Chapter 1: Chapter 1: The Pawnshop Gentleman and the Former Crown Prince

Xia’s New Dynasty, thriving for three years.

Immortal Calendar year 864.

Jinzhou City

Three years have passed since the withering away of the previous Yan Country, and everything seems to be buried by time.

The first ray of sunlight at noon enters the city, bringing a lively atmosphere to the entire place.

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The teahouses, inns, and taverns on the streets are packed with people, and the laughter of diners makes the area very bustling.

On the official road, merchants shout and come and go, ice gourd vendors stand at the corners, pedestrians are in an endless stream, and children play and run around.

What a prosperous scene.

There is a delicately-built pawnshop tile house in the east of the city, with the words “Huai’s pawnshop” engraved on the plaque.

“Boss Zhao, take a look, how much is this stone worth?”

A large man with a sweat towel tied to his forehead throws an ordinary pebble and flicks it in front of a young man.

This young man is quite handsome.

Dressed in a black long shirt, with a neat and spotless appearance, and a string of golden bronze coins on his waist.

His face is fair, with sharp features, a prominent nose, and a jade-like elegance, with a smile at the corner of his mouth.

He seems quite approachable and friendly.

Zhao Huai picks up the stone, and examines the crystal clear pebble in front of him for a moment.

Then suddenly, a golden bronze coin appears in his hand, and he tosses it indifferently.

This seemingly casual action does not catch the attention of the large man.

“Two hundred wen, what do you think?”

After looking for a long time and tossing the copper coin for half a day, Zhao Huai finally spoke.

“Two hundred wen?”

“I can’t go any higher.”

“Two hundred wen it is… sigh, I’m so unlucky.”

The large man complains in his mouth, but the laughter in the corner of his eye cannot be hidden.

“Wait for me to find change.”

Zhao Huai whispers and then rummages through the drawer beneath him.

Now that the large man has gotten his price, he is not in a hurry.

With his hands supporting the counter, his small eyes start to sneak around.

But after looking for a while, he can’t help but feel disappointed.

He finds that the shop is really poor – there are not even any valuable calligraphy or paintings on display.

So he casually says:

“I say, shopkeeper, you run a pawnshop, but don’t have a single treasure worth showing off? With this kind of display, people who come here may be afraid to entrust their belongings to you.”

Zhao Huai takes out a string of square-hole copper coins from the drawer.

He counts them one by one, and there are exactly two hundred pieces.

“I can’t help it, business is not booming.”

Zhao Huai raises his head and replies helplessly.

“That’s true. Your reputation as the Pawnshop Young Master is not unfounded. It’s a miracle that your shop has been open for three years.”

The large man chuckles lightly, sounding like he’s teasing, but more like being sarcastic.

But Zhao Huai doesn’t get angry when hearing this, and just says indifferently:

“The pawnshop is for making a living. It’s best to make money, but there’s no need to force it if you can’t.”

The large man hears this and laughs, “The shopkeeper’s attitude is indeed very open-minded.”

“I’m a seasoned man, I’ve gotten used to it.”

“Here, take this money.”

Zhao Huai hands over the money with a smile.

The large man grabs the money, feeling the heaviness in his hand, and his heart is at ease and his mood instantly becomes pleasant. He can’t help but say another sentence.

“I say, shopkeeper, you came to Jinzhou three years ago, right?”

Upon hearing this, Zhao Huai immediately becomes vigilant, but still has a smile on his face, and asks back:

“How do you figure?”

The large man glances around and whispers, “If so, you need to be careful. I don’t know why, but the government office has been investigating new households that have come to various states in the past three years. Wang Erha, who sells cakes next door, came to Jinzhou three years ago and is an unregistered citizen. He was arrested for questioning by the government office yesterday and is now in unknown condition.

“If it’s not the case, just count it as me farting.”

The big man teases with a grin.

Zhao Huai shakes his head and says with a light laugh, “Don’t worry, I’ve been in Jinzhou for seven or eight years, so you don’t need to worry about me.”

“Alright, I’ll try to send some business your way another day. I’ll be going now.”

The big man grips the money in his hand and leaves without delay, not staying any longer.

As he leaves, he’s still chuckling to himself.”Haha!”

