Chapter 76: How About Helping Me Smash This Tang Sancai?

As soon as the first collectible was brought out, the Dao Tree deep within Lin Jian’s mind began to rustle loudly. Previously, whether he encountered antiques or Spirit Jade, the Dao Tree had only emitted a faint glow. But now, the Dao Tree Leaves were rustling vigorously, and its light flared brilliantly.

Clearly, this first collectible was a nutrient for the Dao Tree. And if it was nourishment for the Dao Tree, it was nourishment for him as well. He had long been anticipating the fall of the second Dao Fruit!

He quickly focused his gaze. The item brought up by the staff was a horse—a Tang Sancai Horse. It was earthy yellow all over with a green saddle, and two blue stones were inlaid as its eyes. The entire horse was about seventy centimeters tall. At first glance, it did look like an ancient artifact. However, Lin Jian didn’t detect any ancient aura from it.

The reason his Dao Tree was rustling so intensely was because of the horse’s two eyes—its blue eyes! Those two blue eyes didn’t look particularly extraordinary; they weren’t even that bright. Yet, within his Thought, Lin Jian discovered that these two eyes were emitting a massive amount of Spiritual Energy! His heart thumped wildly—THUMP, THUMP. These two eyes were definitely extraordinary.

At this moment, the Shopkeeper introduced it, "This Tang Sancai Horse is 76.5 centimeters tall, 19.5 centimeters wide, and 85 centimeters long. It is very similar to the Tang Sancai Horse gifted by Mr. Zheng to the Forbidden City Museum. Some have even concluded that they were cast from the same mold.

"As everyone here likely knows, quite a few Tang Sancai Horses have been unearthed, as the people of the Tang Dynasty were famous for their love of horses.

"Ladies and gentlemen, those who are fond of Tang Sancai may come up to take a closer look. I will announce the starting price in ten minutes!"

The crowd stood up one after another. Jiangnan also rose alongside the bespectacled old man next to him, and they lined up to walk onto the stage.

Lin Jian followed behind them. He was extremely excited, because as long as he touched the horse’s eyes, he could absorb the Spiritual Qi from them. Therefore, he was very much looking forward to seeing what kind of changes the Dao Fruit would undergo.

Further ahead, Elder Gu was first in line. His status seemed extremely high; while he observed the horse at the front, no one behind him moved or spoke! He examined it for about a minute, then smiled and walked back to his seat. He didn’t offer any opinions.

The crowd continued to move forward. In front of Jiangnan, there was a plump man clutching a briefcase, wearing a floral shirt and a thick gold chain around his neck. This man had brought along a pretty sugar baby and was accompanied by a middle-aged man in a short-sleeved Tang suit. The three of them examined it repeatedly for quite a while. The man in the Tang suit whispered a few words to the fatty, who nodded in deep agreement.

A moment later, it was Jiangnan and his Appraiser’s turn. Jiangnan didn’t understand antiques, so he just stood aside and watched, while the Appraiser inspected it multiple times before finally nodding at Jiangnan. They then stepped down from the stage with the Appraiser’s two assistants.

Now, Lin Jian and Jiang Xue had reached the Tang Sancai Horse. Lin Jian picked up a pair of white gloves from the table, put them on, and pretended to casually touch the horse’s two blue eyes!

What no one noticed was that the moment he touched them, the Spiritual Qi within the two eyes swiftly flowed along his fingers and into the depths of his soul!

RUSTLE, RUSTLE, RUSTLE!

As if receiving rich nourishment, not only did the Dao Tree rustle loudly, but it also became an even more vibrant shade of green. At the same time, Lin Jian discovered that the lowest Dao Fruit on the tree had turned red!

That’s right, it had turned red.

It should be known that all Dao Fruits were originally green. But now, one of them had actually turned red. It dangled precariously, looking as if it could drop at any second. However, even after swaying for quite a while, the Dao Fruit still didn’t fall! Lin Jian was incredibly anxious. He inwardly willed it to drop already.

Of course, by this time, he had already placed the gloves back on the table and returned to his seat. Furthermore, the Tang Sancai Horse itself wasn’t really a good item—it was highly likely to be a high-quality replica. But the two blue eyes were absolutely treasures. Even if he had absorbed their Spiritual Qi, if he took those two blue stones back and polished them, they would probably still shine as blue as the ocean!

