Supreme Hidden Dragon in the City
Chapter 54: The Treasure Appraisal Contest

Chapter 54: Chapter 54: The Treasure Appraisal Contest

"...do that thing."

Chen Fan was confused, "Which thing?"

Tong bashfully almost dripped water as she once again leaned into Chen Fan’s ear and whispered something.

After hearing it, Chen Fan’s face became instantly embarrassed, and then he quickly took two steps back, clearing his throat twice, "No way."

Tong’s face was immediately filled with disappointment, "Really, it’s not possible?"

Chen Fan was adamant, "Not possible."

Tong could only sigh with resignation, "Then Tong will go back first."

Afterward, she drilled back into the talisman.

Chen Fan finally let out a breath of relief, his face displaying a bitter smile as if he didn’t expect even a female ghost would take a shot at him.

"To allow Tong to retain her memories and reincarnate, I need to refine a Soul-guarding Jade. The quality of the jade needed isn’t too strict; upper-grade material will do, but the difficult part is the magic spell inscribed within it."

"I’ll go to Antique Street tomorrow to see if I can buy a good piece of jade."

The next morning.

Cultural Play Market.

Chen Fan walked past the bustling stalls, his eyes swiftly scanning over the antique jades displayed on them.

With the aid of Heavenly Eye, he could instantly distinguish the quality of the items on the stalls.

"There are quite a few antiques here that have been overlooked by others, but I haven’t seen a single piece of top-quality jade," Chen Fan felt somewhat disappointed.

Just as he was about to leave the Antique Street, a 17 or 18-year-old boy ran over, yelling at the top of his lungs, "The treasure appraisal contest at Treasure Pavilion is about to start, everyone come and watch!"

Many people perked up at the sound and began to head outside the Cultural Play Market.

Chen Fan approached the young man, "What’s this treasure appraisal contest about?"

The boy said, "The treasure appraisal contest is a tradition of Treasure Pavilion, held annually. Anyone can participate, and if you can win one of the top three places, there are prizes. This year, the first-place prize is a Warm Sun Treasure Jade."

Chen Fan’s eyes lit up, "Where’s Treasure Pavilion?"

The boy replied, "It’s on the next street over at Antique Street, the store with the most imposing decoration and the largest area."

Chen Fan immediately headed towards Antique Street.

...

Antique Street.

Qin Lan and her best friend Xu Xin, along with Xu Xin’s boyfriend Li Chenghao, were walking towards Treasure Pavilion together.

Qin Lan had become much gaunter after the new product launch of Qingyan Pharmaceuticals last time.

Xu Xin linked arms with Qin Lan, "Qin Lan, cheer up, will you? It’s just a break-up with Sun Jiancheng, what’s the big deal?"

"The Sun Family’s company went under, and that Sun Jiancheng is impotent. Breaking up with him is a good thing."

Qin Lan smiled wryly, feeling somewhat helpless, "I’m not upset about breaking up with Sun Jiancheng."

Xu Xin glanced at her, "What then? Because of that loser Chen Fan?"

Qin Lan didn’t speak.

Xu Xin was exasperated, "Qin Lan, how many times have I told you, that Chen Fan is just a pretty boy who relies on Miss Su’s support for his success today."

"His so-called Master of Medicine title was just something Miss Su forcibly attached to him to hype him up. How could a loser like Chen Fan possibly invent something like the Youth-Preserving Pill?"

"Don’t regret it now just because he’s in the limelight; he’s just lucky. Once Miss Su gets tired of him, he’ll still be that worthless nobody!"

Qin Lan felt a bit better and smiled, "Okay, you don’t need to persuade me anymore, I’m not fixated on that loser anymore."

Xu Xin looked satisfied, "That’s more like it. Let me tell you, my boyfriend is a PhD in History, especially versed in antiques. He came today aiming for the first place in the treasure appraisal contest. What if he wins the prize and gives it to you to cheer you up, how about that?"

Qin Lan smiled and nodded her head.

