Chapter 11: Divine Colt

  "How is it? Can you still bear to look at it?" With a harmless smile on his face, Liu Zhang brought the colored stone closer to the brocade-clad man's face again.

  "Ah... Ah, it's a treasure." Gudong swallowed his saliva again, and the man in brocade clothes involuntarily nodded repeatedly. But just the next moment, he suddenly opened his mouth wide, with an incredulous expression on his face.

  Bang!

  Liu Zhang's face was filled with sweet smiles, nodding repeatedly, seemingly extremely satisfied with the other party's response. His palm withdrew, but another hand suddenly lifted up and gently patted the colored stone. After a crisp sound, the colored stone instantly turned into a pile of powder...

  "Hiss..."

  "Ah!"

  A burst of gasps rose from the crowd. The people present did not expect that Liu Zhang would destroy such a treasure in an instant. For a moment, everyone's expression was strange and they stared blankly at Liu Zhang.

  He blew away the floating dust on his palm, and Liu Zhang stretched out his hand again, still smiling at the brocade-clad man and asked: "This brother's eyesight is extraordinary, I wonder if you can take another look now and tell me what this thing is?"

  The man in the brocade clothes stared blankly at him, unsure what he meant. Seeing him repeatedly hinting, he lowered his head to take another look. At a glance, he couldn't help but exclaim, "A stone?!"

  "Is it a stone? It's actually just a stone. Alas, I've treasured and kept it for so long." Liu Zhang stopped smiling, his face filled with disappointment as he sighed, shook his head, and clapped his hands together, tossing away the pile of broken pieces.

  Everyone was stunned. What kind of person is this?! Don't you even know what that thing is? What are you suddenly jumping out to offer as a treasure? Do you think it's a treasure? If you thought it was a treasure, why did you smash it with one slap? Are you stupid or do you take us for fools?

  Everyone rolled their eyes in unison. The man in brocade clothes obviously had the same idea, thinking about how silly he was just now, asking if that was Hai Zhu, and this person had lost his temper.

  A flush rose to his face, covering a layer of anger. If he hadn't seen Liu Zhang wearing extraordinary clothes, and estimated that it wasn't an ordinary family, with Zhao Yun by his side, whose sharp aura was intimidating, he would have lost his temper and scolded someone long ago.

  Liu Zhang, however, did not pay attention to others, his eyes gazing upwards, one hand rummaging in his bosom, the crowd looked on in wonder, feeling that today's events were indeed strange, and without a word, they all quietly watched him.

  Zhao Yun was secretly shaking his head on one side, knowing that his big brother was about to start playing tricks on people again.

  "Hey, Brother Huiyan, trouble you again to take a look at this, what is it? I've collected these two treasures for half my life, and no one has been able to see them clearly. Today I met you, and your horse-reading skills are incredibly sharp. Just now you helped me see through that broken stone head, your eyesight is truly unmatched! I'm really admiring you to death. Come on, come on, trouble you again."

  Saying so, one hand grasped something taken out from his bosom and handed it to the brocade-clad man's face. His palm flipped over and opened up.

  The people in brocade clothes and the crowd around him saw that he was only seventeen or eighteen years old, yet he shouted about half a lifetime, all of which made them feel a chill. But when their eyes fell on what was in his hand, they couldn't help but cover their heads with black lines.

  Before long, the crowd began to buzz with discussions, pointing and gesturing at Liu Zhang and the man. From time to time, there were also bursts of laughter...

  A person in brocade clothes has a heart of fire, with one bow after another.

  Just now, Liu Zhang's flattering words had dissipated a lot of the awkwardness and anger. But this guy in front of him actually brought out this thing and seriously asked him to appraise it. If not for the previous flattery, Jin Yi Ren would have taken him for a mental patient at most. But after those words, Jin Yi Ren felt that this little brat was obviously taking him for a fool.

  "Who are you? Are you here to play tricks on me? Do you know that I am not a person to be trifled with?" The man in the brocade clothes was very angry, it's too much bullying!

  "Huh? What's wrong with you, anyway? You're getting angry for no reason. I just asked for your help, if you don't want to help, that's fine. Hmm, could it be that you don't recognize this thing? Ah, if you don't know, just say so, I won't call you an idiot, okay? If you don't know, I won't force you to admit it either. You're afraid of losing face, but I won't force you to acknowledge your ignorance either. But then you go and falsely accuse me of teasing you, where did that come from? This is unreasonable! Everyone, judge for yourselves, am I in the wrong? Is this not bullying?"

  He's still pretending to be innocent, getting more and more indignant as he speaks, until finally his face is full of grievances. The look of injustice on his face would make even Dou E cover her face and walk away: "Brother, you're the one who's been wronged more than me..."

  The crowd gathered around him and listened to what he said as if it were a tongue twister, and couldn't help but feel amused.

  These people are originally some gossip-loving boring people, otherwise they wouldn't follow and get involved in everything.

  When Liu Zhang made his last request for support from everyone, there were those who echoed him, bursting into loud laughter.

  Three horse-trading Tartars were also looking strange, the old man and the middle-aged man who led the horse were steady, they looked at each other and lowered their eyelids.

  The young man burst out laughing with a "heh" sound, and as soon as the laughter came out, he felt something was wrong, hurriedly covering his mouth with one hand. His small face turned bright red all over. A pair of eyes rolled around, then immediately drooped down, but in the gap between his eyelids, the smile couldn't be hidden no matter what.

  "You! You... a lump of mud, even a three-year-old can recognize it, how could you not?!" The man in the brocade clothes was completely red-faced, hearing the laughter from all around, thinking that everyone was laughing at him for really not recognizing the mud, and subconsciously blurted out.

