An Moxue was truly surprised to find that the person who opened the door was a kind-looking old man.

The old man took the invitation, glanced at it, opened the door, stepped aside, and said, "Young lady, please come in."

An Moxue smiled, nodded to the old man, and went inside.

The old man closed the door and led the way without saying much. An Moxue followed the old man until they reached a house and stopped.

"Young lady, you might find what you're looking for inside. Good luck, go in!"

The old man knocked on the door a few times, and An Moxue memorized the rhythm. The door opened, and An Moxue went inside.

Upon entering, one has the illusion of being in an antique shop in China. The shop is filled with various items from Lan Kingdom, and regardless of their authenticity, they all have an antique charm.

There was a man next to me wearing gold-rimmed glasses; if he didn't speak, his presence would be easily overlooked.

"Miss, is there anything you particularly want?" The man spoke softly and gently, which made him very likable.

An Moxue looked at the various items inside and said, "I don't really want anything in particular, I'll just buy whatever catches my eye."

The man looked at An Moxue and asked, "Would you like to look around by yourself, or would you like me to give you some directions?"

An Moxue looked at him and said, "Let me take a look myself first."

After An Moxue finished speaking, the man bent slightly, extended his hand, made a gesture of invitation, and then stepped aside.

An Moxue slowly observed, thinking that this group was indeed not simple. From the shrewd and capable manager in the store over there, to the kind and gentle gatekeeper here, and then to this knowledgeable and sensible young man, each one was crucial.

The shelves were filled with various items, which were generally more valuable and older, and there were also some large antiques. An Moxue took a quick look around and found that there were very few fakes. Even if there were, they were old enough to pass for the real thing, and some of them were indistinguishable even to experts.

After looking around, An Moxue made up her mind. She walked up to the man and said, "Sir, may I ask if you have anything else? The things here are very nice, but I always feel that they are not quite meant for me. I just saw a string of tourmaline beads and wanted to ask if you have any dzi beads?"

Looking at An Moxue's expectant yet desperately trying-to-hide look, the man understood. Her information had been presented to him last night, and he now knew her background.

"If you can afford the price, Miss, it should be a worthwhile trip for you. Coincidentally, I just acquired a few dzi beads; perhaps this is the fate you spoke of!"

The man led An Moxue to a sofa, poured her a cup of hot tea, and said, "Miss, please have some tea. I'll go get something and be right back."

An Moxue sat on the sofa, crossed her legs, picked up a teacup, and gently blew on the steam, actually assessing the strength of the people in the courtyard.

From the moment she stood at the gate of the courtyard, she felt someone watching her; she could sense it was two people. Even as she entered the courtyard and walked to the front door, she could still feel someone's gaze on her, which only disappeared once she was inside the house.

Upon entering the house, she sensed the presence of four people breathing in the shadows. Their powerful auras suggested they possessed considerable martial arts skills.

Now, she discovered what she hadn't—the protective force! How much there was, she didn't know, but it must have been considerable.

She acted as if she were an ordinary noble lady, leisurely sipping her tea. Those hidden in the shadows marveled at her composure. Whether this lady was recklessly bold or worldly-wise, it was rare to find someone with such self-control.

The man wearing gold-rimmed glasses returned, carrying a lacquered wooden box. The red and black color scheme clearly indicated a regional style, and even the box itself looked so historically significant. An Moxue also became eager to see the dzi bead inside the box.

The man opened the box and pushed it onto the coffee table in front of An Moxue.

An Moxue picked up the dzi bead that looked most pleasing to the eye. It felt warm and smooth to the touch. She held it up to the light and examined it. It was highly translucent, flawless, and clearly black and white. This was a dzi bead of considerable value. After looking at this one, she picked up several other dzi beads and examined them one by one before putting them down.

The man with the gold-rimmed glasses knew she was an expert and couldn't be fooled.

The man smiled at An Moxue and asked, "Miss, are you satisfied after reading this?"

"To be honest, I was quite looking forward to seeing these high-quality dzi beads when you mentioned they were available, but after seeing them, I'm a bit disappointed. Only one is barely acceptable. Name your price!"

An Moxue took out the first dzi bead she had looked at and said, "This one will do." The casual way she held it made it seem as if she were holding a glass bead, not a valuable dzi bead, which she could play with at will.

This action startled even the men. It seemed that this young lady came from a very wealthy family and was used to seeing good things. She seemed to take such valuable items for granted. You should know that this was a top-grade dzi bead. The other beads were not much worse than this one, but none of them caught her eye.

The man was more cautious with his offer, saying, "Thirty thousand." He then added, "Miss, wouldn't you like to consider a few other ones? They're in excellent condition too."

An Moxue said indifferently, "I don't like it, forget it!" Then she picked up the dzi bead again and looked at it, saying, "Although this dzi bead is somewhat pleasing to the eye, the price is not. Name your price and I'll consider it."

The man with the gold-rimmed glasses was surprised that An Moxue would bargain. He'd never bargained in the store before! Why was she bargaining here?

However, he quickly realized that the items in the shop were just small trinkets that didn't cost much. Things here weren't cheap, so it was normal to haggle.

"Miss, you know your stuff. You should know that dzi beads of this quality are all priced similarly. So, since this is your first time here, I can't let you leave empty-handed. I'll give you a discount of two thousand. What do you think?"

"No, that's far from the price I'm looking for. Here's a price: 17,000."

The man with the gold-rimmed glasses cursed inwardly. Upon hearing the price, he knew he couldn't rip off any fat sheep today and could only sell at a similar price. However, considering that these items were acquired at the lowest possible price, practically the price of cabbage, he strangely felt at peace. After all, they only become valuable when sold for money, right?

"Miss, this price is a real loss. How about this, I'll lower the price a little more, please be lenient and let us have some soup."

And so, after some back and forth, the two of them finally settled on a price of 21,500.

The man with the gold-rimmed glasses looked helpless and said, "Miss Jiduo, this dzi bead is practically a free gift to you. I'll just consider it as making you my friend."

"Mr. Kyle, don't worry, I will come again in the future. We will keep in touch. I have friends who are interested in this antique, and they will bring it to you. You won't lose out."

In just a short while, the two exchanged names and became acquainted.

An Moxue paid the money and left with the priceless dzi bead.