wansu found out that Lin Xun came to Keystone Business to sell a spiritual weapon, she immediately realized that he had hit a dead end and couldn’t carry on for any longer. If not, he, a practitioner of Martial Realm, would never be willing to sell his spirit weapons.
This pleased Mu Wansu and also made her gloat, “Is this really the person that the young lord thought highly of?” Without the help of Keystone Business, he was so useless that he couldn’t move one single step forward. If the young lord knew this, what he would think about it?
“Miss Wansu, I can tell what Lin Xun sells is uncommon and I’m afraid there’s more in it. It’s a pity to miss it.”
Wang Lin didn’t know what Mu Wansu thought. As a Treasure Appraiser, everything he cared about were all connected to his specialties.
“Just a low-level Spiritual Weapon of Human Rank! What’s the point of making a fuss of it?” Mu Wansu said carelessly.
“According to my judgement, although there’s nothing particular about the rank of this Explosive-flame Saber, its quality seemed quite different from its peers.” Wang Lin replied quickly.
Mu Wansu frowned and said, “No matter how different it is, it’s still merely an Explosive-flame Saber. So, what’s the point of caring so much about it? Now please leave me alone.”
Hearing this, Wang Lin sighed silently, shook his head and walked away.
“Little bastard, what can you sell after selling all your spiritual tools. Keystone Business will not let you gain any extra advantage.” Mu Wansu smiled gently and went on to checking accounts.
For her, what had just happened wasn’t anything of importance, nor worthy of too much attention. What she really wanted to know was how long on earth could Lin Xun hold out in Donglin Town.
……
Lin Xun didn’t know what happened in Keystone Business after he left. Nor did he know that Gu Yanping and his son were elated and prepared to make a big difference in their lives and their business.
After selling the Explosive-Flame Saber and getting 50 silver coins, Lin Xun joyfully went shopping on the “800 Avenue”. A Swallow-wing Saber plus a Red-fire Spiritual Ink cost about 20 silver coins. But Lin Xun got 50 silver coins from the Explosive-Flame Saber he refined, more than double its price.
More importantly, he could refine more spiritual tools in the future! This was the real reason why he was so happy!
And he seemed to have seen a shining golden road just lying under his feet.
“After getting enough money, I should buy and eat some Blood Refining Elixir to make preparation for breaking through the sixth level of Martial Realm.”
Lin Xun calculated quickly. He had seen Blood Refining Elixir in Keystone Business in Green-sun Tribe, which was extremely scarce and valuable. It was said that this elixir was made of hundreds of spiritual herbs and was really expensive. One single elixir was worth about 10 silver coins.
But this was normal. With the improvement of cultivation, the quality of spiritual herbs needed by practitioners was also elevated, not only in level, but also in price.
For example, at the first level of Martial Realm, one could just eat some spiritual grains and spiritual vegetables. However, when breaking through to a higher level, the spiritual energy these grains and vegetables provided was far from enough. Besides, spiritual herbs were not merely for providing spiritual energy, but also had different uses. For different cultivation realms, practitioners needed spiritual herbs with different functions.
What?
An unusual feeling welled up in his heart, which immediately made Lin Xun sober up from his countless thoughts. He couldn’t help but turn his head and look back, only to find that the nearby streets were full of people bustling and hustling. Nothing unusual was standing out.
Lin Xun then shook his head, turned away and walked far into an alley at the side of the street.
Soon after Lin Xun left, two ordinary looking men with common clothes suddenly appeared among the nearby crowd.
They blended into the passers-by nearby perfectly, except that their eyes were all staring at the alley Lin Xun walked into.
“Old Dao, it seems the target has noticed us. Should we keep tailing him?” A dark-skinned man asked with furrowed eyebrows.
Chapter end