Chapter 5: Master Xuanqing Sends Someone

Jianghu People?

Shen Bai’s brow furrowed slightly when he heard those two words.

Ordinarily, he wouldn’t think much of a member of the Jianghu dropping by. But these were unusual times. For one to suddenly appear in the pawnshop suggested there was more to this than met the eye.

Besides, the look on Qin Shuang’s face wasn’t normal, either.

With that in mind, Shen Bai momentarily set aside his plans to cultivate the Bright Jade Evil Body.

He followed Qin Shuang’s lead and walked into the pawnshop.

The pawnshop was currently empty, save for a single man standing before the counter, glancing around. His plain attire was typical for Jianghu People.

The man had an ordinary face and a longsword tucked into his belt. His hand rested on the hilt, never once letting go.

The moment he saw Shen Bai arrive, the Jianghu person’s expression changed, his eyes tinged with a hint of contempt.

Seeing that look, Shen Bai knew something was wrong.

’Even if he’s here to pawn something, that’s not the right attitude to have.’

"You’re the Shopkeeper of this pawnshop?" the Jianghu person asked, his tone incredibly arrogant. He lifted his chin, sizing Shen Bai up with a sidelong glance.

Shen Bai frowned and nodded. "That’s right, I am. Are you here to pawn something, or is there another matter?"

The Jianghu person let out a dry chuckle, then pulled a piece of Jade the size of a pigeon’s egg from his robes and placed it on the counter. "Take a look at this for me. How much can I get for it?"

Shen Bai stepped forward, took the Jade in his hand to examine it closely, and then said, "Five taels of silver."

It was a fine piece of Jade, not a Deceitful Object. It was translucent throughout with few impurities. Five taels of silver was a reasonable price.

Hearing this, the Jianghu person chuckled again. "How about for ten taels of silver? Can you do that?"

Shen Bai shook his head. "I can’t."

He slid the Jade across the counter, pushing it to the edge. "Take it somewhere else. I can’t make that deal."

The Jade was good, but it certainly wasn’t worth ten taels of silver. There was no sense in running a business at a loss.

Upon hearing this, the Jianghu person raised his hand and picked up the Jade.

This was all perfectly normal. If he couldn’t pawn the item, he would simply take it and try somewhere else.

Although this was the only pawnshop in Shengyun County, business was ultimately a matter of mutual consent.

But just as the Jianghu person took the Jade in his hand, his grip suddenly loosened. The pigeon-egg-sized piece of Jade fell to the floor with a CRACK, shattering into pieces.

The sound of it shattering was especially jarring inside the pawnshop.

After the Jade shattered on the floor, the Jianghu person suddenly drew the longsword from his belt.

"You damn Shopkeeper! You smashed my Jade! You’re not going anywhere today unless you make this right."

Shen Bai narrowed his eyes. "Ten taels of silver, was it? Take the ten taels and go."

As he spoke, he took ten taels of silver from a nearby drawer and placed it on the counter.

The Jianghu person was taken aback, clearly not expecting Shen Bai to be so agreeable.

Staring at the ten taels of silver on the counter, the Jianghu person subconsciously picked it up.

A moment later, as if remembering something, he tossed the silver back onto the counter.

"It was ten taels before it was broken. Now that it’s smashed, it’s not ten taels anymore. That was my family heirloom! You’ll have to compensate me at least a hundred taels or so."

Nearby, Qin Shuang saw what was happening and stepped forward.

"You clearly broke it yourself. Why are you blaming our pawnshop?"

The Jianghu person sneered. "The two of you say I broke it myself, but what I saw was you breaking it. What, are you trying to use your numbers to bully me?"

As he spoke, the Jianghu person drew his longsword.

Shen Bai sighed and turned his head. "Qin Shuang."

Qin Shuang answered.

Shen Bai pointed to the entrance. "Close the door."

Qin Shuang nodded, walked to the door, closed it, and slid the bolt into place.

The Jianghu person was baffled by this, but he still held his longsword and sneered, "What? Can’t talk your way out of it, so you close the door? Trying to keep the pawnshop’s dirty secrets from getting out?"

Shen Bai raised an eyebrow. "I gave you a chance."

The Jianghu person froze for a second.

Shen Bai stepped out from behind the counter, a longsword now at his hip. "I don’t know who sent you here to stir up trouble, but I don’t like to make things complicated. If you had taken the ten taels of silver and left, I would have pretended I saw nothing. That was me showing you respect. But by not leaving, you’re disrespecting me."

"Who sent me? I don’t know what you’re talking about." The Jianghu person raised his longsword. "If you don’t want to pay up, you’ll have to pay a different price. How about one of your hands? I’d say that’s more than reasonable."

Shen Bai shook his head. "People who disrespect me usually end up dead. But for you, I’ll make a special exception."

The Jianghu person’s brow furrowed. He was about to retort when he noticed something was wrong.

Shen Bai’s hands were glowing with a golden light as he reached for the man’s arm.

The Jianghu person reacted quickly, sneering as he swung his longsword at Shen Bai’s left hand.

A cold glint flashed from the longsword. Just as it was about to strike Shen Bai’s left hand, he made no move to dodge. Instead, he reached out and caught the blade.

With a flicker of Buddha’s Light, the longsword instantly shattered into a thousand pieces.

A look of absolute terror spread across the Jianghu person’s face. He tried to turn and run, only to find the door was already locked shut.

Cold sweat dripped from his forehead as a searing pain shot through his shoulder. Shen Bai had torn one of his arms clean off and tossed it casually aside.

Blood splattered across the pawnshop floor as the Jianghu person writhed on the ground, screaming in agony.

Shen Bai picked up a rag from nearby and gently wiped his right hand. "You said you wanted one of my hands. I’ve granted your wish. Now, let’s see how cooperative you’re going to be."

’For someone to show up and cause trouble for no apparent reason—someone I don’t even know—is unbelievable. There has to be someone pulling the strings.’

As for whether it was Zhang Chaofeng, Shen Bai thought it was unlikely.

Zhang Chaofeng had been lying low in Shengyun County for so many years. He was far too cunning to try something so crude.

As Shen Bai spoke, the Jianghu person continued to scream incoherently.

Shen Bai frowned. "Forget it. I’ll just cut out his tongue. He can still write, and it’ll be quieter."

The words were spoken calmly, but to the Jianghu person’s ears, they were like the whispers of a demon. A cold sweat drenched his body, and he forced himself to stop screaming.

Shen Bai crouched down. "Speak," he said softly. "Tell me who it was, and I might consider giving you a quick death. Otherwise, I’ll grind your bones to dust, one by one."

The Jianghu person trembled. "Sir, please spare me! It was Master Xuanqing from Qingyun Cloud Temple. He sent me to test your strength."

"Master Xuanqing? I don’t know him," Shen Bai said, rubbing his chin.

He recalled hearing news not long ago that Qingyun Cloud Temple had sent someone over. He was supposedly a master of the younger generation named Master Xuanqing.

But he couldn’t recall ever crossing paths with this Master Xuanqing.

The Jianghu person hurriedly explained, "He said he saw your power in a village somewhere, so he sent me to confirm it."