Chapter 102: The Second Dao Fruit Lands

Deep within Lin Jian’s mind, one of the Dao Fruits had completely ripened. It was tottering, seeming as though it would fall at the mere stir of a breath. As soon as that Dao Fruit fell, he would undoubtedly become stronger than he was now, and it was highly likely that a new Superpower would emerge.

As for heading north to Capital City, he knew very well that it would be extremely perilous, for what this world revealed to everyone was merely the tip of the iceberg. In the past, he knew there were talks of Inner Boxing, but he hadn’t known that a Qi mass as large as a basketball could gather in a person’s Dantian. He had also heard that Jade Nourished People, but he hadn’t been able to see the Spiritual Qi within those Jade Artifacts.

And now? It seemed he had lifted a corner of this world’s veil, realizing that there was always a higher heaven and someone stronger out there. Therefore, the Second Master in Capital City was definitely not simple; he might even be a super expert. Thus, he had to be cautious with every step he took.

The Ghost Market gradually became bustling as many people held flashlights, shining them around. At this time, Lin Jian finally got out of the car and joined the Taobao crowd. Naturally, his way of Taobao was different from others. Other people would look first, then search and appraise. But for him, just by casually walking past, he would know which antiques were real or fake, and which ones were treasures.

Very quickly, in less than a minute, he discovered a Scroll. The aura on this Scroll was similar to that of the previous Tang Sancai Horse, just slightly fainter! He squatted down, pulled that Scroll out from a pile of Scrolls, and slowly unfurled it.

It was a Flowers and Birds Painting. The artwork was quite grand, and it bore a signature with a vertical line of traditional Chinese characters. However, these traditional characters were written so messily that Lin Jian could only recognize a few. The general content was something like: Comrade Miaohua... New Spring of ’59. It didn’t state who painted it, nor did it have one of those square seals!

However, in his Thought, Lin Jian saw that there was actually an extremely small seal on one Ye Zi of the Flowers and Birds Painting. Moreover, that seal was connected to the veins on the Ye Zi—something one probably wouldn’t be able to see without a magnifying glass. He recognized the two characters on that seal; it read "Da Yi."

He didn’t know who Da Yi was, and this painting didn’t have an antiquated aura, but it actually contained a trace of Spiritual Qi. Furthermore, it was beautifully painted. He rolled up the Scroll, then pretended nothing was out of the ordinary as he pulled out a few other Scrolls, glancing at each of them.

Finally, he selected four Scrolls and pushed them in front of the stall owner. "Sir, name a price."

"Eighty thousand, no bargaining," the owner said, holding up two fingers.

"Eighty thousand?" Lin Jian said, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. "I can’t get this for eight hundred?"

"These aren’t photocopies. You want them for eight hundred? I won’t sell for anything less than eight thousand."

"Sir, how about this? I just started a new company and want to hang up some paintings to look cultured. Four paintings for four thousand, what do you say?" Lin Jian knew that the other three paintings were by unknowns, or perhaps copies made by small studios or even art students, which were then bought by middlemen at extremely low prices to resell.

"Add a bit more."

"Five thousand, no negotiating. If you try to bargain, I’ll go look elsewhere."

"Alright, alright, five thousand it is." The owner pushed a QR code in front of Lin Jian. He scanned the code to pay, then tucked the Scrolls under his arm and left.

A while later, as he was walking forward, his Dao Tree suddenly rustled again! Lin Jian was taken aback and hastily focused his Thought toward a stall. It was actually a Jade Artifacts stall, boasting a dazzling array of old jade bracelets, thumb rings, snuff bottles, Jade Ruyi, Jade Tobacco Pouches, Jade Bowls, and the like.

Lin Jian quickly walked over and stared intently at the Jade Tobacco Pouch! No, it couldn’t strictly be called a Jade Tobacco Pouch, because only its mouthpiece was made of jade, while the bowl was made of red copper and the stem was made of nanmu wood. He recognized this old-fashioned tobacco pouch, having seen old ladies sitting at the entrance of hutongs smoking from similar ones.

What made the Dao Tree rustle continuously was the jade mouthpiece of that pouch. The mouthpiece was a yellowish-white hue, about as thick as a pinky finger and roughly seven or eight centimeters long. Lin Jian inhaled deeply several times, feeling that his Dao Fruit would absolutely fall tonight!

