TL: Hua
Chapter 8: Idiot
Friday
A new shop had opened on Nanbei Street. When the sign was hung above the doorway, it caught the attention of quite a few pedestrians.
Because this turned out to be an antique shop!
The ebony-colored sign was painted with the three gold characters: “Not Keeping Guests.”
The storefront was very large. Facing the street was a grand window, fitted with a traditional Chinese carved wooden archway. Sunlight streamed through the openwork carvings, casting patterns of light and shadow across the rosewood tables and chairs.
People drinking tea and chatting at the tables looked just like an ancient painting embedded within a modern streetscape.
For the grand opening of the new shop, there was no red carpet rolled out, nor were there any speakers playing music. The large doors were simply left wide open, revealing the classical and elegant interior decoration.
Unfortunately, while it attracted many glances, not a single pedestrian walked inside.
Because Nanbei Street was a fast-paced commercial avenue, packed tightly with trendy influencer shops and luxury brands, an antique shop opening stood out starkly as something out of place.
Bu Liuke felt deeply worried, draping himself over You Xingyue’s shoulder. “Tell me, will I be able to sell a single antique before I die?”
Hearing this made You Xingyue’s heart ache.
Objects with spiritual awareness could only generate the threads Bu Liuke needed by forming bonds with living beings. Yet, for a business like an antique shop, it was a matter of “making enough from one sale to last three years without a single customer in between.”
However, Bu Liuke couldn’t wait three years.
Moreover, the only objects in the shop that currently possessed spiritual awareness were the Pixiu and the golden toad.
You Xingyue thought for a moment. “Don’t worry, we will definitely sell something.”
His gaze shifted over to the golden toad. “Ghost deities are also living entities. If I force a sale of the golden toad to Yu Tu, that should establish a connection too, right?”
The golden toad: ?
Bu Liuke: “…”
He stared blankly at You Xingyue: Forcing a transaction on a ghost deity… is that really okay?
You Xingyue smiled at Bu Liuke.
Bu Liuke thought to himself: He’s probably joking. Among all the previous owners, both demons and monsters alike, no one has ever dared to do business with ghosts and gods.
You Xingyue ruffled Bu Liuke’s hair, lost in thought.
Although he had just mentioned it casually a moment ago, the more he thought about it, the more feasible it seemed. He couldn’t truly let Bu Liuke vanish. Come to think of it, he hadn’t even charged a labor fee for cleaning the threads on Wangfu.
What neither of them noticed was a flash of light gleaming within the crevices of the jade box before falling back into silence once more.
Just as You Xingyue was contemplating the possibility of forcing a sale of the golden toad, a few people suddenly arrived at the entrance. They carried flower baskets and set them by the door, even rolling out a red carpet at the entrance! A group of young men noisily crowded around the entrance of No. 137.
Zhou Fan supported Zhang Xuemei, feeling incredibly exhausted. If he hadn’t been holding her back, his own mother would have broken into a jog to see that Master You.
Zhang Xuemei looked back at the group of young men beside her. “Where did you find so many people?”
Including her son, there were twelve young men in total, boisterously moving the flower baskets.
Zhou Fan curled his lip. “Friends from the basketball team. I asked them over to liven things up.”
When Zhang Xuemei saw You Xingyue walking toward them, she immediately pushed her unlucky son aside and walked over.
Zhou Fan’s mouth twitched, knowing he couldn’t stop her. He looked up and was momentarily stunned by You Xingyue’s appearance. Good heaven, he’s way too young! And with a face like that, why isn’t he a celebrity?
Zhou Fan’s gaze caught the young owner’s attention. The man turned his head, nodded slightly at him, and let a faint smile curl the corners of his lips.
Zhou Fan dazed for a second.
He had always been recognized as a sunny, handsome guy, but at this moment, he had to admit that the other man was indeed better-looking, with an aura that was distinctively refined.
While Zhou Fan was zoned out, the man had already walked into the shop with his mother.
Zhou Fan patted his classmate on the shoulder. “Gu Min.”
The youth called Gu Min turned his face around. He was wearing an off-white hoodie and casual pants, with gentle facial features and a demeanor clearly different from typical young men.
Both Gu Min and Zhou Fan were key players on their university’s varsity basketball team, and they had a close private friendship. Gu Min kept a low profile, but Zhou Fan knew full well that Gu Min hailed from a prominent, wealthy family in Yingjiang City. His family collected many antiques, so Gu Min had a solid understanding of them.
“I’ll be counting on you today,” Zhou Fan said with a grin. “The two of us will trail behind my mom in a bit, so she doesn’t get scammed.”
Gu Min nodded. “Got it. But what if Auntie insists on buying something?”
Zhou Fan thought about it. “No worries, just let me know, and I’ll handle stopping my mom.”
Gu Min answered objectively, “The antique world runs deep, and I’m not a professional, so I might not always be accurate. There are too many high-end fakes nowadays. Even some antique shop owners who aren’t skilled enough get fooled themselves.”
Zhou Fan grumbled, “Look at the boss. He’s about our age. I bet everything in the shop is a modern handicraft. This shop is set up on Nanbei Street, and even the decor has a trendy vibe. My mom even claims he’s a master who can catch demons.”
