A Word Worth a Thousand Gold? Taihua Daoist and Su Changyu are Shocked

Grand Hua Daoist was genuinely astonished.

Not to mention him, even Su Changyu was somewhat surprised.

Was this painting in his hand worth more than the entire foundation of the Qingyun Dao Sect?

Was that real or not?

"Ah? Do the two of you not know? This is Xuyang Xuan Paper—one foot costs one tael of gold. This scroll looks to be about eight feet in total, so it should cost at least eight taels of gold."

Ten Taels of Gold fell silent.

So these two had no idea what this thing was?

"Eight taels of gold?"

Hearing this, Grand Hua Daoist and Su Changyu's eyes went wide.

"But if there's a painting on it, that changes things. Blank Xuan Paper sells at that price, but once brush touches it, the value depends on the quality of the painting."

Shopkeeper Ten Taels of Gold continued.

At those words, Su Changyu's expression immediately turned grim.

"If there's a painting on it, how much would it be worth?"

Su Changyu asked urgently.

Grand Hua Daoist's face also darkened.

"That depends on the painting itself. Generally speaking, even if it's well done, if the artist has no reputation, it probably won't fetch a high price. The key is who painted it—you two should understand that, right?"

Ten Taels of Gold wasn't trying to fool them.

A painting—no matter how well executed—couldn't necessarily command a high price. The key was the painter. If the Grand Tutor of the court painted a picture of a chick pecking at rice, it could sell for ten thousand taels of gold. But if an unknown painter produced a masterpiece, it would still fetch next to nothing.

"This is a disaster."

Hearing this, Su Changyu felt completely doomed.

Because Ye Ping happened to be an unknown painter.

If only he hadn't let Ye Ping paint it.

"Esteemed Immortals, may I take a look?"

Still, out of professional integrity, Ten Taels of Gold wanted to see it. What if a hidden gem had slipped past these two, and he could make a killing?

"Fine."

Su Changyu had no hope left and simply handed the scroll over.

Grand Hua Daoist, however, began to ponder.

He knew who had given him this scroll, and he recalled that when Ye Ping had come up the mountain, he had indeed carried a large bundle. But he never imagined it was worth this much.

Just then, Ten Taels of Gold took the scroll, placed it on the table, and slowly unrolled it.

Soon, the scroll was fully spread, and Ten Taels of Gold let out a sharp gasp.

"Hiss! A painting by the Qinglian Hermit?"

That exclamation instantly caught the attention of both men.

"Qinglian Hermit? Who's that? Is he famous?"

Grand Hua Daoist asked instinctively.

Su Changyu, however, knew who the Qinglian Hermit was, but he said nothing, merely watching Ten Taels of Gold with curious eyes.

"Hiss! Esteemed Immortals, please wait a moment."

Ten Taels of Gold didn't answer. Instead, he immediately called for a servant to fetch the pawnshop's Appraiser.

Before long, the Old Man arrived again.

But this time, his attitude was noticeably colder than before.

Yet the moment the Old Man walked in, his gaze fell upon the painting.

With just one look, he could tell it was extraordinary. Anyone bold enough to use Xuyang Xuan Paper for a painting was either a complete amateur or a master of the highest order.

In an instant, the Old Man stepped up to the painting, and a look of shock spread across his face.

"This is a painting by the Qinglian Hermit?"

The Old Man scanned it carefully a few times, then turned to Ten Taels of Gold, visibly stunned.

"It should be. Both the brushwork and the seal match. But the ink doesn't seem fully dry yet—as if it was painted not long ago."

Ten Taels of Gold suppressed his excitement, speaking in as calm a tone as he could manage.

"To think it's a Qinglian Hermit painting, and freshly done at that. Has the Qinglian Hermit come to Baiguo City?"

The Old Man was also visibly thrilled, scrutinizing the scroll in minute detail. The more he looked, the more awestruck he became.

The Qinglian Hermit was hailed as the foremost talent of the Jin Kingdom, a master of music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. Countless women across the kingdom were infatuated with his poetry, and just as many scholars revered everything he produced.

Even the Emperor of the Jin Kingdom was extremely fond of Qinglian Hermit's calligraphy.

Unfortunately, Qinglian Hermit was indifferent to fame and fortune, refused to participate in the imperial examinations, and this year had vanished without a trace. No one knew what he was doing, but precisely because of this, he was even more revered by the literati.

