Unexpected Person

July 17, Tuesday. Today was the day they were heading to Jin Province to search an old residence. Chu Chen was so excited that he got up early, dressed neatly, bought breakfast, and strolled to Uncle Wu's shop while eating.

Aside from exercising and eating, Chu Chen had stayed in his room all day yesterday. He had originally planned to purchase some goods, but since he was going to search an old residence the next day, he decided not to go and kept the money with him. It might come in handy then.

That entire day, Chu Chen had read through all the antiques-related materials in his room. Compared to before, his store of knowledge had increased greatly; all he lacked was practical experience. Unfortunately, most of the materials concerned porcelain. The rest covered jade and emerald artifacts, but in both fields, he was still purely theoretical.

It was only a little past six when Chu Chen arrived at Uncle Wu's shop. As expected, Uncle Wu had not arrived yet, but Chu Chen had a key to the shop, so he did not need to wait outside.

After entering, Chu Chen did a little cleaning, then turned on the computer and began browsing the web. By now, he was already very skilled at operating it. No one could tell that he had been learning how to use computers for less than three days.

When Uncle Wu had returned that day and seen Chu Chen operating the computer so skillfully, he had been extremely surprised and even asked whether Chu Chen had secretly come over to learn before. Chu Chen had praised himself extravagantly, saying things like how clever and talented he was, provoking Uncle Wu's envy, jealousy, and hatred. Uncle Wu had promptly given him several chestnuts roasted in sugar.

Before seven o'clock, Uncle Wu arrived at the shop as well. After making some preparations, he took Chu Chen to meet Zhao Xueyi.

When they arrived, Zhao Xueyi and an old man who looked to be in his fifties were already there.

Chu Chen was familiar with this old man. He was Zhu Dafu, the shopkeeper of Yuebao Pavilion, a large antique shop in Panjiayuan. Shopkeeper Zhu was also an old friend of Uncle Wu.

Actually, the antique trade was not all that large. At least in a place like Panjiayuan, everyone knew anyone with even a little fame. Moreover, the antique trade valued connections. As long as people did not have some deep feud or truly dislike one another, they generally got along quite well.

Although Zhu Dafu looked to be only in his fifties, that was because he had taken good care of himself. He was also a Tai Chi master, and was already seventy-two years old that year.

After Uncle Wu and Chu Chen greeted them, Zhu Dafu said to Chu Chen with a broad smile, "Xiao Chen, I have a small favor to ask. I heard that you misidentified that Tang Sancai piece of yours. Don't get me wrong—I just want to broaden my horizons."

Zhu Dafu was warm and amiable toward Chu Chen, but it was not because he had a favor to ask.

As mentioned earlier, Chu Chen's adoptive father had inherited a family tradition of Tai Chi, which he had taught Chu Chen when he was young. Over the years, except for the few days when he had acquired the Tang Sancai, Chu Chen had trained diligently without pause. He could not yet be called a master, but he had already reached a considerable level in the form, intent, and spirit of Tai Chi.

Chu Chen lived not far from Zhu Dafu. Once, while practicing Tai Chi in a park, Zhu Dafu had happened to encounter him.

Both men practiced ancient Tai Chi, which focused mainly on combat. Because of that, Zhu Dafu found it somewhat difficult to exchange pointers with others. When he saw Chu Chen's techniques, he had been delighted to find a worthy opponent. As soon as Chu Chen finished practicing, he immediately went over to exchange pointers with him.

Chu Chen was not particular about schools or lineages. Besides, it was the age of technology, and no matter how powerful martial arts were, they could not compare to bullets.

Martial arts had declined, and after his adoptive father died, Chu Chen had also lost his only training partner. He was equally delighted to meet Zhu Dafu. After spending time together, the two became friends despite their age difference. Later, Zhu Dafu learned that Chu Chen was Uncle Wu's nephew and became even more affectionate toward him. In return, Chu Chen had to call him senior.

After hearing Zhu Dafu's words, Chu Chen clapped his hands and said, "Uncle Zhu, I thought it was something serious. But you've seen and experienced so much—how could you be interested in my Tang Sancai piece too?"

"I told you, Xiao Chen, not to call me Uncle Zhu. When people hear that, they'll think I look fat and big-headed."

Zhu Dafu let out an "ai" and said, "Besides, I can't really say I've seen and experienced much. I've only walked a few more steps than you. Counterfeiting in our trade has become far too sophisticated. It catches people off guard. Zhang Huo Ni could be considered their patriarch, so his works are very useful for reference."

Technology had advanced, and there were indeed far more counterfeit goods now. Among them, high-quality imitations were countless. One careless moment could lead to a misjudgment, so people in the antique trade all studied counterfeiting techniques. That way, they could avoid paying tuition over the same tricks.

Chu Chen nodded. "All right. When we get back, I'll bring it to your shop."

Then Zhao Xueyi said to everyone, "All right, everyone's here. Let's go."

Uncle Wu asked in surprise, "There are only four of us?"

"An old friend of ours, Manager Zhao, is coming too," Zhao Xueyi said as he walked. "But he's in Jinyang right now. We'll meet up after we arrive."

Seeing Chu Chen's confused expression, Uncle Wu knew that he did not know Manager Zhao, so he introduced him. "Manager Zhao is Zhao Qirui of Huite Trading, a tycoon worth more than ten billion. He also loves antiques, but he usually relies on your Uncle Zhao to act as the broker."

