Yang Zicang, with his whole demeanor dimly dark, looked back.
Moving half-walking, half-jogging through the crowd, Selius forced out a tight smile and shouted:
“Since you’re a guest of Mister Er, we can’t be short on hospitality. Sir, please come back and pick again.“
Among the crowd, several customers in true disguise were creeping towards the doorway and toward Hua Mi and Xue Qi, who had not yet left. Yet everyone appeared perfectly courteous.
Given these were people loyal to Mister Er, Selius didn’t dare to actually order them to attack those in front of them.
Catching through the still air, Yang Zicang had already guessed that if he insisted on leaving, these people were likely to slow him down.
The merchant outside, hearing the commotion inside, immediately cast a nervous glance and hurried to climb onto a carriage that had just arrived shortly before.
It seemed that even if they didn’t entirely trust Yang Zicang, they probably believed the “Ember Crystal Ore ” was no more than a ruse.
“No need,” said Yang Zicang.
“What?” Startled, Xue Qi and Hua Mi, who’!ve made their way over from the crowd, looked at him unbelievably. at At the flanks, impish Fox Spirit and Shi Dao silently held assessing gazeand looked at each other behind him.
｛I begin expanding the “Musing Night. “｝
A sudden dark, cold aura burst outward. Everyone felt goose bumps crawled crawling along their skin.
The “Crystal ” that I need appears indistinguishable from any of these.
Celsius, who had already approached, said sharply, his eyes turning piercing: “Since they’re useless, sir, what do you mean by paying the bill? “
“I just wanted to do something interesting in my spare time. “
Yang Zicang continued with a smile, “I heard that the natural crystalline formations of Ember Ore are quite unique. I thought they might be useful for making some alchemical items, which is why I sought out Second Master. “
He raised his hands and said, “But after just looking at it, the goods you gave me all fall short of the standard I need. “
As soon as these words were spoken, some people at the door who recognized Yang Zicang let out an “Oh~ ” and turned their gaze toward Celsius behind him.
Regulars here knew that Celsius was one of the heads of the trading ground; whenever he appeared, it basically meant there was a distinguished guest. And yet, this man before them, exuding a special aura, couldn’t even earn Celsius’s respect.
Yang Zicang hadn’t expected that a single sentence from him would put Celsius on the spot, “roasting him over an open fire. “
Celsius looked at the eyes of the surrounding customers and vendors, gritted his teeth, and thought to himself,This damn Fogfolk…
Had he thought of this beforehand, or was it just a convenient coincidence?
-｛Distributor April·Odyssey gave me a “Favorable Review. “｝
As the sound came from the golden pendant, Yang Zicang saw Celsius become visibly more serious, then said with a soft, eerie smile:
“I apologize. For a distinguished guest like you, my earlier presumptuousness was indeed ungracious. Allow me to make up for it—I will personally escort you to retrieve all the ‘Remnant Ember Ore Crystals’ you have deposited over there. “
As the Mistlander retightened the lapels of his long coat with both hands and stepped down from the stone steps to approach, Selena felt her heart shift from ease into slight tension once more.
Just who in the world is this man before me? This active invitation of mine might have been a choice I’ll regret.
But… he scanned the meeting hall thugs surrounding the man in a loose encirclement—this showdown had already forced the opponent into revealing a new card, yet even so, he still hadn’t activated his template at all.
“May I ask, sir, who exactly are you? “
“I’m merely an ordinary guest of your Master Yu Yi. “
……
Not far away, He Yishu and his companion suddenly felt a faint, murky shadow of Yin energy slash across their skin.
He Yishu immediately realized that Chairman Yang had seized an opportunity and sent them a signal.
“Did you feel that Yin energy just now? ” Leonardo spoke from beside him.
“Come with me—an opportunity has presented itself. “
“What do you mean? ” Leonardo looked at him, a little bewildered. Then, as He Yishu began to move with agile strides, the prematurely astute young man by his side quickly fell into step.
Passing through several houses, a horse-drawn carriage clattered by: “Clop-clop. “
Casting a glance around to confirm there were no other passersby in the vicinity, He Yishu immediately leaned behind a wall and said:
“Have you tailed anyone before? That carriage should be the target. “
“Should be? You’re not sure either? ” Leonardo asked in a low, puzzled voice.
Although he knew that the man beside him had been with him the entire time without even receiving a single model link.
Lang Vitte on the carriage turned his head to glance out the window, but so far, no one had followed.
