Reborn As Super Heiress

Chapter 420: Chapter 416: In Cahoots

”I’m sorry, Miss Huo, this was actually a test game that my master and I specially designed for you,”

Ji Kun wore a look of guilt, yet he felt quite pleased, clearly satisfied with the results of the test.

After that incident at Yucailou, Ji Kun had his doubts about Huo Sining’s talent. Although Huo Sining had declined his offer, he still felt a sense of regret and unwillingness to give up. So, he spoke to his teacher, Elder Zhou Shitao, about it the same day.

Initially, Zhou Shitao was skeptical, but after much pleading from Ji Kun, he decided to give Huo Sining a chance.

To test the true extent of Huo Sining’s abilities and fearing that she might intentionally hide her skills due to resistance, Ji Kun thought of the Baiyang Box that Zhou Shitao often used to test him and his fellow disciples.

Zhou Shitao possessed a Baiyang Box filled with numerous counterfeit items so exquisitely made that even some of the most skilled experts couldn’t tell them apart from the real ones.

Thus, Ji Kun wanted to use Zhou Shitao’s Baiyang Box to test Huo Sining, to see just how far her talent really went.

After listening to Ji Kun’s explanation, Huo Sining’s first thought wasn’t worry that her special ability and the Water-Repelling Pearl would be discovered by Zhou Shitao and Ji Kun, but that Su Qingqing had conspired with outsiders to deceive her.

Zhou Shitao and Ji Kun had set up their stall at Panjiayuan with deliberate intention. However, how did they know in advance that she would come to Panjiayuan? Clearly, someone had tipped them off.

The decision to come to Panjiayuan had been made on the spur of the moment, suggested by Su Qingqing. But it was Huang Xiaoyi who had suggested visiting this particular stall.

However, Huang Xiaoyi did not know Ji Kun, while Su Qingqing was an ardent fan and supporter of Ji Kun and Zhou Shitao.

So it wasn’t hard to guess who the traitor was.

”So, you were in on it with them too?”

Huo Sining looked at Su Qingqing with a smile that was not quite a smile.

With an awkward laugh, Su Qingqing said, ”Well, you know, Ningning, I really did want to come and browse Panjiayuan.”

Huo Sining felt helpless, especially seeing Ji Kun’s triumphant grin and Su Qingqing’s smug face, and she couldn’t help but put a hand to her forehead.

This was what they called making a mistake in choosing friends—as it turned out, she was the only fool, being played like a monkey.

Fortunately, Elder Zhou Shitao and his disciple had no malicious intentions in uncovering Huo Sining’s secrets, otherwise she would be sold and still help count the money.

Huo Sining was deeply frustrated, but Zhou Shitao was very excited.

Having reached a venerable age, he had been longing to take on a closed-door disciple for several years, but had never found the right candidate.

Now, witnessing Huo Sining’s profound talent in treasure appraisal, Zhou Shitao was naturally thrilled, and even determined to succeed. In his eyes, Huo Sining was like an uncut jade, capable of achieving boundless prospects if properly cultivated.

”Miss Huo, I heard from Xiao Ji that you’re studying something like bioengineering. Isn’t that a waste of heaven’s gift, squandering the talent that God has bestowed upon you?”

Elder Zhou Shitao’s face was a portrait of disappointment; he heaved a long sigh, then suddenly paused before saying:

”In my whole life, I, Zhou Shitao, have never begged anyone for favors, but today, I’ll put aside my pride and pull you back onto the right path. There’s no need for any formal initiation ceremony, no need to drink any tea for apprenticeship, you only need to call me teacher once, and I shall take you in as my closed-door disciple.”

Huo Sining’s heart churned with mixed feelings upon hearing these words. Where did she have any talent? All of this was achieved because she had cheated with the Water-Repelling Pearl.

Huo Sining sighed, looked at Elder Master Zhou Shitao, whose eyes were filled with anticipation and anxiety, and after weighing her thoughts, she said:

”Mr. Zhou, it’s not that I am unwilling to call you teacher, rather that I truly know nothing about antique appraisal and have no foundation whatsoever.”

Zhou Shitao was taken aback, looking at the box with an odd expression on his face: ”But just now...”

Huo Sining had intended to find an excuse for herself, like she did before with the Qigong Massage Technique. Now that her incredible ability, as well as the discovery by Elder Master Zhou Shitao and his disciples, was exposed, it would be better to find a legitimate excuse to assert her power and openly admit to it; in this way, it would invite less suspicion.

Therefore, she did not conceal anything but rather ”admitted” outright:

”In fact, I don’t understand antique appraisal and haven’t studied it, which I mentioned to Professor Ji Kun before. I can’t tell you what all these items in your box are, nor can I determine their origins, but when my hand touches them, I can distinctly feel their differences.”

Huo Sining was also considering how to describe this ”special feeling” so that everyone would be convinced that her flawed excuse was not fabricated out of thin air, but before she could find the words, Zhou Shitao interjected:

”Could it really be the so-called Yin and Yang Hands?”

”What Yin and Yang Hands?” Huo Sining was stunned.

Zhou Shitao glanced at Ji Kun and explained: ”It’s a rumor among us in the antique world. It’s said that in the late Qing Dynasty, there was a person with an incredible pair of hands. Any antiques that had been through burial, he could detect by touch alone, even determining the age of the antiques by the intensity of the Yin energy on them.”

When Zhou Shitao mentioned this, both Su Qingqing and Huang Xiaoyi, who were listening, found it increasingly plausible. They didn’t need Huo Sining’s poor excuse; they had automatically conjured up a tale of a young girl naturally endowed with the talent for appraising antiques. Huo Sining’s hands, while somewhat different from the Yin and Yang Hands in Zhou Shitao’s story, were not far off.

No one questioned the veracity of this; after all, Huo Sining’s swift and accurate identification of the genuine artifact from the Baiyang Box was too shocking and convincing. Faced with absolute facts, nobody harbored any doubts.

An explanation like the Yin and Yang Hands would save Huo Sining a lot of trouble, and of course, she was more than willing to accept it.

Zhou Shitao, earnest in seeking the talented, did not mind if the foundation was weak.

In his eyes, in the field of appraisal, talent is much more important than foundation. With Huo Sining’s miraculous ability, as long as she crammed some basics for a while, her appraising skills would leap in quality, and her progress would undoubtedly outpace any other student he had taught.

Huo Sining had intended to decline outright, but upon further thought, she realized that she might need to delve into the world of antiques in the future, and having no foundation would be a problem.

Moreover, if she could become a disciple of Zhou Shitao, being his apprentice would certainly afford her more connections in the antique world, which could possibly aid her venture in retrieving treasures from the seabed.

At this point, Huo Sining wavered. She glanced at Su Qingqing, who had been signaling to her on the side, and after pondering for a while, she said:

”Mr. Zhou, whether I become your disciple or not, you are a teacher and elder I respect. But the matter of becoming a disciple is not to be taken lightly, so I hope you can give me three days to consider.”