Treasure Forest

Chapter 16: Treasure Forest

After a brief meeting, Yue Wen accepted the commission.

The man's name was Guo Yang. He worked as a technician at a factory in the suburbs. His wife had passed away early, leaving him and his son to depend on each other. Their lives were already a struggle, and then misfortune struck again. Not long after he lost an arm in an accident, his son also went missing.

This was why he looked so haggard.

He had arranged to meet the unscrupulous boss at seven in the evening. Yue Wen agreed to go ahead of time to help him out. If the child hadn't been kidnapped by the boss, he would help Guo Yang deal with the threats from the underworld and recover the compensation money normally.

If the child had indeed been kidnapped by the black-hearted boss, then he would have to rescue him no matter what.

After arranging the evening meeting, Yue Wen asked Zhao Xing'er to watch the agency while he rode his electric scooter out.

There were only three Immortal Item Shops in City Seven. Yue Wen chose the largest and most reputable one, named "Treasure Forest."

He rode his electric scooter to the city center. There were so many traffic lights along the way that Yue Wen felt living in the suburbs wasn't so bad after all.

Among the row of high-rise buildings by the river stood a three-story building with a pointed roof, looking magnificent from afar. From the moment he stepped into the park outside the building, he could feel the ripples of a formation. People outside could only see the scenery of the park, but not the customers walking inside. The park had more than ten exits, maximizing the privacy of customers entering and exiting.

Yue Wen chose this place not only because of its size but also because Treasure Forest was a large chain store that best protected customer privacy.

He himself had nothing to hide, but the item he was here to appraise today was obtained through murder and theft. He didn't want to be too conspicuous, lest it attract retaliation.

The identity of the black-clothed man he had killed the night before was still being confirmed. However, if he was indeed a Flame Ghost Hall evil cultivator as Qi Dian had suggested, then he really needed to be careful.

Flame Ghost Hall was a relatively active evil cultivator sect in Tianbei Province, specializing in dark arts such as corpse control, puppet refining, and soul manipulation.

Although the Supervision Bureau had been cracking down severely, the cultivation techniques of Flame Ghost Hall could allow cultivators to erupt with top-tier combat power at the same level in the early stages—even if this came at the cost of their future prospects, many people with mediocre talent and a desire for quick success were willing to join.

Upon entering the first-floor lobby, the front desk learned that Yue Wen's request was for appraisal. They immediately gave him a mask and a number tag, instructing him to wait outside the designated room.

Yue Wen went up to the second floor. After waiting for about half an hour, his number finally appeared on the display screen outside the door.

"Hello." He walked into the room wearing a silver mask.

The room was simply furnished, with only a table covered in red silk. Behind the table sat a young man with small eyes and glasses.

"Hello, customer. I am Appraiser 116, Ting Bo." Seeing Yue Wen enter, he introduced himself.

"I'd like you to take a look at this item, Master."

Yue Wen cut to the chase and took out the half black-gold skull. After all, every second spent in this room cost money, and it wasn't cheap.

"Oh?" Ting Bo, wearing white gloves, took the half black-gold skull and examined it intently for a while before slowly saying, "This is... half a black skull."

"Master, I know it's a skull," Yue Wen said speechlessly. "And I know it's half of one."

I even know your father's name and your surname.

Good grief.

I'm paying for this service. At least tell me something I don't know.

"Heh heh, my apologies. I'll explain immediately." Ting Bo pushed the black-gold skull back in front of Yue Wen and explained, "From my observation, there are no refining array patterns on this skull, so it's not a Magic Artifact. However, the material is solid Blackwater Dragon-Patterned Gold, which is quite precious. It seems to be some kind of token."

"I see."

Yue Wen guessed that this item might be some kind of token within Flame Ghost Hall, which meant it wouldn't be of much use to him.

So he asked again, "Do you buy these items?"

"I'm sorry," Ting Bo waved his hand. "Judging by its form, this item might be related to an evil cultivator sect. We do not repurchase treasures with unclear origins."

Immortal Item Shops were very cautious about repurchasing items related to evil cultivators, and Yue Wen could understand their refusal.

