A very fair price?
Yu Yan and the young man were both stunned, their jaws nearly hitting the floor!
There really was a fool willing to pay fifty thousand Small Coin for a single leaf. This kid truly could not tell treasure from trash!
The young man could barely close his mouth. Droplets of saliva dripped from the corner of his lips, and his heart was bursting with joy. Today, he had truly run into a fat sheep! He hurriedly said, "Young Master truly has Fiery Eyes of Truth, with a gaze like blazing torches. Admirable! To be honest, this leaf's true value definitely exceeds... one hundred thousand Small Coin. Once you resell it, Young Master, you'll make a pure profit of tens of thousands of Small Coin. Amazing, truly admirable! Young Master, shall I wrap it up for you?"
Ning Xiaochuan said, "No rush. First tell me where you picked this leaf, and I'll immediately give you fifty thousand Small Coin."
This leaf was naturally not worth fifty thousand Small Coin, but neither was it an ordinary leaf.
It was a leaf from the Blood Toad Wood! Blood Toad Wood was a type of Profound Spirit Wood that could be used in medicine.
Though it was not as valuable as Gold Thread Purple Wood, it was still extraordinarily expensive.
One tael of Blood Toad Wood could roughly sell for one tael of Azure Gold.
In other words, Blood Toad Wood cost as much as Azure Gold.
Rumors often circulated throughout the Yulan Empire that some martial artist had found a branch of Blood Toad Wood and, after selling it, instantly become wealthy enough to dominate an entire region.
Blood Toad Wood was exceedingly rare and extremely difficult to identify. Even if many martial artists encountered it, they might brush past this Profound Spirit Wood without ever recognizing its value.
Only Heart Nourishers familiar with Mysterious Medicine and mystical woods could sense the extraordinary nature of Blood Toad Wood through their keen perception.
Ning Xiaochuan had seen illustrations of Blood Toad Wood and detailed records about it in the Marquis Mansion's Profound Spirit Wood Compendium. That was why he had recognized the Blood Toad Wood leaf on the street stall at a single glance.
Profound Spirit Wood did not refer to any particular kind of timber. Rather, it was a classification for all precious divine woods. They were rare treasures, things one could encounter only by chance and never seek by choice.
Profound Spirit Wood was more valuable than both Azure Gold and Profound Stone.
The Profound Spirit Wood Compendium recorded forty-seven kinds of Profound Spirit Wood. Among them, some were even more valuable than Gold Thread Purple Wood.
In the Profound Spirit Wood Compendium, Blood Toad Wood ranked among the lower-tier Profound Spirit Woods.
Of course, the forty-seven kinds of Profound Spirit Wood recorded in the Profound Spirit Wood Compendium were not all the Profound Spirit Woods in existence. Many more had yet to be recorded and awaited discovery by later generations.
With a Blood Toad Wood leaf right before him, Ning Xiaochuan was naturally extremely excited. If he could find a Blood Toad Wood Tree, he would truly become rich overnight. He might even be able to gather enough money to redeem Yu Ningsheng.
Yet Ning Xiaochuan's face remained perfectly calm. He had Yu Yan take out five hundred large Silver Coin and place them before the young man. "As long as the stall owner tells me where this leaf was picked, these five hundred large Silver Coin will be yours."
The five hundred large Silver Coin lay on the ground, their gleam dazzling. Even the nearby stall owners turned to look, greed filling their eyes as they continuously swallowed.
The young man swallowed too.
He had begun setting up street stalls here at the age of eight, cheating and swindling. Though he had occasionally succeeded, the most he had ever made was eight thousand Small Coin. That time, he had been so excited he could not sleep properly for days.
But this time, it was fifty thousand Small Coin!
"I... I... I'm not selling!" In the end, the young man still held himself back.
What a joke. Someone was actually willing to spend fifty thousand Small Coin on a leaf. That meant this leaf definitely had an extraordinary origin. Perhaps fifty thousand Small Coin was merely a drop in the ocean compared to its true value.
Sell it? Only an idiot would sell it.
Ning Xiaochuan was not surprised in the slightest. He smiled and said, "It's fine. Trade depends on mutual willingness. Since you don't wish to sell, then forget it."
Under the young man's fixed stare, Ning Xiaochuan put away the five hundred large Silver Coin and left the stall.
Seeing Ning Xiaochuan leave so readily without even trying to persuade him, the young man's heart suddenly lurched. Regret began gnawing at him. That was fifty thousand Small Coin! Yet in the end, he did not chase after Ning Xiaochuan. He rolled up his straw mat, clutched the leaf tightly in his palm, and hurried away from the street without stopping. He ran to Profound Leaf Abode to have its shopkeeper appraise the leaf's value.
Ning Xiaochuan brought Yu Yan into an elegant wine shop in Nanshan Village. They sat by a window on the second floor, preparing to eat lunch.
The wine shop had been built in an antique and refined style. It received martial artists from all corners of the land, many of whom were young talents hoping to make a name for themselves in the Imperial City.
The topic they discussed most heatedly was Heavenly Emperor Academy.
Heavenly Emperor Academy only recruited students once every five years, so countless geniuses yearned for it. Once one entered Heavenly Emperor Academy, it was like a carp leaping through the dragon gate. Becoming a mighty expert renowned throughout the world would be just around the corner.
