Urban Martial Saint

Boss Zhou pondered for a moment and said, ”What you’re talking about does indeed exist. However, I have been in this business for so long and have never actually seen one. Let alone me, no one on this entire street has ever seen such a valuable antique. Brother, you’re not going to tell me that you have such an antique with you, are you?”

Ye Qing smiled faintly and nodded, saying, ”That’s right, I just happen to have such an antique. However, despite being valuable, it’s not easy to sell, because no one can afford it. I heard that the antique market here in Tianfu City is full of experts, so I wanted to try my luck. But now, it seems I made the trip for nothing.”

As Ye Qing spoke, he gently shook his head, appearing quite disappointed. Seeing Ye Qing like this, Boss Zhou became even more puzzled. Although he did not believe Ye Qing could produce something so valuable, his curiosity as an antique dealer drove him to continue asking.

”Brother, you’re not joking, right?” Boss Zhou said. ”What exactly did you bring that’s so valuable?”

Ye Qing smiled slightly, opened the bag he had casually brought, and said with a smile, ”You can see for yourself.”

Before Boss Zhou could come over, Little Zhang poked his head over to take a look and then exclaimed in surprise, ”What is this? A wooden stick? Dude, are you messing with us?”

Boss Zhou was originally excited and eager to see what was inside the bag. But upon hearing Little Zhang’s words, he immediately lost interest and almost didn’t even want to go over for a look.

Having done business for so many years, Boss Zhou knew one thing very clearly: Wooden antiques are never valuable. Because wooden items decay and rot over time, they cannot be preserved for long. Who would buy such an item? So, upon hearing the word wood, he lost all interest.

Nevertheless, curiosity still drove him to take a look.

”It really is a wooden stick!” Boss Zhou widened his eyes and then looked at Ye Qing, saying, ”Come on, are you here just to mess with me?”

Boss Zhou was certain it was a wooden stick, and naturally, he concluded it wasn’t valuable, so he no longer showed any courtesy to Ye Qing and even started to feel irate.

Little Zhang also looked at Ye Qing with displeasure, feeling that Ye Qing was playing both of them.

Ye Qing, on the other hand, remained calm. He smiled slightly and said to Little Zhang, ”Little Zhang, is this the boss you said has the keenest eye? I don’t think he’s much, is he?”

Boss Zhou said, ”Hmph, no matter how good my eye is, it’s used for appraising antiques. As for this piece of firewood, I haven’t appraised it, so I must admit I have no eye for this sort of thing!”

”No eye for it, have you lost your intelligence too?” Ye Qing handed the bag to Boss Zhou and said, ”You claim to be someone with knowledge of antiques; take a look at this piece of wood and see if it’s any different from an ordinary stick.”

In truth, Boss Zhou didn’t care to look further at what was in the bag, but Ye Qing’s words provoked him enough that he peered in for another look. Unexpectedly, after a brief glance, his eyes widened, and he reached in to pull out the stick and began to feel it.

Little Zhang, seeing Boss Zhou’s actions and expression, immediately breathed a sigh of relief and simultaneously felt surprised and invigorated. Boss Zhou’s expression indicated that he was definitely captivated by the stick. But what was so special about this stick that even Boss Zhou was so shocked?

Boss Zhou studied the wooden stick closely for quite some time before finally raising his head to look at Ye Qing and whispered, ”Brother, this... this thing has to be at least a thousand years old, right?”

”Ah?” Little Zhang exclaimed in front of Ye Qing, his eyes bulging. ”Boss Zhou, you’re... you’re not mistaken, are you? This is wooden, so how could it be preserved for a thousand years?”

Boss Zhou completely ignored Little Zhang, eagerly looking at Ye Qing. Ye Qing just smiled faintly and nodded, saying, ”It was left by a king from the Jin Dynasty.”

”I knew it!” Boss Zhou slapped his thigh, excitedly looking at the stick and exclaimed, ”It really is over a thousand years old, really over a thousand years old!”

”This... this... is really over a thousand years old?” Little Zhang was even more surprised, saying, ”How was it preserved? A thousand years old and not a single mark of damage; how is that possible?”

”How is it not possible?” Ye Qing pointed at the wooden stick and said, ”Isn’t this a living example?”

”But how is it done?” Little Zhang asked in amazement.

