Chapter 35: Goodbye, A Ning
There’s no point in dwelling on questions that are destined to get no answer. Lin Yan gently shook his head. Seeing the faint worry in Wu Xie’s eyes and Fatty seemingly eating but actually keeping his attention on him at all times, he suddenly felt that this wasn’t such a big problem after all.
Since it was destined to happen, then let’s go. Given his relationship with Wu Xie, as long as he didn’t actively harm Wu Xie, no matter what happened, he was confident that Wu Xie definitely wouldn’t abandon him. Besides, Wu Xie was practically half a son of destiny. Following him might not necessarily lead to trouble. NPC or not, as long as it could solve the problem on his body, being an NPC wasn’t so bad. Anyway, he was already destined to be tangled up in all this mess. Rather than passively responding, it was better to take the initiative. That way, he wouldn’t be caught off guard later.
In the end, the meal was enjoyed by host and guests alike. The three of them clutched their stuffed stomachs and rested on chairs for a long time before getting up.
Full and satisfied, they returned to Fatty’s shop and finally got down to business.
“You mean, you want pearl?” Fatty frowned. Lin Yan looked puzzled upon seeing this: “Is there a problem? A place like Panjiayuan shouldn’t be without it, right?”
Fatty shook his head: “It’s not that. This thing has never been in demand. Unless it’s from an ancient tomb with significant historical value, few people here carry it. Especially the bead style you want— that’s even rarer. Jade pendants are more common here. As far as I know, there are at least four or five shops with them, though the age can’t be guaranteed. Pearl… I need to ask around. The last I heard about this stuff was months ago. Not sure if it’s changed hands.”
Hearing this, Lin Yan suddenly had an idea: “If it’s just something similar, maybe a jade pendant would work?”
Wu Xie looked at him, his expression a bit strange: Pearl was easy to swallow, but a jade pendant—you sure you can swallow that?
Lin Yan froze at his look: This… you have a point. How about we check the size first?
Wu Xie shook his head but compromised anyway. Having options was better than none. What if one of the ready ones worked: “Fatty, why don’t you take us to see some jade pendants first? We’ll take a look.”
Fatty nodded: “Sure, follow me.”
He turned and went to the back of the shop.
Lin Yan, Wu Xie: You’ve said all this, turns out you have it in your shop?
Soon, Fatty came out holding a small box. He opened it to reveal a jade pendant no bigger than a thumb.
Lin Yan and Wu Xie were both stunned: “So small?”
Fatty smiled guiltily: “It’s small, sure, but its origin is impressive! You remember how I got into Lu King’s Palace, right?”
Wu Xie and Lin Yan shook their heads.
It had been so long—how could they remember?
Fatty gave them a reproachful look: “Knew you wouldn’t remember. Fatty Ye here stumbled on a map of Lu King’s Palace by chance, that’s how I found the place. This little thing was acquired along with the map.”
Wu Xie frowned. He and his Third Uncle had also gone there after getting a map. How many maps were there? Why did several copies circulate at the same time, and so coincidentally get into the hands of their groups almost simultaneously, bringing them together in Lu King’s underground palace? This couldn’t just be coincidence, right? But what was this person—or organization’s—goal?
Lu King’s Palace was nearly destroyed by them; any treasures down there were gone now. It shouldn’t be A Ning and that group of foreigners either—they’d all perished below and got nothing. Only Fatty and they had brought out a few things, which were mostly sold. If the mastermind wanted stuff from Lu King’s Palace, they should’ve shown up to collect it. Why let them dispose of it so smoothly? He’d handled the sales through Wu Family channels and noticed nothing amiss.
Was there anything else in Lu King’s Palace worth noting?
Right, the imperial seal!
The only thing they hadn’t brought out was the imperial seal! But from their experience, it probably wasn’t in the underground palace—unless there was a secret room they missed. But besides their three groups, no one else should’ve been down there, right? Otherwise, they’d have run into them or found traces, but they discovered nothing.
Otherwise, the only possibility was gathering their three groups together. But what could be gained from that? Just to make them meet?
Or… He looked toward Lin Yan, who was observing the jade pendant.
Besides the mysteriously missing Mute Bottle, Lin Yan was the most likely! Thinking of the thing in Lin Yan’s head, he suddenly had a chilling thought: Could the mastermind’s goal have been to let Lin Yan bring that thing out of his head? If so, if Mute Bottle hadn’t timely taken Lin Yan away to suppress the thing in his head, might it now be lurking in human society?
What exactly was this thing the mastermind went to such lengths to release? What was its purpose once out? If it really couldn’t be suppressed, would Lin Yan…
He shivered: No way! Lin Yan had saved him more than once; he absolutely couldn’t let that thing have a chance to harm Lin Yan!
