He accepted the silver note and said, "The turtle shell is yours now, but you must be careful. If he couldn’t rob me, he will definitely try to rob you."
The green-robed scholar laughed and said, "It won’t be easy to rob the turtle shell from me, but I can’t guarantee that no one will covet the thousand silvers in your hands. You should be more careful."
Chen Shi felt a sense of liking toward him and smiled, "My name is Chen Shi, my nickname is Little Ten. How may I address you?"
"Xinxiang Shao Jing."
The green-robed scholar laughed, "If you are heading to the county town, you can go to the Juxian Building, just mention my name, and they will take care of you. It belongs to my family."
Shao Jing clapped his hands, and two strong men came out from the crowd and lifted the turtle shell together.
Shao Jing smiled and said, "By the way, Chen Shi, could you tell me which temple this turtle shell came from?"
Chen Shi just shook his head with a smile.
Understanding his reluctance, Shao Jing laughed, "Never mind then. If you discover anything else, feel free to bring it to the Juxian Building." With that, he left with the two strong men.
Chen Shi’s heart stirred, and he recalled the stone box he had found together with the turtle shell, which had always been underneath his bed, untouched.
Could the stone box also be a treasure?
But the box was extremely hard—how could he open it?
Soon afterward, his grandfather returned with the medicine and asked, "How much money did you sell it for?"
Chen Shi told him truthfully. His grandfather was surprised and said, "This Shao Jing is quite interesting, he didn’t make much from you. Inside that turtle shell, there are twenty-four Bright Pearls containing the Spiritual Power from the old turtle, which can be used to forge treasures. Valued at one hundred silver each, they could fetch two thousand four hundred silver in total, so giving you a thousand silver was quite fair. Did he tell you not to smash the shell? If you broke it, the pearls would have come out, and the price would naturally have been higher."
Chen Shi was startled and wanted to go settle accounts with Shao Jing.
"You found it; a thousand silver isn’t little. He took the turtle shell back to the county, and if someone tried to rob him on the way, he’d face the risk."
Grandfather put the purchased herbs into the cart and said, "Get on, we’re going to the county to buy medicine, the herbs in the town aren’t enough."
Chen Shi climbed onto the cart, with Black Pot leading the way, the cart rattling towards Xinxiang County.
In the afternoon, they arrived at Xinxiang County. The Demon Domain hadn’t engulfed Xinxiang County, so it remained largely unaffected. Once they had purchased sufficient herbs, the cart was filled.
"I have a few friends in the suburbs of Xinxiang County, I’ll take you to meet them."
On the cart, Grandfather took out a prescription and said, "Little Ten, remember this prescription. It’s the formula to cure your illness; you must memorize it and never forget."
Chen Shi affirmed, memorized the prescription, and was very curious, "Grandfather’s friends? He has never called Xiao Wangsun and Granny Sha friends; how could he have friends in the suburbs? I’ve never heard Grandfather mention them before."
As dusk approached, they reached a village called Oilseed Village, known for its rapeseed flowers.
During the blooming season of rapeseed flowers, the hills and fields would be covered in bright yellow flowers, almost obscuring the paths. People from Xinxiang and nearby counties would come to admire the rapeseed flowers.
However, Chen Shi and his group were out of luck; the rapeseed flowers had already withered, and the fields were covered with green rapeseed plants.
The sky was crimson, and the sun had already closed its eyes.
The moon was about to open its eyelids.
The wooden cart, under the watchful eyes of the villagers, passed in front of the village and stopped in front of a haunted house on the outskirts.
The fiery sky extinguished, and the moon revealed a crescent shape, like a willow leaf, slowly spreading and becoming fuller.
"They seem to be heading for the haunted house!" someone exclaimed in shock.
"That place has a fierce Evil Spirit; they are seeking their own death!"
Chen Shi heard this and was startled, "Grandfather’s friends are Evil Spirits? Is Grandfather going to reveal his true form? Wait, if my grandfather is an Evil Spirit, am I also an Evil Spirit? Am I about to reveal my true form?"
Unintentionally, he spotted a figure in black, Xuan Shan, standing in the middle of the rapeseed field, watching them from afar.
—A new group has already filled up, now we have opened a second one. Readers who want to join and chat can click below to apply to join the group through the author’s page.