Chapter 42
Chapter 42: Mistake?
Shopkeeper Lin was so shocked that he became speechless.
He initially brought Ou Yangming to the second floor with the intention to see him make a fool out of himself. After all, the fact that Ou Yangming was called a master at this age but was disdainful when he looked at the items on the first floor earlier made him very unconvincing.
However, Shopkeeper Lin dared not belittle him anymore.
He was appalled when Ou Yangming listed the equipment’s equivalent ranks casually. If he was not certain that Ou Yangming had never seen the equipment before, he would actually think that the young fellow actually worked there and managed the equipment in the store.
Ou Yangming became more interested the more he assessed the equipment. As he identified the attributes of the pieces of equipment through his Military Fire, he was also observing the slight differences between them.
The pieces of equipment were not smithed by Old Craftsman or another Military Fire Blacksmith in the military camp. It was obvious that they were made by someone famous.
Normal people could not learn anything from them, but like a connoisseur who recognized the artistry, Ou Yangming noticed the mystery in them and was sometimes enlightened.
Needless to say, he did not gain a lot as he only had a short time.
“High Grade Rank Two,” Ou Yangming mentioned after looking at another armor. When he looked closely again, he noticed that a lot of effort was put into the smithing process because the details were managed much better than how he usually did. Additionally, its durability exceeded the limit of High Grade Rank Two as it was at least at the peak, which was 15 points.
Shopkeeper Lin’s eyes glowed, and he suddenly uttered, “Master Ou, take a closer look at it.”
“Yes, it’s a High Grade Rank Two.” Ou Yangming was stunned, so he quickly used his Military Fire again. After a short pause, he added, “It’s a White Slate Equipment, not an Attribute Equipment.”
Shopkeeper Lin thought to himself, ‘You don’t say. Why would I hang it up if it’s an Attribute Equipment?’
“Master Ou, you might’ve made a mistake. This equipment is High Grade Rank Three.” He chuckled and sighed a breath of relief to himself because Master Ou finally made a mistake. If Ou Yangming did not make an error at all, it would be quite hair-raising.
Ou Yangming looked at the shopkeeper strangely. After checking with his Military Fire for the third time, he mentioned firmly, “It’s impossible, this is a High Grade Rank Two!”
Shopkeeper Lin hesitated. “Master Ou, the pieces of equipment here were sent from the prefecture, and were appraised by a special appraiser, so they’re definitely right.”
Ou Yangming was a young and spirited man, thus he was furious when he heard the shopkeeper criticizing that he was inferior to an appraiser from the prefecture. “Shopkeeper Lin, I didn’t lie, this is indeed a High Grade Rank Two.”
Shopkeeper Lin laughed but was suddenly indecisive due to Ou Yangming’s resolute attitude.
This was because Ou Yangming’s performance earlier really gave him a deep impression. The ability to appraise an item so casually was only possible for old tributaries at the capital, such that even the chief appraiser from the prefecture could not do it so easily.
“Master Ou, our shop received a batch of products two days ago, and an appraiser from the prefecture escorted it.” Shopkeeper Lin then suggested carefully, “May I invite him over to take a look at it?”
“Okay. Once he takes a look at it, you’ll understand,” Ou Yangming replied without hesitation as he was extremely confident about his Military Fire’s judgment.
With that, Shopkeeper Lin gave an instruction to his staff, and a middle-aged man was brought to the second floor before long.
“Shopkeeper Lin, which equipment were you talking about?” The middle-aged man asked with a serious look on his face. Although he noticed Ou Yangming, he was not bothered about him at all.
“Master Zheng, it’s this one.” Shopkeeper Lin immediately pointed at the armor.
“Shopkeeper Lin, this armor was evaluated to be High Grade Rank Three, there shouldn’t be any problem,” Master Cheng said with a frown after he touched and knocked the armor for a while. After a short pause, he asked, “Who said that the appraisal is wrong?”
“Master Zheng, it’s Master Ou who said it,” Shopkeeper Lin looked at Ou Yangming strangely when he answered.
“Master Ou?” Master Zhang was stunned. He cast an odd look at Ou Yangming.
Who was Master Zhang? He was an official appraiser who became an apprentice when he was around Ou Yangming’s age, where he helped handle different pieces of equipment under the old master in the shop. Due to his diligence and outstanding talent, he was noticed by the tributaries and was officially taught the appraisal technique. It was after he accumulated plenty of experience from working hard for more than a decade that he advanced to his current position.
On the other hand, who was the so-called Master Ou? He was just a fifteen to sixteen-year-old teen.
How could someone like him lie about being able to appraise equipment?
Master Zhang laughed. “Shopkeeper Lin, come on, don’t be so gullible, okay? You asked me to come because of this? Don’t you know that I’m very busy?”
