Reborn As Super Heiress

Chapter 917: Chapter 913: Scrap Metal

The shop owner originally wanted to trick Huo Sining, but seeing Nara Nigawa next to her, he had to give up.

He knew very well who Nara Nigawa was; with him around, there was no way he’d let Huo Sining fall for any tricks. So the owner didn’t bother with more words and directly smiled, saying:

”Miss, feel free to look around. If anything catches your eye, just ask Nara-kun.”

After hearing Nara Nigawa’s translation, Huo Sining also smiled kindly at the owner. But since everything in the shop was just crafts, she’d long lost interest in exploring further. So she feigned interest and wandered around the shop for a bit, then gave Nara Nigawa a slight glance, signaling they were ready to leave.

However, just a few steps away, her gaze fell upon an abandoned toolbox behind the door. Upon seeing an item inside, she halted abruptly.

Inside the toolbox were six or seven cold weapons, all haphazardly placed. To call them knives and swords was putting it nicely; in reality, they were just a pile of old bronze and iron, heavily rusted and completely obscured, much like the fire pokers used in rural stoves.

Such items had no appeal whatsoever due to all the rust. Nobody appreciated them, not even the shop owner, who knew they were just a heap of junk that couldn’t be sold, so he dumped them in the corner, waiting for someone to take the lot away as scrap.

But Huo Sining’s eyes lit up. Her gaze fixated on an approximately two-foot-long iron rod covered entirely in bronze rust. When she saw the strange symbol on the handle, an idea flashed in her mind, and she couldn’t help but step forward, squatting before the pile of junk.

She reached out and pulled out the iron rod.

To be honest, the quality of this item was poor. As a whole, it should be a sword, large in size, with the blade about seventy centimeters long, the handle half a foot, and the width approximately ten centimeters.

The sword had a central ridge and felt heavy to hold, but because it was covered in a thick layer of greenish rust, the edges were completely concealed.

Whether there were any carvings or inscriptions on the sword was beyond question because nothing could be seen except the rust.

Due to its size, the sword appeared quite clumsy. More disappointingly, near the hilt, there was a square-shaped repair mark, as if a bronze patch had been applied to the blade.

Splotchy with rust and patched, such an item naturally lacked appeal. But on the sword’s handle, Huo Sining noticed a Big Dipper symbol, though partially obscured by rust, her sharp eyes discerned it clearly.

This symbol made Huo Sining suddenly think of a possibility, so she eagerly took the sword in her hand.

She focused intensely on what should be a sword, and indeed, before long, her Heavenly Eye opened, beginning to penetrate from the rust, slowly revealing the interior.

Through the thick, mottled rust, the sword’s true beauty gradually came to light before Huo Sining’s eyes.

Purple light shimmered, and under this rich and alluring Purple Spiritual Qi, a sword adorned with intricate, spiderweb-like patterns appeared. Under the rust, the entire sword was like a flowing river; the razor-sharp blade reached the tip, and there seemed to be a faint murderous glint at the edge.

Huo Sining’s heartbeat quickened. She calmly placed the sword back and picked up a few other pieces of scrap from the box.

After casually examining them, she discovered they were all swords and knives, each shrouded in Purple Spiritual Qi. However, the Qi of these was thin, nothing like the one she’d just seen. Moreover, due to the rust’s corrosion, these swords were completely worthless, having lost significant value.

Huo Sining glanced around, then stood up, asking the shop owner, who was wiping a katana, in her not-so-fluent Japanese, ”Boss, how much for the items in this box?”

Surprised, the owner thought he had a sale and quickly looked up, but when he saw Huo Sining pointing at the pile of junk, his expression froze.

After a long pause, the owner came to his senses, scrutinizing Huo Sining’s expression as if trying to discern her intentions regarding these items.

Having frequented antique shops, both locally and abroad, Huo Sining was well aware of the trade’s tricks: if you genuinely wanted to buy something, never ask until after you’ve chosen, or the seller would certainly name a sky-high price. So she maintained her composure, however eager she was to buy the sword inside.

Indeed, after observing her for a while, the owner couldn’t discern her intentions and had to give up. He chuckled dryly, rubbing his hands as he said:

”These are antiques, miss. I can see you have a good eye. Antiques aren’t afraid of being sold cheap, just afraid of being appreciated by those who don’t know their worth. Miss, have you noticed something?”

Such words required skill. This owner was sly, choosing not to start by quoting a price but instead asking Huo Sining what she’d seen.

If she were a novice, she’d likely spill everything out of pride, but she wasn’t. After Nara Nigawa translated for her, she couldn’t help but want to roll her eyes at the owner.

Though internally she scoffed, outwardly she kept smiling, saying, ”Boss, you seem to know your stuff; how could you not see? Just name your price for this box, and if it’s reasonable, I’ll buy it. Otherwise, I’ll just browse elsewhere.”

Playing this game adeptly, Huo Sining didn’t bat an eye. The owner’s words stuck in his throat. Looking from Huo Sining to Nara Nigawa behind her, and after a moment of hesitation, he finally said, ”If you truly want it, miss, take it for this price.”

As he spoke, the owner gestured the number four with his hand.

Huo Sining secretly laughed; this trick was something the owner seemed to have picked up in her own country.

However, pretending to be puzzled and innocent, she asked, ”Forty thousand?”