Chapter 67: The Joke in the Antique Trading Market

  Xu Jingkai, holding the mid-grade artifact that Wang Ke had secretly absorbed the spiritual energy from, hastily returned to his family's antique shop with a treasured look on his face. When he found his father accompanying two middle-aged men in suits with extraordinary demeanor, without thinking, he exclaimed with joy: "Dad, I just picked up a treasure, a mid-grade artifact! Haha... I found a mid-grade artifact and got it for 10,000 yuan!"

  As he said this, he waved the black plastic bag in his hand, looking very pleased with himself.

  Xu Shichang, the owner of this antique shop, is also Xu Jingkai's father.

  Upon hearing his son's joyful cry, Xu Shichang's expression froze for a moment before a look of wild joy spread across his face. He didn't bother to greet the two guests again and rushed to Xu Jingkai's side in big strides, grabbing the black plastic bag from his hand and asking in a deep voice: "Is what you said true? How can you prove that it contains a mid-grade artifact? Can you actually identify mid-grade artifacts now?"

  "Of course, I can be sure. Dad, do you still remember Old He from the antique market? That's the feng shui master who has reached the realm of yin and yang. Just now, he was willing to pay 200,000 yuan for this mid-grade artifact of mine, but I didn't agree. He said that this is indeed a mid-grade artifact, and at that time, many people were competing to buy it, with one person even offering 1 million yuan. My reserve price for this mid-grade artifact is at least 1.2 million yuan, so I didn't agree to sell it. Now, I've brought it back for you to take a look, and then you can decide how to handle this mid-grade artifact."

  Is it Mr. He?

  Is there still someone bidding 1 million?

  Xu Shichang immediately believed his son's words. As for He Lao, he was very familiar with him and even had a bit of a relationship with the old man, so he naturally knew He Lao's character and what he said should be true.

  Moreover, someone else offered a price of one million. If it weren't for the middle-grade artifact, who would be foolish enough to offer a price of one million?

  With excitement and satisfaction, Xu Shichang quickly opened the black plastic bag, reached in and carefully took out a mid-range French knife, holding it up for a close examination.

  Xu Jingkai stood in front of his father with a pleased smile, thinking to himself: Yesterday, he was deceived by Wang Ke and lost 150,000 yuan. At that time, his father Xu Shichang scolded him until he was speechless. Now that he had picked up a mid-grade artifact, he thought that not only would his father overlook his previous mistakes, but also praise him lavishly.

  With a big smile on his face, waiting for his father's praise, Xu Jingkai waved at the shop assistant and shouted loudly: "Hurry up and pour me a cup of tea, can't you see that I've picked up a good treasure? Just negotiated with that boss, almost dried out my saliva."

  Xu Shichang gazed at the antique in front of him, and as time passed, his originally excited and satisfied expression slowly disappeared, replaced by intense anger. The object in front of him seemed to be a ritual vessel, but based on years of experience, he knew that it was absolutely not a ritual vessel. Every time he touched a ritual vessel, after careful feeling, there would be a special feeling.

  But now, he didn't feel that special feeling.

  Turning to his son Xu Jingkai, who was beaming with pride, Xu Shichang asked in a deep voice: "Are you sure this is a magic artifact? I don't see how it's a mid-grade magic artifact. Is my eyesight the problem?"

  He was somewhat uncertain in his heart, after all, he had only come into contact with primary magical instruments before, and this was the first time he had encountered a intermediate-grade magical instrument.

  Xu Jingkai said matter-of-factly, "Of course it's a mid-grade artifact. If not, others would have bid 1 million. Moreover, He Lao has already said that this should be a mid-grade artifact. Why else would he be willing to buy this mid-grade artifact?"

  Xu Shichang fell silent, and it wasn't until after a good while that he finally spoke up: "Come with me to see Old Rong. He's a yin-yang master, so he should be able to tell whether or not this is a mid-grade artifact."

  Xu Jingkai only then discovered that his father's complexion was somewhat off, and a look of doubt suddenly appeared in his eyes.

  Is there something wrong?

  His old man has been in the antique business for so many years, can't he tell that this is a ritual object?

  He thought for a moment and then came up with a possibility that his father had never come into contact with intermediate magic instruments before, so he couldn't identify this intermediate magic instrument.

  "Dad! Don't look for excuses anymore, this is absolutely a middle-grade artifact. Don't you even trust your own son?" Xu Jingkai said with a smile and shook his head.

  Xu Shichang ignored Xu Jingkai and turned around to walk out of the house in big strides.

  Xu Jingkai was stunned, his father's distrustful expression made him extremely depressed, and he watched as he was about to walk out of the store. Xu Jingkai could only helplessly rush over in large strides, not even having time to take a sip of the tea that the shop assistants had brought over.

  Two minutes later, Xu Shichang took Xu Jingkai into the doorway of another store not far from his own family's shop.

  "Old Yao, I have an item here that was just brought back by Jing Kai from outside. Guo Wei's Old He said it's a mid-grade artifact. Please take a look! Is this really a mid-grade artifact?" Xu Shichang found the old boss of the store, Yao Lao, and directly stated his intention, handing over the mid-grade artifact that had lost its spiritual energy.

  Rong Lao, originally named Rong Fei, is a well-known feng shui master in the field of feng shui and also a prominent figure in the antique and ritual object communities. He has a high reputation in the antique trading market in Changji City.

