Chapter 6

What is a Ding?

A national treasure, a ritual vessel, a divine object.

In ancient times, Yu the Great cast nine Dings and divided the land. During the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties, the Son of Heaven had nine Dings, the feudal lords had seven, the high-ranking officials had five, and the scholars had three. As for the common people, they certainly had no right to use a Ding.

Although at first, the Ding was just a cooking utensil for the ancients, as time progressed, its meaning gradually evolved, becoming a symbol of power.

Therefore, in ancient times, the Ding was a very taboo object for ordinary people. Without a corresponding status, who would dare to privately cast a Ding? It would certainly be a crime punishable by the destruction of one's family.

In other words, the Ding has always been circulated in a small circle, and it was very difficult for ordinary people to see one.

Of course, in modern society, as long as you have money, you can cast a Ding and place it in your home without much difficulty. However, modern Dings and ancient Dings are completely different concepts. In terms of value, they are worlds apart.

Seeing the Ding, Qi Xiang felt extremely excited. He carefully cleaned the Ding and then examined it attentively.

This examination lasted for over an hour. During this time, Qi Xiang was completely absorbed, fully engrossed, and oblivious to everything else, including Wang Dong and the others.

Wang Dong and the others stood by the side, waiting. Noticing that Qi Xiang had no intention of stopping, they felt it was a torment. After all, they had been half-drunk during the day and had climbed mountains and moved things at night, leaving them utterly exhausted.

It was around two o'clock in the morning, the best time for sleep.

Wang Dong couldn't hold out any longer. He yawned widely and covered his mouth, saying, "I'm going to sleep. You... leave one person to guard outside, and the rest can go to rest."

After Wang Dong left, the remaining people looked at each other and then scattered.

One unlucky person, who ran slower, had to stay and guard. However, he wasn't stupid. He moved a long chair to block the door, then lay on the chair, half-closed his eyes, and kept watch.

In a moment, the room was left with only Qi Xiang.

After a long time, Qi Xiang finally came out of his trance. He looked around and realized no one was there. He took off his gloves and slowly twisted his neck.

He felt very tired but also very fulfilled.

After all, such ancient Dings are usually national treasures, and as a small-time player, he had no chance to come into contact with them. Now, he could observe one up close, naturally becoming engrossed and completely immersed.

"It should be genuine, but I don't know the exact period..." Qi Xiang muttered to himself, "Spring and Autumn? Warring States? Forget it, I'll have Jiang Lao Da invite experts to appraise it when I get back."

Qi Xiang was very self-aware, knowing he lacked the ability to appraise. Being able to determine that it was a genuine ancient Ding was already good. Matters like dating should be left to the experts.

After rubbing his neck for a while, Qi Xiang felt somewhat relieved. His body was quite tired, but his spirit was bright and alert, with no hint of sleepiness. Soon, his gaze shifted to a pile of scattered objects nearby.

Although the objects were scattered, they were undoubtedly antiques.

With a bit of curiosity, Qi Xiang walked over to examine them.

The pile consisted mainly of jade objects, including jade rings, jade disks, jade cylinders, and knife-shaped coins.

Qi Xiang glanced over, but his gaze paused on a fist-sized piece of jade.

The piece of jade seemed to be unprocessed, without any carving or polishing, plain and unadorned, with a gray-brown color and some mud stains, looking very ordinary.

However, this piece of jade gave him a strong impulse. It was as if, in the depths of his mind, a sense of intuition told him that this object was important and should not be missed...

Qi Xiang was puzzled, gently picking up the piece of jade. As soon as his fingers touched it, his heart was immediately stirred, with a series of indescribable tremors.

"What's going on?" Qi Xiang felt very surprised.

At that moment, Qi Xiang suddenly felt a tingling in his fingers, as if he had been electrocuted. A spark of light shot up in the jade, making his hand tremble, and he almost threw the jade away.

At the same time, he immediately saw a brilliant flash of light appear inside the jade. The gray-brown jade instantly became crystal clear, as pure and transparent as crystal, radiating a gem-like luster.

In an instant, the light, like electricity or mercury, seeped into his hand, then wound up his arm, and finally drilled into his forehead.

Qi Xiang felt a surge in his forehead, then everything went dark, and the world spun. However, he did not lose consciousness; his mind became blank, his thoughts sluggish, and he felt dazed.

In a daze, vaguely and indistinctly...

He didn't know how long it had been, but he suddenly felt a vibration in his forehead, and a warm current flowed through his body, rolling like a pearl.

As the current rolled, he felt his body gradually warm up, and his blood and qi surged.

With each surge of blood and qi, his whole body felt warm and comfortable, and his skin and pores relaxed.

