Reborn Treasure Appraiser: I Really Didn’t Want to Be an Expert

Chapter 306 Han Mirror
Jing Zeyang immediately lost his temper.

Throughout his life, he's always been the one picking fights with others.
It's really fucking strange to be the subject of someone's nitpicking...

He immediately rolled up his sleeves, raised his feet, and prepared to get to work, when Tang Nanyan scoffed.

Jing Zeyang squinted and said, "What the hell are you talking about?"

In the past, just that one sentence would have earned Jing Zeyang at least two slaps. But today, Tang Nanyan was uncharacteristically quiet; she merely glared at him.
"You've been following Teacher Lin for so many days and haven't made any progress at all. You still have the nerve to call yourself an assistant?"

After a pause, Tang Nanyan scoffed, "You brute!"

Jing Zeyang was stunned.

He looked up at the sun in disbelief: What the hell?

Tang Nanyan, a reckless man even more impulsive than Zhang Fei, actually called himself a reckless man.

Lin Sicheng almost couldn't hold back.

He couldn't help but chuckle, but Tang Nanyan gestured with her chin towards Jing Zeyang and then reached into her pocket, as if to say: Watch me...

What's this for? Do I need to take out my ID?

Jing Zeyang scoffed: "I thought you had some brilliant tricks up your sleeve. Turns out, you're just using your power to intimidate people."
Lin Sicheng looked at Tang Nanyan and shook his head.

It's no wonder Jing Zeyang scoffed; frankly, this method wasn't very good. This also shows that Tang Nanyan's social experience was somewhat lacking compared to Jing Zeyang's.

Just like that guy who tried to extort money with a boxing manual last time, this was much worse. But Jing Zeyang never mentioned who he was or who he knew. Instead, he secretly gathered evidence and secretly called for backup.

Jing Zeyang knew very well that no one could come to this place alone. A lone wolf couldn't set up a business here. If things got out of hand, a whole group would swarm around them in the blink of an eye.

So either don't do it at all, or if you do, do it cleanly and efficiently.

The reason he dared to cause trouble was that he was certain he wasn't mistaken: the stall owner's doll was definitely suspicious. He figured he might as well make a scene and deal with the matter at the police station.

Once he gets in, how can he cause any more trouble?

But if you dare to show your credentials, the vendor will yell at the top of their lungs: "The police are forcing us to buy things; they won't compensate us for damaged goods." Given the current state of police-community relations, do you think the public will believe the vendors or the police?

Even when you're right, you become wrong.

Of course, the matter will eventually be resolved, but it will take a lot of time and energy. In the end, Tang Nanyan will at least get a scolding, and might even get a disciplinary action.

The saying goes, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do." If there are better and simpler ways, why not use them?
With that thought in mind, Lin Sicheng took a step forward and blocked the middle.

"Boss, to be honest: no matter how you try to deny it or where you try to deny it, you're in the wrong today."

"You applied the wax to the base, you opened the umbilical cord, and the stench came from your stuff. You can't blame us for this..."

Look, either you call the police, or we both stop this fuss: you do your business, and we'll go shopping for our stuff.

"Easy for you to say? How did my perfectly good child-granting spirit, which I invited from the temple, end up with corpse oil? How am I supposed to sell it now?" The stall owner said with a dark face. "Call the police then, let them settle this matter!"

“Even if the police come, I'll still say the same thing: this thing isn't a divine statue at all, it's an evil artifact… and there's no reason in this world to prevent people from telling the truth.”

Lin Sicheng smiled and glanced around the stall. "If I told you that you don't have many genuine items on this stall, would you kill me?"

"Truth my ass!" the stall owner roared. "How can they be the same?"

It's definitely different: even if Lin Sicheng shouted through a megaphone that all the goods on his stall were fake, no one would believe him because it was just empty talk without any evidence.

But now, everyone gathered around could smell it; his doll stank so badly it was nauseating. And of all times, this pretty boy blurted out "corpse oil"?
If it were something like "blood stains" or "corpse spots," that would be one thing; it would actually indicate that it was a genuine artifact unearthed from a tomb. But now, it turns out to be "fire-refined corpse oil"... Doesn't this thing become the evil artifact this pretty boy is talking about?
If word gets out, will it just be this one porcelain doll that won't sell? Eight out of ten regular customers will avoid his stall...

