Chapter 7

The Antique Enthusiast Street was situated at the edge of Jianghai City, extremely far away from the city center, and yet it only slightly less crowded. The shops in the street were all specialty shops well-known for their rare and antique items. Meanwhile, there were countless little stalls set up just outside of these shops.

The crowds loved these little stalls the most. In fact, there were shops that would be closed for a year straight yet would earn a year’s worth of profit by opening for a day. They, too, would set up a few stalls right in front of their shops.

These little shops were extremely popular with the crowds for selling all sorts of things. Although the majority of them were fakes and were meant to con the buyers, there were real and legitimate items for sale and they were extremely rare.

There were all types of sellers here in the area and rumors had it that the government did not bother regulating the place. However, no one dared to make a scene as there was a boss overseeing this district. Everyone addressed him as Boss Xue and no one dared to mess around in this area while he watched over it.

There were people who once tried to exploit this place with a unique regulation as they tried to sell ****, but they ultimately vanished and never appeared again.

Boss Xu once said that this was a clean zone.

It was common to purchase fake goods while searching for good ones. However, the moment someone tried to exploit and pursue illegal activities here, Boss Xue would step in without a doubt. Boss Xue overseeing the area was also the reason why the government chose not to meddle at all.

There was no taxation for selling and buying goods in this area, either.

Naturally, there was no need to worry about pickpockets on the street here as they would not have the balls to mess around in Boss Xue’s territory.

The taxi driver sighed and left the moment he dropped Xia Tian off. To him, Xia Tian was the kind of person who would dream of hitting the lottery. He felt pity for him knowing countless people had gone bankrupt here, and yet Xia Tian decided to come here at such a young age.

Many people had come here to hunt for valuable treasures but most of them became bankrupt instead.

This place was just like a huge casino. The only difference was that those who knew what to look for would never be cheated.

Xia Tian noticed countless little stalls set up at both sides of the street as well as the endless crowd the moment he set foot on Antique Enthusiast Street. Although these stalls were very small, each of them had their own specialty as they were selling items that were unique from the others. Furthermore, many of the sellers were pitching their sales.

To name a few, there were Qing Dynasty porcelain items, pipal tree seeds, modern vases, an ancient sword from the Qin Dynasty, and so on.

The shoutings came and went as Xia Tian smiled gently, listening. If these items were indeed real, they would never be displayed outside their stalls. They would have just sold it to the shops behind them and the price would definitely not be cheap.

In fact, even professionally-made imitations could be sold at a high price.

“This place is really good.” Xia Tian activated his Insight and looked around the moment he walked in.

A green light pierced through the crowd. It was what Xia Tian had anticipated. A genuine item would constantly absorb the aura given off from the sky and earth, giving itselfe a green halo.

“Look. Master Elder Appraiser Xu Dechuan has arrived.” A person shouted among the crowd out of the blue as everyone looked at Xia Tian. Xia Tian was so shocked that he did not know what to do. However, he immediately caught on as he realized that they were not looking at him. Instead, they were looking at an elder standing behind him.

The elder had traditional clothing on him and had the vibe of a master in his sixties or seventies. His most unique feature was the long goatee under his chin. He had four bodyguards around him and each and every one of them looked extremely strong.

The elder was firm in his steps as the crowd looked at him with admiration. The crowd had swept themselves to the sides of the street to form a passage for him, and Xia Tian was the only one still in the way.

“Hey kid, move away so that Elder Xu can pass through.” Someone screamed from the side.

Xia Tian ignored him and continued walking forward. He did not care who the old man was since he was not related to him at all. He was here to purchase goods as well, and the crowds noticed him.

The spacious streets on both sides were filled with people who had come away from the center to make way for Elder Xu. However, Xia Tian was walking there and he looked like he had the same social standing as him.

Elder Xu, who was walking behind Xia Tian, was slightly surprised as he stopped walking. It was the first time that he had encountered such a scenario; someone had dared to walk in front of him.

“Hey kid, did you not realize that you’re in Elder Xu’s way?” One of the bodyguards behind Elder Xu could not hold it in any longer as he walked forward and interrupted Xia Tian.

“This kid doesn’t know his place. How dare you walk in front of Elder Xu.”

“This kid doesn’t know how to respect his elders. Elder Xu is here to lead us to prosperity.”

“What an inexperienced brat. Elder Xu is a very well respected man and everyone gives way, and yet you dare to disrespect him.”

The crowd looked at Xia Tian with disdain. It was obvious that Master Appraiser Elder Xu Dechuan was a well-known figure in Antique Enthusiast Street. He knew every antique from every dynasty and was able to recognize all sorts of gems too. He was able to help anybody appraise an item on the spot for free. Furthermore, Elder Xu would pick three people out of the crowd and select three valuable items for them for free whenever he paid a visit.

