Zombie Bodyguard

Chapter 2012: Chapter 2009: Appraisal

This time even Zhang Lingyu and Mu Yun were surprised. This merchant’s ability to read minds is terrifying.

"Looking at your expression, I know I’ve guessed correctly." Linghu Cai laughed warmly and said, "Anything related to Brother Lin Tian is my concern too. But first, can you show me the ancient zither? I’m itching with curiosity."

"Alright, Brother Linghu is straightforward indeed." Lin Tian praised him and without delay, quickly opened his backpack, the zither case, and took out the ancient zither.

Linghu Cai, however, became cautious and urged Lin Tian to slow down, fearing that the strings might break: "Brother Lin Tian, slow down, the strings can’t take too much handling."

Once the ancient zither was set, Linghu Cai circled around it, observing from all angles, even pressing his face to the table for a closer look, completely disregarding his legendary merchant status.

"Lin Tian, this guy is so strange." Xiao Manxuan whispered as she moved closer to Lin Tian.

"Um, experts are like this." Actually, Lin Tian wanted to say it’s because she’s seen him before but doesn’t remember.

"Strange, strange, the wood grain on the zither is different from any tree species I’ve seen, and these strings, they’re perfect. Tsk tsk, I’ve seen many modern zithers in the Human Realm, and they use steel strings, which are so low-grade."

"Even if they imitate ancient zithers using silk strings, the quality doesn’t compare to real ancient zithers, their crafting techniques are still inferior to the ancients."

"In my view, this ancient divine zither represents the pinnacle of zither-making craftsmanship, with lost ancient wood and strings even better than ice silkworm silk. Hey, do you all know about ice silkworm silk?" Linghu Cai became more and more excited, then suddenly paused and asked Lin Tian and the others.

Lin Tian might not know about others, but he not only knew about ice silkworm silk, he had seen it. He chuckled and said, "Ice silkworm silk is resistant to both water and fire, woven into cloth, it’s impervious to blades and swords. Is this what Brother Linghu is referring to?"

Linghu Cai’s eyes lit up with excitement: "You’re absolutely right, little brother, that’s exactly it. It’s said that ice silkworms originate from Kunlun Mountain, could it be that Brother Lin has seen them?"

"I haven’t seen an ice silkworm, but I’ve seen clothes made from ice silkworm silk, truly impervious to blades and swords, resistant to both water and fire," Lin Tian confirmed.

"A single strand of ice silkworm silk is already rare, yet there’s clothing made from it? Who has such capabilities?" Linghu Cai was shocked, then even more excited, enamored by rare treasures. Hearing about ice silkworm clothing made him itch with curiosity.

Lin Tian chuckled, shaking his head, "Brother Linghu, we’re digressing a bit, let’s focus on the ancient zither instead."

If he didn’t stop this guy, Lin Tian feared the topic would go off on a tangent. But, speaking of which, Linghu Cai’s fondness for rare treasures, compared to Ling Pavilion Master’s Langya Pavilion, it’s hard to say who’s superior.

Linghu Cai chuckled awkwardly, "With such curiosity in my heart, I got a bit carried away. I hope you don’t mind, little brother Lin. Speaking of those strings, they’re even better than ice silkworm silk, likely the legendary heavenly silkworm silk."

"Ice silkworm, golden silkworm, is heavenly silkworm silk produced by heavenly silkworms?" Xiao Manxuan touched the protective necklace around her neck and asked curiously.

Linghu Cai nodded with a smile, "The young lady is right, ice silkworms originate from Kunlun. As for golden silkworms, they belong to a type of Gu and are also hard to cultivate. As for heavenly silkworms, they’re already extinct in both realms."

"Heavenly silkworms are mentioned in the Classic of Mountains and Seas, comparable to ancient divine beasts, even rarer in number, and no one has ever seen one. I’ve never seen a heavenly silkworm, nor its silk, it was just my hypothesis earlier." Linghu Cai looked quite regretful, then gestured to one of his bodyguards.

A black-robed bodyguard came over, took a black stone from his person, and handed it to Linghu Cai. He rubbed it on the table, igniting a faint blue flame from the black stone.

Linghu Cai took the fire and was about to burn the ancient zither when Mu Yun was alarmed and quickly stopped him: "Linghu Cai, what are you doing?"

"Burning it," Linghu Cai said as if it was the most natural thing.

"I asked you to identify the zither, not destroy it," Mu Yun said coldly.

Lin Tian, is it alright?" Xiao Manxuan was somewhat worried. She really liked this ancient zither and felt a kindred connection to it, so she didn’t want it damaged.

Lin Tian motioned for the two women to relax and smiled, "It’s fine, let him burn it."

With Lin Tian’s approval, Linghu Cai brought the flame close to the strings. The blue flame swirled, burning the strings. If they were normal silk strings, they would have snapped long ago.

But the strings remained undamaged under the flame, suddenly vibrating and emitting a clear and distant melody. A red glow flashed, releasing an intense heat.

Linghu Cai was so frightened that he hurriedly stepped back, dropping the black firestone to the ground in a panic. Lin Tian was startled, quickly turning to look at Xiao Manxuan.

Xiao Manxuan frowned slightly, a flash of red seemed to flicker in her eyes. This phenomenon disappeared in an instant, the ancient zither returned to normal, and Xiao Manxuan also returned to her usual self.

"Xuanxuan, just now you..." Lin Tian and Zhang Lingyu almost spoke at the same time.

"It seemed a bit hot just now, didn’t you feel it?" Xiao Manxuan blinked and asked Lin Tian and Zhang Lingyu in return.

Lin Tian and Zhang Lingyu exchanged glances, knowing that an unusual energy had appeared again, triggered by the ancient zither.

Looking at Mu Yun and the two black-robed bodyguards, their swords and scimitars had drawn, ready for confrontation.

"Boss, are you okay?" one black-robed bodyguard helped Linghu Cai up.

"I’m fine, I’m fine, no need to panic." Linghu Cai waved them off, then fixed his gaze on the ancient zither: "It’s a pity, it’s a pity that the zither’s power is sealed. I can’t see through it."

Lin Tian was slightly disappointed. Though he had anticipated this outcome, hearing the legendary merchant admit he couldn’t decipher it still left a sense of regret.

From the start, the ancient zither was closely tied to Xiao Manxuan, first with the melody in Fanyin Temple calling her, then sharing the same unusual energy. It’s hard to deny that the mystery thickens, becoming even harder to see through.

Oh well, even if it can’t be identified, it’s not a big deal. As long as I can play its notes, nothing else matters." Xiao Manxuan said lightly.

Linghu Cai showed an admiring expression, sighing: "The young lady is so young yet so open-minded, truly putting us to shame."

He then turned to Lin Tian, solemnly saying: "Brother Lin, I’m sorry, I can’t identify it. I’m afraid only Ksitigarbha can see through it."

Ksitigarbha? Lin Tian shook his head, smiling wryly to himself. Ksitigarbha has long reincarnated, now just an ordinary college student, how can he identify it?

These thoughts ran through his mind, but Lin Tian didn’t show it. Instead, he said: "Brother Linghu, actually, asking you to identify the zither is just one thing. I have another matter to discuss with you."

Helping with the zither’s identification hasn’t been fruitful, I’m embarrassed. Tell me whatever you need, little brother Lin." Linghu Cai promised, patting his chest.

Lin Tian put on a serious expression and asked, "Brother Linghu, have you ever heard of Ying Gou?"

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