Lin Sicheng asked calmly, "Then what do you suggest we do?"

"Easy! Either you give me a straight answer, or you take the item away... It's not expensive, 88,000!" The stall owner pointed at the porcelain figurine and gestured. "Or we can call the police and have a proper discussion: how will you compensate me for my future losses?"

"In the future?" Lin Sicheng was both angry and amused. "You're not losing out either way, are you?"

"Alright, don't say we're bullying young people!" The stall owner was full of confidence. "I keep my word: if there's any corpse oil in my doll, you can pick whatever you want from this stall, it's free!"

It's more than just corpse oil.
"Alright!" Lin Sicheng looked at the stall owner. "Don't blame me for not warning you: if I had really said that, your business here would probably be in trouble from now on!"

Who the hell was raised to be scared?
The stall owner nodded with a sneer: "Go ahead and say it!"

Good words can't persuade a damn ghost.

Lin Sicheng nodded and picked up the doll. Seeing that he was really going to talk about it, all the nearby vendors gathered around.

It's no exaggeration to say that in this place, there are at least 80 or 90 arguments every day, if not a hundred. I say it's true, you say it's false. And quite a few of them have even started fighting. People have long since stopped watching.

There are plenty of people who stir up trouble and make bets, and it's not uncommon for them to smash things on the spot when they get angry. But is today's event really the first time I've seen something so unusual?

Have you ever heard of corpse oil?
Of course, while they were just watching the drama unfold, deep down they still felt that the young man's chances of winning were slim: Li Polan (the stall owner) didn't have many genuine items on his stall, but this doll was one of the few genuine ones.

Although not as old as those from the Ming Dynasty, it is at least from the mid-Qing Dynasty. The heavy traces of incense and candle smoke indicate that it has been enshrined in a temple for more than just one or two years.

It's understandable that there's a lot of smoke, but to say it's corpse oil seems impossible no matter how you look at it.

A group of vendors were discussing the matter animatedly, and more and more tourists gathered around, quickly filling the stalls to the brim.

Jing Zeyang had a sudden inspiration, moved a little closer, and took a picture with his phone.

He was afraid the stall owner would renege on the agreement, and secondly, in case a fight broke out, he wanted to have some evidence.

Xu Qin and Tang Nanyan were somewhat worried: as the old saying goes, "a trade is like a mountain to climb."

If it were jade, given Lin Sicheng's professional skills demonstrated during training, it would naturally be a piece of cake for him.

He also enjoys studying boxing manuals, so he probably knows a bit about ancient books and calligraphy. But this is porcelain, and a relatively obscure deity statue at that?

Tang Nanyan thought for a moment, then looked at Jing Zeyang: "Jing Zeyang, do you want to look for someone?"

Whom should I look for, Yan Wenjing?

Forget it, you've already been fooled once: last time I asked him for help and only got a tiny favor in return, but Lin Sicheng ended up doing a lot of work for me, preparing course materials and giving training.

Although it only took two days, how many bargains did Lin Sicheng manage to find in Panjiayuan during that time?
And that's not all: look at Tang Nanyan, that leader, she's treating Lin Sicheng like a free practice machine, bombarding him with questions. It's only because he's Lin Sicheng; if it were me, I'd have gotten impatient long ago…

While pondering this, Jing Zeyang shook his head: "If you really want what's best for Cousin Lin, don't go to Brother Yan. He's shameless. He sees that Cousin Lin is easy to talk to and will exploit him to the death. You might as well just call 110..."

If you feel sorry for your cousin Lin and think this stall owner is despicable, just notify the local police station and have them handle it. You don't even need to speak to Section Chief Xu; just do it officially. Trust me, this bastard's doll is definitely up to something, otherwise your cousin Lin wouldn't be saying that..."

Tang Nanyan paused for a moment, her expression extremely unnatural: "You can't expect anything good to come out of a dog's mouth. Can't you speak properly?"

What does it mean to say "I feel sorry for my cousin Lin"?
Jing Zeyang just said it casually, it had nothing to do with gender, and he was busy recording right now, so he didn't bother arguing with her.

Tang Nanyan was not entirely at ease. After thinking for a moment, she took out her phone and went to a corner.

Fang Jin opened his bag and took out his tool bag, but Lin Sicheng waved his hand.

