Supreme Warrior in the City

Chapter 19: Chapter 19: 30,000, 100,000, 20,000,000

Su Yang did not enter the classroom, nor did he linger in the school; instead, he went straight to Erdao Street in the Southern Outskirts, which is known for its underground antique market in Nanluo City.

Of course, this place had a mix of the genuine and the fake, mostly fake goods, but there were also some real items. Whether you could distinguish them depended on your ability to discern.

Su Yang came here mainly to find a suitable Cauldron. After all, his strength was too weak, his True Qi insufficient, and if he used ”Devouring the Heavens” to refine medicine alone, it was easy to cause the medicinal properties to dissipate. However, by using a Cauldron, that consumption could be significantly reduced. And among ancient objects, there might just be a suitable Cauldron for use.

After making a round on Erdao Street, Su Yang did not find what he wanted. Just as he was about to leave, he spotted a sleazy-looking man holding a box, stealthily entering a shop on the corner of the street. What really drew Su Yang’s attention was the faint glimmer of dim light from within the box.

Su Yang followed into the shop, which already had a few customers inside. The shop owner was a man in his forties or fifties, chubby and white, seemingly harmless, who was now smiling obsequiously next to a lady.

The lady appeared to be around eighteen or nineteen, with a height of one meter seventy, dressed in a black one-piece dress and long boots, accentuating her extremely slender legs. She wore sunglasses that covered half her face, making it impossible to see her clearly. But from what was exposed, she could already be described as extremely beautiful.

The sleazy man upon seeing the situation did not dare utter a word, hiding quietly in a corner of the shop.

The woman had a strong presence and after inspecting all the display cases, she glanced at the shop owner and said, ”These things are no good; bring out your collection, don’t waste my time!”

”Miss, you have an excellent eye, these items here are considered good goods when sold to others, but in front of you, they can only be considered trash.” The shop owner immediately buttressed with flattery, ”Please wait a moment, I will fetch some truly valuable collections for you!”

The lady ignored him and sat down directly at the table. The shop owner hurried to the back room, passing by Su Yang and the sleazy man without having time to greet them.

Su Yang was indifferent, walking straight over to the sleazy man. After staring at the box in the man’s hands for a while, Su Yang asked, ”How much are you selling this for?”

”Ah?” The sleazy man was taken aback, he was planning to sell it to the shop owner, how could someone else want to buy it first? Could it be that his item was that much in demand?

”That...” The sleazy man pondered and gritted his teeth, ”One hundred thousand!”

”One hundred thousand!” Su Yang nodded thoughtfully and fell silent.

The lady glanced at Su Yang, a trace of disdain crossing the corner of her mouth. One hundred thousand, what could be valuable about it? Weren’t real antiques all starting from three hundred thousand or five hundred thousand?

Su Yang’s gaze swept over the displays inside the shop, finally settling on the lady. He walked straight toward her. The woman frowned slightly, and a few men immediately came over, blocking Su Yang’s way.

”What are you doing?” one of the bodyguard-like men asked in a deep voice.

Su Yang ignored him, looking at the lady, ”I’ll save you three million, and you give me one hundred thousand, how about that?”

Everyone was stunned. The lady glanced at Su Yang and asked, ”What are you talking about?”

”There’s an item here, priced at thirty thousand, but actually, it could be worth around three million.” Su Yang said, ”I’ll tell you which one it is, helping you save three million, and you give me one hundred thousand as a reward!”

The lady’s brows furrowed, and the bodyguard immediately laughed, ”Where did this madman come from, daring to speak such arrogant words? Something worth three million, priced at thirty thousand? Do you think the shop owner is a fool? Do you think the people running these shops don’t know the value of their merchandise?”

With a calm demeanor, Su Yang said, ”We are here, right now, whether it’s true or not, let’s find out by checking it. My request isn’t difficult for you, one hundred thousand as a fee. If it’s true, you earn three million. If I’m wrong, I’ll pay the thirty thousand!”

”Pay with what? Do you even have thirty thousand?” The bodyguard looked at Su Yang with disdain, ”Your entire outfit, including shoes and socks, doesn’t exceed one hundred yuan, right? With that, you still have the audacity to talk big? Aren’t you the shop owner’s plant? But if this is a ploy, it’s too outdated, isn’t it?”

Su Yang did not pay attention to the bodyguard, just calmly looking at the lady.

The lady stared at Su Yang for a long time, then suddenly said, ”Fine, I accept your offer. I want to see what item here is worth three million!”

It didn’t take long for the shop owner to come out, holding a bunch of calligraphy and paintings, excitedly saying, ”Miss, look, this is a genuine masterpiece by Wang Xizhi, and this one is an original by Gu Kaizhi, as well as a genuine piece by Liu Zongyuan, all treasures of enormous value. I wouldn’t reveal them to just anyone!”

The lady didn’t care much about these calligraphy and paintings. She looked at Su Yang and said with a faint smile, ”Alright, now you can start your show.”

