I changed the world.

The woman exited Tongbao City through a side gate, but instead of leaving, she slowly walked forward along the street-facing shops, carefully observing her surroundings as she went.

About five minutes later, she quickly looked around and then stopped. She took out her phone and pretended to answer a call, but Zhang Jing could say with certainty that her phone had not rung before.

While answering the phone, she kept an eye on a little boy playing in front of a shop not far away. The boy was about four years old and was playing with toy cars in front of a shop. He made a "whoosh" sound, put two toy cars on the ground, then grabbed one of them and pushed it forward, then grabbed the other one and tried to drive it further than the first one.

Unbeknownst to him, the little boy began to move away from the shop, but he didn't realize there was anything wrong with it and continued to happily play with his toy cars.

Just then, the middle-aged woman who had been pretending to make a phone call looked around again. Seeing that no one was paying attention, she quickly walked up to the little boy, squatted down, and smilingly handed him a beautifully crafted toy car.

Chapter Sixty-Three: Catching Kidnappers

The little boy was immediately drawn to her, his innocent eyes revealing undisguised curiosity and longing. The middle-aged woman said something to the little boy, then pointed to a spot not far away. The little boy hesitated for a moment, then nodded and followed the woman to a more distant place.

At that moment, Zhang Jing noticed that a van that had been parked on the side of the road suddenly started and drove towards the middle-aged woman, stopping not far from them.

The middle-aged woman reached out and grabbed the child's hand, pulling him straight toward the van. The van's door was already open, and Zhang Jing could see that besides the driver, there was a bald man sitting in the back seat.

At this point, Zhang Jing knew exactly what these people did. Clearly, it was a long-standing profession—human trafficking.

The middle-aged woman led the little boy to the van and reached out to pick him up and shove him inside. At this moment, the little boy seemed to finally realize something was wrong and began to struggle violently. However, the bald man in the back seat of the van also came to help, taking out a white towel and covering the boy's mouth and nose with it...

Just then, a strong arm reached out from the side, grabbed the middle-aged woman's left arm, and pulled her backward, causing her to lose her balance and fall backward. The little boy was also caught in the arm.

The person who made the move was Zhang Jing. Now that he had determined the other party's intentions, he couldn't just stand by and watch the child be taken away. Especially judging from the resentment on the woman's face, this was definitely not the first time she had done this, and there was a possibility that someone had been killed.

In his previous life, Zhang Jing was also a father, so he always hated human traffickers, those inhuman creatures.

The woman was thrown heavily to the ground, her forehead hitting the brick pavement, and blood immediately flowed out. However, she was also fierce; she struggled to her feet and reached out to hug Zhang Jing.

The bald man in the van, seeing someone obstructing him, glared menacingly, pulled out a dagger from his pocket, and stabbed at Zhang Jing.

Clearly, this wasn't the first time this human trafficker had been thwarted; his reaction was practiced and precise. If it were an ordinary person, being caught off guard and grabbed like that, they would likely be stabbed if they couldn't break free in time.

In the Great Zhao Dynasty, there were tragic incidents where children from noble families were abducted and found with their limbs broken, forced to beg on the streets. Under immense public pressure, human trafficking was classified as a serious crime, punishable by death. This led to traffickers becoming increasingly ruthless and desperate in their resistance when discovered.

Unfortunately, they encountered Zhang Jing. Before the woman could even hold on tightly, Zhang Jing swiftly swung his leg and delivered a hook kick to her chest and abdomen. The woman was sent flying backward, crashing into a flower bed and curling up like a shrimp while clutching her stomach.

The arm that was holding the dagger and thrusting it at Zhang Jing's chest was grabbed by the wrist before it even reached Zhang Jing. Then the bald man felt a strong force surge through him, and he was dragged out of the carriage and pressed to the ground.

Zhang Jing stepped on the bald man's back, grabbed the wrist holding the dagger with his right hand, and twisted it forcefully. A tooth-grinding sound of bones breaking rang out, and the man beneath his feet let out a shrill scream as his entire arm was twisted 180 degrees unnaturally...

Disgusted by these people's despicable behavior, Zhang Jing also tampered with the arm, so even if it heals, the tendons and bones will not be as normal as before.

Perhaps sensing something was wrong, the van driver didn't get out of the car. Instead, he stepped on the gas and sped away with the doors wide open, ignoring his two accomplices.

