Words as heavy as stone, and Wan Zheng erased the smile from the old man's face.
"Do you remember the jewelry I pawned last time?"
He paused, letting the suspense hang in the air before continuing.
"A golden headcrown. It cost thousands of taels of silver when my father gave it to my mother, and you only gave me two hundred. Were you trying to cheat me, Mr. Dajia?"
Wan Zheng stated calmly, picked up the teacup with warm tea, and let the liquid swirl gently as he held it.
He looked back at the old man with a cold gaze.
The stare completely silenced Mr. Dajia's scheming thoughts, and he could not help breaking out in a sweat at the back of his neck.
He stared at young master Zheng again, and this time… an unsettling difference struck him.
That was what an old man like him sensed in his heart—something had changed.
There was no trace of the wasted young master once known for drinking and frequenting brothels in town.
Instead, it was as though a deadly serpent, silent and waiting, stood before Mr. Dajia.
A subconscious fear coursed through the old man's bones, and he dropped to his knees instantly.
His wrinkled, calloused fingers reached for the tip of young master Zheng's robe, but they were avoided.
The sight of the old man kneeling stirred discomfort in Wan Zheng's heart.
In the world he came from, kneeling belonged to the past.
Yet in this ancient cultivation world, people like his battered wife, his son, and even this old man dropped to their knees so easily, without a thought for their dignity.
How backward this place was.
To Wan Zheng, kneeling was unnecessary—after all, even the fiercest warrior on the battlefield never bent before an enemy.
As for himself, he would never kneel to anyone, and the very thought of doing so filled him with disdain.
"Young Master, please forgive me. At that time… I did not know its true value. When I exchanged it with the wandering merchant, they told me that in the Royal Capital it was worth far more than I expected."
Mr. Dajia spoke hastily, like a chicken pecking at grain.
"Mnn…"
"Then… I can make up for it. I'll return the 600 taels I failed to pay last time. And for these two items, I can pay what the market price would be—perhaps 400 taels each. Will that do?"
Mr. Dajia's hands trembled.
He spoke with caution, his eyes fixed on Wan Zheng's cold, unreadable expression.
The old man's hesitation didn't come from greed.
The truth was, this young master was clearly a practitioner, while he was nothing more than a mortal.
If his little pawnshop or his family were harmed, what could he possibly do?
Moreover, this Young Master Zheng bore the name of the renowned Wan Clan in the Royal Capital.
The Wan Clan was a noble house of cultivators, said to have an elder who had already stepped into the Foundation Establishment realm.
Mr. Dajia didn't dare offend Wan Zheng, aware of the dangerous truth.
The little courage he had at the start had already crumbled when this young master's aura suddenly shifted.
He knew at once that something was off.
"Make it five hundred. I will not pursue this matter."
Wan Zheng wasn't the type to take advantage of an old man, but this one had cheated the original body's owner.
Asking for a little compensation was only fair.
"Young Master… I only run a small shop. Can't you at least spare me and show some grace?"
Mr. Dajia shamelessly tried again, his face thicker than a horse's hoof, but one look was enough.
Under Wan Zheng's ice-cold stare, he shivered and bowed even lower.
In the end, he had only one choice, to comply.
"I'll bring it out at once. Please, please wait, Young Master Zheng."
Hurrying back into his small shop, the clinking of silver and the shuffle of shoes revealed their anxiousness.
A total of one thousand six hundred taels of silver filled the small money box.
Wan Zheng gazed at it with quiet satisfaction, his restless heart finally easing.
To a man who had worked hard to make ends meet and earned every coin in his past life, having his own money was more than wealth.
It was, without a doubt, survival, dignity, and the foundation to stand tall in society.
"Very well, you did not disappoint. And don't sell them to anyone. I'll come back for them later."
"I understand, Young Master Zheng."
Although confused and unable to grasp the young master's intentions, Mr. Dajia was already heartbroken watching his silver slip away.
Being unable to sell the items he had acquired to any wandering merchant added an even deeper pain inside him.
He could only nod and comply, for who knew what Young Master Zheng might do if he did not follow.
Wan Zheng walked toward the small wet market in town, thinking about what he could buy with the silver to begin supporting the new family.
Few people went into the market, and most of the time it was the servants of rich families.
Occasionally, common townsfolk or nearby villagers would come, but the market was often wet, muddy, and filled with the smell of fish mixed with the sweat of the workers.
Rich young ladies or the heirs of wealthy families were known not to walk around here.
Their appearances were rare.
Wan Zheng's fine, expensive-looking clothes had already made the stall owners aware of his status.
Yet, the sight of his familiar face cast a shadow over the stall owners, and they instinctively lowered their heads.
They dared not lift their gaze to the young master, lest misfortune befall their stalls.
Wan Zheng was aware of the bad reputation of the original body's owner.
So, he deliberately avoided those who refused to meet his eyes, for the sake of maintaining a peaceful mind.
Glancing around, his eyes finally landed on a butcher selling pork and chicken.
Live chickens were tied to the wooden stall nearby, while small chicks scuttled inside a bamboo basket.
Finally, an idea struck him.
"I want to buy five catties of pork, the belly part, and add two catties of chicken as well."