Xu Fei strolled leisurely along Spirit Jade Street, hands clasped behind his back, thinking to himself that the place recommended by Hell’s Ear was indeed a good find.
Just from his casual browsing, he had already spotted several items that caught his eye.
However, Xu Fei wasn’t in a hurry to make a purchase. He was well aware of some of the unspoken rules in the antique and jade world.
At the moment, Xu Fei wanted to prepare some containers for himself, though he hadn’t settled on a specific number yet.
If he were to make multiple purchases at one stall or nearby stalls in quick succession, he would immediately draw attention to himself and might become a target for others looking to take advantage.
So Xu Fei was still considering his options. Ideally, he wanted to find a set of jade artifacts, preferably consisting of three pieces. Of course, the more pieces in the set, the happier Xu Fei would be.
This way, he wouldn’t have to worry about finding more containers in the future.
The containers Xu Fei needed had to be items with a long history.
To put it simply, Xu Fei was looking for old jade artifacts that had been around for a while but had never been buried. Instead, they should have been handled or worshipped by people over the years.
This made Xu Fei’s requirements quite specific.
Among the items he had spotted earlier, many were family heirlooms. While their quality was good, making multiple purchases would be too conspicuous, so Xu Fei held back.
As he continued to wander, in a small alley next to Spirit Jade Street, a group of people were whispering among themselves.
“Master, look! Isn’t that Xu Fei? The one the abbot mentioned!”
“You’re right, it’s him! What a coincidence to run into him here. Let’s follow him and see what he’s up to!”
The group of three in the alley, though wearing wide-brimmed hats that obscured their faces, all had dark red clothing underneath—a clear sign of the Red Buddha Society.
In other words, while they appeared low-key, they were actually quite bold. They weren’t trying to hide their identities, just their faces.
Xu Fei continued walking forward. By now, his clairvoyant vision had merged with his intuition, allowing him to use it at will.
Although he seemed to be carefully selecting containers, the three “rats” tailing him couldn’t escape Xu Fei’s notice.
Xu Fei reached a corner of the street, a relatively secluded part of Spirit Jade Street, where a small stall was set up.
The stall owner wore a bamboo hat and had been staring at the ground the entire time, his view seemingly limited to the feet of passersby.
On the indigo cloth spread out before him were three neatly arranged jade arhats. The arhats were a vibrant green with hints of blue, likely carved from high-quality Lantian jade.
The craftsmanship of these three jade arhats was exceptional. Each was no thicker than a thumb, yet the arhats were carved with exquisite detail.
Their expressions were vivid and varied, and under the sunlight, they seemed almost lifelike.
Though Xu Fei wasn’t an expert, even as a casual observer, he could tell these pieces were extraordinary, and he felt a stirring of interest.
“These three little pieces are quite nice. How much are they?”
Hearing Xu Fei’s question, the stall owner, for some reason, seemed unusually timid.
“P-please keep your voice down, benefactor. These three aren’t sold separately. The price is 500,000, no bargaining!”
Xu Fei found it amusing to encounter such a cautious seller. It was a first for him.
“Benefactor? Usually, only monks call me that. And he’s selling three arhats…”
At this point, even though the stall owner’s face was still hidden under the large bamboo hat, Xu Fei had a pretty good guess about his identity.
