From Paper Craftsman to World-Suppressing Immortal

Zhang Zhixuan's visit to the pawnshop brought him an unexpected surprise: a fair and recognized transaction that activated a second profession among all trades: pawnbroker.

The passive skill of the pawnbroker is the Eye of Treasure, and the level 1 Eye of Treasure can only be activated three times a day with accurate results.

The eye of the treasure appraiser is opened, enabling it to distinguish the five colors of precious gems.

Metal element: Innate nobility, good fortune, destiny, prosperity, and the potential for emperors and generals.

Purple aura: wealth and glory, good fortune, supreme blessings, prosperous business, gold within purple, dragon and phoenix among treasures.

White mist: Ordinary things, free from disasters and difficulties, common things in the world, peaceful and healthy, bright white, very auspicious.

Grayish aura: signifies declining fortune, misfortune, bad luck, and setbacks in all endeavors. Grayish-black is an ominous sign.

Black Qi: Curse of misfortune, haunted by evil spirits, a deadly treasure, evil among evils, black with blood seeping from it, even gods cannot save it.

"It seems that this treasure-appraising eye can not only identify the treasure quality of objects, but also judge people. This ability is quite practical."

Zhang Zhixuan, unable to suppress the urge to try it, closed his eyes and silently chanted, "Eye of Insight—Open!"

With a thought, Zhang Zhixuan felt his eyes become slightly hot. When he opened his eyes again, everything in the pawnshop was different.

All the items covered by his gaze were marked by five-colored precious energy, with white energy being the most prevalent. These included tables, chairs, benches, cabinets, doors, and windows, which were indeed ordinary objects.

Only a few items were different, such as a tea set on the table covered with a very faint purple aura. This tea set must have been an exquisite item used to entertain distinguished guests.

Zhang Zhixuan looked at the counter again and saw a gleaming sandalwood paperweight lying on it. The paperweight's glow was completely different from its surroundings. A rich, even layer of purple covered the sandalwood paperweight, and a faint golden thread was visible through the purple light. This thing was definitely a good item, at least a scholar's desk ornament used by some famous scholar in ancient times, and it was very valuable.

Zhang Zhixuan's gaze finally landed on Manager Han behind the counter, proving that his discerning eye was equally effective on people.

The old man was enveloped in a white-gray halo, the gray and white intertwined, with a faint trace of black energy peeking through the gray. The black energy was as thin as a hair, wrapped around his right shoulder, slowly wriggling, like an insect trying to burrow into his body.

Zhang Zhixuan guessed that Manager Han had probably had a bit of bad luck and injured his right shoulder. This very faint black line might be a sign that the injury was worsening.

"Young man, what are you staring at? Do you have anything else to pawn? If not, get out."

Just as Zhang Zhixuan was engrossed in the magical effects of the Treasure Eye, Manager Han's impatient voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Oh! There are two more items, please take a look..."

Having learned from his previous experience of testing the waters and asking about prices for the silver hairpin, Zhang Zhixuan was now more confident. With his newfound expertise in identifying valuable items, he was no longer worried about being ripped off. He simply took out the pair of gold bracelets and the pearl necklace that he was planning to pawn and placed them together in front of the counter.

Old Shopkeeper Han picked up the gold bracelet and pearl necklace and examined them one by one. Zhang Zhixuan also took a look with his discerning eye. Both the gold bracelet and the pearl necklace were enveloped in a uniform purple aura. Even if one didn't know much about jewelry, it wasn't hard to guess that these two items were worth much more than the silver hairpin.

"A pair of gold bracelets, forty; a pearl necklace, thirty-five..."

"Oh dear, shopkeeper, these are all fine items. My grandmother passed them down to my mother, and my mother was going to pass them down to my wife. Unfortunately, my family suffered a misfortune, and I had no choice but to sell them. Shopkeeper, could you please add a little more?" Zhang Zhixuan knew that the first price would be the hardest to negotiate, so he just made up a few words off the cuff.

Shopkeeper Han clicked his tongue, hesitated for a moment, and then gave a new price: "The gold bracelet is forty-five, and the pearl necklace is thirty-seven. You can keep it if you want, or take it if you don't."

Zhang Zhixuan, a veteran actor, gritted his teeth and stomped his feet, his face contorted with pain and heartache. He wiped away nonexistent tears and said sorrowfully, "Mother, I'm so sorry. I'm done, I'm done."

Upon seeing this, Manager Han sighed and said, "This is the price for the pawned item. If you have the money within three months, you can come and redeem it."

"A live pawn?" Zhang Zhixuan was taken aback, and subconsciously asked, "What if it's a dead pawn?"

"I can give you two more pieces even if it's a dead stock."

"Dead stock, dead stock, all dead stock!"

Seeing this, Manager Han couldn't help but shake his head. This kid was just putting on an act for me.

The transaction was completed, and Zhang Zhixuan put away the large sum of money he had just received. Immediately, he received a notification from the Book of Trades: [Completed a fair pawn transaction, Pawnbroker Proficiency +8]

Zhang Zhixuan was satisfied. He calculated that besides paying off his debts, he would have a considerable surplus. With this money as initial capital, he could do many things in the future. There were many martial arts schools in Tianjin that had opened their doors to take on students. He could talk to Manager Wu and ask for his advice. Perhaps he could find a good master to learn martial arts and revitalize the martial arts industry and related professions.

He was about to turn and leave Deheng Pawnshop when he suddenly remembered something, stopped, and looked at Manager Han behind the counter, saying, "Manager, have you injured your right shoulder recently?"

The old shopkeeper was visibly taken aback. He frowned and tried to recall that a few days ago, when he went to the counter to collect the accounts, he was hit by a falling account book. There was no one else around at the time, and he hadn't even remembered this insignificant incident. He didn't know how this kid had noticed it.

"It's okay, I'm perfectly fine."

Zhang Zhixuan shook his head and smiled, "I suggest you find a clinic to take a look."

Having said that, he turned and walked out of Deheng Pawnshop, not caring whether Manager Han had heard him or not.

Now that all three pieces of jewelry have been pawned, Zhang Zhixuan has not yet sold the strange jade cicada. It's not that he doesn't want to pawn it, but he's afraid that if such a strange thing were to fall into the wrong hands, it might harm unrelated people. Zhang Zhixuan originally planned to show the jade cicada to Pei Shouzhen when he went to see him, but now that he has a discerning eye, Zhang Zhixuan has other ideas.

"I want to see what's going on with this jade cicada." After ordering two paper puppet soldiers to guard the surroundings, Zhang Zhixuan took out the jade cicada and opened his treasure-observing eye again to examine it.

The moment he opened his eyes, everything changed again, and the jade cicada in Zhang Zhixuan's hand also suddenly changed.

The jade cicada, originally emerald green with a dark red interior, was now surrounded by black mist, and the dark red within it was even more intensely bloody, exuding an evil light.

It is said: Curse is ominous, evil spirits haunt, a deadly treasure, evil among evils, blood seeping from the darkness, even gods cannot save it.

"No matter where this thing comes from, it's definitely an ominous object, and I absolutely cannot keep it in my hands for too long."

Zhang Zhixuan's forehead was covered in cold sweat. As expected, the paper wife had no good intentions and had dug such a big pit, as if she wanted to kill him.

Right now, we need to find Master Pei Shouzhen as soon as possible. Perhaps only a Taoist sect like the Celestial Master's Mansion on Longhu Mountain can resolve this matter.

Zhang Zhixuan put away the jade cicada and immediately set off for the Tianhou Temple in the southeast corner.