After catching his breath, he finally picked up the Jade Tobacco Pouch and gently rubbed it twice with his fingers. With just those two strokes, a surge of Spiritual Energy instantly entered his body along his fingers and burrowed into the Dao Tree!

RUSTLE RUSTLE RUSTLE~

Amidst the rustling of the Dao Tree, that fully ripened Dao Fruit suddenly plummeted! Lin Jian almost cried out. Once the Dao Fruit landed, it instantly vanished, as if it had been absorbed by the soil in his brain! Lin Jian carefully sensed the changes within himself. However, after waiting for quite a while, there were actually no changes whatsoever!

At this moment, the stall owner’s voice rang out. "This is an antique tobacco pouch. The mouthpiece is definitely good jade, just a bit yellowed from smoke. The stem is made of fine wood too—I’d even say it looks a bit like nanmu. Let me tell you, the only ones who could afford this kind of pouch back in the old society were wealthy young ladies.

"The price for this pouch is fixed. I’ll sell it for ten thousand!"

"Done, I’ll take it!"

Lin Jian knew that even at ten thousand, he was getting a massive bargain. Plus, he was in a hurry to leave, so he simply scanned the code and paid.

The stall owner stared in utter bewilderment. He wondered how this guy could be so agreeable and why he hadn’t even haggled. He thought he might have just run into a newly rich fool. After paying, Lin Jian didn’t waste his breath on him. He didn’t even have the mood to continue browsing; instead, he grabbed the pouch and the four Scrolls and got ready to leave.

However, he hadn’t taken more than a few steps when a pleasantly surprised voice suddenly rang out. "Lin, it really is you!"

Lin Jian paused and quickly turned to look. Old Wang from Imperial Treasure Studio, Elder Gu, an antique porcelain appraisal expert, and Elder Ji, a collector, were all there. The three of them were holding flashlights, shining them right at Lin Jian!

"Oh my, it really is this kid!" Elder Ji said happily. "We were just talking about how you scored a massive steal here, so we came today to follow your example and find some bargains of our own. We didn’t expect you to be here again!"

"Oh, aren’t you Elder Gu and Uncle Wang?" The Jade Artifacts stall owner hastily greeted them. Elder Gu and Elder Wang were major figures in the Jiang City collecting circle; both were true connoisseurs! And now, these two connoisseurs were greeting the kid who had just bought the tobacco pouch? What in the world was going on?

"Hey, Xu the Kid, did he buy something from you?" Elder Gu raised his eyebrows.

"He sure did. This young brother just bought an old tobacco pouch. He didn’t even haggle and was in a rush to leave. I was still wondering what was going on. Turns out you all know each other?"

"Oh, Lin, quickly bring that pouch over for me to see!" Elder Gu’s interest was piqued, and Elder Ji and Elder Wang were both intrigued as well!

Since Lin Jian was in a hurry to leave, he simply shoved the pouch and the four Scrolls into Elder Gu’s and Elder Wang’s arms. "Uncle Wang, Uncle Gu, Uncle Ji, take these and help me appraise them. I’ll come by again tomorrow when I have time. I have things to take care of right now and have to go. I’ll look for you tomorrow when I’m free, so I’ll leave these things with you..."

Without waiting for the three bewildered old men to answer, Lin Jian squeezed into the crowd and vanished.

"What in the world is going on?" The three old men couldn’t quite keep up with Lin Jian’s antics.

The stall owner surnamed Xu then spoke up. "Heh, what a weird guy. But Elder Gu, could you help me take a look at that pouch..."

Elder Gu simply ran his hand lightly over the pouch before asking curiously, "Xu, how much did you get this pouch for, and how much did you sell it for?"

Xu scratched his head. "I bought it over at Jinhua yesterday afternoon for six hundred and eighty. I just brought it back yesterday. After examining it, I felt it might be nanmu wood, but I didn’t dare to confirm it. I just sold it for ten thousand!"

"Heh, you took a loss!" Elder Gu shot the stall owner a pitying glance.

Just that single glance, combined with the phrase "you took a loss," made the stall owner break out in a cold sweat.

At this moment, Elder Gu sucked his teeth in disbelief and said strangely, "That Lin kid is bizarre. He managed to snag such a good item for a mere ten thousand? This kid is uncanny!"