He set down a bag he had been clutching tightly, breathed a sigh of relief, and said to a man hidden in the shadows beside him, “Damn, got spotted by a Fogfolk. Almost landed myself in big trouble. “
“How could you be so careless? But then again, you can’t avoid dealing with Fogfolk in a place like this. “
The moment the man finished speaking, his eyes suddenly widened. He turned, yanked open the window, and peered into the darkness behind.
“What’s wrong? ” Lang Vitte asked nervously.
The man in the long black trench coat had three thin, bright rings spreading in his pupils. He listened silently for a moment, his aura shifting, then breathed, “Not good. We really are being tailed. “
……
Yang Zicang was once again invited into the trade market at the deepest part of the venue.
At this moment, the table was covered with two large boxes of black ore crystals. Two obviously foreign men and several others with impressive auras were talking to each other on the long sofa against the wall.
“This is all the ore crystals we have. While some people believe there are rarer crystals hidden inside the ember ore… As you can see, ” Selun pointed to a metal instrument beside him.
Seeing this old-fashioned machine, Yang Zicang’s facial expression twitched. This thing looked kinda like something he’d seen in a school-organized museum back in his childhood, seemed related to analyzing minerals.
A man on the sofa stood up.
“I know what you’re wondering about, sir. That’s right, it’s just an ordinary diffractometer for trace elemental components in ores. Hmm… through our years of empirical analysis, we can already roughly deduce from its data which aspect of the Five Elements it belongs to. “
At this moment, Yang Zicang intuitively felt why Mr. Saas and the other man valued him so much.
The hint of dismissiveness he’d held toward this mission finally turned into seriousness. Indeed, being able to gauge the elemental information within a ore just by a single finger—that was an exceptionally rare ability.
“Sir, are you here to select some ore? “
The other two people working on the machine turned around, also glancing toward Selius at the door.
Selius smiled. “This gentleman is the guest of Mr. Er that I just mentioned. The ore crystals selected for him earlier didn’t satisfy this Mistfolk gentleman, so I’ve brought him over. “
-｛Distributor April·Odyssey indicated they gave me a fierce “Neutral Review. “｝
This is all of the ore here. In Xue Qi’s eyes, it was as if she could see glorious, shimmering light spots sparkling brilliantly atop them.
-｛Distributor February·Dilian expressed anticipation for my supply.｝
Hearing Selu’s words, the operator of the instruments, Ju Luo Lan, frowned and glanced at Mr. Ge, who had specially invited her to conduct tests tonight, before turning to Yang Zicang.
“Esteemed guest, the ember ore crystals we’ve brought out just now are already considered top-grade here. What kind of crystals are you looking for? “
“Something with deeper stability. ” Yang Zicang stated bluntly.
“What! ” Mr. Ge exclaimed in surprise, his eyes fixed on the instrument as he watched the measurements. “You don’t mean those crystals called ‘Ember Cores,’ do you? “
Selu also looked at Yang Zicang in astonishment.
In an instant, several gazes converged on him. Yang Zicang nodded. “That’s right. I need those. “
Hua Mi, who had just barely managed to calm her nerves, felt her palms sweat in an instant at these words. Oh my god, how could Chairman Yang standing right beside her say such a thing? She turned her head to look at ‘Chairman Yang.’ What was he thinking?
“Why? ” Mr. Ge approached with a stern expression, “Did Second Master request these? “
“Because I’ve heard that ember ore crystals come in two types, and ordinary instruments can barely detect them, so I thought I’d test the skill of my craft. “
Yang Zicang said with a smile. “If you few need them, I can also help pick them out for free—purely voluntary. “
Everything had completely changed! Thinking about the plan they had discussed when planning to come here just yesterday, Hua Mi’s heart was pounding. She kinda regretted attending this kind of scene now.
Hearing the words “voluntary labor, ” Orange Roland, who had been testing ores all afternoon and had barely managed to distinguish three or four crystals, could no longer hold back.
“Sir, might I ask which laboratory you’re from? If you plan to rely on just your eyesight to test this data… tsk… “
Orange Roland was astonished to see a grayish-white, ethereal flame enveloping Yang Zicang’s fingertip as he reached toward the ore.
“What are you trying to do? Stop right there! These ores are precious and their energy unstable—an amateur tinkering blindly could trigger… ” Orange Roland hurried to intervene.
