I work as a security guard at a cemetery, and I overhear the dead chatting about getting rich quick.

"Ancient mirrors?"

Lin Ye stared at the photos on the tablet.

The red cloth covered most of the frame, leaving only a section of the dark wooden frame visible.

It's impossible to tell the era.

We couldn't see what was inside.

Cheng Fang noticed his reaction.

"What's wrong?"

"It's nothing."

Lin Ye returned the tablet.

"I've been having a lot of luck with mirrors lately."

Cheng Fang didn't think much of it.

"Yunqi Villa has been investigated."

"Private residence, the owner is Zheng Huaishan, 63 years old, who used to work in foreign trade and has been collecting things since retirement."

"He's somewhat well-known in the industry."

"Does Han Jingchuan know him?"

"We've known each other for at least three years."

Cheng Fang retrieved another set of documents.

"This deal was negotiated two weeks ago."

"A deposit of 400,000."

"The final payment is 1.6 million."

Lin Ye looked at him.

"Two million for this thing?"

That's why there's a problem.

The wooden box in the photo is not well preserved.

The edges and corners are cracked.

The brass buckle has turned black.

Even if it really is an ancient mirror, it doesn't look like it's worth two million.

Cheng Fang scrolled down.

"The person in charge of asset verification contacted Zheng Huaishan."

He said the item was passed down from his ancestors.

"Han Jingchuan went to his house last month to look at other collections, and happened to see it. He immediately wanted to buy it."

"Zheng Huaishan originally had no intention of selling."

"Later, Han Jingchuan kept increasing the amount from 800,000 to 2 million."

Lin Ye asked:

"Why hasn't the goods been delivered yet?"

"Zheng Huaishan changed his mind once."

"I'm short of money again."

"I re-contacted Han Jingchuan yesterday to prepare for the deal."

Cheng Fang paused for a moment.

"The problem is that Han Jingchuan is currently out of contact."

Lin Ye thought for a while.

"Have you been able to contact them?"

"Zheng Huaishan?"

"Um."

"We've made contact."

"We haven't told him about Han Jingchuan's situation yet, we just told him not to move that thing."

Cheng Fang stood up.

"The tech team will be there tomorrow morning."

Lin Ye also stood up.

"I'd like to see the photos first."

"They're all here."

"I'll tell you, only those who know what they're doing will see."

Cheng Fang glanced at him.

"When did you become knowledgeable about antiques?"

Lin Ye looked at him.

"That's what my girlfriend does."

Cheng Fang remained silent for two seconds.

"...I forgot."

"Have you always thought she was a doctor?"

"roll."

12:30 a.m.

Lu Zhixia is still awake.

When Lin Ye arrived at her house, she had just finished taking a shower.

Her long hair was half-wet, casually tied behind her head, and she wore a loose, light-colored nightgown.

As soon as the door opened, she glanced at Lin Ye for a few seconds.

"Have you been coming to my house lately, always after my parents have fallen asleep?"

"convenient."

"What's so convenient about it?"

Lin Ye was about to speak.

Suddenly, a lazy voice came from the mirror on the living room wall, emanating from the woman in crimson robes.

"What else can we do?"

"Shut up."

Lu Zhixia didn't even turn her head.

The mirror immediately fell silent.

Lin Ye was delighted.

"You're managing her quite well now."

"She's been neglecting her lately."

Lu Zhixia stepped aside to let him in.

"Coming over in the middle of the night, you didn't really just miss me, did you?"

"I mainly miss you."

"What about secondary?"

"Get to work."

"I knew it."

She complained, but she was already heading towards the study.

Lin Ye followed her in and sent her the information about the ancient mirror artifact from Yunqi Villa.

After Lu Zhixia sat down, the sleepiness on her face quickly faded.

First, enlarge the wooden box.

Let's look at a closer look.

Finally, I flipped to the transaction record.

She didn't rush to comment.

"Is that all?"

That's all for now.

"Didn't you take a picture of the mirror itself?"

"no."

"That doesn't determine the era."

Lu Zhixia held her phone and looked at it for a while.

"This wooden box looks like it was added later."

