novelTwelve magic beasts
| ← Ch.142 | Ch.144 → |
Twelve magic beasts.
Ten thousand miles away from Qing city is a four sided town.
SiFang town is famous for squarish things and sculptures. It's a very strange town. But the evaluation stones from there are very famous because the best sculptors in Long Xiao continent are from there. Many famous sculptors come from SiFang town.
Ling Xiao and You XiaoMo's second destination for this trip is SiFang town.
In order to shake off the people tailing them, Ling Xiao just hugged You XiaoMo and brought them both into his dimension when they came out of Qing city.
His dimension is not like You XiaoMo's dimension. You XiaoMo's dimension cannot be moved. Of course, this is also related to the fact that he doesn't have complete control over it yet. Also, Ling Xiao's dimension was formed from a spatial rift. Dimensions formed from spatial rifts can be moved by intention. However, the distance it can be moved depends on the level of the person.
So, usually it would take half a day to get from Qing city to SiFang town by horse carriage. Even the winged bird would take an hour. However, going through Ling Xiao's dimension, it doesn't even take a few seconds. By the time they walk out of the dimension, they are already outside SiFang town.
SiFang town is really like its name. One can even make out the square shape of the town from outside.
You XiaoMo raises his head and looks at the main gate of the small town. It's a square. The length, width and height is basically the same. Even the inscribed board on top is square. Very unique and eye-catching.
But You XiaoMo is very unwilling because he was forced by Ling Xiao to come here. Ling Xiao simply didn't forget his intention to let him buy an evaluation stone.
Before, when they were in Qing city, You XiaoMo saw that Ling Xiao didn't bring up the matter about buying an evaluation stone so he thought he had forgotten about it, so he also didn't bring it up. Turns out not only did Ling Xiao not forget about it, he even planned it out beforehand.
At one side, Ling Xiao sees that his mouth is forming such an exaggerated pout that one would soon be able to hang several pounds of pork on it. So he just hugs him by the waist and walks into SiFang town while beaming, "Little brother. I know you are now very anxious. But it doesn't matter. Very soon you will know what the color of your soul is."
You XiaoMo almost spits out blood. So he still thinks that he is unhappy because he is anxious about evaluating his innate talent? He is sure that this fellow is doing it on purpose!
"Elder brother, why must we come to SiFang town? Why didn't we just buy it in town just now?"
You XiaoMo changes the subject. He doesn't want to continue with what they were just talking about because he would definitely get angered to death.
"Inconvenient ah."
Ling Xiao beams as he speaks.
"Why was it inconvenient?"
You XiaoMo asks. He has no idea that they were trailed by a lot of people the moment they left Qing city.
There is nothing to hide about to this matter. While Ling Xiao tells him about it, he also uses the opportunity to give some general knowledge. Things like the treachery of men, disputes between forces. He explains his analysis on the whole situation in the Southern region of Long Xiao continent clearly to You XiaoMo, not shying away from shady matters.
Ling Xiao is not afraid that You XiaoMo would learn to become bad. In his eyes, it would be even better if he becomes bad. He is still worried that he is not bad enough and would get deceived instead. So, this matter, he has to make it clear.
By the time he finishes speaking, You XiaoMo is already wiping away many handfuls of cold sweat wordlessly. The way of the world in this world is really very complicated. Looks like he has to continuously increase his strength, and also the strength of Xiao Piqiu.
But after listening to Ling Xiao, he can't deny that Ling Xiao was right to have doubts.
They should be a little more careful with everything. If by any chance someone finds out that his soul is not the same as before, it would definitely bring them a lot of trouble.
Walking into SiFang town, the buildings on both sides of the street are also squarish. But they are very simple and crude. No matter if it is the clothes of the people or their houses, they can't be compared to the luxury of Qing city. However, it gives You XiaoMo a comfortable feeling.
SiFang town is not big. It only has one street. Walking from the start to the end of the street is already the whole SiFang town.
