Canglang Martial Arts School.
"Silence!"
Wang Jin spoke, and the entire martial arts school instantly fell quiet.
Then, he looked at Xiao Peng and said, "Do you want to compete with Jiang Ning?"
Xiao Peng nodded decisively, "Yes! Since I meet Master Wang's requirements, I won't be satisfied without competing with Jiang Ning! I know the Inspection Bureau is an opportunity, a chance to change my fate. Naturally, I want to seize it with all my strength!"
"Very well!" Wang Jin nodded. "This is your right. Since I set this rule, it is your right. I will contact Jiang Ning and have him compete with you in three days."
"Thank you, Master Wang!" Xiao Peng's face lit up with joy as he cupped his hands and bowed.
The crowd, hearing this, showed expressions of anticipation, clearly looking forward to the showdown in three days.
Whoever won would become Wang Jin's disciple and participate in the Inspection Bureau's assessment.
Meanwhile.
Cheng Ran arrived at Jiang Ning's home, only to find out that Jiang Ning had already left.
After some thought, he sent his attendant back to the martial arts school to inform them, while he stayed at Jiang Ning's house to wait for his return.
Wanhua Pavilion.
As Jiang Ning stepped through the door, he was immediately greeted by the same maid as last time.
"Miss Xiaolu, we meet again!" Jiang Ning smiled.
The maid in the green dress also smiled and curtsied, "Greetings, Young Master Jiang. May I ask what brings you here today?"
Jiang Ning said, "I want to sell some things."
"Understood!" Xiaolu curtsied again. "Please follow me to the VIP room. I will go find Elder Qian to appraise your items."
"Thank you, Miss Xiaolu!" Jiang Ning said.
Following Xiaolu, Jiang Ning soon arrived at a VIP room on the first floor.
A moment later.
As Jiang Ning sipped his tea, the door to the VIP room opened again.
This time, three people entered, two of whom Jiang Ning was familiar with.
One was Han Hongmei, a manager at Wanhua Pavilion, and the other was Xiaolu, the maid.
The third person was an elderly man with white hair and beard, his eyes shining with wisdom.
Jiang Ning stood up.
Han Hongmei smiled softly, "It's been a while, Young Master Jiang."
"It has been a while, Manager Han," Jiang Ning also smiled.
Han Hongmei said, "Let me introduce you."
She gestured to the elderly man.
"This is Elder Qian, the most discerning appraiser in our pavilion. I heard Young Master Jiang wants to sell some items, so Elder Qian will appraise them for you."
Jiang Ning cupped his hands toward the elderly man, "Greetings, Elder Qian."
"I've heard of you," Elder Qian looked at Jiang Ning with a hint of admiration. "For Shen Congyun to hold you in such high regard, you must have something extraordinary about you."
"You flatter me, Elder Qian," Jiang Ning said.
Han Hongmei then spoke, "Everyone, please take a seat."
She then turned to the maid behind her, "Xiaolu, serve the tea."
"Yes, Manager," Xiaolu curtsied and quickly prepared the tea.
After everyone was seated.
Elder Qian asked Jiang Ning, "What do you have to sell, young man?"
Jiang Ning said, "I heard Wanhua Pavilion has a rule that it will never disclose any information about its customers' transactions?"
"That's correct!" Han Hongmei immediately responded. "At Wanhua Pavilion, customer information is of the highest level of confidentiality. While nothing is absolute, unless the Pavilion Master at headquarters gives the order, no one can disclose customer information."
Hearing this, Jiang Ning felt even more reassured.
He had already known that Wanhua Pavilion had strict rules.
Customer information was always kept confidential, and there had never been any incidents of leaks.
Now, Han Hongmei's words, while not guaranteeing absolute secrecy, made Jiang Ning trust them even more.
If someone could get the Pavilion Master to speak, then customer information could indeed be disclosed.
This was reasonable.
Then.
Jiang Ning untied the bundle beside him and took out a pair of black gloves, a martial arts manual titled Iron Sand Palm, and a dagger.
The black gloves were from Tian Buyi.
The Iron Sand Palm manual was from Hong Chengtao.
The dagger was from one of Hong Chengtao's companions.
Seeing Jiang Ning take out these items, Elder Qian's eyes flashed with surprise.
He first picked up the dagger, glanced at it casually, weighed it in his hand, and gently tapped the blade, listening to the sound.
A moment later.
Elder Qian said, "This dagger is made of about 130-fold refined iron, likely from a blacksmith's shop. If sold in a weapon shop, it would be worth about 150 taels of silver."
"For recycling, we offer a 70% discount, so 105 taels of silver."
"What do you think?"
As he spoke the last four words, he looked up at Jiang Ning.
Jiang Ning nodded calmly, "That's fine."
Then.
Elder Qian put down the dagger and picked up the Iron Sand Palm manual.
He flipped through it briefly and said, "Iron Sand Palm is a lower-tier martial art, widely circulated and not particularly rare. A detailed manual like this is usually worth about 500 taels of silver on the market."
"For recycling, we also offer a 70% discount, so 350 taels of silver."
"What do you think?"
Again, he looked up at Jiang Ning as he spoke the last four words.
"That's fine."
Jiang Ning nodded calmly once more.
Then.
Elder Qian put down the manual and picked up the pair of black gloves.
This time, he examined them carefully.
He felt them, pressed them against his cheek, and even bit them with his teeth.
After a dozen or so breaths.
Elder Qian finally put down the gloves.
He said, "These gloves are quite extraordinary. They are woven from the silk of the rare Black Jade Spider. This silk is as tough as black gold, hence it's called Black Spider black gold Silk."
"This silk is extremely tough, resistant to water, and difficult to cut with blades or swords. Therefore, these gloves are very valuable."
"And they are a complete pair."
"In my estimation, these gloves are worth about 5,000 taels on the market."
"For a recycle, we offer a 70% discount, so 3,500 taels."
"Can you accept this, young man?"
Jiang Ning listened carefully and then nodded slowly, "That's fine."
At this point, Han Hongmei spoke up.
"Young Master Jiang, the total for these three items is 3,955 taels. I'll round it up to 4,000 taels. Does that work for you?"
"That works," Jiang Ning nodded. "I trust Wanhua Pavilion's reputation."
Hearing Jiang Ning's praise, Han Hongmei smiled softly, "In that case, I'll have someone fetch the silver notes for you?"
Jiang Ning raised his hand to stop her, "No rush."
"Is there something else, Young Master Jiang?" Han Hongmei looked at Jiang Ning.
Jiang Ning said, "I also want to buy some things. Let's settle everything together later to avoid any hassle."
"Very well, we'll do as you say, Young Master Jiang," Han Hongmei complied.
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