Cashing In

Master Sanshui had died in an alternate realm, his remnant soul and belongings drawn into the Qianling Treasure Lid to become like an artifact spirit until the Dafang Pot refined it. "Master Sanshui was—" Fang Canran waved a hand. "I know who Master Sanshui was. Seven years ago, at a major auction in Lingxu City, Master Sanshui's Chishui Mace came up. The organizers made it the centerpiece of the first half, though unfortunately it didn't find a buyer in the end. Master Sanshui's exploits are well-documented in the historical records, so finding the records for these two treasures shouldn't be difficult either. In our line of work, clear provenance is everything. If a treasure is documented in the chronicles, it has a good chance of fetching a handsome price!" He Lingchuan smiled broadly. "I'm short on cash. Give me an appraisal." Fang Canran rolled his eyes inwardly. When He Lingchuan put it like that, it was a hint to appraise them on the high side. "I'll lay it out for you straight. An urgent sale has an urgent sale price. If you need money right away, a quick sale is your only option. If you're not in a rush, leave them with me on consignment; cast a long line to catch a big fish." "Fair enough." Dong Rui was cracking melon seeds on the side, completely unbothered by the noise he was making. "What's the price for a quick sale, and what is it for taking our time?" "The power of these two treasures during the ancient era was likely far greater than it is today." Changes in the ambient environment had the greatest impact on ancient artifacts. "Even if they've been well maintained and can still be used, their divine powers are probably diminished. On top of that, each use will consume a massive amount of energy, likely requiring a long period of maintenance before they can be used again." Dong Rui's brows knitted as he listened, thinking Fang Canran was simply trying to drive down the price. But He Lingchuan hummed in acknowledgment, understanding that Fang Canran was analyzing the items' selling points and weaknesses. How a price was set and how high it went had to be grounded in reason. Besides, Fang Canran wasn't wrong. Take the Seven Fortunes Wheel that Lu Xun had summoned: that treasure had to store energy for three to four months just to unleash less than ten breaths of carnage. It was truly high-energy-consumption and low-frequency use. "The bottom of the Heavenly King Seal has a slight flaw, but it won't affect its use. When all is said and done, it's a magic artifact, not an antique." Fang Canran stroked the Heavenly King Seal, pondering for a good while. "The primary materials are mountain heartblood and fine gold—no extremely rare materials were used, but the artifact spirit arose naturally. As for its power...?" "I've experienced it firsthand. My opponent nearly crushed me to death with this seal," He Lingchuan told him truthfully. "It can grow as large as a small mountain peak. You can test it yourself if you like." "I take your word for it. Let the buyer test it," Fang Canran laughed. "In that case, let's appraise it at four hundred thousand taels for starters." He Lingchuan raised his brows, inwardly surprised. *That expensive?* "The price of a magic artifact depends on three things: provenance, condition, and efficacy. Master Sanshui was a great immortal of equal renown with Immortal Shou'an, so there's no issue with the provenance of these two treasures. The Heavenly King Seal has a small flaw on its bottom, but its efficacy is excellent. For a quick sale, I think four hundred thousand taels is appropriate." He Lingchuan smiled wryly to himself. When Master Sanshui's Qianling Treasure Lid was melted down by the Dafang Pot, he had forged the Heavenly King Seal as a replacement. It had been settling for second best, and its quality certainly couldn't compare to the Qianling Treasure Lid. Yet even so, it was worth four hundred thousand taels. Back then, when he sold National Preceptor Sun Fuping's purple-gold pestle, he had only received two hundred thousand taels—Songyang Mansion had truly swindled him out of a fortune! Alas, a man always had to pay for youthful innocence. Dong Rui asked curiously, "What about the Sanshui Medallion?" "That is the origin of Master Sanshui's title. It was once a divine artifact, though it has now degraded to a quasi-divine artifact. For a quick sale, eight hundred thousand taels." He Lingchuan raised his brows again. Seeing his