“Coffee's here.”
Lin Zhen brought over two cups of coffee—one for Mr. Qi and the other for Yin Yang.
“Mr. Qi, please try this. It's the best-selling coffee in our shop.”
Lin Zhen’s face was bright with a smile. After taking a sip, Mr. Qi looked surprised.
“This is actually quite good. What kind of beans are you using?”
“Hehe, I knew you had a discerning palate, Mr. Qi. These are Little Leaf coffee beans. Although they’re grown domestically, the yield is quite small, and the price isn't cheap.”
“Selling it at this price is really just me taking a loss to build a reputation.”
Yin Yang sipped his coffee in silence, not joining the conversation.
Their shop sold a cup of coffee for eight yuan, and Lin Zhen made at least seven and a half yuan in profit. She was certainly ‘taking a loss.’
“Not bad. I'll definitely come back for coffee when I have the chance.”
Mr. Qi laughed as he took his leave. As he stepped out of the shop, he caught a glimpse of a black and white school uniform disappearing around the street corner.
...
Two days later.
Feiqi Back Alley.
“There, this is the largest secondhand market in Wang City. It only opens once a month.”
“Haven't you always wanted to find a hidden gem? This is the place.”
“Just last year, someone found a transcendent item here. They say it sold for nearly a million!”
Lin Zhen pointed at the ‘secondhand market’ before them, her expression dead serious.
Yin Yang raised an eyebrow, thinking to himself that it must have been either a very old item or a very small one.
This was because transcendent items needed to be kept in gold to prevent their negative side effects from leaking out.
Anything associated with gold was never cheap. Finding a hidden gem was never that easy.
Unless the item was so ancient that the gold was no longer recognizable.
But unless such a transcendent item was incredibly powerful, time would have long since eroded its transcendent properties.
Otherwise, it would have to be something small like a ring or a stud earring for the price not to be outrageous.
“Come on, let's go! I'm coming with you!”
“If you see something good and don't have enough money, I can lend you some.”
Lin Zhen was clearly very interested in the prospect of finding a bargain; her eyes were sparkling behind her glasses.
The two of them walked into the market, their eyes darting from stall to stall.
“How is it? Spotted anything good yet?”
“Not yet.”
“Tell you what, let's split up. I'll head west, you head east. If you find anything, call me.”
“Alright.”
Yin Yang agreed and parted ways with Lin Zhen.
In truth, Yin Yang didn't have much interest in the secondhand market. After all, bargains weren't just lying around everywhere. He never trusted his own luck and never gambled on low-probability events.
He walked along, scanning the surrounding stalls.
Most of the items in this market were old household goods that people no longer needed.
Things like televisions, remote controls, water heaters, fans, and so on.
Many of them were ten or even twenty years old. Whether they still worked was a mystery.
Although Yin Yang appeared to be looking around, his attention was actually on the blade-wielding ghost.
Lately, the blade-wielding ghost would go out on patrol every night, and today was no exception.
The transcendent gatherings in Wang City were extremely well-hidden. Even after all this time, he hadn't found a single lead.
~
Just as Yin Yang was thinking about heading back early, he suddenly felt a strange vibration.
It was a peculiar sensation, like a light breeze brushing against his scalp.
‘Something is calling me!’
Yin Yang stopped in his tracks, calmly observing his surroundings.
~
The sensation struck again, even clearer this time.
Unlike before, there was a noticeable change in intensity!
Yin Yang looked toward the direction where the sensation felt ‘heavier’ and saw a stall selling prayer beads.
A waterproof tarp was spread out, displaying thirty or forty types of beads—stone, seed, wood, and more.
And what had just attracted Yin Yang was a string of prayer beads!
It was a string of 108 beads, pitch-black in color and made of an unknown material.
It had three accessories: the most prominent was a round, white guru bead.
Then there was a pair of counters, and finally, a tooth serving as an ornament!
A single gold tooth.
Yin Yang's eyes narrowed. He felt that his trip to the market might actually yield a harvest after all.
He squatted down in front of the stall, picking up a random string of beads to chat with the vendor.
“Big brother, is this string new or old?”
The vendor didn't even look up, focused on scrubbing a pair of walnuts with a brush.
“Heh, what a question. This is a secondhand market. Where would I find new things for you?”
Yin Yang didn't take offense. He held the beads up to his chest as if he were picking out jewelry.
“So, how much for these?”
Hearing the mention of money, the vendor finally looked up. He glanced at the red beads in Yin Yang's hand.
“That string is cinnabar. Three thousand.”
“Three thousand? You’ve got to be kidding me!”
Yin Yang quickly put them back, moving as fast as if the beads had bitten him.
The vendor scoffed.
“Three thousand is expensive? Kid, these beads were consecrated by Grandmaster Guangshan of Puji Temple!”
Yin Yang shook his head repeatedly.
“I don't care who consecrated them, that's too expensive. What about this one?”
He naturally picked up the black string of beads. Only when he touched them did he realize they were wooden.
“Oh, that one’s cheap. It's imitation aged small-leaf red sandalwood, with an imitation aged guru bead and an imitation aged animal tooth.”
“How much?”
“Two thousand, nine hundred and ninety-eight.”
“Cheap?”
“You only dropped the price by two yuan?”
Yin Yang almost laughed at the vendor's audacity. He set the beads back down.
“It seems you aren't sincerely looking to do business, boss.”
The boss looked even more annoyed.
“Business is business! You have to counter-offer!”
“Give me a price. Who knows? It might work out.”
“Three hundred!”
“Deal!”
The boss practically leaped up. He shoved his walnuts into his pocket and, with an incredibly smooth motion, produced a bag and wrapped up the beads.
“Here are your beads. Payment code is right here.”
Yin Yang looked down at the bag, then at the payment code. He wondered if the haggling margins in this market were always this massive.
Ding! WealthPay has received three hundred yuan!
Hearing the notification, the boss smiled even wider. He grabbed a spool of thread from the stall and tossed it to Yin Yang.
“You’re a straightforward kid, so I’ll be straightforward too. This thread is on the house. It'll last you a few years. See ya.”
After saying that, he went back to scrubbing his walnuts, looking like he didn't want to be disturbed again.
Yin Yang hung the prayer beads around his neck. Sure enough, the feeling of being summoned grew even stronger.
Ring, ring, ring—
His phone rang. Yin Yang looked at the screen; the caller ID showed Lin Zhen.
“Hello?”
“Xiao Yang, come here, quick! I think I found a treasure!”
On the other end of the line, Lin Zhen's voice was thick with suppressed excitement.
Rate on N.U.
