Taiping Inn

Li Xuandu followed the young woman all the way to the courtyard. After turning a few corners, the road was lined with evergreen pines and cypresses, with old trunks slanting horizontally, adding a bit of verdant greenery in this early winter. After passing through the woods, he walked on a bluestone road and came to the outside of the large manor with red gates and white walls. When he got closer, he saw a plaque hanging on the gate with the two big characters "White Lotus" written on it. On both sides of the gate were not stone lions, but two stone palace lanterns with turtles and cranes prolonging life.

After entering the door, there was a large patio. On the left and right of the patio were stone ponds with lotus flowers planted in them. However, due to the cold weather, they have all withered now, leaving only a piece of withered leaves. After the patio, there is the living room. The young woman asked Li Xuandu to sit down, and then a maid brought hot tea. The young woman said, "Please have some tea, sir. I will report to the shopkeeper."

Li Xuandu nodded and took the tea bowl casually. He didn't expect that this small tea bowl had a secret. It was made of thin porcelain, as thin as an eggshell, and Very translate. He raised the teacup and looked at it carefully . On the wall of the teacup, there were five words "can be clear of the heart". The wonderful thing is that no matter which word you start reading, you can form a sentence, which are: "can be clear of the heart", "It is to clear your heart ", "clear the mind", "The mind can clear the mind", "It can clear the mind".

From the small to the big, if a family suddenly becomes rich, there will be no such exquisite thoughts, which shows the heritage of Bailianfang.

Not long after, a middle-aged woman in gorgeous clothes came slowly. After waving her hand to signal the maids standing by to leave, she asked directly: "I am the local shopkeeper. I wonder if this guest wants to pawn or something else?"

Li Xuandu put down the tea bowl in his hand and said: "It's mainly pawning, but if your shop has other good things, you may as well take them to see."

"Please follow me, sir." The middle-aged woman smiled slightly, turned around and led the way.

In Bailianfang, not only the guests are divided into high and low, but also the managers are divided into high and low, namely: general manager, chief manager, shopkeeper, and chief manager. Bailianfang in a state has one chief manager and two shopkeepers. At this time, this middle-aged woman is one of the two shopkeepers, and the previous woman is a chief manager.

Arriving at the back hall, there was a different world. The floor was covered with lichen made of Shu brocade, and it was silent when stepped on. In the middle was a desk that was a little too large. There was a large red sandalwood chair on each side of the desk. After the middle-aged woman extended her hand to invite Li Xuandu to sit on one of the chairs, she slowly sat down opposite Li Xuandu.

In the middle of the desk was a brass incense burner with a stick of incense in it and light smoke curling up.

The woman explained: "This is 'Panyunyan', which can cover the body and sound. Please don't worry about someone peeping in the dark."

Li Xuandu was an old man in the world. He had seen many of these strange and weird gadgets a long time ago. He didn't care. He just smiled and said: "Since you have come to Bailianfang, you can trust Bailianfang."

The woman smiled slightly: "Then please feel free to take out the things you want to pawn."

Li Xuandu directly took out a thick stack of secret books from the "Eighteenth Floor"

The middle-aged woman was slightly startled, and did not deliberately hide her surprise. She asked softly: "What is this?"

Li Xuandu said concisely: "Secret books, please feel free to use them, shopkeeper."

The middle-aged woman immediately reached out and took a book, roughly flipped through a few pages, and then took a few more books, and flipped through a few pages in the same way. After about half an incense stick of time, she roughly flipped through all the secret books, put down the secret books in her hand, and pondered: "Since you are a guest of Jiazihao, your reputation is naturally guaranteed. I wonder where you got these secret books from?"

Li Xuandu's face darkened and said unhappily : "No matter where it comes from, this is the rule of Bailianfang. Has the rule been changed in Bailianfang now?"

The middle-aged woman was shocked and hurriedly said: "It is I who broke the rule. I hope you can forgive me."

Li Xuandu did not insist on it, but just said: "If the inspection is correct, please make an offer."

