My height is one meter seventy-eight. I appear somewhat thin, but the flesh on my body is very solid. This is the result of my master's constant sparring with me over the past ten years. Compared to Zhou Hou next to me, I would definitely have a crushing advantage in terms of strength.
However, I actually couldn't lift the wooden box in front of me in one go. Instead, I misjudged its weight. My body tilted forward. If it weren't for my quick reflexes, I would have made a fool of myself. It felt as if it were glued to the table.
To test my thoughts, I pushed it forcefully to the other side of the table. I felt that it could be moved, which made my expression turn somewhat grim. Could it really be that the item inside had gained sentience, as Zhou Hou had said?
Seeing me standing in front of the table without moving, Zhou Hou thought I didn't believe him. He kept urging me from the side, "Don't worry about picking it up. This thing doesn't want to be damaged. Unlike those calligraphy and paintings that can be ruined if you're not careful, just give it a try."
I nodded. Since I had confirmed that he wasn't secretly tampering with it, I refused to believe I couldn't lift such a small item.
"Lift!"
I felt like I was using all my strength, but I only managed to raise it by two fingers' height.
Bang—
It then slammed heavily back onto the table, nearly shattering it.
Zhou Hou was stunned, a strange look appearing on his face. "How is this possible? Move aside, let me try."
I also stepped back a couple of paces, yielding my spot. At the same time, I watched his every move, wanting to see if he had tampered with it to deliberately make me look foolish.
Zhou Hou stepped forward. Without any other small movements, he easily picked up the wooden box and looked at me doubtfully. "See? I picked it up." He then placed the wooden box down again, even changing its position, as if to prove he hadn't tampered with it.
His every move was under my watchful eye. Any small action would have been impossible to escape my notice, otherwise, I would have gouged out my own eyes.
After he moved away, I tried again, but still couldn't lift it. Moreover, a faint chill emanated from it. Although it was brief, it felt like an illusion, but I knew it was definitely not an illusion.
At this moment, I suddenly recalled what Zhou Hou had said earlier. In the antique business, especially when dealing with burial artifacts, one should not casually comment on their quality. Otherwise, they might hold a grudge. If one encountered something with strong malevolent energy, it could even harm people.
Now it seemed that the wooden ruler inside the wooden box was angry with me, just as Zhou Hou had said.
At this time, Zhou Hou also reacted. He looked at me with an uncertain expression, seemingly both pained and unwilling. When he noticed me looking at him, he forced a smile.
"Little brother, how about I exchange another treasure for you?" he said, preparing to step forward and take the wooden box.
But I blocked him with a step, looking at him with a half-smile. "Brother Zhou, didn't you just say this is the greatest treasure here? Do you have anything better?"
"This..."
Zhou Hou's face showed embarrassment. He said with some annoyance, "Even if you know it's a treasure, what good is it if you can't lift it? Besides, its price is not cheap. You probably can't afford it, can you?"
I had heard the idiom "no merchant is without deceit" before, but I hadn't understood its meaning. Now, I finally understood.
I guessed that Zhou Hou must have initially considered this item to be junk and wanted to swindle me, the unsuspecting customer. Who knew that this item suddenly gained sentience and seemed to be a great treasure, thus arousing his greed? If this item were sold, its price could at least double.
I smiled, "How do you know I can't lift it? I just wanted to see if you truly had any treasures here, so I was just testing it." As I spoke, I picked up the wooden box with one hand, and then put it down.
"As Brother Zhou just said, this is the greatest treasure in your shop. I won't take what you cherish. Let it remain as the shop's guardian treasure." With that, I gestured with my hands behind my back, signaling him to open the door and let me leave. I wasn't buying it anymore.
My reaction completely exceeded his expectations. He pointed at me, then pointed at the wooden box on the table, almost explicitly asking, "Kid, were you playing with me just now?"
Actually, I wasn't toying with him. The truth was, I really couldn't lift that wooden box. The reason I could lift it just now was because I had applied the Tian Qiao Seal to myself, filling my body with profound Yang energy. This made the wooden ruler inside the box believe that the person outside the box had changed, which is why I could lift it. Simply put, I was deceiving its sentience, not its spiritual nature.
Seeing that I was about to leave, Zhou Hou was unwilling to let me go. His face immediately filled with smiles. "Oh, my good brother, why are you playing such a joke with your old brother? Come, have some tea. What treasure or no treasure, since I've shown it to you, it's meant for you, brother."
I looked at him with a half-smile, "Are you really planning to give it to me, for free?"
Zhou Hou gave an embarrassed smile. "It's no problem for me to give it to my brother, but I also have costs for acquiring things, don't I? You wouldn't watch your old brother lose money like this, would you?"
I breathed a sigh of relief. If he had truly intended to give it to me, I wouldn't have dared to accept it. Nothing falls from the sky for no reason. If it does fall, it's likely not a pie, but a large iron disk that could kill you.
"Of course. Brother Zhou has taken out his most prized possession. How could I not show my appreciation? Name your price."
Seeing my cheerful agreement to buy it, Zhou Hou's face showed hesitation again. He seemed unable to make up his mind. He looked at the wooden box on the table, then at me, and finally gritted his teeth and held up two fingers.
When I saw this, I chuckled inwardly. Such a fine treasure, only 200,000? Not expensive.
"Brother Zhou, it's generous of you to sell it for two hundred thousand..."
Before I could finish, Zhou Hou interrupted me, "Little brother, you've misunderstood. I didn't say two hundred thousand. I said 2 million?"
"What? 2 million? Are you robbing me!"
My reaction didn't surprise Zhou Hou. Instead, he looked at me with a smile. "Little brother, I'm not making a single cent of profit from you. When I acquired this item, it cost me 2 million! I've kept it safe for so many years, fearing moisture and insects. Just the preservation costs alone over the years are hundreds of thousands. Honestly, at 2 million, this is already a losing business. If you can accept it, we can continue our negotiation. If not, then forget it. Consider it an eye-opener for you, what do you say?"
I cursed him as a profiteer in my heart.
I slapped my forehead, looking at him with apparent regret. "Look at this. I misunderstood Brother Zhou's meaning. I thought it was two hundred thousand, but it turns out to be two million. That's not a small sum, and I don't have that much money on me."
I had already pegged him as a shrewd businessman. How could I believe his words? I didn't know the value of underground burial artifacts, but when I was at my master's house, I had seen those small vendors selling vegetables in the countryside. They always complained about not making money and selling at a loss.
In reality, the vegetables they sold were more expensive than those sold in the city, and their profit margin was twice or even more than that of the city. Even so, they claimed they weren't making money because earning one or two times the profit was too little; they preferred to earn seven or eight times.
I didn't believe he acquired this item for 2 million. In my opinion, at most, he would have paid 500,000, or perhaps even less.
After all, items from underground are often difficult to sell. For instance, there was a thick layer of dust on the box, and I didn't know how many years it had been there. When he acquired it, it was probably only around 200,000. Now he was asking for ten times the price. It would be strange if he wasn't a profiteer.
Seeing my regretful expression, Zhou Hou frowned slightly. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Little brother, you seem like an honest person. Tell me how much money you have. If the price is close, I'll let you have this treasure. What do you say?"
I feigned a dejected look, feeling somewhat embarrassed to speak. Under his repeated urging, I extended one finger to him.
"What? One million? No, that's too low. How can you bargain by cutting the price in half like that? No, absolutely not..."
I interrupted his attempt to continue his sob story. "It's not one million, it's only ten thousand in my pocket."