“Hello?” Chen Fan said, when he saw the visitor.
“Mr. Chen, I apologize for not giving you a heads up.” The visitor was Uncle Lin that Chen Fan had met a couple of days ago at the auction house.
Uncle Lin bowed slightly to Chen Fan and then said, “My master had heard what had happened that night, and he is very interested in meeting you to discuss more about the Dharma Artifacts.”
“The Third Lord of Wei wants to see me?” Chen Fan furrowed his brows.
From Zhou Tianhao to the Auction, Chen Fan did not like anything that had Third Lord’s hands in it.
“That’s right, my lord had spotted a real Dharma Artifact, but he did not entirely trust the seller, and therefore, he wishes that he could have a second opinion from you.” Uncle Lin said with a smile.
Chen Fan was going to refuse whatever Uncle Lin was going to propose. However, the topic quickly piqued his interest.
Although most of the collections from the Third Lord of the Wei were junk, he had gotten the Jade Marrow from him; therefore, Chen Fan wagered that there could potentially be another real deal waiting to be discovered.
“Fine, let’s go take a look.” Chen Fan said. He was curious to see the difference between the Dharma Artifact in this world than that was created by him using the art from the world of cultivation.
As soon as Chen Fan arrived at the community gate, he saw a Bentley Continental Flying Spur parked by the gate. It was evident that only the Third Lord of the Wei could afford this luxury car that was worth over a few million.
After Chen Fan had secured himself in the car seat, Uncle Lin started to fill him in the details.
“A seller from Zhong Zhou City showed the Third Lord a filigree of the sort, and ever since then, the Third Lord had been ranting about how all of his other collections were junk, and he wanted to sell them. ”
Chen Fan nodded. No wonder The Third Lord of Wei wanted to auction out all of his collections a few nights ago.
“As you know, my lord was not the only powerful magnet in the Chu Zhou City; everyone at his level will go head over heels for anything that claimed to be able to ward off the evil eyes and protect their wealth and family. Even many powerful buyers from the Tian He City had joined the race. They had already met three times, as they say the third time’s the charm, so I bet the seller is finally going to let this piece go this time.” Uncle Lin said and then heaved a sigh.
“This Dharma artifact is starting at ten million yuan; the stake is not small. Therefore, Third Lord wanted you to be the appraiser, and if it really is as powerful as the seller purported, he will buy it no matter how much it will cost.”
Chen Fan nodded.
These super-wealthy businessmen would spare no expense at gaining one of those so-called “Feng Shui Dharma Artifact,” or anything that was blessed by old monks. However stupid it sounded, that was the way it was back then, and it all started by the superstitious rich people from coming to mainland China from the province of Taiwan.
Although the third lord of Wei was from a prominent family, there were at least ten other businessmen who were as rich as he was in the Chu Zhou City. Therefore, competition for a piece of real Dharma Artifact would be fierce.
Soon Uncle Lin pulled the car over to a modest courtyard-style building in a quiet suburb village. This house looked ordinary from the outside; however, once Chen Fan pushed the gate open, he was greeted by a charming view of ponds, creeks and elegant pavilions.
Chen Fan entered the main hall and saw two rows of Chinese armchair was set in a traditionally decorated space. It was as if Chen Fan had gone back in time to the early 19th century.
The person who was sitting at the center of the two rows of chair greeted Chen Fan with a smile.
“Mr. Chen is here.”
Chen Fan wagered that the speaker was the Third Lord of the Wei. His face was lifelessly pale with two large bags under his eyes. He looked tired yet restless. Despite wearing expensive clothing from head to toe, he could scarcely pull them off.
Chen Fan shook his head as he remembered Xiao Qi’s loathed look when he mentioned this third lord to him. The third son simply could not compare with his father even when the elderly man was suffering internal injury. Chen Fan still had Mr. Wei’s image in his mind when he first saw him: stately and headfast, from time to time, his eyes glinted with the wisdom of a veteran businessman.
“Nice to meet you.” Chen Fan nodded a reply.
Before Chen Fan could say anything more, a person sitting in another armchair sneered at him.
“Third Lord, did you find a kid to be your appraiser? Is there not a single capable expert in the Chu Zhou City? I can loan you one if you want. ”
The Third Lord of the Wei pulled a taut pace and flung back at him. “Xin Zhong, why don’t you shut your mouth, or else I will kick you out! This is Chu Zhou City, not Tian He City.”
“Oh, give me a break! If the Second Lord is here, I promise I will shut up, and if it was the First Lord, I might as well pack up and go back to Tian He. But you are neither of them, you are the third lord, and you are weak.”
Sitting right beside the pompous man was a white-haired senior in a traditional white suit. His half-closed eyes were motionless and didn’t even shift toward Chen Fan when he came in.
