Chapter 100

Su Jiu strolled through the night market with a carefree attitude, but after a full hour, he hadn't sensed the aura of any magical artifacts, and his inner mental energy was already more than half depleted.

Looking for magical artifacts like this, relying on luck, could be considered a first for someone like Su Jiu. It was fortunate that the golden compass in his mind contained some related mental energy sensing techniques; otherwise, ordinary feng shui masters wouldn't have such abilities.

Despite this, Su Jiu was still quite exhausted.

It had been a full hour, and there was no reaction at all.

This made Su Jiu doubt whether the technique was effective or if the night market even had any magical artifacts.

"This is an antique street, not a feng shui street. It's really hard to find a magical artifact!" Su Jiu muttered to himself, feeling a bit disappointed.

Originally, Su Jiu had guessed that among the antiques sold here, there would be some feng shui artifacts mixed in. This was common knowledge, as his grandfather had mentioned similar things before.

Many feng shui artifacts were unearthed from ancient tombs along with antiques and gathered by dealers, making it very easy for feng shui artifacts to appear on antique streets.

On the contrary, feng shui streets, where feng shui masters gathered, had fewer artifacts.

Why?

Generally, those who visited antique streets were antique enthusiasts who didn't understand feng shui and couldn't sense the aura of feng shui artifacts. Therefore, even if there were artifacts, others wouldn't recognize them.

On the other hand, if it were a feng shui street, those who came here were often feng shui masters or at least people with some knowledge of feng shui.

Thus, if there were feng shui artifacts on a feng shui street, they would naturally be scooped up.

While this made sense, sometimes reality was harsh.

Like now, Su Jiu had been wandering for so long and hadn't even seen the shadow of a magical artifact.

Not to mention top-tier artifacts, he hadn't even encountered a single-use replica.

"Stop fooling around. Is this even an antique? What a joke!" A noisy voice came from ahead, immediately catching Su Jiu's attention.

"Why would I fool you? Cash on delivery, no returns. Once you buy it, you're responsible. The rules of the antique street are clear. If you buy my jade gourd and then swap it for a fake, demanding a refund, wouldn't we vendors be at a loss?"

"I knew you guys were all in on this. When I bought it, you said it was a genuine Han Dynasty artifact. If it weren't for my friend's reminder, I wouldn't have known that jade gourds weren't carved during the Han Dynasty. I won't let this go today. If you don't give me a satisfactory answer, I'll report you for selling cultural relics."

"Report it? Go ahead! Antiques aren't for newcomers like you. The police know our rules. Once a deal is made, there are no returns. It's called a 'mistake' in the antique world."

"You, you're cheating..."

"Kid, give it up! The boss may be a bit harsh, but he's telling the truth."

"Right, right, kid, consider it a lesson learned."

"This antique is just a mistake. Don't make a scene here; it won't help."

"..."

The commotion naturally caught Su Jiu's attention.

He took a few steps and approached to take a look.

In front of a small stall stood a young man in his twenties, wearing glasses, facing a thin, middle-aged man with a straw hat.

That must be the shop owner.

From the earlier commotion, Su Jiu had a general idea of what was happening.

Su Jiu was very clear about such matters. The young man had indeed been unlucky.

Although he didn't deal in antiques, he was familiar with the industry's rules.

In the antique world, there was no concept of fraud or guaranteed authenticity. The authenticity of antiques depended entirely on one's own judgment.

If you had the skills, you'd buy genuine items. If you pretended to be an expert and bought fakes, you had no one to blame but yourself.

"Everyone, look at this jade gourd. He swindled me out of 18,000 yuan. And he said it was a Han Dynasty artifact. What a joke!" The young man with glasses, clearly unwilling to back down, complained, his face full of frustration.

"That's your own fault. If you were swindled out of 18,000 yuan, it's because you're naive and rich. Who else would they swindle?"

"Exactly, you made a mistake and blame others. If you don't have the skills, don't pretend to be an expert."

"..."

"Who, who is saying such cold words?" The young man with glasses, after his words, was met with ridicule from the onlookers. Hearing the ridicule, he became even more agitated.

The young man with glasses was indeed a bit foolish, no, very foolish. Such people were prime targets in the antique world.

Su Jiu watched from the side, suppressing a laugh. The young man's attire was decent, suggesting he came from a well-off family; otherwise, he wouldn't be shopping at the night market.

In times of turmoil, people seek gold; in times of peace, they seek antiques. This was an eternal truth, deeply rooted in China's thousands of years of history.

With the economic development of society, more and more people were becoming wealthy, and thus, more and more targets were being created.

"Consider it my bad luck. This jade gourd, I'll take it as a lesson and a loss." The young man with glasses, after being lectured by the crowd, accepted the reality of his mistake. He said this with a tough tone and made a show of wanting to smash the jade gourd.

This scene was common on antique streets, let alone at night markets.

People who made mistakes and bought fakes often smashed their antiques in anger, a daily occurrence here. No one tried to stop it because it was too common.

But today, something different happened. Someone actually...

"Wait, can I see the jade gourd in your hand?"

Su Jiu squinted and spoke to the young man with glasses.

"What?" The young man with glasses, hearing Su Jiu's words, was momentarily stunned and stopped his action.

"I think this is genuine. If it's a real artifact, I'd like to buy it." Su Jiu deliberately focused on the jade gourd. He knew that although the young man with glasses had made a scene, he probably wasn't short of money.

To smash an 18,000 yuan item like this...

Naturally, the young man with glasses was losing face. Su Jiu's words completely catered to the young man's sense of pride.