The antique street is in the South City, but Zangke City is quite large. It would take about half an hour to walk there, so Lin Shan still hailed a carriage.
Although he was a Martial Artist, it wouldn't be good to run wildly in the city. Affecting Zangke City's traffic wasn't a big deal, but ruining his handsome image would be bad.
As for the golden bell, Lin Shan secretly resolved that he must obtain this item!
There were only two ways: one relying on strength, and the other on wealth.
In terms of strength, it was naturally impossible with his current Qi Exchange realm. As for wealth, three thousand taels of gold, which was nearly thirty thousand taels of silver, was a price not even selling him would fetch.
To quickly increase his strength, cultivating step by step was impossible. He naturally needed pills enhanced with Ancient rhyme. To obtain a large amount of money, he also needed weapons enhanced with Ancient rhyme to sell.
But how to obtain Ancient rhyme? He still needed strength and money, so going in circles, this was a knot!
"I can only look for other methods first."
...
Arriving at the antique street, Lin Shan looked at the long string of stalls lining both sides of the street and began carefully scrutinizing them.
He searched from one end of the street to the other, and the sky was nearing dusk.
Lin Shan finally found several black lotus buddha statues at one stall.
"This Young Master truly has an eye for goods! These items of mine have just come from the Ancient Tomb of Yelang. Yelang was an ancient kingdom from a thousand years ago and inside are all top-quality treasures. You definitely won't lose out if you pick them up!"
The stall owner was a thin, shifty-looking young man. The small mustache on his lip twitched as he spoke, making him quite persuasive.
Lin Shan didn't waste words. He directly picked up a few black lotus buddha statues and examined them. Compared to the statues he encountered at the Clear River County pawnshop, they were almost identical in appearance.
But the difference was that these statues didn't feel like ancient artifacts, and they also lacked Ancient rhyme.
"Where did you get these statues? Are they also from the Ancient Tomb of Yelang?"
"That's right, everything at my stall was just unearthed from the Ancient Tomb of Yelang."
Lin Shan looked at the pile of miscellaneous items on his stall, including even a chamber pot with the words "Great Song Ru Kiln" stamped on the bottom! He was speechless towards this stall owner.
He could really boast! It seemed he had to use his trump card.
Lin Shan took out five taels of loose silver from his bosom, then thought about his strapped-for-cash life, put three taels back, and handed the rest to the stall owner.
"Brother, tell me the truth, where exactly did these black lotus buddha statues come from?"
At the same time, True Qi surged in his right hand, and he slapped the bluestone slab on the ground fiercely.
"Crack!" As the floor cracked, a palm print about an inch deep was clearly visible.
The shifty stall owner was startled and quickly replied:
"They came from Peach Garden Village, three hundred li west of the city. However, Peach Garden Village is right at the foot of Yelang Mountain, and the Ancient Tomb of Yelang is inside Yelang Mountain, so I wasn't really lying to you just now."
Lin Shan remembered the golden bell he saw at the West City auction house, which also seemed to be from the Ancient Tomb of Yelang. Frowning, he asked again, "Is the Ancient Tomb of Yelang very lively recently?"
The stall owner took the silver and, intimidated by Lin Shan's strength, quickly explained with effort.
"That's right. Last month, a group of tomb robbers discovered the Ancient Tomb of Yelang in Yelang Mountain and stole many extraordinary things from the tomb.
It is said there was a black lotus buddha statue about ten feet tall! It was directly bought at a sky-high price by a noble from Kyoto Bianliang. There was also a large golden bell, which they sold to Mr. Zhao at the West City antique shop."
A black lotus buddha statue about ten feet tall! A large golden bell!
Lin Shan instantly made the connection. The large golden bell had eight points of Ancient rhyme, and the other unearthed giant black lotus buddha statue would likely not have much less, or perhaps even more!
The stall owner became more excited as he spoke: "After that, many people flocked there. They all wanted to try their luck at the Ancient Tomb of Yelang. If they could dig up any more treasures, they would strike it rich."
