The Mirror Master

Lu Bai looked toward the source of the voice and saw a scruffy old man with grizzled hair and a beard, squatting beside the entrance to a gambling den. He was wearing a tattered cotton-padded jacket, so covered in grease stains and patches that its original color was impossible to tell.

A large, grimy, tattered cloth was spread out in front of him, with some ’antiques’ haphazardly arranged on it.

On the left side of the cloth was a motley collection of items: a rust-spotted bronze longsword, a wine pot with peeling glaze, a withered and yellowed crooked-mouth gourd, and a set of dilapidated black armor...

The right side, in contrast, was simple: a large pile of Copper Coins, several hundred by the look of it.

Lu Bai paused.

Even other people selling fakes would, at most, display a few dozen Copper Coins, and some would even put them in an exquisite box.

For this old man to dump out so many and pile them up so carelessly—it looked completely fake.

The other stalls had at least one or two people stopping by.

This old man’s stall, however, had not a single customer.

People even passed by without giving it a second glance.

"Young brother, I see that your forehead is full and your jaw is broad. A stream of pure energy rises from between your brows straight to the heavens! You are destined for a wondrous encounter today! Come on over! Looking is free, so why not take a peek!"

Lu Bai’s interest was piqued. He walked over to the stall, squatted down, and asked, "Are you the Old Gambling Ghost?"

The old man’s expression froze, and his sallow face flushed slightly red.

"Haha!"

"Old Gambling Ghost, someone recognized you."

"Your reputation is so rotten you can’t even swindle strangers anymore."

Before the Old Gambling Ghost could explain, several nearby stall owners burst into laughter.

"Shoo, shoo!"

The Old Gambling Ghost waved his hand dismissively and said to Lu Bai, "Young brother, don’t listen to them. These other vendors just can’t stand to see others succeed. All my items here are ancient treasures covered in dust, just waiting for their fated owner."

With nothing better to do, Lu Bai casually picked up one of the Copper Coins from the stall.

The Ancient Mirror didn’t react.

"Young brother, take a look at this gourd."

The Old Gambling Ghost enthusiastically picked up the crooked-mouth gourd and boasted, "This is the number one Wondrous Treasure of ancient times, the World-Purifying Immortal Gourd! It contains the Purifying World Gourd Light, which can transform into ten thousand streams of Sword Qi to cleanse the world of all demons. It’s powerful enough to destroy heaven and earth!"

Lu Bai took the gourd and checked it with the Ancient Mirror.

Still no reaction.

Lu Bai put it back.

"Take a look at this one."

The Old Gambling Ghost then picked up the black armor next to it. "This is the Taisui Battle Armor. It was a Flesh Ganoderma that grew in ancient times. After cultivating for who knows how many ages, it gained sentience and emerged in antiquity. It devoured endless flesh and blood on the battlefield, so powerful that not even a Great Power ancestor could subdue it. Later, it was refined by the Desolate Emperor and forged into this Battle Armor, ranking in the top ten among the Ancient Exotic Treasures!"

"Old Gambling Ghost, aren’t you afraid of boasting so much you tear a hole in the heavens? If real Wondrous Treasures and Ancient Exotic Treasures actually existed, how would they end up in your hands?"

A nearby stall owner sneered.

Lu Bai picked up the broken armor and checked it with the Ancient Mirror.

Still, not a single ripple.

Lu Bai shook his head to himself.

The Old Gambling Ghost’s knowledge was extraordinary, and he spoke with such conviction. For a moment, Lu Bai had actually held onto a sliver of hope that he might find a real treasure here.

’It seems I was being too naive.’

Lu Bai asked casually, "What are these Wondrous Treasures and Ancient Exotic Treasures you speak of?"

"Young brother, you’ve asked the right person."

The Old Gambling Ghost laughed. "The so-called Wondrous Treasures are items born at the dawn of creation. They capture the fortune of heaven and earth, contain the origin of all things, and are works of divine craftsmanship. Without any polishing, they are Magical Treasures in their own right, unique in all the world. Legend says there are thirty-six of them in total.

As for Ancient Exotic Treasures, those were created by the various powerhouses of ancient times, who refined and forged them from the many heavenly materials and earthly treasures of that era. They are the pinnacles of mortal craftsmanship, and legend says there are seventy-two of them.

Thus, the legends of the Thirty-Six Wondrous Treasures and the Seventy-Two Exotic Treasures have been passed down. They are far more powerful than any Magical Treasure Divine Weapon used by those Martial Cultivators."

"More powerful than a Supreme Magical Treasure?"

Lu Bai had learned from Li Yue’er that only an item with five refined Restrictions could be called a Supreme Magical Treasure.

