Chapter 107: Acid

My words were intended to be humble, but these two old men mistook my modesty for a lack of confidence in my own expertise. They exchanged a glance, and Dragon King chuckled, "It’s no matter, no matter. We wouldn't blame a junior like you for a simple mistake."

I let out a cold laugh. Since the old man wanted to play it this way, I was determined to drive the price down hard. I weighed the bronze owl-head nail in my hand, pondered for a moment, and glanced back and forth between Kaleidoscope and Dragon King before smiling. "Uncles, my estimate is that this owl-head nail is worth about one hundred thousand. Even if you were to place it in a prestigious house like Sotheby’s, Christie’s, Poly’s evening auction, or Xiling Seal Art Society, I doubt it would fetch more than one hundred and fifty thousand at the very most."

I was clearly lying. Any dealer in the antique markets would value such a finely crafted piece at three or four hundred thousand, to say nothing of the major auction houses where it could easily clear a million. But I figured Dragon King wasn't a fool, and the well-traveled Kaleidoscope was even sharper.

To my surprise, the moment I finished speaking, Dragon King drew a sharp breath. He shot a sidelong glance at Kaleidoscope, who was standing nearby, and then turned back to stare at me with a dazed look. Kaleidoscope was equally stunned, scratching his head. "Is... is this owl-head nail really worth that much?"

I was taken aback, needing a moment to process his reaction before I simply nodded.

Kaleidoscope and Dragon King both slapped their thighs, stamping their feet as if they had just lost their wallets. "Oh, blast it! Last year, a twenty-centimeter Western Zhou thunder-cloud pattern *gui* basin unearthed in Inner Mongolia only sold for three hundred thousand. And that included twenty or thirty bronze hanging rings and several pairs of fittings, all over ten centimeters in size! Who would have thought this little nail could be worth one hundred thousand?"

A tremor went through me. By his logic, bronze fittings of about ten centimeters—whether they were *taotie* masks, the four auspicious beasts (Green Dragon, White Tiger, Vermillion Bird, Black Tortoise), or any other style—would start at fifty or sixty thousand each in my circles. A plain *gui* basin of that size should have easily sold for over a million. I truly had no idea how much money they had let slip through their fingers over the years. Of course, I had never been lucky enough to stumble upon such deals myself, which wasn't surprising; auction houses wouldn't touch unrefined, freshly excavated goods without proper connections, as no one wanted to shoulder the liability.

While I was lost in thought, Dragon King leaned in close. "Big nephew, you're not an outsider. You said yourself this nail is worth one hundred thousand. As you’ve seen, I lost quite a few men on this expedition, and it’s not easy to fence goods these days." He gestured toward the Nuo corpse on the ground. "Look, there’s another one on this dead body. I’ll have Brother Xu pry it off in a moment. What do you think..." He stammered, his eyes fixed on me, standing perfectly still.

I understood his intention immediately: he wanted to sell me both owl-head nails. I smiled inwardly; this was a windfall. When I bought fresh goods from Master Jun’s Fengshan Hall in the past, the old man never gave me such a low price. A single nail like this would cost me at least three or four hundred thousand there, and sometimes I’d even lose money after reselling the items I’d bought. Had I not joined the Nine Gates for this expedition to the Heavenly Lake, I would never have known that "fresh-from-the-pit" goods were this cheap. I truly wondered how much money that old fox, Master Jun, had squeezed out of me over the years.

I feigned hesitation, scratching my head to look reluctant. Seeing my lack of a quick response, Dragon King faltered. "Nephew Qiu, do you think the price is too high?"

I looked at him and nodded slightly. "Uncle, you know I run a shop and rely on this to make a living. Freshly unearthed items aren't easy to sell. It takes a year or six months just to let the 'fire' die down and get them ready for the market. I have to sell them at a certain price to leave myself a little margin, don't I?"

