Chapter 19

Translator: Zayn_

“There are less than ten spiritual artifacts in all the branches of Jingxin Hall in the country?”

Su Xiaofan and Zheng Dagang were stunned when they heard Jing Shizhen’s words.

These words were really beyond their expectations, especially to Zheng Dagang. According to his thinking, Jingxin Hall was one of the top antique chains in the domestic antique industry. It could easily take out 800 magic artifacts.

“That’s why I said you guys don’t know anything. You two, come in with me.”

Jing Shizhen stood up and walked into the inner hall, saying, “Old Yuan, the inner hall doesn’t have any guests today. If there’s anything, you can wait outside.”

“Yes, brother Jing. Don’t worry, I’ll be outside.” Old Yuan agreed.

“This is the place where I entertain my guests.”

Walking into the inner hall, it was also a space similar to a living room. The most conspicuous thing was still the tea table.

Su Xiaofan’s eyesight was good, and he could tell that it was a tea table made of dark gold phoebe wood because at first glance, the tea table looked black, but from another angle, under the light, the tea table appeared to be a touch of gold. He focused his attention and observed it, and indeed, the image of [ goldsilk phoebe wood, irreparable ] appeared in his mind!

“This object was collected from Yunnan province in the early years,” Jing Shizhen said. “At that time, the material was not regular, so we used it as a tea table. It’s not easy to find such a big piece now.”

Seeing Su Xiaofan staring at the tea table, Jing Shizhen explained the origin of the tea table, which left Su Xiaofan speechless. He knew the price of the goldsilk phoebe. An ordinary bracelet made of goldsilk wood cost thousands, and the goldsilk phoebe cost at least ten thousand Yuan. Such a large tea table would cost at least ten million if it was sold.

“Uncle Jing, there aren’t many antiques in your shop.”

Su Xiaofan asked what he had wanted to ask for a long time. Although it was an antique shop, there were only a few items on display. Su Xiaofan had just taken a look and saw that eight out of ten of the items on display in the outer hall were modern crafts. The remaining two were not old either, both from the late Qing Dynasty.

“The good stuff is all in the bank’s safe.”

Su Xiaofan was Zheng Dagang’s friend, so Jing Shizhen didn’t treat him as an outsider. He had a good impression of Su Xiaofan. This young man didn’t talk much and knew when to advance or retreat, so he spoke to Su Xiaofan very casually.

“We have a safe in every city’s bank. Most valuable items are stored there.”

Jing Shizhen laughed, “What a coincidence. There’s a customer who wants to see the real thing tomorrow. I’ve just brought these two magical artifacts back, and you two came to visit. It’s very troublesome for you to see them normally. Even Old Yuan doesn’t have the authority to do so, so he has to make an appointment with me in advance.”

“Uncle Jing, if the shop doesn’t display anything, how will the customers choose items? And it’s so troublesome to make an appointment to withdraw stuff from the bank every time.”

Although he had been in the antique market for a few years, Su Xiaofan’s level was too low to understand the operations of these big antique shops.

“That’s simple. Although we’re in the antique business, we still have to keep up with the times.”

Jing Shizhen laughed when he heard that. He pointed to an iPad on the tea table and said, “Look at the tablet. It’s all photos taken from the real thing. There are all kinds of angles and you can zoom in and out. It’s even clearer than the real thing.”

Jing Shizhen laughed and said, “Our customer base is relatively stable. Most of them are regular customers or recommended by regular customers. They have a strong desire to buy, and they are all targeted to buy things. When they ask to see the goods, they will basically buy it. It’s rare to see things going back and forth in the bank’s safe…”

After hearing Jing Shizhen’s explanation, Su Xiaofan finally understood that Jingxin Hall still had to choose its customers when doing business. Those who were not capable were probably just sitting in the shop drinking tea and looking at the pictures on the tablet. If they wanted to see the real thing, they had to be old customers or customers introduced by old customers.

“Gang, wait here with Xiaofan.”

Jing Shizhen didn’t stay in the inner hall. Instead, she pushed open a door. Zheng Dagang and Su Xiaofan stopped there. It was obvious that further in was the place where the guests stayed.

“I’ve been inside. There’s a safe inside.”

Zheng Dagang pointed at the door. actually, there are still some good things in the store. They are all in the safe, but the top quality items must be in the bank.

“I came here today to take a look at the magic artifacts.” Su Xiaofan said expectantly.

“Xiaofan, I’m sorry. We can’t do our magical artifact business anymore.” Jing Shizhen wasn’t around, so Zheng Dagang apologized to Su Xiaofan.

“Brother Gang, didn’t Uncle Jing say that we can’t do the magic artifact business ourselves? But we can introduce them to Uncle Jing. Besides, this magic artifact is made from ordinary tools, right? We can try to find a source and buy some magic artifacts to sell.”

Su Xiaofan didn’t really care about being able to make Dharma artifacts. Besides, he could identify Dharma artifacts with the repair system in his mind, so he might really be able to find one.

“Magic artifacts aren’t made by craftsmen, so don’t think too much about it.”

