Chapter 212: Taiping Token
After that customer left the pawnshop with the pawn ticket and three hundred copper coins in his pocket, the shop assistant hurried to the counter and eagerly asked the pawnbroker, “How did it go?”
“Big profit.” The pawnbroker squinted his small eyes, smugly stroking the object as he smiled and said, “This thing is mainly purple gold, mixed with much more precious celestial meteoric iron, far more valuable than gold.” He paused, then continued, “Moreover, judging by its style and script, it was cast during the Eastern Han years. With that age, it can easily sell for a hundred taels of gold without any issue!”
“Ah! Worth a hundred taels of gold?” The shop assistant’s eyes widened, staring fixedly at the clearly extraordinary object as he exclaimed in astonishment, “You only gave him three hundred coins? You’re really ruthless, old timer.”
“If not ruthless, how does the owner make money, and how do we eat?” The pawnbroker sneered, “Those damned grave robbers—giving them three hundred coins is already me being benevolent!”
“That’s true. Grave robbers all deserve to die. We’re practically doing heaven’s work.” The shop assistant chuckled. Seeing the pawnbroker in high spirits, he flattered, “What’s the real origin of this thing? Tell me, old timer, so I can broaden my horizons too.” The pawnshop assistants were all apprentices, desperately trying to learn from the pawnbroker to graduate early and sit at the counter.
“Uh…” The pawnbroker hesitated, then shook his head. “Hard to say. It looks related to Taiping Dao. Maybe some prince who believed in the Great Teacher of Benevolence had it cast for burial to guard the tomb.”
“Oh…” Seeing the pawnbroker couldn’t explain it clearly, the shop assistant lost interest.
Seeing the shop assistant like that, the pawnbroker felt very uncomfortable, as if his authority was being questioned. The entire afternoon, he pondered the object’s origins. But no matter how he racked his brains, even when the owner came at dusk to check the accounts, he couldn’t figure it out. Taking advantage of the shop assistant’s absence, the pawnbroker mentioned it to the owner to see if he recognized it.
“What’s this mysterious thing? Bring it over for me to see.” The owner came from generations of pawnbrokers; having been exposed since childhood, his knowledge far exceeded the pawnbroker’s.
The pawnbroker hurriedly fetched the token-like object from storage, presenting it to the owner with both hands, and boasted, “Though its origins are unclear, three hundred coins won’t lose money or fool anyone—definitely a big profit.”
The owner took the hefty object noncommittally and examined it closely. The more he looked, the uglier his expression became.
Seeing this, the pawnbroker grew nervous and stammered, “What’s wrong, Ow-Owner? Is there something off?”
“Of course there’s something off! Terribly off!” The owner sighed heavily and glared fiercely at the pawnbroker. “You didn’t lose money with three hundred coins, but you bought a huge trouble!”
“Ah?” The pawnbroker said incredulously, “What exactly is this thing?”
“My family’s ancestral treasure book has a diagram—can’t be wrong. This is Taiping Dao’s sect leader token…” The owner’s voice grew quieter as he spoke, eventually trembling uncontrollably. “If anyone finds out, we’ll all be ruined!”
“What?” The pawnbroker was terrified, gaping in shock. “Y-You’re joking, right? The Taiping Dao sect leader token shouldn’t be in Sun Yuanlang’s hands? How did it end up in someone else’s tomb?” In Great Xuan, Sun Yuanlang was a name that stopped children from crying at night. Just thinking of possibly offending that great figure made the pawnbroker wet his pants in fear.
“How should I know what’s going on?!” The owner suddenly stood up, pocketed the token, and strode out. “I just know it’s now in my pawnshop, and it absolutely cannot stay in my pawnshop!”
With that, the owner dashed out the door, mounted a horse, refused any followers, and headed straight north of the Luo River.
Arriving north of the Luo River, the owner came to the cluster of black-walled, black-tiled buildings at the southwest corner of the Imperial City. Looking at the pitch-black doorway and the prominently hung “Great Xuan Investigative Bureau” plaque, the owner couldn’t help but feel his legs trembling. If possible, he’d never deal with this man-eating hellhole in his lifetime. But right now, it was the only place that could save his life.
