Preparing to Sell the Stone

Preparing to Sell the Stone

"Reporting to Young Master, I couldn't find him."

Uncle Li was deeply ashamed. He always felt that he had offended that Extraordinary person with his sweep of the broom and ruined the Young Master's luck.

"It's fine. Forget it." Lu Zheng had not found anything either.

Still, he did not blame Uncle Li. Having read all kinds of novels, he naturally knew that person would not care about a mere sweep of a broom.

To put it plainly, that meal was only worth one time that person made a move.

Holding the Wine Cup, Lu Zheng wondered whether that mysterious power still lingered on it.

"He didn't say he would take me as a disciple. Is that because my aptitude is lacking, or because he had no intention of accepting disciples?"

"Are there many Extraordinary people in the Great Jing Dynasty? What abilities do they have? Can they cultivate immortality? Can they live forever?"

"Can I find them? Will they accept me as a disciple?"

"Can I learn it?"

A string of questions surfaced in Lu Zheng's mind.

If the Jade Seal's appearance and its connection between two worlds had been his first lapse of composure, this was his second.

"Uncle Li, are there any legends of Extraordinary people in our Tonglin County?" Lu Zheng suddenly asked.

"Huh?" Uncle Li froze, then immediately replied, "There's a White Cloud Temple on Shaotong Mountain east of the county seat. I hear the Daoist Priest there has cultivation. The county's lords all go to the temple to burn incense, make wishes, draw lots, and request talismans."

"A Daoist temple..."

Clearly, this Great Jing Dynasty had to be a parallel world of China. This world had the Quanzhen School and monks and nuns, Daoist temples and Buddhist monasteries as well.

Fine. If the Old Beggar had left, then he had left. With his own abilities and the Light of Luck, Lu Zheng would sooner or later carve out a foundation in the Great Jing Dynasty and enter that circle.

Heh heh...

Had they ever seen fifty-proof erguotou? Had they ever seen alloy steel swords and weapons? Had they ever seen a smartphone that could display an entire world?

Had they ever seen a four-wheeled automobile that raced like the wind?

"Alright, I understand. You've been running around all day, so you must be tired. Go get some rest too. I'll probably head out early tomorrow morning. Don't bar the door, and don't save me any food."

"Alright!"

The Old Beggar was nowhere to be found, and White Cloud Temple was east of the city, so Lu Zheng was in no hurry. Besides, he had not returned to the modern world for two days.

Sure enough, the moment he returned to the modern world and connected to Wi-Fi, his phone began chiming repeatedly.

There were missed calls and messages from his mother, as well as concern from several roommates.

He replied to his mother first, using the usual excuse that his phone had run out of battery.

Then he replied to his roommates. They were worried that Lu Zheng had not found a job and asked whether he wanted to come make do with them.

Of his three roommates, one was preparing for graduate school, while the other two had jobs. They were all on good terms.

Lu Zheng thanked them, then politely declined. He accepted their goodwill and said they could get together more often later.

The next moment, his mother called.

"Don't be sad. My son is capable. You'll definitely find a job."

Lu Zheng was speechless. His mother also thought he was upset over failing to find work and had shut off his phone to escape reality.

"Do you want to travel somewhere and clear your head? Do you want to come home and rest for a while?"

"I'm telling you, my best friend's daughter is absolutely gorgeous. She's two years older than you, but I think you should meet her."

"Didn't you study computers? My school still needs someone to maintain its official website. Why don't you come back and give it a try? See whether it works out?"

"Oh, right. Mom transferred five thousand yuan to you. Spend it first. Eat, drink, and have fun when you should. Don't shortchange yourself."

Lu Zheng's heart softened.

"Oh, right. If you see a girl you like, make your move quickly. Mom supports you!"

Lu Zheng's legs went weak.

It took Lu Zheng a full hour to finally get his mother off the phone, assuring her that he was brimming with ambition and high spirits.

Only after hearing that Lu Zheng's voice was indeed strong and full of energy did Mother Lu finally relax and hang up.

Lu Zheng's hometown was the provincial capital of inland Qin Province. His father was an attending physician, and his mother was a middle school music teacher. Though both only held intermediate professional titles, they lived without worry.

Lu Zheng had never lacked anything growing up, and his temperament took after his parents'. Put nicely, he neither fought nor competed; put bluntly, he lacked ambition.

After hanging up, Lu Zheng charged his phone while considering how to sell the Phoenix Blood Stone seal in his possession.

In the Great Jing Dynasty, this kind of stone was called Phoenix Blood Stone. He only knew that it was exceptionally beautiful; Lu Zheng had no idea what it was called in the modern world.

Therefore, to determine the value of this seal stone, Lu Zheng had to visit several physical shops and have people take a look at it.

Lu Zheng was not worried about being cheated. What era was this? If he visited enough places, everything would become clear. At worst, he would just sell it for a lower price.

Lu Zheng had prepared himself for that long ago. With an entire world behind him, this was the initial stage of accumulating resources. All he cared about was selling it quickly.

After searching on his phone for half the day and confirming several places with fairly high ratings, Lu Zheng washed up and went to sleep.

Not bad—after his body improved, even his sleep quality had risen.

The sea breeze blew gently under the scorching summer sun. Lu Zheng changed into a Semir casual outfit, applied Pechoin sunscreen, put on an ERKE baseball cap, hung Edifier Bluetooth earphones around his neck, placed the sandalwood box containing the Phoenix Blood Stone seal into his backpack, and headed out.

"Whoosh..."

Rows upon rows of towering buildings, along with the ceaseless streams of cars and people, instantly pulled Lu Zheng back into the modern world.

"Summer's here!"

The rolling little hills and dazzlingly pale long legs left Lu Zheng somewhat dazed.

Thinking of his mother's words, as well as his four years of university life with only his five fingers for company, Lu Zheng suddenly felt that life had become wonderful.

Rather than taking a ride, Lu Zheng unlocked a shared bicycle and pedaled leisurely toward his destination. On the way, he bought two buns and a bag of soy milk from a breakfast stall.

Before ten o'clock, Lu Zheng arrived at his first destination.

Treasure Pavilion, located in Huangjiang District.

Though it was called Treasure Pavilion, this area was actually one of Sea City's old streets, merely represented by Treasure Pavilion. Nearly half of Sea City's antique and curio shops were gathered here. It looked unremarkable, but the prices of the items inside were anything but low.

Lu Zheng had neither been able to afford such things nor been interested in them before, so this was his first time here.

It was not the weekend, so there were not many people, but the antique-style pavilions around him had already opened one after another.

Lu Zheng wandered as he walked, his gaze sweeping over the various shops.

There was little information about the antique collecting trade online, and it was difficult to distinguish truth from falsehood. Truly good items were introduced through personal connections and circulated within insider circles, far removed from the ordinary masses online. And once they appeared online, they were almost certainly scams.

Thus, without connections and lacking relevant knowledge, Lu Zheng could only test the waters step by step.

First, he ruled out shops with luxurious decor, prime locations, and flashy wares. They were undoubtedly aimed at ignorant tourists.

Then, he looked for shops specializing in seal stones. Even if there were none, he needed to find shops selling more items of a similar type.

As a result, Lu Zheng moved quickly, yet still spent more than two hours browsing before he found a storefront that seemed relatively reliable.

When the middle-aged owner saw Lu Zheng enter, he glanced up once, ignored him completely, then lowered his head and continued reading.

Lu Zheng: "..."