Granny Xu finished her breakfast and tidied up, preparing to go out to find a job. Her savings were almost gone, enough to last at most another week. She didn't mind enduring some hardship, but she couldn't let Little Miss go hungry.
"Little Miss, I've already prepared lunch and put it in the cupboard. Can you use your hand?" Granny Xu was still worried about Ling Yue's hand. If they weren't so short on money, she wouldn't be rushing out to find work.
"My hand is fine now, see." Ling Yue picked up the cup on the table and took a sip.
Seeing that Ling Yue was holding the cup lightly and didn't frown in pain, Granny Xu felt slightly relieved. She took 100 yuan from her pocket and gave it to Ling Yue, "Little Miss, take this money. If you want to read, you can borrow some books."
"Okay." Ling Yue didn't stand on ceremony with Granny Xu and accepted the money. When she earned money in the future, she would repay Granny Xu many times over.
"Well, I'm going now." Granny Xu gave Ling Yue some more instructions before reluctantly leaving.
After Granny Xu left, Ling Yue went back to her room, put on a hat, and followed her out. She first went to the pharmacy to buy a face mask, then headed towards the antique street. In her previous life, she had seen countless treasures and could tell real from fake with one glance.
Today wasn't Sunday, so there weren't too many people wandering the antique street, mostly some older folks taking a stroll.
Ling Yue glanced over the street stalls on both sides of the road. Her frown grew deeper and deeper when she saw they were all modern handicrafts.
"Sir, this jade turtle was just unearthed from the soil, extremely valuable," a peddler quietly touted an old man who was looking at the things on his stall.
The old man picked up the turtle the size of a palm carefully. The jade carving was exquisite, and there was some dirt on the shell, making it look as if it had been dug out from the soil.
Ling Yue walked over and squatted down next to the old man, her gaze falling on the jade turtle in his hand. She was slightly shocked. The jade turtle emanated traces of black energy - it had clearly been tainted by sinister forces. Buying it back would negatively impact the buyer's health.
"Sir, if you like it, I can give you a good price," the peddler ingratiatingly said. One look and he could tell this old man was loaded.
The old man hesitated as he examined the jade turtle in his hand. He really liked it, but strangely, holding it gave him chills down his spine. Maybe it was just his imagination?
"Don't worry, sir. This is a steal," the peddler continued hustling.
Ling Yue withdrew her gaze to an inconspicuous cup on the stall. Covered all over in black without any luster, it looked like it had been smoked over a fire. "Boss, how much for that cup?" she asked, pointing at it.
The peddler casually glanced at the cup. "100 yuan." He had gotten it when he bought a rosewood box. After he sold the box, the buyer returned this cup to him, so he had kept it lying around ever since. Trash no one would look twice at anyway.
"Could you sell it to me for 50?" Ling Yue asked.
The peddler looked Ling Yue up and down and shrugged. "80. Take it or leave it." He didn't have time to waste with this little girl when there was big business to be done with the old man.
"How about 70?" Ling Yue bargained.
"Fine, just take it," the impatient peddler said, shoving the cup at Ling Yue. 70 yuan was still money, and the cup was worthless anyway.
Ling Yue took out the money from her pocket, counted out 70 yuan and handed it to the peddler, taking the cup. As soon as it was in her hand, she felt a rich spiritual aura emanating from it. The cultivation technique she practiced could absorb spiritual energy in addition to star power to cultivate. However, this world was lacking in spiritual energy, so she could only rely on star power.
Tucking the cup away, Ling Yue left. Whether the old man would buy that jade turtle had nothing to do with her - she didn't want unnecessary trouble by meddling too much. Sometimes helping others doesn't earn their gratitude.
As she walked, she absorbed the spiritual energy from the cup. When it was depleted, she entered an antique shop. The spiritual energy had nothing to do with the historical value of the cup. As long as it wasn't damaged, it still held value.
Inside the antique shop, a bespectacled old man behind the counter inspected a blue and white porcelain vase in his hand through a magnifying glass, a new acquisition. Hearing footsteps, he glanced up at Ling Yue before continuing his appreciation of the vase.
Ling Yue walked up to him and asked, "Hello! Do you buy antiques here?"
The old man looked up at her. "You have an antique?"
Ling Yue took out the cup she had just bought and placed it on the counter. "Take a look."
The old man recognized it as the cup from Li San's stall that he had seen before. It was worthless then, and still was now. "Little girl, this cup isn't worth anything," he dismissed.
Ling Yue smiled confidently. "Not necessarily. Could I trouble you for a basin of water?"
The old man frowned slightly. Seeing the flash of confidence in Ling Yue's eyes, he called for his shop assistant to fetch a basin of water from the backyard.
When the assistant brought the water over, Ling Yue placed the cup inside. In the next moment, faint concentric circles of blue light emanated from the originally nondescript cup, filled with dots of stars as dazzling as the galaxy itself.
"How...how..." the old man gaped, dumbfounded.
Ling Yue quirked her brow playfully. "Well? Will you buy it now?"
"Buy it! Of course I'll buy it!" The old man nodded repeatedly. This was the legendary Black Jade Star Cup, of which there was only one in existence, priceless! To think this young lady had such discerning eyes - he had really looked down on her! As expected, appearances could be deceiving!
"How much are you offering?" The old man scrutinized the Black Jade Star Cup through his magnifying glass.
"2 million," Ling Yue stated. She knew the cup was worth far more than that - it could easily fetch over 10 million at auction.
The old man hesitated. Of course he knew how valuable it was, but 2 million was no measly sum. It wasn't his call to make.
"If you don't think that's fair, I can ask around at other shops," Ling Yue said, moving to take back the cup.
"Wait! Let me make a call," the old man hurriedly said. No way would he let Ling Yue take this to another shop. It was a once-in-a-lifetime chance to obtain the Black Jade Star Cup that he couldn't miss.
"Alright then." At the old man's invitation, Ling Yue went to the reception room to await his reply. She dared sit there because she wasn't afraid of him playing any tricks. Although she hadn't regained her previous cultivation base, dealing with a few ordinary people posed no problems. If the old man dared to scam her, he would find she wasn't one to be trifled with either.
