Those Years When I Appraised Treasures At The Pawnshop - Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Middle-Grade Mortal Item

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Chen Shaojun’s gaze flickered. His eyes revealed a deep yearning.

He naturally hoped to become an expert that possessed the ability to slay demons and devils.

But he had no choice.

For someone like him who had been bombarded with martial arts novels and movies since he was young, this goal of his was simply too attractive. It was like a fairy-like beauty standing in front of him and looking at him lovingly. It was hard for him not to ask, “Do we know each other?”

Furthermore, if one wanted to cultivate the Dao or practice martial arts, there were indeed channels to do so in this world.

He could go to the Dao Temple.

He could also go to the martial arts academy.

These were all places that allowed ordinary people to master Dao and martial arts techniques.

“However…”

“It’s said that the tuition fees are very expensive.”

“Furthermore, regardless of whether it’s the martial arts academy or the Dao Temple, they all have requirements for the student’s identity.”

“At the very least, applicants have to be people with a clean background.”

Chen Shaojun frowned.

He put aside the fact that the tuition fees were something that he could not afford.

Just the requirement that his background had to be clean prevented him from entering these places.

After signing the slave contract, his life and death were not in his hands anymore. Thus, he could not be considered as having a clean background.

“Thus, in essence, I will need to regain my freedom as soon as possible.”

Chen Shaojun sighed.

In the end, he had to take the blame for his previous self’s mistakes.

It wasn’t that he hadn’t thought of relying on the Psychic Treasure Mirror.

It was just that the Psychic Treasure Mirror had only appeared once. After that, he had searched his entire body, but he was unable to find the Psychic Treasure Mirror at all. He had used all sorts of methods to summon it, but he was still unable to do so. He was afraid that it would suddenly disappear without a trace. Thus, he could not help but feel uneasy.

“Fortunately, it’s not impossible to get rid of my slave status.”

“Within the Lin Pawnshop, there are a total of three official court officials. The highest-ranked pawnbroker, Qin Dazhao, usually doesn’t appear. The Second Pawnbroker, Dai Ming, has a cold face all day and is difficult to approach.”

“Only the Third Pawnbroker, Zhang Gao, is more talkative.”

“According to him, once an apprentice pawnbroker is promoted to an official pawnbroker, the Lin family would reward them with an award.”

“Removing their slave status and allowing them to regain their freedom is only one of the rewards.”

“Back then, he also used the same method to get rid of his slave status. His status and identity are vastly different from in the past.”

Chen Shaojun composed himself. He knew that this was actually the pawnshop’s way of winning people over.

However, it had to be said that this was indeed one of the reasons why his predecessor, and even most of the apprentice pawnbrokers, didn’t escape even after knowing the dangers of this profession.

It was very difficult to become an official pawnbroker.

There were probably very few apprentices among them who could persist until then.

But at least there was hope.

This was especially so after they had stayed here for half a year. When their grasp of the Divine Vision technique became more profound, the hope of becoming an official pawnbroker could then be seen with the naked eye.

Everyone believed that they would not collapse before they succeeded…

The funny thing was that Chen Shaojun currently thought the same way.

…

The next day.

At Appraisal Room No. 7.

Chen Shaojun was given another item to appraise.

This time, it was a small pearl with mottled colors. It was oval in shape and looked somewhat like a jade button, but it was also different.

After the incident yesterday, there was also someone who showed up today.

He was the second pawnbroker Dai Ming, one of the three pawnbrokers of the Lin Pawnshop. He was also their master in name.

Dai Ming especially reminded them that if they wanted to guard against any possible dangers during the appraisal, they could try lighting a candle in the southeastern corner of the room. If the candle went out, then they should immediately stop the appraisal.

Meanwhile, if the candlelight flickered and swayed up and down, they also had to be careful.

In fact, Chen Shaojun and the other apprentice pawnbrokers knew about this method.

