Chapter Fifty-Seven: Provocation Once More

  Li Ruoxi smiled wryly and shook his head, sighing: "I really didn't expect that picking up leaks would bring such a huge gain. With an investment of 500 yuan, the profit is nearly 200,000 yuan, which is simply terrifying. However, what you said is also right. If one doesn't have real skills, wanting to pick up leaks is even less likely than winning the lottery. It seems that this line of work requires extremely high personal ability, needing decades of diligent study to master the skills. Making money by picking up leaks is as difficult as ascending to heaven!"

  She suddenly had an epiphany, and the unusual luster in her eyes reappeared. She carefully examined Wang Qi several times before asking: "You seem to be learning about antiques and artifacts from a senior in the antique world, right? How can you be certain that the inkstone you bought for 500 yuan is definitely an artifact? Is your level really good enough to use your genuine skills to pick up a bargain?"

  Wang Ke was left speechless by Li Ruoxi's question, he didn't want to tell others about his heterochromatic eyes, not even Li Ruoxi, but this question, he really didn't know how to answer.

  After hesitating for a moment, Wang Ke finally revealed a smile, and even put on an air of complacency, opening his mouth to laugh: "Do you know how geniuses are born? I am the best example. Even that senior who taught me about antiques and artifacts said that my talent is unprecedented and unmatched, so it's normal to occasionally get lucky! Do you believe it or not, within ten days or half a month, I'll be lucky again."

  Li Ruoxi was so amused by Wang Ke's expression that she couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time. She glared at him with a hint of annoyance, teasingly saying: "You're really something, I believe you only when you're possessed by a ghost."

  Wang Ke's eyes widened in surprise, and at this moment, Li Ruoxi's face was like a blooming flower, with a radiant smile that seemed to match the poem that suddenly appeared in his mind:

  "A smile from a glance, a hundred charms are born; in the six palaces, the beauties' complexions lose their color."

  He bit his tongue hard and Wang Ke finally came back to his senses from that stunning beauty, shaking his head with a bitter smile. "Li Ruoxi, do you know the meaning of 'beauty is a curse'?"

  Li Ruoxi's eyebrows slightly raised, and after her smile on her face slowly faded away, she thoughtfully asked: "What does it mean?"

  Wang Ke smiled wryly and said, "This sentence is used to describe women like you. To be honest, I thought my willpower was strong enough, but just now I couldn't help but lose my composure. I still remember a poem I learned in school that described someone like this: In the north there is a beauty, unmatched and independent, one glance can topple a city, another glance can topple a nation. You've grown into an appearance as lovely as a heavenly being, it's simply disastrous for the country."

  "Pfft, what a disaster for the country and its people! Are you praising me or mocking me?" Li Ruoxi's face flushed with a hint of redness. If someone else had said this, she would have thought they were flattering her, but coming from Wang Ke's mouth, it somehow didn't feel right.

  Wang Ke burst out laughing and looked at Li Ruoxi's angry and charming appearance, then he hurriedly changed the subject and asked: "I see you seem to have an interest in antiques and artifacts, how about it? Do you want to dabble in this area?"

  Li Ruoxi hesitated for a moment, thought silently for a while, and then nodded: "There is such an idea, you also know that I haven't even found a job now, can't just do nothing! However, studying the knowledge of antiques and legal instruments, it's probably very difficult to achieve anything in a short time."

  Wang Ke smiled and said, "Then let's wait for now! In the future, when you have nothing to do, read more books about antiques and artifacts. If there's anything you don't understand, ask me. Although I may not necessarily understand it either, I have a formidable teacher."

  A flash of excitement crossed Li Ruoxi's eyes, and she nodded immediately: "I remember, I will learn more about this aspect in the future."

  The next afternoon, Wang Ke followed Zhao 'Men' Feng to finish his studies and then bid farewell and left.

  He had lunch at a small eatery in the antique market and then headed to the stall where he bought the artifact yesterday. It hadn't been twenty-four hours since yesterday, so he believed that there should still be artifacts at the two stalls where he felt the spiritual energy yesterday.

  "Hey, brother, you're back again? What are you planning to buy today?" The vendor from yesterday smiled at Wang Ke, his enthusiasm even stronger than the day before.

  Wang Ke smiled and said, "Today should also buy some things, wait for the right moment to buy, but boss, you can't take me as a fool, the future is long, if your things are cheap, I will come often."

  The stall owner patted his chest and smiled: "Don't worry! Buying things from me is absolutely trustworthy, and since you're an old customer, the price will definitely be a bargain."

  Wang Ke smiled and nodded, his eyes scanning over the goods on the stall.

  He focused his mind and calmed his spirit. Half a minute later, he felt the spiritual energy 'fluctuations' coming from within ten meters around him. Although the density of the spiritual energy was not as high as yesterday's, this was enough to prove that there were still magical tools present at these two stalls nearby.

  Controlling the true energy to flow quickly into his eyes, Wang Ke used his heterochromatic eyes and rapidly swept them over the objects he hadn't seen yesterday.

  On the rusty copper bell, a white gas stream slowly flowed, and after Wang Ke's gaze fell on it for two seconds, the white gas stopped flowing. It seemed to want to break free from the copper bell's restraint and rush towards his eyes.

  Wang Ke's heart was filled with joy, and he quickly cut off the true energy flowing into his eyes.

