Chapter 9: The Bargain Hunter’s Artifact
“When it rains, the thunder rumbles, and the wind howls. Mama said there are big wolves in the valley that eat lone little foxes~”
Ling Ling blinked, singing a childhood rhyme from her homeland. As she sang, tears welled up in her eyes.
Her large golden tail drooped listlessly to the floor. “Ling Ling… misses Mama…”
Her sadness overflowed, and Lena’s heart ached. She quickly went over and hugged her, softly comforting her, “There will be a chance.”
Lena had bought Ling Ling cheaply from slave traders. Covered in mud and reeking, the traders hadn’t recognized her as the rare foxkin, and Lena had stumbled upon a great bargain.
As for Ling Ling’s background, Lena had never asked.
Let bygones be bygones. Some wounds hadn’t yet healed, and reopening them would only cause more pain…
“I’m sorry.”
Lena bowed her head to Ling Ling.
“I’ll do everything I can to help you find your family, and that valley where ‘it rains, the thunder rumbles, and the wind howls.’ One day, you’ll return to your birthplace and reunite with your family. I swear it, by the name of Grey Robe.”
Their heartbeats transmitted through their clothes, gradually synchronizing.
“Thank you, Miss.” Ling Ling quietly felt Lena’s heartbeat, overwhelmed with gratitude. “Just as Ling Ling suspected, Miss has really changed.”
“Changed how?” Lena stroked her head.
“Become…”
Ling Ling stammered, unable to articulate it, her face flushing as she ran away.
Moments later, half of her body reappeared at the doorway. The little fox girl shyly hid her face behind her wide sleeves, her voice soft and sticky-sweet. “Miss didn’t bully Ling Ling at all yesterday, and didn’t speak harshly to Ling Ling. Even after drinking Ling Ling’s poor-quality energy potion, Miss only hugged Ling Ling to sleep and didn’t touch Ling Ling inappropriately. And Miss even gently applied medicine to Ling Ling’s wounds…”
Ling Ling had held these words in all day, finally mustering the courage to speak them.
She believed Lena wouldn’t lie to her.
Because the foxkin’s innate ability, Heart-to-Heart, had already given her the answer.
“Can Ling Ling also receive Miss’s gentleness?”
“I’ll say it upfront, I’m not gentle.”
Lena dressed, looking smart in her dark red checkered academy uniform, her long hair braided into two pigtails that hung in front of her chest. Finally, she put on her thick, round-framed glasses.
She and Ling Ling walked side by side, the atmosphere harmonious. It wasn’t until they boarded the magic carriage that she lowered the curtains and said slowly, “If Ling Ling thinks too highly of me, she’ll end up tasting the bitterness of disappointment.”
“I don’t understand.” Ling Ling shook her head, her innocent face reflected in Lena’s pupils.
Ling Ling couldn’t comprehend Lena’s words, and even less why Lena insisted on playing the villain while helping her.
Was it a new game?
“Miss has helped Ling Ling so much and even promised to help Ling Ling find Mama. How could such a Miss not be a good person?”
“Whether or not I’m a good person isn’t up to you alone to decide.”
“…”
The maid’s skirt, bearing the Falmouth family crest, was crumpled in Ling Ling’s grip.
The little fox girl pondered over these words.
…
186 Imperial Avenue.
A century-old antique shop encountered its most extravagant customer yet.
The shopkeeper beamed, watching the gray-haired girl lavishly spend money, buying a pile of what were clearly “junk” old items.
A true mark of a rich, spoiled young lady!
If he didn’t fleece her, he wouldn’t be living up to his reputation as a “silver-tongued devil”!
As the saying went, “No business for half a year, then a feast for half a year.” There were suckers everywhere, but a plump, juicy, and rich sucker like this was a rare find.
“Excellent eye, Miss. Everything in our shop is old, absolutely no reproductions!”
The antique shopkeeper rubbed his hands, the wrinkles around his eyes crinkling like a chrysanthemum.
