Now that he had so money, Yan Junze was planning to have the Golden Body Statue altered at a goldsmith shop this weekend.
Into a handy weapon that could pose a threat to the strangenesses.
He had already asked Zhou Dali at school, and Dali, though occasionally annoying due to his personality, was nonetheless wide-connected and never muddled when it ca to helping friends.
Well, as long as it wasn’t Spirit Exploration.
Dali’s aunt’s cousin’s younger sister rented out a shop space to a goldsmith shop called "Zhou Erfu," which was fairly sizable and reputed to have skilled craftsn.
But the Golden Body Statue was a bit too large, making the alteration a bit troubleso and ti-consuming.
Trusting in Zhou Dali and "Zhou Erfu," the very next day after school, Yan Junze put the Golden Body Statue in his backpack and, together with Zhou Dali, dashed to the "Zhou Erfu" goldsmith shop.
Upon arriving, they entered a shop that indeed seed fairly large, where two female clerks in professional attire imdiately approached them with a warm welco.
After Zhou Dali explained their purpose, one of the clerks escorted them to a back door within the shop.
A sign reading "Workshop" hung on the door.
Upon entering, they were greeted with a slightly pungent sll, and although three craftsn were present, two were busy while the apparent master craftsman was idling nearby, smoking.
Zhou Dali nudged Yan Junze with his elbow and then approached the smoking man, greeting him, "Brother Gu, hello, we were referred here by Auntie Feng."
The smoking man nad Gu lifted his head, appearing sowhat listless.
Yan Junze noticed the man’s deep-set eyes and dark circles, suggesting he was in a very poor state of mind.
At this sight, Yan Junze couldn’t help doubting whether entrusting the Golden Body Statue to this man for relting was a good idea.
"Hmm, I’m Gu Bai," said the man as he extinguished his cigarette and stood up, "Sister Feng told about you. Let have a look at your item first."
Yan Junze, who had been on the verge of backing out, figured that since he was already there, it couldn’t hurt to let him take a look.
He pulled out the Golden Body Statue wrapped in newspaper from his backpack and handed it to Gu Bai.
After Gu Bai unwrapped the newspaper, Lin Yishan’s statue appeared, prompting a slight pause from him.
"Such a large piece, this must be about 80% gold content."
Yan Junze replied, "Regardless of its gold content, I just want to relt this statue."
"Into what?" asked Gu Bai.
Yan Junze had already made up his mind and without hesitation said, "If it doesn’t damage the essence, I’d like a club, about the length of half an arm, the kind one would use by the river to wash clothes."
He had considered making a knife, but that would be too conspicuous to carry around and problematic if classified as a controlled weapon. Plus, the statue already sowhat resembled a club, so transforming it into one would likely be the most ti- and effort-efficient option.
"A club?" Gu Bai looked skeptical for a mont.
He inspected the statue closely, comnting, "This was made with very ordinary craftsmanship; no special techniques are enclosed, nor does it seem to have any special structure. Hmm, but I’ll handle it with care."
Zhou Dali’s eyes widened, and he reached out to touch Yan Junze’s forehead, "You’re not feverish! Are you planning on opening a wet wash place by the river with this club?"
Yan Junze slapped his hand away and looked at Gu Bai, "So, is this... going to be troubleso?"
Gu Bai chuckled, "We don’t have a mold for a club; we’ll need to make one from scratch, which will take a bit of ti."
"No problem, just let know if there’s any cost involved; I can’t expect you to foot the bill for helping ," Yan Junze nodded.
Gu Bai handed back the Golden Body Statue, "Co back the day after tomorrow, it’s the weekend. Once I’ve prepared the mold for the club... the club, I’ll craft it for you right here on the spot. It’ll be quick."
"Thank you," Yan Junze wrapped the statue up again.
Zhou Dali went to the store, poured a few cups of tea, and handed one to Gu Bai. After all, asking for soone’s help and then leaving imdiately after striking a deal seed a bit rude.
Once they sat down, they began to chat casually with Gu Bai.
"Brother Gu, I notice you don’t seem very fit. You should really take care of yourself and exercise more." As soon as Zhou Dali spoke, he steered the conversation towards sothing he was particularly proud of.
While he spoke, he flexed his biceps, intending to show off. Indeed, they looked sturdy and strong.
But it seed as if Gu Bai didn’t see, simply lighting a cigarette for himself.
Knowing that Yan Junze and Zhou Dali were students, he didn’t hesitate to smoke in front of them and took a deep drag before saying, "It’s chronic sleep deprivation, nothing I can do about it."
"Oh, you have insomnia?" Yan Junze asked.
"No," Gu Bai shook his head, "I do want to sleep. I can even fall asleep at work during the day, but when night cos, ah... let’s not talk about it."
Zhou Dali was slightly surprised and asked, "Is it because you’ve encountered... strangenesses?"
Gu Bai looked at him, still shaking his head, "I don’t even know if it’s that. I’ve already called 4747, but there’s a long waiting list. The main thing is, even I’m not sure it’s that."
After finishing, he stood up: "It’s getting dark, you better head ho. Just rember to co and find over the weekend."
"Thank you."
Yan Junze and Zhou Dali got up to leave. Since Gu Bai didn’t want to elaborate, they naturally didn’t press the matter.
Zhou Dali didn’t mind, since he was timid. After hearing it might be a strangeness, he lost the desire to inquire further.
However, Yan Junze was more attentive. Looking at Gu Bai’s deanor, he feared that Gu Bai had been dealing with a strangeness for a while. Usually, these kinds of strangeness tasks are of a higher level, at least dium.
At the mont, Yan Junze’s standards were also rising. He could complete lower-level tasks, but the Different Dinsion Energy points he’d get were not substantial.
Moreover, these strangeness incidents were mostly dealt with by Exorcists directly. It was only in ergency situations involving his own relatives, or if not handled, that more people would be affected, that Yan Junze might take on a lower-level task. Read latest stories on empire
He would see over the weekend. If Gu Bai helped him with his favor, he had to repay it, even if it ant taking on a lower-level task.
After leaving the gold shop with Zhou Dali, they went their separate ways ho.
As he got off the bus, his mom’s call ca, asking how soon he would be ho.
"Just reached the entrance of the community."
Yan Junze said, hung up the phone, and as he was about to enter the community gate, noticed that Grandpa Zheng was eating dinner alone in the guardhouse.
Two dishes and a soup, one at and one vegetable, the pairing was not bad at all.
Grandpa Zheng poured himself a small glass of wine and was enjoying his al heartily, not noticing Yan Junze outside the duty room staring at him.
A mont later, Yan Junze opened the door to the duty room: "Grandpa Zheng, having dinner?"
"Eh, Ze, just getting back from school? Want to join your grandpa for a bit of dinner?" Grandpa Zheng offered with a smile.
"No thanks, about to have dinner at ho," Yan Junze said as he found a stool to sit on.
Seeing Yan Junze’s stance showed no intention to leave, Grandpa Zheng asked, "Is there sothing you want?"
"I wanted to ask you, when was our community’s underground garage renovated?" Yan Junze said.
A reminiscent look ca over Grandpa Zheng, "Oh, I can’t quite rember. It’s been over a decade! Why do you ask?"
Yan Junze leaned forward and asked, "Were there ever any scavengers or workers who lived in there before?"
Grandpa Zheng took a bite of his dish and pondered, "When it was still an underground warehouse, there was a scavenger, but I heard he died a long ti ago, that was when I first ca here."
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