“…”

In that instant, the smile on Chen Tingyan’s face froze, and he took a long time to react: “…What?”

Silence fell all around.

Everyone couldn’t believe their ears: What the hell! Isn’t this supposed to be a “hero saving the beauty” moment? How did the female cultivator suddenly become ungrateful?

Of course, the most important thing was…

Over ten thousand Profound Jade—could this female cultivator actually produce that amount?

Even Xing Wu, who hadn’t taken Jian Chou seriously before, couldn’t help but properly examine her: This… no matter how you look at it, she doesn’t seem like someone with money, right?

Only the short shopkeeper, whose heart had been hanging high all along, felt not surprise but a sense of relief when Jian Chou finally spoke.

Yes, the short shopkeeper’s heart settled down.

Jian Chou’s casual attitude when selecting magical artifacts and examining pills earlier couldn’t escape his experienced eyes.

One Xing Wu, one Chen Tingyan, both competing for this magical artifact.

Heaven knows, this female cultivator before him might just be the “pig” that eats tigers from behind the scenes!

“This young lady, your meaning is…”

The short shopkeeper suppressed the joy in his eyes, speaking with feigned formality.

Jian Chou paid no attention to Chen Tingyan’s expression, naturally even less to the complete stranger Xing Wu. She only smiled at the short shopkeeper: “Everything should follow the principle of first come, first served. Shopkeeper, you’re currently serving me, and I was the first to take a liking to this black sword and ask about its price today. I wonder, could we have a private word?”

The short shopkeeper’s heart immediately went “thump.”

“Have a private word”—these five words always carried deep meaning.

He couldn’t help but look upward, seemingly searching for a place.

But Xing Wu couldn’t stand it first, his face already as black as the bottom of a pot: “In broad daylight, with clear prices for buying and selling, do you have something shameful that requires a private word?!”

Jian Chou suspected this person had something wrong with his brain.

She had always been relatively gentle with people, following the principle of “I won’t offend others unless they offend me first.” Apart from the unexpectedly arrogant Gu Qingmei and those few from the Jianzhu Sect, she had never encountered such an unreasonable person.

“Something shameful? That’s not quite it.”

Jian Chou laughed, a mocking smile hanging at the corner of her lips. Her gaze fixed on Xing Wu was ice-cold, yet her voice remained gentle, like fine rain.

“I’m just afraid of scaring you.”

“…You!”

For a moment, he couldn’t think of what to say in rebuttal.

In Xing Wu’s view, Jian Chou’s words were simply too arrogant!

Seeing his expression change, Jian Chou remained unhurried, only turning back to look at the short shopkeeper: “Shopkeeper?”

“Oh, oh, have a private word, right?”

The short shopkeeper was still immersed in that phrase “scaring you,” and only when Jian Chou reminded him did he hurriedly wave his hand: “There are too many people here. Please, young lady, let’s talk upstairs.”

“Clang—”

The moment he waved his hand, countless black qi spread from the second floor, and then a wooden staircase spiraled down from above, landing precisely in front of Jian Chou’s feet.

Cultivators had all sorts of mysterious methods, and Jian Chou was already accustomed to them. Though somewhat impressed, she didn’t pay much attention.

She nodded to the shopkeeper and walked up the stairs first.

The short shopkeeper followed a step behind, turning back to bow to Chen Tingyan and Xing Wu: “This young lady has something to discuss. If you two gentlemen are still interested in this sword, why not wait a moment? You can also choose from other magical artifacts in our shop—you might not be disappointed. Gentlemen, I must excuse myself.”

Having said this, the shopkeeper followed Jian Chou up the stairs.

In the first floor of the Pin Character Tower, everyone immediately looked at each other in confusion: What kind of development was this?

“What’s going on?”

“What do they want to do by having a private word?”

“Do any of you know this female cultivator?”

“What’s her background?”

“Why do I feel like she might be some important person, or at least a second-generation ancestor from some powerful force?”

…

Everyone discussed among themselves, but no one could reach a conclusion.

