The young girl was startled by something suddenly dropping. When she looked down and saw it was a gold coin, she nearly dropped her tray.
The old storyteller’s eyes widened. He hurriedly picked up the coin and held it up for careful inspection, then swallowed hard and raised his head.
“May I ask which gentleman gave this?”
As soon as the old man spoke, the diners’ gazes involuntarily turned toward him. Upon seeing the gold coin in his hand, they simultaneously gasped in astonishment. Some stood up curiously to look closer, all wanting to see who was so generous.
At this time, Li Tan had already turned his gaze away from the old man. Calmly sipping his tea, he appeared completely indifferent, as if the commotion had nothing to do with him.
After failing to find the coin’s owner, the old man realized the benefactor had no intention of revealing himself and thus stopped pursuing the matter. He took the young girl’s hand and, under everyone’s watchful eyes, knelt down together with her. With a somewhat trembling voice, he said:
“An old man and my granddaughter are here to express our deepest gratitude to this kind-hearted person!”
First kowtow, second kowtow, third kowtow; they stood up, then left. Soon, the noisy tavern returned to its usual state.
Li Tan drank a cup of hot tea, turned his head to look toward the entrance, and felt an indescribable sensation in his heart.
In his youth, because he couldn’t cultivate, he had been looked down upon and had even given up on himself, feeling hopeless about life. Yet even in such a state, a casual act of charity could evoke such deep gratitude.
Although he bore the reputation of being a “waste,” his life was still the dream of countless others.
After a moment of contemplation, Li Tan snapped back to reality. As promised, Ming De arrived at the tavern. Upon finding him, he skipped the pleasantries and got straight to the point.
“Brother Li, the items I found are all here.”
Ming De flicked his hand, and with a slight glow from his storage ring, a pile of medicinal herbs appeared on the table that previously only held a teacup.
Li Tan casually moved the herbs on top to the bottom with one hand. In a short while, he found the missing herb that the auction house had lacked. However, after comparing it several times, one herb was still missing—luckily, this herb wasn’t particularly rare.
After storing all the herbs inside the Wasteland Pagoda, Li Tan asked almost absentmindedly:
“Do you know where I can find Huolongcao (Fire Cage Grass)?”
But Ming De’s reply was unexpected.
“I do know, but the person who owns it refuses to sell.”
“Did they ask for an exorbitant price?”
“No. That person is a book collector. I brought all the books from my house, yet not one of them caught his eye.”
“A lover of books? Quite an unusual hobby indeed. No matter, take me to see him.”
As Li Tan spoke, he stood up.
Ming De asked doubtfully:
“Brother Li, do you happen to have any rare ancient books?”
Li Tan merely smiled slightly and nodded. Without further questions, Ming De led him to the book collector’s home.
The book collector lived at the foot of a mountain outside Linjiang City, where the surrounding area was sparsely populated.
The house wasn’t large, nor was it lavishly decorated—it looked ordinary enough. However, the inside was astonishing.
Books were everywhere—on shelves, on tables, on the floor. There were so many that even Li Tan couldn’t help but marvel.
“Mr. Liu, are you home? Mr. Liu!”
Ming De stopped at the gate and shouted inward.
“Didn’t I already tell you? I won’t sell it to you. Why won’t you give up? Such a nuisance!”
Immediately, a man’s voice rudely responded. Soon after, a middle-aged man in his thirties, dressed plainly with a scholarly air, came out frowning.
“You misunderstood. This time, it’s not me selling the Huolongcao. It’s him.”
Ming De stepped aside, pointing at Li Tan.
“You?”
The man surnamed Liu looked Li Tan over with suspicion and impatiently said:
“He must have told you the rules already, right? Don’t waste my time. Show me what you’re offering. Let me make it clear—I won’t tolerate any counterfeit items.”
Without saying a word, Li Tan casually retrieved a brand new thread-bound ancient book from the sea of books in the first level of the Wasteland Pagoda, as if taking something from a storage ring.
“Hmph! You think a few sheets of new paper can exchange for my treasure?”
Seeing that the book was brand new, the man surnamed Liu spoke disdainfully.
Li Tan glanced at the book’s title in his hand: “Travel Notes of the Eastern Sea,” then mockingly said:
“With such skill, you still dare to claim you love books? Truly laughable.”
“Stop talking nonsense. At least make the forgery look authentic before coming here.”
The man surnamed Liu glanced sideways contemptuously.
Li Tan calmly countered:
“So according to you, only old-looking books are considered good?”
“Of course not.”
“Then how can you be sure the book in my hand isn’t a good one?”
The man surnamed Liu was momentarily speechless, then disdainfully said:
“Fine then, let me take a quick look so you’ll be convinced.” He opened “Travel Notes of the Eastern Sea” and read a few lines. Instantly, his expression of contempt froze.
He turned page after page, his expression growing increasingly serious, eventually turning into pure shock. His hands trembled slightly, and his speech faltered.
“This… this book is the lost ‘Travel Notes of the Eastern Sea’ that was destroyed a thousand years ago!”
“Eh? Let me see too.”
Ming De, who had been standing aside and had no intention of interfering, curiously leaned over.
The man was engrossed in reading, but suddenly a light voice drifted over:
“Don’t let such trash soil your eyes.”
Li Tan swiftly snatched back “Travel Notes of the Eastern Sea” and turned to leave.
The man surnamed Liu was immediately stunned. He hurriedly ran in front to block Li Tan.
“Wait! Young master, please wait! Oh, I was truly blind just now!”
Li Tan had only intended to tease him a little, so he didn’t dwell on it and directly said:
“You’ve verified my book. Now, may I see the Huolongcao?”
“Of course!”
The man surnamed Liu happily rushed into the inner room.
Ming De curiously asked:
“Brother Li, what exactly is this book? How could it make him so excited? I brought a whole cart of books before, and he didn’t even bat an eye.”
Li Tan slowly replied:
“It’s the work of a wandering swordsman from a thousand years ago, recording the customs and traditions of the six major races in the Nine Provinces. This copy is a unique, original version, naturally precious.”
“What! Then exchanging such a treasure for just a single Huolongcao is a huge loss!”
Ming De asked in confusion.
Li Tan smiled calmly.
“The content of this book holds no meaning for me—it’s no different from waste paper.”
Though puzzled, Ming De had no time to ask further, as the man surnamed Liu had already eagerly rushed out with the Huolongcao.
Li Tan took the Huolongcao from his hand, quickly identified it as genuine, and relaxed his mind. He then stored it inside the Wasteland Pagoda.
“The book is yours. I’ll take my leave now.”
“Wait!”
The man surnamed Liu called out to Li Tan, who was about to leave.
“What else?”
“Do you have more books like this?”
Li Tan gave a noncommittal nod, and the man eagerly asked:
“Then, how about selling the rest to me?”
“I wouldn’t mind selling, but you can’t afford it.”
After saying that, Li Tan directly walked away, ignoring the man’s further calls.
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