Peerless Martial Expert in the City
Chapter 54 Antique City

Chapter 54: Chapter 54 Antique City

"Ring ring..."

The new phone suddenly rang.

Xiao Yi gathered his thoughts, took out the phone, and saw it was an unknown number. He hesitated for a moment before answering the call, "Hello?"

"Little brother."

The enchanting voice of Shen Xiaoxiao came through the phone.

"Snap!"

Xiao Yi’s hand trembled, and the phone he had just bought almost fell to the ground and broke; fortunately, his quick reflexes saved its tiny life.

"Um, you... who is this?"

"Hehe, little brother, did you forget your sister’s voice so quickly?"

"Oh, it’s you... I’m busy right now, I’ll talk to you later."

After speaking, Xiao Yi hung up the phone and pressed the power button to turn it off.

Shen Xiaoxiao, hearing the dial tone, was momentarily stunned.

This kid actually hung up on her?

After being stunned for a while, Shen Xiaoxiao, with a touch of confusion, called again, but heard a pleasant tone indicating the phone was turned off.

"This kid actually turned off the phone."

Shen Xiaoxiao put down the phone resentfully.

......

The Antique Market on Xitong Street in G City is the largest antique market in G City. Everyday, it draws a large number of antique enthusiasts from far and wide who come here to hunt for treasures. Many people visit merely to broaden their horizons and purely tour around the various so-called antiques.

Xiao Yi, amidst the crowd, strolled on Antique Street. He too was here to hunt for treasures, but not for beautiful and luxurious antiques like porcelain or jade items. For those, he rarely even glanced their way; he spent his time only at stalls selling various ancient books.

Libraries, Book Cities, and Antique Streets were the places Xiao Yi must visit whenever he was in a place.

Though he knew that the chance of finding what he wanted in such public trading venues was almost zero, he still seriously toured around. He knew the chances were slim, but without looking, the chances would be none. Since today was a weekend and he had nothing else to do, he decided to visit.

He went from one stall to another, and soon Xiao Yi had walked from one end of the street to the other. In the blink of an eye, only one store was left. Glancing at the sign hanging from the store, Han Cheng Antiques, Xiao Yi knew that his chances of finding anything valuable in this antique market today were also slim. Along the way, he did see a few ancient medical books, like Medicine King Sun Simiao’s "Essential Prescriptions Worth a Thousand Gold," but those weren’t what he wanted. He could recite "Essential Prescriptions Worth a Thousand Gold" backwards since he was a child. If it were genuinely authentic, he might consider buying it, but the one displayed was obviously a modern imitation, and he had no interest in it.

Now the last store he faced was clearly another primarily dealing in antique trade.

He could only see if there were any finds in the other smaller antique streets in G City.

Xiao Yi sighed.

Although he felt that the probability was very low in that last store, Xiao Yi still went inside. Since he had toured all morning, he didn’t mind finishing up with this last one.

"Excuse me, do you have any ancient books here?"

Entering the store, Xiao Yi approached a middle-aged man who looked like an employee and asked.

"Ancient books? Of course, young man, are you from out of town?"

The middle-aged man slightly startled at Xiao Yi’s question, then smiled at him.

"I’ve just arrived in G City not long ago, but does that matter?"

Xiao Yi frowned.

"No, it doesn’t. If you were a local and a regular here, you’d know that our Han Cheng Antiques has the most extensive collection in the entire G City. Practically anything you want, we have it here. So you definitely wouldn’t ask that question."

The middle-aged man smiled with a trace of pride.

"Oh? Do you have any ancient medical books?"

Xiao Yi’s spirit stirred, and he asked expressionlessly.

"Ancient medical books? Well, that category is indeed quite rare..."

Hearing that Xiao Yi was asking for ancient medical books and not some anthology or the like, the man’s expression slightly embarrassed.

"It’s okay if you don’t have them. These are quite rare anyway, and not many people ask for them usually."

Xiao Yi, seeing the man’s expression, felt his hopes rise only to be dashed again, yet he said understandingly.

"I’m really sorry, young man. Thank you for your understanding. This category really has too narrow an audience. Aside from the genuine old books, which might be collected as artifacts by collectors, those imitation versions are hardly ever inquired about even after half a year, so we just don’t bother with them."

The middle-aged man apologized to Xiao Yi, then suggested, "Young man, are you in a hurry to leave G City? If you’re not leaving soon, you could leave your phone number. I’ll keep an eye out for you, and if we get any stock, I’ll call you to come and take a look."

Xiao Yi hesitated for a moment at the middle-aged man’s proposal but still left his mobile number and surname.

"All right, Brother Xiao, rest assured. If any rare ancient book comes in, I will notify you immediately."

The middle-aged man looked at Xiao Yi’s surname and mobile number, then closed the notebook filled with numbers, smiled, and said.

"Thank you, I appreciate it."

Xiao Yi nodded and turned to walk out of the store.

Stepping out of Han Cheng Antiques, Xiao Yi checked the time. It was almost noon, so he decided to walk toward a bus stop not far away.

"Xiao Yi!"

But just as Xiao Yi was about to step away, he suddenly heard a somewhat uncertain voice calling him.

Hearing the call, Xiao Yi turned his head curiously toward the direction of the voice. He seemed to have heard that voice there before, but he couldn’t quite place it for a moment.

Turning his head, a realization dawned in Xiao Yi’s mind. Wasn’t this the granddaughter of the old man he had helped in Book City that day?