Xun Er Appraises Treasures

Xun Er Appraises Treasures

Hearing Ling Ying's report, the girl sitting quietly in the courtyard reading gave a soft laugh.

"The Magical Beast Mountain Range of the Jia Ma Empire is indeed a very suitable place for people at the Dou Zhe and Dou Shi levels to train. First they fight Magical Beasts, then they fight people. Many renowned powerhouses grew stronger step by step in just this way."

"Miss is absolutely right. The human heart is hard to fathom; Magical Beasts are more straightforward instead. Although Chen Xiao has a fairly steady temperament, compared with those who have gone through countless life-and-death battles, he is still far too inexperienced. It's quite good for him to grow slowly like this."

Ling Ying answered with a smile, then suddenly swayed and hid himself within the shadows.

"He is coming this way. He should be looking for Miss. This old servant will withdraw first."

Xun Er did not respond any further and simply continued flipping through the ancient text in her hands, as though she had not heard a thing.

However, the occasional glance from the corner of her eye toward the courtyard entrance proved that she was not truly so indifferent. She still possessed the temperament a girl of her age ought to have; she merely hid it rather well in daily life.

Time ticked by, second by second. Soon, the sound of rhythmic footsteps came in from outside the small courtyard.

Tap, tap~

Chen Xiao knocked on the courtyard gate, drawing the gaze of the girl who seemed immersed in a sea of books.

"Xun Er, may I come in?"

"Brother Chen Xiao? When did you get back?"

Xun Er, dressed in an Azure Dress, looked up in surprise, then personally rose and welcomed Chen Xiao inside.

That look of surprise was acted out rather convincingly.

Chen Xiao could not help laughing silently. He did not believe for a second that Ling Ying would fail to notice someone as big as him approaching.

However, seeing through it did not mean he had to expose it.

"I just got back. After giving my room a simple tidy-up, I came over. This time in the Magical Beast Mountain Range, I was lucky enough to find some medicinal herbs that looked decent. Unfortunately, I can't identify some of them. I remember you have a large collection of books, Xun Er, so I specially came to borrow a few related ones and broaden my knowledge."

In the past few years, Chen Xiao had been busy with bitter cultivation and rarely had time to read things like ancient texts. His living conditions had not been enough to support that either.

As a result, Chen Xiao's understanding of this world mostly came from the knowledge he had accumulated before the age of five, as well as the memories of his previous life.

This sort of situation would not cause any problems within the Xiao Family, but this trip to the Magical Beast Mountain Range had made Chen Xiao realize this weakness.

Just like the medicinal herbs in the stone chamber inside the cave: he could not name many of them, let alone know how to use them.

Therefore, reading more books was very necessary!

Only in this way could he avoid wasting precious treasures.

"So that's how it is. Brother Chen Xiao, wait a moment. I'll go inside and look."

Xun Er nodded in understanding, gave him a word, and jogged into the house.

Two or three minutes later, she finally walked out holding several ancient texts.

As for whether she had found them or taken them from her Storage Ring, no one knew.

"Brother Chen Xiao, these two books are both about medicinal herbs. After you finish reading and commit them to memory, as long as the herbs aren't too rare, you should be able to identify them. These two cover a much wider range, including many Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, and even some anecdotes and interesting stories. Xun Er likes them the most on normal days."

That was not a lie. In the past, Chen Xiao had often seen her holding these two ancient texts and reading them.

"Many thanks."

Chen Xiao nodded in thanks. Just as he reached out to take them, Xun Er pulled them behind her.

Meeting Chen Xiao's puzzled gaze, Xun Er smiled slyly and said, "This month has been terribly boring. Since Brother Chen Xiao gained quite a lot, if you don't mind, may Xun Er come along and satisfy her curiosity?"

Chen Xiao pondered for a moment, then nodded in agreement.

With Ling Ying the hidden old monster around, even if he refused now, Xun Er would have countless ways to find out if she wanted to know.

Moreover, as for the few things he had brought back, there was a need to hide them from others, but from Xun Er, there was no need at all.

After all, she would not think much of them...

"Of course. With Xun Er helping me appraise them, I'd be grateful before anything else."

They left the small courtyard side by side, winding around for several minutes before the two finally arrived at Chen Xiao's residence.

Pushing open the wooden door that clearly bore the marks of age, a small yet tidy room entered the girl's sight.

Xun Er looked around curiously. Her first impression was that the furnishings inside were far too neat. The tables, chairs, stools, the teacups on the table, even the bedding on the bed, were all perfectly arranged.

Only the bulging bundle in the corner looked somewhat out of place.

For some inexplicable reason, Xun Er suddenly felt an urge to move that bundle away...

Aside from that, the room was also extremely clean, completely unlike a place that had been unoccupied for a month.

"Is this bundle Brother Chen Xiao's harvest?"

"Yes. It's packed with too many miscellaneous things. Xun Er, wait a moment."

Xun Er nodded slightly, placed the ancient texts in her hands on the table, pulled out a chair, and sat down.

