What a spectacle!

The man was instantly frightened. He turned his head and saw Mike Sullivan slowly walking out of the appraisal room. He hurriedly threw down the broadsword in his hand and waved frantically at Mike Sullivan, saying, “Bro... brother, don’t do anything, don’t do anything, let’s talk this out! I was just joking with you earlier. One hundred taels of silver, I’ll pay, I’ll pay!”

“Talk it out? I tried talking to you nicely just now, but you wouldn’t listen. Now you regret it? Too late!”

As soon as Mike Sullivan finished speaking, a huge net, like a fishing net, suddenly dropped from above the man’s head, trapping him inside.

This was something he had specially prepared for dealing with those martial artists who refused to pay after an appraisal. The net’s ropes were woven from old tree bark and vines over ten years old from the mountain, then soaked in oil, making them extremely tough. Even an ordinary martial artist wouldn’t be able to break free.

“Folks, he won’t pay us—beat him up!”

No one knew who shouted first, but the villagers rushed forward, surrounding the man and giving him a good beating.

“Stop, stop, I’ll pay, I’ll pay!”

Trapped in the net, the man couldn’t even use his hands to protect his head and could only let the villagers punch and kick him. These villagers had worked hard all their lives and were much stronger than city folk. Even though he was a martial artist, he couldn’t take it.

He fumbled at his waist, finally grabbing his money pouch and throwing it out, then shouted loudly, “Stop, I’ve paid! I’ve given you all my money, please, stop hitting me!”

Hearing that the man had paid, the villagers finally stopped. At this point, the man struggled to lift the net off himself, did a kip-up, and immediately ran toward the edge of the village.

By now, his face was covered in bruises and swelling, looking as bloated as the old sow Uncle Zhang kept at home. His sturdy clothes were torn to shreds, with half his buttocks exposed.

The man didn’t care about any of this and just ran desperately out of the village. But after only a few steps, with a loud thud, a bundle fell from his body—the very bundle containing the treasures he had brought for appraisal today.

But at this point, he couldn’t care less about those treasures and fled in panic without looking back. These damned bumpkins were too ruthless, always going for the dirty tricks. Even as a martial artist, he couldn’t withstand it...

However, the villagers didn’t intend to chase after the man. Mike Sullivan picked up the silver the man had dropped, weighed it in his hand, and then opened it.

“Who would have thought, this guy is actually quite rich. There are two hundred taels of silver in here. We really made a profit this time.”

Mike Sullivan held the money pouch and was just about to distribute one hundred taels when Little Henry came over with the bundle the man had dropped. “Mike Brooks, this is the thing that guy dropped. You should take it.”

“Alright, I’ll hold onto it for now. In a few days, when I go to the city, I’ll sell it and we can split the money then.” Mike Sullivan took the bundle.

“Split what money!”

“Exactly, Mike Brooks, you just keep it.”

“Mike Brooks, you opened this appraisal shop, and we’ve all benefited plenty. We don’t have to do anything, and the whole village gets to split half the money. How could we ask for more by splitting this thing too?”

As soon as Mike Sullivan finished speaking, the villagers all started chiming in.

“Mike Brooks is really something. Just one appraisal and he made two hundred taels of silver. We get to split a hundred taels. That’s enough to buy fifty cows!”

“Yeah, I heard that even in the big cities, a hundred taels of silver is enough for a family of five to live comfortably for three to five years.”

“It’s all thanks to Mike Brooks’s skills. I heard that even the appraisers in the city couldn’t identify that thing, but Mike Brooks could.”

Listening to the villagers’ chatter, Mike Sullivan felt deeply moved. There’s no place like home!

Chapter 2: Immortal Aura (Part 1)

Mike Sullivan gave one hundred taels of silver to the villagers, kept one hundred taels for himself, and of course, also kept the man’s bundle.

Back at the shop, he closed the door.

Today’s haul was pretty good! Although this was a world where martial artists ran rampant, Mike Sullivan wasn’t afraid. Of course, that guy wasn’t really a strong one—otherwise, he wouldn’t have dared to turn against him so easily. After all, what real expert would come to this backwater to get treasures appraised?

Thinking of this, Mike Sullivan shook his head with a smile.

He opened the bundle and found that, besides the Water-Repelling Pearl, there was actually another item inside.

It was something with an ancient bronze color, shaped like a dagger. But it had no handle, only a thin blade. The blade was covered with intricate patterns and strange symbols he had never seen before.

During his six years in the sect, Mike Sullivan had read many ancient books, almost every book in the sect. But the patterns and symbols on this blade were completely unfamiliar to him. There seemed to be a mysterious attraction in those simple patterns and symbols, making it impossible for him to look away.

“No, these are rune patterns!”