Old Objects

The three reached an old street lined with low, single-story buildings. Mold had grown on the corners of the buildings, and the gray walls had worn away to expose the bricks beneath.

This old street was probably older than Zhou Muzhi.

People came and went along the street; it was quite busy.

Xiaozi had clearly never been anywhere like this. Seeing other people's gazes land on her, whether intentionally or not, she edged fearfully closer to the Fourth Young Master.

Zhou Muzhi looked at Lao Xu and spoke. "Are we here?"

Eight feet tall, Lao Xu had a broadsword hanging at his waist. Hearing the Fourth Young Master's voice, he immediately turned and answered softly.

"This is the place, Fourth Young Master. Nearly all the famous old objects in our Suming County come from here."

Only then did Zhou Muzhi nod in satisfaction. They had found the right place, which meant his chances of obtaining deduction points were greater.

Having confirmed it, the three continued forward.

The farther they walked, the narrower the road became. Vendors began appearing on either side, their wares laid out on cloth mats: jewelry, broken bowls, unidentified pottery figurines, and all sorts of objects whose origins Zhou Muzhi could not identify.

Seeing a layout much like an antiques market from his previous life, Zhou Muzhi cast his gaze around, trying to find a stall that looked reasonably reliable.

"Fourth Young Master." Xiaozi's voice sounded softly beside his ear. "We haven't brought enough silver, have we? We only have fifty taels."

After all, his was only a small Lineage in a county town, and he was the youngest son at that. He could not possibly have much silver at his disposal.

Yet to an ordinary farming household in the county, those fifty taels were no small sum. One person would have to toil for nearly four years without spending anything on food or drink to save that much.

In truth, Zhou Muzhi had never intended to spend any silver at all. He gave Xiaozi a reassuring look.

Lao Xu led them into a single-story shop.

"This is one of the few long-established shops. There's practically nothing shoddy here."

As for why Lao Xu knew so much, that was outside Zhou Muzhi's considerations. It was enough that he got the job done.

Upon entering, his vision first darkened. After a moment of adjustment, he saw three or four men in long gowns handling objects inside as they browsed.

The room's layout was relatively simple, forming a U, with glass cabinets blocking off three sides and old objects inside each.

Seeing more people enter, everyone glanced over before losing interest.

Zhou Muzhi also stepped forward to the cabinets, examining their contents by the light streaming through the open skylight.

Just then, an amiable voice rang out. "Young master, what sort of objects would you like to see?"

Zhou Muzhi did not answer. In matters like this, he would not take the initiative to speak.

Lao Xu, standing beside him, took over. "Let our young master look. Naturally, he'll buy if he's satisfied!"

He spoke without the slightest courtesy, but with his build and the saber he carried, no one dared give him a dirty look. The shopkeeper who had addressed them offered a few pleasant words, then let Zhou Muzhi browse.

After looking for a while, he pointed to three spots. "Take those three out. Let me see their quality."

He certainly had to inspect the goods. It would not do to buy a fake.

The shopkeeper immediately took out the objects he had indicated.

Zhou Muzhi promptly stepped forward and touched each one, his brows furrowing slightly. There was not the slightest response.

He had chosen them according to the experience in his head. Even if they were not old objects, they were certainly valuable.

There was no helping it. Since accumulated experience could not determine the outcome, he would have to resort to human-wave tactics.

"This one, let me see it!"

"This one too, and that one..."

At first, it was nothing much, but as Zhou Muzhi handled more and more objects, even Lao Xu could not help rubbing his forehead as though wiping away a cold sweat.

The shopkeeper's gaze was also growing increasingly odd.

He hardly looked like he had come to buy anything. People would have believed he was here to pick a fight.

At last!

Just as Zhou Muzhi's hands were about to go numb from all the touching, his deduction points began to move.

0.6, 0.8, 1.2, 1.6, 1.9, 2.2, 2.5...

They had risen by a full two points.

"What's the origin of this thing in my hand?"