He already had a definitive conclusion on this, so there was no need for in-depth research.

Lin Sicheng held the doll up and raised it forward: "Boss, have you ever heard of the Siam Songkalok Kiln?"

The stall owner was taken aback: "What kind of kiln?"

"The Songkalok kiln of the Sukhothai Kingdom of Siam, to put it simply: this is Thai official kiln porcelain from the late 18th to early 19th century, roughly the early Jiaqing period of the Qing Dynasty..."

"As for the clay, glaze, firing techniques, and the like, I won't go into details, because you wouldn't agree anyway..."

“No, he’s not denying it…” someone chimed in, “Li Polan simply doesn’t understand!”

"Boo..." The onlookers all burst into laughter.

Lin Sicheng smiled and pointed to the runes on the doll, "It's okay if you don't understand, we'll take our time to look at them..."

"Look at the characters here first... The top one, means Buddha. The back one, means paying homage to the Three Jewels... These two symbols are Pali from ancient India, commonly used in Thai Buddhism as verses and mantras... Now look at this..."

Lin Sicheng then pointed to the letters on the doll's chest, back, limbs, and soles: "Submission. Destruction. Death. Binding..."

These are all in Thai, the same language as the Zhuang-Dai branch of the Zhuang-Dong language family in China. Any minority student from Guangxi or Yunnan at a university could recognize them. Or you could simply hire a local ethnic translation agency for a guaranteed crystal-clear translation…”

The stall owner was taken aback.

How could he possibly know Pali or Thai?
But when he first received the item, he specifically asked an expert who knew about Buddhist artifacts to take a look. The expert said that the two words on the top of the doll's head and back were ancient Sanskrit.

Crucially, the expert also said that the word above the head translates to "Buddha Jewel," and the word on the back translates to "Homage to the Three Jewels," exactly the same as what this young man said.

But wouldn't that just prove that his thing is indeed a treasure?

The stall owner glared at him: "See? Even you yourself say this is a Buddhist treasure. What does it have to do with evil artifacts?"

"Wait, I'm not finished yet: Even if it's a Buddhist treasure, it depends on which school or sect of Buddhism it belongs to. For example, Tibetan Buddhism regards the kapala as the supreme treasure. Would you want it if I gave it to you?"

Lin Sicheng held up the doll. "To put it bluntly, this is a Thai Kumanthong, also known as a Golden Child or Buddha Child in Chinese. It has only one function: an evil artifact used for casting spells, similar to what we usually call a voodoo doll... If you don't believe me, read the spells I just mentioned in sequence..."

The stall owner was suddenly stunned: Binding, submission, destruction, death... these words put together, aren't they just a curse used to curse people? But he still didn't believe it.

Although her intuition told her something was wrong and she'd rather get rid of this pretty boy immediately, she also clung to a sliver of hope:
Although the expert didn't say what the remaining incantations were, he was certain that this thing had definitely been enshrined in the temple for over a hundred years, otherwise it wouldn't have such a strong smell of incense.

Since it has been worshipped and incense offered to by people, and has been enshrined in the temple for over a hundred years, how could it be an evil artifact?
His face darkened: "Don't ramble on. I told you to talk about corpse oil, why are you talking about voodoo dolls?"

"How can I explain the origin of the corpse oil in my stomach if I don't clearly explain what it is?"

Lin Sicheng sighed, "This thing probably originated in the 16th century. At that time, there was a general in Siam who was said to be able to perform magic and had extremely high levels of sorcery. One year, the king ordered him to conquer a neighboring country, and coincidentally, his concubine was the princess of that small country."

"To prevent the country from collapsing and the family from being destroyed, the concubine tried to poison the general, but failed. The general hated her for betraying him, so he dissected her alive, removed the baby from her womb, roasted it into a dried corpse, and then used the concubine's ashes and mud to make a porcelain talisman. He then wrapped the dried corpse inside, sealed it with corpse oil, and wore it around his neck, meaning that the mother and child would never be reincarnated..."

"From then on, the general was invincible, achieving victory in every battle. The king bestowed upon him the title of General Khun Phaen, meaning a top-tier general, similar to a great general in ancient my country. After the general's death, this witchcraft was passed down and became increasingly popular... In Thailand and Southeast Asia, it is called Kuman Thong, while in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and mainland China, it is called Inviting Little Ghosts..."