Zhang Jing glanced at the car speeding away but didn't chase after it. After all, he didn't want to reveal the fact that he possessed extraordinary strength, so he would only keep the exposed power within the range of a "martial arts master".

By this time, a crowd of onlookers had gathered, but they didn't know what had happened and stood at a distance, afraid to approach. Zhang Jing then loudly called out to the passersby, "These people are human traffickers, I've caught them. Anyone want to come and help?"

Upon hearing that she was a human trafficker and had been caught, the passersby immediately became agitated. Soon, a middle-aged man came forward to help restrain the middle-aged woman who was still huddled on the ground, while another girl dialed the police.

"Qiuqiu! Qiuqiu! Where are you?!" Just then, an anxious shout came from not far away.

"Grandpa, Grandpa..." The little boy who had just been rescued by Zhang Jing and was standing on the roadside looking completely bewildered suddenly burst into tears as if waking from a dream, and then ran towards the direction from which the sound came.

Then an elderly man who looked to be in his sixties or seventies rushed over upon hearing the noise. The old man had a head of silver hair, but he was dressed impeccably and looked quite respectable. When he saw the little boy, he breathed a sigh of relief, squatted down, and hugged the little boy tightly.

The little boy sobbed and said a few words to the old man, after which the old man's expression changed, and he quickly led his grandson toward Zhang Jing's location.

Seeing the old man approach, Zhang Jing bowed to him and then pointed to the two human traffickers on the ground, recounting the events once more. By this time, a larger crowd had gathered, and several early-arriving passersby also came forward to describe the scene.

"You old man, you really should thank this young man. Your grandson was almost kidnapped in that van!" An elderly woman pulling a shopping cart frowned at the old man and said, "You were really too careless, letting such a young child go out to play alone..."

"I was so careless. I was just letting him play by the door and I was watching him. But I was busy with customers and I wasn't paying attention. Something almost happened..." The old man was also a little scared. He bowed deeply to Zhang Jing and said, "I have to thank this benefactor for saving my grandson."

"It's just a small favor; we can't just stand by and watch a child be abducted," Zhang Jing replied, returning the gesture.

“Alas… I only have this one grandson. I don’t even want to think about what would happen if he were really lost…” As he spoke, the old man bowed to the passersby who were helping him and said, “Thank you all, thank you all…” The people returned the bow.

Just then, an alarm blared in the distance, and a police car marked with the word "Patrol Police" quickly pulled up beside them and stopped.

"Who called the police just now?" Two police officers got out of the car one after the other and walked over to the crowd to ask.

"I called the police." The girl who had called the police quickly came out and pointed to the human traffickers on the ground, explaining the situation to the two police officers. The police then looked at the two human traffickers on the ground. They were much more disheveled than when Zhang Jing had knocked them down. Some passersby, upon hearing that they were human traffickers, had rushed forward and kicked them a few times in the name of "bystander justice," leaving them with many footprints on their faces and bodies, and their hair was disheveled.

Chapter Sixty-Four: Benefactor

"I'm not a human trafficker, I'm just trying to be kind... I saw... I saw this child seems to be unattended, so I wanted to take him to his parents..." The middle-aged woman who was curled up on the ground struggled to get up and defended herself, but her speech was a little slurred, and it looked like she had been kicked in the face as well.

However, as soon as he finished speaking, a chorus of accusations erupted from the surrounding crowd, and some angry passersby even prepared to surround him and start beating him up...

Intriguingly, the police officers standing by did not intervene. They watched as she was kicked hard before slowly walking over to separate the crowd.

"Let's handcuff these two and take them back to the station. Don't worry, if we find any problems, we won't let them off easily." Hearing the chatter of passersby, the two policemen solemnly bowed to them. Then, one of the policemen squatted down, took out handcuffs, and cuffed the middle-aged woman. Ignoring her explanations, he took her to the police car and handcuffed her to the back seat.

Another policeman also pulled out handcuffs and handcuffed another bald man lying on the ground with one hand twisted behind his back.

"Ouch...ouch, be gentle, sir..." The bald man's right hand was obviously broken, twisted abnormally, and swollen. However, the policeman showed no mercy and slapped him across the face: "Damn it, I hate cripples like you the most..." He then roughly handcuffed the man's hands together, dragged him up, and shoved him into the police car.

Afterwards, one of the two police officers stayed in the police car to watch over the suspect, while the other, who looked more mature, walked up to Zhang Jing, looked him up and down, and smiled, "Young man, you were the one who acted bravely just now, right? According to procedure, I need to ask you about what happened. Is that convenient for you?"

