Chapter 85 - Attribute Gem (1/2)

Ou Yangming and Ni Yinghong instantly focused on the ore, and even the servants, who were initially watching quietly on one side, craned their necks to look with antic.i.p.ation.

Earlier when Zheng Ziwen began the stone-cracking process, he had failed time after time. The rest of them eventually lost interest, and they looked at him disdainfully.

For someone with such terrible luck, he would have been kicked away long ago if the owner of the ores was someone else. Ou Yangming, an amateur in this, was the only person who could tolerate Zheng Ziwen such that he still trusted Zheng Ziwen with the eleventh ore.

Something like that would never be allowed to happen in the prefecture’s gambling city. Normally, if a person could not find something s.h.i.+ny and colorful after opening five ores in a row, that person would never be trusted anymore.

In actual fact, everyone knew that if a raw gemstone did not contain a gem, the outcome would be the same even if someone else had cut it instead.

However, knowing was one thing, and understanding was another because it was not easy for people to be sensible.

Fortunately, Zheng Ziwen did not let Ou Yangming down this time. He finally found something great in the eleventh ore.

Although n.o.body knew what gem had been found, it was good news because there was l.u.s.ter.

Zheng Ziwen’s face instantly took on a grave expression, so much so that he was more serious than when he appraised a piece of equipment. Judging from the way Zheng Ziwen was staring at the ore without blinking, Ou Yangming doubted the master would respond if he called out to him at that moment.

Nonetheless, one could only carry out a task perfectly by being that attentive.

Zheng Ziwen was extremely grateful for Ou Yangming’s trust, hence he put his utmost effort into the task as soon as he noticed the l.u.s.ter. He began working more carefully and rubbed the ore’s surface lightly as he was afraid of ruining it.

Ou Yangming felt very helpless, so he asked softly, “Master Ni, will the process be sped up if the Military Fire is used?”

Ni Yinghong replied to him snappily, “Of course it’ll be faster if the Military Fire is used, but a lot of energy has to be consumed. Do you think anyone can withstand the process?”

Ou Yangming wanted to tell her that he could but decided after some thought to just keep quiet.

Soon enough, Lin Yichen arrived as well. He was the boss of this place, thus he would certainly find out if something happened.

When Lin Yichen saw Zheng Ziwen who was working hard, as well as the vague light that shone from the ore, he could not help but look surprised.

“Master Ou, you’re quite lucky. Based on the l.u.s.ter, if nothing goes wrong, you should be able to earn your cost.”

Ou Yangming smiled and asked, “Head Shopkeeper Lin, is a gem worth so much?”

Lin Yichen laughed and responded, “A normal gem’s value is quite average, which is 20 to 30 taels of gold, so it’s enough to cover a raw gemstone’s cost. However, one that’s better in quality is worth at least 100 taels of gold, and the better the quality, the higher its value.”

Ni Yinghong was somewhat excited when she looked at the l.u.s.ter that seemed to be growing brighter. Though she knew that the gem would belong to Ou Yangming anyway, she seemed to be happier than if she was the one who would have the gem instead.

She took a step forward and added, “Sometimes, we’re able to find an Attribute Gem from a raw gemstone, and a gem like that is extremely precious!”

Ou Yangming was slightly moved. He asked, “What will its value be?”

Ni Yinghong pondered seriously and answered, “It’ll be a priceless treasure!”

Even though it sounded exaggerated, Ou Yangming figured that natural Attribute Gems were more valuable than he had imagined.

Lin Yichen chuckled. “Master Ou, an Attribute Gem is very expensive indeed, which isn’t usually traded with silver or gold. That said, it also depends on the attribute that it carries because not all attributes can be treated the same.”

As they conversed, Zheng Ziwen had finally completed the final procedure. Everyone’s eyes lit up when an earthy yellow gem appeared. After getting a full view of the gem, both Lin Yichen and Ni Yinghong reacted greatly.

A normal gem would definitely not be as bright as this, so they were almost sure that the gem was truly an Attribute Gem.

“Master Zheng, what is this gem?” Lin Yichen quickly moved forward to ask. He looked more impatient than Ou Yangming.

“Please wait for a while,” Zheng Ziwen hesitated for a while before he answered. Subsequently, he released the Appraisal Light.

Zheng Ziwen was exhausted from yesterday and was still not in his best condition even after resting for a day, hence he should not be using appraisal art. Despite that, Ou Yangming had shown Zheng Ziwen respect earlier, and he would be ridiculed if he was being defensive, so he decided to use the art.

His eyes glowed after a brief moment. “Head Shopkeeper, this is a Physique Gem that can highly improve one’s physique! The increase is greater than the increase from a piece of normal equipment!”

Lin Yichen’s face changed, but he quickly calmed down and looked at Ou Yangming. “Master Ou, congratulations. Ah, this gem alone costs more than 200 taels of gold.”

Ou Yangming chuckled. “I owe it all to Master Zheng Ziwen’s blessing!”

Zheng Ziwen stuck his chest out as he felt really proud this time.