Chapter 32

"Whatever you want to buy, Qin Yi, just tell me directly." Sharp as a needle, Meng Zhuang immediately realized what Qin Yi wanted to do and spoke up at once.

"This... wouldn't be right. I just want to buy a few things myself." Qin Yi rubbed the back of his neck. He was staying at their place, eating their food, and now wanted to take their things too. Qin Yi was no future civil servant—he did not have that much nerve.

"Hehe, all right then. This way." Meng Zhuang saw Qin Yi was serious and did not fuss over such a trivial matter. He casually pointed in a direction.

The two wove through the crowds, stopping and starting until they arrived before an extravagantly decorated building. A flag bearing the character "Pawn" fluttered from the roof. Standing at the entrance, Qin Yi looked up and saw a plaque overhead bearing five large characters: "World's Number One Pawnshop." He could not help laughing. What a boastful name.

"This is Chang'an City's largest pawnshop. Most practitioners come here when they want to trade magical artifacts. I thought it would suit Practitioner Qin well," Meng Zhuang explained. Though he did not know what Qin Yi wanted to trade, it was probably some magical artifact or treasure. Bringing him here made both buying and selling convenient, saving them from running all over the place.

Qin Yi nodded vaguely and followed Meng Zhuang inside. It was somewhat different from what he had seen on television. The shop was not cramped at all; it was airy and brightly lit, like the lobby of a five-star hotel in the future. Small groups of people chatted in the seats throughout the hall, leaving Qin Yi slightly at a loss.

Are we checking in or ordering a meal?

A sharp-eyed staff member in green robes spotted Qin Yi and Meng Zhuang entering. His eyes lit up, and he stepped forward, bowed, and cupped his hands. "So it is Fourth Young Master Meng. Have you come today to..."

"I'm accompanying someone." Meng Zhuang pointed at Qin Yi. "My friend wishes to pawn some items. How do you conduct transactions here?" It was a rather tactful question. Countless people came to World's Number One Pawnshop; aside from buying things, they came to pawn things. There was little else to say. Yet Meng Zhuang had deliberately mentioned it, and the staff member immediately understood the implication.

His smile brightened at once. "Since he is a guest brought by Fourth Young Master Meng, he is naturally an honored guest. Please, this way."

He led the two through the hall and up to the second floor. Unlike the spacious, bright first-floor hall, the second floor was divided into small private rooms. They passed through a long corridor and entered one marked "208." After seating them, the man served tea before asking, "What would you two like to trade?"

At that question, Meng Zhuang immediately looked at Qin Yi. He had no idea what Qin Yi could produce. Still, even if Qin Yi had nothing, he would pay out of his own pocket to buy him something to take away.

As long as he could spend this money, the more he spent, the happier he would be.

"Well..." Qin Yi pursed his lips, closed his eyes, and contacted Andre.

"What is it?" Andre, who had been engrossed in reading The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber, raised an eyebrow at Qin Yi's summons.

"Do you have anything valuable that I can sell for money?" Qin Yi asked.

"What do you want?" Andre scratched his head, looking confused.

"I don't know either! But I don't have a single penny on me right now." Qin Yi spoke somewhat embarrassedly. "I can't keep spending Meng Zhuang's money!"

Andre had effectively settled into Qin Yi's soul by now. Unless Qin Yi deliberately blocked him, Andre knew everything Qin Yi experienced outside. He snorted. "You don't need to be polite about that. The more of his money you spend, the happier he'll be."

"Forget all that nonsense. Do you have anything or not?" Qin Yi could not be bothered with Andre's teasing. The pawnshop employee and Meng Zhuang were waiting outside; he could not take too long.

"There's a whole pile of gemstones over there from your last trade with Kate. Why not take out one at random and see?" Andre said, casually pointing at the heap of gemstones on the ground.

"All right!" Qin Yi's spiritual sense drifted over, and he picked out a fist-sized light-element gemstone from the pile.

Meng Zhuang and the pawnshop employee saw Qin Yi turn his palm upward, and a fist-sized stone appeared out of thin air in his hand. Their pupils contracted, but they wisely asked no questions. As if they had seen nothing, the employee asked, "Is this it?"

"Yes." Qin Yi nodded, secretly pleased by their expressions. He had done it on purpose. Having just arrived in this world, Qin Yi had not verified it himself, but from what he saw at the city gates and what Meng Zhuang had said along the way, he had drawn a rough conclusion. Andre's unreliable divine transmigration had undoubtedly sent him to some unknown plane again. This plane merely resembled ancient China, though it had many cultivators. Meng Zhuang treated him so well because he considered Qin Yi one of them—and clearly one with great potential. Under such circumstances, Qin Yi had to display his abilities from time to time without making it too obvious, or he might suffer for it.

Sure enough, after he showed that little trick, both Meng Zhuang and the pawnshop employee became far more respectful. Even their tones grew gentler.

"May this practitioner allow me to inspect the item?" the staff member asked, cupping his hands with exceptional courtesy.

"Of course." Qin Yi handed over the gemstone.

The man accepted it with both hands and examined it carefully, but he could not determine its quality. Still, the holy, comforting sensation emanating from the stone told him it was definitely no ordinary rock, leaving him uncertain.

"What is it? Is there a problem?" Qin Yi asked calmly. In truth, he was also feeling nervous. He had no idea whether this thing would sell here. But it contained energy, so it should not be too worthless, right?

"To be frank, my knowledge is limited, and I do not recognize this item. If Practitioner does not mind, may I invite one of the pawnshop's appraisers to take a look?" the staff member asked cautiously.

