A Fortuitous Find by Skillful Hands

A Fortuitous Find by Skillful Hands

Yin Yuzhen's premonition told her that as long as she continued helping Li Fan, boundless benefits awaited her in the future.

Though she did not know what achievements this uncle might attain someday, Yin Yuzhen chose to trust her intuition and do everything in her power to help Li Fan.

Thus, under Yin Yuzhen's instructions, Heavenly Treasure Pavilion began operating at full capacity.

While collecting Meteorite Iron, they also purchased large quantities of entirely unrelated supplies to throw people off the scent.

Other powers on Liuli Island noticed Heavenly Treasure Pavilion's unusual activity and secretly sent people to investigate.

But Yin Yuzhen had prepared in advance, so naturally, they found nothing of substance.

Meanwhile, following Li Fan's suggestion, Heavenly Treasure Pavilion spread a great many false rumors about Star Sea Quicksand. Knowing there might be a trap, the other powers initially chose to wait and see.

But one of them embraced the idea of "buy first and talk later; even if it's fake, we can still sell it again," and began buying up everything related to the rumors. The others could no longer sit still either. They joined the purchasing frenzy.

For a time, prices on Liuli Island soared, and chaos sprang up everywhere.

As the instigator behind all this, Li Fan merely remained quietly in Listening to Seclusion Pavilion, cultivating.

Not until three months later did Yin Yuzhen finally manage to contact a Merchant Guild Emissary from the Heavenly Splendor Merchant Guild.

Early that morning, Yin Yuzhen and Li Fan boarded Heavenly Treasure Pavilion's own small boat and left Liuli Island. They traveled north for several dozen li, arriving at the sea region agreed upon by both parties.

The boat was packed to the brim with the goods for this transaction.

Only after the sun had climbed to its zenith did the Myriad Flowers Merchant Guild finally arrive.

A black dot in the sky rapidly grew larger. As it drew near, Li Fan saw that it was a Flying Boat! A banner fluttered atop it, bearing a huge character: "Myriad."

This Flying Boat appeared to be only half the size of Taiyan Boat's second form, roughly fifty meters long.

The Flying Boat soon arrived above them, then slowly came to a stop on the water's surface.

"Shopkeeper Yin, it has been a long time!" Once it had steadied itself, a hearty laugh rang out from within the Flying Boat.

Yin Yuzhen had been watching Li Fan, hoping to see surprise on his face.

To her surprise, Li Fan showed not the slightest reaction upon seeing the Myriad Flowers Merchant Guild's Flying Boat, as though he had long since grown used to such things.

Yin Yuzhen felt somewhat disappointed, but became even more curious about Li Fan.

Only when she heard the Merchant Guild Emissary's voice did Yin Yuzhen turn around.

"Emissary Wu, the last time we met was three years ago, wasn't it?" Yin Yuzhen replied with a smile.

"Time truly flies," Wu Xingzou said with a sigh as he stepped onto Heavenly Treasure Pavilion's boat.

"And this gentleman is?" He looked at Li Fan and asked with a smile.

"An elder hired by our Heavenly Treasure Pavilion," Yin Yuzhen answered simply.

Seeing that Yin Yuzhen was unwilling to elaborate, Wu Xingzou tactfully did not press the matter.

"Let's inspect the goods. I'm afraid it will be difficult for us to meet again after this transaction."

Yin Yuzhen froze at once. "What do you mean by that? Did something happen?"

Wu Xingzou shook his head. "I do not know the specific reason either. A few days ago, I suddenly received a notice from headquarters. All Merchant Guild Emissaries in the Congyun Sea are to cease all business and return as quickly as possible."

"If I had not already arranged a trading date with you, I would likely be on my way back already."

"So this transaction cannot be delayed. We must finish it quickly."

Yin Yuzhen became somewhat flustered. Heavenly Treasure Pavilion had prospered so greatly on Liuli Island precisely because it had the Myriad Flowers Merchant Guild at its back.