Had to say, with Lin Yan around, Wu Xie’s line of thinking had gone completely off track… But though it was a mistaken direction by chance, the result was good. Wu Xie would now actively participate in what came next because of Lin Yan, instead of blindly being pushed along.
Lin Yan was carefully examining the quality of this jade pendant.
How to put it—maybe due to its age, the jade pendant’s color was slightly darkened, overall a dark cyan, slightly translucent. He wasn’t sure if it was an illusion, but he felt like this jade pendant was glowing.
But as a half-baked amateur, he couldn’t tell much, so he pulled over Wu Xie, who seemed to be spacing out.
“Wu Xie, what are you daydreaming about? Come help me check if this one works.”
Wu Xie came over and glanced at it: “Pure white and flawless, lustrous quality—it’s good jade. But… why does it look so much like from the Han Dynasty?”
Fatty gave a thumbs up: “Spot on, it is from the Han Dynasty! Though I got this with the map, it probably has no connection to it. The only link is they both came from a tomb. So, good quality, right? If you want it, Fatty Ye will give you a discount.”
He held up five fingers.
Lin Yan looked at Wu Xie, but Wu Xie frowned: “The quality is good, but it’s still a gap from what we want. The age isn’t old enough… No, it’s not just the age. Fatty, do you have any blood-infused jade here?”
Fatty was stunned: “I really don’t. What do you want that thing for? Blood-infused jade, no matter the era, is the most yin and evil object. You know, it blocks the last breath of the living and is soaked in thousand-year corpse blood. Not to boast, but folks in this line basically don’t touch it unless a buyer specifies, then we hunt it down… What do you want blood-infused jade for?”
In an instant, a flash of wariness in his eyes. Lin Yan could even read from his gaze: Did not expect Wu Family Third Master Xiao to do something so heinous. Fatty Ye needs to be careful not to get dragged down.
It wasn’t unwarranted caution. People who need these are either true collectors or have special needs—usually some heretical path, heinous rituals or sacrifices. Wu Xie didn’t seem like a collector, so his purpose for blood-infused jade…
Lin Yan rolled his eyes: “Fatty, we want blood-infused jade not for what you think… We just need its yin energy.”
Fatty was taken aback: “You sure it’s yin energy and not resentful energy? Not afraid of being haunted by resentful energy?”
Lin Yan thought, once swallowed into the stomach, where would there be any yin or resentful energy left? It’d all be consumed in the suppression process, right? But he couldn’t say that to Fatty. He hemmed and hawed a few times before giving up: “Believe it or not!”
Wu Xie helplessly rubbed his forehead, knowing Lin Yan must have read Fatty thinking something strange: “We just need the yin energy and resentful energy inside to suppress something. It’s not for any evil purpose.”
Fatty thought, something that needs yin energy and resentful energy to suppress—how could it be anything good? Wait, maybe it’s not good, that’s why it needs this suppression? But he wasn’t one to pry. Seeing Wu Xie’s sincere eyes, they probably wouldn’t do anything heinous. Finding it for them was no big deal.
With that, he spoke up: “Does it have to be a jade pendant? Would a blood-infused bracelet work?”
Lin Yan’s face turned green. Jade pendant and pearl were okay, but a bracelet—how was he supposed to swallow that? Unless ground to powder; otherwise, even shattered, his esophagus would be done for!
Huh? Would powder work?
But Wu Xie shook his head: “Bracelet won’t do. Things like bracelets are basically made with animal blood infusion. They have yin energy and resentful energy, but inferior to human blood by more than a notch—might not be effective enough. So blood-infused jade pendant is better. Pearl works too.”
Fatty thought for a moment and nodded: “Alright then. Rest in my shop a bit. I’ll go ask around at a few familiar places if they have stock. Be back soon. Oh, want something to drink? Cola, Sprite, boiled water, or tea if you like.”
He brewed tea for Wu Xie, tossed Lin Yan a bottle of boiled water, then turned and left the shop. Lin Yan leaned back in the chair, bored, staring at the tea leaves unfurling in the teapot. Wu Xie held his teacup and wandered around Fatty’s shop, nodding now and then as he looked.
But this peaceful quiet didn’t last long. In just a few minutes, there was movement at the door.
Both looked toward the door at the same time: So soon?
But it wasn’t Fatty who entered, but two people—a man and a woman.
Seeing who it was, Wu Xie and Lin Yan were both startled. They’d never seen the man, but the woman looked familiar… Wu Xie and Lin Yan exchanged a glance. If they cut her hair shorter and put her in a sleek mercenary outfit, they’d know her very well.
It was A Ning!
PS: Yesterday was two updates. This one was meant for evening, but I fell asleep… Cough.
Also, main site moved from QQ to Qidian! Begging for Qidian recommendation votes!
