Ye Hui fell silent for a moment, his fingertips curling slightly.
"Shopkeeper, shall I go get it back?"
Yun Qing gently shook his head and flicked the abacus, the crisp clack of beads breaking the silence in the shop.
"No need."
Yun Qing's tone was mild. "The spiritual energy in that jade pendant is obvious. Now that they've taken it out of the shop, within a few days, it will draw the covetous attention of cultivators with keen divine souls."
"Whether it brings opportunity or disaster, they brought it upon themselves."
He had left it there for whoever fate brought along. Since they had taken it, it counted as their good fortune. Whether that fortune proved a blessing or a curse depended entirely on their own destinies.
Heartless Boss Qing maintained that this was none of his concern.
The gloomy puppy-snake maintained that if he went and snatched it back, surely that counted as his good fortune too.
Ye Hui looked at Yun Qing, a flicker of understanding passing through his eyes. Then he lowered his head and said no more.
As dusk spread over Blackwater Town's West Street and the setting sun washed the sign of "A Little Shop" in warm gold, Yun Qing reached up and closed the shop doors.
The wooden pivots turned with a soft creak, drawing the day's street-side business to a close.
Ye Hui silently tidied the disordered shelves, sorted the remaining herbs, and headed toward the Firewood Shed in the backyard without a word.
He never hoped for anything more. All he wanted was to lie low in peace and hold on to this hard-won place of refuge.
But just as he pushed open the Firewood Shed's weathered wooden door, Yun Qing's mild voice came from behind him:
"Go to the main room