“Of course it’s convenient,” Zhang Jing said with a smile. He first showed his ID card to the police for verification, and then clearly recounted the whole story. Of course, he didn’t mention that he had been following the middle-aged woman because of some secret technique that caused her to be surrounded by resentful energy. He only said that he came to Tongbao City to buy something, passed by this place, and noticed that the middle-aged woman was behaving strangely, so he stopped to investigate. He discovered that she was abducting a child, so he rushed over to stop her. During the incident, the two women tried to attack him, and the bald man even stabbed him in the chest with a dagger. Fortunately, he had some martial arts skills, so he beat them up.

Upon hearing that a weapon had been used, the policeman's expression turned serious. The two searched the spot and quickly found a dagger lying on the edge of a flower bed. The policeman then took an evidence bag from the police car, put on gloves, and put the dagger into the evidence bag.

After questioning Zhang Jing, the police were about to question the middle-aged man who had first come to help, but found that he had already left. However, some passersby had also witnessed the scene, which could indirectly prove that Zhang Jing's statement was true.

"Mr. Zhang is incredibly skilled, truly remarkable..." As a member of a powerful law enforcement agency, the police officer naturally knew the difficulty of disarming two vicious human traffickers with bare hands and subduing them instantly in that situation. Therefore, they couldn't help but hold Zhang Jing, this "expert," in high regard, and their tone became much more polite.

"A farmer's skill, just some haphazard practice, not worth mentioning." Zhang Jing smiled and shook his head.

As the matter largely concluded, the onlookers gradually dispersed, and the two police officers prepared to leave. Before departing, one of them said something meaningful to the elderly man:

"Mr. Zheng, you're really lucky to have met Mr. Zhang this time..."

The old man readily agreed, and then pulled out several hundred-yuan bills, handing them to one of the policemen: "It's a small token of my appreciation for the two officers' special trip. Please take this and have some tea..."

The two policemen did not refuse, took the money and put it directly into their pockets. At the same time, they bowed to the old man and said, "Don't worry, sir, we will take good care of these two human traffickers when they are taken to the station."

....................................

"My benefactor, please wait!" Seeing that the matter here was settled and Zhang Jing was about to leave and go home, he was stopped by a voice from behind. He turned around and saw that it was indeed Mr. Zheng.

"My benefactor has truly saved my family's life. We have no way to repay him. Please allow me to fulfill my duty as a host."

"You're too kind, sir..."

Zhang Jing wanted to decline, but the old Mr. Zheng was quite persistent and half-invited, half-dragged him to his shop.

Mr. Zheng's shop is located at the corner of Tongbao City, hence it has two street-facing windows. The door features a traditional Chinese eave design, beneath which hangs a plaque that reads "Jigu Zhai" (集古斋). The shop is very spacious and tastefully decorated, with two floors connected by a staircase. On one wall hangs a framed calligraphy piece: "Hidden in famous mountains, passed down to the right person."

The shop displays many items. Zhang Jing remembers that he had come in and looked at them when he was browsing around before, but he didn't find anything at the time.

"Come, benefactor, sit down, please sit down..."

“Old sir, please don’t address me like that anymore…” After some polite back and forth, the two finally agreed that since the old man’s surname was Zheng, his given name was Han, and his courtesy name was Baoping, Zhang Jing would address him as Uncle Baoping, while the old man would address Zhang Jing directly as Biao Hongjian.

The old gentleman invited Zhang Jing to sit on the Chinese-style rosewood sofa in the shop's lobby, and then busied himself making tea for Zhang Jing: "This is my privately collected Zhengshan Xiaozhong, with a cinnamon aroma, have a taste."

Zhang Jing picked up the blue and white porcelain cup in front of him and took a sip. He didn't know much about tea, but after tasting it carefully, he felt that the tea was very mild in bitterness and had a hint of sweetness. The taste was indeed much better than the mass-produced tea outside. He was also a little thirsty after not drinking any water all afternoon, so he drank it all in a few gulps.

Seeing that Zhang Jing liked it, the old gentleman was also pleased and quickly refilled his teacup.

"Qiuqiu, come here." Putting down his teacup, the old man called over his grandson, who had already started playing with his toy cars again, carefree and relaxed.

"Kneel down and kowtow to your Uncle Hongjian."

The four-year-old chubby boy was obedient; he ran over, knelt down with a thud, and kowtowed to Zhang Jing.