An appraiser was someone in a pawnshop who assessed all manner of goods. A pawnshop received countless items, naturally of every variety. Someone with expertise was needed to determine what an object was worth, both to avoid being deceived and to avoid underpricing customers' goods and earning a reputation for bullying clients with the shop's influence. Ordinary pawnshops had only one or two appraisers. Due to its scale, World's Number One Pawnshop had more than ten. Yet there was also the matter of discretion. Wealth should not be flaunted. Some customers did not want too many people handling their goods, lest trouble arise. Now that the employee had inspected the item for so long without figuring it out, he naturally wanted assistance. But he also had to consider Qin Yi's feelings. What if Qin Yi did not want too many people involved? After all, loose lips sank ships. If this really was some rare treasure... a man was innocent, but he became guilty by possessing jade.

Fortunately, Qin Yi did not think so deeply about it. He merely waved a hand and said magnanimously, "Whatever."

The pawnshop employee happily went out to find someone, while Meng Zhuang stared at the gemstone on the table, still giving off its holy aura, his eyes darkening slightly.

A short while later, an elderly man with a goatee and a black long robe strode in with measured steps. After entering, he first cupped his hands and bowed to Qin Yi and Meng Zhuang, introducing himself. "I am Fang Zhen, chief appraiser of World's Number One Pawnshop. Greetings, honored guests."

Qin Yi immediately stood and returned the bow. The man was so old that accepting such a salute would probably shorten his life. But Fang Zhen had no mind for pleasantries. He had served as an appraiser at World's Number One Pawnshop for two hundred years. During that time, countless goods had passed through the shop. He had even seen several rare treasures listed on the World's Rare Treasures Ranking. Yet today, his apprentice had told him that an unprecedented treasure had arrived, thoroughly piquing his curiosity.

He slowly approached the table holding the gemstone and bent over it for quite some time. Then he pulled out a pair of Heavenly Silkworm Silk gloves from his robe, put them on, and slowly lifted the gemstone from the table. Holding it before his eyes, he squinted at it for a long while. Feeling the holy aura and light power contained within, he too was at a loss—it was indeed a Spirit Stone he had never seen before.

Unwilling to give up, he pursed his lips and turned to Qin Yi and Meng Zhuang, who had begun to grow bored. "Forgive my presumption."

Then he closed his eyes and carefully fed his inner power into the gemstone. He felt a vast, holy energy envelop his spiritual power. In mere moments, his spiritual power actually showed signs of increasing, and the old man's eyes flew open in shock.

"Well? Have you figured it out?" Qin Yi asked impatiently when the old man opened his eyes. It had already been nearly an hour, and he was losing patience.

"I have a general understanding now. But what price does our guest have in mind?" The old man carefully set the gemstone down, turned to Qin Yi, and cupped his hands, his face solemn.

At those words, a strange glint flashed through Meng Zhuang's eyes. World's Number One Pawnshop had existed since the founding of the Qin Kingdom. There were even rumors that the pawnshop had been secretly established by the emperor himself. That alone spoke of its immense power. Though it conducted business fairly and did not bully customers due to its size, its word had always been final. It would appraise an item and quote a price; if you accepted, the deal was made, and if not, you could seek a better offer elsewhere. When had it ever asked a customer to name a price?

Qin Yi knew nothing of these intricacies. He replied readily, "You decide."

After all, he had plenty of these things. With Meng Zhuang beside him, they would not underpay him too badly, right?

But his answer made Fang Zhen even less willing to name a price. Though he did not know the gemstone's exact material, he could confirm that it could increase one's spiritual power. Because the Rainbow Continent was rich in spiritual energy, its people were divided into cultivators and ordinary people. Cultivators strengthened their Primordial Spirits through cultivation, eventually attaining the power to move mountains and overturn seas. Ordinary people lacked the aptitude for cultivation and could only strengthen themselves through training their bodies and spiritual power. The body was easy enough to train, but spiritual power could only be increased little by little through meditation. Yet now there was such a treasure, able to increase spiritual power without the slightest effort...

His hesitation made Qin Yi lose confidence.

Could this thing really be completely worthless? Lost in thought, he did not even hear what Fang Zhen was saying. When he finally came to his senses, he only heard Fang Zhen say, "Three hundred thousand Mid-grade Spirit Stones and three High-grade Spirit Stones. That is the highest price I can offer..."

"What?" Qin Yi asked blankly. Seeing the unconcealed shock on Meng Zhuang's face, he scratched his head in confusion.

"Honored guest, I can offer up to three million Mid-grade Spirit Stones and three High-grade Spirit Stones for your item. I truly cannot offer more than that." Fang Zhen sounded dejected. This really was his limit. Ordinary people did not possess large quantities of High-grade Spirit Stones like cultivators did. Such a price was already at the absolute peak.

"..." Qin Yi looked blankly at Fang Zhen, then glanced back at Meng Zhuang, who sat frozen in his chair, deep in thought. "What kind of snacks are those?"

He truly did not understand, but Fang Zhen took it as dissatisfaction with his offer. Gritting his teeth, he said, "Please wait a moment, honored guest. Any further increase exceeds this old man's authority. Allow me to report this to the proprietor."

With that, without waiting for Qin Yi's response, he hurried out of the room.

"Ahem. May I ask how many stones like that Practitioner Qin has?" Meng Zhuang leaned forward and asked softly.

Though he had not personally witnessed the gemstone's wonders, anything that made World's Number One Pawnshop so anxious could hardly be ordinary. The one closest to the water got the moon first; if there was a chance, he naturally had to seize it.