Invitation to Death

For some reason, even though Third Appraiser's smiling eyes swept over everyone, Chen Shaojun always felt that more of the man's attention was fixed on him.

What did that mean?

Did he want Chen Shaojun to step forward?

Chen Shaojun guessed as much, yet he remained where he was, unmoved.

A special treasure?

Help appraise it?

Did they not know that an appraiser's trade depended on the methods of the Divine Gaze Technique, the appraiser's own spiritual strength, and even the life-preserving ability to guard against a backlash of Killing Intent?

Third Appraiser Zhang Gao was an official appraiser of the Lin Clan Pawnshop. He had long cultivated the Divine Gaze Technique to minor mastery and also practiced martial arts. Though short and fat, he was still countless times stronger than a group of scrawny appraiser apprentices.

If even he found the treasure difficult to handle, how could ordinary appraiser apprentices possibly meddle in it?

Though this was all merely his speculation, so long as there was even the slightest risk, he would not be willing to take it.

He already possessed the Spirit-Seeking Treasure Mirror. He had no need for anyone else's recognition.

If he had not feared that others might discover his anomaly, he would not even have revealed the secret that his Divine Gaze Technique had reached the proficient level.

For now, he was still lying low.

Blending into the crowd was the most suitable course.

Another thing worth mentioning was that Chen Shaojun noticed that, aside from himself, there was one other person who had not shown much enthusiasm.

That person seemed to have been here the longest. Usually quiet and gloomy, he was easily overlooked. His name appeared to be Ayong. As for his surname, no one had asked, and he had never said.

"Then it'll be you. Come to my Water Cloud Retreat tomorrow."

Zhang Gao glanced over the group and picked the one who had displayed the greatest eagerness.

Water Cloud Retreat was Zhang Gao's personal appraisal room.

Its surroundings were naturally countless times better than the appraisal rooms within the pawnshop.

He had heard that it not only contained treasures that assisted with appraisals, but also a study and a resting room. It was exceptionally spacious.

"Yes, thank you, Third Master, for giving me this opportunity."

Zhang Ke, who had been selected, hurriedly answered in a loud voice, speaking excitedly.

Then he looked at the others with an arrogant expression.

Especially when he looked at Chen Shaojun, he could not help letting out a snort.

It was as though he wanted to say that Chen Shaojun was not the only one who could earn their master's favor...

Chen Shaojun looked utterly baffled, but said nothing.

He also noticed that Ayong had shaken his head, his gaze seeming to carry a trace of pity.

"Pity?

What does he know?"

Chen Shaojun frowned.

Second Master and Third Master both left.

The appraiser apprentices naturally dispersed afterward.

One after another, they stood before the ticket counter, waiting for assignments to be handed out.

What they would be appraising today was still the batch the shopkeeper had brought back from the yamen yesterday.

Among them was that Jade Ruyi, wreathed in yin energy, with ghostly shadows coiling around it.

Fortunately, there were indeed rather a lot of "raw materials" in this batch. The Jade Ruyi had been placed toward the back, so it had not yet been assigned to the appraiser apprentices.

"But even so, in at most another two or three days, that Jade Ruyi will fall into the hands of us appraiser apprentices."

Chen Shaojun estimated, feeling restless and uneasy.

He currently had no means of facing "ghostly entities" head-on.

Putting away the "raw material" issued to him, Chen Shaojun headed toward his appraisal room along with the other appraiser apprentices.

Outside Appraisal Room Number Seven.

Chen Shaojun saw Ayong.

Ayong's appraisal room was Number Ten, which happened to be not far from his own.

Seeing this, Chen Shaojun hurriedly called out to him. "Do you know something?"

"What?"

Ayong looked at him in confusion.

"About Third Master asking someone to help."

Chen Shaojun gave him a hint.

Ayong fell silent and glanced around. By then, the other appraiser apprentices had all entered their own appraisal rooms.

After thinking for a moment, however, he still pulled Chen Shaojun into his appraisal room.

Ayong's appraisal room was not much different from Chen Shaojun's Number Seven room, except that several black stones had been placed in various corners.

The stones had been arranged in a special pattern, giving off a somewhat mysterious air.

Chen Shaojun could not help looking at them a few more times.

"These stones are White-Cut Stones. They can absorb Killing Intent to a certain degree.

I found a Four-Square Formation for absorbing Killing Intent in an ancient book, so I deliberately set it up in my appraisal room.

Don't be fooled by how gray-black these stones are.

They were white at first.

They turned this way because they have absorbed Killing Intent over the years."

Ayong spoke with a faint hint of pride.

"So that was it."

Chen Shaojun suddenly understood.

It seemed that veteran menial apprentices like Ayong truly had their own set of methods.

Ayong did not say much more about the Four-Square Formation, clearly unwilling to reveal too much. Changing the subject, he soon returned to the matter Chen Shaojun had asked about earlier. With a cold laugh, he said, "I don't know what treasure Third Master wants us to help with. Perhaps it truly is a form of support.

But..."

After a slight pause, he continued, "But you should know that before you all came, I had already been here for over half a year.

At that time, there were even more appraiser apprentices than there are now—more than twenty in all. And every so often, new appraiser apprentices would be added.

But after half a year passed,

by the time you came, only three remained.

Some, like Zhang Wang, suffered accidents after appraising treasures and left after Killing Intent entered their bodies.

But in truth, many others were called away by Second Master, Third Master, and the rest to help... and then, there was no more news of them."

Ayong's tone was calm, but a ripple still surfaced in his numb eyes.

That period had undoubtedly been the time when he was most terrified.

"This..."

Chen Shaojun was stunned.

He had previously guessed that there was something strange about Third Master asking people for help, but he had never expected such a huge secret to be hidden behind it.

"What exactly are they trying to do?"

Chen Shaojun asked.

"What are they doing?

Of course, they're using us to test for mistakes.

They're all official appraisers, and the treasures they receive for appraisal are mostly extremely valuable.

Likewise, they are exceptionally dangerous.

Some treasures contain dangers that even they are not confident they can escape from unscathed.

So they ask appraiser apprentices to test the waters.

The Killing Intent within a treasure is, after all, water without a source. The more it is consumed, the less remains.

By relying on appraiser apprentices to make a move, even if the treasure cannot be appraised in one go, they can still reduce the Killing Intent and weaken the danger.

You should know that at the most frenzied point, as many as five appraiser apprentices died in a single day."

Ayong recounted.

"Then why did it stop afterward?"

Chen Shaojun asked doubtfully.

This was indeed the first time he had heard such information. Over the half year since he had arrived, he had never heard of anyone being called by Second Master or Third Master to help.

That was why those appraiser apprentices had been so eager.

Who would have known this was an invitation to death?