-｛Distributor Loki · Tata Mingqi expresses “interest. “｝
Yang Zicang swiftly sifted through one crystal after another, until his hand suddenly paused over one.
“This is the one. ” Feeling the distinct aura within, Yang Zicang gently activated his Silent Night ability to perceive the veins inside the ore crystal.
-｛Distributor Loki · Tata Mingqi expresses “wow. “｝
“What? You found one that fast? ” Mr. Ge approached in disbelief, then stared at him nervously. “Sir, I’m sorry, but these remnant ember cores aren’t for sale. “
Yang Zicang slowly raised his head, the memory runes that had surfaced in his mind dissipating once more. Having silently recorded all the main veins of the crystal in his palm, he spoke:
“No problem, as I said, I’m just volunteering, doing it for the fun of the thing. If you don’t want to sell, you can swap for something else. “
-｛Distributor Loki. Tata Mingqi shows “nod “.｝
-｛Distributor February. Di’an says, with the wealth of their experience, that the prelude to my glory is nearly fully conceived.｝
“You! ” Orange-Roland watched in disbelief as the man whose face he could not see actually walked over with the stone in his hand and held it out to him.
He took it hesitantly, immediately secured it onto the diffractometer, and nervously twisted the knobs to verify.
But before Orange-Roland could get results from his end, there was another softthump, and another lump of crystallized core was placed next to the apparatus.
With a heavy thud, yet another lump was set down in front of him. Orange-Roland, one eye pressed to the viewing lens scanning the spectral pattern, looked up in astonishment to see the man already rummaging through the bin, searching for the next piece.
“That’s impossible! ” Orange-Roland cried, his voice almost cracking. His own professional movements felt so clumsy and slow at that moment.
He wasn’t the only one saying that. The two foreigners, who had been lounging on the sofa and hadn’t planned to pay much attention, now stood up in shock and walked over.
“Oh, my dear sir, this is beyond incredible. “
“Are these really all ember cores? How did you manage this? “
The two gentlemen stared intently at Yang Zicang’s hand as if it possessed the Midas touch. “Sir, are you interested in discussing a collaboration? The compensation will absolutely satisfy you! ” They completely ignored Mr. Ge and Ju Lolan, whose faces were growing increasingly grim.
At that moment, the young man operating the professional instruments was drenched in sweat. Ju Lolan, while glancing at the machine in his own hand, periodically turned his head to watch the lingering flame at the man beside him’s fingertip sweep across ore crystal after ore crystal.
When the eighth ore crystal was placed into the cramped little space by his machine that was almost overflowing, Ju Lolan’s eyes were filled with despair.
After a flurry of activity, when Ju Lolan had finally completed the comparison of one ore’s data with the sample, Yang Zicang also felt his mental strength somewhat strained and stopped.
“Esteemed sir, please come over here and rest! “
The two foreign gentlemen, wearing vests and suits, invited him with immense awe and politeness, nearly trying to pull him away from Mr. Ge.
As for the two ladies, they had already been invited to sit like honored guests from the start.
“May I take a look at your hands? Ah… Incredible! Who exactly are you? May I have a way to contact you leave? “
Just as Yang Zicang was about to change the subject, Cecil, who had been leaning against the doorway observing everything, spoke with half-puzzled, half-certain:
“Sir, if I’m not wrong, could it be that you’re the one who single-handedly fended off the monster rampaging through our city just last night? “
Yang Zicang turned his head to look.
“Oh my god! No way, could he be that hero from the newspaper! “
Along with the exclamations of the two foreigners, Mr. Ge looked as if he had just realized something, his shock palpable.
“Wait! Wasn’t that gentleman from that night said to have been… ” He studied Yang Zicang’s face again, his gaze falling upon scars that covered his entire body. Suddenly feeling a pang of discomfort, he said, “So it really is you, Mr. Yang Bucheng! “
He walked over sincerely, his breath heavy as he let out a long sigh. “I must apologize for my previous rudeness. First of all, thank you for selflessly sacrificing yourself for our city’s disaster… ah, if you truly have a use for the crystals, I can provide you with a few. “
“Mr. Ge, ” Selu called out hesitantly.
Mr. Ge waved his hand, signaling him to be silent.
Under the expectant gazes of Hua Mi and Xue Qi, who had finally breathed a sigh of relief, Yang Zicang pondered for a moment before looking up and saying,
“The crystals really aren’t necessary. If possible, I’d like to obtain some information regarding the ‘Ring of Bloodline’, or perhaps other special items. “
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