“Hmph, mystifying nonsense!”

Xing Wu ground his teeth in hatred. Just as he was about to turn around to look for that black sword and examine it more carefully, he found himself staring at an empty wall.

He widened his eyes in shock.

Thinking back carefully, Xing Wu finally remembered: when Jian Chou went upstairs, she had casually taken the black sword with her!

“Damn it…”

What was supposed to be a smooth affair—who could have expected such complications?

Xing Wu was furious, and his gaze toward Chen Tingyan became unfriendly as well.

However, at this moment, both men and everyone around them tacitly chose not to leave, only remaining on the first floor, seemingly browsing the shop while actually waiting for the result of that “private word” upstairs.

It was simply too intriguing—what exactly could be called “afraid of scaring you”?

Second floor.

The Pin Character Tower was an exceptionally unique place in the entire Shanhai Market. Each floor here represented a different level. As the shopkeeper had said downstairs, the first floor only had items for cultivators at Golden Body Realm and below, but upstairs was different.

When Jian Chou and the short shopkeeper climbed the stairs, the staircase automatically flicked behind them and disappeared.

There weren’t many people on the entire second floor, mostly leaning against the railings, looking at Jian Chou with some curiosity.

An elderly man with gray hair stood at the corner, his spirit and energy still good despite his advanced age.

He should have known about the commotion below and examined Jian Chou with interest.

At that moment, Jian Chou happened to look over as well.

Their gazes met. The old man’s expression remained normal, but Jian Chou’s heart went cold!

A great cultivator!

His aura was terrifyingly powerful.

Without even fighting, she could immediately sense his strength. If this old man hadn’t harbored no ill will, she would have had difficulty even breathing.

“Elder Ni.”

The short shopkeeper, seeing this elder, hurriedly went forward to bow respectfully.

Jian Chou didn’t move, just watched from behind.

Elder Ni’s gaze lingered on Jian Chou for a moment. Apart from that soul pearl being really too small, he couldn’t detect any other oddities.

Puzzled in his heart, he acted as if nothing had happened and said to the short shopkeeper: “I’m fine. Just mind your business.”

“Then I won’t disturb Elder Ni.”

The short shopkeeper bowed again before leading Jian Chou toward the other end.

The second floor had many rooms, so it seemed somewhat cramped. Some doors were tightly closed, some were ajar, and others were wide open with empty interiors.

Both inside and outside the rooms, many treasure cabinets were placed, containing numerous “rare goods.”

At a glance, Jian Chou could sense that whether magical artifacts or pills, they were absolutely superior to those downstairs by a large margin.

However, her current interest wasn’t in these things.

“Creak.”

The short shopkeeper opened a door in front of them, invited Jian Chou inside, and closed the door behind them.

“No one is here, and there are formations in place. No one can overhear. Young lady, if you have something to say, you can speak directly.”

Jian Chou didn’t immediately discuss business but asked curiously: “Who is that person outside?”

The short shopkeeper, upon hearing this, became suspicious, but thinking about it, felt it was normal: “No wonder you don’t recognize him. Although Elder Ni is also a Great Judge who has served beside King Song for many years, he’s always been elusive. If not for the matter of that axe this time, he probably wouldn’t still be in Wangsi City.”

If seeing that old man earlier had made her heart go cold, now she was truly chilled to the bone.

Jian Chou never expected that the short shopkeeper’s casual words would have such earth-shattering implications!

Another Great Judge!

Previously, the Reception Bureau already had Great Judge Cui Jue from King Qin Guang’s side, who had used the Ghost Axe to trace her location in reverse—fortunately, she had avoided it. Now she learned of another Great Judge, Elder Ni from King Song’s side, also here for the axe.

The situation…

Was probably more serious than she had thought.

In just this moment of realization, Jian Chou began to doubt whether she could successfully retrieve the Ghost Axe: with such wolves circling and dangers everywhere, she might even lose her life.

Fortunately, the other party hadn’t noticed her abnormality.