  With a hint of curiosity in his eyes, Rong Fei took the item in hand and laughed: "I just received news that the mid-grade artifact previously discovered was dug up by a young man, and someone even offered 1 million to buy it, but the other party refused to sell. It turns out that kid is Jing Kai! Not bad, not bad, indeed a true son of a tiger."

  Xu Jingkai's mouth curled up with a smile, and at this time, there were many customers in the store. His father and Rong Fei's words were clearly heard by many people, which satisfied his vanity. Seeing all the customers gathering around the store, he was even more satisfied, and even hoped that after getting the appraisal result confirmed by Lao Rong, he could sell it at a higher price.

  "Is this really a mid-grade artifact for containing the elderly?"

  A regular customer in his 40s looked at the item in Rong Fei's hand with curiosity and asked.

  Rong Fei observed it carefully and then a look of disappointment appeared on his face. He shook his head and said, "This is not a magical artifact, just an ordinary antique."

  In an instant, the entire first floor hall of the store became as silent as death.

  "What? Impossible? This is absolutely a mid-grade artifact, could you be blind?" Xu Jingkai was stunned for a moment before suddenly exclaiming in shock.

  His eyes shone with an unbelievable light, and he simply couldn't accept this fact.

  Xu Shichang also hastily asked: "Rong Lao, did you take a closer look? Is this really not a mid-grade artifact?"

  Rong Fei's old face showed a determined expression, and he nodded and said: "This is indeed not a magic tool. Another strange thing I feel is that this magic tool has a formed Feng Shui array, but there is no spiritual energy existing inside. Unfortunately, it seems that this antique has some problems, resulting in the loss of spiritual energy inside. However, even if it's not a magic tool, its price should be around 400,000 to 500,000, which is still quite good."

  400,000-500,000?

  Xu Jingkai was like being struck by lightning, staring blankly at the object, unable to speak for a long time.

  At this moment, he suddenly thought of the last words Wang Ke said:

  "Extreme joy begets sorrow!"

  Is it really true that one's own happiness is born of sorrow?

  Xu Jingkai took a deep breath and said seriously, "Lao Rong, this matter is really too strange. You should know Lao He, shouldn't you? Could he also be mistaken? Previously, he was willing to pay 200,000 yuan to buy this thing. Otherwise, I'll go over now and invite Lao He to come over, and you can all take a look together before making a conclusion."

  Rong Fei's face showed a look of surprise, and he exclaimed: "Old He is actually willing to bid 200,000? You little brat, you're not cheating me, are you? The price of this thing, even if it's bought at the highest price, will absolutely not exceed 60,000 yuan! Ordinary people can bid 40,000 to 50,000, which is already quite good. Alright, since you said so, I'm also curious about the reason. Go and call Old He over, and let's identify it together."

  Xu Jingkai hastily left the store and twenty minutes later, he arrived with He Lao.

  "Haha…… I'm telling you, Old Rong! You don't even believe me? This kid's got a mid-grade artifact for sure, no mistake!" The laughter of He Lao, also known as He Qingfeng, echoed in before he had even entered the door.

  Rong Fei held the mid-grade artifact that had been drained of its spiritual energy by Xu Jingkai, and walked a few steps towards the door. After seeing He Qingfeng enter, he smiled wryly and said: "It's not that I don't trust you, but rather I don't trust this antique! You say it's a mid-grade artifact, but my appraisal results are different from yours. Let's put other things aside for now, use your clairvoyance to see if there are any spiritual energy fluctuations around here that should be present in a mid-grade artifact."

  He Qingfeng was stunned, walked to Rong Fei's front, concentrated his energy to feel for a while, and then his face suddenly became ugly, because he did not feel the spiritual fluctuations that should be present in a mid-grade artifact.

  Although there were indeed spiritual energy fluctuations inside the shop, these spiritual energy fluctuations were of a concentration that should be possessed by low-grade magical instruments.

  What's going on?

  I clearly felt the spiritual energy fluctuations of a mid-grade artifact just now?

  How can I suddenly feel nothing?

  That's right!

  This is the item I identified before, how did it become like this in such a short time?

  Was I out of my mind before? Or was I just dreaming before?

  He Qingfeng was stunned, staring blankly at the object, and after taking it over, he carefully observed it for a long time before revealing a bitter smile.

  "Is this a mid-grade artifact, He Lao?" Xu Jingkai asked anxiously. He Qingfeng's expression made him uneasy in his heart, and that heart also sank slowly with his changing face.

  He Qingfeng sighed with a wry smile, shaking his head and saying: "It seems I almost made a big mistake earlier. Alas, I'm getting old, my eyes are dim, and I couldn't even tell if it's a magic tool or not. It looks like I should retire too! This is indeed not a magic tool, let alone a mid-grade one."

  "How could this be?"

  Xu Jingkai's heart became abnormally cold, and his fists slowly clenched.

  At this moment, he was filled with regret in his heart. This is not a magic weapon, and its price will probably plummet terribly!

  One million was his own estimate, but now that it's confirmed, even the law doesn't work in his favor, and its value is only around 40 to 50 thousand. The gap is so huge that it makes him feel like he's bleeding.

  "Wang Ke you bastard, it's all because of your damn crow mouth, my mid-grade artifact!"

  Xu Jingkai's eyes were red with rage as he bellowed, unable to hold back even in front of his father and two other respected seniors.