Chapter 25

"Xiaoxiao, you sit in the front, and Gangge sit in the back."

Before getting in the car, Su Xiaofan reassigned the seats; he didn't feel comfortable leaving his little sister alone with two men in the backseat.

It seemed they hadn't fully recovered from the shock of the ghost wall. Wu Chuanbao and Wu Chuanpeng got in the car without a word, their bodies trembling slightly, and their faces were somewhat pale.

"Strange, it's not even a rainy day, why is there so much fog in so many places?"

On the way to town, Su Xiaofan noticed that many fields were shrouded in fog, which lingered and wouldn't dissipate.

"That... that's ghost fog!"

Hearing Su Xiaofan's words, Wu Chuanbao, sitting in the back, couldn't help but shiver, his body trembling even more.

"There's no such thing as ghost fog."

Su Xiaofan smirked and said, "The countryside is open, and the moisture condenses at night. Big brother... don't scare yourself in the middle of the night."

"It really is ghost fog. I and Lao Wu were trapped there for four or five hours."

Wu Chuanbao said with a mournful expression. He had been in the grave-robbing business for over twenty years. Although he later handled the sale of stolen goods, he had once entered tombs and taken clothes from corpses, so he wasn't easily scared. But this time, he was genuinely frightened.

"Right, what are you two doing here? Gangge, give them a bottle of water to drink..."

Su Xiaofan didn't argue with them. As the old saying goes, "If you believe, it exists; if you don't, it doesn't." The two brothers were so scared that they wouldn't believe him no matter what he said.

"Thank... thank you." The two brothers seemed quite thirsty and gulped down the water Zheng Dagang handed them. Wu Chuanpeng even choked and coughed for a while.

"Actually, we're in the same line of work. We came to various villages to collect antiques."

After drinking the water, Wu Chuanbao and his brother calmed down and fabricated a story for themselves.

"Ha, I didn't realize that. It's good to have colleagues. Please continue."

Zheng Dagang smiled. He and Su Xiaofan had already figured out who these two were, but as the saying goes, "Different paths, different ways." There was no need to expose them.

"You folks in Sujia Village don't welcome us antique dealers, so we went to Zhoujia Village..."

Wu Chuanbao began to explain. After leaving Sujia Village at noon, the two brothers wandered to other villages, claiming to collect antiques but actually scouting for places with fewer people and more open land, making it easier for them to rob graves in the future.

By evening, they were tired and bought some ready-to-eat food and two bottles of beer at a small supermarket in Zhoujia Village.

They didn't drink much, and it wasn't completely dark when they left Zhoujia Village. Wu Chuanbao estimated they would reach town by seven or eight in the evening.

But what they didn't expect was that they were trapped in a threshing field just two miles from Zhoujia Village.

When they first saw the fog, they didn't pay much attention. Fog in the countryside was normal, and they only felt a bit cold when they touched it, thinking it was just the temperature dropping at night.

Wu Chuanbao couldn't describe his exact feeling. At first, when they walked into the fog, he and Wu Chuanpeng didn't notice anything unusual, thinking they were walking normally.

But as time passed, they realized something was wrong. It usually took them only thirty to forty minutes to walk from Zhoujia Village to town, but after three or four hours, they still hadn't arrived.

By then, their minds were already a bit confused. They desperately wanted to get out, but the more anxious they became, the more disoriented they were. Even though they were exhausted, they kept walking in circles.

The two brothers knew they had encountered a ghost wall. As the saying goes, "If you have a clear conscience, you have nothing to fear." For ordinary people, it might be less scary.

But these two had robbed countless graves and done countless wrongdoings, making them even more terrified.

If they hadn't met Su Xiaofan, they might have walked until dawn, and even if they didn't die, they would have been half-dead.

"What do you two want from me?"

After listening to their explanation, Su Xiaofan spoke. Seeing Su Xiaoxiao had made him wary. He knew these people had no limits, and if he didn't resolve this, there would be more trouble in the future.

"That thing, we both agreed on the price, I didn't cheat you, right? And a genuine Han Dynasty bronze artifact wouldn't sell for just 8,000 yuan, would it?" Su Xiaofan thought they were still upset about the bronze artifact.

"It's not about the 8,000 yuan. Even if it was, you helped us today, so it's all over."

Wu Chuanbao sighed and said, "It's like this. I have an old customer who wants the genuine Dai Sheng bronze artifact. Since you can make a replica, you must have seen the real one. I want to ask if you have the real one for sale."

Wu Chuanbao was very cunning. He didn't ask if Su Xiaofan had the real artifact but directly asked if it was for sale.

If he had asked if Su Xiaofan had the real artifact, Su Xiaofan might have said no if he didn't want to sell it, making it hard for Wu Chuanbao to judge.