The Underworld had eight Yama Kings, with King Qin Guang first and King Song third.

For an axe to attract so much attention was quite remarkable.

Jian Chou smiled bitterly inwardly but was smart enough not to show it on her face.

She didn’t probe deeper, only saying: “I heard earlier that your esteemed tower also purchases items?”

So she actually came up to sell something?

The short shopkeeper suddenly felt speechless. After all this, you don’t have money?

He almost wanted to turn around and leave, but in that instant, Jian Chou’s words to Xing Wu—”afraid of scaring you”—flashed through his mind, followed by thoughts of that black sword’s price.

Selling things wasn’t like buying things with high prices. What would she need to bring out to be worth ten thousand Profound Jade?

At least items of the standard found on the second floor, or even higher!

Good heavens…

She might really be a major benefactor.

The short shopkeeper’s mind raced with countless thoughts. Without hesitation, he put on a smiling face: “We certainly purchase items. Pin Character Tower buys everything at fair prices based on quality, guaranteed not to shortchange you. However, the more precious the item, the harder it is to price, and relatively speaking, it might sell for astronomical prices. Cough, may I ask what you have?”

“I have quite a lot of things, but I don’t know—do you purchase refining materials?”

Jian Chou hesitated for a moment before asking first.

“Materials?”

The short shopkeeper immediately showed a disappointed expression.

“Wind-Swallowing Stones in recent years have been getting worse each year, and other rare materials are extremely difficult to obtain, but we do purchase them.”

As he spoke, the short shopkeeper took out a small lacquered tray from his sleeve. It looked quite worn, about a foot long and wide, and placed it on the carved square table in the room.

“Please place your items on the lacquered tray, young lady.”

This was like the antique trade on remote islands—items were placed on the table before another person could handle them, otherwise it would be unclear whose fault it was if something broke.

Jian Chou understood this, but looking at the foot-long lacquered tray, she found herself in a difficult position.

“Place it on this lacquered tray?”

“Yes, don’t worry. Though this tray looks worn, it’s our shop’s treasure, and all transactions must go through this tray.”

The shopkeeper was somewhat proud, thinking Jian Chou found the tray too shabby, so he explained.

But that wasn’t Jian Chou’s concern.

She glanced at the lacquered tray, and hearing the shopkeeper say it was a treasure of the shop with all transactions going through it, she no longer asked for a different tray.

She reminded him: “Then I’ll place them now.”

“Please.”

The short shopkeeper was getting somewhat expectant—what items could be worth ten thousand Profound Jade?

His eyes gleamed as he sat by the table, staring intently at Jian Chou.

Jian Chou’s items were all in her Qiankun Bag, and after Immortal Wuzhong’s reminder, she had hidden the bag in her sleeve.

The Qiankun Bag bore Yashan’s mark and couldn’t be seen by the short shopkeeper, so Jian Chou raised her hand, directly opening the bag with her mind. After a brief selection, she dumped everything out at once.

“Rumble—”

A tremendous sound, as if the entire building might collapse.

The short shopkeeper sitting by the table was startled. Looking carefully, he discovered a terrifying black tide before him!

It was like a small mountain falling from Jian Chou’s wide sleeves!

Before he could even cry out, the flood-like “scraps” had already rolled forward and completely engulfed him!

Crash, crash…

Countless items fell from Jian Chou’s sleeves like a waterfall.

The worn lacquered tray was long buried underneath and out of sight, and even the short shopkeeper himself had disappeared!

All that could be seen was a pile of broken copper, rusted iron, waste stone, and crumbling jade…

A pointed little mountain appeared on the ground.

Even Jian Chou was startled by the sight: “Are there… really this many?”

Usually, she only knew that Xiao Diao collected scraps, throwing them into her storage bag after collecting them, never organizing them. It seemed like after collecting, that was the end of it.

She only thought it grabbed a hammer here and a stick there, never realizing how much it had collected.