“You!” In a fit of anger, the third Lord of Wei slammed the table and snarled at Xin Zhong hotly. Xin Zhong was unfazed; he continued to sit comfortably in the armchair and let disdain and contempt crawl all over his face.
“Quit it.” An old man in the traditional suit said with a scowl. “Don’t mind him, Third Lord. We knew that Xin Zhong had no filters, he never changed after so many years.
“Ah, please, young sir, grab a seat.”
Hearing the old man’s words, the Third Lord of Wei finally suppressed his anger and sat down. It was evident that the old man in the tradition suit was an influential person in the group.
Uncle Lin closed in onto Chen Fan and whispered a few explanations.
The pompous man called Xin Zhong was a rich businessman from the Tian He City. He ran an international trading company and stayed abroad for most of the time. He was extremely resourceful in the Tian He City and quite influential even at the Chu Zhou City.
The Third Lord Wei also had an international trading company and was a competitor of Xin Zhong. The two’s business ventures were often at odds against each other while they competed for contacts. The pretentious white-haired old man was invited by Xin Zhong to provide insight on the quality of the artifact.
The old man in the traditional suit was called Zhen Jiulin, and he was one of the magnates in the Chu Zhou City. His portfolio covered all kinds of industries such as hotel, construction, health care, transportation, and even convenience store chains. His nickname was “Half-city” because of how much property in the Chu Zhou City had his name on them. He was the second richest person in the city only next to Sheng Ronghua. People usually call him “Old Man Zhen.”
Compared to Zhen Jiulin, Third Lord of Wei’s wealth was peanuts. If he were not from the mighty Wei family, the third lord would not even be able to sit at the same table with Zhen Jiulin.
“Thank you.” Chen Fan nodded. He looked past Xin Zhong and studied the white-haired old man who seemed to have fallen into a reverie.
After Chen Fan had sat down, Zhen Jiulin said slowly but confidently.
“Everyone is here now. Boss Gu, would you please be so kind as to show us the item?”
Sitting across from the old man was a chubby man who looked like the fat buddha one would find in temples. Boss Gu furrowed his brows and complained, “This is the third time you guys want to see it. I want to know how committed you are to this deal.”
“Rest assured; this will be the last time. One of us will buy it as long as it is the real deal.” One of the rich men said loudly while pounding his chest.
He was a businessman from the development district, and he owned a few textile manufacturing plants.
“We are all busy men. so if we are not interested, why would we waste our time and come here?” Someone else put in.
“Very well.” Boss Gu nodded and ordered one of his servants to bring out an old box
Inside the box was a wooden filigree shaped like a flat plate depicting the Eight Trigrams. It looked heavy and solid in its construction despite the wear and tear on its edges. The plate immediately caught everyone’s attention.
“Huh?”
The moment the box was opened up, Chen Fan suddenly wrenched his attention from the white-haired old man to the plate.
When he saw the pattern of the Eight Trigrams on the plate, he couldn’t help but gasp.
“What do you think of it, Mr. Chen?”
Third Lord was still in a bad mood after the confrontation, and therefore, his voice was laced with impatience.
Even now, he regretted, inviting Chen Fan. He never believed that a high school kid could know anything about artifacts. However, in a fit of desperation, he accepted his subordinates suggestion and invited Chen Fan. A huge mistake.
The boy looked nothing extraordinary, and couldn’t compare with that white-haired old man brought along by Xin Zhong.
His miscalculation had spurred his rival, Xin Zhong, to jump at the golden opportunity to insult him.
Even as the Third Lord lamented his mistake, he heard Xin Zhong speak out again.
“What does a little child know anything about Dharma Artifact? Come one, how many times do we have to do this. Let’s just bid on it now!”
Chen Fan smiled, but he had kept his silence.
Chen Fan was indeed shocked when he lay his eyes on the plate. He was impressed not by the plate itself, but by what was on it. The plate was covered with inscriptions that formed a Dharma array. Its function was very similar to the Spirit Gathering Array he had cast on the jade talisman. However, it’s power was much inferior to that created by Chen Fan.
“Who would have thought that such artifact would exist on earth? It’s sort of like a crude prototype of Dharma Artifact.”
Chen Fan shook his head and was disappointed by the power of the artifact. In addition, this plate clearly had seen better days. Decades, if not centuries of usage had taken a toll on its construction. Any more usage would completely break this artifact into pieces.
Seeing the greediness in everyone’s eyes, Chen Fan decided to keep the secrets to himself. None of them took him seriously anyway.
Seeing Chen Fan didn’t speak, Third Lord said.
“Mr. Qi. Please.”
“Will do. ”
Another appraiser stood up and came over to the artifact. Everyone watched him expectantly as he would be one of the arbiters of the quality of this magical item.
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