"All of them?" Liao Dunqi asked, frowning.
"Yes, all of them. There must be something strange behind this. I wouldn't dare deceive you. This is one of them." As he spoke, the Rare Treasures Pavilion expert turned his palm over, and a piece of pale golden ore appeared in his hand.
Liao Dunqi took the ore and examined it, discovering that it had indeed lost its spiritual nature. The essence contained within it had drained away.
He stood there pondering for a while longer, but could not think of where the problem lay.
These ores were all rare ores and unusual stones carefully selected by the Rare Treasures Pavilion. That was beyond question. Yet now their essence had drained away and their spiritual nature had vanished, which was truly puzzling.
At the very least, this had happened within the Rare Treasures Pavilion, and no one had even noticed.
"Understood," Liao Dunqi said at last.
"Then should I send someone to investigate?"
"Set this matter aside for now. Our most important task is to deal with the repercussions of the Saint Thief incident. Hurry and settle the matter of the various sects' treasures. Pay compensation wherever it is due, at the highest permitted rate. Make absolutely certain they are satisfied," Liao Dunqi said.
"Yes, Master Shopkeeper. I will see it done properly."
After his subordinate left, Liao Dunqi shook his head helplessly. However strange this matter was, he had no mind to attend to it now.
"It seems some sort of treasure must be capable of devouring the spiritual nature of these ores," Liao Dunqi speculated.
Although that was his guess, it would probably be impossible to get to the bottom of this. After all, so many people had entered the Rare Treasures Pavilion at the time, and he did not