Chapter 187 - 186: Seeing Mr. Collins Sr. Again

Chapter 187: Chapter 186: Seeing Mr. Collins Sr. Again

Sitting to the side, Noel Sutton was utterly speechless. If you want to praise Rian, just praise her—why did you have to trample on me while you’re at it? It really struck a nerve!

However, Noel only dared to grumble inwardly; he didn’t dare say it out loud. Previously, Grandpa Sutton would belittle his own precious grandson to praise Ronan Ford, and now he was doing the exact same thing for Rian.

Grandpa Sutton then asked, "Young Miss Sinclair, have you studied anything related to treasure appraisal before?"

Rian smiled and nodded. "I just know a thing or two. But Grandpa Sutton, are you planning to acquire these items?"

Old Master Sutton shook his head, his expression clear and rational. "These things absolutely cannot be acquired. At most, we can authenticate them. If we were to take them in, being slapped with such a massive charge would be too much for the Sutton Family to bear."

Rian remained silent, pondering for a moment. It seemed that while no one in Veridia dared to acquire these items openly, that didn’t mean there were no underground buyers.

Seeing Rian deep in thought, Grandpa Sutton didn’t interrupt. Soon, the tranquility of the room was broken by the sound of a door being pushed open. An elderly man walked in.

Everyone in the room was drawn to the sound. Rian looked up and was surprised to see a familiar face. The elderly man glanced around the room and happened to lock eyes with her. Before even greeting his old friend, he looked straight at Rian. "Young Miss Sinclair, you’re here too."

Rian stood up with a smile, approached him, and gave a slight bow. "Elder Collins, it’s been a while."

Elder Collins was the one who had coordinated with her when she donated the illustrated catalogs previously. She had spoken at length with Mr. Collins Sr. that day. She made a mental note to find time to pay him a proper visit later, as she had completely forgotten to do so before.

Grandpa Sutton hadn’t expected Rian to know his old buddy. Noel and the others were equally surprised that she knew the director of the Kyoro Museum.

The rest of the people in the room recognized him as well. They stood up and bowed slightly. "Elder Collins."

Looking at the others, Elder Collins dropped his smile. Keeping his back to Rian, he put on a stern face and nodded at them. Since she was behind him, Rian didn’t notice his expression, but the others saw it clear as day.

Given Mr. Collins Sr.’s seniority, the younger ones didn’t dare say a word. However, Grandpa Sutton and Elder Collins were old comrades. Grandpa Sutton immediately mocked him, "Oh? You even learned the face-changing arts of Basilia just to say hello. Did you go to Basilia for advanced studies or something?"

Old Master Collins glared at Elder Sutton. "You old fool. Be careful, or I’ll go complain about you to my sister."

Grandpa Sutton rolled his eyes at him but ultimately stayed quiet, though he couldn’t stop grumbling inwardly that while the other man had a sister, he had a wife!

But Old Master Collins wasn’t about to let it go. "Why aren’t you speaking anymore, you old fool? Show me the energy you had back when you tricked my sister into getting a marriage certificate with you!"

"Stop calling me an old fool left and right! Don’t think I’m scared of you!"

Standing to the side, Rian realized the atmosphere was going awry and said with a smile, "Grandpa Sutton, I still haven’t fully understood what you were explaining just now."

However, her speaking up only made things worse. Upon hearing her, Elder Collins became visibly agitated. "Young Miss Sinclair, you actually call this old fool ’Grandpa’? Why haven’t you ever called me that?! In terms of knowledge and vision, I’m several leagues above this old coot!"

Rian had no idea things would turn out like this. Grandpa Sutton, meanwhile, looked like a little old man who had just won the jackpot. He showed off to Elder Collins, "So what if Young Miss Sinclair calls me Grandpa? I don’t even know what you’re getting so worked up about, you old fool."

