Stealing Heavenly Secrets

"Classmate, it's a misunderstanding, all a misunderstanding. I'm Li Zhi, and I have business visiting Professor Gao Peijun from your college. I noticed that this classmate, Sisi, happens to be on good terms with Professor Gao, so I wanted to invite her to take me to visit him." Li Zhi quickly explained.

"Then why were you shouting randomly and throwing out prices just now?" the girl named Sisi questioned.

"Giving a fee to the introducer—isn't that standard practice?" Li Zhi said matter-of-factly.

Then he asked, "What are your names, classmates?"

"Xia Siyu." The bespectacled girl paused before replying.

"Li Xiaoman." The pretty girl said.

"You're Li Xiaoman? Ye Fan and Pang Bo's classmate?" Li Zhi blurted out, somewhat surprised.

"You know Ye Fan?" Li Xiaoman asked.

"A few days ago, he and Pang Bo bought a Golden Pixiu Bracelet from my shop," Li Zhi said.

"You're the owner of that Antique Style Jewelry Shop who sold something and then shut down and skipped town?" Li Xiaoman asked with a strange tone.

Li Zhi nodded. "I'm the owner of the Antique Style Jewelry Shop, but I didn't shut down or skip town."

It turned out Pang Bo had failed to win over the girl and was publicly rejected.

So he wanted to return that Golden Pixiu Bracelet.

But he went twice in a row, and both times Li Zhi's shop was closed.

He and Ye Fan thought Li Zhi had already closed up and fled.

This morning, Ye Fan had just mentioned it to Li Xiaoman, but he never expected to run into the man himself so soon.

The misunderstanding was cleared up.

Li Zhi stated his purpose again.

Perhaps because Li Xiaoman was by her side, Xia Siyu seemed more confident and said again, "Then take out that article you wrote in Oracle Bone Script and let me see it."

Li Zhi shook his head seriously. "That's a priceless treasure; I can't show it to you."

"If you won't show me, how am I supposed to know if you're lying?" Xia Siyu's eyes flickered with a hint of cunning.

Li Zhi glanced between Xia Siyu and Li Xiaoman's faces, then said, "Classmate Xia, Classmate Li, goodbye."

With that, he left Ke University directly.

Watching Li Zhi's hurried retreating figure, Xia Siyu said, "What kind of person is that?"

Seeing this, Li Xiaoman asked, "Sisi, you're not interested in him, are you?"

Xia Siyu's eyes went wide. "Xiaoman, I've known him for less than ten minutes, and you're saying I'm interested in him? Do you think I'm some lovesick fool?"

Li Xiaoman laughed. "Whether you're a lovesick fool doesn't matter, but I've never seen you so curious about a man before."

"You little Li Xiaoman, daring to tease me." Xia Siyu immediately spread her arms to grab Li Xiaoman and teach her a lesson.

"Ahem!" Just then, Ye Fan's voice sounded behind them.

"Two beauties, am I interrupting something?" Ye Fan said, watching Xia Siyu and Li Xiaoman fooling around.

"Ye Fan, come help me figure this out. I just ran into someone."

Seeing Ye Fan arrive, Xia Siyu's eyes lit up, and she immediately told him about Li Zhi's behavior, then asked, "Do you think he's a grave robber?"

It turned out Xia Siyu was worried that the article written in Oracle Bone Script in Li Zhi's possession was copied from inscriptions on artifacts. The reason she wanted to consult Professor Gao Peijun was to determine the value of the artifact in his hands.

Any unearthed bronze vessel—with or without inscriptions—had completely different prices on the black market.

And the more inscriptions, the higher the price.

After listening, Ye Fan thought for a moment and said, "Siyu, what you're saying isn't impossible. That Boss Li is very suspicious—he suddenly disappeared for a few days, then showed up again but didn't go back to open his shop. Instead, he came to our school to find Professor Gao."

Seeing this, Li Xiaoman sighed. "Are you two okay? Suspecting someone of being a grave robber for no reason. I just looked him over—that Boss Li's outfit is worth a lot. He shouldn't be short on money, so why would he go grave robbing?"

