Chapter 146 An Encounter On The Way
The prefecture was where the county’s capital was located. It was a bustling place that could not be compared with the military camp, which was fortified and faced the boundless immense forest.
Ni Yunhong and his younger sister led the way. They were heading to the prefecture’s night market.
In the prefecture, people had completely different living habits than those from the military camp and the town. For most people here, nighttime was the real beginning of a day.
When the siblings and Ou Yangming arrived at a brightly lit street, Ou Yangming suddenly smiled and said, “Look.”
The siblings were slightly stunned when they looked toward where he was pointing, but they quickly laughed.
A familiar old man was standing there.
It was Zheng Ziwen, the Yi Pavilion’s appraiser. He was looking around at one end of the street as though he was searching for something.
Ni Yinghong grinned. “It’s such a coincidence that we’re able to encounter him here.”
“Let’s go meet him.” Ou Yangming nodded and smiled. “He’s a good person.”
Ni Yinghong instantly pursed her lips and smiled so that even her big eyes were narrowed. “Yes, he’s indeed a good person, a really good person!”
They smiled at each other as they recalled the days of their appraisal task in the basement. In order to let Ou Yangming understand appraisal art, Ni Yinghong had prodded Zheng Ziwen and used other tricks to make the appraisal master employ the art. She only stopped when Zheng Ziwen was exhausted and had no energy left. Without Zheng Ziwen’s selfless help, Ou Yangming could not have grasped appraisal art.
Ni Yunhong was rather jealous when he saw his younger sister and Ou Yangming smiling at each other. He decided to keep an eye on Ou Yangming so as to prevent his dear sister from being captivated.
Ou Yangming went with the stream of people in the crowd and shouted, “Master Zheng, what a coincidence!”
Zheng Ziwen was startled, but his eyes lit up when he turned and saw Ou Yangming. He could not help but flash a bright smile as he responded, “Haha, Master Ou, you’re… Uh, ah… I have something else to attend to, I’ll talk to you next time!” He was actually elated when he first saw Ou Yangming, but he quickly noticed Ni Yinghong, who was behind Ou Yangming. A penetrating chill immediately arose from the bottom of Zheng Ziwen’s heart because he recalled his miserable experience that lasted a few days in the basement.
Equipment appraisal was supposedly a small matter-like daily life—for him. However, the task that they did together had given him a taste of how tormenting hell would be.
After continuously using appraisal art for a few days, not only was Zheng Ziwen’s mental power exhausted, but he had also made an overdraft of it. As a result, he was mentally disorganized for the next few days and had no energy to do anything at all.
In a way, Ni Yinghong had left him with an incredibly deep and unerasable impression.
Upon seeing the little devil, Zheng Ziwen could not help but shiver. He was mumbling something to himself, and he subconsciously wanted to leave.
Just as he began shifting his feet, Ni Yinghong’s voice was heard. “Master Zheng, how have you been!”
Zheng Ziwen halted and smiled, but he looked more awful than if he was crying. “Oh! Isn’t that Master Ni? Forgive me for not noticing you earlier.”
Ni Yinghong replied to him with a smile, “Master Zheng, you’re a busy and proud man, so it’s not strange that you didn’t notice a nobody like me.”
“Master Ni, you misunderstood me, that was not the case.” Zheng Ziwen’s face changed. Ou Yangming could not bear watching them anymore, so he asked, “Master Zheng, are you waiting for someone?”
Zheng Ziwen sighed a breath of relief because he dared not be entangled with the little devil any longer. He quickly answered, “Ah, Master…”
“Brother Zheng, it’s too difficult for us to keep addressing each other as masters. How about we just use terms of address for friends?” Ou Yangming waved his hand and suggested.
He was not over 16 years old yet, hence it was quite funny for him to be calling a man, who was in his thirties, a brother. Nonetheless, Zheng Ziwen, who knew Ou Yangming’s abilities very well, was delighted. “Okay, it’s my honor to have a friend like you, Brother
Ou.”
All of a sudden, a figure showed up from a distance away, and that person laughed when he saw who were present. “It’s Master Ou and the Ni family masters!” The person who came was Head Shopkeeper Lin from the town. He nodded at everyone else and asked, “Master Zheng, is Old Tributary Shen still not here yet?”
“Old Tributary Shen? Are you talking about Old Sir Shen Xiyuan?” Ni Yunhong suddenly blurted.
Lin Yichen’s face took on a grave expression as he answered, “Yes, it’s Old Sir Shen.”
Feeling surprised, Ni Yunhong questioned, “Old Sir Shen hasn’t gotten involved in external affairs for years, why are you looking for him?” “Master Ni, there’s a small issue in the Yi Pavilion. Someone came to gamble on stones, and the person who came has ill-intentions, so we’re hoping to invite Old Tributary Shen to oversee the matter and give us some pointers.”
Ni Yunhong furrowed his eyebrows and commented, “How can someone from the prefecture not treat the Yi Pavilion with respect?”
Zheng Ziwen interrupted. “The person isn’t from the prefecture, he’s an influential person from Linlang County.”
Ou Yangming was moved, so he began paying attention to the matter.
