Chapter 8

Compared to the summer, at this moment inside a large hospital in Jianghai City.

"Director Li, how is it going?"

"Mr. Xu, we have no way to investigate. Young Master Xu can't even last half a minute. He even soiled himself in the examination room when we were checking him." Director Li was also very helpless at this moment.

"Was he drugged?"

"We have already tested, and there are no signs of drugging. Moreover, Young Master Xu has nothing left to expel. In just one afternoon, he has lost ten pounds. If this continues, he will die." Director Li had thought of every possible solution, but still couldn't figure out what was wrong.

"Ten pounds? This is a matter of life and death." Xu Qinghua is Xu Shaocong's father. He only has one son, and although his son usually causes trouble outside, what else does he earn money for?

Now that his son has suddenly become like this, how could he not be worried?

"Master, we have already asked Young Master. He had a conflict with a student named Xia Tian at school today, and that student warned him to be careful about diarrhea." The butler of the Xu family had already inquired about the details from Xu Shaocong.

"Have people been sent out?" Xu Qinghua nodded in satisfaction.

"They have already set out. I sent Ah San with two others." The butler of the Xu family specifically emphasized Ah San. This Ah San is not an ordinary person. He is a retired special forces soldier who has reportedly carried out dozens of major missions and received a second-class merit. However, he was later forced to retire after his left leg was injured in a fight.

Xu Qinghua had once saved Ah San's life, so Ah San has been risking his life for the Xu family for many years. This is also what Xu Qinghua is most proud of.

With Ah San taking action, he is the most reassured.

At this moment, Xia Tian had no idea that he was being targeted. He was in a particularly good mood after buying the ancient Buddha relic.

He had heard about the ancient Buddha relic from his father before. Only enlightened high monks can condense a relic when they pass away, and ancient Buddha relics only appear in legends.

It is said that after the ancient gods and Buddhas passed away, to cleanse the sins of the world, the relics would disappear into the sky and fall onto the land of China.

The one who illuminates the world, Xia Tian used to think this was just a myth his father told him, but he never expected that such a thing actually exists. The light was so strong, Xia Tian knew he definitely didn't see it wrong.

"Hmph, you have the nerve to say you have money for a five-hundred-yuan item." Old Master Xu snorted coldly. It was the first time he had been provoked, and by a boy under twenty at that.

"I just heard that you are a treasure appraiser, right?" Xia Tian suddenly looked at Old Master Xu. Although he didn't want to cause trouble, it seemed that Old Master Xu wasn't going to let him off.

"That's right. On this antique street, who doesn't know me, Xu Dekuan?" Old Master Xu said proudly. His reputation on this street was very prominent, and this was his source of pride. He originally came from one of the four major families in Jianghai City, the Xu family, but he was fond of playing with antiques in his youth, so the family business eventually fell into his brother's hands.

He had once tried to fight for it, but failed. Later, after his brother died, the family's assets fell into the hands of his nephew, Xu Qinghua. Xu Qinghua sent him a monthly allowance, but that amount was negligible compared to the entire Xu family's wealth.

So he was determined to reclaim the family's assets, but how could he compete with Xu Qinghua? The best way to gain money and influence was here.

Over the years, he had already gained sufficient prestige and status.

"Would you like to have a competition with me?" Xia Tian smiled slightly. This old man was interesting, and his high status here would be useful to him in the future.

"Compete with me? In what?" Old Master Xu suddenly found it very amusing.

"Just in what you are best at. You pick five items from here, and I will identify all the items that are not antiques. If I get one wrong, I lose." Xia Tian wanted to see who was better at identifying antiques.

"Haha, boy, you are showing off in front of an expert. But what if you lose?" Old Master Xu laughed loudly.

"Lose? Then I won't leave here alive." Xia Tian's lips curled slightly: "If you lose, then help me buy something I like."

"Truly ignorant of your own limitations." Old Master Xu looked at Xia Tian disdainfully: "If I win, I don't need you to die, but I will take your life."

