Luminous Pearl

Jiang Ding walked into the Four Seas Merchant Guild. Before he could even take a good look around, a refined and lovely maid approached him.

"Young Master Jiang, welcome to the Four Seas Merchant Guild. Please head up to the second floor, the manager will be here shortly," the maid said cheerfully as she led the way.

Jiang Ding paused. "You know me?"

The maid giggled, covering her mouth. "Young Master, Manager Long has repeatedly instructed us to call him immediately to greet you the moment you arrive. We've long since remembered."

In a refined private room on the second floor, a cup of fragrant tea was already prepared. Jiang Ding sat down, lightly stroking his sword hilt, lost in thought.

The maid stood gracefully beside him.

After a short while, hurried footsteps echoed from afar, growing closer.

Jiang Dings eyes flickered.

Martial Artists in the Inner Qi Realm can already move silently without sacrificing speed. This sounds a bit deliberate.

Still, being respected didn't feel bad.

"Young Master Jiang, please forgive my tardiness in welcoming you!"

As soon as he entered, Long San's face lit up with joy. "I've long wanted to visit you, but I was afraid of disturbing your cultivation. It's a pleasure to see you again today."

"Manager Long is too kind," Jiang Ding said, rising and bowing slightly.

After some pleasantries, they both sat down.

"There's something... I truly owe you an apology for, and I dare not hide it."

Long San's face showed a hint of embarrassment.

"Please speak freely."

"One of my subordinates introduced a steward to you a few days ago, didn't he? It was fine at first. Steward Huang was a decent person, but as I'm new here, I had to place some of my trusted people to gain control of the situation. So, I introduced him to you through Huang Gui, thinking to help you out a bit..."

"Unexpectedly, yesterday when I was inspecting the storeroom, I discovered a major case of embezzlement of guild funds. Several stewards were involved, and they colluded with outsiders. Such individuals with improper conduct could be a source of trouble."

Jiang Ding's eyes narrowed.

Huang Deyou is currently in charge of specimen acquisition. He's already set up the channels and is doing a good job. If he's replaced, it will delay the specimen collection progress.

"How much was he involved?"

"It wasn't much. Huang Deyou was one of the lesser offenders among them," Long San said, waving his hands repeatedly. "Only about twenty taels of silver. It's not a lot of money, but the nature of the act is detestable. I can't stand these traitors who bite the hand that feeds them!"

That's not a small amount.

For a poor family, that money would be enough for over ten years of living expenses.

Jiang Ding pondered for a moment.

"The accounts must be recovered. I dislike such people as well. Furthermore, I still have use for this person. Please, Manager, do not resort to private punishment. Let this matter end here."

Betrayal, and an internal guild matter. The authorities might not even get involved.

Long San sighed. "Alas, I am ashamed to face you, Young Master. I will do as you say."

That scoundrel Huang Deyou is lucky. Otherwise, I would have broken both his legs myself.

He dares to embezzle the Long family's money? He must be tired of living.

"I came this time mainly because I'm short on cash and wanted to sell some goods to you, Manager," Jiang Ding said, taking out a palm-sized gift box and handing it over.

"I will certainly not let you suffer a loss."

Long San's expression turned serious. He took the gift box. Its texture was fine and soft, seemingly made of some precious fur. The box itself was not cheap.

He opened it.

"Ah!"

Even though he had seen countless treasures, the maid beside him couldn't help but gasp.

Light, a soft light.

Inside the gift box, an Eastern Pearl, about the size of a thumb, emitted countless rays of light. It was clearly visible even in daylight.

"Close the window," Long San said in a deep voice, still managing to maintain his composure.

Jiang Ding mused, It seems that in this low-martial environment with supernatural elements, luminous pearls are still quite precious. However, they might not be considered exceedingly rare. Perhaps some occasionally born spiritual materials could produce them.

As for selling a luminous pearl for ten dollars a piece as a treasure, does my conscience hurt?

Of course not.

