Chapter 17

Wei Yan, hands on her hips, shouted, "Pah, what do you mean 'give us'? That's 'return'—would he dare not to?"

"Right, would he dare not to?" Jiang Shanghua also shouted loudly.

Yang Kang closed the door of the storage room and began to pack his few simple belongings. In fact, there wasn't much to pack, just a few old clothes for changing.

He dragged out the suitcase from under the bed, opened it, and as he was about to put his things inside, Yang Kang's gaze suddenly became fixed. At the bottom of the suitcase, there was a long leather case, inside which was an ancient painting. It was this painting that had led to the ruin of his family.

His father had a certain expertise in appraising antiques, so how could he have been deceived by a high-quality forgery? As a result, the Yang family ended up with nothing, and all that remained was this painting. When his father's ashes were buried, he had thought about burning this painting as a funeral offering, but in the end, he decided to keep it as a memento of his father.

When his father was alive, he had bought him many things—famous brand clothes, watches, gold jewelry, and so on. But in the end, he sold everything that could be sold, leaving him with no keepsakes. All that remained was this painting, "The Splendor of Tokyo."

Many people didn't know what "The Splendor of Tokyo" was, but the painter was well-known in the world of calligraphy and painting. This person had a famous masterpiece that even those who knew nothing about antiques knew was worth a fortune.

That painting was called "Along the River During the Qingming Festival"!

Yes, "The Splendor of Tokyo" and "Along the River During the Qingming Festival" were both masterpieces by the same painter, Zhang Zeduan. It was said that "The Splendor of Tokyo" was the precursor to "Along the River During the Qingming Festival." Yang Kang had seen it before, and the layout and composition were indeed similar to "Along the River During the Qingming Festival," so the rumor seemed to be true.

If this painting were genuine, it would be priceless, and it was no wonder that his father had been willing to spend everything to acquire it.

Thinking about this, Yang Kang reached out to touch the long leather case. But as his fingers touched the case, a surge of spiritual energy rose and spread out.

The spiritual energy was so dense that it almost solidified...

"God!" Yang Kang shouted. What kind of joke was the heavens playing on them? Why? Why was this high-quality forgery of "The Splendor of Tokyo" emitting such a strong spiritual energy? Could the appraiser have been wrong?

But that appraiser... was the most renowned in Jinling, and indeed, he was famous throughout the entire antique world.

Was there something wrong with the Yin Treasure Mirror? But from yesterday's events, it seemed that the Yin Treasure Mirror was fine...

"Calm down... calm down..." Yang Kang pinched his thigh hard, and the intense pain brought him back to his senses. He had to stay calm; there must be something wrong here.

He sat on his bed and thought seriously—if the Yin Treasure Mirror was fine, then the problem must be with the appraiser.

In the world of antiques, there was always a saying: even the most skilled appraiser could make a mistake. But what could have led the famous appraiser Ou Mofeng in Jinling to believe that this painting was a forgery?

He would have to find a chance to ask Ou Mofeng and perhaps understand the reason...

Yang Kang carefully untied the leather case, took out the scroll, and examined it. The painting was exquisitely detailed, and he knew about antiques. From the paper, ink, and coloring, he couldn't find any flaws. He carefully put the painting back into the leather case and placed it at the bottom of the suitcase.

If this painting was genuine, his father's death was truly unjust... unjust... At that moment, Yang Kang fell onto the bed, tears streaming down his face.

He didn't know how long he cried, feeling his head heavy and dazed. Remembering that he had to transfer money to Jiang Yan at two o'clock, he got up, packed his things, put his clothes in the suitcase, and put the other items in the snake-skin bag he had bought for the fan.

At 1:50 PM, Wei Yan came to bang on the storage room door, shouting, "Yang Kang, are you dead in there? It's two o'clock, hurry up and come out to the bank. Don't dawdle; paying off debts is a natural duty."

Yang Kang didn't say anything, opened the door, dragged the suitcase, and carried the large snake-skin bag, saying, "Let's go!"

Jiang Shanghua saw his red, swollen eyes, clearly from crying, and mocked, "What's wrong, crying now? Weren't you so cool? Heh heh heh, look at you now. Do you even look like a person? If you sit at the entrance of the mall with a broken dog bowl, I bet many people would give you money.

Yang Kang, if you can't make it, why don't you come to my house and be a nanny? I'll give you two meals a day."

Yang Kang glanced at Jiang Shanghua and suddenly smiled strangely. For some reason, he felt a bit happy. His father had never made a mistake in his life with antiques, and this was the only time he had been wrong, but it was only a mistake in judgment.

Just then, Yang Kang's phone rang. He took it out and saw it was Zhou Bomin, so he answered. Wei Yan stood to the side, looking impatient.

"Xiaokang, have you found a job?" Zhou Bomin asked.

"Hello, Uncle Zhou, no!" Yang Kang said. He had asked his friend Huang Tang to help him look for a job, but there was no news. When he went out to look for himself, people would shake their heads as soon as they heard he had an associate degree.

"It's like this!" Zhou Bomin said, "I have a friend who opened an antique shop in Jinling last year. He now wants to find someone knowledgeable to help him and asked me to keep an eye out. I thought of you."

"Ah?" Yang Kang immediately felt happy. Working in an antique shop as a clerk, he thought he could handle it.

"I just told him about you, and he's interested—go over there and take a look. It's on Antique Street, at Ruyi Workshop. Do you know it?" Zhou Bomin said.

Yang Kang was stunned for a moment. Ruyi Workshop? Could things be this coincidental? Ruyi Workshop was right across the street from Yuzhen Studio, and he passed by it every day. How could he not know it?

"I know the shop, but I don't know the owner," Yang Kang hurriedly smiled.

"The owner's surname is Shao. When you go, just say I introduced you, and it will be fine. I have some things to do, so I'll be busy. I won't talk to you anymore," Zhou Bomin said.

"Okay, thank you, Uncle Zhou," Yang Kang politely thanked him and hung up the phone.