As expected, the experts and Lin Shilong himself believed that the small cauldron was merely plated with copper or other metals and had wood inside, which is why they thought it had little value. Given the craftsmanship and technique of the Nine Dragon Cauldron, it was definitely a modern invention, so they unanimously concluded that it was worthless.
Zhou Xuan held the cauldron and lost interest in looking at the other items in the collection room. He had already tested them with ice energy and found nothing of interest or value. He smiled and said, "Mr. Lin, I think we should head back for today. I'm a bit tired and want to rest at the hotel!"
Lin Shilong quickly replied, "Alright, alright, I'll send a car to take you both back to the hotel. Hehe... I'm hosting a banquet tomorrow, would you two like to come and join us? I'll introduce Mr. Wei to a few friends in the industry; perhaps they'll have what you're looking for. The antique market in Jiangbei is full of hidden gems; there are plenty of good things there!"
Zhou Xuan was genuinely happy. If Lin Shilong introduced more people, especially those skilled in the field, the chances of finding clues would be much greater. He hadn't expected that getting this micro-carving done today would be so worthwhile!
Zhou Xuan thought for a moment, then said with a smile, "Boss Lin, since you're so enthusiastic and treat me like a friend, I can't not treat you like a friend either. How about this, I have a few jade micro-carvings. I'll bring them with me when I come tomorrow, and Boss Lin can decide whether to sell them. We can all make money!"
Lin Shilong was taken aback, then overjoyed. He shook Zhou Xuan's hand repeatedly and said, "Good, good, good, brother, I've decided to be your friend. It's a promise. I'll personally come to pick you two up at ten o'clock tomorrow morning!"
When Lin Shilong drove Zhou Xuan and Wei Xiaoyu back, he didn't send anyone to take them. He drove them himself. However, Zhou Xuan got out of the car at the entrance of a large supermarket, saying that he wanted to buy some daily necessities. He also told Lin Shilong the name of the hotel they were staying at.
Buying daily necessities is normal. Lin Shilong smiled and walked away. Fang Dacheng, sitting in the passenger seat next to him, smiled and was anxious. He followed Lin Shilong, but unexpectedly, Zhou Xuan didn't buy anything expensive. He just picked something that was worthless. Lin Shilong had no income, so of course he didn't get a tip!
However, after watching Zhou Xuan and Wei Xiaoyu enter the supermarket elevator, Lin Shilong started the car and said to Fang Dacheng, "Fang Dacheng, I know what you're thinking. Here's what I'll do: I'll give you another million. If you close a few more deals tomorrow, you'll get your share!"
In the supermarket.
Wei Xiaoyu then chuckled softly, "Your money-making skills are truly remarkable. You spent fifty million in one go. Did you bring this from the capital?"
Zhou Xuan, carrying a bag given to him by Lin Shilong containing the Nine Dragons Cauldron, smiled and said to Wei Xiaoyu, "Xiaoyu, have you forgotten what we bought at the Stone Records store today?"
"Bought something? That jade Guanyin statue?" Wei Xiaoyu was taken aback and blurted out, "That Guanyin statue that cost more than 16,000 yuan?"
Zhou Xuan snorted and then said, "Xiaoyu, you don't know, Fang Dacheng, the owner of Stone Story, is an old enemy of mine. I never expected to run into him in Jiangbei. You know, the Guanyin statue we bought from him today only cost a thousand or so yuan, but he sold it for over sixteen thousand. He's ruthless, no."
Zhou Xuan stared at Wei Xiaoyu and said with a smile, "However, I used my abilities to make that micro-carving and made 50 million yuan profit from it. I've recovered that loss, but I haven't gotten back the debt on Fang Dacheng. I'll find an opportunity to collect it later!"
"You...you mean that the miniature sculpture that sold for fifty million was made from a Guanyin statue?" Wei Xiaoyu was stunned. She really didn't expect Zhou Xuan to be able to make something like that!
