One divination a day, a trainee celestial master

Jiang Shou squatted in front of the stall, pretending to examine the "Ink Splashed Landscape in Clouds" painting on the ground.

In fact, he knew nothing about antiques or calligraphy. The texture of paper and the charm of brushstrokes were completely foreign to this former food deliveryman.

He didn't even know who "Shi Tao" was; he had to secretly take out his phone to look it up while he was staking out the area.

He leaned closer to the scroll and carefully examined it from beginning to end. The paper was yellowed, and the ink varied in shades. But to this layman, apart from looking a bit old, he couldn't see anything strange about the painting that "hidden truths within the painting."

Jiang Shou's mind settled slightly, and he silently mobilized the true energy in his dantian. A wisp of subtle energy rose along the meridians and entered his eyes.

The Art of Observing Qi, now open.

Jiang Shou blinked and looked at the scroll in his hand again.

"what?"

There was no brilliance he had anticipated, nor any overwhelming aura of treasure. In the field of vision of the Qi Observation Technique, the painting was still a hazy gray, paper was just paper, ink was just ink, no different from the blue canvas placed underneath it.

Jiang Shou dispersed the true energy from his eyes and shook his head inwardly.

It seems that the introductory technique of "Qi Observation" left by the old man is mainly used to observe souls and assess feng shui, at most to see through objects with some magical power or spiritual energy. It has no effect on these inanimate works of art.

This makes sense. If the art of observing qi could really be used as an instrument for appraising treasures, then the abbots of Shouyi Temple throughout the ages would have become the world's richest people by picking up bargains long ago. The old man wouldn't have incurred a debt of 250,000.

Although neither the naked eye nor the Qi-observation technique could detect anything unusual, Jiang Shou had absolute trust in the Suihan Token in his arms.

Since the divination clearly states "a fake painting hides the truth," and the time, place, and people all match up, there must be something more to this painting than meets the eye.

Jiang Shou put aside his distracting thoughts, raised his head, and casually glanced at the middle-aged man who was smoking in silence.

"Uncle," Jiang Shou tapped the edge of the scroll lightly with his finger, deliberately emphasizing his question, "how much are you planning to sell this 'fake painting' for?"

The middle-aged man had initially felt a glimmer of hope as he watched Jiang Shou squatting there for a while, thinking that this young man might just be a fool with too much money and no expertise. But as soon as Jiang Shou pointed out the word "counterfeit," his confidence vanished instantly.

But he remained stubborn and insisted, "Young man, you can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want. This 'Splashed Ink Landscape' is an authentic work by the Qing Dynasty master Shi Tao, a true treasure passed down through my family."

Jiang Shou smiled and waved his hand to interrupt him.

"Uncle, I know perfectly well whether this painting is an original or a reproduction from the Republican era, and you probably know even better. If it were truly an original by Shi Tao, you should be sitting in the art collection shop across the street drinking Da Hong Pao tea right now, instead of standing here with two broken bricks weighing down your stall."

Jiang Shou dusted off his hands, stood up, and adopted a straightforward demeanor: "I think the imitation of this painting is indeed quite good, and it looks pleasing to the eye. Give me a fair price, and if it's reasonable, I'll buy it as a decorative item to hang up and play with."

The middle-aged man was completely taken aback by Jiang Shou's seasoned, worldly demeanor. He hesitated for a moment, looking at the painting on the ground, his mind in turmoil.

"Thirty thousand." The man gritted his teeth and quoted a number. "This painting is truly an heirloom. Take a look, isn't it an old piece? It's definitely an authentic work. If you really want it, take it for thirty thousand. I won't sell it for less. I'll just take it home and keep it as a keepsake."

Jiang Shou rolled his eyes inwardly. If it were truly an authentic work by Shi Tao, the price would probably have to be increased by two more zeros.

"Five thousand." Jiang Shou said expressionlessly, slashing down directly at the heel.

Upon hearing the price, a flicker of struggle crossed the middle-aged man's eyes.

Five thousand yuan, to be fair, is much better than the eight hundred yuan the unscrupulous shop owner at Jubaozhen gave me for the bearing.

But this was far from his expectation of being able to scrape together the down payment for a house in the county town.

After struggling for a moment, the man shook his head and sighed, "Five thousand yuan is too little. If it's that price, I'd rather take it back and keep it as a keepsake. After all, it's a keepsake that my elders painstakingly passed down, so I'll keep it as a way to show my filial piety..."

"Ten thousand!"

Before the middle-aged man could finish his "filial piety theory," Jiang Shou revealed his trump card, adding a reasonable explanation: "It's just that my father likes this style of imitation of the Qing Dynasty from the Republican era, and he also greatly admires Master Yuanji. Who else would spend ten thousand yuan to buy a high-quality replica?"