Hearing the word “master,” Gu Min raised an eyebrow. “A master?”
How many actual masters are there these days?
Zhou Fan shrugged and complained, “That’s right. My mom is super superstitious. It’d be one thing if only she fell for it, but I didn’t expect my dad to believe it too! They insist that my aunt’s house was haunted by a demon and that things only got better after this boss caught it.”
Hearing this, Gu Min couldn’t help but chuckle slightly. “How could there be any demons?”
What Zhou Fan didn’t know was that Gu Min possessed eyes capable of seeing spirits and ghosts. He wasn’t a non-believer; quite the contrary, precisely because he could actually see them, he believed strongly.
Zhou Fan, however, assumed Gu Min was a staunch atheist just like himself and agreed, “Exactly! All those paranormal phenomena have scientific explanations, but my parents just refuse to believe it and have been scammed by fraudsters time and again. My mom even gave this master a red envelope worth twenty or thirty thousand yuan. They really never learn, no matter how many times they’ve been scammed.”
Only then did Gu Min realize that Zhou Fan’s parents had already spent tens of thousands of yuan.
—
Chatting as they walked, the two entered the antique shop together.
However, the moment he stepped through the door, Zhou Fan was awed by the interior decoration—
The inside of the antique shop was not trendy at all. Five massive display shelves stood tall. The deeper into the shop one looked, the dimmer the sunlight became, lit by only a few lamps. Porcelains with various glazes shimmered brilliantly under the light.
Looking inside from the doorway felt like getting lost on a journey through time.
Inside the shop sat a gold-inlaid Boshan censer, with curling wisps of white smoke bringing a light, subtle fragrance. The shop gave off a peculiar feeling that relaxed both mind and body.
Zhou Fan signaled Gu Min to look at the shop owner. “That’s the Master You or whatever. Wow, is he even older than us? To actually be called a master…”
Gu Min looked over. The man appeared to be only in his early twenties and was currently talking to Zhou Fan’s mother, his side profile gentle and handsome.
Most importantly, not a single trace of spiritual energy could be seen on the antique shop owner.
Gu Min was born with eyes that could observe spiritual energy. A master with genuine capability would be surrounded by spiritual energy of varying strength.
The boss of this antique shop had an exceptionally striking face, yet he looked entirely like an ordinary person. And yet, Zhou Fan said this boss had caught a demon and accepted tens of thousands in red envelopes.
Gu Min frowned slightly. “He doesn’t really look like a master.”
Aunt Zhang had likely been scammed.
Zhou Fan said helplessly, “Definitely not!”
While Gu Min was lost in thought, Zhang Xuemei and the antique shop owner had already begun conversing.
Zhou Fan instantly snapped out of the shock brought on by the decor. He quickly took two steps toward his mother, holding Zhang Xuemei’s arm while signaling Gu Min with his eyes: Oh no, my mom is about to fall for it! Bro, hurry up!
Zhang Xuemei gasped in admiration. “It’s so exquisite. But why does the head of the hairpin look like an earpick?”
The hairpin was only a finger’s length, inlaid with red tourmaline. The body was made of white jade, the red and white contrasting delightfully.
Zhou Fan marveled inwardly: Holy crap, looks like the stuff in this shop really are high-end fakes, crafted to look just like the real deal.
Gu Min looked at You Xingyue thoughtfully: Based on my judgment, this earpick hairpin might actually be authentic.
You Xingyue smiled. “It indeed is an earpick. Earpick hairpins were very popular during the Ming and Qing dynasties. They could be used both as hair ornaments and for cleaning ears. Some earpick hairpins had sharp tips at the end of the shaft that could be used as toothpicks.”
Zhang Xuemei was instantly amused. “Who would have thought the ancients were just like us? But this is way more precious than dental floss or toothpicks. It’s truly beautiful. What material is it made of?”
You Xingyue said, “A Hetian jade shaft inlaid with red tourmaline. This is an earpick hairpin from a noble family of the Qing dynasty, with top-tier craftsmanship and materials. Tourmaline is a complex composite gemstone…”
He spoke softly and at a leisurely pace, recounting the past and present lives of the object as if he had personally witnessed how this earpick hairpin flowed through the long river of time to arrive before everyone.
The antiques You Xingyue selected from the storeroom were either items he knew something about or those that left a deep impression on Bu Liuke, precisely so he could provide a brief explanation and avoid being caught clueless.
Zhang Xuemei was increasingly tempted. Having witnessed You Xingyue’s abilities firsthand, she possessed an almost blind reverence for him, constantly feeling that items from this antique shop held special magical effects.
Zhou Fan quickly nudged Gu Min, signaling with his eyes: Brother Min, stop my mom’s hand!
However, Gu Min’s words caught Zhou Fan completely off guard.
“The quality of the Hetian seed jade is quite good, and so is the tourmaline. A hairpin of such fine quality, even setting aside its historical value, is a remarkably exquisite piece of jewelry in its own right.”
Zhou Fan turned his head in shock: No way?!
His mind was in utter chaos: Bro, I brought you here to stop my mom, not to add fuel to the fire!
