Ruo Shui looked at the big characters "Bogu Pavilion" and his legs went weak as he turned his head desperately towards his wife for help.
Today he had already cruelly rejected his precious daughter several times, so it must be her mother's turn, right?
Madam Liu raised her head to look at the sky and meticulously counted the clouds under the blue sky: one, two, three, four...
Ruo Shui: "..."
How had he not realized before that his wife loved gazing at the sky so much?
Despair!
Ruo Shui struggled to swallow and said sheepishly to his daughter, "Xuanbao, the items inside are antiques, even if daddy sells everything, he can't afford them!"
Can't afford them? Ruo Xuan furrowed her brows and turned her little head to glance at the stone at the entrance of the antique shop.
When she was a flower, she grew in the crevices of this Five-Colored Stone.
It was her amulet, her flowerpot, her home.
It was precisely because of this Five-Colored Stone that she survived a hundred years on the barren Ruoshui Riverbank and gained sentience.
Moreover, she had collected many things inside the Five-Colored Stone.
Not buying it was out of the question!
"I would like to ask how many silver pieces it costs, and I can buy it when I have saved enough silver, okay?" Ruo Xuan turned to Ruo Shui with a compromise in her eyes.
"That's fine; let's go inside and ask. Daddy will work hard to earn silver to buy it for Xuanbao," Ruo Shui said tenderly, looking into his daughter's eager eyes.
Once again, he resolved in his heart to work hard to make money!
He stopped pushing the cart and picked his daughter up from Madam Liu's arms.
Madam Liu felt a bitterness in her heart. She quietly lowered her head and pressed the corner of her eyes with her sleeve before stepping down from the cart.
Other people's children would cry and make a scene when they saw something they liked, insisting on buying it, and if their parents did not agree, they even threw tantrums and rolled on the ground.
Xuanbao was quiet and well-behaved from the moment she was born, easy to take care of, and she could lie in bed by herself all day long.
Now that she could speak, she was affectionate and heartwarming, how could they, as parents, not feel distressed?
The family of three entered Bogu Pavilion.
A middle-aged shopkeeper greeted them as soon as he saw customers coming in. He did not neglect them because of their rough clothes but respectfully saluted with cupped hands, "Welcome, honored guests, to Bogu Pavilion. We have many items in our shop, including toys for children. Please take your time to look around and see if there is anything you like."
The shopkeeper glanced at Ruo Xuan and thought to himself: This little girl is truly beautiful. She has the appearance of a Fairy Child, just like the young master, almost celestial in her beauty.
Too beautiful to be human!
Ruo Shui looked at his daughter in his arms, "Xuanbao, what do you like? You can tell Uncle Shopkeeper."
Ruo Xuan turned her little body and pointed at the stone at the entrance that, despite resembling a Golden Ingot in shape, was actually quite ordinary, "Uncle Shopkeeper, I would like to buy that stone. How many silver pieces does it cost?"
A stone? The one by the entrance? Ruo Shui looked back and immediately breathed a sigh of relief. It turned out Xuanbao just wanted a doorstep stone!
That kind of Dingmen Stone placed at the entrance was just randomly picked up from the roadside, available everywhere. How much could it possibly be worth?
If he were the shopkeeper, he would let the customers take it away for free!
But since it was placed outside someone else's shop and resembled a Golden Ingot, he thought of spending five wen to buy it, and then carving another one to make it look more like a Golden Ingot for the shop. The shopkeeper would surely agree to sell it, right?
The shopkeeper was clearly taken aback and looked at Xuanbao with surprise before hesitantly saying, "This is the treasure of our Bogu Pavilion. I need to ask our young master if it's for sale."
Ruo Shui slowly turned his head to look at the shopkeeper, as if in slow motion like frames in a movie, his expression was this: (⊙_⊙)?
What?
The treasure of the shop?!!!!!!!!!
A Dingmen Stone that could be found everywhere on the streets?
What kind of sky-high joke is this?
The shopkeeper understood Ruo Shui's feelings all too well.
After all, when he first heard the young master call it the treasure of the shop, his expression was just the same.
Although this stone was unremarkable, it was personally given to him by the young master at the beginning of Bogu Pavilion's opening, telling him it was the treasure of the shop and to notify him if anyone wanted to buy it.