Apart from lighting candles, burning incense to avoid taboos was also one of the methods.

It was said to be a method derived from the experiences of the older generation through countless appraisals.

However, a candle cost three wen. Even a stick of the cheapest bamboo incense cost a wen. The cost of these materials was not small, and they had to bear all the costs themselves. Thus, this method was gradually abandoned by the apprentice pawnbrokers.

After all, they would rather save as much as they could than use a method that could not guarantee their safety at all.

However, no one dared to be careless now.

This time, Chen Shaojun also lit a candle in the southeast corner.

Furthermore, he took three incense sticks and lit them one by one.

There was nothing wrong with being careful.

Chen Shaojun would never joke around with his life.

Seeing that the candle flame was bright and that the bamboo incense had burned out, he finally began his work.

However, he did not notice that when both the candle and the bamboo incense were extinguished, there was a faint layer that did not burn out completely.

After calming himself down and focusing his mind, he looked around.

He successfully performed the Divine Vision technique.

A pair of divine lights shot out as if they had substance and shone clearly on the bead.

At the same time, his aura was drawn in.

Chen Shaojun vaguely saw an arrow flying towards his eyes like lightning.

“This is… this is an archery killing intent!”

His expression changed drastically. He suddenly felt a pain in his eyes. Meanwhile, his head felt like it was struck by a huge rock and he immediately felt dizzy.

This was the danger that pawnbrokers had to face whenever they executed the Divine Vision technique.

After all, using the Divine Vision technique was a spiritual confrontation.

When one’s spirit was stimulated, the changes in the aura of the treasure, as well as the sinister aura, baleful aura, ghost aura, killing aura, and other kinds of aura within the treasure would be drawn out. Then, they would immediately fight back against the appraiser.

The appraiser would either be injured by the various kinds of aura, or the aura would be obliterated, causing the treasure to reveal its original brilliance and display its true effect.

It took him a moment to collect himself. However, his expression was grim.

He had never expected that the pearl would contain an archery killing intent.

Luckily, he had consumed the Essence Augmenting Pill yesterday to cleanse his marrow and strengthen his spirit. Otherwise, he might not have been able to endure it and might have ended up like Zhang Wang.

However, before he could recover from his shock, the Psychic Treasure Mirror appeared. An image of the pearl was clearly shown on it.

The Psychic Treasure Mirror was tracing the source of the pearl.

In a daze, Chen Shaojun felt his thoughts being dragged through countless times. He clearly ‘saw’ that the image of the pearl had changed.

It turned into an eyeball. Furthermore, the owner of the eyeball was an eagle.

The eagle soared in the sky, passing through mountains and seas. It experienced the wonders of heaven and earth, free and unrestrained.

Of course, it had also encountered natural enemies before. It had seen mutant beasts that were many times larger and many times more powerful than it.

One day, when it passed by a village, it flew at a low altitude. Just as it was about to catch a few docile domestic birds, an arrow suddenly streaked across the sky.

Pu! The arrow pierced through the eagle’s eyes.

Then, the eyeball fell and landed in a courtyard. After years of weathering, it was contaminated by an aura and it turned into a round pearl. Then, it was finally picked up by a youth.

The young man sanded the pearl daily, causing the pearl to gradually become round. However, the young man’s body was gradually getting worse and he was often awakened by nightmares.

Finally, the young man’s father discovered the pearl.

The young father was a merchant and had some knowledge. Thus, he quickly sent the pearl to the pawnshop.

…

The scene disappeared. The sequence of events regarding the pearl, the changes it had gone through over time, and the characters who had once possessed it all appeared in Chen Shaojun’s mind.

At the same time, the Psychic Treasure Mirror also gave its appraisal and evaluation.

The Eye of the Goshawk was its name and it was a Middle-Grade Mortal Item that would turn into liquid when it came in contact with Spiritual Spring Water. It could clear, sharpen, and heal one’s eyes..