By now, the shopkeeper's attitude had undergone a subtle change, but having worked in this trade for so long and seen so many people, he could keep his composure.

"Young master, what you're touching is a yin object recovered from the Northern General's Tomb, a ritual vessel whose full name is Azure Gui Single Nether. I must say, you truly have a razor-sharp eye!"

Xiaozi gave a startled cry.

Lao Xu frowned slightly, his hand closing around his saber hilt.

Zhou Muzhi merely smiled, not particularly concerned. He was not buying it, after all, only expanding his database to make finding the old objects he needed easier later.

He returned the ritual vessel, then, under the shopkeeper's teeth-grinding gaze, touched every item for sale in the shop's cabinets.

Zhou Muzhi left shaking his head, as though saying the things here were nothing special and none had caught his eye.

If looks could stab people, the shopkeeper would have pierced at least a few holes in him.

Lao Xu followed behind, not daring to ask much, and continued leading the way to the next shop.

Zhou Muzhi's purpose in coming here was quite simple: to get deduction points for free, even if it meant wasting time when every second counted.

At the next shop, he used the same old trick. This shopkeeper took a different approach. After Zhou Muzhi had handled more than half the goods and found an object containing deduction points to ask about, the shopkeeper responded.

He went straight to the price.

"This is a sarira left behind after an eminent monk passed into nirvana. There were only seven back then, and I have one here. Eighty taels of silver, a fair price for young and old alike!"

After absorbing the one deduction point within it, Zhou Muzhi put it down.

"I'll keep looking."

The shopkeeper rolled his eyes, but seeing that he had brought both a guard and a maid and clearly was not poor, he could hardly lose his temper. He could only endure it.

After touching everything in this shop, Zhou Muzhi once again led his people away.

By now, Lao Xu no longer knew what to say. He could only dutifully lead the way.

At the last of these so-called old-goods shops, he repeated the same trick again. This shopkeeper was smarter. After Zhou Muzhi had examined just four or five items, he spoke up.

"Honored guest, while you may handle our goods, it looks as though you intend to touch every single one. These objects break easily. You'll have to pay five taels of silver first before you can examine them all."

At this, Zhou Muzhi stopped what he was doing. He turned it over in his mind, then looked at the skinny, monkey-like shopkeeper and asked, "Do your shops pass news around that quickly? You already know about me?"

You want me to pay five taels just to touch things?

Zhou Muzhi laughed inwardly. Does touching and examining the goods break some rule?

Is there such a rule?

Lao Xu was about to speak when Zhou Muzhi went straight into bully mode.

"Is this a place of business or not?"

The shopkeeper knew trouble was coming, but he could not refuse to answer. He could only steel himself and reply, "Honored guest, of course this is a place of business!"

"You call me an honored guest, but I can't touch things like everyone else? How am I supposed to know what's good and what's bad without touching them?

"I can pay, but I'll stand right here and watch. You'll have to charge every single person who comes in after me. If you don't, don't blame me for having a few words with them!"

Zhou Muzhi neither made vicious threats nor used his fists. He merely reverted briefly to the manner he remembered.

Left with no recourse, the shopkeeper could only let him keep touching things.

His luck was poor this time. After touching everything in the shop, he obtained only half a deduction point.

Having achieved his purpose for this trip, he turned and left the shop.

On the old street, the stallholders who had set up on either side had also packed up their wares and gone back one after another. Only a few remained, still putting things away.

Seeing there were not many, Zhou Muzhi went over to look at each in turn and touched everything, but did not buy a single item.

Compared with the shopkeepers inside, those outside were of considerably lower standing. Never mind glaring at him; every one of them could only greet him with a smile.

Unfortunately, there was nothing he wanted out here.

When he looked at the sky again, dusk had long since fallen. A faint streak of black had appeared along the horizon, and night was approaching.

Zhou Muzhi clapped his hands and said, "Let's go. Back to the residence."

"Yes, Fourth Young Master!"

Lao Xu and Xiaozi followed him onto the road back to the Zhou Residence.