He then lowered his voice and asked, "If I sell it outside, how much do you think it's worth?"

"If I were to estimate, this half skull, excluding its uncertain value as a token, is essentially a large piece of relatively pure Blackwater Dragon-Patterned Gold material. I'd recommend a buyback price of around 100,000 outside, or one thousand Talisman Coins," Ting Bo said rigorously.

Talisman Coins were a form of currency circulated among various Immortal Sects.

For many cultivators in the Immortal Sects, money no longer held much appeal. Each Immortal Item that could improve cultivation could be sold at exorbitant prices, leading to a very chaotic market.

Several major Immortal Sects joined forces and requested the Supervision Bureau to take the lead in promoting an unforgeable "Talisman Coin" specifically for cultivators to use as currency for trading Immortal Items. Talisman Coins could be exchanged for hard currencies like Talismans and Pills at major top-tier Immortal Sects, thus anchoring the value of the currency.

However, this type of Talisman Coin was relatively high-end and was generally only used in transactions involving more valuable Immortal Items.

Yue Wen had not encountered them before.

Hearing Ting Bo's explanation, Yue Wen had a general idea. He then asked, "Do you have 'Purple Jade Branch' for sale at Treasure Forest?"

The preparation materials for Chaos Dragon Gang required four types. Yue Wen certainly couldn't ask about all of them at once; that would be like revealing the recipe to the other party. Therefore, this time he only inquired about the first type, Purple Jade Branch.

He planned to obtain the other materials through different channels.

"Apologies, we do not have the highest grade of Pill Fire consumable, Purple Jade Branch, in stock at our City Seven branch. I can go to the main city store and inquire for you," Ting Bo replied immediately. "If we have it, I'll have it transferred for you."

"Okay, thank you for your trouble." Yue Wen nodded.

Ting Bo glanced at Yue Wen and then said, "This kind of consumable is generally used when refining Gang with a powerful fire. In fact, unless you are practicing the world's top-tier cultivation methods, there's no need to use such a high-grade material. We have the finest 'Immortal Welcoming Willow' and 'Sky Blue Wood' in stock, which should meet your needs. You might consider them."

"I'll consider it. If you have Purple Jade Branch in stock, please notify me first." Yue Wen got up.

He didn't doubt the necessity of the materials at all. Perhaps the appraiser thought that no one in the entire satellite city practiced top-tier cultivation methods.

But Yue Wen had the True Dragon Dao Method.

Back at the office, it was only a little past 4 PM.

Yue Wen asked Zhao Xing'er to watch the shop while he went back to his upstairs room to study the curse-breaking method. He was already regretting not hiring an assistant sooner.

As it neared 6 PM, the two of them set off together, preparing to head to the location Guo Yang had arranged to meet his boss.

"Want to ride my electric scooter?" Yue Wen asked before they left. "If you don't like it, you can always take a taxi yourself."

"I'll just ride on the back," Zhao Xing'er said with a gentle smile. "I rarely take taxis."

As dusk settled, a handsome young man rode a small white electric scooter, with a beautiful girl with long hair flowing in the wind riding pillion. The two weaved through traffic on the overpass, becoming a striking sight on the city streets.

A middle-aged man driving a luxury car passed by and, upon seeing them, gritted his teeth in anger and slammed his steering wheel.

However, he continued his phone call in a sweet tone, "My dear, I know today is your son's 60th birthday. I'm on my way and won't be late. Love you."

"Oh, my wife's side is no problem. After all, he's her biological father."

Meanwhile, inside a factory on the outskirts of the city.

The portly boss opened the door and welcomed in two burly men in black suits and sunglasses. He immediately greeted them with a smile, "Brothers, I'll have to trouble you again today."

"Mr. Chen is an old friend of the Tiger Head Gang. It's only right that we handle things for you," one of the men said coldly, revealing a row of gold teeth as he spoke.

"Is it about dealing with a cripple who wants compensation?" the other man asked, cracking his neck. "We do this kind of work all the time."

"Yes," Mr. Chen said with a smile. "But finish dealing with that cripple quickly. I'll need to trouble you with something else afterward... My son's new car was smashed today!"