”The issue isn’t with preservation, but with the wood itself!” Boss Zhou caressed the stick and said, ”In a thousand years, no matter what preservation method you use, the wood would never last. So, the only explanation is that there’s something about this wood itself that prevents it from decaying or changing.”

”Really?” Little Zhang exclaimed excitedly. ”Then... then what kind of wood is it?”

”That, I don’t know,” Boss Zhou shrugged, and then looked at Ye Qing and said, ”Brother, where did you get this thing?”

”Is that question important?” Ye Qing said, ”I came here to find out how much this thing is worth, and also to see if you could help me find a way to sell it.”

”This...” Boss Zhou furrowed his brow and said, ”Brother, to be honest, with this item, it’s just like you said, no one in the entire market can afford to take it from you.”

”Ah?” Little Zhang’s eyes widened and he said, ”Is it really that valuable?”

”I actually understated it!” Boss Zhou said, ”This item can truly be described as priceless. No one on this street could buy it from you!”

”Alas!” Ye Qing sighed and said, ”It seems selling this item is really no easy task. If even Tianfu City can’t buy it, do I really have to find a foreign buyer?”

”Don’t!” Little Zhang quickly stopped Ye Qing and said, ”Boss Zhou, how much can it sell for? Just name a price.”

If this deal goes through, Little Zhang stands to gain a one percent commission, so he’s very keen for it to succeed. If it sells for tens of millions, he could earn hundreds of thousands, and he certainly doesn’t want to see that slip away.

”I can’t set a price!” Boss Zhou said, ”This thing is beyond what we can price.”

”Ah?” Little Zhang’s eyes widened, unsure whether to feel happy or sad. If sold, his commission would be enough for him to live comfortably for the rest of his life. But if it doesn’t sell, he’d earn nothing!

Ye Qing sighed, took the wooden stick back from Boss Zhou, and said disappointedly, ”Looks like I’ll have to find another buyer. I didn’t expect even Tianfu City to have no one who can afford my item.”

As Ye Qing spoke, he was about to turn and leave. Little Zhang panicked; he couldn’t let that money slip away.

”Brother, how about this,” Little Zhang hurriedly stopped Ye Qing and said, ”One person can’t buy your item, but Boss Zhou can gather a few more people to co-invest and buy your item; wouldn’t that work? If you keep holding onto it, it’s just a piece of deadwood. But if you sell it for billions or something, that’s tangible wealth, so why not sell it for such a high price?”

Ye Qing shook his head and said, ”Forget it, I won’t waste any more time here. I’d better go find other buyers; that’s more crucial.”

Just as Ye Qing was about to step out of the store, Boss Zhou suddenly said, ”Brother, wait a moment.”

Ye Qing turned to look at Boss Zhou, who seemed to have come to a difficult decision, and walked over saying, ”Brother, it’s not that no one here can buy your item. It’s just that the big boss isn’t here right now. Come back tomorrow morning, I’ll arrange a meeting with our big boss. Maybe if he’s in a good mood, he might just take it off your hands, saving you the trouble of finding someone else. I dare say, if no one in Tianfu City’s antique circle can buy it, then elsewhere there’s no chance!”

”The big boss?” Ye Qing felt a twinge in his heart, having a vague suspicion that the big boss Boss Zhou mentioned might very well be Master Craft. It seemed his plan was indeed working, and he might really manage to find Master Craft through Boss Zhou.

”When will this big boss be in Tianfu City?” Ye Qing asked.

”Early tomorrow morning, brother, you can come by anytime,” Boss Zhou said.

”That works!” Ye Qing slowly nodded and said, ”It’s rare for me to come here; I don’t want it to be for nothing. So let’s do that; I’ll come back tomorrow once he’s here to discuss this matter.”

”Sure, sure, sure,” Boss Zhou nodded eagerly, his face showing a hint of excitement. The reason he wanted Master Craft to see this stick was mainly because Master Craft was fond of things he had never seen before, and this stick definitely piqued his interest. So he decided to strengthen his relationship with Master Craft. Little did he know, Ye Qing’s true goal was to find Master Craft.

Hearing that the business could continue, Little Zhang became energetic again and excitedly said, ”Right, right, right, that’s how it should be. Brother, it’s not easy for you to come here; how could we let you leave empty-handed? Boss Zhou, let’s proceed as discussed, and please make arrangements for tomorrow.”

”No problem!” Boss Zhou nodded and said, ”Come here on time tomorrow, and once the big boss appraises it, this deal just might go through!”