Chapter 53: Chapter 53: Completion of the Cold Condensation Curse Talisman

After seeing off Yuan Jing, Lu Zheng could finally focus on his own matters.

“Boss Gu?” He first made a call to Gu Pingzhong of Zhong Yuzhai.

“Mr. Lu?”

“I have some collections here and would like to ask you to take a look. If you’re interested, you can have the priority to purchase them.”

“Oh?” Gu Pingzhong sounded intrigued with a smile in his voice, “I wonder what kind of items are these? Are they from your father’s collection?”

“Partly, yes. Another part is from acquisitions through different channels.”

Gu Pingzhong had left a good impression on Lu Zheng, so Lu Zheng decided to reach out to him again this time, testing whether they could have long-term dealings.

Anyway, Lu Zheng had a backup plan — send the items to the Great Jing Dynasty, even the Immortals wouldn’t find them!

“Different channels…”

Such vague explanations certainly made Gu Pingzhong ponder, but these things weren’t clear over the phone.

“How about this, I happen to be free today, why don’t you bring the items to my store?”

“Sure.”

…

Gu Pingzhong stared blankly at Lu Zheng’s opened suitcase.

In the next moment, as if he were a rabbit, Gu Pingzhong “whoosh” jumped up and quickly ran to the door to close it.

Turning around, he gulped and fixed his gaze on Lu Zheng, “Where did you get these items from?”

Lu Zheng blinked, “Why, is there something wrong?”

“If you hadn’t reached out to me, showing you indeed have no other appraisal contacts, I would genuinely not believe a word of what you’re saying!”

Gu Pingzhong said word by word, “These items, they were unearthed from underground!”

Lu Zheng raised his brow upon hearing this, surprised, he asked, “You noticed?”

“You knew?” Gu Pingzhong asked, surprised as well.

“I knew!”

“Hiss–”

Gu Pingzhong sucked in a cold breath, “This action, at least three years in prison!”

Lu Zheng didn’t mind, “These items were unearthed over a hundred years ago and have been floating abroad ever since, so it’s long been settled.”

Gu Pingzhong’s eyes lit up, “Abroad? Unearthed over a hundred years ago?”

Lu Zheng nodded.

“They didn’t enter through legal channels, right?”

“Actually, they did,” Lu Zheng chuckled, “Although going out privately is definitely not okay, bringing them in privately… I’m contributing to the nation, right?”

Gu Pingzhong laughed and scolded, “Then you should donate all these items!”

“Next time, for sure!” Lu Zheng agreed earnestly.

“So, how about you take a look?”

“No problem.” Gu Pingzhong nodded, then asked again, “Want to sell them?”

“Sell them all.”

“I can’t handle all that, nor do I have the channel to realize their value.” Gu Pingzhong squatted beside the suitcase, put on white cloth gloves, and took out a carved Golden Bowl, “But I can recommend a friend to you.”

“Who?”

“You’ve met him.”

“Liu Zhenming?”

“Yes, that’s him. He has broader connections than I do, he runs a private collection venue and knows many collectors. He’s quite unconventional.”

…

With one phone call, Liu Zhenming quickly arrived at Zhong Yuzhai.

“Good heavens, I mean good heavens, I thought my connections were quite wild, but Mr. Lu, yours are truly broad! You can bring treasures from underground abroad back!”

“Old Gu, how’re the items?”

Gu Pingzhong nodded, “They’re all good items, with both artistic and collectible value. Only, I’m quite puzzled…”

“Puzzled about what?”

“The items are obviously in the Hua Country style, yet I can’t determine which dynasty they belong to.” Gu Pingzhong frowned, “Showing Han Dynasty ancient style charm, Tang Dynasty inclusive grace, and Song Dynasty prosperous outlines, all are reflected.”

Liu Zhenming paused upon hearing this and glanced at Lu Zheng, “Is it that you can’t tell or are you unsure?”

‘Can’t tell’ is a coded language implying the items are fake.

‘Unsure’ means genuinely uncertain.

“Unsure.” Gu Pingzhong shook his head, raised a practically flawless White Jade Cyan Bird in his hand, and said to Lu Zheng, “I want this Jade Pendant. How about two million?”

Before he could further explain the reason for the price, Lu Zheng immediately nodded, “You take it!”

Liu Zhenming: (‘degDdeg`)

He gulped and made up his mind, pushing his way over, “Let me see! Let me see!”

…

After a short while, the three of them reached a consensus.

Gu Pingzhong took four jade ornaments for 6.5 million, and Liu Zhenming took items totaling ten million.

The items were not at wholesale price, but definitely at a friendly rate.

So Liu Zhenming waved his hand and waived the service charge for assisting with the remaining objects.

“The remaining gold artifacts, jade ornaments, are of slightly lower quality than what we took. Besides, we don’t deal in gemstones or pearls. I’ll find some collectors and host a private treasure appraisal event at the venue in a few days to sell them all.”

“The leftover items are worth about thirty million or so.” Gu Pingzhong thought for a second and added, “But likely a bit less.”

“Roughly how long?” Lu Zheng asked.

“At the very least, half a month.” Liu Zhenming thought and answered.

“Alright, then you take the items first. I might be quite busy soon and might not have the time to send them to you.”

Liu Zhenming blinked — trusting me this much, aren’t you afraid I’ll just take the items and ignore you?

Lu Zheng smiled, “There’s more later.”

That’s one of the reasons, another reason wasn’t convenient to talk about.

Liu Zhenming patted his chest, “Don’t worry, who doesn’t know my Old Liu is a Hui Merchant descendant, valuing integrity, a spit is a nail!”

…

With money in hand, Liu Zhenming treated them. The three had lunch together, and Lu Zheng returned home to continue studying the Cold Condensation Curse.

The full text of the Cold Condensation Curse stretches to three thousand words, covering everything from drawing talismans to casting spells, with mantras and True Qi management included.

However, just as all various knowledge is in books, not everyone can get into Qingbei, this spell isn’t easy to learn either.

It wasn’t until five in the afternoon.

Lu Zheng finally drew a crude Curse Talisman on Yellow Paper at the desk in a crooked manner.

Though it was drawn in one go, but due to the intermittent Qi, this Curse Talisman naturally had no effect.

However…

Lu Zheng stood with eyes closed for a while, seemingly gathering inner energy.

The next moment…

He opened his eyes, a flash of divine light appeared, and the Wolf Hair Brush in his hand whisked through vermillion.

The brush moved fluidly like dragon and snake, Qi wound, imbued in vermillion Yellow Paper, emanating ripples of energy.

A minute later, the Cold Condensing Talisman was complete!

Ignoring the five strands of Light of Fortune that had decreased in the Jade Seal, Lu Zheng proudly exclaimed, “I’m really a genius!”

Then Lu Zheng didn’t stop, drawing twenty Cold Condensing Talismans in one go, exhausting all his True Qi, only resting then.

He folded each Cold Condensing Talisman into small squares, and then dumped them all into the freezer compartment of the refrigerator.

Done!

In the next moment, his phone rang.

“Lu Zheng, I won’t be working overtime today, let’s have dinner together?”

“Sure!”