This was the reason why Elder Xu was so well respected by everyone.

Xia Tian locked his eyes onto a stall and walked towards it. The bodyguard did not say anything further as he watched Xia Tian walk away from the center of the road. Everyone, too, believed that this new guy had realized he was not supposed to be there and left the area.

Everyone started showering the bodyguard with praise for not causing trouble for Xia Tian.

“Elder Xu’s bodyguard sure is something. He has such a nice personality and didn’t even lay a finger on the kid.”

“That’s right. Elder Xu must have gone through a thorough process to pick his bodyguards. Not only do they need to be skilled, they need to be courteous as well.”

“That kid earlier was so disrespectful. He’d be in big trouble with the crowd if Elder Xu had decided to leave in anger.”

Elder Xu seemed to be enjoying himself as he listened to the praises around him. He strode down the street as the store owners stood up one after another to greet him. In return, he nodded slightly as he acknowledged their greetings.

“How much are you selling this?” Xia Tian saw a fish-shaped jade. It looked so normal that it was like a kid’s toy. The stall owner was ecstatic as he saw a customer walking up to him.

“You’ve got keen senses, my friend. This item is the most valuable item in my stall. It’s carved from Tiantan’s jade from the west. It’s dim and doesn’t glow but its elegance isn’t lost and it’s extremely low profile. This jade is able to enhance your body if you wear it on you at all times.” The stall owner had finally found a gullible one as he started telling his telltale stories. With his experience, he knew that this kid right before him was a first-timer and was someone who knew nothing at all.

It was the easiest to profit from this type of person.

“How much does it cost?” Xia Tian asked.

“You’re a sincere man. Eight thousand; I’ll sell it to you for eight thousand. I wouldn’t have sold it for less than ten thousand if you were someone else.” The stall owner opened his price at eight thousand from the get-go. It was not like he believed that a kid would be able to shell out eight thousand dollars. He threw the price out so that it would be easier for him to negotiate later on.

“Eight thousand dollars is a bit too expensive. I’m still a high school student, I don’t have that much money at all.” Xia Tian was very cooperative with the stall owner.

Elder Xu stopped walking and smiled coyly as he looked at the jade in Xia Tian’s hand. He was able to determine instantly that the jade was just an accessory that could be bought for twenty dollars in the street. Here, all they could do was try and confuse an idiotic child such as Xia Tian.

Although he had seen through the entire thing, he did not bother explaining it to Xia Tian. Instead, he stood there and waited for the situation to unfold further. He was already extremely unhappy with Xia Tian as he had walked in front of him, and he would have ordered his bodyguard to teach this kid a lesson a long time ago if he were not trying to maintain his demeanor.

Naturally, he would keep quiet even though the kid was about to be cheated.

Sweat started rolling down the stall owner’s forehead as he saw Elder Xu’s indifferent smile. He knew that this item of his was not able to escape from Elder Xu’s eyes. All he could do now was to hope that Elder Xu would not expose him right there and then.

“Hey boss, why don’t you sell it to me for two hundred? I already know that this jade is fake.” Xia Tian smiled softly as he whispered.

The stall owner knew that his expression had sold himself out but he was firm in his profit. “Kid, you have sharp eyes, but I have to sell you for at least five hundred. You’re free to look elsewhere if you don’t want it.”

“Fine, five hundred RMB it is. Although, these pebbles look quite nice. Why don’t you throw them in too?” Xia Tian pointed at the few stones beside his hand. They looked exceedingly normal and possessed no value whatsoever. The stall owner placed them there because they looked good.

“You’re a pretty straightforward kid. Deal.” Xia Tian gave the stall owner five hundred dollars in cash as he placed the few stones into his pocket.

Elder Xu smiled as he walked to Xia Tian’s side and said, “Kid, you’re still too young and inexperienced to mingle around here. You’ve bought an accessory that’s worth twenty dollars with five hundred. Perhaps only a kid as inexperienced like you would buy it.”

“Oh? Is that so?” Xia Tian smirked as he loosened his right hand. The jade fell to the ground and instantly shattered into dust. Even Elder Xu standing at the side was stunned by his action.

“Why? Did you know that it’s a fake all along?” Elder Xu looked at Xia Tian in confusion.

“I can do whatever I want with my money.” Xia Tian smiled gently. Since he had obtained the stones, the jade in his hand no longer served any purpose. One of those stones was emitting a powerful golden light earlier. This light was different from the others as the others were glowing in green. This was an indication that these items had been absorbing aura for a very long time.

There was only one explanation for this golden light. It was the Sarira that his father once told him about. Since it was emitting such a powerful light, it was proof that this Sarira could possibly just be the Ancient Buddha’s Sarira.