“Who goes there? Dismount at once!” At the Investigative Bureau entrance, black-clad, black-robed officials barked coldly at him.
The owner snapped back to reality, hurriedly dismounted, and tremblingly saluted. “Sir, this commoner has an important matter to report!”
.
By the time Old Eunuch Zuo was summoned to the Investigative Bureau, it was the hour of Dog, with the sky pitch black as ink.
Lin Chao led his trusted aides in waiting respectfully in the inner courtyard. Director Lin personally opened the carriage door and respectfully invited the old eunuch to alight.
Zuo Yanqing seemed extremely sensitive to cold, wrapped in a thick fur robe with a fluffy warm hat on his head. The big black cat huddled in the fur robe, only its head poking out at his chest, glaring with its pair of greenish eyes fixed unblinkingly on Lin Chao.
From afar, Zuo Yanqing looked like he had grown two heads, with two pairs of eyes equally eerie, sending chills down one’s spine.
“What is it this time? So secretive.” The elderly man retired early; Zuo Yanqing had been roused from bed and seemed to carry some morning grumpiness.
“Old Ancestor will know once inside.” Normally, Lin Chao would spill everything like beans from a bamboo tube. But now, he refused to say a word extra, merely inviting him inside.
Zuo Yanqing eyed Lin Chao suspiciously, then glanced at the heavily guarded courtyard on high alert, almost suspecting the boy was plotting against him.
Of course, that was impossible…
Zuo Yanqing nodded expressionlessly and followed Lin Chao into the signature office. Lin Chao personally closed the door before carefully drawing the token from his bosom and presenting it with both hands to Zuo Yanqing.
Upon seeing the token, Zuo Yanqing’s pupils contracted sharply. He snatched it over. The token that had felt immensely heavy in the pawnbroker’s and owner’s hands now seemed weightless in Zuo Yanqing’s grasp.
Zuo Yanqing’s dim old eyes flashed with sharp light as he examined the token repeatedly before saying in a deep voice, “Taiping Token!”
“Real or fake?” Lin Chao asked tremulously.
“Real.” Zuo Yanqing nodded and released the black cat from his bosom. The big black cat leaped onto the low table and sprawled on Lin Chao’s confidential documents.
Zuo Yanqing held the token in one hand and gently stroked its patterns with the other, lost in reminiscence. “Back then, Kou Xianzhi took the disperse cultivation pill yet still wielded the Taiping Token in one hand and the nine-section staff in the other, holding his own against our six Heavenly Rank experts for over a thousand exchanges before the drug flared up, causing him to be captured.”
As he spoke, he touched an inconspicuous notch in the cloud pattern. “This is the mark I made back then with the evil-warding sword—no one could fake it.” Only then did Zuo Yanqing snap back and stare fixedly at Lin Chao. “Where did this come from?!”
“A pawnshop owner brought it, saying he acquired it from a grave robber and felt it was off, so he hurried it to the Investigative Bureau.” Lin Chao quickly replied, “The man’s still detained here. Does Old Ancestor want to interrogate him?”
Zuo Yanqing shook his head and said wistfully, “I want to interrogate that grave robber more.”
“Already sent men to arrest him!” Lin Chao hurriedly assured. “Rest assured, Old Ancestor—even if we search the whole city, we’ll find him!”
“Don’t make it known throughout the city,” Zuo Yanqing frowned displeasedly.
“Yes!” Lin Chao responded promptly, then asked softly, “Old Ancestor, should we immediately report to Your Majesty?”
“No rush—the more urgent, the slower to handle.” Zuo Yanqing shook his head and said in a deep voice, “First catch the man. I’ll see His Majesty at dawn.”
“This subordinate will personally make the arrest and strive to catch the grave robber before the various clans react!” Lin Chao declared, then strode out and bellowed in the courtyard, “All follow me!”
Zuo Yanqing shook his head at the sound, sighed, and said, “Sigh, who can we fool…”
After sighing, he continued to examine the token.