They were all gifted talents carrying dreams in their hearts!
"Young Master, why did you want to spend fifty thousand Small Coin on a leaf? Why did that young man suddenly refuse to sell it? And why, when he refused, did you not try to keep him?" Yu Yan had wanted to ask these questions all along, but only now did she finally voice them.
She had never thought herself stupid. At the Jade Viewing Pavilion, she had learned music, chess, calligraphy, and painting very quickly, and her skill had far surpassed those Musician Courtesans.
But after being with Ning Xiaochuan, she often felt that her mind was no longer enough, as though she had grown a little foolish. She simply could not guess what this young master, who was not much older than herself, was thinking. Ning Xiaochuan had Yu Yan sit down. At first, she refused. How could a servant girl sit at the same table as her master? Yet under Ning Xiaochuan's command, she finally sat down timidly, not even daring to raise her head.
Ning Xiaochuan propped open the wine shop window lattice and glanced down at the street below. Smiling faintly, he said, "There will be an answer soon enough."
Below the wine shop.
The raggedly dressed young man hurried out of Profound Leaf Abode, looking frantic. He grabbed passersby and asked about Ning Xiaochuan's whereabouts.
Someone pointed him toward the wine shop, and he immediately raced over.
"Damn it! Since even the shopkeeper of Profound Leaf Abode said this leaf wasn't Mysterious Medicine, then it definitely wasn't Mysterious Medicine. What regret! If I'd known, I would've sold this leaf to that sucker. Now I don't even know whether he'll still buy it." The young man regretted it so bitterly, as though his wife had run off with another man. His intestines had practically turned green with remorse.
He rushed into the wine shop in a panic, searching everywhere for Ning Xiaochuan.
What he did not know was that the moment he rushed out of Profound Leaf Abode, its shopkeeper came out after him. With dark eyes, the shopkeeper watched his departing back and made a slight beckoning motion. A broad-shouldered, bear-backed martial artist walked over.
"Go follow him," the shopkeeper of Profound Leaf Abode whispered into the martial artist's ear before returning inside.
Naturally, Ning Xiaochuan, seated on the second floor, had seen everything. He merely shook his head and smiled. "There really are plenty of greedy people."
Yu Yan also looked out the window and asked curiously, "Young Master, who are you talking about?"
Ning Xiaochuan looked at the wine cup on the table, smiling without a word.
Thud, thud!
A string of hurried footsteps sounded. "Benefactor! Sir! I've finally found you!" The young man panted as he rushed upstairs and collapsed beside the table, gasping for breath.
Ning Xiaochuan had naturally seen him coming upstairs. He lifted his wine cup, took a light sip, and feigned surprise. "Stall owner, you were looking for me?"
The young man nodded vigorously. He took out the Blood Toad Wood leaf, carefully placed it on the table, and said with a solemn expression, "Can I sell this divine leaf to you now?"
Ning Xiaochuan smiled. "Then why didn't you sell it earlier?"
The young man said with great seriousness, "The timing was wrong earlier. For a transaction this big, naturally one must choose an auspicious day and hour. I specifically went to have Three-Fingered Lin at the village entrance tell my fortune. Right now is the auspicious day and hour. If we miss this window, we'll have to wait another year. Benefactor, buy it quickly! If you don't act now, you'll miss the auspicious day and hour."
The young man stared at Ning Xiaochuan anxiously, terrified that Ning Xiaochuan would suddenly come to his senses and decide not to buy it.
Ning Xiaochuan remained seated steadily. After a pause, he smiled. "Brother, what should I call you?"
The young man was anxious and spoke with utter certainty. "My name doesn't sound good, Benefactor, so don't ask. Let's settle the deal first, then talk about names, all right?"
Ning Xiaochuan said, "Then sit down and have a cup of wine. We can discuss the deal slowly."
The young man gritted his teeth and said, "Fine! For the sake of this auspicious day and hour, I'll sell it for only thirty thousand Small Coin, all right?"
Ning Xiaochuan glanced faintly at the Blood Toad Wood leaf on the table. "It isn't a matter of price."
The young man's heart ached terribly. He clenched his teeth and said, "Then ten thousand Small Coin!" Then he dropped to his knees, tears filling his eyes. "Benefactor! I swear to Heaven, this leaf is worth at least... one hundred thousand Small Coin. If not for my grandfather, who has been ill for a long time, I would never sell it to you so cheaply for ten thousand Small Coin. I truly need money urgently. I only want to get the money quickly to treat my old father!"
Earlier, when he had gone to have the shopkeeper of Profound Leaf Abode appraise it, the shopkeeper had told him that the leaf was worth at most eighty Small Coin.
If he could sell it for ten thousand Small Coin, he would have made a huge profit.
That was what the young man was thinking.
The young man's mouth was full of lies, and Ning Xiaochuan naturally did not believe a single word. "All right, then. I'll buy this leaf, but you must tell me where you picked it. If you can personally take me there, I'll buy this leaf at the original price. What do you say?"
The young man's eyes immediately lit up. "What was the original price?"
"Fifty thousand Small Coin!" Ning Xiaochuan held up five fingers.
The young man had thought that selling it for ten thousand Small Coin would already be a stroke of incredible luck. He had never expected this sucker to still be willing to spend fifty thousand Small Coin to buy it!
Damn it, a sucker. This was absolutely a sucker!