Upon hearing this, Cai Yan immediately frowned, as if she had thought of something bad, and then said, "Feipeng, there are quite a few people watching you at all times. Your every move is under their gaze. You can't act recklessly like before. After all, this is the capital, a place where real talents and crouching tigers reside."
After all, when Lin Yang was being oppressed by the Wang family, he directly killed the patrol inspector and then slaughtered the entire Wang family. Strictly speaking, if he weren't a Chosen One, Lin Yang would have certainly died for such a serious incident.
Therefore, Cai Yan was somewhat worried. If Lin Yang had a sudden change of heart and started causing trouble in the capital, it would be difficult to control the situation.
Upon hearing this, Shi A, who had been overjoyed, frowned and said, "Yes, Fei Peng, money is good, but you must not waste it."
Seeing this, Lin Yang couldn't help but smile wryly. Was he really that impulsive? How could he possibly start a fight without a word?
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Chapter Fifteen: The Strange Stone Workshop
"Don't worry, the methods are absolutely legal. In the end, those powerful families will willingly hand over large sums of money," Lin Yang reassured him.
"Huh? Now, more than a hundred Chosen Ones are all lobbying those aristocratic families, sects, and academies. There is a real shortage of money everywhere. Fei Peng, do you have another good idea?" Shi A asked.
"Heh heh, have you all forgotten my ability to read people and their auras? Everything and everything is laid bare before my eyes. Originally, I didn't want to do this, but now, I can't care anymore," Lin Yang said with a cold laugh.
"Qing'er, take a look at the gift list and see which of the first-class families gave the least silver but the most calligraphy and paintings." Lin Yang turned to look at Su Qing'er and said with a smile.
“Young Master, among the first-rate families, the Wang family of Bingzhou sent the least amount of silver. Only one thousand taels of gold, which is ten thousand taels of silver. The remaining two hundred and ninety thousand taels were all in the form of calligraphy, paintings, and precious stones,” Su Qing’er said with dissatisfaction.
Among the gifts sent to Lin Yang, those from top families were mostly worth three million taels of silver. However, the actual silver or gold only amounted to about three hundred thousand taels.
As for first-rate families, their gifts were roughly one-tenth of those from top-tier clans. That is, a total value of 300,000 taels, with only 30,000 taels being pure gold and silver. The Wang family, however, only gave 10,000 taels – how much did they look down on Lin Yang?
The Wang family of Bingzhou is the same Wang family that produced Wang Yun, the Minister of Works in history and Diao Chan's adoptive father. Furthermore, the Wang family is one of the most prominent families in Bingzhou, with a history spanning several thousand years. Such families possess deep-rooted wealth and resources; in other words, they are very wealthy.
"Alright, then let's go to the Wang family first. This time, we need to teach them a lesson. I don't intend to let any of the families on the gift list get away with this," Lin Yang said coldly.
Soon, led by Cai Yan and Shi A, Lin Yang arrived directly at the west side of Luoyang City. This was one of the dozens of wards in Luoyang City, and also the one with the best environment.
Unlike those low-lying, damp, and unsanitary markets selling daily necessities, this place is full of spiritual energy. It's also remarkably clean, free of sewage and garbage. It's quite unique among all kinds of markets.
Soon, a group of people arrived at the main entrance of the market. Above them was a plaque made of jade, with three large characters: "Qishi Fang" (奇石坊, meaning "Strange Stone Market").
The so-called "Rare Stone Workshop" is actually a gambling den, but the stones they gamble on are spirit stones. After all, although this world is rich in spiritual energy, it's relative. Moreover, most of the spiritual energy exists in the form of spirit stones, stored in spirit stone veins. The amount of spiritual energy naturally remaining in the air is not much.
To give a simple example, consider those martial generals who follow the path of body refinement. After reaching the third rank, if they rely solely on the spiritual energy in the air to cultivate, they would need to cultivate tirelessly and efficiently for a full three hundred years before they could advance to the next rank.
However, at this moment, a single low-grade spirit stone weighing about one pound contains enough spiritual energy to save this person a year's worth of hard work. Moreover, the spiritual energy within a spirit stone is mostly fixed in its properties, making it very convenient to absorb.
Furthermore, the spiritual energy within spirit stones is generally much gentler and less violent compared to the spiritual energy in nature, making it quite safe to absorb. Given this, who wouldn't want to use spirit stones?