“Look here, and here, fragments of artifacts excavated from the ruins of the Bori Empire, which perished nearly ten thousand years ago. Look, these are genuine treasures, worthy of being passed down as family heirlooms, priceless!”
“And these… these… I’ve painstakingly collected these treasures from merchants all over the world, spending a fortune…”
The shopkeeper babbled endlessly, praising himself and his wares, planning to make a killing and then disappear.
Lena picked up a magical artifact, examined it casually, and put it back down. Turning around, she asked as if unintentionally, “Did you recently acquire a batch of stones?”
At the mention of stones, the shopkeeper’s smile froze. He scoffed, “A pile of broken stones aren’t worth much. Why don’t you take a look at my collection of treasures…”
“Show me the stones, all of them.”
Lena tossed a gold coin onto the table.
Clink, the crisp metallic sound was like the most beautiful music.
“Alright, of course you can take a look, no problem!” The shopkeeper chuckled.
He had already thoroughly checked the batch of magic crystal ore he had acquired a few days ago with a magic detector. Although a few of the magic crystals could be made into magic energy crystals and sold for a small sum, the rest were utter waste, completely worthless.
He had misjudged them when he bought them, spending a gold coin. He had been wondering how to get rid of them.
Now, a fool had delivered herself to his doorstep.
Although he didn’t understand why she wanted a batch of inferior magic crystals, as long as she was willing to buy, he was willing to sell!
Turning a sow’s ear into a silk purse depended entirely on his silver tongue.
“One hundred gold coins, and they’re all yours. How about it?”
“The quality is a bit poor.”
Lena toyed with a magic crystal. The lines on its surface were either cracked or filled with impurities. In the words of an expert, they weren’t even worth the effort to carry them away. They would be better suited as pebbles in a courtyard. So, one hundred gold coins was a blatant rip-off; the shopkeeper clearly didn’t respect her.
“Give me a discount.” Lena put down the magic crystal, feigning the reluctance of a novice bargain hunter who had stumbled upon a potential treasure.
“Ninety-eight coins, I can’t go any lower. Consider it making a friend!”
The old fox shopkeeper was a master of acting.
Few in this business weren’t actors. He immediately “reluctantly parted” with the sack of magic crystals, pushing it forward.
“A little less…”
“Ninety-five.”
“I’m leaving.”
“Ninety! Ninety! I really can’t go any lower!”
The shopkeeper was sweating anxiously.
How could he let the meat slip from his grasp? It would be a laughingstock among his peers.
He thought to himself, as long as it wasn’t less than fifty, he would sell!
Little did he know, Lena sneered, “Here are four gold coins, more than enough to buy your pile of junk. You dare sell mere magic crystals at such a high price? Aren’t you afraid I’ll report you to the Imperial Street Office?”
“You can’t just round down like that!” The shopkeeper was furious, his blood rushing to his head. “Rounding down and then halving the price, how am I supposed to do business, Miss?!”
“…”
Lena remained silent, her cold gaze sweeping over the shopkeeper’s aged face.
The feeling of being targeted by a calamity-level magical beast made the shopkeeper’s legs tremble.
“Damn it! Four coins it is!”
“Thank you. Goodbye.”
Lena took out three gold coins and turned to leave. Just as she reached the door, she paused, seemingly noticing something. “This ring… how much is it?”
“Take it, take it, it’s a gift!”
The shopkeeper grumbled, collecting the three gold coins along with the previous one, stuffing them all into his pocket, then walking into the back room with a disgruntled expression. “Tsk, I’ve never met such a stingy young lady.”
“Thank you.”
Listening to the shopkeeper’s muttering, Lena’s tense face finally broke into a triumphant smile.
Buying the stones was a pretense.
Snagging a bargain was the real goal.
Some people dedicated their lives to antiques, but they still lacked a discerning eye.
The benefits of rebirth had arrived.
[The Holy Chant of the King of Narcissus]
Using a bag of magic crystals as bait, Lena’s real target was this ring.
The incomplete artifact in her hand might never meet its future owner.
Lena carefully wrapped the ring in a handkerchief, tucked it into her bosom, and quickly returned to the carriage…
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