Tomb Raider: The man is in the Nine Gates, but the system insists it's the Primordial Era.

Thank you.

Su Mu took a silver coin out of his pocket and dropped it on the Taoist's stall.

The Taoist priest stared dumbfounded at the silver dollars that were enough to buy up everything on his stall.

With a light step, Su Mu wore a cheerful smile.

He seemed to have grasped the key to the system's ability to identify unusual objects.

The "Nine-Turn Rejuvenation Pill" was something that countless alchemists and emperors throughout ancient times had dreamed of.

To this end, they went so far as to burn three thousand boys and girls in a furnace and search for precious medicines in the mountains and rivers to melt them down.

Whether they will ultimately achieve the desired effect is unknown, but the process was extremely devout and lengthy.

This includes not only the medicinal materials and process of refining the Resurrection Pill, but also the hard work, energy, and boundless expectations that these people have invested.

Just as the Taoist priest at the stall behind me said.

In ancient times, the production of a single talisman was extremely difficult.

But in the end, it's just a way to comfort oneself and others; it won't have any real effect.

"The divine and extraordinary objects that you in ancient times desperately desired have now appeared in my hands. Perhaps this is the reason for the appearance of extraordinary items as defined by the system."

Su Mu's eyes lit up as he gradually grasped a pattern.

"It's a pity that talismans cannot be preserved for long. Any paper product will carbonize if stored for too long, without exception."

Su Mu looked at the broken talisman in his hand and suddenly sighed.

"Hey! Don't go, buddy! You've given me so much money for nothing, I'll show you some good stuff!"

"I also have an ancient talisman like the one you have!"

"Why are you walking so fast? It's so nice to be young!"

The Taoist priest looked at a brick he had kept in his bag for a long time, on which was engraved an ancient talisman of unknown use.

The Taoist priest searched all the Taoist temples in the world, but no one could recognize the contents of the talisman or its effects, so he kept it close to his body.

Under normal circumstances, not many people would spend a lot of money to buy Taoist talismans.

Most people who buy them just want peace of mind, and no one has ever seen any talisman actually have any effect.

Su Mu, who left in a hurry, did not understand the intricacies of Taoism, nor did he know that talismans could be preserved for a long time not only by drawing them on yellow paper, but also by other mediums.

Taoism has a long history. After the first generation of Taoist priests drew the first talisman, they would try to preserve it so that future generations could learn the talisman drawing method and pass it down along with the talisman.

The stables west of the city.

Su Mu, who had just returned, overheard the group of poor people who had come from Changsha with him talking about an interesting topic.

"...As expected of the Unloading Ridge Sect, one of the four major sects, they even sell rhinoceros horns!"

"Yes! Rhinoceros horn is a rare and hard-to-find item, highly sought after by the powerful and wealthy, and more precious than most jade artifacts."

"What is jade? In the end, it's just a stone with different colors. In the eyes of the rich, it's a beautiful and precious stone, but in our hands, it's not even as valuable as a piece of meat. The price difference between buying and selling is extremely volatile. But rhinoceros horn is different..."

"..."

Si.

After thinking for a while, Su Mu finally understood the main topic of conversation among the group of people in front of him.

At that time, most people in China did not have the opportunity to go abroad and could not watch "Animal World" from childhood. For the people of the Republic of China who had just emerged from the feudal dynasty, the rhinoceroses that appeared in China were collectively called "兕".

The character 兕 (si) is mostly found in ancient books.

It was recorded in the "Erya. Explanation of Beasts Chapter 18", one of the oldest ancient dictionaries.

"The rhinoceros, resembling an ox, has one horn, is blue in color, and weighs a thousand catties."

It was also recorded in the Classic of Mountains and Seas, Southern Classic of the Seas Within.

"The rhinoceros was buried to the east of Shun, south of the Xiang River. It resembled an ox, was dark blue-black, and had one horn."

The "兕" mentioned in these ancient books refers to the rhinoceros that originated in the Chinese mainland.

"Where can I buy rhinoceros horns? How much do they cost?"

Su Mu stepped forward and pressed for an answer.

The bearded man smirked when he saw that it was Su Mu: "Hahaha, you're back from your shopping trip? We're back too. The news about the rhinoceros horn came from the Unloading Ridge people. If you bring money, you can go to them to buy it, but they said the price is 100,000 silver dollars!"

"How much?" Su Mu's lips twitched slightly.

"One hundred thousand!" The bearded man smiled, pursing his lips.

Su Mu sighed.

The money is still far from enough.

Upon hearing the term "sijiao" (兕角), Su Mu instantly recalled the contents of another ancient text.

Raw rhinoceros horn must not be burned, for when burned it emits a strange fragrance, and if it touches clothing, one can communicate with ghosts.

Su Mu couldn't guarantee that the rhinoceros horn would also be marked by the system, but he felt there was a 70-80% chance that related system terms would actually appear.

Because rhinoceroses native to China are extremely rare to see.

Not to mention the past life a hundred years later, even today during the Republic of China era a hundred years ago, Su Mu had hardly heard anyone mention this living creature.

At the same time, 100,000 silver dollars is an astronomical figure for Sumu nowadays.

Even Zhang Dafoye, the head of the Nine Gates, couldn't come up with that much money when he went to the New Moon Hotel not long afterward.

Even the head of the Nine Gates, with his official position and involvement in the gray market, couldn't come up with the money. How could Su Mu possibly have it?

"One, two, three, four, five, six... twenty-five."

"Ten, twelve."

"Hey, Uncle Beard, come here, I need to talk to you about something."

Su Mu called over one of the uncles he knew best.

He took out all the money in his pocket: "I only have twelve silver dollars here, which I just found. These Xieling people want to trade one silver dollar for our lives. Which twelve of us should go back early? I don't want to..."

The bearded man grabbed Su Mu's hand, his brows furrowed seriously: "We agreed to come together and leave together. Besides, if you send twelve of them back, can you guarantee they won't run away with the money?"

Su Mu's expression was complicated: "I just don't want you to lose your lives in vain."

As someone who has experienced death, Su Mu knows the terror of death.

Money was dispensable to him, since he no longer needed to eat normally after taking the Nine-Turn Rejuvenation Pill.

Su Mu has no need for food or drink, and he has no desire for other substances for the time being.

Su Mu felt it was not worth it to buy the worthless lives of these lowly people for just one silver dollar.

The bearded man dropped his serious demeanor and chuckled, "Life and death are predestined, wealth and honor are determined by fate. Mr. Su, are you perhaps looking down on us brothers?"

Su Mu shook his head.

The bearded man patted Su Mu on the shoulder: "That's good. Don't worry, Master Su, we Lake Blue people still have that much backbone."

Su Mu remained silent.

He contracted tuberculosis after birth and never earned or used his own money. For the past seventeen years, he has been spending the Huo family's money.

Therefore, he doesn't have much of a concept of money.

It suddenly occurred to me that in this chaotic world, a single silver dollar could cost a man with a family his life—it was truly tragic and lamentable.