Chapter 5: Humiliation

As the edges of the cover absorbed the moisture and began to soften, Yang Kang carefully used a paper cutter to pry open the surface. As he had expected, there was a hidden layer inside the cover. The person who had done the binding was so skilled that it was seamless.

He carefully pierced the thin outer layer of paper. Without a professional light table, he had to use a flashlight to illuminate the area as he slowly peeled it back. This was a delicate task, as any mistake could destroy the contents. Fortunately, he was young, with good eyesight and nimble hands. It took him about half an hour to finally peel back the outer layer.

The contents of the hidden layer were now exposed.

Yang Kang tidied up and carefully spread out the not-so-large piece of paper inside. At first glance, he almost let out a cry of surprise—it was a small ink painting. It wasn't large, about forty centimeters in length and twenty centimeters in width, with a few seals on it.

The painting depicted a bamboo plant, seemingly drawn casually, but the bamboo looked natural and elegant, delicate and refined. Despite being an ink painting, it gave a vivid sense of the bamboo's vibrant green and robustness.

Yang Kang's gaze fell on the signature—Ni Zan!

If these two characters were mentioned alone, many people might not know who Ni Zan was. However, Yang Kang, who studied history and whose family had been in the antique business, was immediately stunned when he saw these characters.

In the world of calligraphy and painting, in recent years, a name that has become well-known is Huang Gongwang. Huang Gongwang's "Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains" has been hyped up and is now world-famous, which has naturally increased the value of his paintings.

However, during the Yuan Dynasty, Ni Zan was as famous as Huang Gongwang, along with Wang Meng and Wu Zhen, forming the Four Masters of the Yuan Dynasty.

This small painting, which should be an ancient work, had been carefully hidden in the cover of the book by someone. Later, it somehow ended up in his hands.

Thinking about this, Yang Kang suddenly had a thought. Could it be that he had some special ability to see the aura of antiques?

With this thought, he hurriedly reached out to touch the "Ink Bamboo Painting." Indeed, a faint mist began to spread, or rather, it shouldn't be called mist but "aura"? No, it should be called "spiritual energy." Such treasures, infused with the artist's boundless effort, were naturally imbued with spirit.

Thinking about this, Yang Kang suddenly became excited. His family had been in the antique business, and he had studied history, so he was knowledgeable about various antiques. However, that knowledge was limited to theory. If he wanted to actually buy and sell antiques, he would be completely out of his depth. Not only did he lack money, but even if he had it, he would eventually squander it all.

But if he suddenly had a way to identify antiques, wouldn't that mean he could make a fortune?

No, he needed to test this further. Thinking about this, Yang Kang took the "Quotations" book and tried touching it, but no matter how he touched it, the book remained lifeless, with no spiritual energy.

He tried with other items, but the result was the same. Only when he touched the "Ink Bamboo Painting" did the spiritual energy quietly spread.

Why was this happening? Yang Kang sat on the ground, seriously pondering this. He had been exposed to antiques as a child, but nothing like this had ever happened.

No, just a short while ago, he had touched the Xuande blue-and-white bowl at Wang's Pawnshop, and nothing unusual had happened. This phenomenon must have started recently.

"The Yin Treasure Mirror?" Thinking about this, Yang Kang unbuttoned his shirt and looked at his chest. The bruise had faded, and the wound was almost healed, but the imprint of the coin was still vivid, with no sign of fading. It was like a tattoo or a birthmark, etched into his skin.

These days, he had been busy looking for a job and a place to rent, so he hadn't had time to think about this. Now, seeing the coin imprint again, he felt a bit lost.

"May Mom's spirit protect me." Yang Kang silently prayed in his heart.

If he could really see the spiritual energy of treasures, wouldn't that mean he would have endless good fortune? Thinking about this, Yang Kang instantly felt happy.

But verifying this would be a bit tricky. Yang Kang thought about it and decided not to act rashly. He would wait for the right opportunity. Otherwise, it wouldn't be wise to suddenly run to someone to sell the Ni Zan "Ink Bamboo Painting."

As he was thinking, he suddenly heard Jiang Xiaoyue's voice from outside: "Dad, why did you take in that ungrateful Yang Kang to live in our house? Look at how he's made the storage room stink, making it hard for us to store things."

"You!" Jiang Yan's voice came, "Keeping him around has a big purpose. I told you, don't throw a tantrum and drive him away."

"Dad, why keep him around?" Jiang Xiaoyue, hugging Jiang Yan's arm, couldn't help but ask.

"Has he come back yet?" Jiang Yan frowned and asked.

"No, I haven't seen him come back," Jiang Xiaoyue hurriedly said.

Yang Kang remembered that when he returned, the Jiang family was not around, so no one had seen him. After he came back, he had been so focused on peeling the layer that he hadn't even turned on the fan, so the Jiang family didn't know he had returned.

But Yang Kang couldn't understand why Jiang Yan wanted to keep him around. What use could he possibly have?

"Dad, tell me, why did you keep him?" Jiang Xiaoyue pouted and said.

"Hmph!" Mentioning this, Jiang Yan couldn't help but snort and curse, "Back in the day, how great was Yang Chongxuan? He said he was helping us, but in reality, he treated us like servants. Now, the风水轮流转 (feng shui has turned), and that dead Yang Chongxuan is gone, leaving his son to pay for his sins.

Look, I made him live in that stinky basement, and I'm even being nice by taking him in."

"Right, Dad is so smart!" Jiang Xiaoyue hurriedly said, "I find Yang Kang disgusting. He acts like he's so noble?"

"Hehe!" Jiang Yan couldn't help but chuckle and said, "Xiaoyue, don't look at him now. I'll tell you, when that dead Yang Chongxuan was around, he was a pampered person, so noble! But now, I make him wash dishes, sweep the floor, and scold him, and he has to listen."

Every word from outside was clearly heard by Yang Kang. He clenched his fists tightly, unable to believe that his father's kindness in helping the Jiang family had not been repaid in any way.

Yang Chongxuan had treated Jiang Yan like a brother. Otherwise, Jiang Yan wouldn't have been able to buy their antique shop at a low price.

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(End of AD)