Duan Rong immediately started wandering inside the narrow alley.
He looked at the stalls, some had folding wooden tables set up, while others simply laid out a felt mat on the ground.
Duan Rong glanced at the black felt mat, packed with all kinds of antiques, and the stall owners sitting behind the stalls, arms crossed and squinting at people. Suddenly, he slapped his forehead, deep in thought.
"Artifact Spirits are related to the passage of time, aren't antiques also related to time?"
"Can't I use my ability to devour Artifact Spirits to find hidden treasures?"
"Using this to find hidden treasures is way more reliable than those so-called experts and masters. The accuracy rivals the radiocarbon dating method in archaeology!"
Duan Rong was overjoyed, imitating Shi Banyu's voice-over tone, and exclaimed, "I'm really too clever!"
He immediately began to take action.
Starting from the first stall at the alley entrance, he squatted down and began touching each antique on the stall!
After examining the first stall, he moved his hips without straightening his back and squatted at the second stall.
Without looking up, he went through four stalls in succession.
This level of action could only leave people speechless!
Duan Rong put back a wooden carved divine statue in his hand, cursing to himself, "Another one not even at the entry level!"
Moving his hips, as if changing positions after defecating, he squatted in front of the fifth stall.
The stall owner of the fifth stall was a thin middle-aged man. Initially, the stall owners didn't mind Duan Rong's peculiar behavior, but after he touched his way through four stalls, this fifth stall owner started to become suspicious.
The thin middle-aged stall owner saw Duan Rong squatting down and burying his head in touching his wares in front of his stall.
"Hey, young man, are you buying or not?"
Hearing this, Duan Rong looked up and said, "If there's something suitable, I'll naturally buy it! What, you're making a business, put them all out, and won't let me look?"
The stall owner wanted to say more, but looking at the Cow Tail Saber with a scabbard and the waist tag tied to Duan Rong's waist, he waved it off, saying no more.
On Duan Rong's waist tag was the insignia of the Yuan Shun Escort Agency.
The Yuan Shun Escort Agency was a notable power in Xianggu County.
Moreover, Duan Rong was just behaving a bit oddly, not stealing or robbing, so the stall owner found no reason to make trouble for him.
And so, Duan Rong touched his way through ten or more stalls. This squatting method, were it not for his basic skills in Pile Skill, his back would definitely have given out.
"These deceitful traders, not a single genuine piece. A whole street of antiques, fooling ghosts!"
Duan Rong cursed while touching, having examined countless divine statues, lacquerware, bronzeware, calligraphy and paintings, his fingertips smeared with layers of grime, yet he found nothing.
Just as Duan Rong was extremely frustrated, he suddenly froze, staring at a set of data that flashed before him.
Artifact: Lady Painting
Artifact Spirit Tier: Level 6.
Devouring Requirements: Host's Spiritual Power Level 6 (Unmet).
Devouring Effect: Danqing Brush Level 5, Powerful Penetration Level 4, Basic Communication with Celestial Beings.
"A Level 6 Artifact Spirit, must be quite old. It's definitely an ancient painting!"
He held a slightly yellowed scroll, but did not open it.
"And judging by the devouring effects, the author of this ancient painting likely achieved some success, if not a masterpiece by a famous artist!"
Duan Rong recalled the multimillion-dollar famous paintings from his past life, and couldn't help but swallow his saliva.
He took a deep breath. After touching for so long, he finally found a catch!
Remaining expressionless, Duan Rong placed the scroll back, then randomly extracted a scroll from the painting cylinder, opened it for a glance, and asked the stall owner, "Boss, how much for this painting?"
The boss lifted his buttocks and glanced at the painting Duan Rong had opened. Seeing it was a landscape, he said, "Five taels!"
Duan Rong's face darkened, "You saw I'm a new face here, and decided to overcharge, huh! Name a price I can bargain with. Asking for five taels off the bat, are you trying to drive me away?"
He was truly a bit angry; he only had eight coins in total.
"How much will you give?" The stall owner looked at Duan Rong with an encouraging gaze.
"Five coins!"
As soon as Duan Rong finished speaking, the stall owner directly snatched the painting from his hands, rolled it up, and tossed it back into the painting cylinder, his face cold and silent.
"Damn!" Duan Rong cursed internally, "At most six coins!"
The stall owner still looked away coldly, ignoring Duan Rong.
Duan Rong's eyelids twitched, and he turned to leave.
After taking only a couple of steps, the stall owner called out, "Come, come back, six coins it's yours!"
"Shouted too high!" Duan Rong turned back, murmuring.
He paid the six coins, then rummaged through the painting cylinder and extracted the Lady Painting scroll.
The stall owner didn't even care whether Duan Rong took the previous landscape painting; the paintings in his cylinder were bought at a single price.
The stall owner was delighted to have a sale. After all, six coins were enough to feed a family for over ten days. "Duped another fool!"
With the scroll pinned under his arm, Duan Rong looked around and turned into a shop called Ancient Moon Studio.
The shop assistant at Ancient Moon Studio was named Guan Kui, already in his early thirties. He had worked under Shopkeeper Tang since his teenage years, nearing twenty years now.
An antique shop differed from other stores and often required greeting and sending off customers; this industry typically sees half a year without business, and then one large transaction can sustain half a year.
Guan Kui, wielding a feather duster, slowly and carefully dusted the counter—an attitude cultivated from years in the antique trade.
Everything had to be done slowly and gently, as a moment's carelessness might lead to mishaps.
While dusting, Guan Kui noticed a young, agile man striding in, wearing a short brown coat, with a square face, bright eyes, and tanned skin, his hair oiled, gripping a sheathed Cow Tail Saber in one hand and with a yellowed scroll tucked under his arm.
Approaching the counter, revealing gleaming white teeth, he smiled guilelessly, "Assistant, do you have calligraphy and paintings? They have to be genuine, if you have any, bring them out for me to see. If they're authentic, the price is negotiable!"
Guan Kui blinked, observing the windy gait and attire of the young man, doubting he was a worm crawling through the antique industry.
Without showing his feelings, Guan Kui smiled slightly, and asked, "Customer, looking for calligraphy and paintings, are you perhaps preparing for a birthday gift?"
Guan Kui was probing for information to understand the customer's background and handle accordingly.
Duan Rong, having been in insurance for ten years in his previous life, understood these sales tactics and smiled knowingly without following the conversation, instead speaking bluntly, "It's none of your business what I'm doing. If you have authentic pieces, bring them out for my appraisal. If there's nothing genuine, just say so, don't waste my time!"
Inside, Guan Kui thought: Wow, coming to lay down a challenge, quite the audacity!
Yet, his words lacked any professional terminology, shouting the moment he entered—clearly a rookie.
Guan Kui was about to issue an order to leave when a cough suddenly came from the room behind the blue curtain.
Inwardly startled, Guan Kui recognized that the cough belonged to Shopkeeper Tang.
He squinted at the blue curtain, noticing a slight movement.
Turning to Duan Rong, Guan Kui smiled, "Just a moment!"
He squatted down, opened the cabinet under the counter, carefully lifted a wormhole-riddled yellowed scroll onto the counter, and cautiously unfurled it.
Guan Kui smiled and said, "Take a look. Can this painting be considered something worthwhile?"