The City of Jade

Hearing this, Huo Xuan couldn't help but frown. "If he treated you well at first, why did his attitude suddenly change?"

Shen Rong sobbed, "Because I was useless. I was a coward."

Seeing her sorrow, Huo Xuan sighed and spoke gently, "No matter what others say, I've never thought you were a coward. If someone has never deliberately harmed another, then no one has the right to condemn them."

Shen Rong stared at Huo Xuan blankly. "Really?"

Huo Xuan nodded firmly. Even without using his Buddha Eye to see through her, he knew Shen Rong was fragile at this moment. One wrong word could trigger unpredictable consequences.

It seemed Shen Rong's heart had found a pillar of support. She continued, recounting to Huo Xuan the story deeply etched in her memory.

Many years ago, on an unusually cold winter day, Chen Wan had taken Shen Rong ice skating. At the rink, they ran into a group of troublemakers, and an accidental collision quickly escalated.

The four men were no pushovers. Unfazed by Chen Wan's threats—even as he was beaten black and blue—they only grew fiercer. In the end, they surrounded the fallen Chen Wan and urinated on him.

Shen Rong had been terrified. She could only watch, frozen in fear, as Chen Wan was beaten, her tears flowing helplessly. She didn't even hear his hoarse shout—"Go get help!"

Because of this incident, Chen Wan grew to despise her, and she was ostracized by their entire social circle. From middle school to university, and even after starting work, it was always the same.

After listening, Huo Xuan remained calm. He sat beside Shen Rong, gently wrapping an arm around her shoulders, and said softly, "That man had his dignity trampled, his proud façade torn away. He is the real coward—a pathetic weakling who could only vent his anger on a girl. Someone like that isn't worth remembering. You're better off forgetting him completely."

Huo Xuan's words soothed Shen Rong. Clinging to his arm, she murmured, "Thank you..."

Soon, she fell asleep—still holding onto him. Left with no choice, Huo Xuan carried her to the car and took her to a hotel for the night. He had considered bringing her home but, wary of potential complications, decided it was simpler to let her stay there until morning.

When Shen Rong woke up, she found a note on the pillow:

"You drank too much last night, so I brought you back. Don't worry—I didn't lay a finger on you. Breakfast is ready; eat before work."

—Huo Xuan

Reading it, warmth blossomed in her chest. She stretched lazily, then smiled. "A new day begins!"

Early in the morning, Huo Xuan led his team to Kyoto's raw jade market. As the economic and political heart of the nation, Kyoto attracted talent from across the land—and its jade trade flourished accordingly.

In the northern suburbs stood a sprawling marketplace, a gathering point for jade merchants from all corners of the country. Thousands of stalls and shops, large and small, sprawled across the area. By nine daily, the place buzzed with activity, alive with chatter and the constant coming and going of vehicles.

Dubbed "Jade City," this was where traders converged and deals unfolded. Unlike Jiangzhou's regulated stone-gambling festivals, it thrived on the energy of independent vendors, making the market far more dynamic.

Huo Xuan's group moved down the broad aisles, his eyes scanning stall after stall. Occasionally, he paused to purchase stones—big or small, half-cut or fully sealed—without even haggling.

With each purchase, attendants promptly carried the goods to their parked trucks, where guards stood watch.

After dozens of stalls, Huo Xuan had made few moves. Most offerings were loss-making duds, unworthy of attention. It wasn't until entering a dedicated rough-stone shop that something caught his eye: a half-cut boulder weighing over a hundred kilograms.

The cross-section revealed bean-green jade—poor clarity, murky translucence, and a dull hue. Hardly premium material. Yet it carried a million-yuan price tag.

What drew Huo Xuan wasn't the mediocre exterior but three fist-sized jade cores buried deep within, arranged in a triangular formation. Two were icy-textured light green, while the third—glass-grade imperial green—stunned even him.

For one jade to conceal another was near-impossible. Formed over eons through unique mineralization, such occurrences were vanishingly rare.

Moreover, glass-grade imperial green stood at the pinnacle of jade quality. Entire Burmese mines might yield mere handfuls. During Jiangzhou's festival, Huo Xuan had inspected countless stones without finding a single specimen. Though only fist-sized here, its value was incalculable.

Outwardly indifferent, Huo Xuan casually inquired, "Boss, can you do better on this one?"

The gaunt middle-aged proprietor perked up. "Brother, this is quality stuff—polish and carve it right, and it'll fetch 1.5 to 1.6 million easy. My price is rock-bottom; not a penny less."

Huo Xuan scoffed, "Save the pitch. This rock's got neither clarity nor color—looks like moldy tofu at first glance. No way I'm paying a mil."

