Chapter 171: The Calming Necklace, the Church Priests of the God of the Dead Who Should Have Come

The first two were just common, good-looking gems. After Jier took them, he glanced at them and handed them to Weier, letting Weier, who was once a child of a great family, help identify the authenticity and specific value of the gems.

As for the gem necklace that the caravan steward finally took out with a pained expression, Jier squinted his eyes, and after taking it, he carefully inspected the Divine Emblem of the God of Wealth suspended inside the blue sapphire.

"This looks like something issued by the Church. Does it have any specific function?" He held the sapphire up against the whitish sky, carefully examining the inside of the gem by the Tianguang.

The gem as a whole had no wear or cracks and had been finely polished. Unlike the first dim, poorly polished red ruby, this blue sapphire necklace pendant was a cut above in terms of appearance. The specific price of a gem is related to the material and size of the gem, and also has a lot to do with whether the gem craftsman has polished and cut the gem well.

Although they are the same type of gem, a gem with finely cut and polished facets is obviously much more valuable and much better looking than a roughly polished one.

After all, a large part of their value lies in the value of appreciation and displaying wealth, and in this regard, a sparkling gem is just right.

The caravan steward, who hadn't slept all night, looked at the gem necklace in Jier's hand with some reluctance and said hesitantly: "This was a reward given to me by the Church of the God of Wealth three years ago, awarded to encourage me for opening up a new trade route alone. To be honest, I really can't bear to part with it. It allows me to stay calm when I am emotionally agitated, helping me not to make major decisions when my head is hot. It has helped me a lot over these years."

"Ho, that sounds like a pretty good thing, but is it okay? Privately transferring something the Church rewarded you with to someone else?" Jier shook the necklace in his hand, letting the blue sapphire trace a beautiful arc in the air.

"It should be fine. The Priests didn't say it wasn't allowed; if they didn't say it, then it's allowed. Please hurry, I'm afraid that if the delay is too long, others will see something." This merchant was a bit anxious; clearly, spending his own money to get Xiao Aokesi into his hands was a private matter kept from others.

Jier looked at Weier. Weier opened his palm, spread out the two previous gem ornaments, and said: "This red ruby ring is worth seventeen Gold Coins, at least it won't be lower than this price. Although the gem hasn't been polished and is still in its raw stone form, it is large enough in volume. Just removing the ring setting and selling the gem itself wouldn't be less than fifteen Gold Coins. As for the other one, it's not very valuable, two Gold Coins at most. Although it is a brilliant yellow crystal, there are several cracks inside, and there are places where the luster is dim after being soaked, so naturally, it's not worth much."

The merchant saw Weier evaluate the two pieces of jewelry he had just taken out in this way, and was relatively convinced by the former's judgment, but was dissatisfied with the latter: "Although that one has cracks and the color isn't perfect, the volume of the gem isn't small, right? How can it be so different?"

Weier snorted a breath through his nose and said disdainfully: "The value of gems is just like this. As long as there are cracks inside, unless you find a craftsman later to cut off the flawed parts, the original flaws will be magnified exponentially after careful polishing. Not being perfect is the biggest problem. This thing looks like it has been worn for many years, right? It was obviously bought for a lot of money when you first started doing business? Heh heh, you were cheated back then."

The caravan steward's face flushed red; clearly, Weier had hit the nail on the head.

"Then, look at this prize awarded to me by the Church and see what its value is? Don't forget, it's an accessory with special abilities! A magical item from the Church that can keep a person's consciousness clear when they are emotionally agitated."

Weier took the blue sapphire necklace from Jier's hand, first looked at the silver necklace itself—this thing was very ordinary—then looked at the blue sapphire itself against the light, and finally put the necklace on his own neck, closed his eyes, and seemed to be brewing something.

The other two people present watched Weier, both guessing that Weier was adjusting his emotions to see if it was as powerful as the merchant said.

Weier's breathing gradually became heavy, the Blood Vessels on his forehead bulged and protruded from the surface of his skin, his face turned red, and his fists were clenched tightly, as if he were recalling some painful memories that had left a deep impression on him.

Sensing that Weier was becoming dangerous at this moment, the caravan steward moved his feet slightly, letting the powerful Knight Jier block the space between himself and Weier. Jier didn't feel that Weier had become dangerous; he looked carefully at Weier's expression and diverted a portion of his attention to look at the blue sapphire on the necklace.

