Dragon's Origin

“Not even Linglong Pavilion?” Wang Sheng had developed a habit of turning to Linglong Pavilion first whenever he needed to find a non-cultivation expert.

“No.” Mei’er shook her head directly. She had already asked Tie Lao and the others. It seemed that Linglong Pavilion really didn’t have any talent in this area. When it came to doing business, Linglong Pavilion was several levels behind Qian Sheng Yuan.

Linglong Pavilion could sell an item for a few tens of thousands of gold coins at most, but if the same item was taken to Qian Sheng Yuan, it would be worth at least hundreds of thousands after some packaging and marketing. That was the difference.

“Forget it then.” Wang Sheng shook his head directly. Since there was no talent in this area, then it wasn’t needed. He originally planned to find an authority to appraise those weapons, so that he could use the authority’s reputation when selling them. Now it seemed that Wang Sheng was a bit inconsiderate and didn’t expect such a situation to occur.

“I went to consult Tie Lao and the others.” Mei’er reported to Wang Sheng: “Tie Lao said there was no such person, but he recommended a friend who supposedly lived in the Heavenly Craftsmen Workshop and had a good relationship with Tie Lao, Grandmaster Lu, and the others. He’s just a scholar. Does Your Grace want to meet him?”

“Since it’s someone recommended by Tie Lao, then of course I have to meet him.” Wang Sheng replied quickly. Even if not for the monk’s sake, for the Buddha’s sake, Tie Lao had helped Wang Sheng with so many things, so he had to give him face no matter what.

When meeting outsiders, Wang Sheng certainly couldn’t do it in the current Grand View Garden, so he quickly rushed back to the Changsheng Duke’s mansion. Not long after returning, Wang Sheng waited for Tie Lao to bring his friend to the mansion.

“Greetings, Changsheng Duke!” Tie Lao and Wang Sheng were already so familiar with each other that Wang Sheng always treated him as an elder and didn’t need to perform any formalities. On the other hand, the scholar who came with him bowed very politely to Wang Sheng.

“Please, don’t.” Wang Sheng quickly returned the greeting. Since he came with Tie Lao and was also quite old, Wang Sheng wasn’t used to such an old man bowing to him.

Wang Sheng had sized up the scholar when he came in with Tie Lao. He looked like a scholar, wearing a long robe and seemingly having some airs. Unfortunately, the robe looked like it was many years old and was covered in patches. He walked with the bearing of a scholar, but he was as thin as a bamboo pole and his face wasn’t anything special. One couldn’t say he was ugly, but he certainly couldn’t be considered good-looking. He was even below average and could only be described as ugly.

In particular, he had a mustache on his lips and a goatee on his chin. He was thin, with a pointed mouth and monkey cheeks. At first glance, he looked a bit like a rat, slightly wretched. Anyway, compared to those dignified scholars Wang Sheng had met, he seemed awkward no matter how one looked at him.

“My surname is Qian, Qian as in money.” This Mr. Qian put on the airs of a scholar and introduced himself proudly.

“Hello, Mr. Qian!” Wang Sheng was also very polite and addressed him as Mr.

“What Mr. this and Mr. that.” Tie Lao directly opened his mouth: “Old Qian, it’s fine for you to be pretentious in our place, but you have to be pretentious in front of the Duke? Duke, just call him Old Qian, we’re all used to it.”

“Tch!” This Mr. Qian, who was called Old Qian, looked disdainful: “Do you understand etiquette? Old Tie, don’t talk nonsense.”

“I’m talking nonsense?” Tie Lao laughed and was about to expose Old Qian’s secrets, but Wang Sheng quickly stopped him: “Tie Lao, don’t, we’re all friends. Since we’ve come to the mansion, we’re guests, so don’t cause any trouble.”

“Duke, it sounds awkward for you to keep calling him Mr. this and Mr. that.” Tie Lao looked at Old Qian’s smug look and said unhappily, “Change it, change it.”

“Then call him Old Qian?” Wang Sheng asked Old Qian. Calling him Old Qian seemed more intimate, respectful but not too formal.

“See, this young man is polite.” Old Qian pointed at Wang Sheng and complained to Tie Lao, “It’s just you old geezers who don’t understand anything and dare to make fun of this old man.”

When Wang Sheng saw the two of them bickering like this, he knew that they had a good relationship in private. He smiled and made a gesture to the two of them: “Tie Lao, please, Old Qian, please, I’ve already prepared fine wine here, please move.”

Tie Lao was quite comfortable in the Changsheng Duke’s mansion. As soon as he heard there was fine wine, he turned around and left without saying a word. Old Qian, on the other hand, was here for the first time, but he didn’t hide his love for wine at all and laughed: “I’ve long heard that there is good wine in the Changsheng Duke’s mansion, this time I’m finally lucky enough to taste it.”

Wang Sheng had been observing all the way. This pretentious friend of Tie Lao and the others was indeed a scholar, but his cultivation should also be good. One couldn’t say he was at the Legendary level, but he was at least at the eighth level. Along the way, with Wang Sheng’s hearing, the only people within a hundred feet of the mansion who had quieter footsteps than Old Qian were a few old Taoists from the Qing generation. There was no one else.

However, Wang Sheng couldn’t help but almost laugh when he saw the little gadget that Old Qian was constantly playing with in his hand. Old Qian was always holding a small pen holder in his left hand, constantly playing with it as if it were a peerless jade, which was amusing.

But Wang Sheng couldn’t laugh because that thing was from Wang Sheng’s own industry, produced by Qian Sheng Yuan. There were quite a few people playing with Qian Sheng Yuan’s stationery now, not just Old Qian.

“Is Your Grace looking at this?” Wang Sheng’s gaze only lingered on Old Qian’s left hand a few times before Old Qian raised his left hand and asked Wang Sheng, holding the small pen holder.

“That’s right!” Wang Sheng nodded, there was nothing to be embarrassed about, he looked at it, that’s all. However, Old Qian’s senses were really sharp, he had already noticed it after only a few glances.

“Do you have any advice?” Old Qian seemed very interested in why Wang Sheng would pay attention to this, and asked directly, not caring that he had only just met Wang Sheng and was still very unfamiliar with him.

“I wouldn’t dare to give advice, I’m just a little curious.” Wang Sheng smiled and pointed at the pen holder and asked, “Old Qian, this pen holder alone can be exchanged for who knows how many decent clothes, how can you still be wearing such… simple clothes?”

As soon as this question came out, Tie Lao and Old Qian both laughed.

“Isn’t it because Your Grace is good at making money?” Old Qian smiled with a hint of complaint: “I’ve already gone bankrupt buying this one item, so naturally I can’t afford good clothes.”

“Forgive my boldness.” Wang Sheng shook his head: “This pen holder looks like it’s from Grandmaster Lu’s handiwork. Since Old Qian has a good relationship with Tie Lao and Grandmaster Lu, why did you have to buy it from Qian Sheng Yuan? It wouldn’t be a big deal for Grandmaster Lu to give you one, right?”

“That’s different.” Old Qian shook his head and replied pretentiously: “It’s okay to freeload on food and drinks on weekdays, but this thing is Old Lu’s means of survival, he relies on this to make a living, how can I just ask for it?”