  It was just a slip of the tongue, and Fang Meng suddenly realized. With this answer, wasn't he led into another trap? Hmm, indeed having sharp eyesight, even recognizing something that a three-year-old child would know...

  Hearing the laughter echoing around him once again, his face turned bright red, his hands clenched tightly into fists, and his body began to tremble slightly.

  "Is that just mud? You're saying this is just mud?" Liu Zhang's face was filled with surprise, and he blinked his eyes repeatedly, asking twice. Seeing the man's eyes were about to spout fire, he suddenly raised his hand and slapped it down.

  Bang!

  After a loud noise, when the palm was lifted again, the laughter of the crowd stopped abruptly. The man in brocade clothes suddenly lost all the blood from his face and turned into a dead gray.

  A pearl with a milky white color, quietly embedded in the half-mud shell. The soft luster and round shape all show that this pearl is not ordinary.

  "You have eyes but are blind, pretending to understand without knowing the truth. You wear fine clothes and look radiant, but like that colored stone just now, you're only glittering on the outside, with rubbish inside. Don't you know that even in sand, gold can be hidden, and a fish's eye can mix with pearls? This horse is divine, but you don't know how to ride it, and not recognizing its value is one thing, but turning around and leaving would have been fine too, no one would have laughed at you. But you insist on being unreasonable, wanting to use force, humph! Do you really think there's no one else in the world? This time, you're bringing shame upon yourself, I don't want to directly take action, only because I don't want to dirty my hands. If you know what's good for you, then get lost!"

  In the midst of a sudden silence, Liu Zhang's expression changed, his face cold and stern. He glared at the man in brocade clothes, scolding him without leaving any room for courtesy.

  Brocade clothes, human face, above the array of green and red, resentful that there is no seam on the ground to hide in. Unwilling in heart, wanting to get angry, but suddenly caught sight of the cold light flashing in Liu Zhang's eyes.

  His heart skipped a beat, and he suddenly remembered the colored stone that had just been crushed to powder with a single palm by Liu Zhang. Such palm strength was truly terrifying. Just now, his mind had been completely distracted and he hadn't noticed it, but now that he thought about it, he couldn't help but shiver all over, and he didn't dare say another word. He lowered his head and quickly dispersed the crowd, disappearing from sight in just a few steps.

  The onlookers, having witnessed the scene, couldn't help but think of their own behavior earlier and felt embarrassed. Seeing that the main character had left, Liu Zhang's expression turned unpleasant again, and they quickly turned around and dispersed, soon disappearing without a trace.

  Liu Zhang coldly watched as the crowd dispersed, only then did he put away his cold face and restored that lazy smile, turning around to walk towards the old man in the saddle.

  The old man was deeply moved, one hand on his chest, and bowed to say: "Young Han people, thank you for your help. Your wisdom is as vast as the grassland, and I will never forget your kindness."

  His words were different from the tone he had when facing everyone, and it was clear that he was using his tribe's unique etiquette to express gratitude. The man holding the horse beside him also bowed in a similar manner, with a warm smile on his face. Only the young man, however, stared at Liu Zhang with wide eyes, full of surprise, without blinking once.

  Liu Zhang hastily returned the courtesy, repeatedly showing humility. Noticing the young man's gaze, he slightly turned his head and saw that he was full of innocence, and couldn't help but feel a sense of playfulness. He suddenly made a silly face at him, making a ghostly expression.

  The young man was startled, took a fright, and hastily lowered his eyes. A faint flush rose to his dark face. However, he immediately lifted his head again, glaring at Liu Zhang, but saw that Liu Zhang had already turned around and walked in front of the white horse, looking at it, with a hint of disappointment flashing in his eyes.

  "Hey, old man, I'll take this horse. How much do you want to sell it for?" Liu Zhang asked with a smile, stroking the horse's mane.

  "This jade lion, I originally wanted to sell for fifty gold. If the young master wants it...". Wumeng's face hesitated slightly, then said resolutely: "I'll give it to you for twenty gold."

  "Twenty taels of gold? Ha ha." Liu Zhang heard this and chuckled, shaking his head slightly.

  His face turned red, thinking that Liu Zhang was laughing at himself for forgetting the recent favor, and immediately came to swindle his money. His mouth opened, just about to speak, when a resentful voice from beside him cut in first.

  "If it weren't for wanting to exchange more salt and rice for our tribe, this jade lion would not be sold even for 50 gold. What are you smiling about? Master Wumeng offered you 20 gold, but you're still not satisfied, do you think he helped us before and want to take advantage of his kindness? Hmph, Han people are indeed mostly cunning and shameless..."

  These words entered his ears, and Zhao Yun's eyebrows suddenly rose, and a burst of cold air exploded in his eyes. The young man who was speaking with relish suddenly felt a chill all over his body, his face turned pale, and his face was filled with a look of horror.

  Liu Zhang was also stunned, and immediately let out a bitter smile. He waved his hand at the flustered old man and middle-aged man standing in front of the young man, then patted Zhao Yun's shoulder, before calmly saying: "This young fellow has misunderstood. As far as I know, ordinary horses are worth around five taels of silver, if they're from inland, it should be around ten taels. But this Jade Lion horse is no ordinary creature, even a thousand taels wouldn't be excessive. Old Man Wumeng only sold it to me for twenty taels because I helped him with something just now, which was actually an insult to this fine steed. That's why I shook my head."

  He said this, paused slightly, reached into his sleeve and pulled out ten pearls, smiled faintly, and handed them to the stunned Wumeng, saying: "These are ten southern pearls, each worth no less than ten gold. I was in a hurry when I left home and didn't have more, so I'm making a deal, even if it's just for 100 gold, I hope you'll accept it, old sir."