My tone made it clear I was interested in buying. Dragon King jumped at the opening. "Fine, you’re no outsider. These are fresh from the pit; we're just making a bit of hard-earned money." He pointed to the other nail in the Nuo eye socket. "Fifteen for the pair. How about that? If not, we can negotiate."

I smiled to myself. These two "owl-head nails" would look like seasoned antiques after six months of handling. At seventy-five thousand apiece, if I haggled any further, the deal might fall through. I nodded. "Well, you are my Seventh Uncle, after all. Five thousand off is a generous gesture. Thank you." I turned to Mengya. "Mengya, once we're out of here and back at the shop, transfer one hundred and fifty thousand to Seventh Uncle."

Mengya nodded. "Seventh Uncle, please make a note of your bank account number for me."

Dragon King beamed, nodding repeatedly, losing all the dignity of an elder. He looked at Xu the Fatty, who stood nearby. "Xu Yang, go pry the other nail off."

Xu the Fatty grunted and walked toward the Nuo corpse on the ground.

"Ha! Look at you lot, fencing goods right on the spot." Iron-Crutch Liu walked over with a smirk, having watched our transaction. He patted my shoulder with a grin. "Big nephew, when you have time, come visit my stall. I’ve got plenty of stock left that needs an appraisal."

I nodded. "Sure, once we're out of here and I have some time, I’ll come by to broaden my horizons."

"Caw—!"

Just as we were chatting, a shrill, ultrasonic-like screech erupted nearby, making my ears ring so violently I nearly collapsed to the ground.

"What’s going on?" Hou Qiankun, who had been smoking nearby, and Ghost-Face Zhang turned toward the front. Ghost-Face Zhang drew the long blade from his back and sprinted toward us in a flash.

"Ah!"

Following the sonic wave, a howl of agony from Xu the Fatty echoed through the tomb passage. We peered ahead to see him clutching his face, running wildly as if his backside were on fire. The skin and flesh on his hands were peeling away in layers, appearing bloodied and raw as if doused in sulfuric acid. The scorched, rotting muscle and skin mixed like liquid on his hand bones, and the bones themselves, which should have been white, had turned a charred yellow. It was a gruesome, bloody sight. After running for three or four minutes, he finally collapsed to the ground with a thud.

"Damn it, another trap," Ghost-Face Zhang muttered, glancing at Hou Qiankun. "Second Brother, do you think he can be saved?"

Hou Qiankun frowned and pondered for a moment. "Let’s go take a look first."

"Could there be any 'hidden mechanisms'?"

"Just be careful."

Ghost-Face Zhang nodded, steadied his long blade, and stepped forward with the caution of a prowling cat until he reached the fallen Xu the Fatty. He poked him with the tip of his scabbard. Seeing no reaction, he knelt down to check his pulse, then nodded and called back, "He’s still breathing."

Hou Qiankun gestured for him to bring him back.

Without a word, Ghost-Face Zhang sheathed his blade, grabbed Xu the Fatty by the collar with his right hand, and hoisted him under his arm like a sack of rice. He walked back to our group as if it were nothing and dropped him on the ground.

Everyone leaned in. Xu the Fatty was breathing shallowly, struggling to gasp for air. He had his arms pressed tightly against his face to shield it. His forearms were severely burned, with a large, gaping hole where the acid had corroded the flesh. Fortunately, the bones weren't exposed, but a faint, sizzling sound of corrosion and a lingering stench of rot emanated from him.

Hou Qiankun frowned deeply and looked at Kaleidoscope. "Old Sixth, you’re skilled in medicine. See if he can be saved."

Kaleidoscope nodded, approached with a repulsive grin, and knelt beside Xu the Fatty. He examined him closely, looked at his hands and face, and felt the fatty's bloated belly before nodding. "This Xu Yang is one lucky bastard." He smiled at us and pointed to the acid-burned hands. "It’s fine, he won’t die. It’s just surface tissue damage; it’ll heal once it scabs over. It’s a good thing that acid splashed onto his hands; if it had hit his face, the consequences would have been unthinkable."