[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-dao-dust-pearl":3,"chapter-the-dao-dust-pearl-the-dao-dust-pearl-chapter-953":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","The Dao Dust Pearl",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2360454,4614,"Chapter 953","the-dao-dust-pearl-chapter-953",953,"\u003Cp>The sea-treasure peddler pointed at Dou Xianyan’s nose: “Give me back my item—I’m not selling it!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dou Xianyan chuckled: “Look at you, getting worked up again. I never said this wasn’t a good thing!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the crowd gathering around grew larger, the man flipped his expression and said: “Gentlemen, I found this treasure myself, learned its use, and out of kindness gave this medicine to many people—did I ever ask for a single coin? Since you doubt me, I won’t give it out anymore—is that acceptable?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The onlookers were not pleased!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You didn’t charge us when you applied it to one eye, but you never said the second one was free!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If it’s free, why send people to trick us?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Those who had used the medicine were the angriest, all clutching one eye and surrounding the vendor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’re selling fake medicine! This stuff goes in the eyes—now they feel cool, but who knows what’ll happen when you get home? Fake medicine seller—you deserve to be beaten to death!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The furious crowd surrounded the vendor and the two actors playing mother and son.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dou Xianyan outside shook his head repeatedly: “Gentlemen, esteemed friends… since he never took our money, it’s not fraud. All he needs to prove is that the medicine isn’t harmful. Our folks in Zhigucheng don’t bully people.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That’s right!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Several who had used the medicine grew even more agitated, grabbing the man by the collar: “You must prove this medicine isn’t harmful—if I go blind, I’ll blind you right now!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The medicine peddler, drenched in sweat, pointed at the stone in Dou Xianyan’s hand: “If you think I’m selling poison, come on—put it in my eyes!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Dou Xianyan shouted: “Wait!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He held the ‘sea treasure’ with a smile: “Ladies and gentlemen, let me speak plainly. This thing may not be evil at all—only false.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He dipped his bone hairpin into a bit of ‘medicine’ and offered it to the crowd: “Smell it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone leaned forward and said: “It smells cool and refreshing.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Exactly!” Dou Xianyan said. “That’s camphor. This isn’t harmful—it’s camphor mixed with calamine, molded into pills for the eyes. It’s a good medicine, maybe even with a secret formula. So the item itself isn’t bad, but you’re dishonest in business. How much were you planning to sell this huge sea treasure for?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This thing is a sea treasure—and I said I’m not selling it, so I’m not selling it!” the vendor stubbornly insisted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dou Xianyan paused, then said: “Here’s an idea: since it was fished from the sea, it must be water-resistant. But camphor dissolves in water. Let’s put it in water—if it doesn’t dissolve, I’ll accept it as a treasure.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The big man grew frantic, beads of sweat on his forehead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He stammered: “This treasure is special! When it touches water, it comes alive and runs away. If it escapes, can you afford to pay for it?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This finally struck Dou Xianyan’s heart—he said: “If it truly is a treasure, I’ll buy it from you—how about that?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The big man’s eyes darted twice, then said: “You’re a poor blind beggar—how much could you possibly pay? Fine—if one toad doesn’t dissolve, you buy it. I want your donkey.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This donkey is my own brother—he carried me out of a pile of corpses. He sells me, I don’t sell him…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dou Xianyan shook his head: “Then if one toad doesn’t dissolve, I’ll buy each one for a hundred taels of silver.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“A hundred taels?” The big man blinked: “You’re serious?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“A beggar like you can afford a hundred taels?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dou Xianyan shook his head and smiled: “Don’t judge me by my current state—I’ve been rich before.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He stepped to the black donkey, whispered into its ear, muttered a few phrases—the donkey snorted impatiently, then spat out a woolly ball.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dou Xianyan unwrapped the ball to reveal a crisp, dewy jade ring.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He placed the jade ring on a silk cloth and showed it to the crowd: “I borrowed a bit of money from my donkey brother—this is top-grade Yunnan jade, worth at least two hundred taels.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dou Xianyan went through all this trouble because of a rule in the ‘Bao-Bi’ trade.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The saying goes: deceive the treasure, not the wealth; if you see through it, split it half.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It means: if someone holds a treasure no one recognizes, a Bao-Bi expert can use skill to draw it into his own hands—for example, a Ming Dynasty blue-and-white bowl can be called an old relic, obscure in origin, but never called new or worthless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But if someone sees through it and says: “Dou the Bao-Bi Master, I think this is a treasure—don’t bother looking. Tell me what it is, and I’ll split it with you half.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then, no matter what—even if it’s your father’s killer—you must reveal the treasure’s origin. Even the Imperial Seal must be split half.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this moment, a bystander brought over a large basin of water!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dou the Bao-Bi Master tossed the sea treasure into the water—sure enough, the calamine and camphor dissolved instantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The basin held a dark, murky mass; the crowd laughed: “It’s fake! Fake medicine seller—we’ll beat you senseless!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Dou the Bao-Bi Master cried: “Wait! Wait!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He reached into the water and felt around—his face flickered with delight. Suddenly, three toads leapt from the basin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The big man shouted: “See? I told you it would come alive! My precious toads!