What literati valued most was fame and profit. Which scholar didn't want to enter the literary world, one day become a Great Confucian, and cultivate a righteous spirit?

But Qinglian Hermit treated wealth and fame like dirt—how could he not be idolized?

Especially this year, with Qinglian Hermit skipping the imperial examinations, the Jin Kingdom's literati had elevated him to new heights. All his calligraphy and paintings were being hyped to astronomical prices.

That was why Ten Taels of Gold was so shocked when he saw this painting.

"I'm not sure. Qinglian Hermit has a free-spirited personality, loves traveling through mountains and rivers—he's a man of passion. Perhaps he really did come to Baiguo City, or maybe he just painted this on a whim and gave it to someone else. Hard to say."

Ten Taels of Gold couldn't be certain.

But just then, Su Changyu's voice rang out.

"How much can this painting sell for?"

The voice startled Ten Taels of Gold and the pawnshop's Appraiser back to their senses.

Immediately, their attitudes turned fervently enthusiastic, far warmer than before.

"Two Esteemed Immortals, Qinglian Hermit's paintings are priceless on the market—it's hard to settle on a fair price in a short time. May I ask what price the two Esteemed Immortals have in mind?"

Ten Taels of Gold spoke with an ingratiating smile.

His words were half true, half false. Qinglian Hermit's paintings were indeed priceless on the market, but estimating a price wasn't beyond him. However, he could tell that Grand Hua Daoist and Su Changyu weren't very knowledgeable, so he figured he'd ask them first—maybe he could snag a bargain.

Unfortunately, Grand Hua Daoist was also a shrewd man.

He directly raised five fingers and looked at Ten Taels of Gold. "I want this number."

Fifty taels of gold.

That's right.

Grand Hua Daoist wasn't stupid. Though he didn't know much about calligraphy and painting, he could tell from these two's reactions that the painting was probably worth quite a bit.

Considering the cost was already eight taels of gold, he gritted his teeth and offered fifty taels.

Hearing this, Ten Taels of Gold frowned slightly.

Five thousand taels of gold?

That price wasn't high—not at all.

But the problem was, he still couldn't be completely sure this painting was authentic. What if it was the work of a master forger?

If that were the case, it would be a huge loss.

If this really was by Qinglian Hermit, five thousand taels of gold was more than reasonable.

The upper echelons of the Jin Kingdom all chased after Qinglian Hermit's paintings. This wasn't even about silver anymore—for some people, this scroll was worth more than tens of thousands of taels of gold.

Thinking this over, Ten Taels of Gold took a deep breath and then looked at Grand Hua Daoist.

"Esteemed Immortal, could you wait an hour? I'll have someone verify its authenticity. If this painting is genuine, I can manage five thousand taels of gold. But if it's a forgery, I'll still offer five hundred taels of gold. How about that?"

Ten Taels of Gold said this.

But as soon as he spoke—

Grand Hua Daoist and Su Changyu were utterly stunned.

How much?

Five thousand taels of gold?

And five hundred for a fake?

This thing was worth that much?

Are you kidding me?

Are you messing with us?

The two were completely shocked.

Even more shocked than when they learned Ye Ping was a genius.

Ye Ping being a Sword Dao genius was one thing.

But painting something this valuable?

How was anyone supposed to live?

At that moment, the two were so stunned they forgot to breathe.

But after a long pause, Grand Hua Daoist took a deep breath, looked at Ten Taels of Gold, and said, "I meant fifty thousand taels of gold."

His face was dead serious.

And beside him, Su Changyu was completely dumbfounded.

Sect Leader, have some decency, will you?

Five thousand taels of gold is enough. Really, it's enough.

Please, don't be so greedy.

Yet, after naming this price, Ten Taels of Gold did not fly into a rage. Instead, he revealed a wry, helpless smile and said.

"Two Esteemed Immortals, fifty thousand taels of gold is impossible. Even if this is an authentic work, a single painting alone could not fetch such an astronomical price—unless it bears an inscribed poem by the Qinglian Hermit, and also contains no human figures. Under those conditions, fifty thousand taels of gold would not be entirely out of the question."

The Shopkeeper spoke.

Su Changyu and Grand Hua Daoist fell utterly silent.