Shen Feng sat on another sofa, holding the box. Lan Zi quickly came over and sat close to him, her face showing a look of adoration, appearing completely like a young girl who had fallen in love.
“I can’t believe it, I really can’t believe I got this treasure!” Shen Feng smiled as he looked at the contents of the box.
“Is it that serious? It’s just a copy of Journey to the West! I can find two old ladies on the street and have them tell you stories, they can tell you a couple of passages. You cherish such common stuff so much!” Yue Hengyi couldn’t help but tease Shen Feng when he saw how happy he was.
In Yue Hengyi’s opinion, a copy of Journey to the West was only worth twenty yuan, and it was baffling that Shen Feng was holding onto it like a treasure. He had clearly never seen the world.
Shen Feng opened the box, tilted it towards Yue Hengyi on the sofa, and said seriously, “You little brat, look closely. This is the real deal! This is the Shide Tang edition of Journey to the West, the only one in the world! It’s a book from the Ming Dynasty, and it’s the earliest authentic copy of one of the Four Great Classical Novels. It’s priceless, you wouldn’t be exaggerating to call it a national treasure. You, with your short hair, have short vision too!”
When Yue Hengyi heard how significant this item was, he immediately became suspicious. “It looks real, but are you sure they were willing to give you such a precious item? If it’s the only one in the world, wouldn’t everyone hide it like a treasure? How did it end up in your hands?”
Shen Feng thought for a moment. Yue Hengyi’s point seemed valid. What if it was a fake?
Journey to the West was undeniably one of the Four Great Classical Novels, but the earliest version could only be found in Japan. The versions of Journey to the West circulated in China had been repeatedly modified since the Qing Dynasty, to the point of being unrecognizable. Fortunately, after the founding of the People’s Republic of China, someone found the authentic version in Japan and brought back photographs of its content. After organizing it, it was published, leading to the unified version of Journey to the West in China. The People’s Literature Publishing House had made a significant contribution.
It could be said that this copy of Journey to the West was the ancestor of all currently circulating versions of the novel. It had a history of over four hundred years. Shen Feng also found it incredible that such a precious cultural relic could fall into his hands.
Lan Zi also explained at this moment, “Lord Shen Fuyao, I believe this is indeed real because this copy of Journey to the West was previously displayed in a museum. After the doomsday arrived, people broke into the museum and stole the cultural relics. All the relics were stolen, and then this treasure was eventually bought by a prominent family in Kagoshima. This is indeed the genuine article!”
Shen Feng was excited and immediately said, “Such a wonderful item, I must take it back to China and keep it in my home, dusting it with a feather duster every day!”
“Damn it, I want a treasure too! Miss Kasahara, go contact that prominent family and make sure they send me a treasure, a Chinese treasure! Do you understand?” Yue Hengyi immediately became unhappy. Why would they only send one gift to apologize? How could he compare? He needed a treasure too.
“Uh… I’ll go contact them right away and make sure to fulfill your request!” Lan Zi quickly stood up and went to contact the head of the prominent family, asking them to immediately send over a precious Chinese cultural relic.
Shen Feng and Yue Hengyi both knew that a hundred years ago, a large number of Chinese cultural relics had been lost overseas, with a significant portion ending up in Japan. Now that Shen Feng had obtained the original copy of Journey to the West, a national treasure, he could bring back a lost national treasure. Yue Hengyi also wanted to be a hero. Since so many cultural relics had been looted back then, his actions now were merely saving lost artifacts.
Soon, a prominent family sent over a cultural relic. It was a long box, likely made of redwood. Upon opening it, they found it contained the authentic handwriting of Su Dongpo, featuring Su Dongpo’s poem "Jiang Cheng Zi." The latter half of the scroll was almost entirely covered with seals and annotations, with Emperor Qianlong’s seal appearing three times and his comments being the most numerous.
“Look, look, I have a treasure too! It’s from the Song Dynasty! It’s even several hundred years older than the Journey to the West you have!” Yue Hengyi said boastfully.
Shen Feng couldn’t understand Yue Hengyi’s inexplicable competitive spirit. He had to compare everything? Bringing national treasures back to the country was the same act, and there was no need to distinguish between winners and losers.
At this moment, the chef had finished preparing the meal and set it out in the mess hall, inviting the three of them to dine.
“Let’s go, let’s eat. We’ll visit Lan Zi’s family in the afternoon. Little Yue, you’re coming too!” Shen Feng said calmly.
After the assassination attempt the previous night, Shen Feng had decided that he must bring Yue Hengyi with him when he went out. Yue Hengyi’s special ability could be helpful in critical moments. If he were alone, he could easily be ambushed. However, with Yue Hengyi, the danger would not be as great.
Yue Hengyi did not object. He had obtained a good treasure, his mood was pleasant, and he had been hungry all morning. Now his appetite was greatly increased, and he ate more than ten bowls of delicious food. Then, he casually opened a bottle of orange juice, drank it, and let out a burp, “So comfortable. If this continues, I’ll recover soon!”
In the afternoon, the dark clouds in the sky gradually dispersed, and sunlight shone on the ground. Shen Feng and Yue Hengyi set out at this time. Lan Zi, familiar with the way, led the two to an ordinary apartment. After going upstairs, Lan Zi took out her key, opened the door, and eagerly called out, “Sister, I’m back!”
Soon, a delicate woman with a bulging belly walked out into the living room. A faint smile graced her face. Upon seeing Lan Zi, she softly said, “Welcome back!”
When Shen Feng saw the woman’s appearance, his first reaction was that she seemed lifeless, truly lifeless. Although her face held a smile, her eyes were dead. This smile was merely a perfunctory one, not from the heart.
