Ye Huohuo was led into the study by the old man, completely bewildered.
It was her first time in Grandpa Li's study. The vast room was filled with calligraphy and paintings, many of which were genuine antiques. Although she didn't have much expertise in ancient paintings and calligraphy, and couldn't discern any brushstrokes or painting techniques.
Faced with both a genuine piece and a near-perfect replica, her limited appreciation for calligraphy and paintings left her utterly clueless.
She also couldn't identify the artist of a piece like those connoisseurs could.
However, she could indeed tell which painting was ancient, just like the malevolent painting before, which, though not by a famous artist, was undeniably an ancient piece.
This was because she could read qi.
If a piece of calligraphy or painting is ancient, after centuries or even millennia of weathering, some absorb the essence of the sun and moon, some absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, and some, like that malevolent painting, absorb yin and malevolent energies.
Over time, the qi on the painting would condense and not dissipate, while new items wouldn't possess this condensed, non-dissipating qi.
Even the most skilled forgers could only replicate the aged appearance of a fake, but they could never replicate this qi.
Therefore, although Ye Huohuo couldn't determine if an item was an antique through normal means, she could do so through the qi it possessed. From another perspective, she could more accurately judge whether an item was an antique.
She surveyed the room, her gaze sweeping across the calligraphy and paintings in Grandpa Li's study. There were also many antiques on shelves.
Most of the antiques were genuine. It seemed Grandpa Li had a deep understanding of ancient calligraphy, paintings, and antiques, unlike many businessmen. Despite being wealthy, they wished to display calligraphy, paintings, and antiques to project an air of refinement.
However, they lacked understanding and were deceived by others, often purchasing mostly fakes for their homes.
Almost everything in Grandpa Li's study was genuine; at least, Ye Huohuo hadn't found any fakes after her initial glance.
As Grandpa Li watched Ye Huohuo's gaze sweep over these valuable items, nodding as she looked, she finally stopped at a bronze wine vessel.
Grandpa Li's eyes lit up. "Girl, you truly know your stuff. Among everything in this room, this piece is the oldest. This should be a wine vessel from the Qin Dynasty. Look at the style, and the patterns on it. Most importantly, there are two characters on it.
This is the small seal script unique to the Qin Dynasty. It's a shame these two characters are severely worn. After I acquired it, I specifically sought experts to help me research these two characters. They only managed to restore a part of them and made a general guess. Do you know what these two characters are?"
Grandpa Li, Li Yuan, ever since handing over the company to Li Mohan, had been engrossed in these ancient calligraphy, paintings, and antiques. None of his four grandsons, not one, showed any interest in his treasures.
Only Li Moyan occasionally borrowed his treasures, intending to use them as props for filming.
Initially, Li Yuan lent them to him, but one time, the props team, unaware they were genuine items, chipped off an ear of a Tang Sancai horse.
From then on, no matter how much Li Moyan pleaded, the old man wouldn't budge.
None of the Li family's four grandsons ever entered his study.
Now, seeing Ye Huohuo instantly recognize the oldest treasure in his room, Li Yuan believed he had finally found a kindred spirit in his home and was overjoyed.
He spoke as if introducing his treasures to someone, listing them all.
However, Ye Huohuo's brow had been slightly furrowed since she saw the wine vessel. When Li Yuan asked, she said somewhat tentatively, "Could it be—Tian Qi?"
Li Yuan's eyes widened immediately. "Huohuo, could it be that you're also an expert in appraising treasures? Oh my, our Li family has truly been blessed. I never expected you to have such profound knowledge of antiques at such a young age!
Indeed, the experts I consulted also guessed Tian Qi, and they said it should be a royal artifact, as ordinary families were not permitted to use such four-legged ding-style wine vessels.
How did you guess these two characters? You didn't even pick it up to look, you could see it from so far away, and these two characters are so severely damaged."
After hearing Li Yuan's explanation, Ye Huohuo's brows furrowed even tighter. "Grandpa, do you believe me?"
"Of course, I do. You are my granddaughter-in-law, and you saved my life on our first meeting, so naturally, I believe you." Li Yuan, being old and shrewd, had noticed the wrongness in Ye Huohuo's expression. "Is there something wrong with this item?"
"If you believe me, then quickly get rid of this thing, the sooner the better." As Ye Huohuo spoke, she gently touched the rim of the bronze wine vessel with her hand.
But as soon as her fingertips touched it, she felt as if she had been scalded, hissed, and quickly withdrew her finger.
"I didn't expect the malevolent energy to be so strong already. Do you have a peach wood box that can contain it?" Ye Huohuo asked.
Li Yuan's proud expression from moments before vanished instantly at Ye Huohuo's words, replaced by bewilderment and helplessness. "What? Is this thing dangerous?"
Ye Huohuo sighed. "Grandpa, you often study these antiques, so you should know that ordinary bronze wine vessels are not inscribed with inscriptions. Those with inscriptions often have special uses.
I believe your expert friend told you this wine vessel came from royalty precisely because of this, and the inscription 'Tian Qi' on it indicates it was likely used for royal sacrifices to heaven.
These kinds of wine vessels were generally used by emperors for celestial sacrifices, and the next emperor would not use the previous emperor's sacrificial wine vessels.
And the final resting place for these sacrificial wine vessels should be..."
Ye Huohuo didn't finish her sentence. With her hint, Li Yuan suddenly understood. "They would be placed in the imperial mausoleum along with the previous emperor. Meaning this item was stolen from an imperial tomb by grave robbers?
Ah, I understand. You're asking me to get rid of it because you're afraid people will find out I bought something from grave robbers?"
"No, I believe with your capabilities, Grandpa, collecting such an item wouldn't be noticed, as you didn't directly engage in grave robbing. The danger I'm referring to is the item itself." Ye Huohuo explained.
"If it had been placed in an ordinary person's tomb for so many years, it wouldn't be this malevolent. But it was in an emperor's tomb. At that time, emperors were buried with large numbers of people and animals.
Many people were buried alive, and the entire grand tomb was filled with resentment. It is said that being buried in the earth brings peace, because earth can, to a large extent, isolate yin and yang. This means the resentment in the tomb cannot escape the grand tomb and can only permeate within it. Moreover, as time passes, it will only accumulate more and more.
This resentment envelops the items in the tomb for years, and these burial objects absorb that resentment. Therefore, ordinary people are reluctant to buy burial objects, as they don't want to bring bad luck home.
Consequently, in the Xuanmen (esoteric schools of thought), there are people who specifically conduct a business: purifying the resentment and yin-malevolent energy of these burial objects.
Some items that are less contaminated by malevolent energy, after purification, are no different from ordinary antiques and can be displayed in homes. But some..."
Ye Huohuo paused at this point, then looked at the wine vessel again. "Those with too much resentment and malevolent energy cannot be purified at all. In principle, they should not be sold or displayed.
But some unscrupulous merchants and Xuanmen practitioners will purify the resentment and malevolent energy on the surface, making them appear no different from ordinary antiques when you receive them. However, over time, the internal malevolent energy will gradually seep outward.
This will begin to affect the owner.
Moreover, some people with ulterior motives will give such items to those they wish to harm. At best, it leads to continuous misfortune; at worst, it leads to family ruin.
Grandpa, forgive my prying, but who gave you this wine vessel?"