Gu Cheng was cultivating.
He lay on the bed with his eyes closed.
There was no trace of breath about him. If not for the slight rise and fall of his chest, he would have been indistinguishable from a corpse.
According to the information he had obtained from the Visualization Secret Slip,
the Fetal Breathing Method was also known as innate true breathing or tortoise breathing.
It mimicked the way a fetus breathed inside its mother's womb, a breathing method belonging to the innate realm.
The true Fetal Breathing Method could supposedly be traced back to Bodhidharma's Bodhidharma Fetal Breathing Scripture.
It had six levels in total.
Gu Cheng was currently at the first level.
Thanks to the guidance of the Visualization Secret Slip, along with his own talent and natural aptitude,
he had reached the middle stage of the first level as soon as he began.
However, the Fetal Breathing Method was not a combat technique.
It was merely a health-preserving technique.
So, apart from a pleasant warmth throughout his body, Gu Cheng had noticed no major changes.
The strength of an ox?
A piercing gaze?
Immunity to heat and cold?
None of that had happened.
After finishing his practice, Gu Cheng opened his eyes with a helpless expression.
"I thought I was the chosen protagonist, that I could max out my cultivation right away and become a big shot on the Heavenly Ranking."
"Turns out I'm still a total noob."
"Looks like I'll have to keep lying low and leveling up!"
"If only I could get my hands on some powerful technique or a divine treasure that could boost my cultivation."
Just as he was fantasizing about mastering mighty combat techniques, decking himself out in top-tier spiritual artifacts, and cutting down any god or Buddha who stood in his way, his phone suddenly rang.
An unfamiliar number.
Gu Cheng answered the call.
Before long, an enigmatic smile spread across his face.
An hour later.
They were back at the Old Yanbei Mutton Restaurant.
Only this time, they were in a private room.
Sitting at the table, Gu Cheng studied Hu Bayi curiously.
He was the undisputed protagonist of the Ghost Blows Out the Lamp series.
The Tomb-Raiding Trio he formed with Fatty Wang and Shirley Yang had won countless fans.
But seeing him in person,
Gu Cheng found that he was just an ordinary, rugged fellow.
He was fairly tall and well-built.
His ancestral home was supposedly in Fujian.
Someone that tall was relatively uncommon there.
As for his looks...
Gu Cheng had watched many adaptations of Ghost Blows Out the Lamp.
The ones starring Brother Kun, Old Jin, Old Pan, and two of the actors from the Heavenly Court Banquet.
The last two weren't worth discussing. Just thinking about them gave him a headache.
The first three were the classics.
But if Gu Cheng had to pick his favorite, it would have to be Old Pan.
He had captured Hu Bayi's humor, wit, and streetwise air perfectly.
The Hu Bayi before him
was practically a carbon copy of Old Pan.
Wang Kaixuan introduced him with a smile. "Young Master Gu, this is my childhood buddy, Hu Bayi."
"An army ace, an expert in hand-to-hand combat, and a damn good shot. If he hadn't made a little mistake and been forced to leave the service, he'd have been a future general for sure."
Beside him, Hu Bayi watched Fatty Wang run his mouth, looking rather speechless.
At least make your bullshit believable, damn it.
Gu Cheng looked at the two of them candidly.
"Have either of you ever been involved in the antiques business?"
Wang Kaixuan shook his head. "Don't laugh at me, Young Master Gu, but I've tried my hand at every trade under the sun. Ask me about anything else, and I can tell you a thing or two. But antiques? I've really never touched that business. Too many pitfalls."
Hu Bayi paused briefly.
Then he shook his head, his expression composed. "Before I joined the army, I just messed around with Fatty. Later, my dad sent me into the military because I kept getting into fights. Apart from soldiering, I don't know how to do anything."
Gu Cheng smiled faintly. "The antiques business certainly has plenty of pitfalls."
"You can be poor at midnight and rich by dawn. It's even more exciting than gambling."
"Find a treasure, and you can get rich overnight."
"Buy a fake, and you can lose every penny."
"I'm sure you've heard those stories about people finding bargains. They spend a few thousand yuan on something unremarkable, only to have it appraised as a treasure worth millions or tens of millions. The buyer hits the jackpot, while the seller is left bitterly regretting it."
"After hearing that, don't you envy those bargain hunters?"
Hu Bayi smiled faintly and said nothing.
Fatty Wang, however, was so excited that his whole face flushed. "Of course I envy them! Those people are ridiculously lucky. Ah, why can't something like that ever happen to me?"
Gu Cheng laughed. "Of course it can't happen to you. Those stories are all made up."
"Made up?!"
Fatty Wang froze.
Gu Cheng sneered. "Do you really think finding a bargain is that easy?"
"Everyone who can run a stall in Panjiayuan is shrewd as hell. They've examined the goods they sell countless times. Why would they let you snap up a bargain so easily?!"
"To put it bluntly, those stories are invented to fool suckers like you."
Fatty Wang was dumbfounded.
Hu Bayi looked thoughtful.
"An antique can cost as little as a few hundred yuan, while prices in the hundreds of millions aren't uncommon either."
"What matters is your eye and your experience."
"Some people also say the antiques business is a rich man's game, and the poor should stay out."
"What do you think?"
Hu Bayi and Fatty Wang exchanged a glance. Fatty Wang shook his head. "Nothing much. I'm broke anyway. I can't afford to play that game."
Gu Cheng lightly rubbed his palms together. "That's fine. The rich have their way of playing, but the poor have theirs too."
At that point,
he suddenly leaned forward, fixed his gaze on the two of them, and asked softly, "Have you ever heard of going into tombs?"
Fatty Wang looked utterly bewildered.
Hu Bayi's body gave a slight jolt, and his expression instantly became somewhat uneasy.
To all you handsome readers out there, writing a book isn't easy, and mine isn't one of those formulaic tomb-raiding stories.
If you think it's decent, please send some flowers, ratings, and tips.
If the stats look good,
I'll post at least ten updates.
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