Because SiFang town is famous for sculptures, both sides of the street are lined with shops selling sculptures. There are stone sculptures, wood sculptures, and also jade sculptures.......
You XiaoMo simply choses one of the small shops. Just as he walks in, a small black head suddenly pops out from behind the counter. It's a seven to eight year old boy. Seeing that there is a customer, the small boy's eyes light up instantly. His cute face is filled with happiness as he quickly runs out from behind the counter, rubbing his palms on his clothes.
"Brother, what kind of sculpture do you want to buy? My shop has everything oh. Look at these. They are all carved by my mom. My mom's workmanship is very awesome. Do you want to buy one? One is not expensive oh. One gold coin is enough."
The little boy's words seems to a product of constant rehearsal. A long string of words and he actually didn't stop to take a breath. His face is still bright red, as if he is really happy. But his tone is still clearly a little cautious.
You XiaoMo glances at the simple and crude shop and the clothes on the little boy. The clothes have turned white from washing and even show signs of repeated patching in a few areas. Immediately, he understands. Their shop probably doesn't have much business usually. No wonder the little boy was so happy to see them come in.
But looking at the sculptures displayed on the cabinets, the small boy is not lying. Each sculpture, no matter what it is made of, is very exquisite. One can tell that the sculptor is very attentive and exacting.
You XiaoMo suddenly feels a little moved. Maybe he can buy back a few to put in his room or in the dimension. He can also give them to Xiao Piqiu as toys in order to stop him from playing with things that cannot be played with.
Thinking like this, You XiaoMo simply walks over to choose something.
The first cabinet is displaying jade carvings. There are many grades of jade. There is white sand jade, purple ice jade, blue jadeite and so on. The multitude of colors is extremely beautiful. One can even feel the faint flow of spiritual energy inside upon touching.
Such a beautiful piece of jade carving with spiritual energy is really just one gold coin each?
You XiaoMo feels that this price is clearly too low. Such a fine piece of jade carving. After deducting the cost of materials, the profit would probably be so little that it would be negligible.
While thinking like this, You XiaoMo's line of sight suddenly comes across the jade carvings on the topmost shelf. Twelve jade carvings altogether. He suddenly feels more and more excited with each look. He feels that he must be seeing things. That is clearly the twelve zodiac animals. Also, each animal is different in color, making them look especially beautiful.
Ling Xiao realizes that he is excited so he follows his line of sight, landing on the twelve animals. Ice cold jade yet they are carved to appear so lifelike, as if they are on the verge of coming to life.
The little boy was secretly monitoring You XiaoMo. Seeing that he seems to have taken a fancy to the twelve magic beasts that his mother put on top of the cabinet, his fingers start to twist tightly. After thinking it over with gritted teeth, he raises his head. His eyes seem to show that he has made some kind of decision. He looks tentatively at You XiaoMo.
"Brother, if you like these carvings, I can sell it to you cheap. Each one is not too expensive. I can sell it to you for three gold coins each. Really not expensive. How about it?"
The little boy seems to be worried that this price would scare them off, emphasizing that it is not expensive twice. Actually, it is really not expensive because one can tell from just one look that these carvings cannot be compared to the others. The jade used for these twelve carvings is probably the best jade in their shop.
"Bring them down for me to take a look."
You XiaoMo says quickly. Three gold coins each is really too cheap.
Hearing these words, the little boy immediately shows a happy face. He quickly takes out a chair from behind the counter. Because he is too short, he must stand on the chair in order to reach it. Even then, he is barely tall enough.
Only then does You XiaoMo come to his senses. Worried that he would fall down, he quickly walks over, saying, "Little brother. Come down. I'll take them down myself."
The little boy is stunned then immediately shakes his head, "No, this is part of my job. Brother is a customer. How can I trouble you? I can do it!"
He is afraid that this brother would refuse to buy because he didn't serve him properly.