Then, he too had thought that this stone was a hidden Emperor Green Jadeite Raw Stone, notorious and prestigious.
Inside, there surely was a flawless treasure, a piece of the coveted Emperor Green.
He had even planned to find a rosewood stand to display the treasure in the most prominent part of the shop, only for the master to have him place it by the entrance as a Dingmen Stone.
He was petrified on the spot, utterly shocked!
That Dingmen Stone was conspicuous enough, using it to top the door could bring in wealth—all well and good. After the initial shock had passed, he managed to convince himself.
Then, every day, he cautiously moved the store's treasure to the doorway to top the door and studied it day and night for half a year, only to find that it was just an extremely ordinary stone—a stone you could see anywhere at the foot of a mountain, beside a river, or by the side of a road!
It had nothing to do with the Emperor Green Jadeite Raw Stone, not even half a penny's worth.
Although it looked like a Golden Ingot, it was truly worthless!
The shopkeeper said respectfully, "Young master, little miss, please wait a moment, I'll be right back."
Ruo Shui was about to turn around and leave with Xuanbao in her arms, but her precious daughter wasn't having it!
Ruo Xuan nodded her little head, mimicking the manners of an adult. She politely said, "Thank you, Uncle Shopkeeper!"
Ruo Shui could only stand stiffly at the entrance of the store, looking down at the Dingmen Stone beneath her feet, then at the dazzling array of treasures within—glittering gold, magnificent splendor, blinding brilliance, clearly worth a fortune. Her legs wobbled, her form swayed, and she instinctively leaned on the doorframe for support.
In the presence of this room full of rare and precious treasures, could the store's treasure even sell for five coins?
Wuu wuu...
Xuanbao really has a good eye!
How on earth did she spot the utterly unremarkable store's treasure among all these rare treasures at first glance?
Madam Liu glanced at the Dingmen Stone, then at her husband. Maybe she should go back and wait in the cart?
So, Madam Liu tiptoed out, leaving her husband to take care of their precious daughter.
A father looking after his daughter, she had nothing to worry about.
Ruo Shui: "..."
Soon, a little boy dressed in white, with a fair and handsome face, lifted the curtain and stepped out.
Ruo Xuan's big, round eyes widened: "Nine....."
Xuanyuan Que glanced at her lightly, and she immediately covered her mouth, not daring to utter another syllable.
Ruo Xuan's little heart was shock-stricken. How was the War God of the Ninth Heaven here, and turned into a mortal boy?
Then a thought occurred to her—could it be that the War God of the Ninth Heaven helped her to mend her soul and allowed her to reincarnate as a human?
Ruo Shui was stunned by the celestial appearance of the little boy in front of her, failing to notice her precious daughter's unusual behavior.
How could there be a boy so beautiful?
This must be a Fairy Child from the heavens, right?
Xuanyuan Que was used to the gaze of the common folk. His small face indifferent, he asked, "Would the customer like to buy that stone that's topping the door?"
Ruo Shui came back to her senses and quickly nodded, "It's my daughter who wants to buy it. We heard it's the store's treasure—may I know how much silver is needed?"
Xuanyuan Que glanced at the stone and said indifferently, "It's just a stone picked up by the riverside, used to top the door. It's not worth any silver; I'll give it to you!"
Shopkeeper: (⊙_⊙)?
Little master, that's not what you said before!
You clearly stated it was the store's treasure!
He had been researching it for a whole half year!
Ruo Shui heaved a huge sigh of relief.
He knew it! A plainly ordinary stone common on the streets—how could it possibly be the store's treasure?
The shopkeeper was really good at bluffing people!
Scared him to death!
Ruo Shui's feet suddenly felt sturdy again, and he laughed, "How could I possibly accept this without giving something in return? How about I find a better stone in the village for the young master when I return, and carve a better-looking Golden Ingot for your shop to top the door? My third brother's craftsmanship is quite good."
Ruo Xuan thought, this was her Five-Colored Stone, and since he was Divine Lord Nine Heavens and knew it was her stone, how could he possibly take her silver?
No need to return the favor—would a deity really care for an ordinary stone from the mortal world? They wouldn't be interested in the Five-Colored Divine Stone, after all, there's plenty in heaven.
He would definitely refuse!
Xuanyuan Que glanced at the Little Flower Fairy and said indifferently, "That works."
Ruo Xuan: (⊙_⊙)?