"Businessmen and celebrities in Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and Taiwan believe in this the most, and many people in China also believe in it. But even if they go to Thailand to ask for it, at most they will dig up some grave soil, wrap some coffin nails and menstrual blood, and have a high monk perform a ritual to make a talisman. They are only asking for wealth and good fortune."

But something like yours, made exactly as it was from corpse oil, ashes, and dried corpses, is truly extraordinary and sinister. It has no other use than to inflict a curse.

You're probably wondering why such an evil thing would be enshrined in a temple. That's because this isn't China, where temples only enshrine statues of deities. Thai temples enshrine everything, the more sinister the better, including corpses… Not only do they enshrine them, they use them for spiritual practice and even sell them… If you don't believe me, ask someone!

The stall owner's face turned green. He subconsciously remembered what the pretty boy had said earlier: "You really want to know what this is? I'm afraid if I tell you, you won't get a good night's sleep for a year."

Because he truly treasured this thing: he would buy it from a street stall during the day and bring it home at night, worshipping it and burning incense every day...

But how is that possible?

He gritted his teeth and pointed at the doll: "Porcelain is fired in kilns at temperatures of over a thousand degrees. If there were any dried corpses or corpse oil inside, they would have burned away long ago..."

"That's right, it was fired, but it doesn't say that the body was sealed and dried before being put into the kiln... Since you consulted an expert, did the expert tell you that there is a type of Buddhist statue called 'consecration'? You've had this for quite some time, so you must know that this piece on the base can be removed and put back on at any time..."

The stall owner was suddenly stunned: experts certainly knew this was a fake idol, including himself.

But the statue was very light, so it certainly didn't contain any gold or silver jewelry, and he didn't pay any attention to it.

No matter how much he didn't want to admit it, the smell of rotten meat couldn't lie.

"You're probably still wondering: why was everything fine when you brought it back, but when you opened the navel it was oozing oil and smelling foul? It's because it was well sealed beforehand, the inside was basically a vacuum, and it had been sitting in the temple without moving, so it didn't have a chance to rot."

But after you bring them back, you have to take them out to sunbathe every day... and in summer, the ground temperature can reach fifty or sixty degrees Celsius. Once the wax in the navel melts, won't air and microorganisms get inside?

Lin Sicheng pointed at the doll, "If you still don't believe me, go and test it: with today's advanced medicine, you don't need to break it open to see if there's a dried corpse inside. Just take a little bit of the oozing oil and test it. It'll be clear at a glance whether it's corpse oil or not."

The stall owner's face turned ashen.

After a long pause, he gritted his teeth, pointed at the items on the stall, and said, "I admit defeat, you choose!"

The onlookers were immediately in an uproar: Li Polan is usually quite arrogant, why did he back down so easily today?

Just listening to this young man babbling on and on, whether it's true or not, shouldn't we check it first?
Only a few people seemed thoughtful: the young man only said that the porcelain was fired hundreds of years ago and admitted that it had been displayed in the temple for hundreds of years, but he did not mention what was inside, which was still the same as what was inside hundreds of years ago.

If it were truly an original product from hundreds of years ago, even if it had been filled with oil back then, there wouldn't be any left over by now. Let alone seeping out, anything that had seeped into the porcelain body would have dried long ago.

Unless it was installed in recent years?
Most likely, Li Polan had thought of this, which is why he didn't dare to argue and simply admitted defeat.

If he dares to stand up for himself, the police will call them on the spot. He will at least have to explain to the police where the dried corpse and corpse oil inside came from.

What, from overseas? Overseas products won't work either.

Thailand has banned this for several years. Where did you find it, and what channel did you smuggle it in through?

A fine of tens of thousands would be the least he could do; he might even have to spend a couple of days in jail…

Lin Sicheng nodded: It's good to accept defeat.

As the ancients said: If you repay evil with kindness, how will you repay justice?

He doesn't have the habit of being a pushover; he believes in accepting defeat.

He glanced around and pointed to a bronze mirror on the stall: "Brother Jing, haven't you been wanting to find something? That bronze mirror, the one with the dragon and tiger on it..."

Jing Zeyang's eyes lit up, and he ran over quickly. After confirming the location, he grabbed the bronze mirror.

The stall owner glanced at it and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

The pretty boy wasn't wrong; he didn't have many genuine items on his stall, including this one.