The value of an item varies from person to person. There's the labor value and the commodity value. Moreover, even if it's not worth much, adding the long shipping costs across two realms makes selling it at a high price reasonable.

The window was closed, and a faint white light illuminated the private room. It was slightly dim, dimmer than a single candle, but sufficient to read by.

Long San took out a white cloth and gently wiped the pearl, making it shine like new. Then he used a magnifying glass, some medicinal powder, and various other appraisal methods.

"This Luminous Pearl is of average size, but its radiance far surpasses others. It can be considered a rare treasure. Do you truly wish to sell it?" Long San asked solemnly.

"Sell," Jiang Ding replied concisely.

"The price..." Long San pondered for a long time, then stood up and paced back and forth several times. "How about a thousand taels? This is the highest price our Four Seas Merchant Guild offers for non-cultivation related goods."

"Okay."

"You're generous, Young Master!"

Long San was overjoyed. If he could close this deal, his performance for the year would be secured.

"But I don't just want money," Jiang Ding said calmly. "I need aged Great Medicines, preferably Wild Ginseng."

Ever since the Eagle's Takeoff Sword Art broke through to Minor Accomplishment, he hadn't dared to train at full power, fearing that depleting his qi and blood would cause hidden injuries to his body. He could only maintain it at a proficient level.

His cultivation speed had increased slightly, but it wasn't enough to rapidly approach the Inner Qi Realm.

Long San wasn't surprised. Most people in the martial world didn't solely care for gold and silver.

"Someone, bring out all the Aged Wild Ginseng that's over forty years old." He then turned back to Jiang Ding. "Young Master, you're straightforward, and I, Long San, won't beat around the bush. I'll definitely give you the most favorable price."

Soon, over twenty rosewood boxes were presented one by one by the waitresses.

Long San opened one of the boxes. "Young Master, please look. This is a forty-year Aged Wild Ginseng, valued at one hundred and twenty taels. You can have it for one hundred taels."

Jiang Ding took the wooden box and, using the knowledge from his biology classes, carefully identified it. His technique was very professional, honed through countless practices in the laboratory.

"A connoisseur, Young Master!"

Long San exclaimed.

He was young, good-looking, polite, and incredibly strong. And to top it all off, he had such profound knowledge in miscellaneous subjects. If he wasn't trained by a major sect, Long San wouldn't believe it even if he were beaten to death.

"The quality is excellent."

After verifying each one, Jiang Ding looked up. "Shopkeeper, just bring out the oldest ones. Although I have a thousand taels, it won't buy much."

"Young Master, please look." Long San got straight to the point, carefully opening the last wooden box. "After appraisal by a renowned physician from the prefectural city, this ninety-eight-year Aged Wild Ginseng was acquired by this establishment at great expense from the capital. It's only two years shy of being a Centennial Great Medicine."

He said this with a hint of regret.

Jiang Ding asked curiously, "Don't you have any Centennial Great Medicines?"

"You jest, Young Master."

Long San shook his head. "Centennial Great Medicines are already the pinnacle of medicines in the world. Their efficacy is incomparable to others, and they can even aid in breaking through realms. Any transactions involving them are usually between major aristocratic families or the leaders of powerful factions, and they don't typically appear on the market."

"These are items of a faction's foundation. I haven't seen one either."

Jiang Ding expressed his regret. "I see."

The so-called 'aged' Great Medicine referred to the amount of pure spiritual energy accumulated within it. Such medicines only came into being in environments with spiritual energy. Every hundred years was a threshold; if it didn't reach it, it would decay.

In an environment devoid of spiritual energy, even a plant grown for a hundred years would only become a lignified piece of wood, utterly useless.

"This item is valued at twelve hundred taels."

Long San continued, "If you want it, Young Master, it's nine hundred and forty taels. I'll also include a Silver Token from the Four Seas Merchant Guild, which entitles you to a five percent discount at any of our branches."

"Deal."

Jiang Ding nodded, knowing it wasn't an unreasonable price.