This time, Zhang Jing did not refuse. He sat down and accepted the child's bow, then smiled and picked him up, saying, "Qiuqiu, remember next time: if a stranger takes you to another place, you must not go."

"Okay, Qiuqiu remembers." The child nodded blankly, then asked, "But, that auntie said she would give Qiuqiu lots of cars, can't we still go?"

“That auntie is a bad person. She lied to Qiuqiu. If Qiuqiu goes with her, she will steal all of Qiuqiu’s toy cars, lock Qiuqiu up, and she will never see her parents again,” Zhang Jing nodded.

"Oh... then Qiuqiu won't go with bad people anymore!" The little boy looked scared, but his innocent words made both of them laugh.

Chapter Sixty-Five Relics from the Jian Pottery Era

"Alright, Qiuqiu, go play now." The old man reached out and patted his grandson's head.

The two then drank tea and chatted, during which the old man told Zhang Jing about his situation.

It turns out that Mr. Zheng Han's family has been in the antique business for generations, and this shop was passed down from his father. He is considered a well-known figure in the antique collecting circle of Linzhou. He has an only son. After his wife passed away two years ago, the old man felt his health was declining, so he wanted to pass the business on to his son. However, his son's interests lay elsewhere. He studied mechanical automation in college and recently started a factory with a friend, specializing in the production of sensors for a specific purpose used on spacecraft. The old man didn't know much about this, so he could only let his son do it.

As for the shop, he originally thought about retiring, but he couldn't bear to close the shop he had run all his life, so he continued to run it. Anyway, running the shop wasn't too hard for him. His customers were mainly old customers he had accumulated over decades. In his spare time, he would help his son take care of his grandchildren, which was a kind of family happiness.

Whether it was a hobby from his past life or a special need in this life, Zhang Jing was quite interested in antiques and collecting. Seeing that the old man was an expert in this field, he asked him for some knowledge on appreciation. The old man answered all his questions without reservation, and even brought many samples from the shop to explain. Often, just a few words would enlighten Zhang Jing, and he knew that the old man had nothing to hide.

"Uncle Baoping, can you take a look at this for me? I bought it today." On a whim, Zhang Jing took the jade pendant out of his backpack.

The old man took the jade pendant, examined it closely, and after a while said, "This is a good piece. Judging from the marks of the carving and the patina, it is a genuine piece, not a modern imitation. If I'm not mistaken, this type of piece should be from the Jian pottery era. Most items from that era are damaged, and it's rare to find one as intact as this. You've really struck gold."

What the old man said was similar to what Zhang Jing had found in the materials. The Jian pottery era was more than 5000 years ago. According to current modern data, it should have been in the clan commune period. However, due to the great distance in time, most of the materials that have been passed down to this day are unreliable in the form of myths and legends. Therefore, the specific situation of that society is still very mysterious. Even the most basic questions, such as whether there was a country, whether there were cities, whether the people at that time were the same as the people known today, and the political system of that society, are still in the hypothesis stage. Therefore, the history of that era, whether in the East or the West, seems to be shrouded in a fog.

Seeing that Zhang Jing liked these jade artifacts, the old man went inside and rummaged through the chests and cabinets for a while. He found several jade artifacts of different styles and placed them on the tea table in front of Zhang Jing. He introduced them to Zhang Jing, explaining that these jade artifacts came from different eras, including ancient jade from the Xia, Liang, and Qi dynasties. The craftsmanship was exquisite, and even Zhang Jing, who only had a superficial understanding of ancient jade, knew that they must be very valuable.

In terms of value alone, each piece of ancient jade here is worth far more than Zhang Jing's jade tablet.

It's important to clarify that antiques differ from common perceptions. They are not necessarily more valuable simply because they are older. Like stones on the ground, each with hundreds of millions of years of history, they have no intrinsic value. Truly valuable items are the crystallization of human civilization within antiques. Therefore, only antiques that represent the achievements of a particular brilliant civilization have value. For example, in Zhang Jing's previous life, Song Dynasty celadon, Yuan Dynasty blue and white porcelain, Qing Dynasty and Republic of China master seals, and ancient Japanese swords were all symbols of the pinnacle of their respective eras, hence their considerable value.

“Hongjian, look, these things are all acceptable. Since you like them, I’ll take them out for you to see. Take whichever one you like, or if you like them all, take them all. They’re just sitting in a box anyway.”