Ou Yangming furrowed his eyebrows a little. Even if he was dumb, he could tell that Master Zheng was looking down at him.
He scoffed and expressed seriously, “Master Zheng, I’m sure that this armor is High Grade Rank Two. Although a lot of effort was put into the smithing process, and its durability is much better than other armors of the same grade as the details were perfected, it’s definitely a Rank Two!”
Master Zheng was stunned and doubtful.
A normal warrior would have yelled at Ou Yangming by now, but appraisers were a group of exceptionally careful people, hence they would not take even a bit of suspicion lightly.
As such, Master Zheng walked around the armor carefully to evaluate it again.
Shopkeeper Lin and a few of his colleagues on the second floor held their breaths at that moment as they were afraid that even a bit of noise would distract the master.
After some time, Master Zheng suddenly said, “Gentlemen, please forgive me for the impoliteness.”
Following that, he nodded and shut his eyes, then a wave-like momentum gushed out from his body.
Ou Yangming could not help but take a step back. It was then when he knew that Master Zheng was a hidden martial artist, and he could tell based on the master’s aura that he was not inferior to Squad Leader Yan at all.
At the spur of the moment, Master Zheng opened his eyes and scanned the armor with bright lights from his eyes.
Even though it all happened in a flash, Ou Yangming had goosebumps as if something dangerous was right beside him.
When Master Zheng closed his eyes again, his face turned slightly pale. It was evident that the consumption of what he did earlier was beyond Ou Yangming’s imagination.
“Master Zheng, you…” Shopkeeper Lin spoke carefully as he took a step forward.
“Thank you, Master Ou.” Master Ou waved his hand, and his eyes were already back to normal when he opened them. Subsequently, he kowtowed at Ou Yangming.
Shopkeeper Lin and a few apprentices at the store were stupefied. As things turned out this way, even a fool would know who was right and who was wrong.
“Master Ou, thank you.” With that, Shopkeeper Lin bowed at Ou Yangming too.
It was Ou Yangming’s first time seeing this response. Back when Kang Weibo and the others flattered him, they only gave him banknotes in secret, which was not exaggerating at all.
“Shopkeeper Lin, Master Zheng, you don’t have to do this!” Ou Yangming was at a loss.
Master Zheng sighed. “I’m Zheng Ziwen, and I’ve been an appraiser for thirty years, yet I’m not as capable as you. I feel guilty!”
Shopkeeper Lin cleared his throat. “Master Ou, you identified the flaws of the equipment in our store, which is equivalent to preserving the shop’s reputation. I’m very thankful for that.”
Ou Yangming laughed. He felt great looking at them, especially Zheng Ziwen who changed from being arrogant to being humble.
Apart from having a profound background, reputation was very important for one to open an equipment store. If someone bought equipment unworthy of its name, and other people found out, it would cause suspicions, which would be terrible for the store’s business.
After all, the items sold in the store were much more expensive than the ones sold at the stalls outside. If the store failed in quality assurance and practiced fraud, who would still buy from them?
“You’re being too polite, it was just as easy as lifting a finger.” Ou Yangming waved his hand, then looked at Zheng Ziwen curiously. “Master Zheng, what power were you using earlier?”
“Master Ou, I dare not call myself a master in front of you…” Zheng Ziwen quickly responded. Though Ou Yangming was much younger than him, so much so that the young fellow could be his son, he was being unusually respectful. “I used the appraisal art.”
“Oh, does that consume a lot of mental power?”
“It wasn’t just consumed, it was basically squeezed out from me.” Zheng Ziwen smiled bitterly, then put three fingers up. “Based on my ability, I can use it thrice a day, and I’ll be so exhausted after that that I need to sleep.”
Ou Yangming came to a sudden realization that Zheng Ziwen did not use the appraisal art at first as the secret technique had a huge restraint.
In comparison, his Military Fire’s accessory abilities were quite awesome.
“Master Ou, I have a request to make. Can you appraise every other piece of equipment in the store?” Shopkeeper Lin asked all of a sudden, then said in a serious tone, “If you allow me to, I’ll make the decision to let you pick something from the equipment, the pills, or anything else.”
Ou Yangming was startled as he was slightly moved.
It was true that the pieces of equipment here were great, but he could smith them himself too. That being said, every person had his shortcomings and merits, so it would be beneficial if he took a piece of unique equipment back to practice.
One could only improve by taking from the long to supplement the short. Ou Yangming remembered what Old Craftsman told him.
Therefore, he nodded and began walking around the store under Shopkeeper Lin and Zheng Ziwen’s companion.
Zheng Ziwen would do anything he could to stay in the store at that moment even if someone tried to get rid of him.