But the master’s words had to be obeyed.
The silver snake glanced at the simple-minded camel and the fluffy little white ball, and nodded with great difficulty.
Bai Sheng pointed at the silver snake and said, "Everyone, this is—" Bai Sheng suddenly remembered that she hadn't named the silver snake yet. After a moment of thought, she turned to the silver snake and said, "Snake, how about I call you Lightning?"
Lightning? The kind that streaks across the sky during a thunderstorm?
It sounded quite imposing. Fine, then, it would be called Lightning. The silver snake swayed its head.
And so, everyone got acquainted. Bai Sheng also instructed the animals that from now on, within the space, they all had to listen to Hengheng’s commands, or they would be expelled from the space without mercy.
The ability for people or animals entering the space to understand Hengheng’s pig grunts was something Bai Sheng discovered herself. As long as the owner of the space allowed it, anyone who entered could understand the space administrator.
Therefore, after Bai Sheng set up this function, Hengheng no longer dared to call Lu Ye a silly fool with impunity.
That silly fool was highly skilled in martial arts; if he were truly angered, he would have her cleaved in two with a single stroke.
In the face of Bai Sheng’s admonishment, all the animals nodded repeatedly.
Silver Snake: For the sake of the spiritual spring water, for the sake of living in the space, for the sake of following the master, being managed by this big, clumsy pig is tolerable.
Wuyun: Everything is as the master says. When the master is not here, everything is as the big black pig says. Yes, it remembered.
Baoyu: Oink, whatever the master says goes.
Hengheng, on the other hand, raised its pig head, nostrils pointing towards the sky, exuding an air of great pride. It admitted that this was its most glorious moment!
In this space, apart from the master, everyone had to listen to it, including the master’s man, Lu Ye, that silly fool.
Power had fostered extraordinary confidence in the big black pig, Hengheng.
After the master left the space with the silly fool, Hengheng stared at Lightning’s head, observing it for a long time, and then sighed regretfully, "Lightning, if only there wasn't that patch of pitch blackness on your head, you would be even more beautiful."
A patch of pitch blackness on its head?
Lightning was stunned. It was clearly pure silver from head to tail, without any impurities!
However, in an instant, it was no longer calm. Its mind suddenly recalled the four dirty little paws that had touched its head that afternoon.
Hengheng and the others heard only a "whoosh," a white blur flashed past, and Lightning disappeared without a trace.
A moment later, a loud "splash" could be heard from the direction of the bath, sending water splashing everywhere.
In the makeshift hut, Bai Sheng was deeply engrossed in studying the black stone that Lightning had given her.
In her previous life, Bai Sheng was an enthusiast of jade. To avoid being cheated when buying jade, she had spent considerable effort learning to identify jade, but she had no experience with raw stones.
They first used a knife to scrape off a small patch of the surface rock, but still could not discern anything within.
They wanted to smash it open with a stone but were afraid of damaging any good material inside.
Bai Sheng held the black stone up to the firelight, but it revealed no peculiar characteristics.
After toiling for a long time, although they hadn't figured anything out, both of them firmly believed that the stone was very unusual.
If only they had professional stone-opening tools, it would be much easier.
With no breakthrough in their research, the couple decided to visit a jewelry store in town the next day.
The next day, after instructing Du Min and Feng Pingyuan to look after the house, Lu Ye and Bai Sheng, along with Wuyun, headed to town.
To provide a plausible explanation for Lightning’s presence in the space, Bai Sheng’s explanation to everyone was the same as for Wuyun: they were completely free-roaming, able to come and go as they pleased, which was why they weren't always visible.
However, it was astonishing that whenever the two masters needed Wuyun, it would always return punctually. This wild camel was simply too intelligent.
Upon arriving in town, the couple first delivered water to Boss Liu. Boss Liu said that the camel cart was not yet ready and would be available for pick-up in a few more days.
Lu Ye then took Bai Sheng to the only jewelry store in town.
Logically speaking, a remote and impoverished place like Tianshui Town shouldn't be able to afford a jewelry store. However, Tianshui Town was rich in jade and jewelry mines, with numerous official and private kilns, thus it could barely sustain one.
The shopkeeper was a middle-aged man with a thin, pointed head.
As Bai Sheng and Lu Ye entered the shop, the shopkeeper was carefully examining a small trinket. Sensing someone’s arrival, he looked up and appraised them from head to toe, finally concluding that they couldn't afford the jewelry in the store, and therefore paid them little attention.
Bai Sheng stepped forward and asked softly, "Shopkeeper, do you buy raw gemstones in your store?"
"Yes, do you have some?" The shopkeeper didn't even lift an eyelid, assuming the poorly dressed young girl was joking.
"Of course," Bai Sheng said with a cold smile, "But judging by your attitude, you don't seem very interested."
The shopkeeper finally looked up, forcing his triangular eyes wide open, and indifferently regarded the penniless girl who spoke with such confidence, "Bring it out for me to see."
Bai Sheng glanced up at Lu Ye. Lu Ye nodded at her, and she took out the black stone from her cloth bag (actually from the space) and carefully placed it before the shopkeeper.
The shopkeeper picked up the black stone, examining it from all angles, occasionally trying to pick at it with his fingers. Seeing that nothing could be picked out, he used a very sharp small knife to cut open the surface skin at one end.
"It's just an ordinary stone. If you want to sell it, you'll get at most two taels of silver," the shopkeeper said disdainfully.
"Two taels of silver?" Bai Sheng doubted if she had heard correctly.
The shopkeeper nodded and repeated, "At most two taels."
Lu Ye snorted coldly, snatched the black stone back, and said calmly, "Then we apologize for disturbing you, shopkeeper. We won't be selling this stone."
"As you wish!" The shopkeeper irritably sat back in his original position and resumed fiddling with the jade pieces.
Exiting the shop, Bai Sheng said indignantly, "What a waste of his years. After working in the jade industry for so long, he's still blind! So ignorant of good quality!"
Lu Ye smiled and said, "There's no rush. Let's keep this stone for now. Jade Town is too small, and finding a buyer will likely be difficult. When we have a chance, we can try our luck in the county town or prefectural city."
"Yes, that's the only way," Bai Sheng nodded.
"Bai Sheng!"
As the two walked to the roadside, Lu Ye called out to her.
Bai Sheng looked up, and Lu Ye’s gaze deepened into hers. "I will be leaving shortly. You take Wuyun and wander around a bit longer. After you've finished shopping, hurry home and be sure to pay attention to your safety on the way."
Bai Sheng's expression faltered slightly. She nodded and said, "Yes, don't worry. I'll take care of everything at home."
A hint of affection appeared in Lu Ye's eyes. He reached out and gently stroked Bai Sheng's head, smiled slightly, and then turned to walk in the direction of Tianxiao Martial Academy.
Bai Sheng watched his receding figure, feeling an inexplicable emptiness in her heart. Although her time in this transmigration had not been long, Lu Ye had always been by her side.
Now that he was suddenly leaving, and she didn't even know where he was going, Bai Sheng surprisingly felt a sense of unease.