"What? Not enough money?" Zhao Yuan raised an eyebrow and said coldly, "When you got this stone sculpture from that farr, didn't you just give him a hundred yuan? And a counterfeit bill, at that. I'm giving you real money. By my count, you're still up a hundred."
Xing Hong's eyes flew wide open, his terrified expression like he had just seen a ghost. He cried out in shock, "How did you know I used a hundred-yuan counterfeit bill to buy this stone sculpture?"
Zhao Yuan let out a cold laugh. "If you don't want anyone to know, you shouldn't have done it in the first place."
Of course, he wasn't about to tell Xing Hong that he'd learned this from the description of the Spirit dicine Stone on his Information Leaf.
Strangely, the description of the Spirit dicine Stone that appeared on the Information Leaf this ti not only included its na, uses, and origin, but also the thods by which its previous 'owners' had acquired it. It was far more detailed than the descriptions he had seen before.
This puzzled Zhao Yuan.
'Can the Information Leaf's descriptions of Magical Artifacts evolve on their own?'
He soon found out why.
He saw that the Information Leaf in his mind's eye looked different. To be precise, it had sprouted another leaf, transforming from its initial bud-like shape into a small seedling.
'The Information Leaf has grown!'
'No wonder the descriptions beca so detailed!'
Zhao Yuan hurriedly pulled up the descriptions for the Fourteen Fearless Pearls and the Five Elents Gourd. Sure enough, they were both much more detailed than before, now including not only the creator's na but also information on their successive owners.
'It seems the Information Leaf's growth must have just happened. Otherwise, the earlier description of the Fourteen Fearless Pearls couldn't have been less detailed than it is now.'
'It must be because the news of my victory over the Jinling Zhao Family has fully spread, earning a new wave of Wish Power!'
Zhao Yuan was delighted. The benefits of the Information Leaf's evolution would surely go far beyond just this. As for what other advantages it brought, he would have to explore those slowly over ti.
By now, Xing Hong was so terrified he had collapsed to the floor.
He had never told another soul about buying the stone sculpture with a counterfeit bill. Yet Zhao Yuan, a man he had just t for the very first ti today, knew. It was simply incredible!
'Could this kid have so kind of mind-reading power?' Xing Hong couldn't help but wonder.
Zhao Yuan was in no mood to guess what he was thinking. He shoved the hundred-yuan bill into the man's hand and barked, "Take the money and get lost!"
"Yes, yes."
Xing Hong was already scared out of his wits by Zhao Yuan; how could he dare say no? He hastily took the hundred yuan and started to leave. But after just a few steps, he stopped, a hesitant look on his face, as if he wanted to say sothing but was holding his tongue.
Zhao Yuan's eyebrow twitched. "What? Having second thoughts?"
"No, no," Xing Hong quickly explained. "This is my house. Where am I supposed to 'get lost' to?"
"Uh…" Only then did Zhao Yuan rember that he was, in fact, in Xing Hong's house.
He had tried to make a cool exit but had completely bungled it. This left Zhao Yuan feeling a little awkward. He shook his head and said, "Fine, my bad. You stay, we'll go." He reached out with one hand, lifted the stone sculpture, and started walking out.
Xing Hong's eyes nearly popped out of his head.
Although the stone sculpture was only half a ter tall, it was seriously heavy. When Xing Hong had first brought it ho, he'd had to call several friends to help him carry it. Even then, they were completely wiped out by the ti they finally got it into the house.
It was precisely because the sculpture was so heavy that he rarely took it to his stall at the antiques market. The last ti he had lugged it out was because he'd heard that a big shot in the landscaping business was collecting antique stone sculptures, and he wanted to try his luck. In the end, the landscaping boss wasn't interested, but that old man nad Cheng took a liking to it.
But now, a stone sculpture that weighed at least a few hundred pounds was being casually carried off by Zhao Yuan with a single hand. Just how powerful was he?
Brother Tian was also terrified by this display. 'Thank God we didn't start a fight with them earlier,' he thought. 'With that kind of power, one punch would kill you or leave you crippled!'
Just as they walked out of Xing Hong's house, Brother Tian sidled up to Zhao Yuan with a sycophantic grin. "Master, congratulations on acquiring a treasure from Xing Hong. About my illness… when would be a convenient ti for you to treat it?"
Zhao Yuan glanced at him and said, "Your illness isn't difficult to treat. I'll write you a prescription. Get the dicine, take it for a week straight, and the tightness in your chest and heart pain will be greatly relieved. Take it for a month, and the hematidrosis should be basically cured. However, after the hematidrosis is gone, you'll still need to take so dicine to soothe the spleen and nourish the liver. Any decent Traditional Chinese Physician can prescribe those for you, so I won't waste my energy on it."
Brother Tian was overjoyed. He quickly had one of his n find a pen and paper so Zhao Yuan could write the prescription. At the sa ti, he asked, "Master, could I possibly get your contact information?"
"What, afraid my dicine won't work?" Zhao Yuan smiled. "Let's skip the contact info. However, I can wait here in your bar until you've taken the first dose. You'll know then if my prescription is effective."
Of course, Brother Tian wasn't going to refuse this offer. He imdiately ushered Zhao Yuan and his group back into the bar.
Zhao Yuan's group didn't stand on ceremony. Once inside the bar, they ordered Brother Tian's n to go buy them so duck blood and vermicelli soup, along with other Jinling specialty snacks.
Most of the n were locals or had lived in Jinling for a long ti. They knew exactly where to find the tastiest local snacks, so they were the perfect people to send on an errand.
Brother Tian brought a pen and paper to Zhao Yuan. As soon as he saw that Zhao Yuan had finished writing the prescription, he reached out to take it.
Zhao Yuan snatched his hand back, making him grab at empty air. He snorted coldly, "You expect to get the prescription without paying my fee?"
"My mistake, my mistake." Brother Tian quickly apologized, then asked, "I was just wondering, Master, how much is your fee?"
Zhao Yuan replied, "That depends on how much you think your life is worth."
How could Brother Tian not understand? Zhao Yuan was naming a sky-high price!
Even so, Brother Tian didn't dare show any dissatisfaction. Gritting his teeth, he said, "Master, I usually spend money as soon as I make it. I don't have much in savings, only about four hundred thousand or so. If you think that's not enough, give so ti. I can sell this bar to soone else. I should be able to get another chunk of money from that!"
While four hundred thousand was a lot of money, it was nothing compared to his life.
Zhao Yuan waved his hand. "Forget about selling the bar. That's too much of a hassle, and I don't have ti to wait around for you to sort it out. Let's just go with the four hundred thousand. I'll take the hit and charge you a bit less. We'll call it charity."
Hearing this, Brother Tian and his n nearly gawked their eyes out.
'A 400,000 fee and you're complaining it's not enough? You think *you're* the one taking a loss and doing charity? The sheer arrogance!'
Grumbling to himself was one thing, but Brother Tian didn't dare say it out loud. If he angered Zhao Yuan and the man refused to treat him, wouldn't that just be a death wish?
Brother Tian quickly transferred the four hundred thousand to Zhao Yuan's bank account.
After receiving the money, Zhao Yuan gave the prescription to Brother Tian. Not trusting his n with the task, Brother Tian personally went to a nearby pharmacy to get the herbs and even asked the staff there to help decoct them.
anwhile, Zhao Yuan and his group chilled in the bar, feasting on the local delicacies Brother Tian's n had brought back. They were having a great ti.
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