Ten Thousand Years in Seclusion
Chapter 4:Master. Your appraisal is mistaken

Chapter 4: Chapter 4:Master. Your appraisal is mistaken

A ragged man pushed through the crowd, clutching a cloth bundle tightly against his chest.

He forced his way forward, stumbling several times in the process.

The moment he saw Zhou Shen, he dropped to his knees.

"Master! Please, Master, take a look!"

His voice was hoarse.

His eyes were bloodshot from exhaustion and desperation.

"This is a treasure passed down through my family!"

"It has been passed down through four generations!"

"My wife is seriously ill. I need spirit stones to buy medicine..."

"But the appraisers in the city all said it was worthless. They said it wasn’t even worth a single spirit stone!"

"I don’t believe it."

"I don’t believe it!"

"Please, Master. Please look at it one more time!"

His trembling hands opened the cloth bundle.

Inside was a small bronze bell, no larger than a person’s palm.

Its surface was dark and dull.

The bronze was covered in patches of discoloration, and its appearance was utterly unremarkable.

At a glance, it looked like nothing more than an old, rusted object forgotten in some corner.

Whispers spread through the crowd.

Most people looked at it with disdain.

Zhou Shen glanced at the man.

A trace of sympathy flashed across his eyes.

He reached out and picked up the small bell.

He weighed it in his hand.

Ran his fingers over its surface.

Then he casually shook it.

Nothing.

Not even the slightest sound.

He swept his spiritual sense through it as well—and found only silence. No fluctuation, no trace of spiritual energy.

A silent bell.

A broken-looking old object.

Zhou Shen could not find anything unusual about it.

"Appraisal..." Zhou Shen said after a moment of hesitation. "Requires a fee. Those are the rules of the profession."

He looked at the man.

"Do you have the payment?"

The man froze.

His face slowly turned red.

After a moment, he reached into his clothes and pulled out a few gold coins.

Then, ashamed, he slowly withdrew his hand.

Even a single low-grade spirit stone was beyond what he could afford.

"I... I don’t..."

His voice became smaller.

Almost to the point of breaking.

"Master... please..."

Zhou Shen sighed.

He could see the man’s desperation.

And he had no intention of making things harder for him.

"Forget it."

He gently placed the small bell back into the man’s arms.

"Your item..."

He paused.

"It is only an old bell that no longer rings."

"It’s worthless."

"Do not cling to false hope."

"Go home. Taking care of your wife is more important."

The man froze as if struck by lightning.

He held the silent bell against his chest.

Tears immediately welled up in his eyes.

The surrounding crowd also sighed and shook their heads.

Many began to leave.

If even a two-star appraiser had declared it worthless, then there was no doubt.

It truly was worthless.

Qi Tian, however, remained where he was.

He did not move.

His gaze stayed fixed on the small bell in the man’s arms.

Slowly...

his brows furrowed.

That bell.

He recognized it.

A moment ago, his spiritual sense had brushed over it too—and unlike Zhou Shen, he had felt it: that faint, deeply buried trace of soul-resonance.

He knew just how far from the truth that judgment was.

"Worthless."

The word could not have been more wrong.

Ten thousand years ago, this item would not have been considered a peerless treasure.

But it was still a genuine treasure.

A useful and valuable artifact.

And Zhou Shen...

Had failed to see it?

The man was already turning away.

He held his "worthless" family heirloom tightly, carrying with it the last bit of hope he had for saving his wife.

His expression was empty.

His steps unsteady.

Qi Tian opened his mouth.

He had no intention of getting involved.

He had only just entered this unfamiliar era.

He did not understand this world yet.

Keeping a low profile was the most important thing.

The fewer complications, the better.

But then he saw the man’s stumbling back.

He saw the crowd dispersing, each person leaving with the same conclusion—

That the bell was worthless.

In the end...

Qi Tian could not remain silent.

"Master Zhou."

His voice was not loud.

Yet it cut clearly through the surrounding noise.

The departing Zhou Shen stopped.

The man with tear-filled eyes also turned around.

Everyone looked toward him.

Qi Tian slowly spoke.

"Master. Your appraisal is mistaken."