After Xu Chunniang was invited into a private room, she had not waited long before a thin, frail old man pushed open the door and entered.
His skin was pitch-black, and he looked utterly unremarkable, even thinner and shorter than an ordinary member of the Devil Race. Yet he carried an impossible-to-ignore air about him, while his cultivation was as deep as an abyss, unfathomable.
Xu Chunniang instinctively straightened her back and tensed her mind.
Facing this old man, her heartbeat involuntarily quickened, and she sensed danger.
It was her body's instinctive response upon detecting the approach of a powerful expert.
The old man saw her tension and smiled faintly.
"Guest, there is no need to be nervous. We run a business, and harmony is our greatest treasure. I heard you have a Sand Scorpion King's claw here, and its condition is quite good?"
Hearing this, Xu Chunniang relaxed slightly, though she still did not let down her guard.
She took out the scorpion claw she had prepared long ago and placed it on the table.
"Please inspect it."
The old man's gaze fell upon the scorpion claw on the table. He narrowed his eyes, seemingly examining it closely, yet said nothing for a long while.
Xu Chunniang was patient. Since the old man did not speak, neither did she.
After a long time, the old man finally withdrew his gaze and spoke slowly. "Before this Sand Scorpion King had its claw removed, it seems it suffered rather serious injuries?"
Xu Chunniang's expression did not change, but inwardly, she greatly approved of the old man's skill in appraising items.
To discern from a severed scorpion claw alone that the Sand Scorpion King had been injured required both meticulous observation and a sharp, precise eye; neither could be lacking.
"That is