Therefore, due to the preciousness of spirit stones, various related industries have emerged. This stone gambling is one of them.
"A little gambling is harmless, but excessive gambling is harmful, hehe..." Lin Yang couldn't help but laugh as he looked at the eight tiny characters, barely the size of ants, below the Qishi Fang signboard. Such a large plaque, yet such small characters—truly a labor of love.
Soon, the group arrived at the stone garden of the Wang family in Bingzhou. Then, Lin Yang very seriously opened his Divine Eye of Luck and looked the stone garden over from top to bottom.
“Good. Here, yellow energy overflows, green energy swirls, and wisps of purple energy surround the top. This means that there are many third-tier rare items in this stone garden, including quite a few fourth-tier treasures. There is even at least one fifth-tier natural treasure.” Lin Yang said with a smile.
At this moment, he was indeed very happy. Truly happy; the thought of all these treasures soon falling into his hands made him unconsciously joyful.
"This stone garden has a history of over a thousand years. Even the Wang family themselves probably don't know exactly how many strange stones there are inside. There are many strange stones that even experienced stone-cutting masters might not be able to determine what's inside. That's why these stone gardens came into being."
"For ordinary people, it's just a matter of luck. Although nine out of ten gamblers lose, there are occasional winners. A very small number of people are lucky enough to obtain treasures and rise to great heights. Therefore, many experts, despite constantly losing, still enjoy it very much," Cai Yan explained casually.
Upon hearing this, Lin Yang nodded. Then, he laughed heartily and said, "Besides, this place is one of the Wang family's important sources of wealth. Today, let the Wang family spend their money to their heart's content."
Upon entering the Stone Garden, one is immediately struck by a sense of tranquility and serenity. Moreover, the spiritual energy within the Stone Garden is incredibly abundant.
On one hand, spirit stones are frequently cut out, naturally emitting a considerable amount of spiritual energy. On the other hand, there are many formations set up here, which have the effect of preserving spiritual energy.
Everywhere you looked, there were countless strangely shaped stones. But when you tried to sense them with your spiritual senses, you found nothing.
It's estimated that even powerful immortal cultivators would find it ineffective to sense with their divine sense. Otherwise, why would these stones be placed here for people to choose from? Do they really think the Wang family, with their connections, couldn't find powerful immortal cultivators?
"This is the outer area, where most of the stones are third-tier. Most of the people who come here are lone wolves trying their luck. They don't have proper lineages or specific experience, and they basically have no idea what can be found in different kinds of stones," Shi A explained from the side.
"Hehe, Brother Shi, don't worry. Although these stones are quite peculiar and can mostly block the perception of divine sense and spiritual awareness, they still cannot hide from my eyes," Lin Yang said confidently.
"Number 32 on the east side, yes, that's the oval stone."
"And this large blue stone..."
"And the honeycomb stones here..."
"And this one too..."
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Chapter Sixteen: Trouble? Trouble!
Soon, Lin Yang selected more than thirty stones, weighing over a thousand catties each. After paying ten thousand taels of silver, he finally acquired all the stones.
"Oh, the customer has finished buying so quickly! Why don't you cut a few pieces out and see how much you've gained?" the manager said with a smile. His eyes, burning with desire, were fixed on Lin Yang, like a large, fat sheep. It had been a long time since they'd encountered such a generous customer in this outer garden.
"It's alright, it's just a mere ten thousand taels of silver. Even if we lose money, it's no big deal," Lin Yang said magnanimously. Hopefully, this man will still be so happy after all the stones are cut open.
Soon, an hour had passed. With the aid of his Divine Eye of Fortune, Lin Yang had purchased 300,000 taels of silver worth of stone materials within the inner courtyard. It was, without a doubt, a piece of cake.
"Alright, it's time to cut it open and see how lucky I am," Lin Yang said with a smile. Then, he took a specially made knife from the steward and began cutting the stone in full view of everyone.
"Hiss, it's only been cut in half, and you can already see a faint glow emanating from it. It must have increased in size."
"Nonsense, such a large stone only cost ten thousand taels of silver when we bought it. But now, we can probably cut it into at least twenty catties of low-grade spirit stones. Even if each catty only sells for ten thousand taels of silver, that's still two hundred thousand taels of silver. A typical fourth-level expert can only earn that much after a year of hard work."
"This is the second one, I wonder how this one is?"