They were in Changlong County at the moment, which was right next to Linlang County. Due to the counties’ geographical location, they competed with each other in many aspects. It was not only survival of the fittest between the officials, but also among civil organizations.
Ni Yinghong suddenly laughed and said, “Shopkeeper Lin, even if someone from Linlang County has come, it doesn’t have anything to do with you, right?”
Lin Yichen smiled bitterly and spread out his hands. “Indeed, it wouldn’t be appropriate for me to meddle in the issue half a month ago, but I was ordered and transferred to the prefecture to be the head shopkeeper. There’s nothing I can do…”
“Head Shopkeeper Lin, you’ve been promoted! Congratulations!” Ni Yinghong’s eyes wandered about.
Lin Yichen waved his hand. Coincidentally, a young man, who was drenched in sweat, ran over and reported, “Head Shopkeeper, Master Zheng, Old Tributary Shen is unwell and is bed-ridden, so he can’t come today!”
The faces of Lin Yichen and Zheng Ziwen changed right away. Old Tributary Shen was renowned for being adept in identifying raw gemstones, thus they would be confident if the tributary came, but since he could not come, they felt troubled.
Ni Yinghong suddenly chuckled. “Head Shopkeeper Lin, you only thought of Old Tributary Shen. You’ve forgotten about someone else who also has great achievements in stone gambling.”
“Who is it?” Lin Yichen asked as he was shocked.
“Someone who seems so far away but is actually very near,” Ni Yinghong answered slowly.
Lin Yichen turned to look at Ou Yangming, but he remarked with a bitter smile, “Master Ou previously opened a top-notch gem, but it was only a coincidence.”
AS
Ni Yinghong smiled and expressed, “I thought it was a coincidence too, but now I know that might not be the case.”
Ou Yangming trembled a little and looked at Ni Yinghong as he was surprised. ‘Could she have noticed something?’
On the other hand, Lin Yichen asked in a serious manner, “Master Ni, what do you mean?”
Ni Yinghong put her hands behind her back and answered proudly, “Brother Ou has apprehended the integration of Heaven and man, so he has a superb sense toward the way of nature. Even if he can’t fully perceive raw gemstones, he’s much more powerful than ordinary people!” “What? The integration of Heaven and man?” Lin Yichen’s face changed drastically. He looked deeply at Ou Yangming and bowed respectfully. “I have eyes but was too blind to see, please forgive me, Master Ou.”
Ou Yangming quickly replied to him, “Head Shopkeeper Lin, you’re being too polite.”
Zheng Ziwen looked at Ou Yangming in disbelief because he did not expect the young man, whom he had worked with for several days, to be such a substantial figure. Nevertheless, Zheng Ziwen glanced at the little devil again and cursed.
‘Master Ou is still so humble, even though he’s fathomed the integration of Heaven and man. On the opposite, you’re so proud for some reason…’
Lin Yichen rubbed his hands and said, “Master Ou, He Liangce, the He family’s eldest young master, mainly runs a business of raw gemstones and gems in Linlang County. He’s now at the Yi Pavilion, and he specifically asked to contend with the prefecture’s stone gambling master. If you can defeat him, our pavilion will definitely reward you well!” Ou Yangming looked at him and smiled. “Why? Do you have a business conflict with the He family?” Lin Yichen smiled without saying a word, but the answer was crystal clear.
Zheng Ziwen suddenly spoke, “Brother Ou, He Liangce is a new famous appraiser from Linlang County, and he has suppressed Changlong County. If you can be victorious, you mustn’t hold back at all. You must pursue him so that he loses his reputation!”
Ou Yangming was actually uninterested in challenges as such, but he was a little moved when he heard how impassioned Zheng Ziwen was.
It was a battle between the two counties, hence he should do it without any hesitation because he was from Changlong County. Besides, it would be the perfect opportunity to repay Zheng Ziwen’s kindness.
“Okay, since you’ve said that, I’ll go take a look, Brother Zheng.”
Lin Yichen and Zheng Ziwen were overjoyed, so they quickly led the way. However, Lin Yichen wondered throughout the journey, ‘Since when have Zheng Ziwen and Ou Yangming suddenly become so close? It looks like I should rely on him more in the future.’
They quickly made their way to the Yi Pavilion.
A few people approached Lin Yichen as soon as they saw him, and they looked rather anxious.
Despite that, Lin Yichen flapped his sleeve and instructed, “Go and invite Young Master He Liangce over, we’ll go pick some stones in the backyard.” A 50-year-old elder asked cheerfully, ‘Head Shopkeeper, has Old Tributary Shen come?”
“Old Tributary Shen can’t come because he’s ill, but we’ve invited Master Ou.” Lin Yichen looked plainly at him, then said to Ou Yangming after a pause, “Master Ou, let’s go ahead.”
The other people were dumbfounded when the head shopkeeper addressed the teen as a master. They reacted as though they had just seen a ghost.
‘Is a young man like him actually a master?’ ‘Head Shopkeeper Lin, even if you can’t find a suitable candidate, you can’t try to please the public by randomly getting someone to fill the spot…’