  He walked a few steps towards the next stall, and Wang Ke stretched out his hand to grab the antique next to the copper bell. For people like him who were good at finding treasures, it was best not to directly pick them up, otherwise the boss would see that he liked it and the price would definitely increase a lot.

  Whoosh...

  A large hand swiftly grabbed the antique next to the copper bell that Wang Ke was just about to pick up.

  Xu Jingkai's face wore a cold smile as he grasped the antique in his hand, turned around and gave Wang Ke a provocative glance before turning to the stall owner and calling out: "Boss, I've taken a liking to this thing. Name your price!"

  The stall owner looked at Wang Ke and Xu Jingkai with a strange gaze, and just now Xu Jingkai's provocative eyes towards Wang Ke made him catch it keenly, and suddenly his heart showed a hint of excitement.

  He hesitated intentionally, looked at Wang Ke, and then smiled bitterly: "This..."

  Xu Jingkai's face showed a hint of impatience, and he said loudly: "Boss, just give me a quote quickly, my family is also doing business in this antique market, we are fellow practitioners, as long as you don't cheat me, it's fine."

  Wang Ke, standing beside Xu Jingkai, had a look of annoyance on his face. He secretly felt fortunate that the bronze bell he was about to pick up wasn't the one Xu Jingkai had just snatched away.

  He even had some regrets in his heart, regretting that yesterday he only dislocated Xu Jingkai's two wrists. If he had known that this 'bastard' would still dare to provoke him, then he should have crushed and fractured both of his wrists.

  In the antique circle, there is an unwritten rule that whoever gets their hands on an antique or a ritual object first, others are not allowed to immediately fight for it, unless the other party cannot afford it, and then they can bid to buy it.

  Moreover, when the other party is "crossing", one cannot intervene with words, otherwise it would be considered impolite and provocative.

  Fuming Wang Ke glared at Xu Jingkai with icy eyes, looking at his arrogant appearance, really wanting to beat him up badly.

  Taking a deep breath, Wang Ke suppressed the anger in his heart. The antique in this guy's hand was originally something he wanted to hold and examine himself, but instead, it was snatched away without warning, which was also a provocation.

  So, he thought it was unnecessary to be polite, since the other party had taken the initiative to provoke him, he must also make a counterattack. His tightly clenched fist slowly relaxed, and he thought of a better way than beating up this "bastard".

  "Boss, you also saw what just happened. That antique was originally spotted by me and I was about to pick it up and buy it, but he suddenly popped out and provoked me. This doesn't follow the rules! I finally found a good treasure with great difficulty, and using my knowledge, I knew this was a rare piece. You can't pretend you didn't see anything."

  Wang Ke's face was filled with anger as he shouted, although he was speaking to the stall owner, his eyes couldn't hide the fervor, staring fixedly at the antique being held in Xu Jingkai's hand.

  Legal instrument?

  The stall owner was taken aback for a moment, and suddenly his face showed extreme joy. Just now he was considering whether to take advantage of the conflict between the two men to raise the price of that antique, but it turned out that the antique was actually a treasure. This... could this be heaven's gift to him?

  The vendor nodded without hesitation and called out, "That's right, this thing was indeed the one you first liked. This is a very good magical instrument, and I only have this one in my stall!"

  Xu Jingkai was stunned. He hadn't expected that what he held in his hand was actually a magical artifact. Could it be true what this guy Wang Ke said?

  He gripped the antique tightly in his hand, turned to look at Wang Ke's face full of anger and urgency, quickly calmed down, and felt if there was any movement of spiritual energy around him.

  He is now a Qi Master and can naturally feel the existence of the law instrument around him, with spiritual energy 'fluctuations'.

  If Wang Ke is telling the truth, what he's holding in his hand is a magical artifact. Through the method of sensing the aura, he should be able to perceive the fluctuations in the spiritual energy around him. If he's lying, then what he's holding doesn't feel like a magical artifact.

  The stall owner who didn't care about the 'exposure' of his face also stopped looking at Wang Ke's anxious face, and he seriously felt it.

  For nearly a minute, Xu Jingkai's face showed surprise because he sensed the presence of spiritual energy fluctuations around him through his observation method, which meant that there was a high possibility of the existence of a magical artifact near him.

  What is in your hand?

  His eyes widened a lot, and his gaze also showed an unbelievable light.

  He wanted to grab what Wang Ke had set his sights on, not in order to pick up cheap bargains and get rich, but rather to deliberately provoke Wang Ke.

  What happened yesterday is still vivid in his mind. First, he was slapped in the face by him, and then he was beaten up, even his own wrist joints were dislocated by him. If it wasn't for his father knowing an old Chinese doctor with exceptional medical skills to help him fix his dislocated wrists, he would probably still be rolling around on the ground screaming now!

  He knew Wang Ke was ruthless, but his own actions were provocative yet indirect, so he firmly believed that Wang Ke wouldn't dare to lay a hand on him again. If he did, the people he had arranged would immediately call the police, and within three to five minutes, Wang Ke would be taken away in a police car.

  Unexpected gain, this is purely an unexpected gain!

  Xu Jingkai looked up at the stall owner and said in a deep voice, "Boss, you're not right about this. I also know it's a ritual object because I've been observing it for some time and have taken a liking to it. In our antique and ritual object circles, isn't there a rule? Whoever gets their hands on it first has the qualification to discuss prices with you. Now that it's in my hands, I think you should understand. Just name a price, if I think it's worth it, I'll buy it; if not, you can discuss it with someone else."