Chapter 524: The Pros and Cons of Otherworldly Items


    There was nowater inside the teapot. Yet,the inner wall and the bottom of the teapot had a thickyer of patina.


    How could a y item have rust and patina? Isnt this a purple y teapot?


    With this thought, I brought the teapot to my earandgentlyknocked on it. I heard the clear sound created by a bronze item rather than the dull sound of a y item.


    Thisteapot wasnt made of purple y. It was a bronze teapot that had a coating of purple y. This madethingsmoreplicated.


    y teapots first appeared in the Ming Dynasty, soI needed to know if this teapotwasdated before or after the Ming Dynasty. It was the key tofindthe original owner of the teapot.


    Lu Ming was a tea tycoon, so he must have studiedteapots. I was certain that he knew this teapot was an antique. However, a few days ago, when I asked him if he had kept an antique in his house, he denied it.


    IsLu Ming part of the problem?


    With that thought, I turned to see Lu Ming, who was lying on the floor. I was amazedto findthat all his Yang mes were burning.


    In broad daylight, he was possessed byaspirit, and he didnt bear any losses. This overturned my knowledge!


    My intuition told me that he had deceived me. In other words, he knew something about this teapot, but he didnt want to tell me.


    When Lu Ming woke up, he looked surprisedafter seeingthe purple y teapot on the table. Mr. Zhang, what happened?


    I didnt answer his question but asked with an indifferent face, Do you remember what you did over there?


    I only remember that I went to the meeting room, whereI suddenly had a headache. I dont remember anything else. Lu Ming gave a vague answer.


    Hmm, if so,I cant solve this problem. I think youd better invite another master. Isaid coldly and turnedto leave.


    Lu Ming didnt dare to let me go. He hurried after me. Master, please help me!I will pay you whatever you want! We can always negotiate! Then, he arranged his thoughts and toldme the story.


    The ghost of the old man controlled me. Although I was sane at that time, I couldnt control my body. I just wanted to dodge the responsibilityasI almost killedmyJapanese business partner. I dont want to bear criminal responsibility!


    How do youexin thisy teapot? And, you experienced the same phenomenoninaprevious meeting. Whydidn''t youtell me? I fumed.


    Id been watching him for half a month like a fool. And now, it turned out he didnt tell me the truth.


    You Youknow aboutit... Lu Ming was bewildered. As it hade to this, he didnt want to hide it anymoreand toldme the whole story.


    Not only did he knowthat this y teapot was an otherworldly item, but he also used the power of the teapot to beatea tycoon in a short period.


    However, he didnt expect that when he was nning to bring his tea brandoverseas, the purple y teapot didnt help him anymore. It had even given him warnings.


    Lu Ming didnt want to give up this good chance, and he didnt want to let anybodyknowthat he hadreliedon an otherworldly item to build up his career. Thats why heasked for myhelpbut didnt want to tell methe fullstory.


    After listening to him, I wasnt angry. Id seen the same storymany times before. People only knew how to take advantageofotherworldly items, forgetting how dangerous they could be.Lu Ming waslucky that he didnt get hurt.


    Where did you get the teapot? Do you know its origin? I sighed.


    The old ghost had shown his power, and I wasnt sure if I could behis equal opponent in a directfight. Moreover, he wasnt an evil spirit. I should just follow the flow and ask Lu Ming to return the teapot.


    I got my teapotinXishuangbanna. The seller told me that if Ikeptthis teapot with me, it would help my career. I bought it,and it worked. Lu Ming then paused.Feeling embarrassed, he admitted that it was all he knew.


    I admire your boldness! Otherworldly items werent something one should collect casually. There were many factors they needed to consider, including thedangerlevel of the item, its origin, and the sellers reliability. If onewascareless,theywould provoke a lot of trouble. They couldevendie.


    Lu Ming hadbelieved theseller andboughttheteapot without much thought. He was lucky that hisluckwas good. Otherwise, he wouldnt even have had the chance to wait for me to save hisbutt.


    However, as things hade to this,therewas no usetalkingabout such details. I considered things and decided totakethis teapot and Lu Ming to Xishuangbanna.


    Do you still remember where you got this teapot?


    UmhYeah, I do. Lu Ming sounded hesitant. I knew he didnt want to let this teapot go. Iignoredhim since I needed to prepare for the trip.


    At around twilight, Idraggedhim onto the train to Xishuangbanna.


    Afterwe goton the train, he kept scratching his head as if hewasa monkey. I patted him tofort him. Dont worry. Your business is great already. You dont need to depend on an otherworldly item.