Lin Shan secretly noted down the key information while listening to him speak.
"But apart from the first group of tomb robbers who went in and managed to get out, none of the people who went in afterwards have ever come out again without exception," the shifty stall owner revealed with a look of deep fear,
"It is said that people outside the Ancient Tomb can always hear terrifying roars coming from inside. I also followed the crowd there at the time, but I didn't dare to go in. I only dared to stay in Peach Garden Village at the foot of the mountain and got some black lotus buddha statues from the villagers."
Seeing Lin Shan's expression wasn't quite right, he quickly explained, "Young Master, every word I'm saying is true, and I didn't intend to deceive you at first. Recently, because of that matter with the noble from Kyoto, black lotus buddha statues have been selling very well.
As soon as they appear on the market, they are swept up, so I just thought of making a small profit. I just set up my stall today and met you."
Of course, Lin Shan had no intention of blaming this small stall owner. He was just silently analyzing and organizing the information he had provided in his mind.
The genuine antiques brought back from the Ancient Tomb of Yelang include the giant black lotus buddha statue bought by the noble from Kyoto- Bianliang, the golden bell from the West City antique shop, and perhaps other items.
The ancient artifacts unearthed along with the golden bell are very likely to have Ancient rhyme!
Although the people who went in later never came out, the first group of tomb robbers were completely unharmed. So, if any other burial items were brought out, the first group of tomb robbers must know where they are.
They were either kept by them or sold to others.
He couldn't afford to provoke the antique shop with its strong background, but he had the courage to deal with a small tomb robber. After all, he also had a part-time identity as a Nightingale assassin.
"Do you know where the first group of tomb robbers who came out are?"
Seeing the shifty stall owner's confused look, Lin Shan explained with a smile, "This Young Master has no other intentions. I'm just very interested in the situation inside the tomb and want to find them to learn more."
The stall owner advised earnestly, "Young Master, you are still young, there's no need to put yourself in danger. The Ancient Tomb of Yelang has become a forbidden place now, everyone avoids it like the plague."
With no other choice, Lin Shan stuffed the remaining three taels of loose silver into this guy's hand.
The power of money is indeed effective!
The stall owner immediately beamed, "I only know that this group of tomb robbers are retainers of Wu Yuanwai from West City. Wu Yuanwai primarily runs the funeral industry in West City, so... he has more contact with things related to Ancient Tombs, cough cough!"
Lin Shan immediately understood the hidden meaning. Wu Yuanwai not only engaged in the funeral business but also often did tomb raiding. Seriously, burying someone one moment and then robbing their tomb the next? Was Wu Yuanwai's operation that audacious?
He questioned the stall owner for a long time and learned that Wu Yuanwai didn't have many experts under him, and the only few second-rate Martial Artists had been sent outside the city.
Seeing that the sky was getting dark and the people around were almost closing their stalls, Lin Shan finally let him go.
Unexpectedly, this guy still wasn't satisfied and kept asking if he had anything else he wanted to ask.
"Do you really think I'm a fool with too much money?" Lin Shan felt depressed and called a carriage to head back home.
...
As night fell, he put on the assassin's three-piece set: black clothes, black veil, and black headscarf.
Lin Shan walked out of his courtyard and quietly sneaked into West City.
Before returning, he had already inquired about Wu Yuanwai's residence. After all, there were only a few funeral homes in West City, so he easily found his way to Wu Yuanwai's mansion.
He easily climbed over the wall. Inside the courtyard, there was a small pond, and a few loquat trees stood in front of the courtyard, swaying in the wind.
It was clear that our Wu Yuanwai was quite refined!
He bypassed the main house and entered the backyard. When he reached the door of the west wing, he could faintly hear sounds coming from inside.
"Lord Sima Nong has already gone to sleep, you may leave."
It seemed to be a middle-aged woman's voice. Afterwards, three or five maids exited the room, and Lin Shan quickly hid to the side.
After the servants left, he quietly returned to the door to wait. Before long, two faint snores came from inside.
"It should be Wu Yuanwai and his wife, no doubt."