Hearing Huo Xuan disparage the stone so bluntly, the vendor's expression darkened. "Look, brother—buying's your call, selling's mine. But don't go badmouthing my goods."

Huo Xuan could tell the man wouldn't budge. With a conciliatory tone, he said, "Fair enough, boss. First meetings breed familiarity—I won't press further. Next time I'm here, maybe you'll cut me some slack."

The vendor's face cleared instantly. Grinning, he clapped Huo Xuan's shoulder. "You've got my word! Next visit—15% off!"

After securing the hundred-kilogram boulder, Huo Xuan moved swiftly through other stalls and shops, snapping up every stone promising triple returns or better.

Jade City sprawled endlessly. Most vendors stored bulk inventory in backroom warehouses, forcing tedious inspections that slowed Huo Xuan's progress. By day's end, he'd barely covered a tenth of the market.

Yet his haul was substantial—over twenty million yuan in raw jade, all shipped to Jiangzhou that very night.

For five straight days, he combed the market. His lavish spending and massive purchases soon drew sharp eyes.

On the fifth afternoon, as Huo Xuan examined another stone, two figures observed him from a distance. The elder—a weathered man in his seventies with leathery skin—murmured, "Fifth day straight. Any tally on his spending?"

His companion, a hawk-eyed middle-aged man, answered low, "At least a hundred million. Only fools or masters throw that kind of cash around here. Which do you think he is, Lao Ba?"

The old man rubbed his chin. "Doesn't carry himself like a seasoned jade man. Eighty percent chance it's the latter."

"Meaning twenty percent odds he's a pro here to clean us out," the younger man countered.

Lao Ba studied him. "Thinking of moving, Yu Pi?"

The man called Yu Pi smirked coldly. "I've tracked his routine—every purchase gets shipped out immediately. We intercept one convoy with some quick hands, that's twenty million in our pockets."

Wrinkles deepened on Lao Ba's forehead, though his voice remained calm. "Solid plan. But first dig into his background—make sure he's not some imperial relative."

Yu Pi's smile turned razor-thin. "Leave that to me. I always dot my i's."

As Huo Xuan was selecting a few promising stones, his sharp ears caught the distant conversation between the old man and the middle-aged man. Ever since cultivating the Vajra Seal, his hearing had far surpassed that of ordinary people—he could detect the sound of ants nibbling on leaves within a ten-meter radius.

Though the pair stood dozens of meters away and spoke in hushed tones, their words were as clear to him as if they were right beside him.

A cold glint flashed in his eyes. With a faint sneer, he seized the pretext of a bathroom break to make a call to Li Yunfei. Since arriving in Kyoto, he hadn't contacted Li Yunfei or the others. The unexpected call delighted his old friend.

"Brother, you're in Kyoto? Why haven't you looked me up?" Li Yunfei boomed.

Keeping his voice low, Huo Xuan replied, "Brother Li, I've run into some trouble and need your help."

"Family doesn't stand on ceremony. Speak your mind," Li Yunfei said with characteristic bluntness.

Huo Xuan briefly outlined the situation, instantly igniting Li Yunfei's fury. "Those blind bastards dare target my brother? Don't worry—leave it to me. Expect good news soon!"

Huo Xuan chuckled. "After we deal with these scum, drinks are on me."

With the call concluded, he returned to selecting stones, his demeanor betraying nothing. Meanwhile, Li Yunfei swiftly rallied over a dozen men and sped toward Jade City.

After finishing his selections at the current stall, Huo Xuan deliberately made his way to the old man and middle-aged man's shop, meticulously examining their wares. Strangely enough, amidst their haphazard pile of stones, he identified over a dozen pieces with potential returns exceeding tenfold.

Could it be that these two have higher-quality rough stones? he wondered. Casually, he proposed inspecting their warehouse. Eager for business, the pair readily agreed—secretly confident that whatever he bought would likely find its way back to them soon enough.

Their warehouse occupied the second basement level of Jade City, secured behind two heavy, reinforced doors that would deter any unauthorized entry. Even if someone managed to slip inside, removing the massive raw stones unnoticed would be impossible.

Upon entering, Huo Xuan's eyes widened imperceptibly. The warehouse sprawled over a thousand square meters, packed floor-to-ceiling with jade of every description.

Playing his part, he remarked, "With inventory like this, you gentlemen could easily establish your own operation."

The old man replied indifferently, "These goods aren't solely ours. But if anything catches your eye, we're happy to facilitate the sale."

As he spoke, Huo Xuan's penetrating gaze swept through the warehouse's contents. Suddenly, his pulse quickened.