Chapter Thirty-Nine: The Shop Owner Who Switched the Beams and Pillars

Early the next morning, after Ye Bufan had breakfast with his mother at the restaurant, he went out to buy cinnabar, yellow paper, and similar items, preparing to create some Talismans.

It wasn't easy to buy these items in the modern city; he visited several stores consecutively before finally gathering everything he needed at a calligraphy and painting shop.

After leaving the shop, he saw a surging crowd across the street and realized he had unknowingly arrived at Jubao Garden, Jiangnan City's largest antique market.

To deal with the evil entities in Shìwài Táoyuán Community, relying solely on the power of the Talismans he created was still insufficient; it would be excellent if he could find a suitable Magical Artifact.

However, since the present is a technological society, Cultivators are becoming fewer and fewer, and Magical Artifacts are even rarer items, seldom seen.

Since he had already arrived at Jubao Garden, he decided to go in and try his luck; it would be perfect if he could find one or two Magical Artifacts.

Thinking this, he strolled toward the antique street.

As the saying goes, gold is for troubled times, but antiques are for prosperous times; in recent years, Huaxia's antique market has been exceptionally hot, and many people like to wander here in their free time to see if they can snag a bargain.

However, with television stations continuously launching appraisal programs over the years, many people are eager to have even their grandfather's chamber pot appraised, just to see if their home holds a treasure.

Under these circumstances, finding a bargain is nearly impossible.

Entering the antique street, Ye Bufan walked past shop after shop; his method for appraising antiques was very simple: he could see everything clearly just by sweeping it with his Divine Sense.

Genuine antiques that have been passed down carry varying degrees of Spiritual Qi, and the denser the Spiritual Qi, the older the item.

Although the antique industry is rife with fakes, this spiritual energy is absolutely impossible for anyone to counterfeit; it could be said that his appraisal method is even more accurate than carbon-14 dating.

However, the antique street was too deep and complex; he walked half the street and saw that the vast majority were counterfeits.

Although he did see a few genuine items, the prices were terrifyingly high, far exceeding their actual value.

He entered another shop and walked around for a while. Just as he was about to leave, a Middle-aged Man suddenly rushed in from outside, holding a scroll.

The man wore glasses and looked like an educated intellectual, but his face was currently filled with rage.

Originally, Ye Bufan paid no attention to this, nor did he have the mind to watch the excitement, but when he saw the scroll held by the Middle-aged Man, he immediately stopped in his tracks.

That painting emitted Spiritual Qi, and it was very dense; clearly, it was no ordinary item.

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

The Middle-aged Man slapped the scroll onto the counter and yelled furiously at the Shop Owner.

The Shop Owner was a young man in his thirties, extremely thin, like a dried monkey, yet he favored wearing a large, loose Tang suit, making him look somewhat unconventional.

His eyes were small, and his pupils constantly darted around; he clearly looked like a shrewd merchant.

When he saw the Middle-aged Man, his expression changed slightly, and then he said, "Big brother, what are you talking about?"

"What am I talking about? I just spent 5,000 yuan here on calligraphy by Ji Xiaolan, so how did it change when I got home? You must have swapped it for me!"

The Middle-aged Man said, his face full of anger.

The Shop Owner smiled coldly, "You can eat whatever you want, but you can't speak carelessly. There are so many shops in Jubao Garden; who knows where you bought it?"

The Middle-aged Man angrily retorted, "Trying to deny it, are you? I remember clearly that I bought it from your shop, and specifically from you."

The Shop Owner said coldly, "Even if you bought it from my shop, so what? We have a rule here on the antique street: once the purchase is finalized, there are no returns or exchanges.

If you misjudged it yourself, who can you blame?"

The Middle-aged Man said, "If I misjudged it, I could only blame myself, but you clearly switched it. I clearly chose Ji Xiaolan's calligraphy, but after I got home, it turned into Yan Zhenqing's. What is going on?"

The Shop Owner said indifferently, "I receive countless customers every day; who can remember what painting you bought?

Moreover, Yan Zhenqing was a great calligrapher in the Tang Dynasty. Historically, he lived much earlier than Ji Xiaolan, and his calligraphy is more valuable than Ji Xiaolan's. Haven't you gotten a bargain? Why are you still complaining?"

The Middle-aged Man trembled with rage and shouted, "But this painting of yours is clearly fake! I spent 5,000 yuan, and it's not even worth 500 yuan!"

The Shop Owner said, "We already agreed: whether it's real or fake depends only on your eyes. If you failed to look carefully, who can you blame?"

The Middle-aged Man said furiously, "You… you are playing the rogue! You must refund this painting today, or I won't let this go."

Ye Bufan already understood the situation; the matter was clear: the Shop Owner first used a genuine piece of calligraphy to lure the Middle-aged Man, then performed a trick of substitution, selling a fake piece of calligraphy for 5,000 yuan.

The Shop Owner said impatiently, "You really are annoying.

How about this: I'll refund you 500 yuan at most. If you agree, take it and leave. If you don't agree, go complain wherever you want."

After speaking, he pulled out five large bills and slapped them onto the counter.

"No way! I clearly spent 5,000 yuan. If you don't refund me, I'm calling the police."

"Calling the police? Who are you trying to scare with that?" The Shop Owner sneered. "What will you tell the police when they arrive? Will you say you spent 5,000 yuan on an authentic piece by Ji Xiaolan? Do you think the police will believe that?

You think you can buy Ji Xiaolan's calligraphy for 5,000 yuan? Who do you think you are? Do you think you can just wander around the antique street and pick up a huge bargain?

If it were truly an authentic piece by Ji Xiaolan, you wouldn't be able to take it for 500,000 yuan. What are you dreaming of?"

"I…"

The Middle-aged Man's face flushed red, and after thinking about it, he deflated; it was true, even if he called the police, this kind of matter would be impossible to explain clearly.

Helplessly, he could only accept his bad luck; he had been too greedy. How could he possibly buy an authentic piece by Ji Xiaolan for 5,000 yuan?

"Consider me unlucky!"

Having said this, he reached for the five large bills on the counter; after all, minimizing the loss was better than nothing, and certainly better than holding onto a fake piece of calligraphy that only caused distress.

Just then, Ye Bufan said, "Big brother, could you let me look at your painting? I've always wanted a piece of Yan Zhenqing's calligraphy. If possible, sell it to me."

"Go ahead and look, but I must warn you first, this is a counterfeit."

The Middle-aged Man said this while handing over the scroll he held.

Ye Bufan took the scroll and slowly opened it. Two large lines of characters were written on it: "A simple life fosters lofty aspirations, tranquility enables far-reaching goals," and the signature area was stamped with a seal bearing Yan Zhenqing's name.

Overall, however, the workmanship of this calligraphy was rather crude; even someone not particularly knowledgeable could tell it was a counterfeit.

Seeing that Ye Bufan intended to buy the calligraphy, the Shop Owner said, "Young brother, I have plenty of Yan Zhenqing's calligraphy and paintings in my shop. Any piece you pick will be much better than this one."

"No need, I want this one."

Ye Bufan said, pulling out 5,000 yuan and handing it to the Middle-aged Man. "Big brother, I'll take this calligraphy. Here is 5,000 yuan."

Just now, he had already discerned the mystery hidden within this piece of calligraphy; it was worth far more than one hundred times 5,000 yuan.

Originally, he wanted to give the Middle-aged Man more money, but he was afraid of being counterproductive, so he decided against it.

After all, antiques have their own rules, and if he hadn't intervened, the Middle-aged Man would have only taken the 500 yuan, resulting in an even greater loss.