After saying that, Grandpa Sutton threw another eye roll at Elder Collins. Elder Collins was having none of it. He marched over and yanked on Grandpa Sutton’s white beard. "Say one more word, you old geezer, and I’ll shave off your beard! First, you stole my sister, and now you’re trying to steal Young Miss Sinclair! You shameless old fool!"

Noel and the others looked at Rian with resentful gazes. Standing there, stunned in the wind, she couldn’t figure out how she had suddenly become the center of this storm.

Refusing to back down, Grandpa Sutton, whose beard was being pulled, reached out and grabbed Elder Collins’s sparse strands of hair. Just like that, the two little old men started brawling like toddlers.

It wasn’t just Rian who stood there dumbfounded; even Noel and the others were utterly bewildered, watching two men—whose combined age was well over a century—wrestling around right in front of them. The two elders couldn’t care less if anyone was watching. They were singularly focused on taking each other down, resulting in this highly dramatic scene.

The four young people stood by, staring helplessly. None of them dared to intervene as the two old men wrestled from the north end of the room all the way to the south, neither willing to yield an inch.

Rian waited on the sidelines for a long time before finally speaking up softly, "Grandpa Collins, did you come here to appraise treasures too? And Grandpa Sutton, I still haven’t understood what you were explaining earlier."

Rian’s intervention balanced the scales perfectly, showing not a hint of bias. Initially, Noel thought her words wouldn’t resolve anything, but to his shock, the two old men stopped immediately and looked at her with incredibly kind and affectionate expressions.

Elder Collins smiled and said, "Young Miss Sinclair, you should come over and have tea with Grandpa Collins more often in the future. Let me tell you, this Old Man Sutton’s place isn’t half as fun as mine. I have plenty of things that you young folks love over there."

Old Master Sutton scoffed from the side, "Young Miss Sinclair, don’t listen to him. Your Grandpa Sutton’s place is much more fun. Come visit me often. If there’s ever anything you don’t understand, Grandpa Sutton will explain it to you."

Seeing that the two elders had finally ceased their bickering, she breathed a sigh of relief. But before Rian could even speak, the two old men pulled her to the side and sat her down.

"Come on, Young Miss Sinclair. Your Grandpa Collins will teach you all about treasure appraisal. I’ll have you know, I was the one who initially brought Old Man Sutton into the trade."

Old Master Sutton gave a light snort but didn’t retort. After all, that was an undeniable fact.

Seeing that he had silenced Old Man Sutton, Elder Collins’s expression brightened with joy, and he looked at Rian with an extra glint of enthusiasm in his eyes.

Following Elder Collins’s lead, Rian took a seat in an empty chair nearby. Not to be outdone, Grandpa Sutton sat down right next to her. Grandpa Collins glared at him but didn’t say anything else.

Grandpa Collins cleared his throat and said, "Young Miss Sinclair, there’s a lot to be said about this treasure appraisal line of work. It’s full of hidden depths. Those who have just entered the trade will fall for a lot of scams. It’s always useful to learn more and master an additional skill."

With that, Grandpa Collins pointed to the items on the table. He picked up two teacups, placed them on the tea table, and filled them with tea. Next to the cups, he set down two red candles.

"This specific arrangement is a formal method of communication, known as a trade signal. Generally, unless it’s a matter of grave importance, this isn’t easily used.

"If a guest arrives, picks up the teacup, and downs the tea in one gulp, according to the rules of the trade, we—as the ones who set out the tea—are obligated to accept their request."

Grandpa Collins then demonstrated several other arrangements, explaining each one to Rian in detail. Among them, he even replicated the exact setup she had seen Grandpa Sutton use to entertain his guests earlier.

Rian watched from the side, thoroughly captivated.

Suddenly, Grandpa Collins’s tone shifted. "These things must never be spread to outsiders."

Although Grandpa Collins’s words were directed at Rian, his gaze landed squarely on Wyatt Winslow and the others. Grandpa Sutton’s expression also turned serious. He shot a look full of warning at Noel and the other two.