Zhou Xuan nodded, took her hand, and walked towards the jewelry store. As they walked, he said, "For tomorrow's business, let's buy a few more pieces of jade, the better quality ones. I'll prepare them at the hotel tonight to deal with tomorrow. I imagine that the miniature carving I sold to Lin Shilong today has already made a splash in their circle. Tomorrow, Lin Shilong will definitely choose a very powerful expert. I also spread the word that I want to buy good antiques, which might lead to clues about counterfeit dealers."
Wei Xiaoyu was truly astonished. Zhou Xuan had surprised her in so many ways that she remained in a state of constant surprise!
Zhou Xuan took her to the Shubao store and spent more than two million yuan to buy four pieces of icy jadeite jewelry. These were only found after much searching. The best quality glass-like jadeite was not available, and if it was, it would be fake. The four pieces of icy jadeite jewelry were relatively small, so the price was not too outrageous. Each piece cost more than 500,000 yuan.
Back at the hotel, Zhou Xuan asked Wei Xiaoyu to rest in her room while she continued with her micro-carvings alone.
Wei Xiaoyu was somewhat disgruntled. In the cave on Moyin Mountain, she and Zhou Xuan could still embrace and be intimate, but once they came out, it was as if Zhou Xuan was a hundred and eight thousand miles away from her.
After returning to his room, Zhou Xuan locked the door from the inside, then took the Nine Dragons Cauldron out of his bag, placed it on the coffee table, and began to examine it carefully.
Zhou Xuan felt something was off about the golden nine-dragon cauldron, but he couldn't figure out what was wrong with it. He felt uneasy and uneasy, so he simply said goodbye to Lin Shilong and returned home. He wanted to investigate the secret of the nine-dragon cauldron on his own. It wouldn't be convenient if he stayed with Lin Shilong. If it was a treasure, Lin Shilong would regret it, and Zhou Xuan would feel it was pointless, since Lin Shilong hadn't asked for any money.
After looking at it for a long time, Zhou Xuan still couldn't find anything unusual. The ice energy couldn't penetrate its interior, so he couldn't figure out what material the cauldron was made of. He turned the cauldron over and over and looked at it for a long time, but he still couldn't find any clues.
The small cauldron was exquisitely crafted, and Zhou Xuan liked it more and more as he looked at it. The nine little golden dragons were so lifelike that they seemed to come alive and fly out, their wide-open mouths looking as if they wanted to swallow the pearl inside the cauldron.
Zhou Xuan sighed. This cauldron—the ice energy couldn't penetrate it, and his eyes couldn't see through it either; he couldn't find even the slightest clue. Helpless, he placed it back on the tea table.
Scratching his head and cheeks didn't help, so Zhou Xuan shook his head and thought, "Forget it, I'll just take a shower to relax first." He went to the bathroom, ran the hot water, and while waiting outside, he picked up the Nine Dragon Cauldron and pondered it. Generally speaking, cauldrons were popular from the Shang and Zhou dynasties, and they usually had three legs and two handles. However, his cauldron was a little different; it had three legs but no handles, but the mouths of the nine dragons stretched out like ears on the rim of the cauldron.
With little recollection in his mind, Zhou Xuan stood there in a daze for a while. Suddenly, he remembered that he had turned on the hot water in the bathroom. He quickly went to the bathroom and saw that the bathtub was almost full. He quickly turned off the water, tested the water temperature, and found it was just right. After thinking for a moment, he placed the Nine Dragon Cauldron in his hand on the edge of the bathtub, then took off his clothes and pants, sat down in the bathtub, and soaked his body in the hot water. He groaned with comfort, feeling so good!
He enjoyed the hot water for a while, then reached out and picked up the Nine Dragons Cauldron. He looked at it from all angles and tried to use ice to measure it, but still couldn't detect it. He closed his eyes, sighed, and let go of it. The Nine Dragons Cauldron fell into the bathtub. Zhou Xuan quickly reached out and pulled the Nine Dragons Cauldron out of the water.
The Nine Dragon Cauldron was already covered in water, but at that moment, Zhou Xuan suddenly noticed that the Nine Dragon Cauldron seemed to be different. Upon closer inspection, the Nine Dragon Cauldron was still the same, with no difference.
