Chapter 60

Since he had to go to Pan Garden early the next morning, after finalizing some details with Gangge, Su Xiaofan ended the video call.

"Hmm, the jade pendant's nurturing is complete?"

Just as Su Xiaofan finished his shower and lay back on the bed, a few messages suddenly popped up in his mind. The dragon-shaped jade pendant, which had been missing for a few days, reappeared around his neck.

[Repair Value: 106 points!]

[Han Dynasty Dragon-shaped Jade Pendant: Intermediate-level magical artifact, cannot be repaired!]

"Sure enough, nurturing can reduce the loss of repair value."

Looking at the information in his mind, Su Xiaofan understood the function of the nurturing pool.

In addition to nurturing ordinary objects into magical artifacts, the nurturing pool could also repair damaged magical artifacts.

Unlike immediate repair, which required a large amount of repair value, the nurturing pool, although it took longer, required only one-tenth of the repair value.

"What exactly is this magical artifact for?"

Su Xiaofan took the jade pendant off his neck and rubbed it in his hand. After nurturing, the jade pendant seemed to have a more lustrous sheen.

However, apart from knowing it was an intermediate-level magical artifact, Su Xiaofan had no idea about its other functions.

"Should I ask Uncle Jing tomorrow?"

Although Uncle Jing didn't say what they were going to do at Pan Garden, Su Xiaofan was clear in his mind.

Apart from the string of Bodhi beads, what else could make Uncle Jing leave the Yanjing TV station and make a special trip to Pan Garden?

The on-site appraisal in the afternoon had also drained Su Xiaofan's mental energy.

After pondering the function of the magical artifact for a while, Su Xiaofan fell into a deep sleep.

...

The next morning, Su Xiaofan got up at around six, washed up, and went to have breakfast.

At exactly eight, the car stopped in front of the hotel.

With the driver present, Jing Shizhen didn't say much on the way, but his eyes occasionally glanced at the Bodhi beads on Su Xiaofan's wrist.

"Uncle Jing, is there something wrong with this bracelet?"

Su Xiaofan asked knowingly, "This thing is just well-polished, is it worth making a special trip for?"

Standing at the entrance of Pan Garden, Su Xiaofan looked at Uncle Jing and couldn't help but smile.

Today, Uncle Jing was wearing sunglasses and a large mask, covering his face completely.

As a celebrity in the antiques world, tourists might not recognize Uncle Jing, but most of the vendors at Pan Garden knew him.

"This is a magical artifact!"

Now that they were at Pan Garden, Uncle Jing didn't hold back anymore.

"Pan Garden has had magical artifacts before, but they wouldn't appear on stalls selling cultural artifacts, so I came to check it out."

Uncle Jing was very puzzled. He never thought that Su Xiaofan, who hadn't found any bargains recently, had picked up a magical artifact.

"Magical artifact?"

Su Xiaofan put on a shocked expression.

"Uncle Jing, how much is this magical artifact worth?"

"You, why do you always measure everything in money?"

Uncle Jing glared at Su Xiaofan, "This is a magical artifact, can it be bought with money?"

"Uncle Jing, I bought it for 1,800 yuan." Su Xiaofan said weakly.

"I..."

Uncle Jing was almost choked, Su Xiaofan was right; he did buy it with money.

"Uncle Jing, what exactly is the function of a magical artifact? I see that you and Mr. Zhao both value it highly."

Su Xiaofan asked, a question that had been on his mind for a long time.

In Su Xiaofan's view, the magical artifact seemed to have some effect when he encountered the ghost wall, but otherwise, it was just an ordinary accessory.

"This..."

Uncle Jing hesitated, shook his head, and said, "I can't explain it to you now, I'll tell you after you join the sect."

"Then, Uncle Jing, how did you identify the magical artifact?"

Su Xiaofan continued, "I don't see any difference between this bracelet and ordinary Bodhi beads."

"This... I'll tell you after you join the sect."

Uncle Jing shook his head again, "Let's go to the stall where you bought this bracelet first."

"So mysterious."

Su Xiaofan muttered, but still followed Uncle Jing into Pan Garden.

"Uncle Jing, this is the stall, but the owner doesn't seem to be here yet."

When they arrived at the stall where Su Xiaofan bought the bracelet, he found that the owner hadn't set up shop yet.

"Young people these days are getting lazier."

"Back when I came to Pan Garden, I would arrive at four or five in the morning, when the ghost market was still open, and that's when the best items were available."

"Uncle Jing, there are no ghost markets anywhere now."

Anyone who had been in the antiques market knew about ghost markets, and Su Xiaofan was no exception.

The ghost market originated very early, appearing in various places during the late Qing Dynasty.

It was called a ghost market not because it involved transactions with ghosts, but because the items sold were mostly of dubious origin, things that couldn't be seen in daylight.

Moreover, ghost markets usually opened at four or five in the morning.

At that time, the moon had just set, and the sun hadn't risen yet, with people's shadows flickering in the market, like ghostly figures.

