"Item: Insect Egg!"
"Item Status: Unhatched!"
"Item Description: An insect egg that has a chance to be cultivated into a Gu worm, with a fifty percent chance of hatching!"
The description of the insect egg appeared in Zhang Tian's mind.
Zhang Tian now saw the stall owner with a different perspective.
"This guy, is he truly from the Miao region?"
A question arose in his heart.
However, Zhang Tian was still uncertain.
After all, not every Miao person knew about Gu worms.
Just like with some traditional cultures, only a select few individuals possessed the knowledge.
The art of casting Gu was mostly legend in the local area, with very few practitioners.
It was somewhat surprising to Zhang Tian that this uncle had a Gu vessel.
He then looked at the surrounding items.
Most of them were old pots and pans that the Miao village had used in the past.
Some might have been broken into pieces due to the journey.
"Young Master Zhang, do you think there's anything of value here?"
Beside him, some of the bolder individuals asked in hushed tones.
"Yes, but not much," Zhang Tian replied calmly, while inwardly contemplating the Southern Cloud Insect Valley.
In the original work, the Southern Cloud Insect Valley was a place Hu Bayi visited after the Dragon Ridge Labyrinth.
His purpose was to search for the whereabouts of the Mu Chen Bead and to uncover the curse on himself.
However, to Zhang Tian's surprise, this old fellow seemed to have come to him voluntarily.
Furthermore, Zhang Tian did indeed need to search for the Mu Chen Bead.
That item would be of great use to Zhang Tian.
Originally, Zhang Tian had planned to take Zhang Qilin to see Tibet this time, to see if he could find any clues about Zhang Qilin.
But now, this matter had arisen.
"Uncle, when did you come to Beili?" Zhang Tian asked the uncle on the ground, his voice not loud.
The uncle was not foolish; judging by the attitude of the people around him towards Zhang Tian, this young man undoubtedly held a position of great importance.
He dared not be negligent.
"I came from a Miao village. It's been about three to four days. Sir, do you wish to buy anything?"
"Everything I have is absolutely genuine!"
He likely couldn't speak Mandarin.
Words Zhang Tian couldn't understand came from his mouth.
Zhang Tian was curious how this fellow had traveled from such a distant place.
"How about this, uncle, you prepare to pack up. I'll buy all these things, and would you like to join me for a cup of tea?"
Zhang Tian wanted to inquire about clues to the Tomb of the Xian King.
Moreover, the uncle's items should not be expensive, perhaps a few thousand yuan would suffice, and Zhang Tian didn't care about the money.
The uncle glanced at Zhang Tian.
He was somewhat disbelieving.
After all, he was new to the area and unfamiliar with the locals, so he didn't dare to trust anyone.
Seeing the uncle hesitate, the surrounding crowd quickly chimed in.
This was a chance to increase Zhang Tian's favor, and no one would hesitate.
"Young Master Zhang is a renowned benefactor in our area! Think about it, this is the capital, who would dare to harm you?"
"That's right, Young Master Zhang previously helped me authenticate many good items."
"Brother, it's your honor that Young Master Zhang invites you for tea!"
The surrounding people spoke up for Zhang Tian, one after another.
Zhang Tian, meanwhile, watched the uncle silently.
The uncle visibly hesitated.
He considered it for a long time.
If he refused Zhang Tian, he would surely not be able to make a living.
He had only sold a few dozen yuan this time, and he didn't even have money for travel expenses. The locals were too good at haggling, and he couldn't cope.
Now, only one path seemed to remain.
"Okay! I can go for tea with you, but you have to give me the money first."
The uncle made a money gesture with his hand, as if afraid Zhang Tian wouldn't understand.
Zhang Tian couldn't understand his dialect, but the gesture for money was universal.
"Calculate how much your things are worth, and I'll take it all."
Zhang Tian asked directly, without any delay.
The uncle looked around and finally held up five fingers.
"So greedy! He wants five hundred?"
"With all these bottles and jars, they're worth no more than a hundred yuan!"
"Even saying one hundred is generous, fifty yuan at most. These are like selling garbage, not worth anything!"
Upon hearing the figure, the surrounding people voiced their indignation on Zhang Tian's behalf.
As the surrounding voices grew louder, the uncle reluctantly lowered his count by two fingers.
Changing it to three hundred yuan.
To be honest, three hundred yuan was the salary of an ordinary person for one to two years, which was quite a lot.
Seeing this, Zhang Tian waved his hand and said, "I'll give you five hundred."
Zhang Tian then handed the uncle five hundred yuan.
The currency at the time consisted of small denominations, without large bills.
Seeing that there were indeed five hundred yuan, the uncle's heart rejoiced, and he quickly took it.
Five hundred yuan was the best outcome he could have hoped for on this trip.
After receiving the money, the uncle, without waiting for Zhang Tian to speak, immediately began packing his belongings.
Clearly, he was packing for Zhang Tian.
Zhang Tian, meanwhile, bent down and picked up the Gu vessel from the ground.
Cultivating a Gu worm required many resources, and most of those resources were found only in the Miao region.
Therefore, even if one possessed a Gu worm, raising it to maturity was almost impossible.
As for whether to raise it or not, Zhang Tian hadn't really decided.
He already had Xiao Bie, so raising another worm would be too much for him.
Holding the Gu vessel, Zhang Tian examined it once and then put it in his pocket.
Since it was already his, there was no need to pack it.
"Follow me."
Seeing the uncle finish packing, Zhang Tian said and then walked ahead.
"What a loss, Young Master Zhang is too kind-hearted, buying a pile of junk for five hundred yuan!"
"Yeah, what a shame. If it were me, I'd get this whole lot for fifty yuan."
"Five hundred yuan, that would have been enough to marry many sixteen-year-old girls in the past."
"This guy is truly lucky to have met Young Master Zhang; his ancestors must have burned a lot of incense."
The group pointed at the departing uncle, chattering.
There was some pity in their voices.
Indeed, five hundred yuan was a considerable amount for ordinary people like them.
For those from prominent families, it was a different matter.
Soon, in a private room of a teahouse.
The uncle was clearly in such a place for the first time and appeared somewhat hesitant.
"Um, why did you bring me here?" the uncle asked hesitantly.
Seeing the uncle's puzzled expression, Zhang Tian directly asked.
"The main reason I called you here is to ask where you got these things."
"And, where are you from."
Zhang Tian's voice fell.
The uncle was somewhat surprised.
He hadn't expected that Zhang Tian would buy out his stall just to ask simple questions.
"Most of these things are ancestral heirlooms, and some I found in the mountains."
"I am from a Miao village in the west. It is where I grew up. It is beautiful there, but also very dangerous. I have been here for three to four days."
The uncle poured out everything he knew in one go.
Zhang Tian was a bit dazed; he only understood half of it.
After chatting with the uncle, Zhang Tian gained some understanding of their language.
However, there was still a gap between that and fully understanding.
"Heirlooms..." Zhang Tian frowned slightly.
"Then, is this also an heirloom?" Zhang Tian suddenly took out the Gu vessel from his pocket.
Upon seeing the Gu vessel, the uncle clearly froze.
Could it be that this young man knew about this item?!