Creation of the Universe

Jia Zhong told Shen Zhan that the Jia family's business has been growing bigger and bigger in recent years, with more than a dozen shops in Wubei City alone.

This place includes restaurants, gambling houses, horse racing tracks, cloth shops, drug stores, pawn shops, etc. It can be said that there are flourishing businesses everywhere and there are no taboos.

As they were talking, the two of them came to the Jia family pawnshop in the city. After Jia Zhong led Shen Zhan into the back hall, he ordered the pawnshop clerk to take out all the items that had been received recently.

"Brother, please take a look. The owner of this pawnshop was hired by my father at a high price. He has a sharp eye and is very experienced, but if he comes across something like a spiritual weapon or elixir, he may not be able to see it clearly."

As Jia Zhong spoke, he picked up a pen carved from ivory and said seriously, "Brother, look, this pen is unique. I always feel that there is a subtle spiritual charm on the pen holder. Can you help me think about it?"

Shen Zhan only took a glance and said with certainty, "It's not a spiritual weapon, it's just an ordinary ivory carving pen."

"Ah! But why can I sense the spiritual energy within it?"

Shen Zhan replied, "Because ivory itself is a very spiritual object, but the ivory used to carve this pen is very old. Even if some spiritual energy still remains, it has been worn away by years of wear and tear."

Jia Zhong suddenly realized, "So that's how it is."

"Then please help me look for the others. If I can find even one spiritual weapon among them, I will make some money. If it helps me, it will be even better."

At this time, there were nearly forty or fifty various objects scattered on the table between the two of them, but they all looked very mediocre, and there were no so-called spiritual weapons or elixirs.

Just as Shen Zhan was about to tell Jia Zhong that there was no need to waste time on these objects, he noticed an indigo jade bracelet out of the corner of his eye.

Jia Zhong was very good at observing people's expressions and immediately held the jade bracelet in both hands and presented it to Shen Zhan.

"Brother, does this jade bracelet have any meaning?"

Shen Zhan frowned slightly, looking at the jade bracelet as if he was thinking about something. After a while, he said to Jia Zhong, "It's not something special, but I can tell that it originally belonged to the Jinning Prince's Mansion."

"Ah? How did something from the palace end up in our pawnshop? Could it be that someone in the palace is short of money too?"

Of course, this is not the reason. Shen Zhan knows that a jade bracelet of this quality is definitely not something a servant can own. As for why it appeared in the pawnshop, he would have to ask the person who pawned the jade bracelet.

Jia Zhong immediately called the shopkeeper over and asked him about the jade bracelet. After recalling it, the shopkeeper said, "Master, I didn't pay much attention to it at the time. But the man who came to pawn the jade bracelet was dressed like a man of the underworld. He didn't say much, just said he wanted to pawn it, took the money, and left without saying a word."

This matter involved the Jinning Palace. Shen Zhan felt it necessary to find out what was going on. Although he had nothing to do with the palace, his sister Shen Yunli still lived there after all.

A top-quality jade bracelet appeared in a pawnshop in Wubei City. This at least shows that things from the palace are flowing out. Maybe someone stole it from the palace?

But it is also possible that things are more complicated than Shen Zhan speculated.

"Can you find out where that person is?"

Jia Zhong nodded and said, "In Wubei City, there is no one that our Jia family cannot find. Please rest assured, big brother."

So Shen Zhan spent the night at the Jia family's house, and the next morning, Jia Zhong came to see him excitedly.

"Brother, we've found the person you asked me to investigate. There are two of them in our group. They don't live in the city, but are hiding in a dilapidated temple in the east of the city."

Shen Zhan felt something was wrong when he heard this. Normally, people on the road would have to stay in a hotel in the city, not to mention that the man had just pawned his jade bracelet and had some money on hand, so there was no need for him to stay in a dilapidated temple.

Unless they have something shameful to do that needs to be hidden from the public, their behavior logic is really incomprehensible.

He changed his mind and said to Jia Zhong, "You guys were able to find this out, you did a good job!"

"I'm going to the ruined temple to check out the situation. I might stumble upon a big secret."

Jia Zhong became interested when he heard this. He asked to go with Shen Zhan so that they could take care of each other.

Without further ado, Shen Zhan decided to set off immediately. He asked Jia Zhong to follow him, but only the two of them were needed, and there was no need to bring more people to avoid trouble.

The dilapidated temple in the east of the city has been in disrepair for many years. It leaks air from all sides at night and is completely uninhabitable.

When Shen Zhan saw from afar that the outskirts of the dilapidated temple had almost become a ruin, his suspicions deepened. He knew that the person hiding in the temple at this time was definitely not that simple.

"We need to approach quietly to avoid alerting the enemy. We need to first find out the background of these two people and then make plans."

After giving Jia Zhong a few instructions, they slowly began to approach the ruined temple.

Shen Zhan was as light as a swallow, and his steps seemed to be very fast, but they made almost no sound. Therefore, he was the first to come behind a broken wall and heard voices coming from inside.

"Didn't we just pawn this girl's jade bracelet? Why do we have to squeeze into this shabby temple and starve? I've been making a fuss all night and I'm already craving a drink. I have to go to the city today and have a good meal.

What nonsense are you talking about? We only made jade bracelets because we were short of money and had no choice. Do you think it wouldn't attract attention if things from the Prince of Jinning's Mansion suddenly flowed into the public?

It would be best if no one cares about this matter. I'm afraid someone might find out about the jade bracelet and immediately trace it back to us!"

The two men who were talking inside were in a relatively deep position at this time. Shen Zhan could not see their faces and could only hear their conversation.

Now Shen Zhan already knew that there were not only these two people in the dilapidated temple, there should also be a girl, and the latter was probably from the Prince Jin's Mansion.

He did not act impulsively, but calmed down and continued to inquire in order to find out the identities of these people and why they were hiding in the dilapidated temple.

"Humph, if this continues, I'll starve to death before we even reach Southern Qi!"

The man who had been complaining from the beginning was still chattering away, venting his dissatisfaction.

His companion seemed calmer than him and asked, "Do you think it's easy to kidnap the princess of Jinning Palace and take her all the way to Southern Qi?

If this thing is accomplished, it will definitely benefit both of us brothers, so we absolutely cannot allow anything to go wrong along the way, understand?"

Princess?

Who is the princess kidnapped by these two men?

The more Shen Zhan listened, the more he felt that something was going on here. At this moment, the voice in his ear rang again, "She's just a young girl. I don't think she has the talent to reach the ninth level of Dao. Is that King Jinning just bragging?"