Dragon Hermit

Xia Yan sprinted all the way to a fast food store that engaged in business all night long with some fears still lingering in his heart.

[I couldn’t recall the skeleton soldier from the jaws of the giant tortoise. It seems like the tortoise also possesses the power to restrain undead magic.]

[Why does someone like this Daoist Desireless exist? How am I supposed to make a living with him out there?]

Xia Yan felt pretty depressed at the moment. However, he was unaware of the fact that Daoist Desireless was also feeling pretty shocked right now.

“That skeleton was actually able to create two cracks on the shell of my Black Tortoise. Just what was that thing?” The old Daoist observed the two indiscernible cracks on the shell of his giant tortoise within Qingyang Palace with shock written all over his face.

“That kid is so young yet possesses a lot of bizarre methods in his arsenal. He even forced me to bring out four magic artifacts to gain the upper hand. If he gets stronger over the next few years, won’t I completely be at his mercy then?” the old Daoist twirled his white beard and creased his brows in deep rumination, “Xia Yan… Is that his real name? If he’s really a student of Sihe University, could the person who elicited one of the world’s forces a while ago be him?”

“It’s not proper for this old Daoist to enter the campus grounds, so how do I investigate this… Oh, yes. Wasn’t that little lass, Ziyu, actually studying in Sihe University as well? It’s best to request her to investigate this!”

“Although the Yin energy on him was pretty strong, it didn’t possess an evil nature. It looks like the person who’s creating human cauldrons is someone else. Just who is it that dares to employ such an evil act in Chengdu? Aren’t they afraid of the Cleaners?”

Xia Yan rested for a moment in the fast food store and then called for a cab to visit Antique Street.

He had just gotten into the cab when he received a call from Liu Xue’er.

“Hello, Xia Yan. Don’t forget about my birthday party, okay?” Liu Xue’er reminded.

“I haven’t forgotten about it, Sister Xue’er. I’ll definitely attend it, just send me the address for the venue,” Xia Yan replied.

“Fine! If you don’t come, you’ll see what happens… Hmph!” Liu Xue’er ended the call and soon after, Xia Yan received a text from her that contained the name of a hotel.

As Liu Xue’er had called him before 5 AM in the morning, Xia Yan could feel that she was pretty nervous and afraid that he wouldn’t show up! This kind of special behavior, that is, calling someone at such a time to confirm their participation in an event, was something people only did for those they considered important to them.

If it were anyone else, they would have already launched a fierce offensive towards Liu Xue’er. However, as a juvenile and inexperienced virgin, the hearts of women still eluded Xia Yan. He was still confounded about whether Liu Xue’er liked him or acted friendly with him so that he would solve the trouble the Liu family faced.

Antique Street wasn’t desolate even though it was just 4 AM in the morning right now because this was the time when the black market was most active and had all types of peddlers spread across the street. Xia Yan paid the cab fare and walked around the market inquisitively. He wasn’t an antique specialist, so he just checked out the stalls of the peddlers and was just there purely for fun.

“I shan’t hide it from you…” An intentionally hushed voice from beside him attracted Xia Yan’s attention, “This is something I obtained yesterday after taking a huge risk. Have a look, it’s definitely a good thing…”

“Is it sto…” A young voice asked astonishedly.

“Shush!” The peddler interrupted him quickly, “Brother, watch your words. I don’t partake in criminal activities!”

“I got it!” The young voice inquired hurriedly, “What is this thing? It looks quite pretty.”

“This is a jade cicada. Look, it’s made from top-grade nephrite and is a rare article from the Tang dynasty…”

Xia Yan cast his gaze over towards the voices curiously and discovered a young man listening to the peddler explain about the cicada-shaped jade artifact in his hands keenly while crouching before the peddler’s stall.

A jade cicada was a burial object that was usually placed inside the mouth of the deceased and Xia Yan was aware of this fact. However, it seemed like the young man wasn’t aware of this and thus caressed the jade cicada in his hands fondly. The peddler felt elated when he saw the man’s actions and thus explained even more diligently, fully intent on ripping a good sum off the man before his eyes.

Xia Yan felt a chill pass through him after seeing the young man who seemed like he wanted to lick the jade cicada after he had sniffed it. Xia Yan was certain that the young man would throw up the contents of his stomach if he knew the purpose of the jade cicada.

Xia Yan walked over towards that stall, but he didn’t say anything and just stood beside the young man. The peddler looked up and lost interest in Xia Yan after seeing that he was just a student.

Xia Yan’s expression froze, and his eyes widened when he neared this peddler’s stall because he could actually feel the existence of the undead element from his wares. Thus, he stopped worrying about the young man beside him instantly and crouched down to examine the wares of the stall meticulously.

This peddler’s stall had a lot of wares and even a layman could make them out as counterfeits with a glance. However, there were also a few relatively refined wares among them that made it difficult to distinguish between the real and counterfeit wares. As such, the store was actually able to elicit those who wished to pick up a windfall.

Xia Yan found the source of the undead element pretty soon. It was a jade fragment that was damaged beyond recognition and from its form, it was possible to make out that it was a shattered jade slip fragment. The fragment had a decorative design etched on it, but, obviously, the design wasn’t complete.

Although Xia Yan was quite curious about it, he didn’t inquire the peddler about it yet and instead picked up a pretty porcelain bowl from the wares and pretended to examine it meticulously. The peddler glanced at him yet didn’t say anything at all.

Xia Yan laid the bowl down after examining it for a while and then proceeded to examine a few other items with an inquisitive look on his face. Actually, even if Xia Yan hadn’t put on such an act, the peddler had already figured out that he was just a layman who was here to join in on the fun and thus had no interest in greeting him.

Xia Yan finally picked up the jade slip after he was done examining the other wares, and the moment he did so, he felt the magic tower inside his mind tremble, followed by his blue magic power surging up slightly.

[This is a good item!] Xia Yan was filled with astonishment and delight. It was his first time discovering an item that could elicit a reaction from his magic power. Therefore, he wasn’t that surprised that the jade slip harbored the undead element.

“Peddler, what’s this?” Xia Yan decided to obtain this jade fragment, but since he didn’t have that much money right now, he couldn’t allow the peddler to dictate the price.

“It’s a jade slip from the Han dynasty,” The peddler answered casually as he didn’t believe the window-shopping student before him was wealthy enough to buy antiques.

“Is it really from the Han dynasty?” Xia Yan asked in disbelief.

“Naturally. It was dug up from a Han tomb!” The peddler stated.

“Isn’t robbing a tomb illegal?” Xia Yan asked astonishedly.

“Shoo! Don’t babble nonsense if you don’t know things. Who told you it was robbed from a tomb? This was dug up by a worker while excavating land!” The peddler responded in haste.

“Shouldn’t it be handed to the government then?” Xia Yan inquired.

“Hahaha!” The peddler broke into loud laughter, “How cute, you naïve child. Tell me, do you hand over the money you pick up on the road to the police uncles?”

“Of course not!” Xia Yan answered.

“It’s the same for others!” The peddler chuckled.

“How much is this jade slip then?” Xia Yan inquired.

The peddler squinted his eyes then gave him a lookover before responding, “100K.”

“S-Say what?” Xia Yan questioned in astonishment.

“¥100K!” Xia Yan’s reaction made the peddler waver a bit, afraid that the student before him would back out.

“It’s too expensive, I can’t afford it!” Xia Yan caressed the jade slip and placed it down before getting up to leave.

“How much are you willing to pay then?” The peddler wondered whether Xia Yan really wanted to buy it after seeing his actions and called out to him immediately.

“¥50,” Xia Yan answered.