Su Yang walked straight to one of the display cases, pointing to a vase inside, ”This one!”

The lady took one look, priced at thirty thousand, nothing particularly antique or of much value. Still, she gestured to the shop owner with a wave of her hand, ”I’ll take this one!”

”Ah?” The shop owner was stunned. The lady had been asking for items worth tens or hundreds of thousands upon entering the shop, she had never paid any attention to these small objects. What did she mean now, she actually wanted an item worth thirty thousand?

However, even a small sale was still business. The shop owner quickly took out the vase and handed it to the lady.

The woman waved her hand dismissively, while the bodyguard beside her hesitated, whispering, ”Miss, this man’s background is unclear...”

The woman glared at him, and the bodyguard immediately shut his mouth, taking out thirty thousand to give to the shop owner.

The shop owner couldn’t stop smiling; he had set the price of the porcelain vase at thirty thousand just for show—a price of three thousand would have been good enough. Selling it for thirty thousand, he had made a fortune.

The woman walked up to Su Yang with the porcelain vase and said, ”Alright, now tell me, how is this vase worth three million?”

Su Yang took the vase and casually knocked it against the doorframe.

”Ouch!” the shop owner cried out in shock, and the bodyguards also widened their eyes. A thirty thousand piece, just smashed like that?

The woman’s face changed instantly, thinking he was making a fool of her.

After that blow, the vase was covered in cracks, looking like it could shatter at any moment. This thirty thousand piece was now worthless.

”What are you doing?” the woman asked urgently, having never seen anyone like Su Yang before.

Without a word, Su Yang tapped the vase again, and it completely fell apart. However, at that moment, something astonishing happened. Inside the broken porcelain vase, there was a smaller Jade Vase, perfectly nestled inside!

Everyone’s eyes bulged, and the woman took off her sunglasses, looking incredulously at the Jade Vase in Su Yang’s hands.

The woman was indeed beautiful; taking off her sunglasses only made her more striking. Judging by her face alone, her beauty was definitely above nine, perhaps even nine and a half. What’s more, her temperament was exceptional. Such beauty surpassed many famed celebrities known for their looks.

But at that moment, no one cared about the woman’s beauty, her gaze included, as everyone was fixed on the Jade Vase in Su Yang’s hands.

”From the Qianlong period, a court-used Jade Vase,” Su Yang said, passing the vase to the woman. ”It once sat in the Imperial Study Room. As for the price, what do you think?”

Shaken, the woman accepted the Jade Vase, examining it thoroughly before looking at Su Yang in amazement, ”Even if it’s just a Jade Vase from the Qianlong period, it’s worth upwards of three million. But how did you know it was once in the Qianlong Imperial Study Room?”

Su Yang casually pointed to the bottom of the Jade Vase; the woman flipped it over and was immediately taken aback to see three characters engraved on it—Imperial Study Room!

”My God, it really was in the Qianlong Imperial Study Room?” the woman exclaimed. ”The value of this Jade Vase must be immense. Uncle Hee, have a look!”

The woman handed the Jade Vase to an elderly man with graying hair behind her. After a thorough examination, he excitedly said, ”There’s no mistake, this is indeed a treasure from the Qianlong period, and the craftsmanship is clearly imperial, it can’t be fake. The characters for Imperial Study Room were engraved specifically to identify these vases, and if an ordinary person carved such characters, it would mean a death sentence for great disrespect, only the emperor had the right to use them!”

”So... how much is it worth?” the woman asked, still in shock.

”This...” Uncle Hee thought for a moment before saying, ”Upwards of twenty million!”

”What!?” the woman’s eyes widened; upwards of twenty million was a staggering sum.

The shop owner collapsed on the ground. He felt an urge to kill himself. A twenty million piece, sold for just thirty thousand? He had been so pleased with himself, thinking he had made a profit!

Su Yang remained calm—three million, twenty million, to him, they were all immaterial.

”Alright, now it’s time for you to fulfill your promise!” said Su Yang. ”This object is worth over three million, and you promised me one hundred thousand. It’s time to pay up.”

Only then did the woman come back to her senses. She looked at Su Yang in amazement, unable to understand what the young man’s intentions were. Despite recognizing the vase’s invaluable worth, he didn’t buy it himself, letting others make the twenty million. To say he wasn’t interested in money, yet why was he still so persistent about the one hundred thousand?

”Why wouldn’t you buy the vase worth twenty million yourself?” the woman asked incredulously.

Because I don’t have thirty thousand,” Su Yang replied.

The woman felt like she was about to spit blood at this unexpected answer. Without thirty thousand, couldn’t he borrow it? The profit would be twenty million, enough to never worry about money again in his life. And he let this opportunity slip away because he didn’t have thirty thousand?

”My one hundred thousand!” Su Yang reminded her again.

”One hundred thousand won’t suffice!” the woman said crisply, then turned to her bodyguards and said, ”Give him the full three million!”