Chapter Thirty: The Strange Box

Sihai led the two through the hall and straight to the backyard. They passed winding corridors before arriving at a chilly pond, three zhang long and wide. The pond was built against the mountain but...Qin Luoyan followed the direction of his finger and looked over. It was a piece of clothing embroidered with gold thread, with a warm white tiger fur on the upper body, and golden embroidery outlining the edges. The lower body was a skirt that was half fur and half silk. It was indeed both beautiful and warm.

"That's the one!" Qin Luoyan patted Yixing's head, "Our Yixing has good taste. I'm sure this dress will look great on me."

After choosing a few warm clothes, the two left the clothing store. To Qin Luoyan's surprise, just a few pieces of clothing had cost her most of her silver. When they left the clothing store, she barely had any money left on her.

She was figuring out how many toys to buy for a lifetime. After all, a child can't possibly have a childhood without toys! So she wasn't in a hurry to go back to the inn. Instead, she went to a vendor selling trinkets at a distance.

The street vendor was packing up his stall and saw a customer approaching. He stopped what he was doing, "Miss, would you like to buy something I'm about to close anyway, so I'll give you a discount."

Qin Luoyan nodded, taking Yixing's hand and browsing through the stalls. She was just picking out fun things at random when she suddenly saw an object in the corner. Her eyes lit up, and she picked up the box that looked like a jewelry box and flipped it over and over again.

"Miss, do you like this If you really like it, I'll sell it to you for thirty copper coins." The peddler was delighted when she picked up the box.

"Where did you get this thing It looks pretty interesting." Qin Luoyan fiddled with the box, asking casually.

“Oh, don't even get me started. A few days ago, some grumpy old man ruined my stall and wouldn't pay for the damages. I couldn't let him go without compensation, so he offered this as payment. It looked quite nice at first glance, so I kept it, thinking I could sell it for a good price and break even. But who knew, the box is just an empty box! It's utterly useless, not even children like it. It hasn't sold in days. Miss, thirty copper coins Absolutely no cheating here.”

The peddler was afraid she wouldn't buy it, so he kept persuading her and took out a small slingshot. "If you buy this box, I'll give you a slingshot too, how about that"

Qin Luoyan hesitated for a moment before saying, "Alright, I'll buy it." She then picked out a few small trinkets for Yixing before paying.

The street vendor beamed and thanked her repeatedly. Qin Luoyan waved her hand, pulled Yi Sheng along, and prepared to leave. Nobody noticed that in the instant she turned, a gleam of excitement flashed in her eyes.

"Youngster, I finally found you! You said you were going to set up a stall, but why are you running around all over town It took me several cities to find you."

Qin Luoyan had just taken a step when she heard an old man tugging at the stall owner's sleeve as he spoke. She couldn't help but be curious, so she turned back to take a look.

That peddler shoved the old man aside. "We merchants travel far and wide to do business, how can we possibly make a living if we don't move around You old geezer have the nerve to say that The day you bumped into my stall, you paid me with some junk and walked away. I haven't even settled the score with you yet!"

"Trash You call my box trash" The old man was furious, stopping the peddler who was about to leave. "Didn't I say I would come back and exchange it I finally found you after searching with my silver, hurry up, give me back the box, and I'll pay you!"

The street vendor rolled her eyes at him, spreading her hands. "Go play somewhere else, I already sold that box, see That girl over there bought it. I can't give you one."

"What" Upon hearing this, the old man loosened his grip on the peddler and walked towards Qin Luo'yan. He wanted to grab her, but he felt it was inappropriate for a man and woman to touch each other so he could only rub his hands nervously and say, "Miss, would you be willing to sell me that box I'll pay twice the price."

“Uh…” Qin Luoyan twirled the box, shaking her head apologetically. “Not for sale.” She was kidding! She hadn't finished researching the mechanisms inside the box, how could she just give it away Besides, she had bought this with her own money, rightfully earned. Whether to give it or not was entirely up to her.

The old man immediately became anxious upon hearing this, “Miss, this is just a box. It’s of no use to you, but it means something different to an old man like me. How about this I’ll buy it for two ounces of silver”

"Two taels of silver" Qin Luoyan hadn't reacted yet, but the nearby peddler immediately shouted, his face full of regret, "If I had known you were going to redeem it with two taels of silver, I wouldn't have sold it for anything!"

"What use is it to talk about this now, get out of here!" The old man glared angrily at the peddler. Seeing Qin Luoyan was about to leave, he quickly followed up, "Miss, just sell it to me! Here's a deal, I'll give you five taels of silver, five taels! It's all my belongings."

Qin Luoyan twitched the corner of her mouth, glanced at the box, then at the old man, and asked, "But this box can't be bought for just five taels of silver. That little merchant doesn't know any better. Old sir, are you going to take advantage of me because I don't know any better either"

The old man's face flushed red when Qin Luoyan asked him like that, "So the young lady is a connoisseur. Then young lady, you name your price."

"Hmm... one thousand taels" Qin Luoyan thought for a moment and casually threw out a price. She originally intended to test the old man, but who knew that after some hesitation, the old man actually nodded.

“Young lady, you’re asking for an exorbitant price! If old man I had that much money, I wouldn’t be using this box to settle the debt. However, since I promised, I must take this box back. Why don’t you wait a moment I’ll go borrow some money right now. When I have the money, I’ll buy it from you.” The old man looked troubled but his attitude remained firm.

"Alright, then if you guys are interested, come find me." Qin Luo Yan gave the old man the address of the inn. Although she was interested in the box, what Qin Luo Yan was most interested in was money. In the face of silver, this little interest could be endured.

Moreover, it is apparent that this old man is also a man of his word. Otherwise, he would not put himself in an awkward situation for the sake of his promise.

After Qin Luoyan returned to the inn, she immediately shut her door and began studying the box. Qin Yisheng also started playing with his new toys, though while he was fiddling with them, a lack of interest could be seen in his eyes. He glanced at Qin Luoyan who was intently studying the box, then lowered his head to continue playing with his toys.

If he acted like a normal child, she would be happy, he thought. He would hide his coldness then.

"Click"

After half an hour, a soft click came from inside the box. Qin Luoyan's face lit up, and she immediately opened the secret compartment at the bottom of the box. This box looked empty, but it was actually ingeniously designed with hidden mechanisms. It took her quite a bit of effort to open it.

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(: b/23/23838/)an they brought back was missing an arm. He was unconscious, and after the doctor stopped the bleeding and bandaged him, he immediately fell asleep. One of his companions stayed by his bedside watchin...