Artifact Reading Inspector

Chapter 7: New Work (1)

In order to use magic, firstly, Haejin had to draw its patterns depending on the magic he wanted to cast and then say the spell. Next, the mana would leave his body and the magic would be activated.

The magic just used by Haejin showed the memory of the object. He could even choose the period he wanted to see.

Of course, Haejin chose the time when the jade buddha was first made and, in a second, that time was embedded in his mind like a photograph.

“You are quite arrogant. I don’t know who you are, but you should not say nonsense like this so easily.”

“It’s you who are talking nonsense, not me. Especially in front of this priceless object,” Haejin said.

His legs shook like those of an 80-year-old man and his head ached. That was the aftereffect of the little mana he had, leaving him.

So, just talking casually required all the strength he had.

“Is there a reason?” Eunhae asked him with hope. He looked at her and spoke, “This is not just a jade buddha.”

“Haha, you are funny. Then, what is it?” the other woman sneered.

“This jade buddha was born in a family of Sacheon Province, China.”

He spoke a little louder on purpose. People around them were eavesdropping in curiosity, but he wanted to draw even more attention.

“Family? What family? What are you talking about?”

“Let me tell you the story of this family. The Woo family was a strong family of Sacheon. The family’s head, Song, had a son. Song loved his wife so much that despite his subjects’ advice, he couldn’t forget his dead wife and didn’t take any concubine. So, he had only one son to succeed him. But then, a tribe invaded the land. The righteous Min, the son of Song, volunteered to join the army and defeat the tribe.”

“What does this have to do with this good buddha?”

His breath was getting heavy. The appraiser gave him some time to catch his breath.

“You will find out soon. It is hard to appreciate the true value of a precious object by hastily judging it from its appearance.”

“Khmm…”

“Okay, go on. If it doesn’t make sense, I will make you pay.”

“Such a beauty, yet so impatient. Okay. Hu… Min left home to join the army. Song, his father, prayed for his son’s return again and again. One day, an old monk came to his house who saw a peach tree in the yard and said, ‘That peach tree is sick. The father’s prayers are in vain.'”

“So?” curious, Eunhae asked.

“Song heard about this from his servant. He hurried to send someone and brought the monk to his home. He then asked if his son was not coming back. The old monk replied that the peach had only one seed. As the peach tree was dying, it meant Song’s only seed would not be able to live. What were the feelings of the father at hearing that? In despair, Song asked if there was a way for his son to return. The monk said there was. He told Song to get a precious Hwajeon Jade from Gonryun Mountain, make a buddha statue with it, put the most precious thing he had in it and offer it to a temple.”

“Then, this is-?”

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Surprised, Eunhae looked back at the jade buddha.

“The story does not end here. At the time, Hwajeon Jade of Gonryun Mountain was a precious jade mined at the height of 3,500~5,000m. Even though it is now easy to get, back then it wasn’t.”

“That’s real?”

The woman scolded as if she didn’t believe Haejin, but he didn’t stop.

“Song didn’t send his servants. Instead, he climbed the Mountain himself and mined the jade to make a buddha. His toes started to rot because of the cold, but he didn’t stop. It was his determination to save his son. Song eventually got the jade. He then put a pair of rings, the most important jewelry his wife left him, in this jade buddha and offered it to a temple.”

“Oh…”

The people around Haejin exclaimed, including Eunhae. Because of Haejin’s voice, everyone was focused on his story.

“Thanks to Song, even though he had lost a leg, his son came back alive. Later, he got a wife and had children. Their family carried on.”

People smiled and nodded. Some were even moved by the story and almost cried.

The appraiser glared at Haejin with a distorted expression.

Haejin scolded him, “You said the balance is not right? That’s because the artisan dug a hole first, put the rings in there and carved the jade to make a buddha. If you say it looks bad because it’s distorted, you must scold the architect of the Pisa’s Tower. This is not just a jade buddha. It’s a precious artifact that has the love of parent who worried about his son. So, billions wouldn’t be expensive for it.”

“Yes, yes.”

“What is the opening bid of this?”

The jade buddha got popular immediately and the exhibition’s mood completely changed.

The woman’s face was now red. She glared at Haejin so hard that flames almost came out of her eyes.

“What you just said, is it real? Can you prove it?”

“There was a man named Ju Yun who lived in the early Qing period. He looked around for all kinds of strange and entertaining stories. When he got old, he organized those stories and wrote a book called ‘Saegyeolgigyeong’. There is a story about this jade buddha in that book. I never imagined I would see it here.”

“What if there’s nothing inside the book?”

“Simple. The book mentioned the presence of the carving of a hole, which was then mended to put in the rings, therefore it will not be hard to find out.”