Xia Siyu said, "Xiaoman, you don't understand this. There are plenty of shady merchants like Li Zhi who run a jewelry shop on the surface but secretly deal in artifacts. Sometimes, when they can't make up their minds, they find ways to consult experts like Professor Gao. Professor Gao has told us at least ten cases in class—all of them using the pretense of seeking knowledge while actually appraising artifacts behind the scenes."

Ye Fan said, "Since that Boss Li is back, I'll go with Pang Bo tomorrow to return the item at his shop. You two can come with us and probe his background while you're at it."

Hearing Ye Fan's suggestion, Xia Siyu grabbed Li Xiaoman's arm and asked, "Xiaoman, are you coming?"

Li Xiaoman reluctantly nodded. "I'm coming. How could I let you go take risks alone, Sisi?"

After that, the three of them continued discussing whether Li Zhi was an artifact dealer or a grave robber on their way to the cafeteria.

Leaving Ke University and sitting in the driver's seat, Li Zhi still couldn't give up.

Then he kept thinking about how to get close to Gao Peijun.

A normal approach probably wouldn't work.

He wasn't comfortable having an intermediary introduce him either.

After all, what he had in hand was no ordinary thing.

If someone with ill intent got wind of it, it would be trouble.

Li Zhi, a former amateur archaeologist in his past life, knew very well what truly good items were worth.

It wasn't a matter of more or less money.

Rather, it was about ensuring safety—a matter of how many people would have to die.

Human nature was something Li Zhi didn't quite trust.

And interests were even less worthy of his trust.

Only ordinary people would risk their lives for profit; true ruthless individuals always risked their lives for their dreams.

In his past life, how many had tried inhuman cultivation methods in pursuit of immortality, only to cultivate themselves to death?

How many, to ensure eternal youth, had even washed their bodies with their own son's blood?

Li Zhi himself had personally left three "close friends" buried underground forever.

But having been reborn, he didn't want to tread the same old path.

Yet now, reality seemed to be forcing him back onto that road.

Was this path dependency?

After sitting in the car for ten minutes, Li Zhi changed into a different jacket, put on a pair of plain glasses, and returned to Ke University's campus.

At the campus bookstore, he casually bought two books, a notebook, and a cup of coffee.

Then, holding the books and coffee, he followed a group of students heading to the library and went straight into Ke University's library.

Once inside, relying on skills he'd honed during his student days, he slipped in without a library card by tailing a student.

Ke University's library was much larger than the one at his alma mater.

Its collection was incredibly rich.

Following the index, Li Zhi quickly found the section housing archaeology-related books.

Then, starting from the first shelf, he began searching book by book for what he wanted.

Half an hour later, Li Zhi finally found a comprehensive collection of documents detailing Oracle Bone Script on the shelves.

Just as he'd thought, those document collections weren't publicly published books.

They were internal materials compiled by Ke University's archaeology department.

After that, Li Zhi hauled all those document collections out, picked a secluded corner, pulled out the article from his pocket, and began cross-referencing the materials character by character.

By the time the library closed, Li Zhi had only identified forty-five Oracle Bone Script characters with clear meanings.

The remaining characters were all indecipherable.

Some didn't even match the characters recorded in the complete Oracle Bone Script compendium.

Moreover, those forty-five decipherable characters weren't strung together into sentences; they were scattered throughout the article in various places.

Completely unusable.

Misinterpreting a cultivation method could cost lives.

He understood this truth, whether in his past life or this one.

At that point, Li Zhi's hope of deciphering the article's content with the help of university professors was thoroughly dashed.

He left Ke University feeling disappointed.

The moon hung high in the sky by the time Li Zhi finally got home. He lay in bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep.

Eventually, he went to the study and recopied the Oracle Bone Script article with a brush.

Only then did Li Zhi feel his mind settle, and soon he fell into a deep sleep.

The sun was high in the sky when he slowly woke up.

After boiling some dumplings to stave off hunger, Li Zhi took the newly copied article to the shop.

He decided to learn from Brother Dog—since he couldn't understand it, he'd stop trying and just treat the characters as simple pictures.

Maybe one day, a flash of inspiration would strike, and he'd suddenly grasp the true scripture hidden within.