"Heh, this isn't bad either, we've arrived, and we've also gotten some exercise," Long Lingling said with a smile, her eyes darting around.
"Exercise, you wish! Do you think I wanted to exercise? We're here for important business, not to work out,"
Li Yang was utterly speechless!
If he had known, he wouldn't have brought her along. Without her, he might have already driven up.
Long Lingling was too embarrassed to speak, so she put on a wronged expression and said, "I didn't want to either, but we didn't come for nothing. Look, those few evil sorcerers from the Sakura Country, aren't they also..."
"Huh? Where did those people go?"
Mid-sentence, Long Lingling unexpectedly discovered that those people had vanished.
They had followed them all the way, only to lose sight of them upon reaching the mountaintop.
Li Yang turned his head and also found them all gone. His brow immediately furrowed. "Damn it, they actually escaped. But no need to rush. The Dengfeng Temple gate hasn't opened yet, and there are security lines all around. No one can get in."
"Why don't we wander around here first and see if we can find any surprises."
"Surprises?"
Long Lingling looked confused. Seeing Li Yang looking at a few antique stalls not far away, her eyes lit up as she said, "You're not planning to find any hidden treasures here, are you? Our priority is finding the treasure map."
"Can you enter the temple now? And even if you could, it's impossible to find the treasure map. We have to wait for their abbot to appear."
"Probably only the abbot knows about the treasure map in the entire world."
"Is that so? Then there's no point in going in now. This young lady will accompany you to look around. However, most of the items here are fakes. No one would bring genuine goods here to sell," Long Lingling shrugged.
"That's not necessarily true. Most of the items here are collected from nearby villages. Perhaps with a bit of luck, we might stumble upon something genuine."
As an antique dealer, Li Yang would never miss an opportunity to strike it rich.
Every time he passed by an antique stall, he couldn't help but stop and examine the items. If he found a hidden gem, he'd profit.
"Everyone, step right up, don't miss out! This stall just opened, not yet officially in business, everything is being sold cheaply!"
As Li Yang was browsing the surrounding stalls, he suddenly heard a loud promotional voice from a stall not far away.
Li Yang glanced at the items on his stall and walked over curiously.
"Hey, what good stuff do you have here? Why don't you introduce some of it?"
Li Yang approached him and asked casually.
"My good sir, these are all my wares. If you fancy anything, please choose carefully. As long as the price is reasonable, I will definitely sell it," the stall owner said with a smile, while his eyes couldn't help but size up the two of them.
Especially when he noticed Long Lingling's expensive designer clothes and the jade pendant she wore, his eyes lit up. He continued, "My good sir, you are truly blessed to have such a beautiful and wealthy girlfriend."
"Since you've brought your girlfriend along, why not take a look at these pieces of jewelry? These are all old items I collected from the countryside, each one is priceless."
"If you are sincere about buying my goods, I can give you the lowest price. This bracelet is thirty thousand, and this jade thumb ring is twenty thousand."
"Are you sure these things you're talking about are genuine?"
Li Yang couldn't help but smile and shake his head. "Do you know what dynasty this bracelet is from? This is from the Han Dynasty. Forget about such a complete piece; even a broken one wouldn't be bought for thirty thousand."
"And this thumb ring, this is imperial green jade, extremely solid. Even an unformed piece of jade wouldn't be bought for twenty thousand. So, I've concluded that the items you've introduced are all fakes."
"My good sir, so you know your stuff. Since you're so knowledgeable, why are you still browsing at a street stall? Why not just buy from an antique shop?"
Seeing that Li Yang was an expert, the stall owner lost interest in trying to fool him and waved him away.
But just then, Li Yang spotted a treasure on his stall. He suddenly bent down, picked up an exquisite bronze hairpin, and asked with a smile, "I like the style of this hairpin. It's the type my girlfriend likes. Give me a realistic price, and I'll take it."
"Brother, you want this hairpin? This is just a piece of scrap metal, worthless. Just give me a few dozen or a hundred, and you can take the hairpin away!" the stall owner said dismissively.
He thought Li Yang was just browsing aimlessly. Even if he knew it was fake, he couldn't fool him anyway, so it was better to let him have it for whatever he offered.
After all, he had bought this thing for ten yuan. It was still scrap metal, and it was continuously corroding. It might be thrown away as trash any day now.
Selling it for ten yuan was still ten yuan.
"Alright, I'll take it for fifty yuan. Consider this money pity for you."
Li Yang scanned the QR code and paid fifty yuan, then took the hairpin and pulled Long Lingling away.
They hadn't walked far before Long Lingling excitedly asked, "Li Yang, tell me quickly, how much is this hairpin worth? Did you find a hidden treasure? There must be some secret inside, right?"
"You guessed wrong this time. This hairpin is indeed not worth much. I didn't find any hidden treasure," Li Yang shrugged.
"No hidden treasure? Then why did you want this hairpin? The style isn't even good, and it's so rusty. Don't tell me you're actually going to give it to me as a gift," Long Lingling said in surprise.
"Of course, this isn't for you. Even if I gave it to you, you wouldn't want it. You'd probably throw it in the trash the moment you got it. I bought it for my own use,"
Li Yang replied mysteriously before tucking the hairpin away.
Long Lingling felt very curious and couldn't help but scratch the back of her head, wondering: What kind of mystery is this guy playing at? He's even hiding the hairpin!
Is he perhaps tricking me?
Could this be a treasure he wants to give to another woman, so he's unwilling to give it to me?
But he wouldn't openly lie to people like this, would he?
"Oh, sister, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to bump into you."
Just as Long Lingling was spacing out, a little brat suddenly appeared from somewhere and bumped into her, nearly making her fall.
However, her attitude was good. She apologized immediately after bumping into her and kept bowing with her hands clasped together, making it impossible for Long Lingling to get angry.
"Alright, alright, I'm fine. You can go now. Remember to watch where you're going in the future," Long Lingling said with a pout.
"Okay, sister. Sister, you're so kind."
After bowing, the little girl immediately turned and ran behind her.
Just then, Long Lingling touched the jade pendant in her waist pocket and suddenly discovered that the pendant was gone!