Actually, he made it all up when it came about the ‘Saeseolgigyeong’ book. However, as the rings were in the buddha, it didn’t matter if the book didn’t exist.

“Huh! You got lucky this time. Congratulations,” she spoke coldly at Eunhae and left.

“I will see you again. You were impressive,” the appraiser said while looking at Haejin, he then followed the woman.

Haejin didn’t know if he would see him again, but he could relax a little after they were gone.

“Hua…”

His legs wobbled, but he forced himself to lean on a bar that came up to his waist and smiled at Eunhae.

“Thank you,” the girl said.

“It was nothing. She spoke so rudely that I couldn’t stand it. They were also really mistaken when they insulted this buddha.”

Actually, Haejin didn’t know that the buddha had that kind of history until he used the magic.

“You really know about artifacts. Which university did you graduate from?”

“Ahh…”

At that moment, Haejin regretted not attending a good university for the first time. Eunhae realized that he probably didn’t attend a good university.

“Well, it’s not important. I’m sorry. It is a habit of mine to ask things when I meet someone…”

“Yes. That is not exactly a good habit. Haha!”

“If you haven’t had lunch yet, I want to thank you for your help.”

It was a great fortune. Helping a beautiful woman brought fate’s help. The problem was that, although he was now capable of standing, he was about to collapse.

“I cannot today. How about tomorrow?”

She was surprised, as if she hadn’t thought she would be rejected today. Then, she smiled again.

“Tomorrow is good. Where should we meet?”

“I will be at Gyojeong Bookstore at noon tomorrow. Shall we meet there?”

“Good. Then, I will see you tomorrow.”

She gave Haejin her name card, slightly nodded and left.

Haejin looked at her until she was out of his sight. He moved his shaking legs to grab a taxi and returned to the hotel.

“Uh, I feel like I’m dying…”

As if his head was spinning, he felt dizzy. Again, he went straight to bed without taking a shower.

When he got up the next day, his body was full of energy again.

He took a hasty shower and arrived at the bookstore. It was time. If he had slept just a little longer, he would have been late.

He called Eunhae. She said she was waiting at the parking lot, so he ran there. The beautiful woman, who seemed to have come out of a magazine, was waiting for him by the elevator.

“Did you bring your car?”

“No.”

“Then, should we use my car?”

“Okay.”

He was embarrassed and wondered if he should have bought a used car in advance but when she took Haejin to her car, he was glad he didn’t buy one.

While she was beautiful, the moment she sat at driver’s seat of a Porsche Macan, she also turned sexy. She was perfect.

“Let me take you to this place I know. It’s a steak restaurant. Are you okay with that?”

“Of course, I like steak.”

“Pup! Okay.”

Even her smile was so beautiful. She was so perfect that Haejin was about to be overwhelmed.

Being overwhelmed by a woman was something that didn’t really ever happen to Haejin but, as Eunhae was beautiful and rich, he started to think that maybe he should have robbed more with his father to become rich.

Eunhae took him to a restaurant at the Shinra Hotel. Now, he started to wonder who she was.

He had heard that she managed a gallery, but she looked to be in the middle of her twenties. So, which family did she belong to…

The steak was delicious, beyond compare to anything Haejin had eaten. Eunhae focused on eating the whole time but, when the dessert came out, their eyes met.

“Did you enjoy it?”

“Yes, it was delicious.”

“I am glad you liked it. Hmm… I have a question. Could you please answer it? I know it’s rude but, when I meet someone, I must know who he or she is. I was educated like that.”

She wasn’t normal. She could just ask. ‘How are you? How do you know so much about antiques?’

Was she a very polite person? Judging from the conversation she had yesterday at the preview, it didn’t seem like it.

“Okay, please ask.”

“You know a lot about antiques. What do you do for a living?”

Haejin was embarrassed to say that he was a construction worker, but he couldn’t say he used to be a grave robber who traveled around the world with his father.

“I know it’s hard to believe, but I used to be a construction worker until recently.”

“Hmm… I see.”

Eunhae didn’t show any disappointment. She had been educated well or just kept her thoughts well hidden. Moreover, she looked at him with even more interest than before.

“But you are too capable to just be a construction worker. You know the appraiser you met yesterday? He is one of the top three appraisers in Korea.”

No expert could be as good as Haejin. He had magic with him. Additionally, even before gaining magic, he didn’t think of himself less good than others.

The only difference was that he used to think of himself as good as any expert; however, now he was better than anyone beyond comparison.

“Really?”

Haejin sounded as if saying ‘so what?’. Eunhae bit her lip and smiled.

“See. You are not discouraged at all! Even my grandfather respected his opinions about antiques. So…”

“Yes?”

“I want to know you.”