Chapter 362 - Pest Extermination Exercise (1/2)
”You came back?” Old Juan remarked when he saw Lu Tianzi step into his shop. ”But are you here as a customer or...?”
After spending around a week organising his harvests from the trip, Lu Tianzi finally returned to Old Juan's Equipment Shop.
As for consolidating his gains, it was something that would take quite some time, so Lu Tianzi was not in a hurry for that.
”Is the furnace still available for renting?” Lu Tianzi scratched his cheek in embarrassment.
He did tell Old Juan that he would be away for a while, but it took a little longer than he had expected.
Having been away for months, it would be too much to ask for the furnace to be reserved for him all this while.
As expected, Old Juan took a deep breath in impatience.
If not for the fact that he had seen much promise in Lu Tianzi, Old Juan would have already shouted at him to stop dreaming.
”I would love to tell you that the furnace is still available for your usage, but my apprentice Ah San just started smithing recently, so it will be difficult for me to tell him to stop,” Old Juan let out a helpless sigh. ”But if you are really interested in practising smithing again, you can just wait a few days. You will be able to use Ah Yi's furnace after that.”
Old Juan's Equipment Shop had three furnances, currently assigned to his three apprentices working there.
Ah San and Ah Yi both counted among the three apprentices.
”Will Ah Yi be all right with that?” Lu Tianzi asked uncertainly.
Lu Tianzi knew Ah Yi personally as well, and would hate to deprive the latter of his rights.
”Hah, you don't have to worry about him!” Old Juan laughed. ”I am not forcing Ah Yi to stop. He just has something to do for a while.”
”I see, that'd be good,” Lu Tianzi nodded. ”Thank you again, Old Juan. Then I shall return in three days' time.”
”Wait, don't be in so much of a hurry to leave!” Old Juan called out just as Lu Tianzi was about to head for the exit. ”Since you are already here, why don't you help me out a little?”
”Hmm? What do you need help with?” Lu Tianzi looked at him in puzzlement.
Lu Tianzi was unfamiliar with the goods in the shop and their corresponding prices, so he could not possibly be the receptionist. And with his current level of skill, he certainly could not help with the smithing as well.
What could he possibly help with?
”Don't worry, I am not asking you to do anything difficult,” Old Juan seemed to have read Lu Tianzi's mind. ”There are some completed equipment at the back that need to be sent to the inscription master before they can be sold. Ah San will usually be the one doing this but he seems really engrossed in smithing these days, so I can't bear to interrupt him. Can you help me with that instead? Go bring the equipment over here, and I will pass you a list with the specific instructions on what inscription needs to be placed on which equipment. Don't worry if you don't understand, you just have to pass the list to the inscription master and he will do the rest.”
”Inscription?” Lu Tianzi was surprised. ”Can I take a look at the inscriptions you need?”
This time it was Old Juan's turn to be surprised. ”Do you know about inscriptions?”
”Well, I do know a little about it. However, I am not sure how my knowledge compares to others,” Lu Tianzi answered.
Lu Tianzi might be an official inscription master, but that was back in Bluenight City, Scarlet Moon Kingdom.
In comparison to the powerful influences in the central regions of the continent, Scarlet Moon Kingdom was simply not worth mentioning at all.
On top of that, Sacred Cliff City was even known as the City of Artificers.
Surely the standard of inscription masters here would be far above that of Bluenight City!
Considering that, Lu Tianzi dared not think too highly of himself.
”Haha, go ahead and take a look then!” Old Juan did not think too much about it.
After all, he was intending to pass the list of inscriptions to Lu Tianzi sooner or later anyway. Lu Tianzi would need to deliver the list along with the items so that the inscription master would know what to do.
Lu Tianzi took the slip of paper from Old Juan and saw that it paired twenty different equipment to their respective inscriptions.
This list revealed Old Juan's professional opinion as an artificer – what he believed was best for each piece of equipment.
Lu Tianzi had not seen these equipment, so he had no opinion there.
However, his eyes still lit up when he saw the inscriptions required.
That was because the inscriptions listed were nothing complicated at all!
”How is it? Do you understand it?” Old Juan smiled.
”Yes, I do,” Lu Tianzi's eyes were filled with confidence when he looked back up at Old Juan. ”These inscriptions... I would be able to place them for you as well!”
”You?” Old Juan raised an eyebrow in sceptism. ”You know how to place inscriptions?”
”I know a thing or two about it,” Lu Tianzi nodded. ”In fact, I used to do it as a job.”
”You are an inscription master?” Old Juan frowned, still unable to believe what he was hearing.
Lu Tianzi was not surprised at Old Juan's reaction though.
If he were Old Juan, he would be just as doubtful if someone he knew suddenly revealed that he was actually an inscription master.
With a flick of his wrist, the Torrential Sabre appeared in Lu Tianzi's hand.
”Take a look,” Lu Tianzi passed the sabre over to Old Juan.
He could speak for hours, and Old Juan would still not believe him. The easiest way to convince Old Juan was to let his work do the talking for him.
The Torrential Sabre was a Peak Essence Condensation rank treasure when he won it from Nanqing Zhengxian. But after Lu Tianzi placed the Astral Way Inscription on it, it had been upgraded to a half-step Origin Core rank treasure.
Since there were even a few Primary Origin Core rank treasures up for sale in the Old Juan's Equipment Shop, Lu Tianzi was not worried that Old Juan would covet his Torrential Sabre.
Old Juan did not have high expectations as he picked up the Torrential Sabre, examining the Astral Way Inscription that was on it.