“A stone picked up from the mountain can be sold for two hundred wen, this owner must be a fool, hehe, there’s my meal money for the next two days.”

Zhao Huai sat in his chair, watching the big man leave, his smile gradually fading, becoming very serious.

He stood up, closed the door, and flipped the “Closed” sign.

Zhao Huai went to the dark warehouse behind the shop and lit the oil lamp.

The entire warehouse was filled with precious antiques, bejeweled spiritual stones, and other treasures.

In the highest level of the warehouse, there was a delicate wooden box with a White Jade Imperial Dragon Seal embedded in it.

Zhao Huai held the stone he had just acquired.

“Splash!”

In an instant, the stone in his palm turned to powder.

As the dust dispersed, a jade-like black ring appeared in his hand.

“Who’s the fool now?”

At this moment, Zhao Huai’s mouth revealed a deep and profound smile.

His eyes were as sharp as a knife.

He was actually not a native of this world but a transverser.

When he opened his eyes, he found himself surrounded by eunuchs in a magnificent Imperial Palace.

Only then did he realize that he had traveled through time and had become a fugitive prince.

The last crown prince of the Yan Dynasty.

The Yan Dynasty was originally a great unified dynasty, but his former self was pleasure-seeking, incompetent in ruling and cultivating, setting a tone of mediocrity.

If the son can be educated like this, the father is not a good bird either.

All prosperous dynasties cannot escape the fate of decline. The Yan Dynasty was overthrown by the Rebel Army, and the emperor hanged himself on a tree behind the palace.

On that day, his previous self escaped the palace and, unable to bear the humiliation of being on the run, attempted to commit suicide by drowning in a lake.

The man died, but he came along.

The new dynasty that replaced it was the today’s Xia Dynasty.

Zhao Huai went south, continuing his flight, passing through numerous states and counties, and finally settling down in Yancheng City, a seaside city in the south, near Jinzhou.

Zhao Huai stared at the golden bronze coins in his hand, lost in thought.

Along the way, he avoided the search, experienced War Turmoil, plague, and famine. People around him died tragically on the road, but why was he the only one to survive?

He relied on this golden bronze coin.

As long as he tossed the coin, he could know the good and bad of things in his mind and predict the fate of future events beforehand.

With this small coin, Zhao Huai had survived, sold the jewelry he brought from the palace, and opened a small pawnshop to live in seclusion among the people.

He had been living like this for three years.

During these three years, Zhao Huai had no desire for revenge. Honestly speaking, he didn’t feel much about his predecessor’s enmity.

He just wanted to survive and that’s it.

This was a world where Immortal Cultivation was revered, and humans and demons coexisted.

The Mortal World was ruled by various dynasties, and cultivators were bound by five ancient and powerful Immortal Cultivation Sects.

These powerful sects are also known as Immortal Sects.

Immortal Sects generally do not interfere in worldly affairs.

So Zhao Huai’s intention was clear, Cultivating Immortality was what he should do, and becoming an immortal was his goal.

Only when one becomes an immortal can they be self-sufficient.

As for the trivial hatred of his father’s death, well, he’ll settle it in his next life.

Zhao Huai tightly held the black ring, remaining silent and looking forward to it, and immediately tossed the golden bronze coin in his hand.

He didn’t know what was in the ring.

Was it a Devil who wanted to seize his body?

Or a kind grandpa?

Who knows? So when in doubt, toss a coin first.

In an instant, a line of words appeared before Zhao Huai’s eyes.

“[Misfortune and fortune depend on each other; have a look for now.]

“[For both, seek not from others but yourself; thousands of Hexagrams, all from the heart.]

“[Hexagram one: Serendipity, blessing for those who dwell in it; mysterious ring, unknown origin, take the ring, the instruction you get is ‘fortune.’]”

Seeing the word “fortune” in the text, Zhao Huai immediately showed a bright smile.

Since it was a blessing, it meant there was nothing harmful to him.

Without a word, Zhao Huai bit his fingertip and dripped blood onto the black ring to recognize it as his master.

An odd feeling surged up in his heart, and he could already see what was inside the black ring.

Before Zhao Huai could take a glance, an orange light flew out and entered his mind.