The First Summoner - Chapter 22

Shen Yan picked up the dagger recommended by the shopkeeper.

Its hilt was black, and the weapon carried some weight. The blade was razor-sharp, radiating the cold menace of forged steel.

The shopkeeper smiled. “Is Second Young Miss satisfied?”

Shen Yan did not answer.

She swept the dagger through the air several times. Every stroke seemed to carry a whisper of cutting wind.

The shopkeeper hurriedly took a step back.

Surprise entered his gaze. Those few movements made it obvious that Shen Yan knew how to wield a blade. Her technique was clean, precise, and free of wasted motion.

Strange.

Had Second Young Miss Shen not regained her senses only recently?

Even Hongri and Yinyue stared in shock. Questions filled their eyes, but neither dared ask.

Shen Yan was not satisfied.

She set the dagger down. “Shopkeeper, do you have anything better? Something finer and more compact.”

He asked tentatively, “What does Second Young Miss intend to use it for?”

“I have my uses.”

The implication was clear.

Do not pry.

Shen Yan added, “It needs to be compact. I have no requirements regarding appearance. I care about function, not beauty.”

The shopkeeper laughed awkwardly, as though she had seen straight through him.

So Second Young Miss Shen had recognized that the dagger was not especially practical.

It seemed she truly understood weapons.

“Since Second Young Miss has such exacting standards, please come into the inner showroom.”

He raised a hand in invitation.

Shen Yan nodded. “Lead the way.”

The inner room displayed weapons of every shape and style.

One dagger immediately caught her eye.

It was crimson from hilt to blade, as though it had been steeped in blood. A fierce, baleful aura poured from it.

Shen Yan was about to step closer when the shopkeeper urgently stopped her.

“Second Young Miss, the Crimson Flame Dagger carries a baleful aura. You have no spiritual power to protect you. If you touch it, it may turn on you.”

“It’s fine. I want to test the grip. If it wounds me, that is my responsibility. I won’t implicate you.”

Hongri and Yinyue frowned with worry.

“Miss, why don’t we test it for you?”

“No.”

Shen Yan shook her head.

The shopkeeper knew how dangerous the Crimson Flame Dagger was. He did not dare let her try it.

He was about to recommend another weapon when his pupils suddenly contracted.

The Crimson Flame Dagger was already in Shen Yan’s hand.

His breath caught. His heart seemed to tremble as he stared at her, terrified that something would happen to her inside his shop.

One second.

Two.

Three…

Ten seconds passed.

The Crimson Flame Dagger lay obediently in Shen Yan’s palm.

Nothing happened.

The shopkeeper stared in confusion.

How was this possible?

“I’ll take this dagger. How much?”

Still dazed, he asked hesitantly, “Second Young Miss, do you feel any discomfort?”

“None. Perhaps the dagger and I share an affinity.”

An affinity?

Even His Highness the Crown Prince had failed to tame the Crimson Flame Dagger. Yet Second Young Miss Shen, whose body contained no spiritual power whatsoever, had subdued it through mere affinity?

The shopkeeper found the idea absurd.

The evidence, however, was resting in her hand.

“Are you certain you wish to buy it?” he asked again, still uneasy.

“Certain.”

The shopkeeper sighed. “The Crimson Flame Dagger costs one hundred taels of gold.”

Hongri and Yinyue’s expressions changed at once.

Hongri puffed out her cheeks and planted her hands on her hips. “Shopkeeper, it’s only a dagger! How can it cost one hundred taels of gold? You aren’t trying to cheat our Second Young Miss, are you? If our Young Master finds out—”

“Hongri.”

Shen Yan cut her off.

Looking at the shopkeeper’s faintly displeased expression, she said evenly, “I understand the Crimson Flame Dagger’s value.”

His expression eased.

Shen Yan frowned. “But the price is indeed high for me. Could you lower it?”

The shopkeeper was silent for a moment.

“Very well. The Crimson Flame Dagger has sat here for years without finding an owner. Since Second Young Miss shares such an affinity with it, I can reduce the price to ninety-five taels of gold.”

Five taels of gold had been removed at once.

For an ordinary household, five taels could cover two years of living expenses.

Even so, Hongri and Yinyue still found the price outrageous.

They could tell that the dagger was no ordinary weapon, but it was far too expensive!

Shen Yan inclined her head. “Thank you.”

She took a storage ring from inside her clothes and beckoned Yinyue over.

“Withdraw ninety-five taels of gold for me.”

Yinyue accepted the order respectfully.

The instant her spiritual sense entered the storage ring, the glittering mountain of gold nearly blinded her.

Shock swept across her face.

It took all her composure not to react.

Miss had so much gold!

There had to be close to one hundred thousand taels!

Yinyue steadied her breathing.

To the shopkeeper, her expression looked like distress over how little money Shen Yan possessed.

Guilt stirred in his heart.

If he had known, he would have reduced the price further.

After all, he had heard how the Shen family had excluded Second Young Miss in the past.

“How about this?” he offered. “Ninety taels will be enough.”

Shen Yan’s expression shifted slightly.

She thanked him with genuine courtesy. “Thank you, Shopkeeper.”

Yinyue fell speechless.

She quickly withdrew ninety taels of gold and passed them to the shopkeeper. Then, with trembling hands, she returned the storage ring to Shen Yan.

Miss hid her depths far too well!

Who would have imagined she was this wealthy?

Yinyue’s changing expression made Hongri assume she was heartbroken over the cost.

Shen Yan accepted the Crimson Flame Dagger and slipped the compact weapon directly into her wide sleeve.

“Let’s go.”

“Take care, Second Young Miss. Please visit again.”

Once Shen Yan returned to the carriage, she drew the Crimson Flame Dagger and examined it several more times.

Every trace of its baleful aura was suppressed beneath her own.

When it came to baleful aura, she was no weaker than the dagger.

She had slaughtered countless zombies during the apocalypse. Her hands had also been stained with the blood of traitors.

She was an orphan born into the end of the world.

To survive and grow strong, she had climbed over corpse after corpse until she stood at the very peak.

She knew better than anyone that she could rely on no one.

If she wanted to live, she had to depend on herself.

That remained true now.

Shen Yan’s gaze turned indifferent. She put away the Crimson Flame Dagger and instructed the driver, “Take us to the outskirts of Lingyan Forest.”

Hongri’s face changed. “Lingyan Forest? Miss, the forest has been sealed. The security is extremely tight. No one can enter.”

“I only want to look from a distance. I won’t go inside.”

“But…” Yinyue tried to object.

Shen Yan softened her tone. “Just one look.”

Hongri and Yinyue immediately softened.

Reason told them they could not allow it, but they could not bring themselves to refuse her.

“All right,” Hongri conceded. “But only from a distance.”