Chapter 47: The Strange Stone

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He still owed her a cartload of stone!

It had not taken much effort to find him. She soon located him at the Imperial Guard’s martial training grounds.

The Imperial Guard officer was clearly astonished. He had never expected the lifesaving straw he had seized at the final moment to make it through both trials.

“Where is my stone?” Zhao Erdong asked, wasting no time on pleasantries.

The officer gave two sheepish little laughs. “Miss Zhao, you’re about to become an Imperial Court treasure appraiser. How could those few worthless stones possibly catch your eye?”

Worthless stones?

Zhao Erdong narrowed her phoenix eyes slightly. The coquettish charm that had made her seem so sweet and adorable vanished in an instant, replaced by an intensely dangerous glint.

“I’ll ask you one last time. Where is the stone?”

Though still young, the Imperial Guard officer had served for several years and had witnessed his share of storms. Yet now, standing before this seemingly delicate girl, he felt a crushing pressure rush toward him, so heavy it nearly suffocated him.

He could barely breathe. Even his spine turned cold, as though a god of slaughter had descended upon the world.

“I—I threw it away.” He had no idea how he managed to speak. Somehow, the words simply came out, and with them the truth.

“Threw it away? Where? Take me there at once.”

Zhao Erdong clenched both fists, desperately restraining herself and forcing down her emotions. If she lost control, it was impossible to imagine what might happen.

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The Imperial Guard officer nodded repeatedly without another word, then turned and led Zhao Erdong out of the training grounds.

Zhao Erdong’s face was icy, her gaze sharp as a blade. If they failed to find the stone, he would have only himself to blame.

At the far western edge of the imperial palace stood a discard yard. The worthless stones rejected by the Spirit Stone Hall were all dumped there.

People from outside the palace came at regular intervals to dispose of the discarded stones.

The officer remembered that the workers from beyond the palace would be arriving within the next quarter hour. Without realizing it, he quickened his pace. The stone had to still be there. Otherwise…

He did not know exactly what he feared. He only knew that he was afraid.

The imperial palace was truly enormous. Even running at full speed, the two of them needed a full quarter hour to reach the discard yard in the Western Court.

The stone-walled yard appeared before them. Zhao Erdong immediately sprinted inside.

At the center stood a wooden cart loaded with stone. An old man stood before it, staring fixedly at the stones atop the cart.

His hand rose slowly, as though he were about to lift one of them.

“Stop—stop!”

The Imperial Guard officer rushed forward, panting heavily. The great weight in his heart finally lifted. They had made it in time.

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The old man slowly lowered his hand and raised his eyes to the Imperial Guard officer before him.

“This—this cart of stones is still useful to me. Go and deal with the others.”

As he spoke, the officer reached out and grasped both handles of the wooden cart, then pulled it before Zhao Erdong like a prized offering.

Zhao Erdong glanced casually at the old man, a probing look in her eyes. The old fellow had clearly been staring at this particular stone just moments ago—and seemed to have been studying it for quite some time.

Could he have seen something too?

Fearing further complications, she stepped forward without the slightest hesitation, lifted the stone, and turned to leave.

The old man, who had been standing quietly to one side, changed expression slightly. A sharp light emerged from his formerly cloudy eyes as he watched Zhao Erdong’s departing back, his face filled with thought.

“Miss Zhao, what should I do with the rest?”

Zhao Erdong continued on her way without turning her head. She merely tossed him a calm reply.

“Do as you see fit.”

When she returned to the Imperial Guard quarters, it was dinnertime. Everyone had gone to the dining hall, which made things convenient for Zhao Erdong.

She slipped into her room and shut the door behind her. Then she took a stone knife from her bundle and activated her Divine Eye.

Golden flames flickered within her phoenix eyes, and the interior of the stone became completely visible.

No dazzling radiance shone from within. It should not be a Primordial Spirit Crystal.

Then what was it?

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