Chu Chen suddenly understood. Huite Trading was a very famous import-export company in the capital. Rumor had it that its owner wielded considerable influence. He had not expected him to like antiques as well.

The four of them came to an old Santana. Zhu Dafu smiled and said, "I say, Little Zhao, you're worth several million. Why haven't you changed to a better car?"

Zhao Xueyi opened the car door. "You're right, this car is a little old, but I'm used to driving it. If I changed cars, I might not be able to adapt for a while."

The three of them burst out laughing. They got into the car and set off.

After the car had been driving for a while, Zhu Dafu said to Chu Chen, who was in the front passenger seat, "Xiao Chen, I feel your energy and spirit are different from a few days ago. Don't tell me you broke through?"

Chu Chen was startled, then said with a smile, "Uncle Fu, your eyes are sharp. I really did just break through to the Minor Heavenly Cycle."

The ancient Tai Chi practiced by people like Chu Chen had three realms: the Minor Heavenly Cycle, the Major Heavenly Cycle, and the innate realm.

It sounded like the martial arts in novels, but there was nothing as ridiculous as walking along rooftops or plucking leaves to injure people. However, reaching the innate realm would allow one to live past a hundred and fifty with ease.

According to what Chu Chen had heard from his adoptive father, no one in their lineage had broken through to the innate realm since the Qing Dynasty. As for whether there were higher realms beyond the innate realm, they knew even less.

Chu Chen's breakthrough to the Minor Heavenly Cycle had been inexplicable. The moment he began practicing his forms yesterday, he had felt that the energy within his body was different. It was a sign that he had broken through to the Minor Heavenly Cycle. He had been both surprised and delighted, yet puzzled as well. In the end, he guessed that it was very likely connected to his supernatural ability.

Zhu Dafu laughed happily upon hearing this. "Good, Xiao Chen. You can be considered a Tai Chi master now. Truly, the waves behind on the Yangtze River drive on those before. I was already forty when I broke through to the Minor Heavenly Cycle. If you had lived in ancient times, you definitely could have broken through to the innate realm."

Chu Chen repeatedly said that he did not deserve such praise.

As he drove, Zhao Xueyi asked, "That Minor Heavenly Cycle you're talking about—does it really work like it does in martial arts novels?"

Zhu Dafu chuckled. "How could that be possible? If it were like the novels, wouldn't we become superhuman? How could martial arts have declined to this state? Still, once you reach the Minor Heavenly Cycle, you can live to at least ninety, and you can handle eight or nine adult men."

"That's pretty good too," Zhao Xueyi said. "You'd be far more powerful than a special forces soldier. Especially in our line of work—if we go somewhere unfamiliar to buy goods and someone tries to frame us with a scam, at least we won't be completely helpless."

The waters in the antique trade were simply too murky. From ancient times to the present, there had been no shortage of schemes like staged accidents. One had to keep one's eyes peeled during transactions, or one could easily fall into a trap. The sort of situation Zhao Xueyi described was not uncommon.

Afterward, while driving, Zhao Xueyi told everyone about the owner of the residence they were going to search. Only after listening did Chu Chen understand that, strictly speaking, this trip did not count as searching an old residence. The owner was simply advanced in age and wanted to dispose of his many years of collected items. He had contacted Zhao Xueyi, which had led to this trip.

After that, Zhu Dafu exchanged some martial arts experience with Chu Chen. Then everyone shared a few interesting stories about antiques, and the car fell quiet.

Four hours later, they stopped at a service station and ate a little lunch before continuing on their way. By then, Uncle Wu had taken over the driving. After all, driving continuously for four hours had left Zhao Xueyi exhausted.

They were heading to Qianxiu Town, which was under Yunzhong City. It was not far from the service station. After another hour, they reached the meeting place they had arranged with Zhao Qirui.

Zhao Qirui drove a Mercedes. After Chu Chen and the others arrived, Zhao Xueyi got out and went to greet him by the Mercedes. He then took over the driving again, and the two cars set off toward their destination one after another.

As he drove, Zhao Xueyi said gloomily, "What rotten luck. Manager Zhao actually brought that idiot Qian Changxing this time."

Zhu Dafu immediately asked in surprise, "What? Didn't Manager Zhao always have Old Dong do the appraisal? Why did he switch to Old Man Qian this time?"

Uncle Wu said, "That's understandable. Old Dong and Qian Changxing have a good relationship. Perhaps he had something to do this time, so he sent Qian Changxing in his place."

Chu Chen knew some of the reasons why Qian Changxing was disliked by everyone.

Qian Changxing did have some skill in appraising antiques. Years ago, through certain connections, he had entered the Forbidden City Museum and worked as an appraiser, just like Uncle Wu.

However, his character was poor. He had actually teamed up with others to set up a scam and purchase counterfeit goods. By coincidence, Uncle Wu discovered him during the process. Although he avoided prison because his family pleaded for him, he obviously could not keep his job. From then on, he had held a grudge against Uncle Wu.

At that time, reform and opening up had only just begun. Relying on what he had learned, Qian Changxing began appraising items for others and acting as a broker. If he had behaved honestly, he might not have become extremely wealthy, but by now he would probably have had several million. However, he had not changed his ways and had started setting up scams with others again.