13. A Fragment of Jade

“This is the first point. Second, let’s distribute the items Old Four and Old Eight brought back to various markets across the south. If our rivals have managed to get their hands on similar antiques, they’ll definitely be interested in what we’ve got. We might even flush them out,” the sharp-voiced man said darkly.

“That works. Also, Old Four, Old Eight, you two should head back tonight. Since the police here in Sichuan have already noticed you, I’m worried something might go wrong. The sooner you leave, the safer you’ll be,” the hawk-eyed man nodded, then led the group away quickly, turning to address Eighth Master and the goateed man.

“We’ll do as you say, Second Brother.”

“Right. Later this year, we’ll head north ourselves and open up that royal tomb the northern branch has always been watching. We’ll show them that the southern branch isn’t to be trifled with.” The hawk-eyed man’s voice grew low and cold.

Eighth Master was turning these matters over in his mind. He couldn’t shake the feeling that all this might be connected to the boy he’d met the other day, though he couldn’t say why. He hadn’t mentioned it, perhaps because, deep down, he sensed that boy was trouble—a presence they couldn’t afford to provoke. Young as he was, the aura he’d exuded during their brief exchange suggested depths beyond measure.

Chen Fengyun had no inkling that he’d frightened a seasoned veteran. On Thursday and Friday, he sat the two-day final exams in Rong City. He struggled to finish the papers and hand them in, uncertain whether he’d reached his goals.

The struggle lay in the fact that he didn’t want to shoot straight to the top of the liberal arts rankings. As long as he made the top hundred in this exam, that was good enough. He spent more effort figuring out how to lose just enough points to stay within target.

Saturday was supposed to be a day for extra classes, but after the big exam, the teachers were all called to centralized grading. The students were told to study on their own, with Sunday off as a break. Chen Fengyun, however, requested the day off.

After breakfast, he rode his bicycle to the Wukuaishi National Secondhand Market. In Chengdu, there were also the Antique Market, the North Gate Market by the Caotangsi Museum, the Huaxia Creek Songxian Bridge Market, Dongqingshu General Market, Erxian’an Antique Market, and the Mengzui Bay Swimming Pool Park Market. But Wukuaishi was the closest to his home—barely ten kilometers away.

The Wukuaishi Secondhand Market sat beside the wholesale market, and here one could find anything from old furniture, appliances, clothing, to collectibles and antiques. Business was always bustling, the crowds thick.

Old goods were arranged by type into their own streets, so the collectibles and antiques Chen Fengyun sought were concentrated in two alleys and one street.

House of Antiques, Exquisite Collections, Treasure Pavilion, Linglong Workshop, Hall of Rarities, Thousand Curiosities, Ming and Qing Relics, Tang Dynasty Treasures—shop names dazzled the eye, each more elaborate than the last.

Chen Fengyun found a spot to lock his bicycle, then followed the crowd into a narrow alley, where he noticed that most signs were worn and faded; some were chipped and barely legible, and many boasted “century-old” status—though who could say if that was true.

“Boss Zhang, you have a good eye! This jade Guanyin is a Southern Dynasty relic. Bring it home and your whole family will enjoy peace, immune to all evil.”

“No more bargaining. Our reputation here is well known. There’s no way this is a reproduction. Think it over.”

“Please take care of your item. Safe travels—come again next time.”

“Feel free to browse. You can look and touch, but be careful not to drop anything. Some pieces are worth hundreds of thousands, just so you know.”

As soon as he entered the alley, Chen Fengyun was greeted by the buzz of voices from the nearby shops—a testament to the market’s bustling popularity.

“There’s nothing here radiating spiritual energy, but who knows if some items might contain hidden power? I’ll have to touch them to sense it. Looks like this will be a long day,” Chen Fengyun thought as he stood at the alley’s entrance, scanning the area with his mind.

He didn’t hesitate, walking straight into the first shop—the “World of Ancient Porcelain,” an establishment boasting a hundred-year-old pedigree and specializing in antique ceramics.

“Young man, what brings you here? Would you like me to introduce some items?” Inside were a man in his forties and a young woman in her twenties.

When Chen Fengyun entered, the man remained seated behind the counter, unmoving. The woman, likely a clerk, approached with a smile, nodding in greeting. Though Chen looked like a mere boy, she welcomed him warmly.

“Sis, I’m a senior in high school, hoping to major in archaeology at Beijing University. I’m using the weekend to broaden my knowledge of ancient artifacts. May I just look around?” Chen Fengyun asked earnestly.

“Oh, go ahead then. Just be careful—the porcelain is delicate and easily broken. If you have any questions, just ask me,” the girl replied, at first inclined to refuse, but something in Chen’s presence made her feel a quiet fondness, so she nodded and spoke softly.

Chen Fengyun nodded in return, then began examining a Tang Dynasty colored porcelain vase nearby, even reaching out to touch it with his fingertip. Sensing no special energy, he moved on.

He worked quickly, barely pausing at each item. Still, he made sure to graze each piece with his fingers, since his cultivation system needed physical contact to detect hidden energy—only objects rich in spiritual energy could be sensed directly by his mind.

After half an hour, he’d touched every one of the hundreds of porcelain pieces on display, but found nothing. Meanwhile, more customers had entered, and the shopkeeper and girl took little notice of him, letting him speed up and slip out unnoticed.

At the next shop, Chen Fengyun resumed his swift survey, touching each antique with a practiced hand. Yet, by noon, he’d come up empty.

He ate a bowl of lamb soup at the alley entrance, sent a text to his parents saying he was eating at Gao Xiaohua’s house, and returned to his task without going home.

By four or five in the afternoon, while searching for treasures in a jade shop, he spotted a fragmentary jade palm rest in a corner. Roughly the size of a chicken egg, it was the sort ancient people liked to hold in their hands, but a third of it was missing.

The moment his fingers brushed the broken jade, his cultivation system stirred—a faint vibration signaling hidden energy within. He promptly instructed the system to absorb it, gaining two attribute points in return.

“Boss, how much for this broken jade?” Chen Fengyun knew that anything containing special energy had to be genuinely old; this fragment, at least, was real jade.

“What do you want this for?” The shopkeeper, a plump, middle-aged man, squinted at the fragment in Chen’s hand.

“The other jade pieces here are all too expensive. I figured maybe I could have this one carved into a small pendant for my girlfriend. If it’s cheap enough, I’ll take it—but if it’s pricey, I can’t afford it,” Chen replied blandly.