Ten thousand yuan?!

The middle-aged man's breathing quickened instantly. A fierce tug-of-war began in his mind between the "filial piety" he used to comfort himself and the "ten thousand yuan in cash."

While the man was still hesitating.

Seeing that the time was right, Jiang Shou stood up, clapped his hands, and said coldly, "If you don't want to sell, then forget it. You can keep this 'fake' painting and treasure it to fulfill your filial duty."

Jiang Shou emphasized the word "counterfeit" very heavily, then turned around and made as if to leave.

"Hey, hey, hey! Okay, okay! Little brother, don't go!"

Upon seeing that his only sugar daddy was about to run away, the middle-aged man instantly forgot all his ancestral beliefs and filial piety, and grabbed Jiang Shou's arm.

"Money doesn't matter!" The man's expression changed faster than flipping through a book, and he said righteously, "The main thing is that this painting has finally found someone who truly likes and understands it! Young man, ten thousand it is. Take it and let your old man keep it safe!"

Got it.

Ten thousand yuan bought out the family's traditional filial piety.

Meanwhile, at the stall next door, the old man selling used books, wearing a melon-shaped hat, watched the entire transaction and was completely dumbfounded.

He stared wide-eyed at Jiang Shou as if he were an alien.

Is this young man out of his mind?! He spends ten thousand yuan on a fake painting without even blinking! Doesn't he know his eyes are dry?

"Pah!" the old man cursed inwardly. "He was so stingy when he bought my out-of-print 'Imperial Book,' but now he's so quick to spend ten thousand on a fake painting! What kind of world is this!"

Jiang Shou had no idea what the old man was thinking about him, nor did he care whether his eyes were dry or not.

Because the moment he scanned the QR code and transferred 10,000 yuan to the middle-aged man, he grabbed the blue canvas bag containing the paintings.

Jiang Shou could clearly feel that the Suihanling sticker on his chest was emitting a faint warmth!

"It's safe."

Jiang Shou let out a long sigh of relief, feeling extremely happy.

For an ordinary person, spending ten thousand yuan on a fake painting is simply a lesson learned from being fooled. But for him, it's a low-risk, high-return, stable investment. Not only does the painting contain treasures, but Sui Hanling will also be giving him a boost of experience points soon.

"Grandmaster, you've really been kind to your disciple. Hua Zi must make arrangements for this later."

Jiang Shou hummed a little tune as he strolled out of the antique street. He hopped on the blue three-wheeled motorcycle, twisted the throttle, and sped off into the western suburbs, facing the wind.

Today was a great harvest, and Jiang Shou was in a very good mood.

As the three-wheeled vehicle rounded the last few bends on the winding mountain road and reached the mountainside of Cuiwei Mountain, the sky was already ablaze with the colors of sunset.

The brilliant afterglow of the setting sun slanted across the sky, casting its light on the ancient roof tiles and mottled courtyard walls of Shouyi Temple, giving this small Taoist temple deep in the mountains an ethereal and otherworldly aura.

"Bang!"

Jiang Shou pushed open the gate, closed it behind him, and carrying the painting bag, he passed through the main hall and rushed straight to the back courtyard room.

Because he was walking in such a hurry, he didn't notice at all that a white registered mail letter had appeared on the edge of the altar of the Three Pure Ones in the main hall.

Jiang Shou rushed into the room and locked the door from the inside.

"Whatever's hidden in the painting, SPA...SPA has to come first!"

Jiang Shou threw his backpack onto the bed and eagerly pulled out the dark-colored Suihan Token from his pocket.

The four lines of small regular script divination characters on the back of the Suihan Order were now emitting a blue light. Then, the characters flowed and melted like water, transforming into a blue ball of light that "whooshed" into Jiang Shou's brow.

"Well……"

A familiar, electric-like tingling sensation instantly spread throughout his body. Jiang Shou closed his eyes, his bones emitting a slight popping sound, and he was thoroughly enjoying this top-notch physical and mental spa.

The true energy surged within his body, cleansing his meridians, and the exhilarating feeling of a real, tangible increase in strength was intoxicating.

Five minutes passed before the pleasure gradually subsided, and the spa treatment ended.

Jiang Shou opened his eyes, his gaze becoming clearer and sharper. He sensed the true energy in his dantian, which had grown even larger.

After regaining his senses, Jiang Shou rubbed his hands together and walked to the mahogany table in the side room.

He carefully pulled the old scroll from the canvas bag.

"I'd like to see what kind of 'real painting' is hidden inside your 'fake painting'!"

Jiang Shou held his breath, his fingers pinching the edge of the yellowed paper, and slowly unfolded the "Ink Splashed Landscape with Clouds and Mountains" painting, which cost ten thousand yuan, on the mahogany table...