Treasure Fair

The Treasure Fair was located west of Shengjing City, on a street called Three-River Street.

It had been named for the great river beside it, where three waters converged.

Three-River Street looked ordinary, but it was a famous black-market district within Shengjing City.

Because it was occupied by gangs, it was usually sparsely populated; even the nearby residents rarely passed through.

Yet every few days, when the black market opened, martial artists hidden throughout Shengjing City, Daoist and Buddhist Rogue Cultivators, even demonic Outer Dao practitioners and wanted criminals... people from every walk of life gathered there.

However, the Treasure Fair was a grand event jointly organized by the authorities and several major merchant associations.

Thus, the black market had temporarily shut down and yielded everything to the Treasure Fair.

In a sense, the Treasure Fair could also be considered an enormous black market. All kinds of transactions were hidden within it, and they were not prohibited; anyone could enter.

Therefore, to many people, the Treasure Fair was also a grand occasion.

Naturally, this was even more so for the various merchant associations, especially those in pawnbroking, antiques, jade, and similar trades.

The Lin Family Pawnshop had long since made preparations for this grand event.

Not only had it taken out many precious items sealed away in its treasury, it had also gathered and purchased numerous treasures from all over, hoping to make a fortune at this Treasure Fair.

With the Treasure Fair approaching, the Lin Clan Pawnshop had rare occasion to close its doors and suspend business for a day.

Yet the many apprentices in the pawnshop were not given a holiday. Led by the shopkeeper and working with the guards specially dispatched by the Lin Family, they hauled all the treasures prepared by the pawnshop to Three-River Street.

There, the Lin Family Pawnshop also had a temporary shop.

However, it dealt in the buying and selling of pawned goods.

As for Chen Shaojun and the other appraiser apprentices, they would not remain in the shop. Instead, they had been summoned by the authorities and the major merchant associations to appraise treasures for others at the center of the Treasure Fair.

It could be said that if anyone was uneasy about an item being traded at the Treasure Fair, they could go to the center and ask an appraiser to inspect it.

Chen Shaojun and the others would still be doing an appraiser's work, except they would no longer be serving the Lin Clan Pawnshop.

That afternoon.

A middle-aged man who looked like a steward arrived with two constables.

"Steward Qian, you've come."

Seeing him, the shopkeeper hurriedly went forward, his face full of ingratiating smiles.

"Shopkeeper Liu, are all the official appraisers and appraiser apprentices from your pawnshop here?"

"They are, they are.

There are three official appraisers and twenty-six appraiser apprentices in all.

This is our Chief Appraiser Qin. These two are Second Appraiser Dai Ming and Third Appraiser Zhang Gao. You should have met them before.

The rest are the appraiser apprentices from our Lin Family Pawnshop.

Two of them are quite capable. Their appraisal methods and Divine Gaze Technique have both reached the proficient level.

Especially this Ayong. He is not far from becoming an official appraiser."

The shopkeeper hurriedly nodded. After introducing the several official appraisers, he pointed at Ayong beside them and spoke.

Ayong had ended his closed-door cultivation to break through on the day after the Third Appraiser returned.

Although he had failed to reach minor mastery in the Divine Gaze Technique and become an official appraiser as he had wished, he had displayed spiritual strength and Divine Gaze Technique far beyond those of ordinary apprentices. Thus, the shopkeeper thought highly of him, believing that he had every chance of becoming the pawnshop's fourth official appraiser.

"Oh?

He does seem somewhat steady.

If he can hold out until the Treasure Fair ends, he may indeed become an official appraiser."

Steward Qian swept Ayong with a glance, though his tone remained very flat.

In his view, let alone an appraiser apprentice, even official appraisers would have to wait until they had survived the Treasure Fair before anything could be said.

Over the years, quite a few official appraisers had died from Baleful Intent at the Treasure Fair.

Some of them had even been renowned masters.

Chen Shaojun was also standing to one side. However, having used the Spirit-Hiding Technique, his spirit and blood vitality were concealed, making him inconspicuous.

Yet he was rather curious about this Steward Qian.

A martial artist of the Qi Sea Realm.

Even though he had not used the Spirit Eye Technique, Chen Shaojun's sensitivity as a martial artist allowed him to faintly sense the vigorous vitality and terrifying power within Steward Qian.

It was a power far greater than his own.

Thus, he guessed that the man was definitely an expert who had reached the second realm of martial arts, the Qi Sea Realm.

Even a mere steward is a martial artist of the Qi Sea Realm. I wonder what level of strength Mo Zhu-Xiang, President Mo, who is hosting this Treasure Fair, possesses?

Chen Shaojun had heard that although the authorities had a hand in the Treasure Fair, the one truly in charge was Mo Zhu-Xiang, president of the Mo East Merchant Association, ranked third among Shengjing City's eight great merchant associations.

Merchant associations that could establish themselves on such a scale in Shengjing City often concealed terrifying forces behind them. Their presidents could never rely on intelligence alone; they also needed formidable martial strength.

This was especially true of Mo Zhu-Xiang, president of the third-ranked Mo East Merchant Association.

It was said that Mo Zhu-Xiang had already made a name for himself in the martial world thirty years ago, earning the honored title of Ghost-God Swordmaster.

Ghost-God Swordmaster Mo Zhu-Xiang.

Thirty years had passed since then. Though that title was rarely mentioned now, no one would deny the strength of his power.

"Alright. Since all the appraisers from your pawnshop are here, come with me.

I'll arrange for you to enter the venue and go to the Appraisal Hall at the center of the Treasure Fair to inspect treasures."

Steward Qian did not exchange further pleasantries with the shopkeeper. He nodded and called out to them.

Thus, the many appraiser apprentices from the pawnshop followed behind Steward Qian.

The three official appraisers from the pawnshop were not talkative people, nor were they familiar with Steward Qian, so no one spoke along the way.

Like the other appraiser apprentices, Chen Shaojun surveyed everything around him.

Three-River Street actually had shops only along one side. On the other side was a huge open space, beyond which lay the surging Three-River Great River.

At that moment, shop after shop was moving in, while countless goods were being transported back and forth.

Though most of them were treasures such as jade, jewelry, old goods, and antique curios, there were also herbal medicine shops, rice shops, general stores, and even taverns and restaurants temporarily opening for business.

Another thing worth mentioning was that along the way, Chen Shaojun saw opera singers and wandering performers setting up small stages in open spaces.

"The Treasure Fair hasn't even started yet, and there are already so many people. It's so lively.

When it officially begins tomorrow, what kind of sight will that be?"

Zhao Hu stood beside Chen Shaojun and spoke with a face full of emotion.

Beside them, the other appraiser apprentices were also dazzled.

These appraiser apprentices spent almost all their time inside the pawnshop and rarely had opportunities to go out. Such bustle held immense appeal for them.

"A sea of people, I suppose?"

Chen Shaojun could not help but sigh as well.

When he traveled in his previous life, he had seen plenty of scenes of people packed shoulder to shoulder. But this ancient-style gathering, with its acrobatics and street performances, its stalls shaping sugar figurines, selling paper effigies, and performing magic tricks... truly opened his eyes.