But by asking if it was for sale, if Su Xiaofan had the real artifact, he would likely say no out of habit, confirming that Su Xiaofan had it, and Wu Chuanbao could think of other ways to get it.

"Brother, I really don't have the real one."

Su Xiaofan didn't think much and said with a bitter smile, "I found the internal catalog from the village museum and made it based on that. The artifact was unearthed over twenty years ago and is already in the museum. Where am I supposed to find the real one for you?"

Su Xiaofan was telling the truth. A tomb cluster was discovered near Sujia Village years ago. As a bronze artifact replication expert, Grandpa Li, who was knowledgeable about cultural relics, was recruited into the archaeological team and helped excavate the tomb cluster with a group of villagers.

Artifacts need to be numbered and recorded in great detail, even a nail. The excavation and recording of the bronze artifacts were assigned to Grandpa Li.

At that time, they used film cameras. Out of his love for bronze artifacts, Grandpa Li bought film at his own expense and borrowed the archaeological team's camera to photograph the hundreds of bronze artifacts unearthed.

According to archaeological regulations, these photos were not allowed to be privately kept, even if Grandpa Li paid for the film. The photos and negatives had to be submitted.

The leader of the archaeological team, a professor from Yanjing University, was a good friend of Grandpa Li. Knowing that Grandpa Li wanted to replicate the bronze artifacts and needed the photos for reference, the professor came up with a plan.

He submitted a report, stating that the archaeological findings were significant and proposed creating a catalog of the bronze artifacts and unearthed items based on the photos, to preserve the first-hand data for future researchers.

The report was reasonable, and it was quickly approved. Thus, an internal reference catalog was created.

As a member of the archaeological team, Grandpa Li had the right to receive the internal reference catalog, which was kept in Sujia Village. The professor also provided Grandpa Li with many ancient formulas and technical materials for making bronze artifacts.

Thanks to this catalog and the materials, Sujia Village's bronze artifact replication technology advanced rapidly, earning it the title of "First Village of Bronze Artifacts."

"Is that so..."

After hearing Su Xiaofan's explanation, Wu Chuanbao was taken aback. It seemed they wouldn't make the million in Hong Kong.

If the artifact was in Su Xiaofan's hands or in Sujia Village, he could think of some underhanded ways to get it. But if it was in a national museum, he had to give up that idea.

"Even though I made it myself, the craftsmanship is worth a few thousand yuan. You didn't lose money by buying it."

Su Xiaofan genuinely wanted to resolve the issue. Being remembered by these people would cause trouble sooner or later. "If you don't want it, take it back, and I'll refund you the 8,000 yuan."

"Forget it. You saved us today, so let's call it even."

Wu Chuanbao shook his head, looked out the window, and said, "We're at the town. Let us out here."

"Alright, see you later." Su Xiaofan parked by the roadside. Seeing Wu Chuanbao still trembling as he got out, he had a sudden thought.

"Hey, wait."

Su Xiaofan opened the car door and called out to Wu Chuanbao.

"Your eyes are dark, and your face is pale. In our place, that's a sign of being possessed..."

Su Xiaofan paused, pointed at Wu Chuanpeng, and lowered his voice, "When I led you out of the ghost wall, I noticed that the fog was being absorbed into this brother's body. I'm afraid something might happen to you."

"What?" Hearing Su Xiaofan's words, Wu Chuanpeng's already pale face turned even whiter, scared by Su Xiaofan's words.

"Lao Wu, do you have anything on you?" Wu Chuanbao frowned.

"No!"

Wu Chuanpeng almost cried. Suddenly, he remembered something and pulled out a small, dark stone from his pocket. "Brother, I got this from the last dig. It's been hot lately, and it feels cool, so I kept it with me."

"You idiot, you can't just carry things from the tomb!"

Wu Chuanbao was almost driven mad by his younger brother. He slapped Wu Chuanpeng's hand, sending the stone flying.

Everything taken from the tomb had to be handed over to Wu Chuanbao. He knew about the stone, which felt cold to the touch.

After taking it out, they had it examined by experts. The expert said it was just a common black stone, not even jade, and only felt a bit cool.

Wu Chuanbao had taken the stone and other artifacts back home and, while sorting them, carelessly left the stone in the room, where Wu Chuanpeng had picked it up.

"Some things can be deadly. Alright, we're leaving..."

Su Xiaofan said casually, glanced at the roadside, and waved to Wu Chuanbao before getting back in the car.

Su Xiaofan didn't drive fast, observing Wu Chuanbao and his brother in the rearview mirror. When they disappeared around a corner, he suddenly slammed on the brakes.