Chapter 113 Antique Market

  The next day, Qin Lang saw that his body was adjusted quite ideally, so he began to consider giving Grandpa Hua a pill to cure his illness.

  To refine the real elixir, apart from the medicine materials, a decent elixir furnace is also needed. For Qin Lang, this kind of elixir master, an elixir furnace is naturally indispensable.

  Alchemical furnace, also known as crucible, is made of copper or iron, and sometimes ceramic. In ancient times, it had multiple uses, but nowadays it's mostly used as a work of art or for burning incense in temples.

  Cultivation requires seizing the heavenly mechanism, and the selection of a dan furnace also requires seizing the heavenly mechanism. The dan furnace that Qin Lang is looking for must have some history to it, with superior materials being top-grade bronze ware, best if it's an ancient relic passed down through the ages, with a "vintage" identity in modern times as a large square tripod cauldron.

  Only such a tripod furnace, after the long-term changes of history, has condensed the essence of the sun and moon, and the spiritual energy of heaven and earth can reach a certain level, eliminating the need to refine the marrow again, and can exert the effect of alchemy in the shortest time, thus achieving twice the result with half the effort. Equivalent to the Buddhist concept of "opening the light", this is something that ordinary tripods cannot compare with, and it also occupies a great advantage.

  But such a truly cultural relic-level tripod furnace is hard to come by. Qin Lang has consulted relevant materials, and many ancient tombs have unearthed tripods, but unfortunately, they have all been transported to museums. It's obviously unrealistic to get it from the museum.

  In this world that doesn't prioritize cultivation, Qin Lang didn't have high hopes of finding a satisfactory alchemy furnace. As long as he could find one with a decent base and material, he would be content.

  With his skills, spending more energy to refine another cauldron is also within his capabilities. Although it may not reach the level of an antique cauldron with historical heritage and spiritual energy, it's still within his abilities.

  Moreover, as his powers grew, the fire he could manipulate became more refined and true. The longer the alchemical furnace was fired with true flames, the more it would become a pure and perfect instrument. Thus making up for the deficiencies of the heavenly mechanism.

  Qin Lang learned that Ping'an City had a large-scale antique market, which was well-known throughout the country, and many antique enthusiasts flocked there.

  He decided to go there first and take a look around. Maybe there will be some hidden gems in the market.

  Heima Antique Market is located near the outskirts of Ping'an City. Qin Lang had checked it out, and this market opens at 5 am and usually disperses around 2-3 pm.

  To find good stuff, timing is also crucial. You have to seize the most active time period in the market, otherwise even if there are good things, they will be snatched away by others.

  After reading relevant information about antiques, he went to the bank and withdrew 100,000 yuan in cash the next day.

  There are many rules in this industry, and cash transactions are one of the common transaction methods used by most businesses. That's why Qin Lang took out some cash.

  He had only withdrawn 100,000 yuan, but it was enough to make the cloth bag on his waist bulge, and he became extremely conspicuous as he walked out of the bank. Fortunately, the public security in Ping'an City was still good, otherwise, he would have been targeted immediately.

  He had over 700,000 yuan left in his bank account, and with the additional bank card given by Old Man Hua, he now had a total of over 10 million yuan, enough to keep him from feeling embarrassed about being poor for a while. This made him quite surprised.

  There's also the unexpected wealth brought by cracking the case!

  Qin Lang suddenly remembered that Bai Wuxia had come to find him that day to inform him to go and collect the reward, almost forgetting about it.

  This unexpected windfall is over a million, one of these days I'll have to go and collect it.

  He muttered to himself and hailed a taxi, heading straight for the Hei Ma Antique Market.

  As you step into the antique market, the first impression is that it's dirty and chaotic. There are small stalls everywhere, selling all sorts of things, with the sounds of haggling filling your ears.

  The antique market has inherited the traditional way of doing business, mainly with street stalls and supplemented by booths. Whether big or small, the stalls are more popular than regular antique shops.

  Qin Lang carefully walked past each stall, afraid of stepping on other people's goods, and his eyes were more careful than usual. Because antiques are priceless items, the so-called "priceless" does not mean that they are priceless treasures, but rather that there is no measurable price, once scratched or touched, compensation would be difficult to discuss.

  In this antique market filled with fakes and counterfeits, it's impossible to buy good stuff without a discerning eye. The authenticity, age, beauty or ugliness of an item all need to be appraised, and if you're careless for even a moment, you'll suffer a huge loss.

  Qin Lang knew that the antique business was very deep, and it wasn't an exaggeration to say that it was a gamble. For the same item, someone else might buy it for 10,000 yuan, but he himself might have to spend 100,000 yuan. In this situation, the item might still be worth some money, and he could consider himself lucky. But if he misjudged, spending tens of millions or even hundreds of millions on something that turned out to be worthless in an instant, it would all be for nothing, like throwing water. All his hard work over decades would be undone overnight, and he'd be back to square one.

  The origin of "indulging in frivolous pursuits and losing one's ambition" is precisely this.

  But Qin Lang did not have such worries, whether the thing was true or false, and how much it was worth, all escaped his golden eyes. He consulted a large amount of relevant information, and in his mind, it was like an encyclopedia, what each dynasty produced, what characteristics it had, he could judge in time.

