All good things must come to an end, and Lü Shengyang and Ji Haoxuan did not want to stay in Leping City for long.
Although the Liu family did not participate in the pursuit of the Ji clan after the fall of the Great Zhou Dynasty, they might still take action against them if they encountered them.
Wu You, however, did not want to go anywhere else with them.
He was neither a wanted criminal by the imperial court nor an enemy of any of the major powerful families.
The conflict between the people has only just ended, and the already incomplete population registration system is now in complete chaos. It's impossible to find out anything about an outsider in the city.
Wu You wanted to complete the system's task of "establishing a foothold" in Leping City.
After resting in the city for a night.
Lu Shengyang and Ji Haoxuan then prepared to leave the city and head elsewhere.
After repeatedly inviting Wu You to join them on the journey to no avail, the two could only set off alone, leading the horses they had bought.
Before parting, seeing that Wu You was penniless, Lü Shengyang asked Ji Haoxuan to leave him a jade pendant made of blood jade, and told Wu You that he could pawn it for at least 5,000 taels of silver.
Although Lü Shengyang's injuries had not yet healed, Wu You showed no intention of giving him any of the Rejuvenating Ointment from his bag.
One point is not to flaunt your wealth, and another point is...
The night before last, when Lü Shengyang begged him for help at Tianyun Mountain, he said he would repay the debt even at the cost of his life.
He didn't mention repaying the debt of gratitude when he was about to leave.
Wu You didn't really want him to be smashed to pieces, but the sensory experience would be much worse.
I thought to myself, I can say that I don't need your repayment, but it's different if you decide on a solution yourself.
If I were truly a top expert, my style would probably be quite different.
And she was even thinking of continuing to ask him to come along, to be her free bodyguard.
They were very polite, leaving behind a jade pendant worth 5,000 taels.
Although Wu You didn't know how much purchasing power 5,000 taels of silver had here, it certainly wouldn't be too bad.
However, Wu You chuckled to himself.
If it weren't for the fact that Ji Haoxuan was somewhat agreeable and that Lü Shengyang was afraid he would lose his protection, he would have paid a price for frequently using his supposedly undetected old tricks in front of him.
...
He left his backpack and luggage at the inn and went out to find a pawnshop.
The money I prepaid was only enough to get me through tonight; I need to exchange it for some more money.
Xiao Hei's fierce appearance was too conspicuous, so Wu You temporarily put it into the system's animal pen space.
There are pawnshops in the city, and more than one.
Since I didn't know anyone, I asked an old lady selling rouge and face powder by the roadside.
They headed straight for the nearest pawnshop.
...
Wang Fugui is the owner of Tianbao Pawnshop. As a veteran in the industry, Tianbao Pawnshop has a certain reputation in Leping City.
But in the eyes of people nearby, this reputation may not be positive.
As the saying goes, "No merchant is without cunning," and this cunning often refers to cleverness and shrewdness.
Unfortunately, Wang Fugui was not only clever and cunning, but also truly treacherous.
Earlier this month, he had just tricked an honest man from the countryside into giving him a purple-gold alms bowl.
They tricked people into thinking it was a copper basin, and then pretended to be a good person by offering a high price.
Of course, this is relative to the high price of the "copper basin".
This country bumpkin had never touched gold in his entire life, let alone purple gold.
He was overjoyed to be able to exchange the broken copper basin he dug up from the field for 5 taels of silver.
...
Today in the shop, Wang Fugui was sitting with his legs crossed, humming a little tune.
I was just about to put a piece of candied fruit in my mouth.
A young man dressed in coarse linen clothes entered through the door.
Young, inexperienced, dressed in coarse linen, from an ordinary family, perhaps he will find treasure in the pawnshop.
With his unusually short haircut, he was clearly a rough man with little education or knowledge.
...
Wu You entered the pawnshop and saw two clerks sitting on either side of him, yawning.
He glanced at the pawnshop's platform; it was only shoulder-high.
There were people inside, peering at him from across the pawnshop counter; they were probably the pawnbrokers.
"Boss, I want to pawn something."
Wu Youchao called out to them.
"Put the things up here so I can take a look," Wang Fugui replied.
Wu You took out the jade pendant and placed it on the pawnshop counter.
When Wang Fugui saw the blood jade on the platform, his pupils contracted.
Overjoyed.
I've been incredibly lucky these past few days; another person has come along to give me money.
The previous Purple Gold Bowl earned several hundred taels of silver; this time, it's likely to earn over a thousand taels.
He picked up the blood jade and examined it carefully, stroking it gently. The jade was warm and smooth, and when he held it up to the candlelight, it was crystal clear, as if blood was flowing inside.
It is engraved with two fish playing in the water, so lifelike that they seem to be alive.
Top-grade blood jade, carved by a master craftsman!
"Cough cough!"
“Young man, the quality of this jade pendant is not right. Look, the two fish are lifeless and the jade is extremely mixed. It is obviously a toy made from scraps and carved casually.”
Wang Fugui glanced at Wu You sideways, and seeing that the other was frowning, he spoke again.
"But it is blood jade after all, and it is a rare item. How about this, I will offer 50 taels for this jade pendant, and you can just pawn it."
Wu You's brow twitched.
They're taking advantage of me and trying to fleece me!
He had examined this jade pendant repeatedly at the inn, and even a layman could tell it was an exceptionally fine piece of jade.
Ji Haoxuan was, after all, a member of the former dynasty's royal family; what he carried with him could not possibly be ordinary stuff.
The pawnshop owner pretended to be doing it for your own good.
He immediately asked for 50 taels.
The way he carefully handled the jade pendant just now didn't seem like he was unaware of it at all.
That's a bit too much!
Wu You snatched the jade pendant from Wang Fugui's hand.
"I quit!"
After saying that, he turned and left, completely ignoring Wang Fugui's shouts and attempts to stop him.
Wang Fugui saw that Wu You was about to leave.
He hurriedly called out, "Young man, young man, how about this, 100 taels, 100 taels, what do you think? Don't go!"
Two burly men stood on either side of the door, trying to block it.
"snort!"
Wu You pushed them aside and stormed out of the pawnshop.
The two men tried to stop Wu You, but they didn't expect this seemingly weak young man to be so strong.
They were easily pushed aside like a curtain being drawn.
Wang Fugui was so angry that he jumped up and down, pointing at the two burly men and shouting.
"Useless! Useless!"
My heart is bleeding. The cooked duck has flown away. That's several thousand taels of silver! If only I had opened it for 500 taels!
no!
If I don't make this money, someone else will.
"You two come here."
He beckoned two of his men over and whispered something in their ears.
"Follow him quietly and see if there's a chance to snatch it from him. If he resists fiercely..."
Wang Fugui narrowed his eyes and made a downward slashing motion with his hand.
"Do you understand?"
The two men exchanged a glance and then nodded.
One of them said, "It's just the government office..."
"This world is not peaceful to begin with. If we keep things clean, no one will report it to the authorities, and how can the yamen (government office) care? Besides, I, Wang, have some drinking buddies with the yamen clerk."
The two then had no further objections: "Master, you can rest assured."
He then grabbed two short, hardwood-covered iron sticks from behind the shop door and quietly left the pawnshop.
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