Chapter 146 - An Encounter On The Way (1/2)

The prefecture was where the county’s capital was located. It was a bustling place that could not be compared with the military camp, which was fortified and faced the boundless immense forest.

Ni Yunhong and his younger sister led the way. They were heading to the prefecture’s night market.

In the prefecture, people had completely different living habits than those from the military camp and the town. For most people here, nighttime was the real beginning of a day.

When the siblings and Ou Yangming arrived at a brightly lit street, Ou Yangming suddenly smiled and said, “Look.”

The siblings were slightly stunned when they looked toward where he was pointing, but they quickly laughed.

A familiar old man was standing there.

It was Zheng Ziwen, the Yi Pavilion’s appraiser. He was looking around at one end of the street as though he was searching for something.

Ni Yinghong grinned. “It’s such a coincidence that we’re able to encounter him here.”

“Let’s go meet him.” Ou Yangming nodded and smiled. “He’s a good person.”

Ni Yinghong instantly pursed her lips and smiled so that even her big eyes were narrowed. “Yes, he’s indeed a good person, a really good person!”

They smiled at each other as they recalled the days of their appraisal task in the bas.e.m.e.nt. In order to let Ou Yangming understand appraisal art, Ni Yinghong had prodded Zheng Ziwen and used other tricks to make the appraisal master employ the art. She only stopped when Zheng Ziwen was exhausted and had no energy left. Without Zheng Ziwen’s selfless help, Ou Yangming could not have grasped appraisal art.

Ni Yunhong was rather jealous when he saw his younger sister and Ou Yangming smiling at each other. He decided to keep an eye on Ou Yangming so as to prevent his dear sister from being captivated.

Ou Yangming went with the stream of people in the crowd and shouted, “Master Zheng, what a coincidence!”

Zheng Ziwen was startled, but his eyes lit up when he turned and saw Ou Yangming. He could not help but flash a bright smile as he responded, “Haha, Master Ou, you’re… Uh, ah… I have something else to attend to, I’ll talk to you next time!” He was actually elated when he first saw Ou Yangming, but he quickly noticed Ni Yinghong, who was behind Ou Yangming. A penetrating chill immediately arose from the bottom of Zheng Ziwen’s heart because he recalled his miserable experience that lasted a few days in the bas.e.m.e.nt.

Equipment appraisal was supposedly a small matter-like daily life—for him. However, the task that they did together had given him a taste of how tormenting h.e.l.l would be.

After continuously using appraisal art for a few days, not only was Zheng Ziwen’s mental power exhausted, but he had also made an overdraft of it. As a result, he was mentally disorganized for the next few days and had no energy to do anything at all.

In a way, Ni Yinghong had left him with an incredibly deep and unerasable impression.

Upon seeing the little devil, Zheng Ziwen could not help but s.h.i.+ver. He was mumbling something to himself, and he subconsciously wanted to leave.

Just as he began s.h.i.+fting his feet, Ni Yinghong’s voice was heard. “Master Zheng, how have you been!”

Zheng Ziwen halted and smiled, but he looked more awful than if he was crying. “Oh! Isn’t that Master Ni? Forgive me for not noticing you earlier.”

Ni Yinghong replied to him with a smile, “Master Zheng, you’re a busy and proud man, so it’s not strange that you didn’t notice a n.o.body like me.”

“Master Ni, you misunderstood me, that was not the case.” Zheng Ziwen’s face changed. Ou Yangming could not bear watching them anymore, so he asked, “Master Zheng, are you waiting for someone?”

Zheng Ziwen sighed a breath of relief because he dared not be entangled with the little devil any longer. He quickly answered, “Ah, Master…”

“Brother Zheng, it’s too difficult for us to keep addressing each other as masters. How about we just use terms of address for friends?” Ou Yangming waved his hand and suggested.

He was not over 16 years old yet, hence it was quite funny for him to be calling a man, who was in his thirties, a brother. Nonetheless, Zheng Ziwen, who knew Ou Yangming’s abilities very well, was delighted. “Okay, it’s my honor to have a friend like you, Brother

Ou.”

All of a sudden, a figure showed up from a distance away, and that person laughed when he saw who were present. “It’s Master Ou and the Ni family masters!” The person who came was Head Shopkeeper Lin from the town. He nodded at everyone else and asked, “Master Zheng, is Old Tributary Shen still not here yet?”

“Old Tributary Shen? Are you talking about Old Sir Shen Xiyuan?” Ni Yunhong suddenly blurted.

Lin Yichen’s face took on a grave expression as he answered, “Yes, it’s Old Sir Shen.”

Feeling surprised, Ni Yunhong questioned, “Old Sir Shen hasn’t gotten involved in external affairs for years, why are you looking for him?” “Master Ni, there’s a small issue in the Yi Pavilion. Someone came to gamble on stones, and the person who came has ill-intentions, so we’re hoping to invite Old Tributary Shen to oversee the matter and give us some pointers.”

Ni Yunhong furrowed his eyebrows and commented, “How can someone from the prefecture not treat the Yi Pavilion with respect?”

Zheng Ziwen interrupted. “The person isn’t from the prefecture, he’s an influential person from Linlang County.”