bullyxtreme Chapter 301 Blood Jade
Chapter 301 Blood Jade
"You mean you want this piece of broken jade appraised?"
The middle-aged, slightly overweight jade merchant pushed up his small round glasses perched on his nose, a hint of surprise appearing on his face.
He looked the uninvited guest who had suddenly appeared in front of the jade stall up and down. Seeing that the other party was dressed in Sumeru clothing but spoke fluent Liyue language, he became even more suspicious.
"Since you are a resident of Sumeru City, if you need your jade and precious artifacts appraised, as far as I know, Mr. Khalid of Menakali Shop might be happy to assist you."
The jade merchant from Liyue pondered for a moment, then subtly steered the conversation toward his fellow Sumeru enthusiasts.
After all, he was a merchant from Liyue, and it was best not to cause any unnecessary trouble while traveling abroad in a foreign land.
The jade merchant subtly expressed his refusal, which was exactly what Mu Feng had expected.
Although the jade merchant in front of me was quite low-key, he could accurately and quickly give the origin and price of almost every piece of raw jade that was cut open.
This discerning insight and profound expertise in appraising treasures are qualities that most jade dealers lack.
Furthermore, given the other party's typical slightly plump physique and exquisite Liyue attire, the jade gambling stall owner in front of him might just be Stone, the renowned jade merchant in Liyue Harbor.
However, Stone is currently still in the early stages of his business, homeless, and does not yet possess the influence he has in the storyline.
Thinking of this, Mu Feng immediately had an idea, and a set of fictional histories automatically appeared in his mind.
Fellow countrymen, fellow countrymen, a shot in the back... uh, sorry, wrong, it should be "Fellow countrymen meeting, tears welling up in their eyes".
Mu Feng continued to push the stone box, wrapped in brocade, toward the merchant, and began to lie, half-truthfully.
"To be honest, I am originally from Liyue. I obtained this piece of jade by chance. Its patterns are similar to those of ancient Liyue."
"I was just impressed by the shop owner's jade appraisal skills, so I would like to ask you to appraise it. Whether it is a treasure or a piece of junk, it would fulfill a long-cherished wish of mine."
"Whether it succeeds or not, the appraisal fee will be paid together."
As expected, upon hearing this, the tense expression on Shi Tou's face immediately eased considerably, and his small eyes under his gold-rimmed glasses narrowed slightly, clearly enjoying Mu Feng's flattery.
In particular, when Mu Feng held up three fingers to indicate his bid, a glint of gold flashed in the merchant's eyes.
"Haha, you have a good eye, sir. To be honest, I have been immersing myself in the world of jade for at least ten years."
"Judging from your accent, you seem to be from Liyue. It is fate that we meet in a foreign land. So, I will make a fool of myself."
As he spoke, the jade merchant's smile widened, and he carefully took the box containing the jade.
This is a big deal! I can earn 30,000 Mora from just one appraisal. It seems the prayers I made to the Rock King statue before leaving home today were worth it.
Mu Feng's lips twitched slightly. Actually, I still prefer your unruly attitude from earlier. Please come back to normal.
However, when the stone slowly took out all the necessary tools for the appraisal, casually opened the stone box, and unveiled the brocade, the merchant's expression changed drastically.
"This...this, how is this possible...? No, wait a minute, where did you find this jade stone!"
Before Mu Feng could answer, Shi Tou picked up the tools at hand with a speed completely disproportionate to his bulky figure and began to carefully examine the broken jade stone inch by inch.
The texture, the grain... there's no mistake!
The jade merchant's expression changed rapidly, cold sweat dripped from his forehead, and even his eyes were bloodshot from intense concentration.
The stone's excited expression was clearly somewhat unexpected by Mu Feng. After all, compared to the other simulated rewards given by the system, this broken piece of jade was rather unremarkable.
A seemingly ordinary, broken antique, apart from its intricate patterns and ancient age, appears to have nothing particularly special about it.
Although he had considered that the items given by the system couldn't be entirely useless, it now seemed that they might have some extraordinary origins.
After a long while, the jade merchant, drenched in sweat, put down his appraisal tools, his plump hands trembling slightly.
Shi Tou plopped back into his chair, wiped the sweat from his brow, and downed the tea on the table in one gulp.
"Well, could it be that this jade is truly a piece of junk?"
Upon hearing this, the jade merchant's face immediately showed a complex expression of fear, confusion, and anger at the other's lack of competitiveness.
This piece of jade? Scrap? My Lord Rock King, how can these words together form a sentence?
Versailles, this must be in Versailles!
Shi Tou sighed deeply, carefully placed the jade back in the center of the brocade, considered his words carefully, and then slowly spoke.
"Sir, let me put it this way, your piece of jade... well, to call it priceless would be to underestimate its value."
He gazed at the jade with the tenderness one would show to a parent looking at their own child, his utter infatuation sending a chill down Mu Feng's spine, leaving him speechless.
Seemingly realizing his lapse in composure, Shi Tou coughed lightly and resumed his serious expression.
"Cough cough... Clear as ice, warm as water, judging from its texture, it is indeed the Clear Water Jade from Liyue Chenyu Valley."
"As for its patterns... according to ancient records, the patterns of flowers, birds, deer, snakes, fish, and dragons are all different."
"These carved patterns were created by the First Lord of Liyue, and were lost during the Demon God War."
"What is certain is that this ancient jade has a history of at least two thousand years, and it can be said to be priceless and unavailable."
"It's a pity it's just a fragment, but even so, its value is enough to be worth more than half of Lord Tianquan's Jade Pavilion."
In the end, the jade merchant could hardly hide his envy. Why didn't such a good thing happen to him?
Ultimately, to his knowledge, he had only seen two such ancient jade artifacts in the entire Liyue region, and even the entire Teyvat region.
The other piece was worn by the herb-gathering boy from Bubulu, which was truly a waste of resources.
There are rumors circulating that the child is a zombie, having slept for a thousand years. If that's the case, it makes sense.
But how did this guy manage to "accidentally" "find" such a "worthless" piece of jade?
Shi Tou was furious, lamenting how such a rare object ended up in the hands of ignorant people. He should have at least taken a look at it!
Seeing Mu Feng still looking thoughtful, Shi Tou felt speechless.
"Sir, let me kindly remind you of an old saying in Liyue: 'A common man is innocent, but possessing a treasure is a crime.'"
"With such a treasure in your possession, wealth is secondary. You should really think of a safer way out."
……