expression, Fang Canran smiled. "Are you thinking of the sword tip the Ke family bought at auction?" "Indeed," He Lingchuan admitted frankly. "That was Lingxu City, the epitome of worldly vanity! The Ke family paid eight hundred thousand taels for Immortal Shou'an's sword tip, but the significance of the act far outweighed the object's actual worth. Otherwise, it would have been lucky to fetch two hundred and fifty thousand." As the former chief overseer of Dun Garden auctions, Fang Canran let them in on the inside story. "Aside from the Ke family wanting to flaunt their wealth in the most conspicuous way possible to outshine the rest of the nobility, there was another reason: ten percent of Dun Garden's auction proceeds had to be donated to internal civil affairs to subsidize Lingxu City's transportation and transit. The prominent clans all knew this full well, so part of that sum was effectively a donation." Both men let out an "Ah." "So that's how it is." There were so many hidden tricks to the trade; no wonder things sold so expensively in Lingxu City. "Things aren't nearly as convoluted on Platinum Island. The commission on successful auctions is only five percent, and all the rest of those flashy fees are waived," Fang Canran said seriously. "If you want to sell fast, I can draw the money for you right now. But I don't have 1.2 million taels in cash on hand, so you'd have to wait two days." Over a million taels in ready cash was not something just anyone could pull out on the spot. He Lingchuan considered it. "I'll sell the Heavenly King Seal right away. There's no rush on the Sanshui Medallion; put it up for sale or auction with you for now, and we'll wait for the right buyer." "Done." Fang Canran stood up. "I'll go get the money." He truly came back in no time, setting four hundred thousand taels down in front of He Lingchuan a quarter of an hour later. Unlike in Lingxu City, what he produced here included many small-denomination banknotes, the smallest being for a thousand taels. It was clear Shopkeeper Fang had emptied out the bottom of his strongbox. Even in the magic artifact business, one didn't handle goods of this scale every day. When He Lingchuan pocketed the four hundred thousand taels, he maintained a calm facade, but inwardly let out a long breath of relief. With this massive influx of funds, he could pour money back into the construction of the Yangshan Archipelago. Adding this four hundred thousand to the two hundred and ten thousand he already had, he had six hundred and ten thousand taels of cash sitting on his books once more, enough to hold him over for a good long while so he wouldn't be so strapped for cash. When a man was poor, his ambitions faltered; right now, silver banknotes were the sole source of his confidence! Master Sanshui was truly a good man, leaving behind such a grand legacy. Fang Canran smiled. "For this first transaction, I won't make a profit off you. Once the Heavenly King Seal sells, whatever portion exceeds four hundred thousand taels will be transferred to you." Though he owed He Lingchuan a favor, business was business. Clear accounts between good friends was the only way for a relationship to endure. He Lingchuan said pleasantly, "I'll leave it in your capable hands." Dong Rui chimed in, "Don't you still have a lot of odds and ends to sell?" He Lingchuan nodded. He had scavenged quite a few items from the Heavenly Palace party and from the Third Channel pirate Yue Pinghe and his lair. Piecing them together would bring in some coin. When one was short on silver, one had to rummage through the bottom of the chest. Fang Canran replied immediately, "Anything that isn't a treasure like the Heavenly King Seal can be handed over to my clerks at the front desk. Once sold, I'll send someone to deliver the silver to the Yangshan Archipelago." He rolled his eyes inwardly. That rascal He Xiao had just cleaned out every scrap of pocket money he had, and now he was still digging things out one after another. Was he trying to force him to admit out loud that he was out of hard cash? Of course, he also knew that building up a new island required vast sums of money. "Since you're so tight on funds, Brother He, I can act as guarantor to broker an interest-free loan for you from Lingshan to resolve your pressing emergency." Dong Rui asked curiously, "How much can we borrow?" Fang Canran said nonchalantly, "Three to five million taels of silver shouldn't be an issue."