Ruo Shui looked at the big characters "Bogu Pavilion" and his legs went weak, so he turned his head pleadingly to his wife.
Today, he had already heartlessly rejected their beloved daughter several times, now it was his wife's turn, right?
Madame Liu looked up at the sky, counting the clouds in the blue sky, one by one: one, two, three, four...
Ruo Shui: "..."
Why hadn't he realized before that his wife loved to stare at the sky so much?
Having no other options!
Ruo Shui swallowed hard and, putting on a brave face, said to his daughter, "Xuanbao, the items in here are antiques, even if dad sold them, he couldn't afford them!"
Couldn't afford them? Ruo Xuan frowned slightly, 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 protective stone, her flower pot, her home.
It was because of this Five-Colored Stone that she had been able to survive a hundred years on the barren Ruoshui Riverbank, growing spiritual wisdom.
And she had collected many things to keep inside the Five-Colored Stone.
Not buying it was not an option!
"I want to ask how much silver it costs, and I'll buy it when I have saved enough silver, is that okay?" Ruo Xuan asked Ruo Shui, as a second option.
"That's fine, let's go in and ask. Dad will work hard to save the silver and buy it for Xuanbao," Ruo Shui said, moved by his daughter's eager eyes.
Once again, he decided in his heart to strive hard to earn money!
He stopped pushing the cart and took his daughter from Madame Liu's arms.
A bitter taste filled Madame Liu's heart; she quietly lowered her head, dabbing at the corner of her eye with her sleeve before stepping down from the cart.
Their daughter was too well-behaved and understanding. Other children, when they saw something they liked, would cry and make a fuss, demanding their parents buy it, and might even throw tantrums on the ground if refused.
Xuanbao had been easy to take care of from birth, not crying or causing trouble, content to lie in bed all day.
Now that she could speak, she was sweet and warm-hearted, how could they not feel sorry for her?
The family of three entered Bogu Pavilion.
A middle-aged shopkeeper noticed the customers entering and hurriedly came to greet them. Despite their simple clothing, he didn't neglect them but greeted them respectfully with a salutation, "Welcome to Bogu Pavilion. Our shop has many items, and there are also toys that children like to play with. Please take your time to look around."
The shopkeeper glanced at Ruo Xuan and thought to himself: The little girl is really beautiful. She has a countenance like a Fairy Child, ethereal as if not of this world.
Ruo Shui looked at his daughter in his arms, "Xuanbao, what do you like? You can tell Shopkeeper Uncle."
Ruo Xuan twisted her small body, pointed back at the stone by the door that resembled a Golden Ingot, though ordinary otherwise, and said, "Shopkeeper Uncle, I want to buy that stone. How much silver does it cost?"
The stone? The one at the doorway? Ruo Shui turned his head to look and immediately breathed a sigh of relief; so Xuanbao just wanted a Dingmen Stone!
Such stones placed at the door were picked up casually from the roadside, commonly found everywhere; how could they be worth any silver?
If he were the shopkeeper, he'd just let the customer take it away!
But since it was placed outside someone else's shop and looked like a Golden Ingot, if he paid five wen for it, and then helped the store carve a stone that looked even more like a Golden Ingot, the shopkeeper might be willing to sell it?
The shopkeeper, clearly startled, glanced at Xuanbao in surprise, then hesitated and said, "This is the treasure of our Bogu Pavilion; I need to ask our young master if he's willing to sell it."
Ruo Shui slowly turned his head toward the shopkeeper, like a slow-motion frame in a film, his expression as follows: (⊙_⊙)?
What?
The treasure of the shop?!!
A Dingmen Stone that could be found anywhere?
What kind of ludicrous joke was this?
The shopkeeper very much understood Ruo Shui's feelings.
After all, when he first heard from the young master that this was the treasure of the shop, his expression was just like that.
Though this stone was plain, it was handed over to him personally by the young master when Bogu Pavilion first opened, saying it was the treasure of the shop and to notify him if someone came to buy it.
And then, he had once thought this stone was a deeply hidden Emperor Green Jade Raw Stone.