Jing Shizhen’s voice rang out as soon as Su Xiaofan finished speaking. “There are some things you can’t understand right now, but you have to understand that it’s not easy to come across a Dharma artifact. If you do, it’ll probably be the kind that Gang Zi sells, so don’t even think about it.”

Jing Shizhen walked out of the room, his empty hands holding a tray covered with flannel-cloth. There were two items on the tray. Su Xiaofan was standing far away, so he only saw one black object the size of a palm and the other round object that looked like a lid.

“Come, come and take a look. This is a real magical artifact. Put on your gloves and take a look.”

Jing Shizhen came to the tea table with a tray and called out to the two. Zheng Dagang and Su Xiaofan quickly went over and each grabbed a pair of white gloves on the table.

“Uncle Jing, this is an ancient mirror, right? This thing is a bell? ”

After Zheng Dagang saw the things on the tray, he couldn’t help but say, “I have an ancient mirror at my place. Just because it’s engraved with the eight trigrams, it’s a magic artifact? Uncle Jing, if you want it, I can bring out thirty to fifty of them. How can this be considered a magic artifact?”

“In addition, this bell is also very common. Isn’t it just like the wind chimes hanging on many Buddhist pagodas? Although it’s a little difficult to get, it’s still possible to find a way to get it. Uncle Jing, the magical artifacts you mentioned, are these two things?”

“I just don’t like talking to you, you’re so ignorant and yet you talk so much nonsense.”

Jing Shizhen glared at Zheng Dagang in a bad mood and said, “This Eight Trigram Mirror is a magical artifact that can protect one’s residence. It can set the wind and water and block evil Qi. It’s a rare defensive magical artifact.”

“As for this bell, it’s indeed a wind bell. It’s also called the Wind-occupying Bell. In ancient times, it could also be used for divination, but it’s different from the pagoda wind bell you mentioned. It’s an offensive magic weapon. When it encounters Yin wind and evil Qi, the wind bell can ring on its own to hurt the enemy. It’s both a defense and an attack. If it’s hung in a house, it can protect the house from any harm. No dirty Yin Qi can erode it.”

“Uncle Jing, do you also read novels?”

Upon hearing Jing Shizhen’s words, Zheng Dagang looked at him with a strange expression and said, “There’s no such thing as Yin wind and evil Qi in this world. It’s all made up in novels. Uncle Jing, you believe it? That’s right, there are indeed people who believe this. Otherwise, how could these items be sold?”

“I … I don’t need to talk nonsense with you. If you don’t want to look, then get lost.”

Even with Jing Shizhen’s good upbringing, he was still angered by Zheng Dagang’s sarcastic words. He put the tray in front of Su Xiaofan and ignored him. If it weren’t for Zheng Dagang’s face, he wouldn’t have taken out these two precious artifacts, but he didn’t expect to be ridiculed by this kid.

“Uncle Jing, please don’t be angry.”

Zheng Dagang glanced at the two items and moved closer to Jing Shizhen. “Uncle Jing, to be honest, I’ll help you collect these things. Do you want them if I manage to get them?”

In Zheng Dagang’s opinion, although copper mirrors were not common in the market, they could still be found if he wanted to. It was just a matter of quality.

As for the wind chimes, Zheng Dagang didn’t dare to pick the wind chimes of the White Horse temple, but there were many temples in Luochuan. Some temples didn’t have much incense offerings, so it wasn’t impossible to buy them with some money.

“Get lost!”

Although he knew that he couldn’t get angry with this little rascal, Jing Shizhen’s face was still red with anger. The two magical weapons that he had spent so much effort to get had become common goods on the streets in Zheng Dagang’s mouth.

Jing Shizhen stood up and was about to pick up the tray when Su Xiaofan, who had been in a daze while holding the bronze mirror, woke up with a start.

“Uncle Jing, wait, let me see.” Su Xiaofan quickly stopped Jing Shizhen. He had just finished looking at the bronze mirror engraved with the eight trigrams and had yet to see the bell.

[ Recovery points: 8 points ]

[ Eight Trigram Mirror, low-level incomplete magic artifact. Repairable. Requires 3 repair points. Repair?]

“I won’t repair it!” Su Xiaofan replied in his mind.

The information displayed by the mirror clearly appeared in Su Xiaofan’s mind, which stunned him for a moment because it gave him more questions.

The eight trigrams patterns on the eight trigrams mirror were clear, and there was not even a trace of rust on it. It looked to be in good condition, and there was no part of it that was damaged. Why was it the same as his dragon-shaped jade pendant, showing that it was a damaged magic artifact? What was it lacking?

Although the eight-trigram mirror was a low-level magic artifact, lower than his mid-grade dragon-shaped jade pendant, it was cheap to repair it. It only needed 3 repair points, which was a big discount compared to the dragon-shaped jade pendant’s 50 repair points. If this was his own item, Su Xiaofan would probably use the repair points immediately.

Afraid that Jing Shizhen would take the two Dharmic artifacts away, Su Xiaofan quickly picked up the bell the size of a baby’s fist and looked at it. The information of the bell appeared in his mind.