He noticed that at this moment, the Divine Emblem inside the blue sapphire emitted a faint, golden light of Divine Power. At the same moment, Weier exhaled heavily and opened his eyes, which were clear: "No problem, the effect of this thing is very strong. I was originally a bit out of control emotionally and was about to grit my teeth and stomp my feet to vent my emotions, but it felt like someone poured a cool, clear spring into my heart, and my whole person suddenly became much clearer in consciousness."

He took off the gem necklace: "But this thing obviously can't be used an infinite number of times. Is there a limit to the number of uses, or can it be used a fixed number of times every day?"

Jier took the necklace and took over the conversation, saying: "If it's the former, it will eventually run out of uses, and at that time it will just be an ordinary gem necklace. If it's the latter, it can be used for a long time, and it counts as a very valuable item of Faith. Especially since it doesn't seem to restrict the user's religious inclination. Ah, the God of Wealth is truly a deity with a broad mind. Praise be to you."

The merchant also smiled sincerely: "Praise be to the great deity who grants us wealth."

After finishing his sincere exclamation, he continued: "It's the former, but it also counts as the latter."

"How so?"

"When the item was given to me, the Church Priest explained that the power accumulated inside it can be used seventy-seven times, but one can go to the Church of the God of Wealth at any time to have the Priests recharge it. As of now, it seems it can still be used about fifty more times. Oh, it was just used once by you just now."

Weier opened his mouth to curse, but Jier quickly raised his hand to stop him. He spoke first: "Not bad, recharging isn't very troublesome either. I'll take this thing! However, I need you to write me a document for the transfer of this item. After all, I am not the original owner of this thing. If I take it to the Church to have it recharged in the future and don't have this transfer document, they might think I killed you to get it, and it would be troublesome if they don't recharge it for me."

Weier looked at Jier and opened his mouth to say: "I don't know how it's viewed in other places, but in my hometown, this thing would cost at least thirty Gold Coins to find a way to get something with a similar effect."

Jier thought for a moment, returned the red ruby ring to the caravan steward, and took the belt gem pendant and the blue sapphire necklace in his hand: "Like this, I'll take these two items for a total price of thirty-two Gold Coins. You give me another eight Gold Coins. This amount of currency is no problem, right? Give me the money, and you can go with my partner Weier to collect the person. Afterward, whether you kill Xiao Aokesi or hide him away to treat his injuries is your own business."

The caravan steward was somewhat dissatisfied and reluctant, but he still took out the money and left with Weier. When he came, he had spent the whole night thinking and weighing, and today he was determined to get Xiao Aokesi into his own hands.

Because the Oakes Family had a large amount of land in the vicinity and had a certain degree of cooperation with the underground forces in several surrounding towns. Previously, these were all managed by Da Aokesi. Yesterday Da Aokesi died; as long as he rescued Xiao Aokesi and kept him under his control, it was possible for him to replace Da Aokesi.

By then, the profits would not be comparable to these mere forty Gold Coins.

Jier's neck had been empty since he destroyed the Wooden Carving of the Great Bird deity, and now that he had this new item, he immediately hung it on.

He found a basin of water, lowered his head to look, and was very pleased.

The weather today was still scorching, the sun hung high in the sky, scattering infinite light and heat toward the earth.

The Shulin by the Shanglu faintly emitted the listless chirping of cicadas, which made people feel discouraged just listening to it.

Jier's Caravan, leading hundreds of captured Bandits and farm inn Shop Assistants, moved slowly along the deserted Shanglu, heading east.

Because there were a large number of captives walking on foot, the movement speed of the Caravan today was obviously more than a notch slower, and because the weather was hot, they needed to walk for a while and then let everyone drink water to replenish and find a place with shade to rest.

Fortunately, the weather wasn't that hot when they set off early in the morning, so the team still covered a good distance. By the time it was almost noon, a small Caravan consisting of three carriages could be seen on the Shanglu ahead, rushing toward the west side of the Shanglu regardless of the heat and the stamina of the horses.

Although it was only a small Caravan of three carriages, because of the speed, the dust kicked up was not small, at least much greater than Jier's slowly moving Caravan.

Jier was sitting in the middle of the Caravan at the time, strictly guarding against the captives having any foolish ideas of launching a pointless rebellion, and keeping an eye on the physical condition of the captives at all times. He hadn't given the captives anything to eat since yesterday, but there was plenty of drinking water, giving them the strength to walk but not the strength to cause trouble. And this point had been noticed by the captives early on, and they had silently accepted it.

"Jier—Lord Jier!"

There were many captured horses, and Weier was also riding one. At this time, he was galloping from the front of the Caravan toward the middle along the side of the road, calling out to Jier loudly.

