It was already six in the evening. During the summer, it gets dark later, and now the sky still had some light. Gu Qin had taken a nap, eaten something, and regained some strength. Moreover, she had just tried to communicate with the heaven and earth's energy. In this era, economic and technological advancements had progressed greatly, but some things had regressed, and the amount of heaven and earth energy had decreased considerably. However, in deep mountains and forests, there should still be much more energy than in the city.
At the moment, it was not feasible for her to go to deep mountains or forests for cultivation. After using her Heavenly Eye, absorbing the heaven and earth energy would not be harmful. The original body had not known how to communicate with heaven and earth's energy, so the body suffered a loss of vital essence, which led to the frailty. After using the Heavenly Eye, it would take several months to recover each time.
The unique features of this era amazed Gu Qin. Now that she had some free time, she couldn't bear to return to the inn immediately and instead took a walk nearby.
Passing a small stall, Gu Qin stopped and looked at it with surprise.
The stall was set up on the side of the road, selling all kinds of things—small jade items, iron tools, copper coins, jade bracelets, ancient bowls, vases, and so on. From her memory, this should be an antique stall, but there was a dedicated antique street in Daishan. Why would this stall be placed here in this alley?
Antique stalls, from her memory, usually sold things from past dynasties. Antiques were items left over from previous eras. Gu Qin, being from several thousand years ago, could immediately tell that there was not a single genuine item on this stall. When it came to antiques, if they were left over from previous dynasties and had lasted for a hundred or a thousand years, they would carry various forms of heaven and earth energy or yin energy.
Gu Qin could see energy and yin energy with her Heavenly Eye, so she could easily spot that everything on this stall was fake, except for one thing. It was a small copper figurine, about the size of a thumb, with many dark, grimy spots. The little copper figurine was lying in the corner of the stall. If she hadn't used her Heavenly Eye, she would have missed it.
This little copper figurine had evidently been nurtured by heaven and earth's energy. It wasn't an item from ancient times, and it should have been made in the last century, but it had been nurtured by heaven and earth's energy and had now become a magical item.
Magical items and antiques both carried heaven and earth's energy, but they were not the same. For something to become a magical item, it needed to be a specific kind of object, like this small copper figurine, or something like jade. The range of antiques was much broader, including ancient tools and paintings. Magical items could be classified into Buddhist magical items and metaphysical magical items, but in essence, there was no difference between them. Buddhist magical items, like wooden fish, bowls, staffs, vajra bells, and vajra scepters, are the tools used in Buddhist practice. Because they had been worn by those with cultivation for a long time, they had become magical items.
In addition, there were feng shui magical items, such as gourds, jade gourds, copper gourds, qilin, pixiu, Wen Chang towers, Bagua mirrors, dragon turtles, copper coins, and so on. These were used to arrange real feng shui setups. To properly arrange a feng shui formation, these magical items were essential.
Magical items also included attack-type items and protective items, and this little copper figurine belonged to the protective type. Moreover, all magical items had ranks, from high to low: celestial-grade, earth-grade, mysterious-grade, and yellow-grade. These types were further divided into superior, intermediate, and inferior magical items. This little copper figurine was a low-tier yellow-grade magical item.
In this world, most magical items were of yellow or mysterious grades, and there were few earth-grade and celestial-grade items. Gu Qin had only seen earth-grade magical items in her previous life.
Magical items could also be cultivated by arranging formations in places rich in energy. Similarly, magical items could be nurtured by yin energy. These magical items, nurtured by yin energy, were often burial items like daggers, knives, or swords, and ordinary people or those with low cultivation couldn't control them.
Of course, ordinary people had no idea what magical items were and wouldn't believe in them. Gu Qin crouched down and touched the small copper figurine. "Boss, how much is this?"
The boss was a man in his thirties or forties, with a scruffy beard. When he heard someone asking about the price, he glanced at the small copper figurine. "This one? It's a fixed price—two thousand. I got it from a family deep in the mountains. They said it's a family heirloom from the Tang Dynasty. Little girl, two thousand isn't expensive. Let me tell you…"
"How about eighty-five?" Gu Qin interrupted before the boss could finish. She only had eighty-five yuan on her. Also, she remembered that these items were usually overpriced.
The boss was stunned for a moment. "Little girl, this price is a bit too low, don't you think?"
Gu Qin stood up. "Then forget it, I won't buy it." She only had eighty-five yuan, and if the man didn't agree, she wouldn't be able to buy it.
"Hey, hey…" Seeing that Gu Qin was about to leave, the boss panicked. "Little girl, come on, at least raise the price a bit. How about two hundred?"
"I only have eighty-five," Gu Qin turned to leave.
"Alright, alright, I'll give it to you." The boss sighed. "You're really clever, little girl. I'm practically losing money, but today I'm in a good mood, and since we have fate, I'll sell it to you."
Gu Qin handed over the money and took the little copper figurine, leaving without saying another word. She really only had eighty-five yuan left.
When she returned to the inn, Li Lingxia said, "Qinqin, I saw you buying something from that stall just now? Let me tell you, all the stuff on his stall is fake. Don't get tricked. If you want to pick up a bargain, go to the antique street. Daishan has one. This guy used to sell on the antique street, but his reputation was bad. He sold fake things, and they kicked him out. You didn't get fooled by him, did you?"
Gu Qin knew what antiques were, but it was much harder to find a good deal now than in the 90s when there were many antiques and fewer people collected them.