  More importantly, in addition to the vast amount of information stored in his mind, he also has a point where he can use his consciousness to feel whether an object has spiritual energy, and thus judge its existence in this world. As long as it is an old object, it has innate spiritual energy, and the longer the time, the more obvious the spiritual energy is, and vice versa. This is another ability given to him by his extended consciousness.

  He casually picked up a few pieces, which he thought were Shang and Han dynasty pendants, but they didn't have any spiritual energy at all. They were just high-quality modern replicas. All that can be said is that the manufacturers of antique replicas nowadays have reached an astonishing level of craftsmanship, to the point where it's scary.

  After a stroll, although fakes are the majority, genuine antiques do exist, such as bowls, paintings, and vases. However, Qin Lang is looking for ancient bronze tripods, unless he comes across jade stones that are useful for his cultivation, it's hard to arouse his desire to buy anything else.

  After walking through most of the market, I generally only saw some small stoves and cauldrons. Truly large stoves and cauldrons were extremely rare, and they were all fake goods.

  It seems that the furnace tripod is not a popular antique after all.

  Qin Lang furrowed his brow and let out a sigh.

  It's true that the furnace and tripod, whether in shape or color, are not as elegant as other art pieces such as calligraphy, painting, jade, stone, or sculpture. They have less collection value, especially large square tripods, which are really not very visually pleasing when placed at home.

  However, a niche hobby is also a hobby. Its existence cannot be erased. After continuing to stroll around for several more rounds, Qin Lang finally found a store that specialized in selling stoves and cauldrons. Looking at the entrance piled high with large and small stoves and cauldrons, there were square cauldrons and round cauldrons, which made his eyes light up.

  "50,000? Are you kidding me?! Even if this thing is good, it's not worth that price. If it were cheaper, I'd buy it!"

  Just as Qin Lang was about to walk towards the shop that sold tripods, a loud haggling voice suddenly came from not far away. The person's voice was very loud and extremely familiar. Qin Lang's ears were exceptionally sharp, and in this bustling scene, the sound that caught his attention must be someone he knew.

  He turned his head and glanced over, about twenty meters away in front of a small stall, he saw a couple. The man was the one who had been haggling.

  The woman standing beside the man was wearing a dress, with a slender and elegant figure. From Qin Lang's angle, he could clearly see the woman's side face, which was precisely Bai Wumo.

  But that man was dressed in a particularly striking manner, and if it weren't for his physique and voice being so similar to Wu Yong's, plus Bai Wuchan standing beside him, he would never have thought that this person was actually Wu Yong.

  A month had passed, and the wound on Wu Yong's face had healed to about 70-80%. He looked spirited, his originally slightly curly black hair was now dyed red, his bangs were smooth and straight, partially tucked behind his ears, and a bright red headscarf was tied around his forehead. He wore a pink tight-fitting undershirt and bright yellow tight-fitting pants, outlining his muscular physique.

  His face is very pale, and it seems like he's even applied foundation. From behind, people who don't know him would absolutely think that this person is a sissy, a pretty boy, gay, or a young man kept by a rich woman.

  Qin Lang was stunned, this guy usually wore a police uniform, rough and rude, but now he suddenly dressed like this, it was really hard for him to believe.

  This made him wonder if the guy had ulterior motives towards Bai Wuchuang, and it didn't seem like he had any issues with his sexual orientation. Had he been stung by a bee or something?

  No matter what Wu Yong's intentions were, seeing the two of them together made Qin Lang feel a thread of inexplicable anger. He hesitated for a moment, wondering whether he should go over and greet them.

  Bai Wuxia was extremely vigilant due to her profession, and she seemed to notice Qin Lang's sharp gaze. She turned her head to look, and indeed it was Qin Lang.

  She saw Qin Lang here, and her heart suddenly had a little surprise, but as soon as she thought of the scene where Qin Lang was facing another wet girl naked at home that day, she couldn't help it, glared at Qin Lang, then turned her head around, pretending not to see him.

  She deliberately leaned in closer to Wu Yong.

  Bai Wuxiao didn't realize that Qin Lang's chauvinistic tendencies made him more likely to notice her when she was being provocative. Her getting angry was simply a way to get his attention, not because of the wine.

  "Hey, this girl actually dares to ignore me?"

  Qin Lang's eyebrows were tightly locked, and his originally hesitant mind was immediately stimulated by Bai Wuchan, and he walked straight in the direction of the two people.

  He is no longer the same as before, in terms of physical and mental health, he is a completely normal man. Unlike before, even if he had thoughts, he didn't dare to admit it, or deliberately avoided it. Now seeing the woman who has been intimate with him being with another man, he becomes angry and also gains confidence.

  Wu Yong didn't notice Qin Lang walking over, but he did notice Bai Wuchan moving a bit closer to him, and his heart couldn't help but feel secretly delighted. He thought that Bai Wuchan's actions were a kind of subtle hint at the two of them getting along.

  The two of them were left with only a finger's width between them, so he took the initiative again, and even put aside the matter of haggling over prices. He pressed his shoulder against Bai Wuxia's spotless shoulder.