Surely, there was a rare treasure hidden inside, a flawless piece of Emperor Green.
He was thinking about finding a pear wood rack to place the treasured centerpiece of the shop in the most eye-catching spot, but the boss had him put it at the doorstep as a Dingmen Stone.
He was petrified on the spot, shocked!
Dingmen Stone, quite eye-catching, and it could attract wealth at the entrance. After he recovered from his shock, he finally convinced himself.
Then, every day, he carefully moved the treasure of the shop to the doorstep as a Dingmen Stone and spent six months studying it day and night, only to realize it was just an ordinary stone that could be found anywhere— at the foot of the mountain, by the river, or by the roadside!
It had nothing to do with the Emperor Green Jadeite Raw Stone.
Although it looked like a Golden Ingot, it was truly worthless!
The shopkeeper said respectfully, "Young Master, please wait a moment, I'll be right back."
Ruo Shui was about to turn around and leave with Xuanbao, but his precious daughter wasn't having it!
Ruo Xuan nodded her little head and mimicked an adult's manner, and said politely, "Thank you, Uncle Shopkeeper!"
Ruo Shui could only stand stiffly at the entrance of the shop, looking at the Dingmen Stone beneath his feet and then at the dazzling array of treasures inside the shop, glittering and shimmering, evidently worth a fortune, his legs going soft, his body swaying, subconsciously leaning on the doorframe.
In front of all these rare and exotic treasures inside the shop, could the centerpiece even sell for five coins?
Oh...
Xuanbao has such great taste!
How did she spot this utterly ordinary treasure among all these rare and exotic treasures at first glance?
Mrs. Liu glanced at the Dingmen Stone, then at her husband: Maybe she should just wait in the cart after all?
So, Mrs. Liu tiptoed out, leaving her husband to take care of their precious daughter.
With her own dad taking care of her daughter, she had nothing to worry about.
Ruo Shui: "..."
Soon, a young boy in white, pristine and handsome, lifted the curtain and came out.
Ruo Xuan widened her big, round eyes, "Nine....."
Xuanyuan Que gave Ruo Xuan a faint glance, and she covered her mouth, not daring to utter another half syllable.
Ruo Xuan's little heart was extremely shocked, how could the warrior god of the Nine Heavens be here, and turned into a mortal boy?
Then she thought of something, could it be that the war god of the Nine Heavens helped her to bind her soul and let her reincarnate as a human?
Ruo Shui was stunned by the heavenly beauty of this young boy, failing to notice his daughter's odd behavior.
How could there be such a beautiful boy?
He must be an Immortal Child descended from heaven!
Xuanyuan Que was long accustomed to people's gazes; his expression indifferent, he asked, "Do you want to buy that stone at the entrance?"
Ruo Shui snapped back to reality, hurriedly nodding, "It's my daughter who wants to buy it. I heard it's the treasure of the shop. How much silver is needed?"
Xuanyuan Que glanced at the stone and said lightly, "It's just a stone picked up by the river, used as a Dingmen Stone, not worth any silver. I'll give it to you!"
Shopkeeper: (⊙_⊙)?
Little master, that's not what you said before!
You clearly said it was the treasure of the shop!
I've been studying it for half a year!
Ruo Shui breathed a huge sigh of relief.
He knew it, it was just an ordinary stone common on the streets, how could it possibly be the treasure of the shop?
The shopkeeper really knew how to bluff!
He was scared to death!
Feeling more grounded, Ruo Shui laughed, "How can I accept this? Why don't I go back to the village and find a nicer stone for you, and carve a more beautiful Golden Ingot for your shop as a Dingmen Stone? My third brother is really skilled at carving."
Ruo Xuan thought, this was her Five-Colored Stone, and since he was a god from the Nine Heavens and knew it was her stone, how could he accept her silver?
No need for a return gift, would a divine being even care for a mundane stone? He wouldn't care even for a Five-Colored Divine Stone, given the abundance in heaven.
He would certainly refuse!
Xuanyuan Que glanced at Little Flower Fairy and said indifferently, "Sure."
Ruo Xuan: (⊙_⊙)?