Jier straightened his body on the back of the Tianxuecao, silently reciting the prayer given to him by the Great Bird deity. His vision suddenly improved, and through the dust kicked up by the Caravan and the long distance, he saw the small Caravan slowing down and approaching on the Shanglu ahead.

The people driving the carriages on the other side were even young Priests wearing Robes. Clearly, because they hadn't received any news beforehand about the large number of people who had suddenly died on the Shanglu between Dorn Town and Suishi Cheng, they were rushing over in a hurry to handle the corpses for the first time.

"Don't be nervous, just like last time, they are all Church Priests of the God of the Dead who handle corpses." After Jier finished saying this to the approaching Weier, he slapped his forehead, remembering that the last time they encountered Church Priests of the God of the Dead like this, Weier himself was still foolish.

"Forget it, I'll go over and negotiate with them. Everyone don't be nervous, don't be nervous."

Jier said loudly, letting the people in the Caravan who saw other vehicles appearing ahead calm down. After all, they had just encountered an attack by a Bandit Group of hundreds of people on the Shanglu yesterday; one couldn't blame the Warriors and Dwarfs for being on edge.

Even he had to be nervous for a while; once bitten by a snake, one is afraid of a rope for ten years, it's normal.

Jier called over several caravan Stewards in the Caravan, as well as the old Dwarf who managed the Dwarf team, and several familiar Warriors from his own Warrior team. Together, they rode the horses obtained yesterday and went to meet them.

The Priest Caravan coming from the east saw more than a dozen people from Jier's side riding over to approach, so they immediately stopped the carriages and a pale Protective Light Shield could be seen rising visibly to the naked eye.

Subsequently, a large, pitch-black and pale Skull rose from a small Stone Coffin in the hands of the elderly Priest leading the team, floating in the air. Not to mention the combat ability, at least it looked very, very intimidating.

Several caravan Stewards in the team were obviously frightened and slowed down their horses. And the old Dwarf also muttered, somewhat regretting not letting the Wild Power God Priest and Shishou in the team come along to hold the fort.

Several Warriors under Jier looked at Jier, and seeing Jier continue to ride forward calmly, they also plucked up their courage and followed behind Jier as his entourage. However, Aoni's horsemanship was not good; while the others could at least sit straight on the horse's back, he was the only one hugging the horse's neck.

It was simply like a naked person pulling a millstone—spinning around and embarrassing oneself!

"Excuse me, are you Priests of the Church of the God of the Dead? I am Knight Qiao Jier from afar, please don't be nervous!"

Across a hundred meters, Jier shouted loudly, but the other side didn't react, only a short command of "Come over!" was heard.

Slowing down the horses, Jier led the dozen or so people riding horses, scattered back and forth, to approach the stopped Priest Caravan.

Both sides were sizing each other up.

The people from the Church of the God of the Dead were in a very nervous state of mind, looking as if they could launch an attack at any time. Many young Priests held the wooden Statue of the God they carried with them in their hands. Although the Robes on their bodies were not like the armed Priests of the Agricultural God Church seen before, pale Divine Power light was flowing on the cloth Robes.

They must have been pre-blessed with Divine Art means that had protective power.

At the same time, the black and white Skull floating a few meters high in the sky also brought a certain sense of threat to Jier.

"Gentlemen Priests, I will repeat myself once more: I am Knight Qiao-Jier, from afar. I am planning to lead my group to catch up with the army I belong to; the caravan behind me is my group. However, I must explain the situation to you in advance."

Jier reached out and gestured toward the captives in the caravan: "Just yesterday afternoon, my caravan encountered two waves of enemy attacks. Hmph, some were a large-scale Bandit Group formed by refugees from other places! Others were a mixed force of locals and Bandits!"

Jier puffed out his chest slightly: "But I must say, they all chose the wrong opponent!"

The Old Priest leading the group looked at Jier and the others with a serious expression, not easily believing Jier's words.

"Clear the road and let us go into your group to see for ourselves!"

Under other circumstances, Jier certainly would not let people search his caravan, but the situation was special now; these Priests of the Church of the God of the Dead were also cautiously fulfilling their duty—on Human land, safeguarding the world of the living from being disturbed by the dead.

Jier raised his hand, letting his subordinates, who were somewhat restless behind him, move aside: "Make way for the Priests and let them inspect my caravan themselves. There is nothing they cannot see."

More than a dozen horses moved to the side of the road, allowing the Priests' caravan to drive past carefully.

"Lord Jier, what if those captives talk nonsense?" Aoni asked.

Jier smiled: "Rest assured, do you think that having become Priests of the Church, having seen all kinds of people and all kinds of things, they would be unable to distinguish an obvious lie?"

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

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