Chapter 151

Chapter 151: Random Essays, Touching Porcelain

With Lu Qing’s supernatural powers activated, the books on the bookshelf began to glow with their own supernatural aura.

Most of them were books, each emitting a faint white light.

Occasionally, Lu Qing would remove one with a stronger glow and flip through its pages, checking to see if it was what he needed.

If he found something suitable, he would take it, intending to purchase and study it in detail later.

After a round of browsing, Lu Qing’s hands were filled with a thick stack of books.

Mostly, they covered the customs and cultures of various parts of the world, helping him to better understand the world.

At the back of a shelf, Lu Qing took down another book emitting a strong white glow. As he was about to leave, he suddenly felt a flash of red light out of the corner of his eye, and he stopped dead in his tracks.

Following the red light, he pushed aside a pile of scattered books on the bottom shelf,

revealing a volume emitting a faint red glow.

Lu Qing was surprised; this was the only red-light-level book he had seen in the bookshop.

He picked up the dusty book and brushed it off, only to find that the cover bore no title or author’s name.

But it didn’t matter; his supernatural powers soon uncovered information about the book.

[Xiaoyao Sanren’s Essays: Essays written by a pitiful individual who vainly sought the truth behind the demise of the Age of Immortal Cultivation.]

[This book contains information about the Age of Immortal Cultivation.]

[Some interesting speculations about the truth behind the demise of the Age of Immortal Cultivation.]

[Want to download and study?]

It was actually a book about the Age of Immortal Cultivation!

Lu Qing was pleasantly surprised.

He opened it and flipped through a few pages, his joy growing even brighter.

After a moment’s thought, he took the book and approached the bookstore owner.

“Boss, where did you get this book? Do you have any other copies?”

The bookstore owner, already beaming, looked at the large stack of books in

Lu Qing’s hands. He immediately took the books and began to examine them.

However, after flipping through the essay, his brow furrowed.

“Sir, please forgive my ignorance. I’m not familiar with the origins of this book.”

“Even you, the owner, don’t know?” Lu Qing was surprised.

From the owner’s appearance, he’d assumed he knew the bookshop quite well.

“To be honest, sir, this bookshop has been in our family for three generations. Many of the books have been collected since my grandfather’s generation.

So even I can’t identify the origins of every single one. And since this book doesn’t even have a title, it’s even harder to trace its origins. Where did you find it?” “It’s

right under the innermost shelf.”

“That’s it. Most of the books there are of unknown authorship and murky provenance. Very few people read them. I don’t know where my grandfather got them from. Some have been sitting there for decades, almost a hundred years.

If I hadn’t dried them occasionally to revise them, they would have long since decayed. It would be difficult for you to trace their origins.”

After hearing the bookshop owner’s explanation, Lu Qing realized that finding Xiaoyao Sanren’s other works was unlikely.

Feeling a little disappointed, but knowing it was impossible, he placed the books on the counter.

“That’s all right, boss. I’ll take all these books. Xiaoyan and Xiaoli, have you picked out the books you want?”

“Yes, brother!” Xiaoyan came running over, clutching a small stack of books. “These are what Xiaoli and I want to buy.”

“Okay, boss, let’s calculate the price together.”

“Okay, sir, wait a moment.”

The bookstore owner’s smile widened. He

immediately began counting the books, his abacus clacking away.

Before long, he looked up and said, “I’ve calculated it, sir. The total…”

Hearing the boss’s figure, Lu Qing nodded, unsurprised.

Books in this world are inherently expensive. Some rich, beautifully bound volumes can cost over ten taels of silver.

In comparison, the boss’s price was quite generous.

“I don’t have that much silver with me, boss. Do you accept gold?”

“Yes, yes!” the boss said quickly.

Although gold was difficult to circulate, it was always more popular than silver.

“That’s fine, boss. Here you go.”

Lu Qing took two small gold ingots from the purse given by Mrs. Wei and handed them over.

The bookstore owner took the ingots and carefully examined them. When he saw the small “Wei” character on the bottom of the ingots, he was even more surprised.

Knowing that these ingots came from the Wei family, he knew that these two people before him must be distinguished guests of the Wei Mansion.

His expression became even more respectful. After weighing the two gold ingots, he took out a few taels of silver and handed them to Lu Qing.

