Chapter 19: Heading to the Antique Market
"You f*cking know I..."
*Smack!*
Before the word "know" could even leave his mouth, Young Master Zhao’s face was struck again by Xu Yi.
"I what I!"
"You!!"
*Smack!*
"You what you!"
Although Xu Yi had held back his strength, the two slaps caused the man's cheeks to swell instantly. With his head looking like a pig's snout and his hip-hop attire, the sight was truly comical.
Young Master Zhao’s henchmen were even more pathetic. Seeing how fierce Xu Yi was, the seven or eight of them didn't dare to step forward at all.
Xu Yi said coldly, "Get lost!"
Young Master Zhao scrambled up in a wretched state, tears still hanging on his face from Xu Yi’s assault.
"Yu... you wait, if you have guts, tell me who you are?"
Young Master Zhao’s speech was slurred from the beating, but Xu Yi understood him perfectly.
Xu Yi said indifferently, "My name is Wu Zhiyong. If you have the guts, come and get me."
"Wait! You just wait!!!"
Young Master Zhao pointed a trembling finger at Xu Yi in agitation, then quickly left with the support of his henchmen.
"I apologize! In the heat of the moment, I said you were my woman. I just couldn't bear to watch him insult you like that," Xu Yi said, turning to look at Zeng Lili with sincerity.
This made Zeng Lili, who had been somewhat angry, instantly feel her irritation subside.
Instead, she worriedly said, "That man is named Zhao Jian, the second son of the Zhao Group. He is arrogant and domineering. In the shop, he said that if I slept with him, he would buy a car! He is a shameless scoundrel."
"But even if he is a scoundrel, he is a 'rich second generation' after all. You offended him; I'm afraid he will seek revenge on you."
Xu Yi replied lightly, "No worries! The one who offended him is Wu Zhiyong; what does that have to do with me, Xu Yi?"
"Wu Zhiyong?" Zeng Lili asked, confused.
Xu Yi smiled. "A good guy."
Xu Yi didn't offer further explanation. In any case, Xu Yi wouldn't be returning to this mall, and he figured they wouldn't cross paths again.
After this small episode, the impulse that had originally surged in Xu Yi dissipated.
***
Afterward, Xu Yi drove the G-Wagon to take Zeng Lili home, driving quite steadily.
Both of them implicitly understood the fact that Xu Yi could drive. Being adults, after a day spent together, they both actually had a favorable impression of each other.
After saying goodbye to Zeng Lili, Xu Yi dialed Huang Dabao’s number.
"Brother Yi!" Huang Dabao answered instantly.
"How is the matter I entrusted to you going?" Xu Yi got straight to the point.
Huang Dabao replied with a helpless tone, "It's not going very smoothly. Since Scar met with trouble, I originally thought 'The Madman' would lose his temper and come looking for me, but it turns out he didn't block my succession at all. I haven't had a chance to meet him yet."
"As for Brother Hao, I don't know what he's been busy with lately. His whereabouts are mysterious, and he hasn't told us anything. There haven't been any opportunities there either."
"I'm sorry, Brother Yi! We didn't handle the tasks you gave us."
Xu Yi comforted him, "Don't blame yourself. Only a day has passed; I'm not in a hurry. By the way, I want to ask you about two people."
"First, do you know Zhang Feng? He said his uncle is the second-in-command of the East Sea Gang. Does that have anything to do with The Madman?"
"Zhang Feng? Yes! He's a good-for-nothing rogue, practically a distant relative of The Madman. He's mainly responsible for a portion of The Madman's usury business."
"This man is despicable. He often forces naive female college students into nude loans to play around with them."
Huang Dabao spilled the information casually, his tone full of disdain and contempt for Zhang Feng's actions.
"What are The Madman's feelings toward this nephew?" Xu Yi asked.
Huang Dabao was stunned, not quite understanding why Xu Yi asked, but he answered fluently: "The Madman has no children of his own and has always spoiled Zhang Feng like his own son. Naturally, the relationship is..."
