Lin Fang looked himself up and down and, finding nothing amiss, could only shake his head and mutter that these fellows truly lacked grit and were hardly qualified for a grand heist.
The largest pawnshop in Baoxiang Kingdom was located on the main road to the west of the city. Every day, many financially troubled people would enter to pawn items from their hos for so money. The shrewd owner was adept at buying low and selling high. In just a few years, he had amassed a great fortune and had beco a prominent figure in the kingdom.
Today, the owner was in an exceptionally good mood. He was looking at a Purple Gold Alms Bowl with a joyous expression, almost pressing his face against it.
He repeatedly marveled, "This is genuinely Purple Gold, even a bowl this size would cost a considerable amount of money, not to ntion the Scriptures on it are even more valuable."
"Boss, is this alms bowl really that precious?" A nearby shop assistant asked, puzzled, as he had not seen such a look on his experienced boss for a long ti.
"What do you know? This bowl is clearly consecrated by a high monk and has been nurtured by Buddhist Scriptures for many years. If we sell it to those who worship Buddha, no price would be too high for them," the boss said proudly.
"No idea which wastrel gave such a treasure to that rascal, Wang Er."
Suddenly, they heard footsteps outside. The boss quickly waved his hand, "Go out and see, we have custors."
The assistant hurried out and imdiately saw Lin Fang and another person, brightening at the sight. As an experienced dealer, he could easily discern whether a person was wealthy or not.
Little Fox, naïve and lacking a concept of wealth, couldn’t tell anything; Lin Fang, however, was different. His soul from Another World made him unimpressed with many things in the Mortal World, especially given the abundance of resources and the developed internet of his era.
He naturally carried an air of nonchalance, which, to the assistant, was a sign of wealth—no poor person could exhibit such confident bearing.
"Sir, what brings you here?" the assistant asked with a smile brimming on his face.
"I heard your boss acquired a Buddhist Treasure today. My elderly mother is a devout Buddhist and her birthday is approaching. I wish to buy it as a gift for her," Lin Fang responded.
Upon hearing this, the assistant knew a major buyer had arrived and quickly replied, "Please wait a mont, sir. I will fetch the boss."
While intently examining the alms bowl, the boss heard soone wanted to buy the Buddhist Treasure and murmured in wonder, "Such tily information. I just acquired this treasure and already there’s a buyer at the door, when has Baoxiang Kingdom had such a distinguished young master."
Knowing the temperants of so elites, he dared not delay. He hastily went out and imdiately saw Lin Fang, who was curiously examining the surroundings. He thought to himself that this was no common man and must be either rich or noble.
His face, full of fat, was plastered with a smile as he said, "I don’t know which young master honors us with his presence. We are honored by your visit."
While smiling towards Lin Fang to apologize, he instructed the assistant, "Fetch so tea for this young master."
"No need for formalities; my surna is Lin. You can forgo the tea, boss. I suppose you already know my intentions," Lin Fang said, hands clasped behind his back, slightly haughtily.
His deanor was exactly that of a noble’s son who confidently stirs trouble everywhere, leaving Little Fox staring wide-eyed, never having expected Big Brother Lin to possess such skills.
"Unexpectedly, Young Master Lin is so well-inford. It hasn’t been long since I got my hands on it," the boss said, smiling, while secretly reviewing every prestigious Lin family in the kingdom, yet unable to recognize from which Lin Fang might co.
"You don’t need to know about my sources; knowing too much is not a good thing," Lin Fang said.
"Right, right, the young master is correct. May I ask how much you plan to offer?" the boss asked eagerly, his words filled with respect, knowing well that he could not afford to offend such an affluent client who might wreck his shop in a fit of anger.
"Rest assured, I won’t bully anyone on account of my position. After all, my family runs a strict house. Na your price and if it’s right, I’ll buy it. It’s all in the spirit of filial piety," he said.
Upon hearing this, a fleeting look of delight flashed across the shopkeeper’s face. He carefully watched Lin Fang’s expression as he cautiously nad a price.
"Hmm, that low? That is rather surprising."
Lin Fang’s words startled the shopkeeper. The price he had just stated was by no ans low, and yet, to his astonishnt, Young Master Lin still found it insufficient.
During his contemplation, he saw Lin Fang instruct Little Fox to place a piece of gold down. It was brilliantly lustrous, clearly pure Red Gold.
"Shopkeeper, do you think this is enough?" Lin Fang asked with a smile, pointing to the gold.
A look of ecstasy appeared on the shopkeeper’s face, his eyes nearly glued to the gold, as he nodded continuously, "This is indeed pure Red Gold, it’s more than enough, more than enough."
"That’s great. Can you hand over the Buddhist Treasure now?"
The shopkeeper hurriedly had his assistant bring out the Alms Bowl. Little Fox went forward to retrieve it but reeled back, trembling; he could feel a mysterious power emanating from it.
"Useless creature, you can’t even handle this simple task. This Buddhist Treasure is ant as a congratulatory gift for my ancestor. If anything goes wrong, I will take your life," Lin Fang said with an authoritative air, frightening the shopkeeper into silence.
Lin Fang took the Alms Bowl and quietly used his Mana to seal it, then smiled contentedly, "Indeed, it’s a Buddhist Treasure. With this, let’s see what they can compare with at the birthday celebration." With that, he walked slowly out of the Pawnshop with Little Fox.
Wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, the troubled Pawnshop owner muttered, "Such a formidable presence this Young Master Lin has; one wonders from whence he cos."
Watching Lin Fang’s departing figure, the Pawnshop owner pondered his origins but ultimately could only shake his head, turning back into his shop, anxious to further examine the sizable piece of Red Gold.
That night, a gang of robbers stealthily broke into the Pawnshop owner’s house.
The normally greedy shopkeeper looked terrified as he beheld his courtyard strewn with bodies, the pervasive blood stains completely sapping his courage, leaving him cowering on the ground and incessantly pleading.
The robbers, familiar with the house, quickly found his hidden stash of gold and silver, swooping in to empty years of his savings. Only then did he realize in horror that one of the robbers was his own assistant.
"You ungrateful wretch! I took care of you, and you conspire against ," the Pawnshop owner roared in fury at the betrayal, disregarding the blood-stained ground as he pointed at the assistant’s nose and cursed.
"Enough with your pretense! You took in only because I worked hard and never wanted to pay a penny. Do you think I needed to plot so ticulously if it wasn’t to discover where you hid your treasure? All day long, beaten and scolded by you, waiting on your family’s needs, do you think it’s easy for ?" the assistant retorted disdainfully.
Only then did the Pawnshop owner realize that it had all been a plot, and he had led the wolf into his house.
"I’ll fight you!" In a frenzy of rage and embarrassnt, the Pawnshop owner lunged, clawing at the assistant’s face, but a sharp blade pierced his body. Blood imdiately spilled onto the ground as a one-eyed man impatiently pulled out the knife and said, "Old Third, don’t make unnecessary complications. Let’s go before the authorities arrive."
Lin Fang had no idea that his actions had spurred the assistant to act prematurely, leading to the Pawnshop owner being killed that night. When the robbers returned to their hideout to tally their loot, they could not find the piece of Red Gold. Instead, they only added a peculiar stone to their stash, a stone the Pawnshop owner had been very cautious to hide deep within his chest.
anwhile, he had already arrived at a secluded corner of the city, closely examining the Alms Bowl in his hands.
Reviews
All reviews (0)