“Sir, here’s your change. I’ll pack your books for you.”

“Well, take care of it. We’re not in a hurry.”

When Lu Qing emerged from the bookstore, he realized it was still early and decided to shop around a bit before heading back.

This time, he was much more relaxed.

He took Xiaoyan and Xiaoli with him, heading wherever he saw a bustling area, satisfying the two little ones’ curiosity.

Seeing Lu Qing and Xiaoyan’s attire, coupled with the strange little beasts on their shoulders, the people in the market instinctively stepped aside, not wanting to crowd them. Those

who could dress like that were usually wealthy or noble, not people ordinary people like them could offend.

So, despite the crowds, Lu Qing and Xiaoyan enjoyed their stroll.

As they wandered, unsure where they were, Lu Qing suddenly saw a group of people gathered in front of them, and a noisy noise emanated from within.

Seeing that he had nothing to do, he simply carried Xiaoyan over there.

After entering, he saw the stalls on both sides of the street, all filled with bottles, jars and various old items. Lu Qing suddenly realized that this should be a place similar to the antique street in his previous life.

Seeing that the quarrel was still going on, Lu Qing held Xiaoyan and easily squeezed into the crowd with his strong physical fitness.

When he arrived in front of the crowd, he saw a thin man with a pointed face and a mustache, grabbing an old man’s arm and shouting something.

“Old man, you smashed my antique vase. If you don’t pay for it today, don’t even think about leaving!”

The old man who was caught was wearing patched clothes, and his dark face was full of panic.

“It wasn’t me,” he muttered, “I didn’t touch the vase at all. It just fell over on its own.”

“Bullshit! My vase was perfectly placed. It was windy and not raining. How could it have fallen over? You clearly knocked it over!”

the mustachioed man clung to the old man’s hand and snarled.

“I really didn’t touch it. I was several feet away from your stall when I walked by. How could I have possibly touched it?” the old man muttered in a low voice.

“I don’t care. I just saw you walk by my stall and my vase fell over. Who else could it be? Either you pay me or come with me to the county magistrate’s office to face the officials!”

The news of a meeting with the officials intensified the old man’s panic. He’d heard that civilians who entered there, regardless of their rights, would be punished.

He looked around for help, hoping someone could testify that he hadn’t touched the vase. It had fallen out of nowhere. He felt truly wronged.

However, he looked around and found that everyone around him was just looking at them with laughter, and no one was willing to come forward to testify.

Looking at the aggressive man with a mustache and the two sturdy servants behind him, he knew that he would have to pay for the bottle.

“Okay, I’ll pay for it. How much does it cost for this bottle?” the old man said resignedly.

“It’s an antique vase. Even if you can give me a discount, it’s twenty taels of silver.”

Seeing the old man admit defeat,

the man with the mustache showed a hint of pride on his face. “How much…more?” the old man asked in disbelief.

“No more, no less, a full twenty taels of silver!” The man with the mustache stared at the old man and said, “Why, you don’t want to pay? Then we’ll go to the authorities!”

The two servants behind him immediately stepped forward and glared at the old man fiercely.

The old man shuddered and whispered, “But I don’t have that much money.”

“How much money do you have on you now?”

The old man began to feel around.

After a while, he fished out an old purse from his pocket. “I only have three taels of silver.”

Lu Qing had been watching from the side, and he could already tell that the old man had been blackmailed.

But since he didn’t know the whole story, and the people around him were just watching the fun, he didn’t plan to intervene

immediately. Instead, he activated his supernatural power to observe the situation.

He first looked at the broken vase on the ground.

A gray light appeared.

[Broken vase: A brand new porcelain vase that had been broken.]

Oh my god, it was as expected.

Lu Qing’s eyes flashed with understanding, and he turned his gaze to the man with the mustache.

A faint white light emerged.

[Chen Wencai: Nicknamed “Jackal”, he is notorious in the market and a well-known profiteer.]

[He has a sharp eye and can judge people well. He loves to extort farmers attending the market outside the city and merchants from other places.]

By now, Lu Qing couldn’t understand what was going on.

Just as he was about to retract his supernatural power, his eyes swept over the purse in the old man’s hand.

Suddenly, his whole body trembled, and a look of surprise appeared in his eyes.

(End of this chapter)