    Yeah. Lu Ming gave me an absent-minded answer. However, hisconfidencewaslow. I shook my head reluctantly.


    The way otherworldly items worked was simr to someone giving you warm embers on a snowy day. Insimplewords, if one used an otherworldly item to ovee a challenge, it wouldnt create much damage to the user.


    However, people were always greedy. After oneuse, many of them would be dependenton theotherworldly item. In the end, they would lose themselvesand be itspuppet. For example, Lu Mingsachievements of today were the result of his efforts. It was him who subconsciously thought that it was the merit of the otherworldly item.


    Thatwaswhy I knew it was useless to talk to him. Ihad todeal withthe otherworldly item and make him more self-confident.


    After he finallycalmed down, I asked him if he remembered the address where he had bought the teapot. It would be a big problem if he didnt remember the address since Xishuangbannawasavast ce.


    Menghai TownshipinMenghai County.


    The areas around Xishuangbannahad a lot ofnatural tea fields. Lu Ming had been working in this business long enough to know the ce well. He didnt even need to think to tell me the address.


    After two transfers, wereachedMenghai Township. It was already dawn. Inced atthe surrounding green mountains andclearwaters.


    I saw watermills, water buffalos, fruit forests, and tea gardens. They all had a primitive look.The fortified viges here were the most attractivepartof the local culture.


    Igotan idea. Afterworking a few more years, I would bring Yin Xinyue here. We would buy a small house and live ourlives in seclusion,away from the modern world.


    Compared to my leisure mood, Lu Ming looked muchtenser. Ever since weentered MenghaiTownship, his face contorted. He tightly graspedthe small bag containing the purple y teapot.


    I was afraid that hedidntwant to return the otherworldly item. I had to put away my wanderingthoughts and askedhim to take me to the sellers house.


    We can only visit there at night time. They wont open their gate to outsiders, said Lu Ming.


    Whydidn''t youtell me earlier? I was somewhat angry.


    He gave me a forced smile. I just remembered that.However,Ihavehis number.


    Hewent onhis phone and made a call.The phonerangfor a long moment, but no one picked up the call. Lu Ming was helpless. Wellhave to wait until night then.


    All right. We can take a napin the meantime.


    I was really tired after a night on the train. Aftermyinitialexcitement towardsthe surroundingsfaded, I couldnt fight my sleepiness anymore. I found a hostel to rest.


    Lu Mingstayed in theroom next tomine. I was afraid that he would change his mind, so I decided to keep the teapot in my room. Ipaid him no more heed and crawled intobed.


    I sleptfrommorningtoevening. Ihad anice sleep. If Lu Ming didnt wake me up, I would have probably slept until thenext morning.


    After hewokeme up, he couldnt wait anymoreand tookme to the fortified vige where the seller lived. He looked hurried, just as if he wanted to get rid of the teapot as soon as possible.


    Thiswassurprisingto me. I looked at him andsawhewas inmuch better shape. I guessed he had made up his mind. I didntoverthink and pickedup the teapot andleftthe hostel with him.


    Menghai Townshipwasntbig. Itwasdivided into several smaller viges,so itwas easy to find the sellers house. Not even after twenty minutes, we reached a ce that had rocks piled upinto a fenceand gate. There was a small stream of around twometers in front of thisvige.


    From a far distance, I saw that the ce was lit with manynterns. People were packing the ceand pushing one another.They cheered happily.


    I was curious to see what they were doing, but I was afraid that I wouldenrage them. Lu Ming, do you know what they are doing?


    Ah, the Dai people like to sing and dance. Do you want totake a look? Lu Ming said indifferently.Thiskind of event wasnt new to him, but it was a first for me.


    You said earlier wecouldn''tget in there, right? Canwe even visit the ce? I asked.


    Haha, you cant enter their vige in the morning, but its all right at night. If you are lucky, thefriendliergirlsmightask you to dance with them.


    Then we shouldgoin for a look!


    Ithought it wasinterestingand walkedtoward the vige. However, Inoticedthat Lu Mingwas no longer followingme. Isaid, Hey man, why are you standing there? Come with me.


    After half a month of staying with him, I had figured out that Lu Ming wasnt as arrogantasotherrich people. Thatwaswhy Iwasmore casualwithhim.


    However, no one answered. Instinctively, I turned around to find him, but there was no one behind me.


    The distance from the vige gate to the road was around three or four hundred meters.Only a short time had passed,so Lu Ming couldnt havedisappeared so quickly. I wasstunned and thoughtabout the only exnation for this. That Lu Ming wasnot the real one!