Chapter 133: The Ancient Sword

Zhoujing Street was bustling with life.

Tang Xiaoyu ran up to Li Changqing, beaming, and twirled around. "How is it? Does it look good? Do you want to wear something like this? I’ll buy it for you."

Li Changqing smiled and shook his head. Throughout the entire Zhoujing Street, traces of modernity were rare. Unlike the "ancient towns" in his previous life—which were cluttered with external air conditioning units, glass fixtures, and other modern paraphernalia—this place maintained a different atmosphere. Even the light bulbs in the shops were encased in paper lanterns. The storefronts along the street were designed to mimic ancient styles, complete with traditional inns and the like.

By the side of the road, a storyteller sat behind a desk, his voice ringing out clearly: "Now, when the ancient State of Zhou sent forth its armies to pacify the four kingdoms, who would have thought that the ancient State of Yan would produce a Peerless Marquis?"

"They say this Peerless Marquis had three heads and six arms, and it was only by summoning heavenly soldiers and generals that he managed to repel the great army of the State of Zhou..."

Tang Xiaoyu blinked, looking over with curiosity. "Three heads and six arms? Wouldn't that make him a monster?"

Li Changqing smiled and explained, "Storytellers always exaggerate to catch people's attention. Otherwise, how could they draw a crowd?"

As he spoke, he noticed a vendor selling candied haws and bought four skewers, curious to see how they tasted.

The street also featured gambling dens where many tourists went to play. However, the "wagers" were merely tokens exchanged at the counter, purely for entertainment.

Zhoujing Street was vast. Hu Xiong spoke up, "Old Bai, let's go, let's head into this gambling den and take a look around."

Bai Chuan had no interest in gambling and frowned, but Hu Xiong dragged him away, whispering, "Why should we stay here and play the third wheel?"

He then turned back and said with a grin, "Let's meet at the entrance of Zhoujing Street in an hour!"

"Alright!" Tang Xiaoyu nodded, happily taking Li Changqing’s hand as they walked forward.

"Step right up, don't miss out! These are relics from the ancient State of Zhou, three-thousand-year-old antiques!" a vendor shouted from his stall.

"How much are they?" Tang Xiaoyu blinked as she looked at the items on the table.

"Miss, three hundred Lang coins each, take your pick," the vendor said with a chuckle. Most of these items were fakes; many of the "antiques" even had the stamps of ceramic factories on the bottom. Still, the crowd was a mix of the genuine and the fraudulent, and occasionally, someone would actually manage to unearth a real antique here.

"Is there anything you want? I'll buy it for you," Tang Xiaoyu said, perhaps in a good mood, offering with rare generosity as she looked back at Li Changqing.

Li Changqing didn't have anything particular in mind, but suddenly, he felt the three dice in his mind tremble slightly. Startled, he looked closely at the stall. Could there be something here that triggered such a reaction?

He squatted down in front of the stall and examined the items carefully. Soon, his gaze locked onto a sword still covered in dirt. It was rusted and grimy, looking as if it had just been unearthed.

"What is this?" Li Changqing asked, pointing to the blade.

Seeing that something had caught Li Changqing's eye, the boss smiled and said, "A discerning eye! But this sword isn't three hundred Lang coins; it’s three thousand! I acquired this piece, and word has it that it was unearthed in the ancient State of Yan—a three-thousand-year-old antique."

This was a common tactic for many vendors: start with a low price to see if anything catches a customer's eye, then immediately hike it up once interest is shown.

"Didn't you say everything was three hundred Lang coins?" Tang Xiaoyu frowned, clearly dissatisfied with the boss's flip-flopping.

The boss, accustomed to such scenes, chuckled and slapped his own thigh. "I didn't realize this sword was among the items."

"If you think it's too expensive, we can discuss the price, but the cost price for this sword alone was twenty-five hundred Lang coins."

Li Changqing watched the boss's expression, picked up the sword, and gave it a casual look. He frowned slightly and said, "It looks decent enough, but its value as a collectible is limited. I have plenty of these at home. One thousand Lang coins, or I'm walking."

With that, he put the sword back and made a move to leave, pulling Tang Xiaoyu with him.

The boss stood there, watching them walk away, and grew anxious.

Tang Xiaoyu, seeing Li Changqing's reaction, assumed he really didn't want it because of the price. She whispered, "Changqing, if you really like it, three thousand is fine. I'm buying it for you anyway, it's not like you're spending your own money."

But at that moment, the boss called out from behind, "Fifteen hundred Lang coins—deal!"

This was a mass-produced item he had imported, with a cost price of about a hundred Lang coins. Selling it for fifteen hundred was a massive profit.

Li Changqing then smiled, turned back with Tang Xiaoyu, and bought the sword. The boss even threw in a fairly exquisite sword box.

After buying the antique for Li Changqing, Tang Xiaoyu was in a great mood. She suddenly felt that spending money was actually quite fun.

As they strolled along, the two slowly arrived in front of a quaint wall. A sign hung on it reading: "Ruins of the Zhou Imperial Palace."

There were security guards watching the entrance to the ruins. It was said that many antiques and artifacts were stored inside, though, naturally, there had been no shortage of thieves trying to break in over the years.

"Li Changqing," Tang Xiaoyu said, pointing in the distance.

Li Changqing followed her gaze. A beautiful woman, about twenty-five or twenty-six, wearing a dress similar to a qipao, was walking leisurely through Zhoujing Street.

Zhang Xun'er.

She was the leader of the Shenyan monster group, and Li Changqing had reviewed her file. His brows knit slightly; he hadn't expected to run into her here.

Perhaps sensing someone watching her, Zhang Xun'er turned around. Seeing a young man accompanied by a female ghost, she merely offered a faint smile, assuming they were fellow travelers in the supernatural world, before moving on.

"Should we follow her?" Tang Xiaoyu whispered.

"We're in an unfamiliar place, and besides, what would we gain by following her?" Li Changqing dismissed the suggestion. Since the people from the Seventh Group of the First Bureau wanted to handle things their own way, he was happy to take it easy.

After finishing their walk through Zhoujing Street, Li Changqing and Tang Xiaoyu returned to the entrance, where they soon saw Hu Xiong and Bai Chuan approaching.

Hu Xiong looked regretful. "Li Changqing, do you know how much I won in that gambling den? If we were back in ancient times, what I just won would have kept me well-fed and clothed for a lifetime!"

"That impressive?" Li Changqing asked with a smile.

Hu Xiong sighed. "Born in the wrong era, who knew I had such a talent for gambling?"

Bai Chuan glanced at him. "That gambling den is a tourist attraction. Every tourist who goes in wins big. They're just playing along to keep you happy. You're just getting a thrill out of it; you aren't taking a single cent with you."