But…

When piled up, Jian Chou was thoroughly embarrassed: she had… really underestimated Xiao Diao…

Then, Jian Chou had to face a serious problem—

Where did the shopkeeper go?

“Shopkeeper? Shopkeeper?”

Jian Chou looked around but couldn’t see anyone.

She couldn’t help but frown. Taking a step forward, she immediately heard a pitiful scream: “Ouch!!!”

“Shopkeeper!”

Jian Chou was startled and quickly stepped back, only to discover she had stepped on a white hand sticking out from the “little mountain”—who else could it be but the shopkeeper?

“Crash!”

The little mountain, nearly as tall as a person, scattered as countless scraps rolled away.

The short shopkeeper’s head, seeing stars, emerged from the pile of scraps. His white, chubby face was now bruised and purple, with strange objects still hanging from his head, face, and ears.

He glared at Jian Chou with red eyes, furious: “This is too much! Why didn’t you give me a warning?!”

“…”

But I didn’t expect there to be so many either.

Jian Chou couldn’t defend herself, only managing a bitter smile and apologizing: “I was inconsiderate…”

“Inconsiderate? This is just being inconsiderate? Look at me, you—look…”

The short shopkeeper raised his hand, about to point at his nose to make Jian Chou see what he looked like.

But just as he raised his hand to point at himself, he saw a “rag” hanging from his wrist.

He froze.

The short shopkeeper’s gaze instantly went blank.

He stared at this rag—blackened and stained with unknown substances, but the tiny sparkling points on it couldn’t escape his eyes!

Thump, thump, thump…

He could hear his suddenly accelerated heartbeat, not daring to move his hand even slightly.

“Snow Lotus Silk, it’s actually the legendary Snow Lotus Silk! My King of Hell!!!”

Jian Chou had been about to help him up, but before she could extend her hand, his sudden shout startled her considerably.

Before Jian Chou could react, a series of uncontrollable exclamations burst from the short shopkeeper’s mouth—

A rotten bead fell from his head.

“King of Hell! It’s a Cinnamon Pearl!”

A broken jade piece fell from his mouth.

“Gold, Gold Ink Kun Jade…”

A broken branch was stuck in his clothes.

“Three-Stock Wood Branch! My King of Hell!!!”

…

The short shopkeeper had completely entered a state of total madness.

His eyes glowed as he accurately identified each “scrap” around him, each one leaving him amazed.

Can you imagine the feeling of being buried by mountains of gold and silver?

Left hand grabs a handful—silver! Right hand grabs a handful—gold!

All precious things!

“Am I dreaming…”

The short shopkeeper could hardly believe it.

Jian Chou stood to the side, watching the shopkeeper crawl around and examine the pile of scraps. She was somewhat intimidated and didn’t know whether to remind him or not.

Seeing the shopkeeper seemingly overstimulated and becoming somewhat dazed, she finally coughed and spoke somewhat embarrassedly: “Shopkeeper…”

The short shopkeeper turned around blankly.

Jian Chou extended her finger, pointing at what was beneath him—

Throughout the black little mountain, those most numerous black parts, which formed the bulk of the entire mountain.

“Besides the others, please look at… these?”

These…

?

The short shopkeeper was happily treasure-hunting on the mountain when Jian Chou’s sudden words caught him off guard.

However, Jian Chou’s gesture was very clear.

So the short shopkeeper followed her pointing and looked down. All he saw was black, the same as what he’d seen before—nothing remarkable.

Uh…

Wait.

What exactly were those honeycomb-like small holes…

“…”

His mouth, which had been closed, finally opened uncontrollably at this moment, slowly growing wider, wider, and wider, to an extreme degree!

Holy shit!

These were all Wind-Swallowing Stones blessed by the King of Hell!

And their quality was definitely no inferior to that sword!

A moment of silence.

Complete quiet.

The short shopkeeper maintained his wide-open mouth, looking at Jian Chou as if she were a ghost—no, as if she were a deity.

This look was truly indescribable for Jian Chou.