The Old Gambling Ghost looked disdainful. "The Thirty-Six Wondrous Treasures and Seventy-Two Exotic Treasures have no Restrictions, but the power they contain is far greater than any so-called Supreme Magical Treasure.

Let me put it this way: almost all of the hundred-plus types of Restrictions passed down to this day were comprehended from these very Wondrous and Exotic Treasures."

"Senior, your knowledge is extraordinary."

A passing Qi Refiner overheard this, his interest piqued. He clasped his hands in admiration and also walked up to the Old Gambling Ghost’s stall.

Seeing that he now had two customers, the Old Gambling Ghost grew even more excited. He handed over the Copper Coin he had been fiddling with and said, "Young brother, I see a purple aura coming from the east about you, a sign of immense nobility. However, it’s tinged with a hint of malevolent energy. Why not buy this ancient coin to ward it off?"

"This is..." the Qi Refiner asked tentatively.

"This is the Desolate Emperor Ancestral Coin!"

The Old Gambling Ghost said mysteriously, "During the era of the Desolate Emperor, there were several hundred Mother Coins distributed among the various Vassal States. These Mother Coins were then used to mint the Desolate Emperor Coins. The source of those hundreds of Desolate Emperor Mother Coins is this very Desolate Emperor Ancestral Coin!

Let me put it this way: the one in my hand is the ancestor of all those Desolate Emperor Coins on their stalls!"

"It’s that amazing?"

The Qi Refiner was secretly amazed.

"Haha!"

A stall owner on the other side couldn’t help but laugh out loud. "There’s only one Desolate Emperor Ancestral Coin, and it’s in our Wu Dynasty Imperial Palace. Hey, Old Gambling Ghost, is the one in the Imperial Palace a fake?"

"You don’t know shit."

Annoyed that the other man was always undermining him, the Old Gambling Ghost cursed back, jutting out his neck. "There’s one in the Imperial Palace, and I have one here. So what!"

No matter how slow-witted the Qi Refiner was, he could tell something was off, and he prepared to get up and leave.

"Young brother, don’t go."

The Old Gambling Ghost quickly called out to him. "This Desolate Emperor Ancestral Coin is a priceless treasure, but since fate has brought us together, I’ll sell it to you cheap."

"How much?" the Qi Refiner asked.

"One thousand taels," the Old Gambling Ghost said.

"PFFT!"

The nearby stall owners almost spat out their dinner.

They were all experts at aging fakes; the cost of these so-called ancient coins was only a few wen.

This Old Gambling Ghost must have gambled himself crazy. It was an outrageous price, asking for a thousand taels right off the bat.

The Qi Refiner shook his head, no longer bothering, and turned to leave.

The old man was clearly taking him for a fool.

The Old Gambling Ghost shouted, "Young brother, don’t go! A hundred taels will do! Fifty taels, just fifty taels..."

The Qi Refiner ignored him.

"He wouldn’t know a real treasure if it bit him."

The Old Gambling Ghost muttered, casually tossing the Copper Coin back into the pile.

Lu Bai casually picked it up and checked it with the Ancient Mirror.

"Hm?"

A ripple appeared on the mirror’s surface—Desolate Emperor Coin.

’Although it isn’t the so-called Desolate Emperor Mother Coin or Desolate Emperor Ancestral Coin, this is a genuine ancient coin!’

’I’ve found a treasure!’

Lu Bai, his expression unchanging, placed the ancient coin back in the pile, memorizing its position.

He picked up a few more ancient coins and checked them with the Ancient Mirror.

’They’re all fakes.’

Lu Bai casually picked up a fake coin and asked, "Old Gambling Ghost, how much for these ancient coins?"

The Old Gambling Ghost’s eyes lit up. "Young brother, you’ve been looking for a while now. I can see you’re a sincere buyer, and since fate has brought us together, I’ll give you the rock-bottom price: ten taels a piece."

"Ten wen," Lu Bai said, his face expressionless.

"Huh?"

The Old Gambling Ghost’s eyes nearly popped out of his head.

’I can understand haggling,’ he thought, ’but who the hell haggles like that? Ten taels is ten thousand wen, and he cuts it straight down to ten?! This kid may be young, but he’s ruthless.’

He hadn’t made a single sale all day, and it was rare for a sucker to come along. The Old Gambling Ghost didn’t want to miss the chance. "Five taels."

"Twenty wen."

The Old Gambling Ghost: "..."

"Three taels!" the Old Gambling Ghost gritted out.

"Thirty wen."

"Two taels. I can’t go any lower."

"Forty wen."

"One tael. Take it or leave it."

The Old Gambling Ghost waved his hand, growing impatient, and muttered under his breath, "Forty wen isn’t even enough to play a single hand in there."

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