"Judging from the brass buckles and mortise and tenon joints, it dates back to at most the Republic of China

Lin Ye pulled over the chair next to him.

"Han Jingchuan offered two million."

"That definitely wasn't for this box."

Lu Zhixia continued reading.

Upon seeing the three characters "Zheng Huaishan," her finger suddenly stopped.

"I know this person."

Lin Ye was stunned for a moment.

"What a coincidence?"

"Not familiar with them."

"I've attended two private networking sessions before."

Lu Zhixia turned on her computer.

"He collects a wide variety of things, including porcelain, bronzes, and miscellaneous items."

"I especially enjoy collecting stories."

"What does 'collecting stories' mean?"

"It doesn't have to be expensive, but it has to have an interesting history."

As she spoke, she logged into an industry database.

"What do you mean, 'dug up from the ancestral home,' 'passed down from the temple,' 'hits from the old house in the middle of the night'..."

Lin Ye looked at her.

"Is the last one also a reason to collect it?"

"Some people just like this."

"Don't try to understand the hobbies of the rich."

"Do you understand?"

"I make money off them."

"That's alright then."

Lu Zhixia searches for Zheng Huaishan.

Several old exchange directories quickly popped up.

She turned the pages one by one.

When I flipped to a list of private exhibits from three years ago, I suddenly stopped.

"Found it."

The photo is old.

The same long black wooden box.

But there was no red cloth covering it back then.

The box was open.

Inside was an oval bronze mirror.

The back of the mirror has turned black.

The edges are incomplete.

It even looks rather ordinary.

The exhibit descriptions were also pitifully short.

[Date unknown, formerly in a private collection.]

Below is a handwritten note:

[To be stored covered with cloth for extended periods.]

Lin Ye stared at that sentence.

Why did you guess?

Lu Zhixia continued searching.

"have no idea."

A few minutes later, she found an old chat screenshot in another chat history.

Zheng Huaishan once mentioned this mirror in a group chat.

[This was left by an elderly family member; they said not to take pictures at night.]

The group of people below were joking around.

Some people even asked him if he was deliberately making up stories to inflate the price of the broken mirror.

Zheng Huaishan replied:

Believe it or not, my wife never touched me again after she had it done once.

Lin Ye didn't say anything.

Lu Zhixia slowly sat up straight.

The mirror on the wall suddenly spoke.

"Back in our day, there were generally only two possibilities for this kind of statement."

Lu Zhixia turned around.

Which two?

"One of them is a lie."

"The other one is something real."

Lin Ye looked at the photo.

"Han Jingchuan clearly felt it was the second one."

Lu Zhixia did not answer immediately.

She suddenly asked:

Do you have any other recent acquisition records by Han Jingchuan?

"Some of them."

"Give me."

Lin Ye sent over the verification materials from the seven locations that were permitted to be taken out.

A total of twenty-seven items.

Lu Zhixia examined each item one by one.

At first, he just frowned.

After seeing the tenth item, her expression clearly changed.

"Is there a problem?"

"It's too chaotic."

"What chaos?"

"The times are chaotic."

She dragged out several pictures at the same time.

"This broken bronze bell is at most from the late Qing Dynasty."

"Judging from the wood and carving, this talisman dates back to after the Republic of China era."

"This piece of jade is old, but the craftsmanship isn't worth much."

"And this Buddhist shrine..."

She nodded.

"In this state of disrepair, would a legitimate antique dealer buy it up and store it in a warehouse?"

Lin Ye asked:

"So he doesn't understand?"

Lu Zhixia looked up.

"On the contrary."

"He knows exactly what he wants."

She retrieved all the transaction prices.

The more I look, the more certain I become.

"Look."

"He doesn't snatch the ones in good condition."

"It's old enough but clean, and he didn't offer a high price."

"On the contrary, these..."

Lu Zhixia circled twelve of them separately.

Broken bell.

God Card.

Burial bronze pieces.

An old mirror.

Break the seal of Dharma.

They share only one common characteristic.

Their market value is generally not high.

But almost every one of them is accompanied by some messy folk tales.

It rang out at night.

After making offerings, I had strange dreams.

One after another, people in my family have died.