Lin Jian thought, "They’re Sapphires. Sapphires nourished by Spiritual Qi at that. Good stuff!" while keeping a straight face.

Beside him, Jiang Xue asked in a low voice, "Well? Is it real or fake?"

Lin Jian shook his head. "I can’t see through it!"

Jiang Xue was half-doubtful. At the same time, the conversation between Jiangnan and his Appraiser in the row ahead drifted over.

"It should be a high-quality replica, a piece from the Republic of China era," the Appraiser stated with great confidence.

By now, everyone had returned to their seats. The Shopkeeper stepped back onto the stage. "I believe everyone now has a preliminary understanding of this Tang Sancai Horse. There’s no need for me to introduce it further. The starting price given by the consignor is..." He dragged out his words at this point, pausing for dramatic effect before saying, "129,800 yuan!

"Each bid increment must be no less than 2,000 yuan. Those interested, please place your bids!"

However, as soon as the Shopkeeper finished speaking, the room fell into a dead silence.

The Shopkeeper of Five Directions Studio was surnamed Liu. He shook his head with a wry smile. "Is no one going to bid? If so, this Tang Sancai Horse might have to go unsold!"

"Next item, please. Who would want a fake?" Fatty Zhu complained unhappily.

Shopkeeper Liu smiled. "Mr. Zhu, please don’t be hasty. Whether it’s real or fake still requires an expert’s opinion. Elder Gu, why don’t you share your thoughts on this Tang Sancai Horse?"

Shopkeeper Liu gestured for Elder Gu to evaluate the item.

Elder Gu didn’t mince words. Speaking from a professional standpoint, he said, "This Tang Sancai Horse is clearly a replica. The thickness of the glaze, the later processing and treatments, and even the techniques used are completely different from those of the Tang Dynasty.

"As for its origins, it looks like a replica from the Republic of China era to me. Of course, this is purely my personal opinion."

Elder Gu’s words were few, but he directly concluded that it was a fake!

"Does anyone else have anything to add?" Shopkeeper Liu asked again.

"Oh, come on, what’s there to add about a fake? Shopkeeper Liu, let’s just move on to the next item, shall we?" Fatty Zhu urged impatiently.

Boss Liu nodded. "Alright, then let’s move on to the next—"

"Wait a minute, I’ll take it for 129,800 yuan!" Lin Jian suddenly raised his hand and called out.

As soon as he raised his hand to bid, Jiangnan, Elder Gu, Elder Ji, and the others in front all looked at him in astonishment! Even Shopkeeper Liu wore an incredibly strange expression. It was clearly a fake, so why was this kid still bidding on it? Did he have too much money and nowhere to spend it?

Naturally, even if it was fake, it was still a product of the Republic of China era, so its actual market value might be around eight or nine thousand. But buying it for 129,800 yuan made him look like an absolute sucker.

"Alright, this gentleman has bid 129,800 yuan! Are there any other bids?"

"Lin Jian, what are you doing?" Jiang Xue became anxious as well. She wondered why he was bidding on a fake.

Lin Jian shook his head. "I’ll explain later."

His heart was racing with intense excitement right now. If he really managed to acquire this Tang Sancai Horse for 129,800 yuan, he would make a massive profit. As for exactly how huge that profit would be, he didn’t know yet, but just like with the covered teacup from before, it would definitely be a stunning success.

"129,800 yuan going once... going twice... sold!"

The first item, the replica Tang Sancai Horse, was quickly sold!

Lin Jian immediately followed the staff to complete the transaction. A moment later, the staff packed the Tang Sancai Horse into a wooden crate and carried it over to Lin Jian.

No one bothered to ask any questions; if he was willing to spend his money, it was none of their business. Even Jiangnan didn’t say a word. Since his daughter had claimed Lin Jian was an expert, it wouldn’t be appropriate for him to interfere with the expert’s purchases. However, it seemed this "expert" was going to be proven horribly wrong this time.

Then, just as the crowd was waiting to see the second auction item, Lin Jian looked at the staff with a troubled expression and said, "This crate is so big, there’s no way I can carry it. How about you guys help me smash it to pieces?"

"PFFT!"

Hearing his words, many people nearly coughed up blood! They wondered if he had really spent 130,000 yuan just to hear the sound of it breaking. Was there something wrong with his head?