Reborn As Super Heiress

Chapter 914: Chapter 910: Katana

Huo Sining’s expression suddenly became even more peculiar.

Using a set of counterfeits to participate in the main deity ceremony in the whole of Dongdu, this... isn’t quite right, is it?

An incongruous scene flashed through Huo Sining’s mind. The priestess in charge of the ceremony poured boiling water into the Hengdusitan Jade Teapot. Due to the sudden impact of heat, the teapot expanded, and because of thermal expansion and contraction, it suddenly exploded at the crack at the mouth, shattering a whole pot of boiling tea in her hands.

In front of everyone, the priestess screamed, and the ritual table in front of her was in complete disarray, causing chaos at the scene.

This...

Just thinking about this scene brought out Huo Sining’s sense of embarrassment. She instinctively glanced at Nara Nigawa and, in a very serious tone, solemnly warned:

”If it’s just to use as a prop for an exhibition, that’s fine. But if you’re really going to serve tea with it, I would advise against it. You should persuade Mr. Yehara—his set of teaware is thin jade, and he’s never used it out of reluctance, so it’s never been subjected to hot tea. If he suddenly takes it out for a ceremony, he must think twice to avoid any mishaps. If it really can’t be helped, let him try it out a few times at home first, as ceremonies are no small matter.”

In Huo Sining’s opinion, if the owner of Yidao Pavilion, Mr. Yehara, were to try brewing tea with that fake set at home, he would definitely discover the crack at the mouth of the teapot after one or two trials.

As it wasn’t appropriate to point it out directly, Huo Sining’s words were rather implicit. Whether Nara Nigawa understood her or not was unclear; he chuckled, nodded, and seemed not to care much.

Huo Sining couldn’t be more explicit, so she sighed inwardly and changed the subject.

Next, Huo Sining accompanied Nara Nigawa to several other antique shops. Soon, Huo Sining discovered that the antique shops in Dongyang selling Chinese artifacts could be categorized into five types: calligraphy and painting, Buddhist statues, scholar’s supplies, ceramics, and miscellaneous bronzes.

Huaxia calligraphy and painting have a large collection in Dongyang, primarily focusing on landscapes, birds and flowers, figures, and calligraphy. However, works with intense colors and bold styles aren’t popular; generally, they prefer ethereal, serene, or elegant and profound literati paintings, which are the most common in the market.

Regarding Buddhist statues, perhaps because Dongyang is a Buddhist country, both collectors and general antique enthusiasts deeply revere and love them. Dongyang’s collection involves periods from the Southern and Northern Dynasties, Tang, Song, Ming, and Qing, encompassing a wide range of subjects from Buddha, Bodhisattva, Arhat, to warriors and flying immortals in Buddhist stories.

In the statue shop, Nara Nigawa also told Huo Sining that because Buddhism spread from Huaxia to Dongyang, many in Dongyang believe that ancient Buddha statues from Huaxia, having received incense worship in ancient times, are more efficacious than Dongyang ones, making these Huaxia Buddha statue collectibles popular among Dongyang people.

For scholar’s supplies, Dongyang people focus on collecting ancient inkstones, followed by seals, ancient ink, and water vessels.

Practically every notable antique store or Huaxia-specialized store in Dongyang has ancient inkstones for sale, ranging widely in types, including stone, pottery, porcelain, and bronze.

As for inkstones from various periods like Duan, She, Taohe, Chengni, and Hongsi Stone Inkstones, as long as they have elegant carvings and complete wooden boxes, they are objects of Dongyang people’s collection.

As Huo Sining visited the stores, she listened to Nara Nigawa introduce Dongyang’s collector culture. The markets for collectibles vary by region, and she found it quite interesting.

However, the few stores Nara Nigawa took her to didn’t have many good items. Whether authentic or fake, anything slightly valuable was priced higher than in the domestic antique market, leaving Huo Sining a bit dissatisfied. She couldn’t help but question if her strategy of coming to Dongyang to find treasures might not be very wise.

As they were talking, they passed by a Samurai Sword Shop.

Huo Sining glanced casually and saw a variety of knives hanging in the shop, with a style typical of Dongyang blades. Finding it intriguing, she paused and turned to enter the shop.

Noticing Huo Sining’s intention, Nara Nigawa’s expression changed, a hint of unnaturalness flashing in his eyes, and he quickly grabbed her, saying:

”Miss Huo, if you’re thinking of buying a katana, I can take you to another shop. A friend of mine owns it, and the variety of blades there is definitely more comprehensive.”

Huo Sining smiled: ”Let’s go there later; I’d like to have a look here first.”

Seeing Huo Sining’s insistence, Nara Nigawa felt helpless and could only follow her into the Samurai Sword Shop.

Judging by Nara Nigawa’s demeanor, he probably wasn’t familiar with this shop either, so Huo Sining thought his attempt to stop her was entirely to prevent her from being overcharged, and she didn’t take it to heart.

Once inside, Huo Sining’s eyes were drawn to the swords and knives mounted on the walls or displayed on the racks.

Swords and knives are evidence of the bloody conflicts of the cold weapon era, but no one knows which of these once served as a bloody weapon in the hands of some Great General.

Looking around, however, most of them were Japanese Samurai Swords and short daggers, with few swords.

Despite their ancient appearance, these items were so bright they could serve as mirrors, bearing too many traces of modern craftsmanship. Although Huo Sining was not very knowledgeable about miscellaneous collectibles like swords and knives, she was aware of some basic knowledge and could somewhat recognize issues.

Ancient swords and knives were hand-forged, so their quality and craftsmanship were exceptional. Many crafts have been lost today and cannot be replicated.

However, since these swords and knives were largely forged from copper and iron without any protective measures, over thousands of years, they were typically surrounded by copper and iron rust.

Yet, the blades in this shop were too pristine, clearly mass-produced as art pieces.

There weren’t many customers in the shop, a quick glance from Huo Sining spotting a young couple examining an item on the left display, with a man who appeared to be the shop owner doing an introduction beside them.

Since their conversation was in Dongyang’s language, which Huo Sining couldn’t understand, she didn’t pay much attention and was about to move on to the other side when she overheard the couple whispering. The girl asked:

”What do you think? I think it’s genuine. Grandpa loves katanas; if we buy it back, he’ll definitely like it.”