If I sold this Jade Toad to Leo, I might get the money but not live to spend it. Hastily, I said, “Not selling, not selling. No matter how much he offers, I won’t sell. I only recognize Mr. Rios. Five hundred thousand, deal!”
Mr. Rios smiled, gave Leo a somewhat challenging look, then pulled out a gold card and handed it to Branson. “Can you swipe this?”
“Yes, yes,” Branson quickly took the card with a beaming smile and swiped it.
Leo was furious but helpless. After all, the item belonged to Branson, and he could sell it to whoever he wanted.
“Mr. Rios, how do you plan to take these things?” Branson pointed to the paintings and junk in the tricycle.
“Forget it, those things are just junk!” Mr. Rios waved impatiently, excitedly playing with the Jade Toad in his hand.
“Oh, thank you, Mr. Rios,” Branson said with a fawning smile.
“No way, we paid for them; we can’t just leave them,” the small-eyed man frowned.
Although the junk wasn’t worth much, it could still sell for a few thousand dollars.
The small-eyed man knew that Mr. Rios would give all these things to him, so he didn’t want to miss out.
“Alright, alright, I’ll give you the tricycle and everything in it,” Branson agreed without hesitation.
At this moment, he was overjoyed. He originally intended to sell for two hundred thousand but ended up with five hundred thousand.
“The stuff in the tricycle is yours; I don’t touch such junk,” Mr. Rios grumbled.
Seeing that they were really going to take the stuff away, Leo suddenly had an idea. He slapped his forehead and pretended to realize something. “Oh, Mr. Rios, are you the famous Mr. Rios from the capital?”
“You know me?” Mr. Rios turned around in surprise.
“My apologies, Mr. Rios. Forgive my ignorance; I didn’t recognize you at first. You’re from the famous Rios family in the capital, right?” Leo said with feigned excitement.
“We’re not that big of a family, just second-rate at best,” Mr. Rios said proudly, puffing out his chest.
“Mr. Rios, you’re too modest. I’m new here and didn’t recognize you. Please accept my apologies,” Leo said respectfully.
For the treasures in the tricycle, he decided to endure this humiliation.
“Alright, remember to be more discerning in the future. Not everyone is someone you can offend,” Mr. Rios said grandly, like an emperor pardoning a subject.
“I feel bad for offending you earlier. How about this: as compensation, I’ll pay for the Jade Toad. Consider it a gift from me so we can be friends.”
“Oh? Is that okay?” Mr. Rios’s eyes lit up with excitement at the unexpected generosity.
Although fifty thousand wasn’t much to him, why refuse a freebie?
More importantly, he could brag about this to other aristocratic families later.
“It’s just a small token; I hope Mr. Rios won’t mind,” Leo said quickly.
“Mr. Rios, this guy knows his manners. Give him some face,” the small-eyed man chimed in, already thinking of Leo as a fool.
Out-of-towners are always scared easily; a few words and they’re intimidated. In fact, he and Mr. Rios hadn’t planned on doing anything to Leo.
“Alright then, I won’t refuse,” Mr. Rios smiled and nodded.
After getting Mr. Rios’s account number, Leo transferred the money directly to him.
Mr. Rios nodded in satisfaction and said with a smile, “You gave me such a valuable gift upon our first meeting; I don’t know what to give you in return.”
“No need for that, Mr. Rios,” Leo declined while glancing at the tricycle. “How about you give me something from the tricycle as a memento?”
“Take it all!” Mr. Rios waved dismissively.
“This… this isn’t appropriate…” Leo pretended to hesitate but was secretly overjoyed.
“Mr. Rios is giving it to you; just take it!” The small-eyed man pushed the tricycle toward Leo.
They had already gained a Jade Toad for free; he didn’t care about this junk anymore and felt riding such a shabby vehicle was beneath him.
“Thank you so much, Mr. Rios. I hope you’ll remember me; my name is Leo. I might need your help in the future.”
Leo was thrilled but kept a calm facade.
“Sure,” Mr. Rios handed Leo his business card.
Leo took the card and rode off on the tricycle.
“See? These out-of-towners are all cowards and fools!” Mr. Rios said proudly, holding the Jade Toad.
“Exactly, that guy looked scared out of his wits,” the small-eyed man agreed eagerly.
Leo rode back to an alley and turned into a hidden path before rummaging through the junk on the tricycle.
It wasn’t convenient to take all these things back to the hotel, so he decided to find the treasure first.
After sifting through the clutter, he found a broken sword glowing faintly green!
A sword so broken it couldn’t be more broken!
The sword was sheathed in a copper scabbard that had several holes due to age, covered in thick green patina that had almost fused with the blade.
The scabbard’s mouth was also rusted shut, sealing the sword inside. Pulling it out would likely break it entirely.
However, the hilt was still intact-heavy and smooth-suggesting it might be an early Roman bronze sword.
But rusted as it was, it had little value left.
Leo sighed, wondering if he had made a mistake.
But upon closer inspection of the sword in his hand, he saw that its green glow intensified when he gripped the hilt.
Realizing he hadn’t been wrong, Leo gripped the hilt tightly and slammed the scabbard against a wall.
With a crisp sound, the scabbard and rust shattered away, revealing a cold blade gleaming white.
Leo was overjoyed; the rust had come from the scabbard, not the blade!
He struck it against the wall again, shaking off the remaining rust and revealing a heavy blade with a sharp edge.