Shi Sun and Daoist Lianpeng paid it no mind, as if they had experienced such occurrences before. Xu Qing is merely walking the path they once traveled.
As they spoke, Xu Qing took out a silver ingot from his sleeve and handed it to the clerk.
The clerk looked at the vintage silver ingot, thinking to himself, this isn't just being out of touch with the times; it's as if it never left the secluded mountains and forests!
"Precious government silver from the previous dynasty?" The clerk took the silver and looked at the characters on it, somewhat unsure.
In these unstable times, with the open and secret societies sprouting like mushrooms after a rain, who can guarantee that someone isn't using counterfeit antique coins to deceive people like some cunning sparrow...
"It's not government silver from the previous dynasty; it has 'Qianyuan Hanjiang Minted' engraved on it. If it's true, then it should be official silver from the Yong dynasty."
Just as the clerk of the incense shop was in doubt, the door curtain of the shop lifted, and a woman in a cheongsam suddenly walked out.
Xu Qing was visibly stunned the moment he saw the woman.
"Boss Cheng?"
Looking at the woman in front of him, who looked exactly like Cheng Caiyun, the owner of the incense and candle shop from a century ago, Xu Qing blurted out without thinking.
The woman frowned slightly and stared at the young man in front of her, who seemed inexplicably familiar, asking, "Do you know me?"
Before Xu Qing could respond, the woman from the incense shop suddenly seemed to understand and said, "Ah, since I'm running a business on this street, it's not surprising that you recognize me."
Xu Qing was puzzled.
Could there really be such a coincidence in the world? That one person could resemble another so closely, with even the surname being identical...
"May I ask for your full name, Boss Cheng?"
The woman raised an eyebrow, half-smiling, "You're not a police officer, so why are you checking people's household registrations?"
Seeing Xu Qing staring at her silently, the woman simply took out an abacus and recalculated the account in front of everyone.
"That'll be one hundred forty copper coins, but you look familiar, perhaps you're an old customer, so I'll charge you one hundred twenty. You can pay in silver coins or silver notes as well. Nowadays silver is valuable, so if you pay in silver, I'll give you a little discount, consider it a promotional deal from your elder sister."
"..."
Xu Qing had no silver coins, let alone any silver notes.
"I don't have silver coins, only these ancient silver taels..."
Upon seeing the official silver engraved with 'Hanjiang' that Xu Qing handed over again, Boss Cheng pondered, "If this silver ingot is genuine, it would be an antique worth a significant amount of silver coins if pawned, and I should not take advantage of you."
"Let's do it this way; your elder sister sees that you mean no harm. Today, this bill can be credited first. Next time you have cash, you can come by to settle it, no rush."
Xu Qing grew increasingly confused, thinking that if this Boss Cheng was the reincarnation of Cheng Caiyun, their personalities were entirely different.
The Cheng Caiyun of the incense and candle shop from before wouldn't let go of a rabbit until she saw it. How could she be so generous?
As Xu Qing was pondering, he saw Boss Cheng from the incense shop suddenly chase outside. On the street, a person was leading a group of students carrying banners and slogans toward the bustling market.
Boss Cheng stopped the group, grabbed the sleeve of the leading young man, and insisted on not letting him go to protest, saying it was a crime that could cost lives, and if anything happened to him, how could she live...
The young leader looked troubled, but ultimately he resolutely shook off Boss Cheng's hand, saying, "A man should not die for love or illness but should die avenging national enmities. If you try to stop me today, Lady Cheng, you are consigning me to unjustness, which would be more painful than facing execution!"
Xu Qing gazed at the member of the New Learning party, almost a replica of Lu Zizhan and that Judge Lu from the Underworld, lost in thought.
It turns out that the deceased must undergo the transcendence of the Sutra of Salvation and can still be reincarnated without entering the six cycles...