Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Shangguan Ru hesitated too. They were important for her because they had belonged to her deceased mother, but if he intended to sail under false colors, she would rather not repair them.
âBut sure, this is only my assumption. Miss Shangguan, you can give it a try if you want to.â
Master Mo did not want to stop her after learning the whole thing. Instead, he said, âBut Iâll go with you when you go to the shop to fetch the Aeolian bells.â
âThank you, Master.â Shangguan Ru thanked him. Then she sent the Doctrine Aeolian bells over.
.....
On the other continent, Jiang Chen brushed up against the bells after receiving them. He looked very excited. One will finally love the job one takes up, whatever it is. Jiang Chen had a very good memory. And he also had a strong love for elixirs and artifacts.
He was extremely quiet as he concentrated while repairing them.
If Yao Yuntong had been here, she would definitely have been enchanted by this look of his, of course, provided that she could recognize him despite the disguise.
An hour later, Jiang Chen had fixed the bells. He tried to shake them. As the bells tolled, the rust on them peeled off automatically. Their luster came back.
âShangguan.â It was carved on the bells.
An Ancient Clan?
Jiang Chen informed his customer through the chamber of commerce while thinking about that.
âHe was so fast.â Shangguan Ru was very surprised.
Smiling, Master Mo said, âBecause he re-carved the magic pattern. That doesnât need lots of time. The thing is whether the Doctrine Aeolian bells are still Doctrine Aeolian bells. Itâs hard to say.â
âLetâs go.â
âYeah, itâs useless for us to discuss this here.â
Then, the three walked through a gate. Their images were projected on the chamber of commerce on the Sky Reaching Continent again. The three walked into the Sundry Goods Store in the chamber of commerce.
Like others, Master Mo knitted his brows tightly while walking into the shop. His brow knitted even more tightly when he had seen the so-called master. He had thought it would be a guy about his age. But to his surprise, this master was even younger than his son.
âMo Liang, from the Mysterious Weapon Pavilion.â He introduced himself in a calm tone.
However, Jiang Chen detected the pride that he could hardly hide from his voice. âNice to meet you, senior.â For him, it was nothing to worry about.
Master Mo frowned more. His forehead became deeply wrinkled. It seemed the owner of the Sundry Goods Store had heard about neither him nor the Mysterious Weapon Pavilion.
âYou already fixed the bells?â The odd atmosphere pushed Han Congâer to say something.
âYes.â Jiang Chen took the Aeolian bells out.
âDid you knit the magic pattern with 24 variations?â Master Mo said. He was cunning. The magic pattern of the Doctrine Aeolian bells actually had 36 variations, which had been lost to the world. He intentionally said it wrong to sound out Jiang Chen.
âSenior, what do you mean?â Jiang Chen saw through his trick. Not very happy with that, he threw Shangguan Ru a glance.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Shangguan Ru was about to try to get them to get along when Master Mo stopped her. âLetâs be straight. The magic pattern of the Aeolian bells has been lost to the world since a long time ago. This is a generally acknowledged fact. You canât have re-carved the magic pattern. Youâre conning Miss Shangguan, arenât you?â
âMiss Shangguan, do you have the same doubt?â Jiang Chen ignored him. He kept looking at Shangguan Ru.
Shangguan Ru did not know how to respond. Jiiang Chenâs look made her especially nervous.
âMy young friend, this is your last chance. If you want to cut corners and act in an underhanded way, Iâm telling you itâs impossible as long as Iâm here,â Master Mo continued.
âMasters, why donât we look at the bells first?â Shangguan Ru said.
Master Mo looked toward Jiang Chen. He snorted when he found the latter was not showing any regret.
With Jiang Chenâs character, he could have smashed the bells. But he could not do that. This was business. He had to compromise a little. He put the bells in front of the three. Since they were only projections, they could not touch the bells, but they still could see something different about the appearance.
Shangguan Ru looked pleasantly surprised.
âNot bad, but we still donât know what the interior is like,â Master Mo said. He had to behave like a master in the presence of Shangguan Ru, but his bone-deep pride was still evident when he was facing Jiang Chen.
Jiang Chen did not speak. A wind started, sweeping the Doctrine Aeolian bells. The unique bells tolled. Lights were emitted. All three sensed the intricacy of the Doctrine Aeolian bells.
âItâs true! Itâs true!â Shangguan Ru was so happy that she burst out crying. She was very pleased, since she had finally found the thing that could remind her of her mother.
âThatâs great.â Han Congâer felt happy for her friend too.
âHe didnât only re-carve the magic pattern, but also achieved super class?â Master Mo could hardly believe it.
âOkay! Please.â Jiang Chen signed that they should leave.
âThe master is angry,â Han Congâer said through holy awareness.
âMaster, please cool down. Master Mo is an old friend of my family. He doesnât want to see me conned. If we offended you, I apologize to you,â Shangguan Ru said.
Master Mo also said, âMy young friend, I didnât expect anyone to know a magic pattern that was lost to the world. Iâm really sorry.â
Jiang Chen was a person who could be persuaded by reason but not be cowed by force. He nodded, seemingly less angry. âSo, according to our deal, Miss Shangguan, please publicize my shop for me,â Jiang Chen said.
âThis isnât enough for me to express my gratitude to you. Master, is there anything else you want?â Shangguan Ru said.
âEh? What about a favor?â
âIf itâs something I can achieve, I certainly will try my best,â Shangguan Ru said carefully.
Jiang Chen nodded. This woman was quite something. Judging from the way she spoke, she seemed to be very smart. She was afraid Jiang Chen would go too far, but she covered it very well.
After that, the crystal of the chamber of commerce showed the transaction of the shop of Jiang Chen had been completed. What was weird was the profit was not shown. It was because Jiang Chen did not charge his customer.
However, in othersâ eyes, the story was completely distorted. It was said Jiang Chen was fixing things for free. Or he failed to fix Shangguan Ruâs thing, but Shangguan Ru was too kind to blame him. As a result, he did not charge her.
But soon, Shangguan Ru praised the great skill of the Sundry Goods Store, because the shop owner had fixed her Doctrine Aeolian bells, which had bothered her for a long time. Many people knew about the Doctrine Aeolian bells, because Shangguan Ru had been really bothered lately. Many people had wished they could help, but there was nothing they could do. Even the Mysterious Weapon Pavilion said they could do nothing.
However, they were fixed by this Sundry Goods Store. This shop was really amazing. When other people went to the shop to repair their things, they found the shop did not take things below doctrine level.
âItâs not so easy to get Doctrine Artifacts. If people get a Doctrine Artifact, of course they will cherish it. You think they will let you repair it?â Those who had been rejected said in anger.
But the shop owner insisted. He just would not repair artifacts below doctrine level. People felt curious. Would anyone really come to fix a Doctrine Artifact here?
However, before getting any business of Doctrine Artifact repair, the Sundry Goods Store sold a Doctrine Artifact.
The Yunzhen Chamber of Commerce went into an uproar instantly.
The Sundry Goods Store suddenly became the most profitable shop. After all, it was a Doctrine Artifact that it had sold. Soon, strong people from everywhere came to the shop to buy Doctrine Artifacts. They would even pay all of the money they had for it. The demand for the Doctrine Artifacts exceeded the supply before long. Some people supposed an auction would probably be held soon.
However, the shop owner did not do that. He was still selling Doctrine Artifacts, telling his customers they should pay him with a favor. In this shop, customers were not choosing commodities, but commodities were choosing their purchasers.