But Zhou Xuan was very confident in his eyes and senses. There must have been something different about the Nine Dragon Cauldron just now. After thinking for a moment, he sat up from the bathtub and brought the Nine Dragon Cauldron to his face to examine it carefully again.
Upon closer inspection, Zhou Xuan indeed discovered the unusual nature of the Nine Dragon Cauldron.
The Nine Dragons Cauldron had just been taken out of the water, and it was wet inside and out. The nine dragons were also covered in water droplets, with water droplets on their scales and whiskers, making them look fierce and menacing. The egg-sized bead inside the cauldron, after getting wet, seemed to be heated and evaporated because of the high temperature. A wisp of water vapor rose from the surface of the bead, and the nine dragons seemed to be sucking the wisp of white water vapor into their mouths.
Zhou Xuan was extremely surprised, thinking his eyes were playing tricks on him. He reached out and rubbed his eyes, then opened them wide to look. The water vapor evaporating from the bead was indeed sucked into the mouths of the nine dragons, making the nine dragons seem even more active and ferocious, as if they were about to take off into the air!
Zhou Xuan was stunned. What on earth was this?
Volume 1, Chapter 356: Time Stands Still?
Could this be a very special antique?
Zhou Xuan was astonished for a long time. He saw that the water vapor on the bead had disappeared, and there wasn't a single drop of water left in the cauldron. The nine dragons, now devoid of mist, seemed to have returned to their lifeless state, completely still. ()
Zhou Xuan suddenly realized: this cauldron is related to water, and all these strange phenomena are because he dropped the Nine Dragon Cauldron into the bathtub and it got wet!
Thinking of this, Zhou Xuan stopped taking a bath, jumped up, wiped himself dry, wrapped himself in a towel, filled the Nine Dragon Cauldron with water from the tap, carried it into the room, placed it on the coffee table, and then examined it carefully.
The Nine Dragons Cauldron, filled with clear water, had tiny bubbles rising from the surface of the bead inside, as if the water was boiling in a pot. Wisps of steam rose from the surface of the clear water, and the nine dragons seemed to come alive again as they came into contact with the steam.
This time, Zhou An saw it clearly and was certain that he had not misread it!
The bead inside the Nine Dragons Cauldron gradually turned pale red, and the bubbles rose more and more rapidly. The clear water gradually decreased, and the steam rushed into the mouths of the nine dragons. The dragons' eyes also turned red; their original white eyes had turned into pale red, as if they could emit light whenever they turned red.
Zhou Xuan became curious. It was as if the nine dragons were absorbing the water vapor evaporating from the bead in the cauldron, causing their eyes to change color. He just wondered what would happen next.
It seems this is truly an extraordinary treasure, perhaps even more precious than the luminous pearls we've obtained before.
Just as Zhou Xuan was waiting to see what the nine dragons would look like after absorbing enough water vapor, the water in the cauldron evaporated completely. Zhou Xuan was very surprised that the beads in the cauldron had evaporated so much water so quickly. It was strange that even if this water were put into a red-hot iron pot, it would not evaporate in such a short time!
Zhou Xuan scratched his head, then took the Nine Dragon Cauldron to the tap in the washroom, filled it with water, and then carried it back to the room, placing it on the coffee table to examine it carefully.
But after a minute, no more bubbles appeared on the surface of the bead. Zhou Xuan was puzzled. Why was it not working now?
Zhou Xuan stared intently, and several more minutes passed. The pearl inside the Nine Dragons Cauldron remained still and silent, without a sound. No more water vapor escaped, and the nine dragons seemed to have quieted down as well. Their pale red eyes turned white again, and everything returned to normal.
At this moment, Zhou Xuan finally understood something. This Nine Dragons Cauldron was probably a special device. After the beads inside the cauldron heated up and evaporated water vapor, the water vapor entered the mouths of the nine dragons and seemed to turn into a kind of energy. Then, after turning the dragons' eyes red, it would become more peculiar. However, Zhou Xuan did not know exactly how peculiar it would be.