Chapter 223: The Furtive Bald Man

The night passed without incident. The next day, Chen Erbao woke up at the crack of dawn and went to the living room alone to warm up with some exercise.

Chen Erbao was already extremely skilled with the Dragon Elephant Divine Fist. However, because he hadn't undergone Medicated Bath Body Tempering, he was currently stuck at the Power of Two Elephants, unable to advance.

His Misty Step, on the other hand, was becoming more and more proficient. Once he activated it, it was as if he melted into the air—ethereal, elusive, and utterly traceless.

Only the sound of WHOOSHING wind could be heard, but his figure was nowhere to be seen.

His own Cultivation had also gradually reached the mid stage of the Qi Refining Fourth Layer. Chen Erbao secretly resolved that when he returned from this trip, he would teach the women around him to begin their own Cultivation.

'And the first one, of course, will be Lin Rui!'

He trained nonstop until 7:30, which was when Lin Rui slowly woke up.

After Lin Rui washed up and got ready, Chen Erbao took her downstairs.

Ivic had prepared a sumptuous breakfast, but nearly the entire spread was devoured by Chen Erbao.

Lin Rui only had a few small bites before she was full.

As his Realm increased, Chen Erbao didn't actually need to eat as often. However, out of habit, he still maintained his astonishing appetite.

After breakfast, Chen Erbao didn't have Ivic accompany them. Instead, he took Lin Rui and headed straight for Binhai City's antique market.

Their vehicle weaved through towering skyscrapers. After a few turns and crossing an intersection, the surrounding buildings suddenly became shorter and flatter, replaced by rows of quaint, two-story traditional buildings that came into view.

Chen Erbao parked the car and strolled into the street with Lin Rui.

The street wasn't wide, so barricades had been set up to prevent vehicles from entering.

Both sides of the road were lined with stalls selling all sorts of strange and curious antiques.

In a place like this, it was actually very difficult for an ordinary person to buy anything authentic. But when it came to this kind of business, it was a game of willing buyers and willing sellers. Even if you were swindled, you could only blame your own poor judgment.

After all, if someone tells you that's a teacup used by Qin Shi Huang and you believe them, then you're just being naive!

And just like that, they had barely taken a few steps when a bald man with shifty eyes blocked Chen Erbao's path. His eyes first swept over Lin Rui, captivated by her beauty, before he furtively said to Chen Erbao, "Hey, mister. I've got some good stuff here. Interested?"

Chen Erbao looked at him with interest, inwardly wondering, 'What exactly is this "good stuff"?'

'That term is usually a synonym for contraband in movies. Do they really have that kind of thing in a place like this?'

Chen Erbao nodded. "If it's really good stuff, I'll definitely buy. Take me to see it!"

The bald man was overjoyed to hear this. He slapped his chest and assured him, "Don't worry, it all just came out of... I mean, I just had someone appraise it. You definitely won't be getting a bad deal!"

He walked ahead to lead the way. Chen Erbao held Lin Rui's hand and followed behind. The three of them twisted and turned through the alleys, finally stopping outside the wall of an old courtyard house.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK...

"Who is it?"

"Zhao Si, it's me! I've got a customer!"

"Coming, coming!"

The voice from inside suddenly changed, and the person chuckled as they ran to open the gate.

As the gate creaked open, a short, skinny man with dark skin appeared, his face wreathed in smiles. "Sir, miss, please come in!"

"Brother Er Bao, they don't exactly look like good people!"

Lin Rui whispered to Chen Erbao with a frown.

Chen Erbao gently squeezed her soft little hand. "Don't worry. Let's go in and see what kind of game they're playing..."

The courtyard wasn't large, but it was filled with wooden shelves. The shelves were cluttered with all sorts of miscellaneous items: various silver coins stamped with strange patterns, as well as small incense burners, teapots, and the like.

Chen Erbao had excellent eyesight and could clearly see traces of dirt on all these items, as if they had just been dug out of the ground...

'Don't tell me I've run into Tomb Raider Captains...'

Chen Erbao sighed to himself and continued to survey his surroundings.

Finally, his gaze landed on a grayish-white bracelet on the leftmost wooden shelf.

The bracelet wasn't much to look at. Its surface was a dingy gray, and the string holding the beads together was also grayish-white, looking like it might snap at any moment. There were even bits of dirt in the crevices of the string, making it look even filthier.

But Chen Erbao's eyes narrowed slightly, and he rejoiced inwardly.

'A Spirit-Containing Object!'

'And it contains a fair bit of Spiritual Power, too!'

Chen Erbao didn't look for long, afraid the bald man and his partner would become suspicious. He averted his gaze and continued walking forward, pulling Lin Rui's hand.

As the two of them walked into the courtyard, the gate creaked shut behind them.

Chen Erbao and Lin Rui glanced back. The skinny little man gave a sly chuckle and explained, "Don't get the wrong idea, sir... It's just that with our merchandise, the fewer people who see it, the better!"

It was the first time Chen Erbao had encountered "talents" from this particular line of work, and he couldn't help but be curious. "So where is the stuff?"

"Inside! Follow me!"

The bald man in front opened the door to one of the rooms and gestured for them to enter.

Chen Erbao and Lin Rui stepped into the room, and the surroundings immediately grew dim.

The room was a little over ten square meters and piled high with wooden crates covered in straw. The windows on all sides were blocked by thick curtains, plunging the room into a gloomy, eerie atmosphere.

The bald man took out a flashlight and led them to a corner of the room. He opened the lid of one of the crates, revealing its contents.

It was a porcelain vase.

It was about the height of a small electric fan and lay horizontally inside the crate, cushioned by straw and foam.

The vase's surface was covered in yellowish mud, but under the bright beam of the flashlight, one could clearly see that the surface beneath the mud was still very smooth, and its patterns were quite beautiful.

The patterns seemed to be cyan!

Of course, Chen Erbao didn't know the first thing about antiques, but he wasn't here to buy antiques anyway. He was here to find a Spirit-Containing Object!

This vase might be priceless, but Chen Erbao could only sense an extremely faint trace of Spiritual Qi on it. It wasn't of much use!

"This vase..."

Even though Chen Erbao didn't know anything about it, he could pretend he did!

Acting like an expert, he casually pulled a magnifying glass from his pocket—one he had asked Ivic for that morning—and leaned down with practiced ease to carefully examine the patterns.

Seeing this, the bald man and the small man behind him broke into delighted expressions and exchanged a look.

Chen Erbao observed for a moment, then straightened up. His brow was furrowed in concentration, yet his expression held a hint of hesitation.

"Sir, how's the merchandise?"

Chen Erbao clicked his tongue in admiration, but then sighed repeatedly.

This series of complex expressions was making the bald man and the small man die of anxiety.

"Sir, just say what's on your mind!"

"Sigh, it's a good piece, of course. A shame, though..."

"A shame about what?!"

The bald man asked anxiously.

"It's a shame it wasn't preserved properly during transport. There are hairline cracks on the surface from being shaken..."

"Impossible! When we dug..."

The small man stopped mid-sentence.

The bald man shot him a glare.

Chen Erbao now knew what these two idiots were up to. He sighed and shifted his gaze to the other large crates.

"This vase isn't worth much now. A few tens of thousands at most. It's a worthless piece; I'm not interested."