Chapter 42: Mistake?

Shopkeeper Lin was so shocked that he became speechless.

He initially brought Ou Yangming to the second floor with the intention to see him make a fool out of himself. After all, the fact that Ou Yangming was called a master at this age but was disdainful when he looked at the items on the first floor earlier made him very unconvincing.

However, Shopkeeper Lin dared not belittle him anymore.

He was appalled when Ou Yangming listed the equipment’s equivalent ranks casually. If he was not certain that Ou Yangming had never seen the equipment before, he would actually think that the young fellow actually worked there and managed the equipment in the store.

Ou Yangming became more interested the more he assessed the equipment. As he identified the attributes of the pieces of equipment through his Military Fire, he was also observing the slight differences between them.

The pieces of equipment were not smithed by Old Craftsman or another Military Fire Blacksmith in the military camp. It was obvious that they were made by someone famous.

Normal people could not learn anything from them, but like a connoisseur who recognized the artistry, Ou Yangming noticed the mystery in them and was sometimes enlightened.

Needless to say, he did not gain a lot as he only had a short time.

“High Grade Rank Two,” Ou Yangming mentioned after looking at another armor. When he looked closely again, he noticed that a lot of effort was put into the smithing process because the details were managed much better than how he usually did. Additionally, its durability exceeded the limit of High Grade Rank Two as it was at least at the peak, which was 15 points.

Shopkeeper Lin’s eyes glowed, and he suddenly uttered, “Master Ou, take a closer look at it.”

“Yes, it’s a High Grade Rank Two.” Ou Yangming was stunned, so he quickly used his Military Fire again. After a short pause, he added, “It’s a White Slate Equipment, not an Attribute Equipment.”

Shopkeeper Lin thought to himself, ‘You don’t say. Why would I hang it up if it’s an Attribute Equipment?’

“Master Ou, you might’ve made a mistake. This equipment is High Grade Rank Three.” He chuckled and sighed a breath of relief to himself because Master Ou finally made a mistake. If Ou Yangming did not make an error at all, it would be quite hair-raising.

Ou Yangming looked at the shopkeeper strangely. After checking with his Military Fire for the third time, he mentioned firmly, “It’s impossible, this is a High Grade Rank Two!”

Shopkeeper Lin hesitated. “Master Ou, the pieces of equipment here were sent from the prefecture, and were appraised by a special appraiser, so they’re definitely right.”

Ou Yangming was a young and spirited man, thus he was furious when he heard the shopkeeper criticizing that he was inferior to an appraiser from the prefecture. “Shopkeeper Lin, I didn’t lie, this is indeed a High Grade Rank Two.”

Shopkeeper Lin laughed but was suddenly indecisive due to Ou Yangming’s resolute attitude.

This was because Ou Yangming’s performance earlier really gave him a deep impression. The ability to appraise an item so casually was only possible for old tributaries at the capital, such that even the chief appraiser from the prefecture could not do it so easily.

“Master Ou, our shop received a batch of products two days ago, and an appraiser from the prefecture escorted it.” Shopkeeper Lin then suggested carefully, “May I invite him over to take a look at it?”

“Okay. Once he takes a look at it, you’ll understand,” Ou Yangming replied without hesitation as he was extremely confident about his Military Fire’s judgment.

With that, Shopkeeper Lin gave an instruction to his staff, and a middle-aged man was brought to the second floor before long.

“Shopkeeper Lin, which equipment were you talking about?” The middle-aged man asked with a serious look on his face. Although he noticed Ou Yangming, he was not bothered about him at all.

“Master Zheng, it’s this one.” Shopkeeper Lin immediately pointed at the armor.

“Shopkeeper Lin, this armor was evaluated to be High Grade Rank Three, there shouldn’t be any problem,” Master Cheng said with a frown after he touched and knocked the armor for a while. After a short pause, he asked, “Who said that the appraisal is wrong?”

“Master Zheng, it’s Master Ou who said it,” Shopkeeper Lin looked at Ou Yangming strangely when he answered.

“Master Ou?” Master Zhang was stunned. He cast an odd look at Ou Yangming.

Who was Master Zhang? He was an official appraiser who became an apprentice when he was around Ou Yangming’s age, where he helped handle different pieces of equipment under the old master in the shop. Due to his diligence and outstanding talent, he was noticed by the tributaries and was officially taught the appraisal technique. It was after he accumulated plenty of experience from working hard for more than a decade that he advanced to his current position.

On the other hand, who was the so-called Master Ou? He was just a fifteen to sixteen-year-old teen.

How could someone like him lie about being able to appraise equipment?

Master Zhang laughed. “Shopkeeper Lin, come on, don’t be so gullible, okay? You asked me to come because of this? Don’t you know that I’m very busy?”

Ou Yangming furrowed his eyebrows a little. Even if he was dumb, he could tell that Master Zheng was looking down at him.

He scoffed and expressed seriously, “Master Zheng, I’m sure that this armor is High Grade Rank Two. Although a lot of effort was put into the smithing process, and its durability is much better than other armors of the same grade as the details were perfected, it’s definitely a Rank Two!”

Master Zheng was stunned and