Great Zhou Country, Shengyun County.
Inside the Shen Family Pawnshop.
Shen Bai reclined in a chair, cradling a painting.
Beside him, Zhang Chaofeng, a man past fifty, tallied the day's accounts as he spoke to Shen Bai.
"Shopkeeper, ever since that penniless scholar pawned this painting, you haven't taken your eyes off it. I don't see what's so special about it. It just looks a little old."
The painting depicted a court lady dancing with a sword, the image so vivid it seemed to leap from the paper.
Shen Bai picked up a nearby teacup, took a sip, and said, "Men of culture naturally appreciate art and compose poetry."
Zhang Chaofeng closed the account book and set it on the counter. "You're no man of culture. If you ask me, this painting isn't worth one tael of silver. You paid far too much."
Shen Bai shook his head. "The scholar was on his way to the imperial exams; I was just giving him a hand. The accounts are settled for today. You can head home, Old Zhang."
Zhang Chaofeng gave a resigned smile, then suddenly remembered something. "Shopkeeper, you shouldn't go out at night these days. I heard that after Master Qian of the Qian Family passed away a few days ago, people have been seeing Elder Qian wandering around his kitchen for some reason. It's awfully creepy."
Shen Bai waved his hand dismissively. "I know."
Zhang Chaofeng tucked his hands into his sleeves, cast another glance at the painting, and shook his head in disappointment. Without another word, he turned and left.
But as he left, a doubt surfaced in Zhang Chaofeng's mind.
'The Shopkeeper has never misjudged an item's value. Why the sudden act of charity?'
...
Once Zhang Chaofeng had left the pawnshop, Shen Bai set his tea down, his gaze falling back upon the painting.
A line of smoky text appeared before his eyes, its form constantly shifting.
...
[Lady Sword Dance Painting]
[Appraisal Progress: 98%]
[A wisp of Evil Qi can expedite the appraisal]
It had been over three months since he'd transmigrated here. Shen Bai had possessed a Golden Finger this whole time, but it had remained completely dormant.
Then, a little over a month ago, after acquiring the Lady Sword Dance Painting from a penniless scholar, he suddenly discovered his appraisal ability had activated.
Shen Bai had accepted the painting and spent an entire month staring at it, finally managing to get the progress bar to 98%.
As Shen Bai understood it, there were two ways to complete the appraisal. One was to just look at it, slowly grinding out the progress bar.
The other was to use Evil Qi to accelerate the process.
As for what Evil Qi was, Shen Bai had no idea.
Before his eyes, the percentage was still rising, albeit slowly.
Shen Bai yawned, rubbed his strained eyes, and kept watching.
Time ticked by. In the blink of an eye, an hour had passed.
Under Shen Bai's expectant gaze, the progress bar finally filled to completion.
"BANG!"
The smoky text suddenly shattered, only to re-form in the air, coalescing into new words.
[Appraisal Complete. Divine Power Acquired: Sword Dance Technique]
'Divine Power?'
'Sword Dance Technique?'
'What in the world is that?'
Shen Bai didn't understand, but that didn't stop him from examining the text that followed.
[Sword Dance Technique Level 1 (Swordsmanship +1): 1/100]
As the new text appeared, a flood of Information surged into Shen Bai's mind.
Shen Bai closed his eyes. In his mind's eye, he could see a court lady dancing with a sword, each strike faster than the one before.
At first, her Swordsmanship was soft and graceful, but it soon transformed, becoming fierce and powerful. Every strike carried a chilling, murderous intent.
When Shen Bai opened his eyes, a searing current of energy had appeared in his Dantian, and he had completely mastered the Sword Dance Technique.
'This Swordsmanship seems incredibly powerful... and those numbers, they're just like the Skill Level from the games I played in my past life.'
Shen Bai pondered this for a moment, then stood up and began to search the room.
If it worked like a Skill Level, he figured he should test it.
As the owner of a pawnshop, he had plenty of strange odds and ends in his collection.
Before long, Shen Bai pulled a longsword covered in rust from a wooden chest.
It was a forfeit pawn, meaning it could never be redeemed. Shen Bai vaguely recalled it had been pawned by someone from the Jianghu, for probably about three cents.
Gripping the rusty longsword, Shen Bai began to practice the forms of the Sword Dance Technique.
Within the spacious shop, Shen Bai's movements were graceful, each sword strike filled with a magnificent beauty.
As Shen Bai practiced, the smoky haze reappeared before his eyes, once again coalescing into text.
[Sword Dance Technique +1]
'One point for a single swing? This doesn't seem too hard. And that 'Level 1'... could that be the Level of this Divine Power?'
'And the Swordsmanship Attribute must be improvable, too.'
Shen Bai continued to practice, mulling it over in his mind.
Each swing increased his Skill Level by one point. As his Skill Level grew, so did his understanding of the Sword Dance Technique.
After about a hundred swings, the Skill Level display before his eyes changed.
[Sword Dance Technique Level 2 (Swordsmanship +2, Anti-Demon +2): 1/1000]
When his Sword Dance Technique reached Level 2, another flood of Information poured into Shen Bai's mind.
This time, his comprehension of the Sword Dance Technique underwent a fundamental change.
'So that's it. After reaching Level 2, my Swordsmanship improved, and I gained an Anti-Demon Attribute.'
Shen Bai felt the searing current in his Dantian grow a little stronger.
When Shen Bai began practicing again, the Rusted Longsword was now wreathed in an awe-inspiring, righteous aura.
Anti-Demon. It meant the technique was uniquely effective against things with an uncanny or paranormal attribute.
This was all part of the Information he had just acquired. It felt like a lot to process.
"'Things with a paranormal attribute... what's that supposed to mean?' Shen Bai wondered, gripping the Longsword.
In the three months he'd been here, Shen Bai had never encountered anything strange.
If it weren't for this Golden Finger, he would have already started looking for a wife to settle down with.
This sudden new piece of Information left Shen Bai completely baffled.
But it wasn't a major issue.
Shen Bai rubbed his chin and decided to keep grinding.
A thousand points of Skill Level was just a thousand more swings. It wouldn't take long.
With that in mind, Shen Bai prepared to continue grinding his Sword Dance Technique.
But just at that moment, a voice suddenly called out from outside the door.
Shen Bai turned his head slightly and tucked the rusty sword at his side.
An old man appeared at the door. He wore a Daoist Robe and had long hair and a white beard, giving him the ethereal bearing of an immortal.
"Shopkeeper, I've come to redeem something."
The old Daoist walked in, holding a pawn ticket.
Shen Bai returned to the counter, set the rusty Longsword aside, and took the pawn ticket. He frowned. "A Peach Wood Sword?"
The old Daoist nodded. "Shopkeeper, a few days ago, a mischievous disciple from my temple gambled away his money in town and pawned this sword. I've come today to retrieve it."
He placed a bag of silver coins on the counter.
This was a 'live pawn,' another of the pawnshop's rules. The item could be redeemed within a certain time limit; if the deadline passed, it became the property of the pawnshop.
The pawnshop recognized the ticket, not the person holding it.
Shen Bai wasn't one to make things difficult. After counting the silver coins and confirming the amount was correct, he retrieved a worn-out Peach Wood Sword and placed it on the counter.
The old Daoist took it and looked it over, then tucked the Peach Wood Sword into his belt, letting out a visible sigh of relief.
Just as he was about to leave, the old Daoist seemed to remember something and turned back to ask.
"Shopkeeper, would you happen to know where the Qian Family residence is located?"