Then, without hesitation, the short shopkeeper suddenly twisted his head and tore open his broken gong voice, screaming toward the outside like a slaughtered pig: “Come—someone—here!!!”

“Boom!”

The moment the short shopkeeper’s voice hit the ground, the two tightly closed doors were blown open by a gust of wind!

Jian Chou saw countless black shadows rushing from all directions on the second floor, all pouring into the room at this moment.

The originally cramped room was suddenly filled with people—or rather, ghost cultivators!

Shoulder to shoulder, heads everywhere.

“Shopkeeper?”

“What happened?”

“Who do we need to deal with? Just say the word!”

“Who? Who’s trying to steal things?!”

…

This group of ghost cultivators was truly bizarre, but they all seemed confused about the situation, only thinking that the shopkeeper’s pig-like screaming meant something had happened.

Poor Jian Chou looked around and could no longer find the short shopkeeper, but countless ghost cultivators were staring at her, this stranger, looking ready to attack.

The short shopkeeper, buried in the crowd, was livid: “Idiots! Idiots! A bunch of idiots! I didn’t ask you to catch anyone. Quickly take all these things for appraisal. I want to know their grades now, immediately, right away!!!”

“Huh?”

Countless people were dumbfounded. Only then did they belatedly look down and discover they were stepping on countless items…

At that moment, a new round of terrified screams nearly lifted the entire roof;

At that moment, the short shopkeeper was mercilessly trampled underfoot by his subordinates;

At that moment, Jian Chou’s mouth twitched uncontrollably: next time, she must definitely figure out how much Xiao Diao had collected before trying to sell its scraps…

…

The entire second floor was in chaos.

Downstairs, however, not a sound could be heard—calm and peaceful.

Time slowly passed, and in the blink of an eye, it was nearly noon.

Some people, tired of waiting, had left, while others remained, and new customers had entered, selecting items…

Xing Wu hadn’t left, and neither had Chen Tingyan.

One was determined to get the black sword, the other had some obsession with Jian Chou.

Jian Chou had taken the black sword and gone upstairs with the short shopkeeper, but hadn’t come down quickly. This could only prove that she had indeed provided something very surprising or very troublesome.

Otherwise, why would it take so long?

No matter which possibility, it wasn’t good news for Xing Wu;

Even for Chen Tingyan, it wasn’t ideal: a weak woman in trouble was naturally easier to handle than a strong young lady with backing.

He never expected that the Jian Chou he saw today would be so wonderfully different from the past.

Whether looking at her demeanor and actions or her bearing and temperament, she was undoubtedly the same Jian Chou from before, yet in some extremely difficult-to-describe “essence,” there was a subtle difference.

This difference could be glimpsed from her response to Xing Wu.

What exactly had this Miss Jian Chou from the Xie Marquis Manor experienced during the time he didn’t know about, to become what she was now?

Once curiosity arose, it could no longer be suppressed.

Chen Tingyan habitually began nibbling his fan again—once, twice, three times—

“They’re coming down!”

Someone downstairs suddenly exclaimed.

So Chen Tingyan’s fan was only nibbled three times.

He shivered and looked up.

Indeed, a wide wooden staircase quickly extended down from the mist above, and two figures appeared one after another.

The one walking slightly behind was the Jian Chou they had been thinking about, still holding that simply-styled black sword in her hand;

Walking diagonally ahead was the short shopkeeper of the Pin Character Tower, the one who had “had a private word” with Jian Chou.

Jian Chou walked steadily, and though her expression was somewhat strange, everyone found it difficult to guess and only felt she was fine.

But when they clearly saw the short shopkeeper’s current condition, their hearts and livers couldn’t help but convulse.

The short shopkeeper, who had previously appeared shrewd and worldly, now had a dreamy, ethereal expression on his face. He stepped on the stairs, swaying and unsteady, his steps floating.

He didn’t look like he was walking down at all, but rather floating down!

Everyone was dumbfounded.

This…

Such a drastic change in one person…

What kind of inhumane torture must he have endured!