Now that the Myriad Flowers Merchant Guild was suddenly withdrawing from the Congyun Sea, what would become of Heavenly Treasure Pavilion's business in the future?

Could she still protect Heavenly Treasure Pavilion?

And why had her premonition given no warning whatsoever this time? Yin Yuzhen's thoughts were a tangled mess, and she actually stood there in a daze.

"Shopkeeper Yin?" Seeing Yin Yuzhen frozen in place, Wu Xingzou could not help reminding her.

Yin Yuzhen forced a smile and came back to her senses.

They entered the cabin and began taking inventory of the goods.

"Sixteen pairs of jade discs, twenty-three pieces of coral, forty-six luminous pearls..." Li Fan led Wu Xingzou past the various goods one by one.

From time to time, Wu Xingzou picked one up and carefully examined its quality.

Then he nodded and carefully set it back down.

"Three pieces of Star Sea Quicksand," Li Fan reported calmly when they reached the middle.

Delight flashed across Wu Xingzou's face, and he quickly walked over to the several pieces of Meteorite Iron.

He gently stroked them with his hand, then turned the Meteorite Iron over and inspected it again and again.

Watching from the side, Li Fan knew that Wu Xingzou was no ordinary man.

The lightest of these pieces of Meteorite Iron weighed fifty jin, yet in the other man's hands, they seemed like toys.

Only after a while did Wu Xingzou reluctantly set down the Meteorite Iron.

"Shopkeeper Yin, you've had good luck this time. To have actually gathered such fine goods as Star Sea Quicksand."

Li Fan and Yin Yuzhen exchanged a glance, relief rising in their hearts.

It could now be confirmed that Xiao Heng had been right.

This time, Heavenly Treasure Pavilion had seized the initiative and acquired quite a bit of Star Sea Quicksand ahead of everyone else.

They should be able to secure a slot in the Purification Spirit Pool without issue.

There was nothing particularly valuable after that, and Wu Xingzou was very satisfied with the goods Heavenly Treasure Pavilion had provided this time.

Moreover, since the two sides would be unable to meet again for a long while, he specially invited Li Fan and Yin Yuzhen aboard the Myriad Flowers Merchant Guild's Flying Boat as guests.

After they had eaten and drunk their fill, Wu Xingzou led the two of them to the Flying Boat's storeroom.

"These are all things I collected from the various islands of the Congyun Sea. Some are worth a fortune, while others are things whose uses even I do not know. I simply thought they looked unusual and bought them along the way. If either of you is interested, you may pick a few," Wu Xingzou said proudly to the dazzling array of treasures, clearly quite happy from drinking.

Yin Yuzhen was rather excited upon hearing this. She possessed the ability to seek fortune and avoid calamity; coming here was not like a mouse falling into a rice bin? Li Fan had not been particularly interested, but seeing Yin Yuzhen eager to give it a try, he could not very well refuse. So he accompanied her as they wandered around inside.

"You only have one incense stick's worth of time!" Wu Xingzou seemed quite interested in this game and called out loudly to them.

Yin Yuzhen paid him no heed. Brimming with excitement, she continuously darted through the storeroom.

There were no fewer than a thousand treasures here. Even though she could seek fortune and avoid calamity, barely distinguishing their value, the sheer sight of them made her eyes swim.

Li Fan, on the other hand, was bored out of his mind. He aimlessly picked up an item at random for a look, then quickly put it back down.

Li Fan had reincarnated through nine lifetimes and drifted through three hundred years. What worldly treasures had he not seen?

As long as it was unrelated to cultivation, he did not care about it in the slightest.

Though Wu Xingzou's physique far surpassed that of an ordinary person, he was clearly not a cultivator either. The business he conducted was merely among mortals.

How could there possibly be anything here that Li Fan cared about?

As Li Fan thought this, his body suddenly stiffened when his hand touched one particular item.

Because a prompt from Return to Truth suddenly appeared.

A chargeable item has been discovered. Proceed with charging?