Usually, rare treasures would appear in the brightest places, but people always had the mentality of picking up leftovers. They always thought that there would be a treasure hidden in a small shop on the street, waiting for them to find it.
I was no exception. So, when I saw this small shop and thought about what the shop owner had said, I didn't feel worried. Instead, I felt happy. I strode into the shop.
The shopkeeper of this shop was different from the owner with messy hair. He wore a Chinese tunic suit, and his hair was meticulously combed. He wore a pair of old-fashioned glasses and sat on a wooden armchair. He held a pot of tea in his hand and was listening to an opera on the radio.
Seeing me enter the shop, the forty-something year old shopkeeper stood up. It seemed he was about to come over and help me. But, seeing that I looked too young, the smile on his face disappeared. He faintly asked, "Young man, what do you want to see?"
I didn't talk nonsense with him. I directly said that I wanted to find a handwritten compass. "Do you have one here?"
Hearing my words, the shopkeeper's face turned even paler.
People who buy compasses are usually geomancers, and people's impression of geomancers is that they are old people. My image was very different from a geomancer, so it was no wonder that the shopkeeper didn't have a salty expression.
"I have a handwritten compass here, but the price isn't low. Young man, are you sure you want to buy it?"
I nodded. "As long as it's a handwritten compass, I will buy it. But, I only want the old ones."
Hearing that I wanted to buy it, the shopkeeper squeezed out a smile. "Then, you came to the right place. All the things I have here are old, and I can't find new ones."
As he said that, the shopkeeper took down two compasses from the wooden shelf behind him and placed them on the table in front of me. He then said, "There are only two handwriting compasses. The big one is six thousand, while the small one is three hundred thousand. The price is non-negotiable."
I hadn't seen it yet, but hearing the price made me take a deep breath.
Although hand-written compasses were rare now, they weren't worth such a sky-high price.
Puzzled, I lowered my head to look and couldn't lift my eyes. No wonder the shopkeeper told me to come to Mr. Jiang's shop to buy it. It turned out that there were really good things here.
Of the two compasses on the table, the larger one was just an ordinary handwritten compass. Although it could be seen that it was quite old, it was still relatively new and made of ordinary materials.
As for the small compass, it was dark yellow in color, and there were serious signs of wear and tear on its edges. Moreover, its surface gave off a feeling similar to a paste.
I knew that many people who liked to play with things like red sandalwood and nanmu needed to grind them day after day to form a paste on the wood. The older it was, the thicker it would be.
On the surface of this small compass, there was a thick layer of paste. It was obvious that the person who used it often rubbed it in their hands.
This compass must have been nourished by someone for a very long time in the past. Perhaps it was not far from the level of a magic tool.
In addition, the material of this compass was tiger bone wood, which had the highest compatibility with qi.
Tiger Bone Wood was also known as Heavy Yang Wood. Compasses made from this wood were the best compasses in the general sense.
After hearing the price and looking at the compass, I no longer had any thoughts of picking up a bargain. Shopkeeper Jiang was clearly a knowledgeable person, and his price was very reasonable. There was no room for negotiation.
I held the small compass in my hand and secretly channeled energy into it. The magnetic needles on the compass slightly trembled and began to vibrate.
I was elated. Earlier, I could only guess that this compass had been nourished by someone. Now that I had channeled energy to test it, I was certain that this compass had been in the hands of a Geomaster. Moreover, it had been nourished for more than ten years. That was why it was so sensitive to qi.
To tell the truth, the price that Shopkeeper Jiang had asked for wasn't expensive at all. A compass that was close to being a magic tool was definitely worth this price.
I placed the compass on the table. As soon as my hand left the table, I felt a slight chill in my palm.
My heart stirred and I channeled energy to my eyes. When I looked at the small compass, I saw a wisp of black and gray energy hovering above it. I could faintly see a slender shadow moving back and forth.
Originally, I wanted to open my mouth and say that I wanted to buy this compass, but after seeing this scene, I shut my mouth.
The black and gray energy on the compass was Yin energy.