The middle-aged woman considered her words for a while and said: "Most of these secret books are low-level methods. The disciples of the major sects will naturally look down on them, but those who have no connections will be interested in them, especially the "Jade Tripod Palm" and "Golden Death Fist", which are medium-level methods. If you encounter People who practice boxing and palm should be able to sell them at a high price. "

Speaking of this, the middle-aged woman glanced at Li Xuandu, and seeing that he had no expression on his face, she continued: "There are a total of nine secret books, seven methods of lower success, and two methods of middle success. The lower success methods are all calculated at 100 Taiping coins, and the middle success methods are calculated at 500 Taiping coins, a total of 1,700 Taiping coins. Our Bailianfang is different from ordinary pawnshops. We never lower the price. The price is what it should be, so rest assured, the price will not be higher than this elsewhere. I might as well tell you the bottom line, the general market price is , at most 1,500 Taiping coins, but we have a wider network of people in Bailianfang, and these things are easier to sell, so the price can be higher. "

Li Xuandu said calmly: "These secret books are not elixirs that will be reduced if you buy one. Your store can make a batch of rubbings and keep the originals in your hands. In this way, it will be a goose that lays eggs and a steady stream of money. "

The woman didn't waste any words and stretched out two fingers: "Since the guest said so, then add another 300 Taiping coins, a total of 2,000 Taiping coins. "

Li Xuandu finally showed a smile on his face and said: "The shopkeeper is really a straightforward person. "

The woman smiled and said, "For a distinguished guest like you, we at Bailianfang never mind taking a small loss. Besides, I just broke the rules, so this is a small compensation."

Li Xuandu sighed, "Three hundred Taiping coins are nine thousand taels of silver. Your store is really generous."

The woman smiled and asked, "Do you want Taiping tickets or Taiping coins?"

Li Xuandu shook his head and said, "Don't worry, I wonder if your store has any good things recently?"

The woman said, "What a coincidence, there is one, a 'Taiyin Anonymous Talisman', I wonder if you are interested?"

Li Xuandu was slightly surprised and said, "This is a rare thing."

The woman nodded and said, "That's right, the effect of this talisman is to conceal the body shape and breath. Whether it is used to save life or sneak in secretly, it is an excellent must-have item, but the disadvantage is that this talisman is too complicated to draw, and it must be cultivated in the realm of heaven and man. Moreover, the materials needed for drawing talismans are quite rare, so the output is very small and it is very rare in the market. "

Li Xuandu asked: "I wonder how much it costs?"

The woman said calmly: "This 'Taiyin Hidden Shape Talisman' obtained by our shop is a legacy of a master from the previous dynasty. Because of its age, the spiritual energy in it has dissipated, so there will be some discounts on the price. If the guest is interested in buying it, our shop will offer 500 Taiping coins."

Li Xuandu sighed: "Your shop is really honest, it's about this price."

The woman smiled slightly: "Doing business is not a matter of one day or one night, just as the guest said just now, it takes a long time. As the saying goes, small wealth depends on hard work and great wealth depends on virtue, so in this kind of business, our shop has always told the truth and never concealed a single bit. "

Five hundred Taiping coins are really not a small amount, especially after Li Xuandu lost the silver from his master. Besides, it is not so easy to sell secret books. Bailianfang is not a fool. After collecting these secret books, they will not buy them again. So one less book is sold. Moreover, Li Xuandu dare not buy and sell some intermediate methods such as "Pure Yang Purple Qi" casually, otherwise it is easy to offend Zhengyi Sect. The nine secret books sold this time have been carefully selected, and such transactions will not happen again in the future.

However, after Li Xuandu silently calculated in his heart, he decided to buy this "Taiyin Anonymous Talisman". After all, this talisman is one of the most practical talismans, and it is in short supply. If you miss it this time, you don’t know when you will meet it next time.

Li Xuandu said, "I've bought this 'Taiyin Hidden Shape Talisman'. The required Taiping money can be deducted from the 2,000 Taiping money. Please help me change the remaining 1,500 Taiping money into Taiping notes."

The woman who had made a big deal smiled happily and said, "Sir, please wait a moment."

She turned and left the inner hall. Not long after, she returned with three more Taiping notes and a red sandalwood box in her hand.

Li Xuandu took the Taiping notes, all of which were 500 yuan in denomination. With the notes, he could immediately withdraw 500 Taiping money at the Taiping Bank. He first put the three Taiping notes into the "Eighteenth Floor", then opened the red sandalwood box, and a black talisman lay quietly inside.