She took out the little copper figurine and showed it to Li Lingxia. "Aunt Li, don't worry, I liked it, so I bought it. It was only a few dozen yuan, not expensive."
"Alright, then. But don't buy from him again next time."
Gu Qin went back to her room to rest. Around eight o'clock, her mother called. Gu Qin went out to meet her mother and brought her inside. Li Lingxia, who was a bit confused about Gu Qin's situation, looked at her and felt puzzled about why she was staying outside instead of going home. When she saw Gu Qin's mother arrive, her confusion deepened but she didn't ask further, giving the room to the two of them.
"Qinqin, what happened?" Cheng Yinxiang said anxiously. "You wouldn't tell me on the phone. I'm so worried."
Gu Qin didn't hide it and told her everything that had happened. Gu Yuanjiang had asked her to donate a kidney, then went to the notary to sign papers and sent her to the operating room. When she woke up, she found herself undergoing open-chest surgery. She even opened her shirt slightly to show the wound to Cheng Yinxiang.
From the moment Gu Qin mentioned donating the kidney, Cheng Yinxiang was trembling. When she heard that the anesthesia hadn't worked and she woke up to find herself undergoing open-chest surgery, and then saw the wound on her daughter's body, she couldn't hold back any longer and began to cry. Gu Qin didn't interrupt. After Cheng Yinxiang cried, she wiped her tears, her hands trembling, but she tightly held her daughter's hand. "Don't be afraid, Qinqin. Mom will stand up for you. It's all my fault. If I had cared more about you, this wouldn't have happened."
"Mom, it's not your fault." Gu Qin's voice was low. "It's my fault. I shouldn't have been so weak. I didn't want to donate a kidney, and I definitely didn't want to donate my heart."
"Qinqin, mom won't let them get away with it." Just as she was speaking, Gu Qin's phone rang again. It was Gu Yuanjiang. He had called more than twenty times this afternoon and sent dozens of text messages, all asking where she was and why she wasn't keeping her promise, with the other side waiting for her kidney.
Cheng Yinxiang grabbed the phone and saw it was his call. She was about to answer, but Gu Qin hurriedly whispered, "Mom, turn on the recorder."
Cheng Yinxiang immediately understood her daughter's intention, turned on the recorder, and then answered the call. Gu Yuanjiang's frantic voice came through. "Qinqin, where are you? Why are you so unreasonable? Others are waiting for your kidney, and you want to make them wait and die?"
Cheng Yinxiang trembled with anger. "Gu Yuanjiang, you… you scoundrel! How can you bear to make your own daughter donate her kidney? That's not donating a kidney! How did it end up being heart surgery? Tell me, who are you planning to sell Qinqin's heart to?"
Gu Yuanjiang replied, "You… How is it you, Cheng Yinxiang? What nonsense are you talking? I just asked her to donate a kidney!"
Cheng Yinxiang was furious. "Why don't you go donate it yourself! Gu Yuanjiang, don't go too far." No matter what Cheng Yinxiang said, Gu Yuanjiang refused to admit he was planning to sell Gu Qin's heart. Cheng Yinxiang cried bitterly, "All these years, I've never asked for anything from you. How has your family treated me? I've said nothing. You've been selfish all along, only thinking about yourself. You went into business and lost money. Now, you want to trade Qinqin's life for money. Gu Yuanjiang, you're not human! I'm going to divorce you!"
Gu Yuanjiang sneered. "Fine, divorce then. Who's afraid of who? Let me tell you, I've lost over a million in goods because of the cement. If you divorce, the debts will be split between us!"
"Fine, let's divorce!" Cheng Yinxiang agreed. Only by divorcing could Qinqin stop being mistreated by the Gu family. What's fifty thousand? She could always pay it back.
After hanging up, Cheng Yinxiang's tears fell silently. She cried quietly, without making a sound. All these years, she had endured the Gu family's disregard for Qinqin and herself. But in the end, Gu Yuanjiang was so heartless, ready to sell Qinqin just like that.
After Cheng Yinxiang had cried enough, she discussed it with Gu Qin. The two of them decided to rent a place. Cheng Yinxiang worked as an accountant in a company. In addition to her salary, she also had some side income, so her monthly income was around eight or nine thousand yuan. Renting a place and using the remaining money for daily expenses and to pay off debts would be barely enough.
Cheng Yinxiang really didn't want to continue living with Gu Yuanjiang. This time, he had tried to sell her daughter's heart for his business. Even though it failed, who could guarantee he wouldn't do it again? One time was enough. She wouldn't let Qinqin be sold again.
The next morning, Cheng Yinxiang planned to take Gu Qin and leave. She knew that Gu Qin had no money, so she went to pay the innkeeper. To her surprise, the innkeeper refused to accept her money, saying that if it weren't for Gu Qin, their child wouldn't have survived.
Li Lingxia explained what had happened. Cheng Yinxiang thought it was because Gu Qin had seen something and saved the child's life. She knew that Gu Qin sometimes could see things that would happen in the future. Only the three of them knew about this and had never told anyone else.
Since it was like this, Cheng Yinxiang didn't insist on paying, planning to leave with Gu Qin. Li Lingxia said, "Qinqin, wait a moment." She hurried back to her room and quickly returned with a red envelope. "Auntie prepared a red envelope for you. Please take it. Don't mind that it's little."