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dou the Bao-Bi Master hadn’t expected this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He knew sea toads were saltwater-resistant and camphor toads dissolved in water—but he didn’t know about this twist. Now these three toads were his eyes—he scrambled and crawled toward them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His eyes were half-blind; he missed them repeatedly. Others watched the three toads leap into the Medicine King Temple.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dou Xianyan’s divine sight was half-destroyed, yet he mistook the living toads for dead ones.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He chased the toads into the Medicine King Temple and saw three groups of people gathered around something—his three precious toads hopping into the crowd.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Don’t step on my toads!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dou Xianyan groped around, pleading:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If anyone crushed one underfoot, it would pierce his heart, liver, spleen, and lungs!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The largest toad jumped highest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It leapt a full zhang high, landing squarely in the mouth of the corpse on the iron bed—the toad slithered into the corpse’s open chest and throat, and a long, sighing breath echoed, as if something hissed out air.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The corpse’s swollen lungs, wrapped in alveolar membranes, contracted sharply; black fluid gushed from its mouth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The corpse’s pale, bloodless face suddenly opened its tightly shut eyes, its body arched upward, belly exposed, emitting a roar utterly inhuman.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xi Lin, overseeing the dissection, turned ashen and froze in place.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The corpse raised its hands—its skin now stretched like webbing between fingers, nails sharpened into cruel points, reaching for Xi Lin’s throat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The crowd scattered in panic, most crawling and stumbling, terrified of the reanimated corpse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only the Crow plucked a golden needle and thrust it straight into the corpse’s third eye.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She reached out, snatched the remaining two toads, and turned sharply toward Dou Xianyan, who had rushed in.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Those toads are mine!” Dou Xianyan could barely make out a shadowy figure rising among the crowd—he reached out desperately, forcing a pleading smile: “Gentlemen, have mercy on this old blind man! Those toads are my medicine for the eyes—if I’ve disturbed your affairs, this old blind man begs your pardon!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Dou Yuting, I know this is your medicine for the eyes—and I’m the one who gave it to you!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Crow smiled faintly, uttering Dou Xianyan’s real name—the first time in forty years anyone had called him that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Outside, the fake-medicine peddler and the scholar supporting his mother stepped inside, standing behind the Crow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dou Xianyan fell silent, then spoke in a low voice: “Which old friend has set this trap for this crippled blind man?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The medicine peddler smiled: “Du Yuerong, Executive of the Xuanzhen Sect!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With a wave of his right hand, his face changed entirely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dou Xianyan glanced at the half-erect, frozen corpse and nodded: “Strong sea stench, piercing sound, inhuman speech—my eyes are blind, but my nose and ears still serve half a pair. If I didn’t mishear, that’s a Jiao person!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“True Jiao are immortal. This one, touched by some foreign medicine, shows signs of Jiao transformation—but it’s not a complete Jiao.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dou Xianyan nodded: “Indeed. Jiao resemble fish and humans, immortal—their flesh grants eternal youth, their fat burns forever without extinguishing. They’re among the most dangerous sea creatures. But the most vital part of a Jiao is its pearl. Without a pearl, it’s not a Jiao.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So I lured you here—to make a deal with you…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Crow spoke plainly of her plan to draw Dou Xianyan here: “I want to trade you one perfect eye for your two blind ones.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dou Xianyan sank half-sitting, sighing: “So these sea toads won’t cure my eyes. Maybe they’ll let me see a glimmer—but they’ll never restore my divine sight.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Wen Cai Xia—you’re wrong!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dou Xianyan spoke her real name.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If I’m right, you want to give me a Jiao eye—but for this old blind man, even my blind eyes cannot be replaced by any other’s.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Crow smiled: “If so, why would I give you only one?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Our Xuanzhen Sect acts with grandeur. If we merely replaced your eyes, why give only one when we could give a pair? If we replace, the one we give must be your original eye.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That’s true—I can heal your divine sight, but I want one of them.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Impossible!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dou Xianyan snapped: “Wen Cai Xia, I’ve taken these eyes to every healer and divine physician in the land—they all said it was Heaven’s jealousy, a punishment for defying Creation! What merit does your Xuanzhen Sect have…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No healer in the world rivals our Sect Master!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“And ‘Heaven’s jealousy’ or ‘divine punishment’? To our Sect Master, they’re jokes—he *is* Heaven.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Crow spoke slowly: “The pinnacle of creation is crafting life. Our Master holds the power to remake Heaven and Earth, rebirth all beings. If even he cannot heal your eyes, then yours aren’t divine sight—they’re Heavenly Eyes.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dou Xianyan’s expression shifted, uncertain—long moments passed as the Three Emperors’ Association physicians and foreigners gathered around him, then he spoke: “Wen Cai Xia—are you telling the truth?”\u003C\u002Fp>",1719,"2026-06-21T05:40:02.617Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","2a8804fe5de47aa9a691761acb6e9abea37f4403893b1730b5fcefc2cb547aaf","the-dao-dust-pearl-chapter-954","the-dao-dust-pearl-chapter-952",1000,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-dao-dust-pearl-cover.jpg"]