"Trash!"
"Trash!"
"It's all trash!"
Inside the Treasure-Hiding Studio, a sharply dressed young man surveyed the various antiques on the shelves. His handsome face was full of disdain, and he kept repeating one word without the slightest restraint.
"Trash!"
Gu Cheng, who had been sitting behind the counter reading, could no longer sit still.
He stepped out from behind the counter and motioned for the shop assistant to stand aside.
"Sir, please show some respect when you speak."
Gu Cheng spoke in a low voice.
"The Treasure-Hiding Studio may not be the largest antique shop in Panjiayuan."
"But our stock ranks among the best in all of Panjiayuan. Even the Treasure Gathering Tower wouldn't dare call everything we sell trash!"
The young man gave a contemptuous smile. "What, am I not allowed to call trash what it is?"
"I came here because of the Treasure-Hiding Studio's reputation. I thought I'd find something worthwhile, but I never expected this..."
"You should stop calling this place the Treasure-Hiding Studio. Call it the Trash Heap instead."
Even Gu Cheng, mild-tempered as he was,
had been angered by this young man.
"How arrogant. I'd say you're nothing but an ignorant, spoiled rich kid who doesn't know a damn thing."
"Yet you have the nerve to come here and spout such nonsense."
The two bodyguard-looking men behind the young man snorted and moved to step forward.
The young man held out a hand and stopped them.
He smiled and said, "I've always preferred to win people over with reason. I never use my position to bully anyone."
"Since I said everything in your shop is trash, I'll make sure you're thoroughly convinced."
He walked over to a nearby visitor's chair and sat down.
He crossed his legs.
With a soft chuckle, he asked, "Do you know anything about antiques?"
Gu Cheng sneered.
The shop assistant beside him said proudly, "Our young master has been exceptionally gifted since childhood and was hailed as a child prodigy. He became Master Zhou's apprentice at six and began studying treasure appraisal. By thirteen, he had mastered antique authentication, and at sixteen, he took over the Treasure-Hiding Studio. He has never made a mistaken appraisal to this day. In the trade, he's known as Golden Eye."
"Golden Eye?!"
The young man looked as though he had heard something hilarious.
He suddenly burst out laughing.
Gu Cheng's expression grew uglier and uglier as the young man laughed.
Just as he was about to lose his temper,
the young man suddenly took a jade pendant off his neck.
"Golden Eye, since you're so talented, why don't you appraise this jade pendant of mine? If you can tell me a thing or two about it, I'll buy every item in your shop today."
"But if you can't..."
The young man looked around the shop.
Finally, he pointed to a palm-sized bronze Pixiu statue sitting in the feng shui position behind the counter. "Then you can hand that over to me. It's the only thing in your shop that's remotely interesting."
Gu Cheng followed his finger and looked at the Pixiu.
He immediately felt puzzled.
His father had put that Pixiu there, saying it was part of a feng shui arrangement.
He had even specifically warned Gu Cheng that the Pixiu must never be moved.
Gu Cheng had found that strange at the time.
Wasn't his father making too much of it?
Later, he had appraised the Pixiu repeatedly and was absolutely certain it was nothing more than an inexpensive bronze statue.
At most, it was worth two or three thousand yuan.
Why had this outrageously arrogant rich kid taken an interest in that item alone?
Was there really some secret to it?
Gu Cheng began to hesitate.
Seeing this, the young man immediately sneered. "What? Don't dare? Do you lack confidence or courage?"
Gu Cheng was a young man too.
He simply couldn't swallow the insult. Gritting his teeth, he said, "Our stock isn't cheap. I'm just worried you don't have that much money!"
"But since you're willing to give me money to spend, how could I refuse?"
"It's a deal. No backing out if you lose!"
With that,
he put on his gloves and carefully picked up the jade pendant.
The instant he held it, a shiver ran through his entire body.
It was like being drenched in ice water in the scorching heat of summer.
He instantly felt invigorated, his attention sharply focused.
His nervousness abruptly subsided as well, leaving him calm and peaceful.
Gu Cheng was inwardly shocked.
What an incredible jade pendant!
He had heard before that some ancient jade pieces possessed extraordinary effects.
He had always assumed those were just rumors.
He had never expected to encounter the real thing today!
Filled with intense curiosity, he began appraising it.
It was a jade carving.
It depicted Manjushri Bodhisattva.
The carver's extraordinary skill was evident. He had given the Bodhisattva a kind, benevolent face and an exceptional spiritual presence.
With Gu Cheng's discerning eye,
he soon recognized the ancient jade as a Song dynasty depiction of Manjushri adorned with jeweled ornaments.
Both the quality of the jade and the carving supported that conclusion.
But...
This was too easy!
Anyone in Panjiayuan with even a little expertise could have seen that.
It was like finding an arithmetic question on a college entrance exam, asking: 1 + 1 = ?
And it was worth a full twenty points.
It would leave anyone completely stumped.
Even an idiot knew that 1 + 1 = 2.
But who would dare write that down?
Could the answer really be that simple?!
Gu Cheng also believed that the young man wouldn't test him with something so straightforward.
Besides, he had already confirmed that this jade pendant was extraordinary.
The answer couldn't possibly be that simple!
So he focused intently, examining the jade pendant in greater detail.
Just as his concentration reached its peak,
some text abruptly appeared beside the jade pendant before his eyes.
The text looked as though it were coming through a poor signal.
It was blurry and kept flickering.
It gave him a fright.
As his concentration slipped, the text disappeared.
It was as though it had been a hallucination.
Gu Cheng felt bewildered and uncertain.
He took a deep breath.
He continued looking at the jade pendant.
But when he focused intently, the text appeared again.
This time, Gu Cheng wasn't frightened.
Instead, he became interested in the text.
Then, to his surprise, he discovered that the information would appear whenever he concentrated.
The harder he concentrated, the clearer the text became.
Conversely, if his attention wandered,
the text would blur or even disappear entirely.
After a little practice, he finally managed to read the information clearly.
[Item name]: Bodhisattva Spirit [Item grade]: supreme-grade magical artifact [Item abilities]: Focuses the mind and calms the spirit; protects the soul and wards off evil [Item description]: Enshrined before a statue of Manjushri Bodhisattva for a hundred years and consecrated by a master. It focuses the mind, calms the heart, protects the soul, and keeps all evil at bay.