You XiaoMo doesn't know what he is thinking so he ponders over his words.
Right at this moment, a hand suddenly stretches out from behind them. While they remain stunned, that hand already took down the twelve jade carvings.
You XiaoMo and the little boy turn around in unison to see Ling Xiao take the last jade carving. He narrows his eyes as he looks at it, completely ignoring their stunned expressions.
"These jade sculptures were carved by your mom?"
Ling Xiao asks suddenly as he glances at the little boy.
The little boy is stunned for moment before realizing that he was talking to him. He quickly shakes his head, "No. My mom said that they were passed down from our grandfather."
"Carved pretty well."
Ling Xiao praises.
You XiaoMo walks up to him and looks at the twelve animals on the table. His mouth twitches. Fine ba. He is really seeing things. These are simply not the twelve zodiac animals. At a glance they look similar but actually, they are twelve magic beasts. They only look a little similar, that's all. Some of them look ferocious but they are not the least bit hard to look at.
The little boy hears his praise and two rosy spots of excitement immediately bloom on his cheeks, "Brother has decided to buy it?"
"Of course I'll buy. I'll buy all twelve of them. But......."
You XiaoMo still feels like they seem to be one set so he simply buys all of them.
The little boy hears the words he wants to hear but then he hears the last word. Immediately he panics, still thinking that he is complaining that it is too expensive. Gritting his teeth, he decides to lower the price again by a little when he hears him speaking as if to himself.
"Three gold coins each is not too cheap? Little brat. Are you purposely giving me this low price? Let me tell you. I, You XiaoMo is not someone that likes to take advantage of people. So sell them to me at the original price ba. One look and it's obvious that these jade carvings are good quality goods."
These words are really too fake!
Looking at his awe-inspiring upright manner, appearing to say I'm a good person, Ling Xiao suddenly remembers the manager of the Seven Star hotel that he swindled before. At that time, a certain person's actions seems to be from a whole different person than how he is acting now.
Ling Xiao remembers that You XiaoMo uttered something before, seems to be ——- only an idiot wouldn't take advantage when given the chance.
The little boy clearly didn't expect him to say these words, standing stunned on the spot right until You XiaoMo waves his hand in front of his face a few times. Only then, does he abruptly come back to his senses, blushing bright red and stuttering, "Brother....... do you really mean it?"
"Of course!"
You XiaoMo nods firmly. He can guess that his little boy must be having a difficult time. That's why he reduced the price for him. Most probably it has something to do with his mom, since his mom actually let this small child take care of the shop. Most probably, something must have happened so they are in need of money.
In the end, the boy blurts out a price.
Because it has been passed down from previous generations, the jade used is not ordinary jade. But the little boy's family also doesn't seem to know what kind of jade so they can only price it at thirty gold coins each.
Hearing this price, You XiaoMo is silent for quite a while. Looks like this little boy is crazy short of money so he dropped the price from thirty pieces straight down to three.
But even if it is three gold coins, for their family, it can also be considered a significant sum.
You XiaoMo straightaway gives the little boy three hundred and sixty gold coins.
To him, this few hundred gold coins is still not enough for him to buy a few magic herb seeds. But to the little boy, these gold coins are enough for their whole family to last quite a while. Even if they don't open shop, they wouldn't starve to death.
After the little boy takes the gold coins, his eyes get red with excitement. He abruptly turns around and runs to the back of the shop. You XiaoMo is not fast enough to stop him. He still hasn't bought the evaluation stone ne.
Right at that moment, several calls can be heard coming from the direction the little boy ran towards, followed by spates of coughing. Just as You XiaoMo guessed, the little boy's mother is sick.
After a while, the little boy supports a beautiful young woman and walks out from the rear courtyard. The woman's face is deathly pale without any sign of color, but her former beauty can still be seen. Most probably she has been tormented terribly by her serious illness leaving her looking like all skin and bones.
| ← Ch. 142 | Ch. 144 → |