When a geomancy master nourished a compass, he would often channel energy into the compass. Over time, the compass would contain a wisp of 'energy'. This was also the key to the compass's spirituality, which would eventually lead to it becoming a magic tool.
This was originally a good thing, but if the feng shui master died and buried the feng shui compass in the grave before the feng shui compass was cultivated into a magical artifact, after a period of time, under the influence of the dead person's aura, the "Qi" contained in the feng shui compass would gradually turn into Yin energy.
This situation was actually very common. The compass was the treasure that accompanied the geomancy master for the rest of his life. When the geomancy master reached the end of his life, he would ask his descendants to bury his compass with him in his grave.
In ancient times, most geomancy masters could only nourish their compasses to the point where they could contain a wisp of energy. It was very rare to see them turn into a magic tool.
That way, if these compasses were unearthed, they would become Evil Holding Compasses. If their descendants wanted to use them again, they would have to dissolve the Yin energy first before they could gather energy again.
Gathering energy was an extremely long process. Who would be willing to waste their time to consume the Yin energy?
That was why these Evil Holding Compasses were called Useless Compasses.
When I found out that it was a useless compass, my enthusiasm was immediately extinguished. But then, I saw a slender shadow moving inside the black and gray energy.
The Yin energy was inanimate, so it couldn't move. If I wasn't wrong, the thing that was moving was a snake spirit.
Qi was the Innate Qi, the essence of Heaven and Earth. Whether it was to humans or other creatures, it was a strong temptation. When this compass was hidden underground, there happened to be a snake spirit that had cultivated intelligence nearby. Coincidentally, it had died.
Humans were creatures created by the heavens and earth. They were born with three souls, while other creatures lived in chaos. Very few of them could develop intelligence. Even if they did, they would suffer endless punishment from the heavens, and it was very difficult for them to live for a long time.
The Snake Spirit had probably been punished by the heavens. Just as it was about to die, the Snake Spirit escaped into the compass. It relied on that sliver of Qi to avoid the heavens' punishment and formed something similar to the spirit of an Arcane Artifact within the compass.
This situation was very rare. From a certain point of view, this compass could be considered a magical tool. However, it didn't have the function of a magical tool. Moreover, with the snake spirit residing in it, it would be more troublesome to eliminate the Yin energy.
However, the good thing was that once the Yin energy was eliminated and the snake spirit was preserved, this compass would be no different from a real magical tool.
After understanding this, I smiled at Mr. Jiang and asked, "Shopkeeper, your compass is an old item, but it has an earthy smell. I'm afraid it's something underground, right?"
Mr. Jiang's face changed when he heard me. However, he quickly recovered and smiled. "It doesn't matter if it's something underground or not.
If you want it, you have to pay the bill. If you don't want it, I'll put it away. We're doing business here. It's best if we don't talk about other things. "
If this compass was underground, it meant that Mr. Jiang's identity wasn't something that people could easily see.
At this moment, I understood. No wonder the old man had recommended me to this shop. It was likely that they were in cahoots. They purposely opened this remote shop to sell things that couldn't be seen in public.
I smiled and said, "Mr. Jiang, you misunderstood me. I didn't mean anything else. It's just that this compass isn't the same as other items. Mr. Jiang, you're a knowledgeable person. Don't you know that once this compass is stained with death energy, it's just a useless compass?"
Mr. Jiang regained his composure at this moment. He smiled and said, "It seems I was wrong. Little brother, you're young, but your knowledge isn't ordinary. Even if we can't do business, we can still be kind. It's my fault this time. Although that compass isn't a good item, it's still worth some money. Little brother, if you like it, you can take it."
I didn't expect that Mr. Jiang would be so generous.
I shook my head and said, "It's hard to say if I like it or not, but I don't have any use for it. However, I do like this little compass. I want to take it away and study it. Mr. Jiang, please give me a new price."
This time, Shopkeeper Jiang didn't dare to give me a new price. After thinking for a while, he gave me a price of one hundred thousand.
I didn't haggle and took the compass with me.
Before I left, Mr. Jiang suddenly asked for my contact number. He told me that if he found a good compass, he could contact me.
I didn't mind it and gave him my number.