Owner Wei Yan placed the mysterious yet enchanting stone tablet on top of the wooden table separating Wei Yan and Li Ming.
"Okay! Then an appraisal of spiritual veins will cost about 20 gold coins."
Li Ming felt like his ears were bleeding when he heard the cost.
"Can't you lower the cost for your loyal customer?"
"No, can't do, Esteemed Customer. The Yan Pavilion conducts and gives an official recognition card on your spiritual vein's purity rate that can be used within the immortal world."
"Owner Wei, if I may be so rude as to ask. Why do you always call me "Esteemed Customer'?
"Esteemed Customer, Sorry for coming off as rude, but the truth is that I don't remember your name."
"Then, owner Wei, can a loyal customer get a discount if you've forgotten the name of the said loyal customer?"
"No." Owner Wei refused without a moment's hesitation.
After that, Li Ming haggled with Owner Wei for 15 minutes to get the price down by 5 gold coins.
In the end, seeing that Owner Wei won't compromise further, Li Ming took out exactly 15 gold coins and gave them to Owner Wei. Li Ming's heart bled seeing his hand giving out the coins that could buy him enough food for another year.
"Okay then, Esteemed Customer, shall we begin?"
"Please proceed with the appraisal, Owner Wei?"
Though Li Ming's heart was bleeding from his loss of money, Li Ming put on a smile and decided that he was going to experience this appraisal to get his money's worth.
"Esteemed Customer, can you put your right hand on top of the appraisal tablet?"
Wei Yan spoke as his hand gestured towards the black stone tablet. Li Ming understood Owner Wei's intention and put his hand on the stone tablet as Owner Wei indicated.
The moment Li Ming put his hand on the stone tablet, the mysterious runes on the stone tablet glowed with the light of melted gold, mesmerizing Li Ming.
At this moment, Li Ming felt like a child watching a magic trick for the first time.
The wonder, the magic, the unknown blended to create a moment of child-like wonder that Li Ming had forgotten.
Li Ming didn't know what to call this feeling. But it felt like the first time he saw a butterfly. The first time he grazed into the endless blue sky filled with traversing clouds, and wondered why the sky was blue.
Just as Li Ming had wondered about the working of the world as a child, Li Ming now wondered about the working of those mysterious ruins.
How did they glow the moment I put my hand on those ruins?
Is it due to the human DNA in his palm or the pressure he put on the stone tablet?
How do those ruins glow? How can they produce light out of nowhere?
Curiosity was the spark that had created a forest fire in his Soul. But Li Ming never tried to put out the fire, nor did he intend to.
Li Ming wanted that flame. Needed that flame in his soul to burn the rules in his mind.
Needed to feel his orderly soul to burn. Because an orderly soul can never be human.
Chaos is needed. And curiosity is the spark of chaos.
Li Ming developed a strong drive to know everything about the immortal world from witnessing the glowing ruins.
"Um...Esteemed Customer..., you can take your hand from the tablet."
At those words, Li Ming came to his senses and took his hands away from the glowing stone tablet.
After taking away his hand, the mysterious ruins stopped glowing, and a number had appeared at the blank space upon the stone tablet.
[50]