Li Chenghao stood confidently to one side, waiting to showcase his abilities shortly.

Soon, the three of them arrived at Treasure Pavilion.

It wasn’t long before Chen Fan also made his way there.

"Quite lively here," he glanced inside the Treasure Pavilion and then walked in.

The hall was packed with people.

A few shelves were set up at the front, filled with antiques.

Looking around, Chen Fan quickly noticed Qin Lan.

Qin Lan also saw Chen Fan, her expression startled, "Chen Fan? What are you doing here?"

Xu Xin and Li Chenghao both looked over at Chen Fan.

Chen Fan, not wanting to have anything to do with Qin Lan, replied coldly, "Participating in the antiquity appraisal contest."

Then he turned his gaze away.

Xu Xin, with a look of disdain, pulled Qin Lan over to Chen Fan, "Yo, I must be hearing things. A good-for-nothing who only knows how to mooch off women is daring to participate in an appraisal contest? You probably can’t even name these antiques!"

Qin Lan harbored some unresolved anger toward Chen Fan, "You better leave quickly, don’t make a fool of yourself here!"

Chen Fan, at a loss for words, "What I do is none of your business, is it?"

"You!" Qin Lan trembled with anger.

Although she verbally claimed not to care about how Chen Fan was doing, the thought of him basking in glory kept her up at night.

Xu Xin tugged at Qin Lan and glared at Chen Fan, "Hey, at least take a look at yourself in the mirror. Do you think you look like someone who can appraise antiques?"

Then she pulled Li Chenghao over, "Take a good look, my boyfriend, a doctor of history specializing in antiques. He’s the one qualified to say he can appraise them. In front of him, you’re nothing!"

"Heh," Chen Fan laughed coldly, "I will win first place later and let you all see that this so-called doctor of history is nothing compared to me!"

Li Chenghao was visibly annoyed, "Big talker, you’re not afraid of blowing yourself up with those claims."

Qin Lan looked at Chen Fan sternly, "You’re becoming more and more ridiculous."

Chen Fan no longer paid any attention to the three self-important people and turned his head to look towards the front.

A middle-aged man dressed in a traditional Chinese jacket, holding a small teapot, and with his hair slicked back appeared before the crowd. He was the owner of Treasure Pavilion, Ma Zhen.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the appraisal contest is about to begin, and everyone present is welcome to participate."

"The rules of this appraisal contest are simple: in this hall, there are both genuine and fake antiques. All you need to do is differentiate all of them."

"Shortly, we will distribute a piece of paper to everyone. You will need to write down how many are genuine and how many are fakes, and then list which ones are which. In the end, scores will be calculated based on accuracy, and rankings determined."

"I won’t waste more time talking. Let’s start the appraisal contest right now!"

After Ma Zhen finished speaking, he arranged for papers and pens to be distributed to everyone present.

Then everyone rushed to the shelves to begin their observations.

Full of confidence, Li Chenghao sneered at Chen Fan, "Just wait and see, I’ll make you lose miserably!"

Chen Fan ignored him, took pen and paper, and approached the shelves to begin appraising.

He didn’t understand appraisal, but he had Heavenly Eye.

For every antique, he only needed to look once to know whether it was real or fake.

While others crowded around the shelves had to observe carefully for a while before writing down their judgments, Chen Fan simply looked and wrote down each one, without any delay.

In less than ten minutes, Chen Fan had recorded the authenticity of all the antiques in the hall and written down: 42 genuine, 59 fakes.

Seeing Chen Fan proceed so swiftly, Xu Xin tugged at Qin Lan and mocked, "See that? I told you this guy can’t appraise. Look at him, writing one after another as if his eyes have special abilities. He dares to argue with my Chenghao—it’s ridiculous!"

Qin Lan had also been observing Chen Fan and couldn’t help but laugh at Xu Xin’s words, feeling a sudden sense of relief. She agreed with Xu Xin, "It seems he really is worthless, just putting on a show. I feel silly for being troubled over him before."

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