In the past, transactions at ghost markets were silent, with prices negotiated by hand signals.

Without sound and with ghostly shadows, the large market was barely visible in the night, hence the name "ghost market."

During the early years of the People's Republic of China and the 1970s and 1980s, ghost markets still existed in various places.

However, due to the presence of stolen goods, the authorities cracked down several times, and they gradually disappeared.

"Hey, Uncle Jing, the owner is here."

While chatting with Uncle Jing, Su Xiaofan saw the vendor who sold him the Bodhi beads walking over with a box.

"Brother, are you looking for more cultural artifacts?"

Seeing Su Xiaofan standing in front of his stall, the owner waved.

"The best I have is this string of Bodhi beads."

The stall owner pointed at the bracelet on Su Xiaofan's wrist, "The others haven't been polished as long, so they don't look as good, but they're not much worse."

"Owner, can I ask if you polished this bracelet yourself or got it from another source?"

Before Su Xiaofan could speak, Uncle Jing asked.

"What do you mean?"

The stall owner, who was about thirty, was immediately alarmed.

"Who in Pan Garden doesn't know that Liu Laoer's cultural artifacts are all polished by himself!"

"I never steam, boil, or fry them. If you regret it, I'll refund your money."

Liu Laoer thought Su Xiaofan had brought someone to settle accounts and started shouting.

Seeing the unfriendly looks from the surrounding people, Su Xiaofan couldn't help but laugh.

This scene was all too familiar. When he used to set up a stall in Luochuan, he encountered it several times a day.

Uncle Jing, who hadn't visited the market in a long time, had inadvertently offended the stall owner.

"No, that's not what I meant!"

Uncle Jing, realizing the misunderstanding, quickly said, "I'm not here to return the item. I want to buy a few similar strings of Bodhi beads as gifts. Do you have any more?"

"Oh, you should have said that earlier. No problem, no problem..."

Liu Laoer waved at the surrounding people and opened his box.

"I have two more similar ones. Do you want to take a look?"

Liu Laoer took out two strings of Bodhi beads in sealed bags and said, "I haven't polished these much. If you want to buy them, I'll give you a discount."

Uncle Jing took the two strings of Bodhi beads and examined them with his fingers, but his face showed disappointment.

"Are there any better ones? Like the one on his wrist?"

"These two are not bad. They're from a batch imported from Nepal. Look, the luster and color are almost the same."

Liu Laoer tried to sell his cultural artifacts, but Uncle Jing became more and more disappointed.

"Let's go."

Uncle Jing shook his head at Su Xiaofan and turned to leave.

"Uncle Jing, what's wrong?"

Su Xiaofan followed, "Aren't those two magical artifacts?"

"No."

Uncle Jing looked at Su Xiaofan's wrist, his face full of confusion.

"Uncle Jing, how did this magical artifact come to be?"

Su Xiaofan realized that since the electric shock, he had been dealing with magical artifacts.

"There are many ways."

This time, Uncle Jing didn't dodge the question. As they walked, he said, "High monks can bless objects to form magical artifacts.

Objects can also be nurtured in special environments to become magical artifacts.

Another method is to incorporate magical arrays during the creation process, making the artifact even stronger.

There might be other ways to form magical artifacts, but I don't know them..."

Seeing that Su Xiaofan wanted to ask more, Uncle Jing waved his hand and said, "Don't ask. After the TV show is recorded, I'll explain it to you.

You're quite unusual. I didn't see any good fortune in you, yet you keep finding bargains or magical artifacts."

Uncle Jing also couldn't explain how magical artifacts were formed.

For example, he didn't know how the Bodhi beads on Su Xiaofan's wrist became a magical artifact.

"It might be a turn for the better."

Su Xiaofan shrugged, "I've had enough bad luck, from car accidents to electric shocks. It's time for some good luck."

"Maybe. I'll teach you a cultivation method when we get back. Try it out."

Uncle Jing, who wanted to take Su Xiaofan as a disciple, had already investigated his background.

What Su Xiaofan didn't know was that Uncle Jing had even asked his middle and high school teachers about him.

Uncle Jing knew all about the car accident a few years ago and the recent electric shock.

"Cultivation method? What kind of cultivation method?"

Su Xiaofan was taken aback.

"Uncle Jing, are you talking about martial arts or cultivation methods?

There's a big difference. Martial arts are for physical fitness, but cultivation methods are for immortality, right?"

"You've been reading too many novels."

Uncle Jing said, "Cultivation methods are also for physical fitness, just better than Tai Chi and other things on the market."

"Is it the Longevity Cultivation Method you mentioned last time?" Su Xiaofan recalled a term from a previous conversation.

"It's the Health Cultivation Method." Uncle Jing corrected him.

"Right, right, the Health Cultivation Method."

Su Xiaofan said excitedly, "I heard that cultivation for immortality should start from a young age. I'm already in my twenties, is it too late?"

"Can you shut up?"

Hearing Su Xiaofan's incessant chatter, Uncle Jing suddenly regretted his decision to take him as a disciple.