Chapter 1094

This Feihuang Town really is a bit unscrupulous.

The entry fee alone was ten taels, and a cramped, cluttered storeroom like this one costs a hundred taels.

Gai Nie listened, secretly marveling in his heart.

But he also knew that this frontier town had too many Wu Lin people coming to seek so-called treasures.

If these shopkeepers and townsfolk didn't seize this chance to make a fortune, that would be the abnormal thing.

"Good!"

Gai Nie did not hesitate, casually handing over a gold ingot,

"This is ten taels of fine silver, enough to cover the room fee."

"Ah…"

The clerk really was seeing such a large gold ingot for the first time.

At one glance, he felt its quality was excellent.

That golden, dazzling light nearly blinded his eyes.

Immediately, unable to restrain himself, he took the gold ingot, then held it to his lips and bit down hard.

After confirming it was a genuine, pure gold ingot, he finally grinned in satisfaction.

He wiped the saliva off the gold ingot, carefully tucked it into his waist pouch, then made an inviting gesture,

"Sir, please come in."

As expected, his eyes lit up at the sight of money—his form of address had upgraded from "guest" to "sir."

Gai Nie slowly stepped into the room, and the clerk behind him prepared to close the door for him, then go find a spot to properly admire this ingot of gold.

"Wait…"

Gai Nie suddenly grabbed the door, and under the clerk's puzzled gaze, handed over another gold ingot.

"Sir? What is this?"

Seeing this second gold ingot, the clerk's eyes gleamed with greed, his saliva nearly drooling down.

Two gold ingots, identical in quality.

Just getting these two gold ingots would be far more than his usual earnings for an entire year.

"Answer a question, and once you answer, this gold ingot is yours."

Gai Nie said.

"Sir, ask away. Even if you want to know how many moles my woman has, or where her warts are, I'll tell you everything."

Hearing Gai Nie's words, the clerk's eyes lit up, and he said with a nod and a bow.

Gai Nie was amused by his words and nearly laughed.

Why would I want to know about your woman's moles and warts?

But he also knew that these two ingots of gold would be fought over even by ordinary martial artists, let alone a clerk in this remote little town.

Without further ado, he asked directly,

"You just said all these people coming here are here to seek treasure.

My question is—what treasure?"

Gai Nie was genuinely curious; money was, after all, a worldly possession to him.

Not to mention Ying Zheng's rewards, even his years as the chief swordsman meant his salary alone was a hundred times that of an ordinary wealthy household.

So Gai Nie did not take these yellow and white goods to heart.

"Sir, didn't you come here upon hearing the news to seek treasure?"

The clerk answered with a question instead, then quickly realized,

"It was rude of me to ask. Since Sir wants to know, I'll just tell you.

But I don't know much either. If Sir, you…"

"Enough. Tell me however much you know, and once you're done, this gold ingot is yours."

Gai Nie saw the clerk's hesitation and immediately put his mind at ease.

"Right!"

The clerk was overjoyed and immediately said,

"Three months ago, someone said a treasure trove had been discovered in the Savage Wastes Mountain north of our Feihuang Town.

That treasure trove was left behind by a remarkable person during the Great Zhou period.

It contains not only countless treasures, but also martial Dao secrets.

So once the jianghu people learned of it, they all flocked to our Feihuang Town."

A treasure trove from the Great Zhou period?

Gai Nie was stunned the moment he heard it.

The Great Zhou was the one great dynasty that unified the Nine Provinces before the Eight Great Dynasties jointly ruled them!

That dynasty had experts as numerous as clouds, and countless remarkable figures and strange talents.

The Dongfang Canglong Seven Stars was one of the great secrets left behind by the Great Zhou.

And now, a treasure trove from the Great Zhou period had appeared in this remote Savage Wastes Mountain?

But why was there not the slightest bit of news from the Black Ice Platform or the Net?

Gai Nie found it strange in his heart and asked,

"When did the news of this treasure trove spread?"

Since it was a treasure trove in the Savage Wastes Mountain to the north, the people of this town should have been the first to learn of it.

"About three months ago."

The waiter thought it over for a moment, counting on his fingers.

"From when the first batch of jianghu people came to town and brought this news, all told it's been almost exactly three months."

Gai Nie listened, calculating in his mind.

He realized that three months ago was precisely when he had left Xianyanggong, following Qin Huang Ying Zheng's wishes.

It seemed Black Ice Terrace and the Net had likely received the news — he just hadn't known about it, that's all.

Gai Nie decided not to dwell on it further. Since this treasure hunt had nothing to do with the Fire Monkey, he had lost all interest.

He handed that gold ingot straight over to the waiter.

Then he casually pulled the room door shut.

The waiter, having gotten the gold ingot, naturally left in high spirits.

Gai Nie found that short little bed, set down his pack, and was just about to continue listening for news of the Six Ghosts of the Yellow River—

when suddenly his heart stirred, and he opened his eyes at once.

"Wait — it's already been three months. If Black Ice Terrace and the Net had gotten the news, Great Qin should have sent people long ago.

Why is it that even now, there's been no reaction at all?"

Back then, for the sake of the Seven Stars of the Azure Dragon, several of Great Qin's greatest Extreme Dao experts had ceaselessly gone out to search.

Though in the end they had gathered the Seven Stars of the Azure Dragon complete, even to this day they still hadn't fully deciphered them.

But judging by how much importance they placed on the Seven Stars of the Azure Dragon, it was clear the Qin Ting attached extreme importance to the secrets of Great Zhou.

If they had gotten news of the treasure at Manghuang Mountain, they certainly wouldn't have dragged their feet until now without sending any officials.

Clearly, for some unknown reason, this news of the Manghuang Mountain treasure had not been passed on to the Qin Ting.

Gai Nie felt a sudden, boundless sense of strangeness in his heart.

Black Ice Terrace and the Net were reputed to be the twin pillars of the empire's intelligence.

Under heaven, apart from matters related to the Qinglong Society, there was no secret they didn't know.

Yet now Manghuang Mountain still belongs to Great Qin — why would this treasure news be unknown to Black Ice Terrace and the Net?

Great Qin was, among the eight great imperial dynasties of the Nine Provinces, the one whose strength and power were at their absolute peak.

The universally acknowledged number-one dynasty of the Nine Provinces!

Within the palace, there was no need to mention the countless worshipping experts.

Even the rare Extreme Dao experts — the Qin Ting had no small number of them.

Gai Nie, thinking this far, felt he was borrowing trouble where none existed.

Although he didn't know why Black Ice Terrace and the Net had shown no reaction, there was no need for him to care.