“Lord Shen Fuyao, this is my sister, my only relative. Her name is Kasahara Shinoe. Sister, this is the person I admire the most, and my current boyfriend! Shen Fuyao! And beside him is Lord Yi Hengyue.” Lan Zi quickly introduced them.
“Welcome. My sister has taken good care of you during this time. Please come in!” Shinoe offered a professional smile, inviting them into her home.
Shen Feng walked in expressionlessly, beginning to observe the home for any traces of Lan Zi’s life. First, he looked at the bathroom, where there were two sets of toiletries. Then, he went to the bedroom. In one of the bedrooms, Lan Zi’s photo was placed on the bedside table, and the room was decorated with a girlish touch. It seemed this was Lan Zi’s bedroom.
“Lord Shen Fuyao, what are you looking at?” Lan Zi asked curiously.
“Nothing, I’m just seeing how you’re living,” Shen Feng replied casually. Of course, he couldn’t say he was doubting her identity. Seeing the furnishings of this ordinary home, he felt he had been overthinking.
“Miss Shinoe, where is your husband? Isn’t he here?” Yue Hengyi couldn’t help but ask.
When Shinoe heard the question, she replied faintly, “He died. He died last night.”
“Uh…” Yue Hengyi immediately felt awkward upon hearing this. From her answer, he had already imagined something unpleasant. Could it be that he had killed Shinoe’s husband last night?
Shen Feng also quickly asked, “Is your husband a soldier?”
Shen Feng wanted to know if her husband was someone he had killed, so he began to inquire. Last night, he had killed five hundred soldiers, and perhaps Shinoe’s husband was among them. If that were the case, he could only apologize. Battlefield matters were always so unpredictable.
Shinoe nodded, tears welling up in her eyes, and then she began to cry.
Lan Zi stepped forward to support her sister, saying, “Sister, you’ve already avenged yourself, you don’t need to cry anymore, right?”
Then, Lan Zi began to explain, “Actually, the head of the Matsushita family that Lord Shen Fuyao killed last night was the father of this unborn child. However, we sisters are very grateful to both of you, because my sister has finally escaped from suffering!”
“What’s going on?” Shen Feng asked, confused.
Lan Zi pointed to the bass hanging on the wall and explained, “Actually, my sister was a singer, but she was never popular. One day, someone from her agency found her and said they could make her famous and help her hold concerts, so my sister signed with them. But this was an agency of the Matsushita Group, and the contracted artists could only be manipulated. My sister became a sacrifice.”
Then, Lan Zi explained the matter in detail, also explaining why Shinoe was crying.
It turned out that being an idol in Japan was a difficult thing. Although the idol industry had been standardized for many years, there were many unwritten rules, and a single mistake could lead to ruin. Among them, few idols could debut successfully, and becoming famous was even more difficult. Thus, the agency played a very important role.
Idol singers usually performed in streets and bars, but this was not considered debuting; it was just a hobby. To debut, one needed to sign with an agency. Once signed, idols could even lose their freedom. Agencies would ruthlessly exploit them, and if they didn’t achieve results, they would be discarded or forced into escort services!
The term "escort service" did not just mean accompanying someone for drinks; what happened after drinking was also at their disposal. Their freedom was even less than that of women in entertainment establishments. Idols who were destined not to become famous might even be arranged to entertain people of high status and power in rotation, sometimes serving more than ten people in one night, and they could not resist because they had already signed a contract.
“Unfortunately, my sister was an idol who couldn’t become famous. She was targeted by the head of the Matsushita family. He would call her every day when he had time and ask her to go drinking with him. During this time, she became pregnant and was then discarded. The agency said that everything would continue after she gave birth.” Lan Zi said in a low voice.
At this point, Shinoe cried even more sadly. Although she covered her face, tears still flowed through her fingers.
Yue Hengyi shook his head helplessly and said in a low voice, “I didn’t expect it to be like this. People at the bottom have no power to resist and can only be at the mercy of others. Brother Feng, it’s fortunate you killed that scumbag.”
Shen Feng also sighed with emotion and shook his head, saying, “I didn’t expect such a thing to happen. It seems that unwritten rules are everywhere.”
Shen Feng did not delve deeply into the idol industry. After all, in China, he only saw individual trainees who had practiced for two and a half years. Shen Feng had no interest in watching these subpar idols and only felt it was a form of pedophilic culture, not worth paying attention to.
And yet, Japan’s cultural industry was so developed, but the bottom-tier idols were worse off than even women in entertainment establishments. At least women in entertainment establishments could decide whether to accept a client, but bottom-tier idols couldn’t even do that. They had to do as their agents arranged, and sometimes, agents would also exploit their artists, otherwise, they wouldn’t be allowed to perform normally.
For a moment, the atmosphere became heavy. Shen Feng felt it was inappropriate to disturb them further, so he quickly took his leave. “We won’t disturb you any longer. Please take care of yourself!”
Shinoe wiped away her tears and watched the group leave. A professional smile reappeared on her face, but this smile, combined with her hollow eyes, looked so terrifying.
“Please take care!” Shinoe said with a smile. After training at the agency, she had become accustomed to maintaining a smile in front of others, even if she was deeply saddened, she had to continue smiling.
Back in the car, the driver drove them back. Yue Hengyi said in a deep voice, “Let’s help her.”
Shen Feng nodded and said to Lan Zi, “Go contact the people at the Matsushita Group and tell them to tear up Shinoe’s contract and send her some compensation.”
Lan Zi’s eyes were filled with tears, and she said sincerely, “Thank you so much. You are a great hero to us sisters!”