The shop assistant Xiao Zhuo was momentarily dazed by the radiant smile, only snapping back to reality when the shopkeeper elbowed him, letting out a startled "Ah!"
Flustered and angry, he retorted, "What are you smiling at for no reason? Can't you act normal?! Don't you realize how terrifying your Invisibility Art practice is?"
Wei Ping spread his hands innocently: "That's because I haven't mastered it yet. When my energy leaks, my appearance changes too."
As he finished speaking, he reverted to his ordinary, slovenly and down-and-out rogue appearance.
Anyone passing by him wouldn't want to give him a second glance.
The captivating smile from moments ago seemed to have never appeared.
"I'm leaving now, won't scare you anymore!"
The shopkeeper raised a sleeve, steadily blocking his path:
"Leave the sword. I need to show it to the old proprietor."
"What's there to see about a broken sword worth ten Spirit Stones?" Wei Ping scoffed lightly. Seeing the shopkeeper's cold expression blocking the way, he suddenly tapped his toes, leaping into the air without warning, shooting toward the door like an arrow from a bow.
His movement was completely unexpected, leaving only a laughing voice behind:
"That old man said before that he wanted me to be the future young proprietor, have you forgotten? The young proprietor just buying a sword, don't make a fuss!"
Upon hearing this, Xiao Zhuo widened his eyes in disbelief, truly suspecting this person's cheek was thicker than Hua Wei City's walls.
Yet no matter how Wei Ping twisted and turned, silently vaulting over beams and stepping on tables, changing dozens of Light Body Techniques in a single breath, there was always a sleeve blocking his path.
The shopkeeper sneered, Golden Core pressure faintly emanating: "The proprietor also said that if you're willing to learn his Calligraphy Way, then you're the young proprietor. If you refuse to learn for even one day, you're nothing!"
Both parties trapped in the small pawnshop, with many concerns, neither dared to release their energy and cause a big commotion.
Wei Ping was finally forced to land, cursing loudly: "You Calligrapher Sage disciples go too far! Forcing sales in business, and forcing apprenticeship too?"
"Hey, you damned rascal!"
Just as Xiao Zhuo rolled up his sleeves, Wei Ping clutched his chest and began acting: "Don't hit me, my heart condition is acting up! If I die, I'll stick you with the coffin bill!"
Right at that moment, a painful wail came from downstairs, as if providing sound effects for Wei Ping.
All three changed expressions, the shopkeeper rushing downstairs.
Xiao Zhuo gritted his teeth: "Old Zheng's heart condition really acted up, must have been angered by that kid earlier!"
From the moment Song Qianji entered to pawn his sword, it was destined to be a chaotic night for the small pawnshop.
"How is Old Zheng?" Wei Ping asked.
"He's fine. After taking calming elixir, I helped him circulate his Spirit Qi, and he's entered meditation." The shopkeeper wiped his sweat.
"All that kid's fault!" Xiao Zhuo said angrily.
"What exactly happened?" Wei Ping's curiosity was thoroughly piqued.
He deeply regretted not coming a moment earlier to encounter the person who drew the talisman.
The shopkeeper was also frustrated, slapping a Qi Nourishing Talisman on the table: "Old Zheng stared at this talisman, the more he looked the more exquisite he found it, every stroke perfect. Then he remembered that kid actually said he 'only knows a little,' and the more he thought about it the angrier he got. He fell into obstruction, became attached to form, felt his whole life had been wasted, that he couldn't even do that 'little'! I have to take this talisman away, can't let him see it again."
Wei Ping gazed intently at the talisman, his expression focused. After a long while, he uttered an "Eh?":
"There are characters layered on top of each other here!"
Xiao Zhuo found it baffling: "Those aren't characters!"
The Qi Nourishing Talisman is the most basic talisman, with many drawing methods that all achieve the same effect.
Different Talismasters have different brushwork habits, leaving different traces on the talisman paper."No, this isn't just a talisman—it also conceals a riddle. The person who wrote it must have intended to convey a meaning through this talisman," Wei Ping said gravely.
"What meaning?" The shopkeeper frowned, recalling the young man's composed expression.
Wei Ping asked, "If I can decipher it, will you give me the broken sword?"
The shopkeeper thought for a moment: "Fine, give it a try."
Wei Ping flipped the talisman paper over and snatched the shopkeeper's accounting brush and paper:
"Turn it upside down, and look at each stroke in reverse order of how they were written. Separate the strokes—don't let them overlap…"
A short while later, Wei Ping set down the brush. "There, see it now?"
