Supernatural Ability

Chu Chen sighed inwardly. If he had no other choice when the time came, he might have to sell one of his mid-Qing Dynasty blue-and-white wucai figure bowls imitating the Wanli period to solve the emergency.

Although Chu Chen thought this, he still smiled at Aunt Zhang and said, "You're right, Auntie. We'll do as you say regarding the rent."

Afterward, the two exchanged a few more unimportant words before saying goodbye.

Chu Chen returned home and suddenly collapsed onto the living room sofa. A sense of weakness spread through his entire body. The good mood brought by Beijing's successful Olympic bid had been completely ruined by the matter of the rent. Where was he going to find eighteen thousand yuan at such short notice? Could he really trouble Uncle Wu again?

Uncle Wu's real name was Wu Ziping. He had just turned sixty that year and ran a small antique shop in Panjiayuan, specializing in ancient ceramics. He could be said to have been Chu Chen's guide into the antique business. To explain their relationship, one had to start with Chu Chen's past.

Chu Chen's childhood had been rather tragic. He had been somewhat dull as a child, and when he was five, he had accidentally been abducted by human traffickers. He had then been taken with them to the Shunde Mountain Area in Yan Province.

The trafficker had also been terribly unlucky. The family he had originally reached an agreement with suddenly went back on its word, and the two sides got into a conflict. Little Chu Chen escaped in the ensuing chaos.

But how could a five-year-old child possibly find his way out of the mountains? He was unfamiliar with the area, too. Fortunately, Chu Chen had exercised since childhood because of his maternal grandfather, so he was in good physical condition. After wandering for four or five days, he was encountered by his adoptive father, who took him home out of pity.

Chu Chen's adoptive father was named Liu Guomin. He had been a lecturer in the History Department of Capital University. Because of his family background, he had been branded a capitalist-roader during the upheaval and sent here for labor reform.

Several years after the upheaval ended, he was rehabilitated, but he was only a lecturer and had no connections. Combined with what he had endured during that period, his spirits had sunk. He never returned to the capital and instead supported himself by teaching at an elementary school in the mountains.

Although Chu Chen had looked like a little beggar at the time, one could still vaguely make out his clothing. From that, it was clear that he had come from a good family.

Seeing this, Liu Guomin more or less guessed that the child had been trafficked. He had originally intended to ask him for clues later and report the matter, to see whether he could find the boy's parents.

Unexpectedly, Chu Chen fell seriously ill after arriving at his home. Once he recovered, he developed amnesia. Moreover, the police had no nationwide network at the time, so although a report was filed, the matter ultimately came to nothing. Liu Guomin had never married, so he adopted Chu Chen.

Chu Chen's current name had also come from the small lock-shaped pendant hanging around his neck. The pendant was only about the size of two adult thumbnails and had been carved from top-grade mutton-fat white jade. A lifelike lotus flower was carved on the front, while the two characters "Chu Chen" were carved on the back.

Perhaps the pendant had been too small, and perhaps the trafficker had not understood its value, so it had not been taken. In a way, it had left Chu Chen a clue with which to search for his family.

Perhaps it truly was as the old saying went: "Good fortune lurks within calamity, and calamity follows in the wake of good fortune." Although Chu Chen had lost his memory, he suddenly became clever and quick-witted. Because Liu Guomin's profession had given him extensive knowledge of antiques, Chu Chen learned four or five parts of his adoptive father's antique expertise over the following years.

Unfortunately, Liu Guomin's health was poor because of the struggle sessions he had endured. If he had not known his family's Tai Chi, he might have died long before. Even so, when Chu Chen turned fifteen, he passed away.

Before Liu Guomin died, he left Chu Chen more than two thousand yuan. He also told him to go to the capital. When he had first encountered Chu Chen, the boy had spoken with a capital accent, so his family should be in the capital. Perhaps he could find them there.

Liu Guomin also gave him two letters and told him to deliver them to the addressees at the listed addresses once he reached the capital. He could seek refuge with them then.

One letter was for Liu Guomin's younger sister. Because of some misunderstandings in the past, the two had lost contact, but their familial bond remained. Seeing Liu Guomin's face, she should be willing to accept Chu Chen.

The other letter was for Wu Ziping. The Liu and Wu families could be said to have been family friends for generations. The two men had grown up together, and their relationship was practically that of brothers. Moreover, Wu Ziping's family had been an antique-collecting clan. With that arrangement, Chu Chen's knowledge would have a place to be put to use.

After Chu Chen handled Liu Guomin's funeral and turned sixteen, he set off for the capital.

However, when Chu Chen reached the capital and found the address of Liu Guomin's sister, someone else had already moved into the house. Neither the current owner nor the neighbors knew where the original family had gone.

Fortunately, Wu Ziping's address had not changed. When he heard why Chu Chen had come, he was both saddened and delighted. He was saddened by Liu Guomin's death; he had never imagined that the friend he had grown up with would already be separated from him by life and death. He was delighted that Chu Chen had come to seek refuge with him. In his own words, "Old Liu's son is my son."

