Free Web NovelChapter 280: Chapter 282: Take Your Pick
On Antique Street, An Ning was crouching behind a stone lion, subtly stretching her legs.
"Why hasn’t he started yet? Doesn’t he trust me?"
An Ning muttered as her spiritual power reached out to interfere just a little.
’If this doesn’t work, I’m done with it.’
Just as An Ning was about to withdraw her spiritual power and leave, the Shopkeeper behind the counter slammed his rag onto the countertop with a SLAP. He then stomped menacingly toward the wooden carving.
An Ning, who had just started to get up, quietly crouched back down.
’It worked.’
Sure enough, the Shopkeeper grabbed a hammer and, in one furious burst, rained down a series of blows. BANG, BANG, BANG! The belly of the Maitreya Buddha cracked open.
The Shopkeeper’s raised hammer froze mid-swing. A black object, about the size of a fingernail, was exposed.
’There really is something inside!’
His mind reeled with shock and confusion.
His movements slowed, losing their earlier frenzy and impulsiveness.
The Shopkeeper took a deep breath, pulled out a small knife, and started carefully scraping away the wood.
Before he’d completely uncovered it, the old man felt a chill creep from the knife, up his fingertips, over the back of his hand, and onto his arm.
The Shopkeeper snatched his hand back. After composing himself for a moment, he put on a pair of gloves and resumed his work.
The more the old man worked, the more alarmed he grew. ’It’s metal... a bladed weapon.’
Once it was fully exposed, he lifted it out. It was a palm-sized knife. The body of the blade was mottled with rust, but its edge was unnaturally bright. The old man placed it on a piece of black cloth.
A malevolent object.
Not a weapon for murder, but an object for inflicting misfortune.
Although the old man’s knowledge of Mysticism was rudimentary, he knew the chill emanating from the blade was no illusion.
The Shopkeeper’s mind raced, making connections. ’It seems like... ever since this Maitreya Buddha statue arrived, my business has been getting worse and worse.’
Suddenly, it all clicked into place.
Snapping out of his daze, the Shopkeeper rushed to the entrance of his shop. Facing an unknown direction, he performed a deep, formal bow.
Thank you.
「By this time, An Ning had already left.」
She walked quickly and entered a jewelry store.
Once inside, An Ning got straight to the point. She opened her backpack and laid out her collection of gemstones.
Before the Shopkeeper and his assistant could even react, the counter before them was covered in a dazzling, multicolored array of gemstones.
"Take a look. See anything you fancy?"
The moment An Ning spoke, the roles of buyer and seller instantly flipped. The Shopkeeper suddenly felt like he was the customer.
He glanced around and felt a bit more settled. ’Right, this is still my shop.’
"Miss, are you looking to sell these?"
"That’s right. And if there’s anything here you don’t like, just tell me. I have more."
ZZZIP! An Ning opened her backpack, revealing it was packed full of gemstones. It looked as casual as someone selling cabbages from a roadside stall.
The Shopkeeper didn’t touch anything. Seeing the sheer quantity of gems, he said, "Miss, we don’t purchase fakes."
"Perfect. I don’t sell fakes. You’ll know once you have a look."
An Ning’s calm and composed demeanor made the Shopkeeper begin to doubt himself. ’Could I have misjudged her?’
The Shopkeeper was a cautious man. He picked up one of the gems and gave it a quick appraisal.
That one look only made things more difficult for him.
Because he was fairly certain it was real.
But the sheer extravagance of a whole backpack full of them made it feel impossible.
’After all, besides the imperial family, who could possibly have so many?’
’Or maybe... there are fakes mixed in with the real ones?’
The Shopkeeper made no effort to hide his suspicion, but An Ning simply smiled, waiting with perfect composure for him to finish his examination.
The Shopkeeper set down the first gem and picked up another of a different color to examine.
’This one seems real too.’
’The third one... real.’
’The fourth... real.’
’The fifth... real.’
When the Shopkeeper picked up the sixth gem, he put it down without even looking closely. "Miss," he said, "are you certain this one is real?"
An Ning glanced at the stone in the Shopkeeper’s hand and nodded. "It’s real. Don’t be put off by the dull color; it has a special function."
"Function?"
It was the first time the Shopkeeper had ever heard the word "function" used to describe a gemstone.
An Ning took the gray stone from the Shopkeeper’s hand. She glanced around, then pointed to a piece of cloth. "May I use that for a moment?"
At a single glance from the Shopkeeper, the young assistant hurried over and handed the cloth to An Ning.
An Ning thanked him kindly and placed the gray stone inside the cloth pouch.
"This thing only looks good in the dark."
"Here, you see."
An Ning held the mouth of the pouch closed and extended it toward the Shopkeeper.
The Shopkeeper took it, opening a tiny hole just big enough for one eye to peer through.
With that one glimpse, the Shopkeeper was captivated.
’Even if it’s fake, I have to have it.’
Inside the pouch, the gray stone was emitting faint specks of light.
It looked like a black stone upon which brilliant stars had been painted, and every single one of them was twinkling.
The Shopkeeper lowered the pouch and took out the gray stone again.
"Do you have a name for this object?"
"In my hometown, it’s called a Star Stone."
A hint of nostalgia flickered in An Ning’s eyes.
"A fitting name."
The Shopkeeper didn’t hold back his praise. He set down the Star Stone and inspected the other gems once more. It appeared everything on the counter was genuine.
"Miss, my own expertise is limited. To be certain, I’ll need to have our master appraiser take a look. I hope you understand."
Hearing this, An Ning glanced at her watch. "How long will that take?"
"About half an hour."
"So you do want to buy them?"
"If they’re genuine, of course we’ll buy them."
To An Ning, that meant he was buying.
With a CLATTER, she swept her left arm across the counter, scooping all the gemstones back into her backpack as if they were a pile of pebbles.
The sight of this made the old man’s heart skip a beat.
"Be careful not to scratch them!"
"It’s fine. They’re just stones, they’re plenty sturdy."
Clutching her backpack, An Ning pointed to a chair. "I’ll sit here and wait."
"Of course. I’ll have some tea prepared for you, Miss."
The Shopkeeper urged his assistant to go out and hurry the master appraiser along, telling him they had a big sale on their hands.
The assistant was obedient and took off at a run.
The Shopkeeper brewed the tea himself and sat in the chair next to An Ning to make small talk.
He was tactful, however, and didn’t pry into the origins of her wares.
An Ning, in turn, was curious about the antiques business and asked some basic questions, trying to get a better sense of the market for her future sales.
The Shopkeeper was a decent man and answered all of An Ning’s questions thoroughly.
"Oh, so jade is valuable, too," An Ning said, as if it had just dawned on her. "And agate, and jadeite."
"That’s right. Nature is a wondrous thing. Since ancient times, there have always been people who appreciate and collect beautiful or rare objects."
"And the people who can afford to collect them are hardly ordinary," An Ning nodded in agreement and took a sip of tea.
’Next time, I don’t have to bring these ’paving stones,’’ she thought. ’Maybe I can find some of the white jade we use for flooring, or other colors. The market for those might be even better.’
They chatted amicably. In less than half an hour, the young assistant returned, walking briskly. He was accompanied by an elderly man, and trailing just behind them was a middle-aged man.
