Chapter 39

The next morning, Ye Bufan went to the restaurant with his mother for breakfast. Afterward, he went out to buy things like cinnabar and yellow paper, preparing to make some talismans.

It's not easy to buy these things in the city now. He visited several stores in a row and finally found everything he needed at a calligraphy and painting shop.

After leaving the shop, he saw a crowd on the opposite side of the street. Unknowingly, he had arrived at Jubaoyuan, the largest antique market in Jiangnan City.

To deal with the evil entities in the Shiwai Taoyuan neighborhood, the power of the talismans he made was still insufficient. If he could find a suitable magical artifact, it would be perfect.

However, in this technological society, cultivators are becoming fewer, and magical artifacts are even rarer.

Since he was already at Jubaoyuan, he decided to go in and try his luck. It would be best if he could find one or two magical artifacts.

With this thought, he walked briskly towards the antique street.

As the saying goes, in times of chaos, gold is valued; in times of peace, antiques are treasured. In recent years, the antique market in China has been exceptionally hot, and many people like to visit here to see if they can find a bargain.

However, with the rise of various appraisal shows on television, many people are eager to have even their grandfather's chamber pot appraised, hoping to find a treasure in their home.

In such a situation, finding a bargain is almost impossible.

Entering the antique street, Ye Bufan walked from one shop to another. His method of appraising antiques was simple: he just needed to scan them with his divine sense to see everything clearly.

Genuine antiques that have been passed down through the ages carry varying degrees of spiritual energy, and the older the item, the more concentrated the spiritual energy.

Although there are many fakes in the antique industry, this kind of spiritual energy cannot be forged by anyone. His appraisal method is even more accurate than carbon-14 dating.

However, the water in the antique street is too deep. He walked down half the street and saw that the vast majority of items were fakes. Although he did see a few genuine items, their prices were exorbitant, far exceeding their actual value.

He entered another shop and was about to leave when a middle-aged man holding a scroll rushed in.

The man wore glasses and had the appearance of a cultured intellectual, but his face was full of anger.

Ye Bufan usually wouldn't care about such matters and wouldn't be interested in the commotion, but when he saw the scroll in the middle-aged man's hand, he stopped in his tracks.

The scroll emitted a strong spiritual energy, clearly indicating it was not an ordinary item.

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"Boss, this is too much! Why did you switch the painting I bought?"

The middle-aged man slammed the scroll on the counter and angrily shouted at the shop owner.

The shop owner was a young man in his thirties, thin and bony, like a dried-up monkey. He wore a loose Tang-style robe, which made him look somewhat out of place.

His eyes were small and darted around, clearly the look of a swindler.

Seeing the middle-aged man, his expression changed slightly, and he said, "Sir, what are you talking about?"

"What am I talking about? I just spent 5,000 yuan on a Ji Xiaolan's calligraphy from you, and it turned into something else when I got home. You must have switched it!"

The middle-aged man said angrily.

The shop owner coldly laughed, "You can talk nonsense, but you can't say anything without proof. There are so many shops in Jubaoyuan; who knows where you bought it from."

The middle-aged man angrily said, "Do you want to deny it? I remember clearly that I bought it from your shop, and from your hands."

The shop owner coldly replied, "Even if you bought it from my shop, so what? In our antique street, once a sale is made, it's final—no returns, no exchanges.

If you made a mistake, who else can you blame?"

The middle-aged man said, "If I made a mistake, it's my fault, but this is clearly a switch. I clearly bought Ji Xiaolan's calligraphy, but when I got home, it turned into Yan Zhenqing's. What's going on?"

The shop owner said indifferently, "I receive so many customers a day; who can remember what you bought?

Besides, Yan Zhenqing is a great calligrapher from the Tang Dynasty, much older than Ji Xiaolan. His calligraphy is more valuable than Ji Xiaolan's. Aren't you getting a good deal? What more do you want?"

The middle-aged man was so angry that he trembled, "But this painting is clearly a fake. I spent 5,000 yuan, and it's not even worth 500."

The shop owner said, "We agreed that buying genuine or fake items depends on your own judgment. If you didn't look carefully, who else can you blame?"

The middle-aged man angrily said, "You... you're being unreasonable! I must get a refund today, or I won't let you off."

Ye Bufan had already figured out what was happening. The shop owner had first lured the middle-aged man with a genuine item and then switched it for a fake, selling it for 5,000 yuan.

The shop owner, somewhat impatient, said, "You're really

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annoying. How about this: I'll give you 500 yuan back. Take it if you agree, or go complain wherever you want."

He took out five large bills and slapped them on the counter.

"No, I clearly paid 5,000 yuan. If you don't give me a refund, I'll call the police."

"Call the police? Who are you trying to scare with the police?" the shop owner coldly laughed, "What will you tell the police? That you spent 5,000 yuan on a genuine Ji Xiaolan calligraphy and think they'll believe you?

Do you think you can buy Ji Xiaolan's calligraphy for 5,000 yuan? Who do you think you are? Do you think you can find a great bargain just by walking around the antique street?

If it were a genuine Ji Xiaolan calligraphy, you couldn't get it for 500,000 yuan. What are you thinking!"

"I..."

The middle-aged man's face turned red with anger. After thinking for a moment, he deflated. Indeed, even if he called the police, it wouldn't help.

Reluctantly, he had to accept his loss. He was too greedy, thinking he could buy a genuine Ji Xiaolan calligraphy for 5,000 yuan.

"I guess I'm just unlucky!"

He was about to take the 500 yuan from the counter, thinking that even a small loss was better than holding onto a fake painting that would only make him upset.

At that moment, Ye Bufan said, "Sir, can I take a look at that painting? I've always wanted a Yan Zhenqing calligraphy. If you're willing, sell it to me."

"Feel free to look, but I'll tell you first, it's a fake."

The middle-aged man handed the scroll to Ye Bufan.

Ye Bufan took the scroll and slowly unrolled it. It had two large lines of calligraphy: "Diligence and frugality clarify one's aspirations, and tranquility leads to far-reaching goals." The signature was stamped with Yan Zhenqing's name.

However, the calligraphy was relatively crude overall, and even someone not particularly knowledgeable could tell it was a fake.

Seeing that Ye Bufan wanted to buy the painting, the shop owner said, "Young man, if you like Yan Zhenqing's calligraphy, I have many in my shop. Any one of them is better than this."

"No need, I want this one."

Ye Bufan took out 5,000 yuan and handed it to the middle-aged man, "Sir, I'll take this painting. Here's 5,000 yuan for it."

Just now, he had seen the true value of the painting. It was worth far more than 5,000 yuan, even 100 times that. He originally wanted to give the middle-aged man more money, but he was afraid of making a mistake, so he decided against it.

After all, the antique market has its own rules. Without him, the middle-aged man would have only gotten 500 yuan, suffering a greater loss.