Someone saw the shadow.

Some of these items are so controversial that even regular collectors avoid them.

Lu Zhixia leaned back.

"Linye."

"Um?"

"This person isn't collecting antiques at all."

"What is he doing?"

"filter."

"What are we screening?"

Lu Zhixia looked at him.

"What do you call that thing?"

"A magical artifact?"

"That's right."

She tapped the screen with her fingertip.

He doesn't care about the year, condition, or market price.

"He only cares about one thing."

Has anything strange ever happened to this thing before?

The study became quiet.

Lin Ye suddenly remembered the hollowed-out items in Jingchuan Antiques.

No wonder.

Han Jingchuan may not have a reliable way to identify magical artifacts.

So he used the simplest, yet most effective, method.

Massive collection.

As long as there are unusual rumors.

I'll buy it.

Price is not important.

It doesn't matter if I buy the wrong one.

There is always something that truly possesses a "spirit".

Lu Zhixia suddenly frowned again.

"etc."

"What's wrong?"

She scrolled back through the transaction records.

"The timing of this purchase was incorrect."

"What's wrong?"

"Han Jingchuan used to collect miscellaneous items as well."

"But the quantity isn't that large."

She opened the time.

"The real frenzy of buying these weird things started twenty-six days ago."

Lin Ye's eyes flickered.

Twenty-six days.

Wanling had made a judgment before.

The abnormal entity within Han Jingchuan's body will not merge with him for very long.

The Taoist Xuanxu truly took over this body.

It will likely take less than a month.

That matches perfectly.

Lin Ye did not tell Lu Zhixia this judgment.

Evidence is still lacking.

But the direction is becoming clearer and clearer.

Just then.

Lu Zhixia's phone suddenly rang.

She looked down.

It's a WeChat message.

Sender's Note:

Uncle Zheng.

Lin Ye looked at her.

"Zheng Huaishan?"

"Um."

Lu Zhixia clicked on it.

The other party sent a photo.

It was still that long wooden box that held the mirror.

This was followed by a voice message.

Lu Zhixia pressed play.

An elderly man's voice came out.

"Xiao Lu, I heard you're still in the capital, right?"

"Aren't you quite interested in these obscure old things?"

"I have an old mirror here; I'm selling it tomorrow."

"The buyer just contacted me again tonight, saying they wanted to come and see the goods ahead of time."

I'm a little unsure.

"If you have some free time, could you come over and take a look at it for me?"

End of audio.

Neither of them spoke.

Lin Ye glanced down at the time.

00: 47.

Who is the buyer?

Lu Zhixia had already started typing.

A few seconds later.

Zheng Huaishan replied.

There are only three words.

[Han Jingchuan.]

Lu Zhixia raised her head.

Lin Ye had already stood up.

She glanced at the pajamas she was wearing.

Give me five minutes.

Lin Ye was stunned.

"Are you going too?"

Lu Zhixia had already gotten up and was heading towards the bedroom.

He turned back only after reaching the door.

"They specifically asked me to take their eye."

"If you don't take me with you, do you think you can do the appraisal yourself?"

"..."

Lin Ye had nothing to say.

Lu Zhixia's lips curled up slightly.

"Wait."

The bedroom door was closed.

The mirror on the wall remained silent for a few seconds.

Suddenly, the woman in crimson spoke softly.

She said five minutes.

Lin Ye looked over.

"What's wrong?"

"Women talk for five minutes."

"generally……"

If you say another word, I'll blindfold you.

The mirror fell silent immediately.

Lin Ye took out his phone.

I dialed Cheng Fang's number.

The phone was answered after only one ring.

Cheng Fang was clearly still awake.

"What's wrong?"

Lin Ye looked at the three words "Han Jingchuan" on the screen.

"We've found him."

"where?"

"Yunqi Mountain Villa".

"He's going to pick up the mirror tonight."

There was a half-second silence on the other end of the phone.

Cheng Fang's voice changed immediately.

"Don't move."

"I'll take some men over there."

Lin Ye glanced down at the time.

It was time for Han Jingchuan to come to her door as agreed.

Forty-three minutes remaining.