But not all genuine items are valuable: this piece, for example, is only worth a few hundred.

Just think of it as throwing steamed buns to chase away a dog...

As soon as Jing Zeyang got up, he started packing his things. Anyone with a discerning eye could see that Li Polan wanted to go out and hide for a couple of days.

Lin Sicheng glanced at it, then ignored it and took the wet wipe Fang Jin handed him to wipe his hands.

Tang Nanyan looked at him strangely, glancing at his face and then at his hands.

He thought she was curious why he wasn't at all wary of such a strange thing and had been holding it in his hand for so long.
Lin Sicheng smiled and said, "Antiques, nine out of ten of them came from tombs, there's nothing to be ashamed of!"

Tang Nanyan wouldn't care about that.
Although she works in the forensic department, they're called in to help out whenever the lab gets busy. She's quick to use her knife on corpses, so why would she hesitate to touch an artifact?
What she was curious about was: the first time, as soon as Jing Zeyang handed this thing to him, Lin Sicheng only glanced at it and touched it, and his expression immediately changed.

This means that at that time, he already knew what it was.

But the problem is, the whole process only takes two or three seconds?

The key point is that this thing is not only an antique from abroad, but also so obscure that it's practically unpopular.

Tang Nanyan became increasingly puzzled: "Teacher Lin, you can also appraise porcelain, right?"

How should this be said?
I can't exactly say, "This is what I'm best at," can I?
Lin Sicheng thought for a moment: "At this stage, our center's main research focus is porcelain?"

"what?"

Does that mean his specialty is porcelain?

Tang Nanyan paused, then looked at Xu Qin. "But the section chief said that you've been helping the Institute of Literature and Art with some rust prevention research lately?"

"Oh, that was just something I did on the side!"

Tang Nanyan paused for a moment, then asked, "What about the jade?"

"It's just a side effect!"

Tang Nanyan looked at her strangely: "Then ancient books and traditional Chinese martial arts, were they just incidental?"

"almost."

"No...you also know ancient Sanskrit and Thai?"

Lin Sicheng smiled and said, "I learned it a bit in my spare time!"

Lin Sicheng spoke casually, but Tang Nanyan's eyes widened little by little: "You've included way too much of this as a side effect?"

If it were a major language, that would be one thing. But ancient Sanskrit, Thai...

She discovered another of Lin Sicheng's strengths: his erudition.

Moreover, he was not just exceptionally knowledgeable.

Jing Zeyang followed behind, watching with great interest: He just loved seeing this stupid woman's naive and unsophisticated appearance.
Of course, you can only mock them in your heart at most; if you dare to say it out loud, you have to be prepared to get beaten up.

Fang Jin was already used to this, glancing back every now and then. He thought to himself, "Has the sun risen in the west today? Jing Zeyang is just going to let this go after being so rudely treated?"
This doesn't seem like his personality.

It was obvious what he was thinking. Jing Zeyang pursed his lips and propped his chin up again.

Fang Jin didn't understand: What does that mean?
Jing Zeyang explained in a low voice, "It's not my turn to take action today. That woman called the police a long time ago!"

Why does Tang Nanyan like to meddle in other people's business?
To put it bluntly, it's like a dog trying to catch a mouse; to put it nicely, it can be summed up in four words: hating evil as if it were their enemy.

That thing contained corpse oil, which had even seeped out. If this woman didn't figure out where the corpse oil came from, she probably wouldn't be able to sleep.

And then there's Xu Qin: Since you've put on this uniform, you have to be responsible for this profession.

Fang Jin suddenly realized: No wonder Officer Tang was making a phone call in the corner for a while?
As he pondered this, watching Jing Zeyang toss the bronze mirror repeatedly, Fang Jin whispered a reminder: "Aren't you going to let Teacher Lin take a look?"

Lin Sicheng personally picked it out, which is equivalent to Lin Sicheng giving it to him. How could it be fake?

It's good to take a look, at least to have a better understanding of the situation and avoid being sold off cheaply.

He quickly took two steps forward and asked, "Cousin Lin, shall I take a look?"

Lin Sicheng glanced at it: "Han Dynasty bronze mirror with dragon and tiger patterns..."

Jing Zeyang's eyes widened: What is that, a Han mirror?

(End of this chapter)