This light and floating feeling was very captivating.

As the blood and qi surged, his spirit also swayed.

His hearing, touch, and spiritual senses seemed to be amplified, extending outward.

Faintly, Qi Xiang felt as if he could capture the traces of air movement. The gentle night breeze blew outside, slipping through the door crack, carrying specks of dust.

The person guarding outside was already sound asleep, occasionally swallowing and unconsciously scratching his face, restless in sleep.

A breath of wind swept past, slowly reaching the end of the corridor.

In that direction, it seemed that someone was talking...

"Boss, rest assured, we have already taken care of it. He has no suspicion at all."

"Yes, yes, we directly led him into the tomb and let him watch us take out the things..."

"...All the items are genuine, except for one, which we switched. He wouldn't notice."

"...Absolutely foolproof, absolutely foolproof."

"Good, good, good, contact again..."

The voices stopped, and the room returned to silence. After a moment, the sound of tossing and turning could be heard. After a long time, the breathing stabilized, indicating that the person had fallen asleep.

At this moment, Qi Xiang's heart was shaken, and he also woke up from this mysterious state. He looked down and saw that the piece of jade in his hand had turned into a pile of powder.

However, he didn't have time to investigate the reason and immediately fell into deep thought...

The night passed quietly. The next morning, Wang Dong and the others got up one after another and gathered together.

"Brother Qi, did you really stay up all night?" Wang Dong's eyes showed a hint of surprise.

"Not that exaggerated," Qi Xiang said with a smile, "After you all went to rest, I also went to sleep."

"Oh," Wang Dong didn't doubt it, as Qi Xiang's appearance didn't look like someone who had stayed up all night. He then smiled and asked, "Brother, what do you think of these things after last night?"

"Good..." Qi Xiang said sincerely, "Each piece is a masterpiece."

"Brother, you have a good eye," Wang Dong said, giving a thumbs up.

Qi Xiang smiled and then changed the subject, "Unfortunately..."

"Unfortunately what?" Wang Dong asked quickly.

"Unfortunately, they are stolen goods, hard to sell!" Qi Xiang said with a light laugh, "And the price is hard to estimate."

"Ha, ha, ha," Wang Dong said, relieved, "The price, let Jiang Lao Da decide. I'm sure he won't let us brothers work for nothing."

"That's true," Qi Xiang said with a calm smile, "But Jiang Lao Da is very busy. Before I came, he entrusted the negotiation to me. Brother Dong, if I offend you, please bear with me."

Wang Dong was taken aback but then became even more enthusiastic, smiling, "Brother, why didn't you say so earlier? Let's go, let's go, let's go have breakfast..."

"Breakfast later," Qi Xiang said, pointing, "Brother Dong, give me a price for these things."

"Brother, talking about money hurts the feelings," Wang Dong waved his hand, "You name a price, as long as it doesn't shortchange us. Whether it's more or less, we don't care; let's just consider it a friendship."

Wang Dong was polite, but Qi Xiang didn't hold back, cutting a large chunk off the price, "One hundred thousand?"

"Hiss..." Wang Dong's mouth twitched, and he felt a toothache. His subordinates were even more stunned, thinking Qi Xiang was too greedy and definitely a big swindler.

Even though everyone knew these things were stolen goods and the price should be low, they never expected Qi Xiang to be so shameless.

"Cough..." Wang Dong's smile was bitter, and he had to retract his words, "Brother, don't you think this price... is a bit low?"

"One hundred thousand is not low," Qi Xiang analyzed, "Brother Dong, you don't know, the market for antiques is getting worse every year. A few years ago, there were countless items worth a fortune. But now, they are almost gone."

"Experts say that investments are returning to rationality, and the overall market is declining."

Qi Xiang shook his head and sighed, "Moreover, these items have very clear soil stains and need to be stored for many years before they can be sold. Considering inflation, the money in the future won't be worth much, so one hundred thousand now is really not low."

The group was stunned, inwardly marveling at how shameless and brazen this person could be.

Wang Dong couldn't help but frown, suppressing his anger, "Brother, you need to have a conscience. Just the Ding alone is worth more than one hundred thousand."

"The Ding?" Qi Xiang shook his head again, "Brother Dong, you're not in the know. Actually, the Ding isn't worth much..."

Wang Dong's anger surged to his head but was forcibly suppressed. He managed to force a smile, "Brother Qi, are you joking? This is an ancient Ding, how can it not be worth much?"

"An ancient Ding is certainly valuable, even priceless," Qi Xiang sighed, "The problem is, if it was excavated by the state, it would be valuable. In private hands, it can't be displayed and can only be appreciated privately..."