Huang Dabao suddenly stopped, realizing something, and quickly said, "Brother Yi! You mean to use Zhang Feng to get close to The Madman?"
Xu Yi said calmly, "Something like that. But Zhang Feng is too low-level to be worth cooperating with, so I'll just use him to set a trap to lure The Madman over."
Huang Dabao had a flash of inspiration. "Zhang Feng is a lecher; setting a trap for him won't be difficult."
Xu Yi smiled. "It seems you already have a plan. Then you handle this."
Huang Dabao said confidently, "Leave it to me, Brother Yi! I'll notify you as soon as there's news."
"The second person is named Zhao Jian. I heard he is the second son of the Zhao Group?" Xu Yi continued to ask.
"Zhao Jian?" Huang Dabao immediately said with contempt, "A typical good-for-nothing rich kid. This Zhao Jian is even more useless than the rest. Not only is he a bully, but he is also particularly vulgar and cowardly. Although the Zhao family is in the antique business and has extensive connections, the group of rich kids in the East Sea circle doesn't look up to him at all."
"Brother Yi! Did this brat offend you?"
Xu Yi said indifferently, "He didn't exactly offend me; he offended a friend of mine, so I was just checking. Since he's a loser, I'm relieved."
After learning the information he wanted, Xu Yi also instructed Huang Dabao to keep an eye on the Huo family's movements. Afterward, Xu Yi drove back to his rented room.
That night, Xu Yi tested his three abilities again.
To his surprise, having absorbed just one stream of spiritual energy from the jade pendant, all three of his abilities had grown slightly.
***
The range of his [X-Ray] vision increased from 3 meters to 3.1 meters.
The duration of [Mind Reading] reached 31 minutes.
His [Slow-Mo] ability improved by 1%.
Although the improvements weren't significant, this opened up a whole new path for Xu Yi. If one stream wasn't enough, what if he had countless streams of spiritual energy?
Xu Yi was now full of anticipation for the world of antiques.
The next day, Xu Yi prepared to cross the Jiangtai District and head to the Gulou District.
After all, Jiangtai was a new district, dominated by emerging industries, finance, and entertainment.
But when it came to history, humanity, and cultural heritage, the old Gulou District was unrivaled.
Therefore, if Xu Yi wanted to find ancient objects that might contain spiritual energy, he could only go to the Gulou District in East Sea City.
After an hour and a half of driving, guided by his GPS, Xu Yi finally arrived at his destination: the Gulou Antique Market.
But as soon as he reached the street, Xu Yi was dumbfounded.
In Xu Yi’s mind, an antique market should have been bustling with excitement.
The sides of the street should have been filled with stalls, rows of items, and a constant flow of people.
Buyers with sharp eyes would be searching for treasures, while sellers would be enthusiastically introducing them. The sounds of bargaining would be intertwined—that was how an antique market should look.
However, the reality was that the antique market before Xu Yi’s eyes was desolate and cold. Aside from the street cleaners and a security guard nodding off in a booth, he didn't see a single customer—besides himself.
Most of the shops were closed, and those that were open were mostly teahouses, souvenir shops, and milk tea shops.
But since he was already here, Xu Yi wasn't willing to go home empty-handed, so he bit the bullet and started browsing.
After much effort, Xu Yi finally saw a shop selling antiques.
Xu Yi walked in excitedly and immediately saw a Buddha statue placed in the center, from which tiny fluctuations of spiritual energy were emanating.
Xu Yi’s eyes lit up, and he immediately asked, "Boss! May I ask if this Buddha statue is for sale? How much is it?"
Then, an elegant old man holding a fan at a tea table in the shop looked at Xu Yi with interest and said playfully, "Young man has a good eye, picking out the shop’s treasure at a single glance."
"The price isn't expensive! 80 million!"
???
Xu Yi’s jaw dropped in shock.