The shopkeeper took the paper with a solemn expression.
Two bold characters glared up from the page—"Profiteer."
Wei Ping slammed the table, laughing uproariously, rocking back and forth:
"Get it now? You've met a true master. He never meant to write a talisman—he just wanted to insult you! Did you jack up the prices on him?"
The shopkeeper's face flushed red then pale: "We're running a business here! What's wrong with a merchant making some money?"
Xiao Zhuo suddenly remarked, "Now I understand why the boss wants to recruit a scoundrel like you."
Keen intuition, talent and insight far beyond ordinary people.
"Don't flatter me—flattery won't make me pay!" Wei Ping grabbed the old sword and strode out laughing into the night.
The small pawnshop remained quiet for a long time.
The shopkeeper sighed: "When our generation was young, anyone with any ambition believed 'a real man should carry a long sword and achieve greatness.' But what's with the true geniuses these days? How many of the famous figures in this world are just chasing empty fame?"
Xiao Zhuo: "Wei Ping's not right in the head, and that scheming guy who bought the zither earlier with all his roundabout insults—I dislike them both."
"Your dislike doesn't matter," the shopkeeper shook his head. "Go, take this 'Profiteer Talisman' to show the boss. The boss's time is running out, troubled by having no successor. We can't break the Three No-Questions rule, so let the boss decide."
※※※
Waiting for someone is tedious business.
When two people wait together late at night without speaking to each other, the atmosphere becomes more strained than waiting alone.
He Qingqing was exhausted, hungry, and cold. Humiliated earlier in the day and having cried herself to collapse, she was completely drained both physically and mentally. Her consciousness grew hazy, forgetting where she was or who sat beside her.
She actually began leaning toward Chen Hongzhu.
Chen Hongzhu instinctively moved to avoid her, but after glancing at He Qingqing's excessively thin frame, ultimately stayed still, allowing the other girl's head to rest on her shoulder.
"I'm tired too," she muttered, shifting slightly closer.
When Song Qianji returned, he saw from afar that the single figure at his door had become two.
Two girls leaning against each other.
Under the moonlight, they resembled two lotus flowers—one red, one white.
The contrast between vibrant and delicate made a beautiful picture, but Song Qianji felt a headache coming on.
One of them could already wilt balsam flowers with her crying—what would two do but collapse his bamboo fence?
Chen Hongzhu wasn't actually asleep, just resting with closed eyes.
Hearing footsteps, she straightened up. Her movement woke He Qingqing.
Realizing she'd been sleeping against the Huawai Sect's young mistress, He Qingqing jumped up in alarm:
"My apologies. That was improper."
The young man approached, cloaked in moonlight.
"Senior Brother Song!" He Qingqing cried out joyfully, then immediately corrected herself in a lower voice, "Fellow Daoist Song, you're back."
Chen Hongzhu didn't look at her, keeping her eyes fixed on Song Qianji: "Where have you been?"Song Qianji pointed to the red paper crane on his lapel: "Didn't you already know?"
He Qingqing listened to their familiar banter, her heart stirring with inexplicable emotions—something between envy and bitterness.
Then she heard Chen Hongzhu ask: "I heard you left with your sword. Where is it?"
"Pawned." Song Qianji replied flatly.
"Pawned?!" Chen Hongzhu sprang to her feet.
Song Qianji paid no heed, wanting to resolve this matter quickly.
He removed the qin case and turned to He Qingqing: "Take it."
As the case opened, a flash of emerald light spilled forth.
The qin’s body was slender and elegant, like a spring river, its seven strings resembling ripples on water.
The spring river’s blue outshone the sky, casting even the bright moon into shadow.
"Is this… Green Ripple Platform?" Chen Hongzhu couldn’t help but exclaim.
In truth, Song Qianji hadn’t paid attention to the qin’s name or its significance. He had simply chosen it because it felt the lightest when he lifted it.
"You, a sword cultivator, pawned your only sword just to buy ‘Green Ripple Platform’ for her?"
Chen Hongzhu bit her lower lip, pointing first at the qin, then at him. "Have you lost your mind?"
He Qingqing was even more astonished than her, even fearful.
She stared blankly at Song Qianji.
Too afraid to accept it.
Of course "Green Ripple Platform" was the lightest. According to the customs of noble families in the Western Sky Continent, it was the first qin given by elders to their youngest daughters.
It wasn’t cheap. When a girl brought this qin out to play or enjoy spring outings with companions, others would recognize her as coming from a wealthy family, deeply cherished at home—not to be treated lightly.
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