Wufu had entrusted Shopkeeper Lin countless times to keep a watchful eye on her workshop. Despite taking a day off, trouble still ensued: the piece she had been working on, nearly half-completed, almost got destroyed.
Surveying the chaos within the room, Wufu stood there, her face as dark as ink, a cold aura whistling sharply around her.
Shopkeeper Lin, standing by her side, felt a hint of shock, not for any other reason but because of Wufu’s imposing aura.
He knew she had some skills, and was only aware of her talent in jade ware. In her usual demeanor, she didn’t seem much different from an ordinary girl.
But now, merely standing there silently, her icy presence was unsettling to the core.
This was a young girl, still a maiden, how could she instill such a bone-chilling fear in someone?
Shopkeeper Lin dared not dwell on it too deeply, swallowed his saliva, and cautiously said, "Miss, rest assured, fortunately, it was discovered in time. Zhu Zijun managed to protect the Chicken Blood Stone, it wasn’t smashed or chipped at all."
Wufu sharply turned to look at him.
Shopkeeper Lin’s pupils contracted, his opened mouth clamped shut. The words he intended to say were swallowed back down.
Wufu snorted coldly, walked up to the table, picked up the Chicken Blood Stone, and inspected it carefully, not missing a single detail.
It was indeed as Shopkeeper Lin had said, the stone bore no signs of damage; it looked just as it had the day before yesterday.
Wufu breathed a sigh of relief, but her voice remained frosty, "Shopkeeper Lin, we were lucky this time. But what about next time? Once the jade is damaged, it’s not only your establishment’s reputation that’s ruined but mine as well, along with all the hard work I’ve put into it. An apology won’t solve the problem!"
When she arrived earlier that morning, she heard there had been an incident; someone had broken into the room and almost destroyed the jade she was sculpting. Her heart had turned cold.
This was the first order she had taken on. Due to the need for design and repairs, she had invested a lot of effort into it.
Others only saw her buried in her workshop day in and day out, but back at home, she was constantly refining the perfect design in her mind; her investment in it was significant indeed.
And yet, there were those who wanted to destroy her hard work. Wasn’t this a challenge to her authority?
"The fellow has been tied up, and I will definitely give you an explanation," Shopkeeper Lin spoke, somehow feeling as if he were facing his own master when confronted with Wufu at this moment.
He was also quite infuriated because everything Wufu said was true. If the Chicken Blood Stone were destroyed, it would mean repeating a mistake. They had already blundered once with Merchant Liu, and another mistake would leave them with no chance to recover.
Thus, when Shopkeeper Lin received the news, he was also terrified. It was fortunate that it had been a false alarm, but even so, his anger made his whiskers quiver.
"Why would he do such a thing?" Wufu asked.
The incident was caused by a worker named Chang Gui, who somehow sneaked into the room with the intent to destroy the stone.
Fortunately, Zhu Zijun had returned to retrieve something and noticed him sneaking around. Following behind, he luckily saved the stone and kept it from harm.
"Lost his senses, gambled away too much at the gambling den, had a couple of drinks, and started fussing around," Shopkeeper Lin said, his voice hard with restraint.
Wufu scoffed at this, "You believe such nonsense?"
Shopkeeper Lin shook his head, "Of course not. We’ll definitely get to the bottom of it."
"No need to investigate. It’s obvious they were targeting me. If it were destroyed, you would suffer, and so would I, as I am the chief craftsman who handled it." Wufu caressed the Chicken Blood Stone in her hand and continued coldly, "I am a thorn in someone’s side, and naturally, they don’t wish me well."