Chapter 796: Side Story 4: 33

"I've thought of every possible solution." The old man's attitude was very sincere, but alas, with my ability I cannot control it at all; it has become a knot in my heart.

Xiao Jiu Zhanggui, you've seen this too—I'm basically half-buried in the ground, my descendants have long since stopped this line of work, and recently I had someone divine a fortune for me, which indicated that my time is near.

So, my only wish now is that, before my time comes, by any means, I must have this Gold Luopan removed from my home.

Pawnbroking is certainly the lowest of options, but for someone in my situation, it is actually the highest choice.

The old man's words were pearls of wisdom; anyone hearing them would sigh at the painstaking devotion of parenthood.

But after the old man finished speaking, he only got a snort of contempt from Xiao Jiu.

The old man instantly felt embarrassed, his brows and eyes showing displeasure.

Xiao Jiu raised a finger, tapped his own forehead, but his eyes were fixed on the old man's forehead as he said: "First, I see that your children's palace is completely empty—you have no descendants. Not only that, your marriage palace is also dark as night, meaning you haven't even taken a wife in this life, so where would any descendants come from?"

The old man's complexion changed slightly.

Xiao Jiu continued: "Speaking of this Gold Luopan, if I'm not mistaken, it should have been dug up from the ancient tomb of an imperial descendant. When first unearthed, it should have been an imposing presence of imperial aura, and such imperial aura is not something that someone like you—afflicted with the Five Misfortunes and Three Deficiencies, with an empty wealth palace—can suppress."

The old man's face had already darkened.

Xiao Jiu pretended not to notice and continued: "Furthermore, this Gold Luopan, which ought to be brimming with imperial aura, now has a thick layer of killing energy stuck to it—what does that indicate?"

The old man replied in a cold, stern tone: "What does it indicate?"

"It indicates that someone borrowed the imperial aura originally carried on this Gold Luopan." Xiao Jiu countered, "If this Gold Luopan were yours, how could you have fallen to such a state?"

The old man was so angry he started grinding his back teeth.

Xiao Jiu concluded: "The reason you keep trying to pawn off this Gold Luopan to Yin Dang Hang is to get them to take the blame for you. The true owner of the Gold Luopan, who borrowed its imperial aura in the first half of his life and rose smoothly, now it's time to repay the debt—his present days probably aren't easy."

The more he borrowed initially, the fiercer the backlash he suffers now.

You can't throw it away, melt it down, or return it… this backlash is a bottomless pit; even bringing disaster upon three generations would be light—how could the other party not be anxious?

But in the first half of his life, relying on this Gold Luopan, he had already reached a rather high position; given his status, how could he dare show up openly at Yin Dang Hang?

So he had no choice but to find someone to act as his front.

If Xiao Jiu's eyesight were even slightly worse, he would have fallen for the other party's trick.

Accepting this hot potato means having to settle the karma behind it.

Fortunately, this is a pawn of a living person, so Xiao Jiu can refuse outright.

The old man instantly felt as if standing before this young woman, like being stripped naked—or rather, exactly like having a layer of skin peeled off, leaving him utterly without privacy.

Her pair of lively eyes seemed able to see through things.

As long as she wishes, she can see through the past and present lives of anyone before her.

The old man knew that if he stayed seated here any longer, he would likely not be able to leave unscathed.

He instinctively slipped his left hand, missing three fingers, into his trouser pocket—that was his proof of guilt.

The old man quickly retrieved the box holding the Gold Luopan and fled as if escaping.

Xiao Jiu sat upright behind the counter, lost in thought.

The old man said, this Gold Luopan was dug up from an ancient tomb in Zhe Region.

His words were half true, half false, but Xiao Jiu felt that this point was about ninety percent true.

After all, the older an artifact, the less room there is for fakery before those versed in archaeology and appraisal.

Who doesn't know that Yin Dang Hang in Wufu Town hides dragons and crouching tigers?

Even if Xiao Jiu couldn't discern the origin of this Gold Luopan, Jin Wuya could.

Zhe Region… how could it be such a coincidence?

Xiao Jiu took out that hand-drawn map; following the route marked by the little red flag, Liu Junyan's next stop is Zhe Region.

Zhe Region is vast; Xiao Jiu cannot pinpoint Liu Junyan's exact next stop, and lately she has also been waiting.

But unexpectedly, instead of waiting for Liu Junyan's dream, she first waited for this Gold Luopan.

Xiao Jiu had a premonition that something was amiss, an ominous feeling welling up in her heart.

She immediately grabbed pen and paper, roughly sketched the Gold Luopan's appearance, took a photo, and sent it to Jin Wuya, asking him to help examine its origin, emphasizing two points: the Song Dynasty, Zhe Region.

Then Xiao Jiu sent Tang Tang a WeChat message, asking whether there had been any new archaeological developments on her end recently.

It bears mentioning that Tang Tang has long been retained as a lecturer in the Archaeology Department of Jiangcheng University.

Although her title is lecturer, given her ability, family background, and mentor status, in the near future Tang Tang will surely be a shining star in China's archaeological community.

If China recently makes a major archaeological discovery, Tang Tang will certainly receive the news right away.

If it weren't so late at night, Xiao Jiu would have just called directly.

Unexpectedly, Tang Tang's call came through quickly.

As soon as Xiao Jiu answered, Tang Tang's astonished voice came through: "Xiao Jiu, you're truly divine—how did you know we just had a major archaeological discovery?"

Xiao Jiu was also startled: "Really? Where?"

"Zhe Region." Tang Tang said, "But we haven't even started digging yet—I just got out of the lab and received your message."

Xiao Jiu had Tang Tang elaborate.

Actually, this isn't according to regulations.

But Xiao Jiu's status and her relationship with Tang Tang are what they are.

Tang Tang then said succinctly: "Funny enough, Zhe Region is usually calm and stable, not an earthquake-prone zone, but this month the same spot there has experienced three minor quakes in succession, with no casualties or environmental damage—just shaking out a stele fragment, which we are now studying."

Xiao Jiu promptly asked for the exact location where the stele fragment was found and the research results.

Tang Tang sighed: "There's still no clue."

Turning, she asked again: "Hey, Xiao Jiu, have you made any discoveries on your end?"

"For now it's not certain." Xiao Jiu reminded, "But Tang Tang, you must listen to me—remind your advisor and colleagues to leave that area undisturbed for now; any progress I make, I'll share with you right away."

Xiao Jiu's tone was grave; Tang Tang understood the seriousness of the situation and trusts Xiao Jiu completely.

Tang Tang said she would go communicate with the relevant personnel.

After hanging up the phone, Xiao Jiu let out a long sigh.

His gaze fell again on the hand‑drawn map, and then he emphatically marked a small red flag at the exact spot Tang Tang had provided……