Yet Zhou Fan knew very well that the only reason Gu Min would say this was because Gu Min believed the hairpin was authentic.
No way!
Could a shop that looks so much like an influencer spot actually be selling real antiques?!
You Xingyue turned his head and offered Gu Min a faint smile.
Gu Min smiled back.
Zhang Xuemei, on the other hand, was drawn to another point. “Master, I heard that some old objects possess a spirit. I’ve seen many popular science posts online saying that old things carry their own magnetic field that can ward off evil and nourish the body.”
Zhou Fan said in despair, “Mom! Stop reading those marketing accounts! Those are all scams! If you want to talk about magnetic fields, even the fridge magnets at home have magnetic fields!”
Zhang Xuemei glared at her son. “Don’t talk nonsense if you don’t understand! Old things definitely have spirits!”
She had seen the golden toad demon with her own eyes!
You Xingyue glanced at Zhou Fan and said with an amused tone, “Indeed they do, but those are extremely rare. It’s like how there are many people, but geniuses are very rare; they are something you can only come across by chance, not sought out.”
Gu Min’s brow twitched. The shop owner’s words sound like a disclaimer, but they will definitely provoke further questions. At that point, he can claim his shop happens to have such an antique, exaggerate a bit, and fool the customer into buying a high-priced item.
Sure enough, Auntie Zhang followed up, “Then do you have any in your shop?”
Just as You Xingyue was about to speak, Zhou Fan chimed in, “Are there such spiritual things in this world? My parents previously requested a consecrated bracelet from a temple, and it didn’t seem to have any special functions.”
You Xingyue said, “That statement… isn’t entirely without reason.”
He tilted his head to look directly at Zhou Fan. Behind his spectacle lenses, his gaze was as calm as still water, yet it made Zhou Fan feel as though his true intentions were entirely seen through.
You Xingyue smiled. “However, there truly are objects in this world that have developed intelligence and spirits. As for whether one can see them, firstly, it depends on whether the object is willing to reveal itself, and secondly, it depends on whether there is fate between the person and the object.”
Zhou Fan suppressed the urge to roll his eyes. “Look, boss, isn’t this feudal superstition? If antiques could turn into spirits, wouldn’t museums be having antique disco parties at night?”
Zhang Xuemei was completely exasperated. “Xiao Fan! Speak to the Master respectfully! If you don’t believe it, go outside and ask around. The elders all say jade has spiritual energy that can nourish a person.”
Zhou Fan was speechlessly amused. “Mom, Brother Min’s family has so many antiques. As to whether they really have spirits, why don’t you just ask him and find out?”
Gu Min looked at You Xingyue thoughtfully. “Although this hairpin has a long history and is made of top-tier materials, it has nothing to do with spiritual energy. If inviting two Pixiu into one’s home were all it took to bring in wealth and treasure, then why would anyone talk about mak—”
Zhou Fan was nodding along continuously, but he didn’t expect Gu Min to suddenly freeze mid-sentence, his eyes fixed on a single spot.
In Gu Min’s line of sight, a pair of ears suddenly popped up behind the compartment where the hairpin lay. They twitched lively twice before a phantom shadow scurried onto the shelf. It looked smaller than the palm of a hand, shaped like a little tiger, yet bearing a pair of horns on its head.
It was… a Pixiu!
Gu Min pursed his lips, quietly softening his breathing for fear of startling the little Pixiu.
The Pixiu’s vessel spirit sat crouched beside the hairpin. Raising its little hoof haughtily, it stepped over the hairpin, shook out its fur, and leaned forward to stare at Gu Min: Audacious mortal, how dare you speak ill of this divine beast! Just wait, I’ll gnaw on his sleeves later.
The Pixiu shook its head at Gu Min and stuck out its tongue.
Gu Min clearly heard a clear, crisp teenage voice mocking him: “Idiot.”
Gu Min’s usually calm expression finally cracked. Shocked, he looked around the display shelves and noticed a jade-carved Pixiu ornament displayed right in the compartment next to the hairpin. It looked identical to the phantom right in front of him.
Following the other man’s gaze, You Xingyue met the eyes of the little Pixiu, whose tail was curled up.
You Xingyue: ?
He gave the Pixiu a look: Get back.
The Pixiu stomped its feet on the antique display rack, turned away, and gave You Xingyue a plump view of its back: I don’t want to.
Most jade money-attracting Pixiu were plump and adorable, and the vessel spirits birthed from them were the same.
Gu Min shifted his tone entirely: “I take back what I just said. Objects blessed by Heaven and Earth can indeed develop spiritual awareness. Boss, I find this jade Pixiu quite cute and full of spirit. I wonder if I am fortunate enough to invite it home?”
Zhou Fan: “???”
What are you doing, Brother Min?! I invited you here to help me stop my mom, and you end up buying something yourself?!
Not only that, but Gu Min also pursed his lips and smiled apologetically. “It was my own shallow understanding that led me to underestimate the Master. I am willing to offer any price that would satisfy you. What do you think?”
Zhou Fan was thoroughly dazed: So, the only world where people firmly believe in science was mine all along.