His life afterward proved that Wu Ziping genuinely liked Chu Chen. He cared for him in every way and personally taught him the techniques of appraising antiques, holding nothing back.

Chu Chen, however, was an independent person. Combined with certain other reasons, he did not want to live in Wu Ziping's home or work in his shop, so he developed the idea of becoming an antique peddler.

Wu Ziping did not get angry over this. Instead, he taught Chu Chen how to acquire goods and introduced him to brokers who dug up old residences. This deeply moved him. Later, whenever Chu Chen misjudged an item and ran short of money, Wu Ziping lent him funds. After several years of such things, their relationship became like that between an uncle and nephew.

Chu Chen had not troubled Wu Ziping for a very long time. If he went to ask him for money now, he would feel too ashamed to face anyone. He gritted his teeth. Forget it—he would sell the wucai figure bowl after all.

He took a box for porcelain out of the bedroom and placed it on the coffee table in the living room. He planned to admire it carefully one more time. Once it was sold, he would never have the chance again.

When he opened the box, an exquisite wucai porcelain bowl immediately came into view.

The bowl had a diameter of 14.5 centimeters, a flared mouth, curved sides, and a foot ring. Its entire surface was covered in a bluish-white glaze with a lustrous texture. A band of blue-and-white xuan-style decoration adorned both the inside and outside of the rim. The inner rim was decorated with wucai flowers and plants. Within two blue-and-white bands at the center of the bowl was a wucai dragon-and-phoenix design, while the exterior was painted with blue-and-white wucai figures. The base bore a six-character regular-script apocryphal mark reading, "Made during the Great Ming Wanli reign."

Judging from its patina and several other characteristics, it was likely a mid-Qing Dynasty imitation of a Wanli blue-and-white wucai figure bowl. The bowl was in perfect condition, and the figures in the painting appeared lifelike, conveying the bowl's artistic conception beautifully. Its current market price should have been between twenty and thirty thousand yuan.

This bowl was the first antique Chu Chen had ever bought at a bargain under Wu Ziping's guidance. He had paid only two hundred yuan for it at the time. It held extraordinary significance for him. Although it was not particularly valuable, he had always treasured it carefully.

Looking at the wucai figure bowl, Chu Chen let out a long sigh. If he had not truly been out of options, he definitely would not have chosen to sell it. Since it was still in his hands, he might as well take a good look at it.

With a trace of dejection, Chu Chen picked up the bowl with his left hand.

At that moment, a strange sensation traveled through his hand. To his astonishment, he discovered that a wisp of energy was being drawn from the bowl into his left hand. The sensation it brought him was like eating a popsicle on a scorching summer day—his entire body felt refreshed, and the aftertaste was endless.

When Chu Chen recovered from the state, the abrupt anomaly startled him. He nearly threw away the bowl in his hand. Could he have encountered a ghost? Or had the strange sensation just now been an illusion?

Chu Chen thought about it. Although that state had lasted less than half a second, every sensation had been crystal clear. It definitely had not been an illusion. He raised his left hand and examined it again and again, but found nothing unusual. His left hand was still just a left hand; it had not turned into a hand that could transmute objects into gold. He then inspected the bowl from every angle, but found no problems there either.

Chu Chen thought, Hey! This is really strange!

After thinking for a long while, Chu Chen still could not figure out what had happened. In the end, he guessed that the energy flow might only appear upon first contact. If so, he just needed to find something else to test it on.

Chu Chen hurried to the several baskets in the living room. They contained all sorts of porcelain and antiques. Of course, they were all handicrafts—his livelihood depended on them.

He took a deep breath and slowly picked up a porcelain vase with his left hand. The result was extremely disappointing: there was no reaction at all. He then changed to several other porcelain pieces, but the result was the same.

"What's going on?"

Frowning in confusion, Chu Chen paced back and forth across the living room. Could that earlier situation really have been nothing more than a fleeting occurrence? After pacing for nearly the time it took to finish a meal, he suddenly came to a halt.

"Right! Everything I picked up just now was a handicraft, not a genuine antique. It's very possible that this ability only appears with real antiques."

Once he figured that out, Chu Chen was stumped again. He had no genuine antique porcelain around him at present. Without an object to experiment on, he was completely at a loss. It seemed he could only go to Uncle Wu's antique shop and try there.

At the thought, Chu Chen eagerly prepared to head to Uncle Wu's antique shop. He had only taken a few steps when inspiration suddenly flashed through his mind. Wait—he did not have any other antiques, but he should at least have some ordinary ancient copper coins, right? Although those things were not worth much, they were still antiques, after all.

Chu Chen immediately returned to the baskets. Before beginning the test, he silently prayed in his heart.

"It has to work. It has to work!"

Then, without hesitation, Chu Chen picked a Kangxi Tongbao coin out of the basket. At once, a wisp of energy—far weaker than before—was drawn from the copper coin into his left hand, just as it had been from the bowl. The energy was truly faint, though. If he had not concentrated his attention, he would never have noticed it.