Xu Dekuan found this boy interesting, which reminded him of Ah San, who was loyal to Xu Qinghua. This might be a golden opportunity. If he could get a loyal subordinate like Ah San, it would be a great gain. He was confident of winning this competition, as even he couldn't identify genuine antiques and treasures without instruments with 100% accuracy.

Otherwise, he would have already become rich. His success rate was only about 10%, as many high-quality fakes were indistinguishable from the real thing. He only needed to find one genuine antique and let the boy guess, and there was no way the boy could guess correctly.

As for the genuine antique, it was simple. He could borrow one from any shop, and he had enough influence to do so.

Xia Tian sat and waited, while Old Master Xu went to find his five items. When people heard that Old Master Xu was going to compete in identifying antiques, hundreds of people gathered around.

Xu Dekuan didn't know what had come over him today, to argue with this child, but he was very serious. He picked a small trinket from an antique shop, then found a few high-quality fakes, even ones he couldn't distinguish with his naked eye.

He also bought a few small items from stalls, and the vendors didn't charge him, but Xu Dekuan still gave each of them 200 yuan.

"Boy, here are the items. Come and check them out." The bodyguard behind Old Master Xu placed the five items on a square table in front of Xia Tian.

There was a lot of chatter around, most of it saying that Xia Tian was courting death by daring to compete with Old Master Xu, who was a renowned appraiser on the antique street.

With Old Master Xu setting the challenge, there was no way Xia Tian could guess correctly.

The five items on the table were a wooden box, a large porcelain vase, a plate, a crystal-clear stone, and a bracelet.

Looking at the five items, Xia Tian activated his透视眼 (X-ray vision).

"How about it? Boy, it's too late to admit defeat now." Old Master Xu stroked his goatee, a sign that he was confident of winning.

Xia Tian picked up the wooden box and threw it directly to Xu Dekuan: "It's genuine."

"Good, you win. This is a makeup box used by Empress Dowager Cixi of the Qing Dynasty." Old Master Xu didn't cheat, as it would affect his reputation. Although he thought Xia Tian might have guessed correctly by chance, he couldn't deny it.

At this point, some people in the crowd started saying that Xia Tian had guessed correctly by luck.

Xia Tian ignored the comments and picked up the large vase. When he did, Xu Dekuan smiled slightly. If he didn't know in advance that this was a fake, even he couldn't tell the difference. The replica was too realistic.

He didn't believe Xia Tian could tell the difference. Xia Tian would surely guess it was genuine, and the competition would be over.

Xia Tian picked up the vase and smiled: "Old Master Xu, if I guess that one item is a fake, would it be okay if I damage it?"

"Of course, it's just a fake. I can afford to replace it." As soon as Old Master Xu finished speaking,

Thud! The vase fell to the ground. Everyone was stunned by Xia Tian's action. The vase looked like a valuable item, and there were immediate sounds of regret and curses.

Xia Tian ignored the crowd, picked up a piece of the broken vase, and saw the words "Fang Quzi" written on it. When everyone saw these words, they knew Xia Tian had guessed correctly again.

Who was Fang Quzi? He was a famous master of fakes. It was said that his replicas were indistinguishable from the real thing without instruments.

"Fang Quzi's work?" Xu Dekuan was also stunned when he saw the words: "How is this possible? How did you guess?"

Xu Dekuan was not surprised that Xia Tian had guessed correctly again, but that he had seen through Fang Quzi's fake. If appraising skills were ranked, he would be at the third level, while Fang Quzi's fakes were said to be identifiable only by fifth-level appraisers. If Xia Tian had really identified the fake, he had indeed met a true expert.

At this moment, Xia Tian smashed the plate, revealing the patterns inside. Everyone knew he had guessed correctly again, and Xu Dekuan was completely stunned.

Xia Tian then threw the stone to the ground and stepped on it, making it clear that it was also a fake. As he picked up the last item, the bracelet,

"Wait, young man, you win. Just tell me what you want." Xu Dekuan didn't let Xia Tian guess the last item, as he had decided to befriend this boy.

With Xia Tian's help, his plan might really succeed.

"Oh, thank you, Old Master Xu. I quite like this bracelet. I'll take it." Xia Tian smiled as he looked at the bracelet in his hand.