Looking at the four porcelain cups in the center of the table, she then reached out and arranged the four scrolls of ancient texts around the cups in the shape of a square.

After finishing these small movements, Xun Er could not help laughing silently.

On the other side.

Chen Xiao opened the bundle in the corner, took out a few sets of clothes and the black robe, and only then brought it over to the table.

He noticed the ornaments on the table and felt a little surprised, but he did not pay them much mind.

"This Magic Core came from an Azure Wood Wolf I hunted. First-rank. Nothing worth mentioning."

"These wooden boxes all contain medicinal ingredients."

Chen Xiao took the items from the bundle one by one, opened them, and arranged them neatly on the floor, quietly waiting for Xun Er to identify them.

A treasure appraiser delivered to his door—he would be a fool not to use her.

"These medicine bottles all contain medicinal powder, used for treating external injuries. I've used them a few times, and the effects are excellent, so I bought a larger batch in one go as backup."

"As for this Seven-Colored Poison Manual and 'Roar of the Mad Lion,' they came from a stroke of fortune. They could be considered the greatest harvest of this trip."

After taking out the last two scrolls, Chen Xiao said as much.

He kept the Fragment Map and Gold Coin Card on him at all times. As for the Purple Cloud Wings scroll, after he had learned it, it had become useless, so Chen Xiao had already destroyed it.

Looking at the wooden boxes that filled more than half the room, along with the scrolls on the table, Xun Er was somewhat surprised as well.

She had heard Ling Ying say that Chen Xiao's gains were quite good. She had thought he meant the effects of his training and the growth of his strength, never expecting there to truly be this many fine things.

Of course, to her, they did not count for much. But to Chen Xiao, who was only a Nine Star Dou Zhe, this was absolutely a sudden fortune.

In fact, if the three great clans of Wu Tan City saw these things, their eyes would turn red with envy.

"I won't look at the Seven-Colored Poison Manual or 'Roar of the Mad Lion.' Xun Er isn't very interested in them."

"Let's talk about these medicinal ingredients. This one is Purple Azure Leaf. Taking it directly doesn't have much effect, but some pills require it during refinement. Big Brother Chen Xiao can find a chance to sell it."

"This one is White Spirit Ginseng Fruit. It counts as a kind of natural healing medicine. Its effects aren't much different from things like Recovery Pill, but it should surpass these medicinal powders of Big Brother Chen Xiao's. You can carry a few with you as backup."

"This one is Snow Lotus Seed..."

"This one is..."

Without the slightest pause, Xun Er explained the various medicinal ingredients clearly and thoroughly. She casually stated their effects as well, and did not forget to give Chen Xiao suggestions on which ones were useful to keep and which ones could be sold.

Looking at this girl who was even younger than he was, she seemed to understand everything, as if there were nothing she did not know.

Being utterly outclassed was perfectly embodied at this moment.

"Eh, there's actually an Ice Spirit Flame Grass too. Looks like Big Brother Chen Xiao is fortunate. For someone with an Ice Attribute, this medicine can be called a great tonic. With its help, Big Brother Chen Xiao should be able to break through to Dou Shi very smoothly. More importantly, it can be consumed directly. Though the effect won't match refining it into a pill, it can still bring out eighty percent of its power!"

Hearing this, Chen Xiao, who had been slightly lost in thought, abruptly raised his head.

He only knew that this Ice Spirit Flame Grass was a necessary medicinal ingredient for refining the Blood Lotus Pill, but he had never imagined he could use it for cultivation.

Now, after Xun Er's reminder, he finally understood the true value of the Ice Spirit Flame Grass to himself.

But on second thought, that made sense. The items Xiao Yan and his teacher had prepared to assist in refining the Heavenly Flames all shared one common trait.

Cold!

For him, who had the Ice Attribute, was that not a perfect match?

"I didn't expect there to be an unexpected gain too. Thank you, Xun Er. Otherwise, even after I broke through to Dou Shi, I might not have known how to use it."

"Hehe, it was just a small effort. If Big Brother Chen Xiao wants to thank me, why not give me this Magic Core? It looks quite pretty."

Hearing this, Chen Xiao glanced at the Magic Core on the table.

It was not that he was reluctant to part with it. Quite the opposite—this little request was far too insignificant.

It was only a first-rank Magic Core. If not for the fact that it was the first Magic Core he had obtained and had some commemorative meaning, Chen Xiao would have disposed of it back in Green Mountain Town.

"If Xun Er likes it, just take it. Being able to invite an appraiser of your level with a single first-rank Magic Core means I've made a huge profit."

"Then thank you, Big Brother Chen Xiao. Xun Er's curiosity has already been satisfied, so I'll take my leave now."

After watching the girl drift away gracefully, Chen Xiao spent some time sorting the many medicinal ingredients into categories, only then looking toward the Ice Spirit Flame Grass.

Dou Shi...

He remembered that the Clan Leaders of the three great clans in Wu Tan City were only Da Dou Shi, right!