It’s the second update, and since it’s double monthly ticket time, please support with any tickets you have. Thank you. Wang Guan and the others were perhaps too cautious. In reality, Da Ge and his group were so engrossed in their verbal sparring with Mr. Tan that they had no attention to spare for anything else, let alone noticing their presence.

But one wanted to buy and the other was willing to sell. After a round of probing, a tentative agreement was slowly reached. We won't dwell on the heated arguments and flushed faces during the process; suffice it to say, after several minutes of back and forth, the matter was settled: the transaction concluded at a price of 1.3 million.

Speaking of which, some might find it strange: only a little over a million? While this sum might be substantial for an ordinary person, Mr. Tan should certainly have the funds available. Why then would he part with several of his treasured collectibles?

Just as Wang Guan and the others were puzzling over this, Mr. Tan smiled and asked, "Shall we settle the payment first, or finalize everything together?"

"This..."

Da Ge looked slightly embarrassed. "One matter at a time. We need to conclude this transaction before we can proceed to the next."

"Fine, hand it over!" Mr. Tan nodded, holding out his hand. Simultaneously, Da Ge quickly gestured for one of his subordinates to produce a portable card swiping device used in department stores.

Mr. Tan took out his gold bank card, performed a few operations, and the 1.3 million was instantly transferred to Da Ge's account. In no time, Da Ge and his men received the notification from the bank, their faces beaming with unrestrained delight.

"Mr. Tan is truly straightforward."

Da Ge offered praise, then waved his hand, signaling for a subordinate to open another case.

It was only at this moment that Wang Guan and the others noticed there were other items inside the cases. They had been so focused on the Ming Guang Armor that they had completely overlooked this fact.

"No wonder..."

A realization dawned on everyone as they turned their attention to the other boxes. Da Ge's subordinate carefully retrieved an object from the case and placed it delicately on the table. It was a horse—a horse adorned with color.

"Sancai Pottery of the Tang Dynasty!"

At first glance, Wang Guan felt a mix of surprise and delight. He wasn't the only one; the others were also visibly excited, clustering around to admire the piece, their eyes showing open wonder.

Some might argue that this reaction seems exaggerated. After all, Sancai pottery, whether an authentic piece, a replica, or a modern high-quality reproduction, is hardly rare on the market. In fact, after decades of development and promotion, Tang Sancai craftsmanship has seen a full revival, becoming highly popular and a standard gift when hosting foreign guests.

People see such items frequently. Even if the Sancai horse Da Ge’s subordinate presented was genuine, it shouldn't warrant such excitement. However, one cannot generalize. Within the world of Sancai, there exist truly exceptional pieces—treasures valued beyond measure.

What constitutes a masterpiece among Tang Sancai? That might be a matter of subjective opinion. Yet, a saying circulates within the trade: Sancai with blue glaze, value abounds. Currently, collectors widely agree that the most precious Tang Sancai are those featuring blue glaze. Any Sancai piece exhibiting blue is considered top-tier, commanding an extremely high value.

Undoubtedly, the object resting on the table was a blue-glazed Tang Sancai. It depicted a white-spotted blue horse, its neck stretched high, ears erect, and eyes gazing slightly askance. Complementing this was a saddle rendered in a pale yellow hue. The entire piece vibrated with vitality. In short, the horse boasted exquisite color coordination, dazzling vibrancy, masterful modeling, and critically, the rare blue glaze, making it exceedingly precious.

The onlookers naturally broke into rounds of applause and admiration.

"A fine piece, another genuine treasure."

This wasn't unwarranted flattery, but merely stating a fact.

Although Sancai firing techniques originated in the Northern and Southern Dynasties, they reached their zenith during the Tang Dynasty, enjoying immense popularity. Later generations often unearthed such artifacts from Tang tombs, hence the name Tang Sancai. It is also well-known that despite the name "Three Colors," the palette contained more than three hues; the pieces were broadly grouped as Tang Sancai because yellow, brown, and green typically formed the base glazes.

Regardless of era, the principle of scarcity driving value remains a universal truth. Unlike the common yellow, brown, and green pieces, blue-glazed Tang Sancai artifacts are exceptionally rare and have always been highly sought after.

The primary reason for this scarcity lies in the cobalt blue pigment required for the blue glaze—an imported material, generally sourced from the Middle East or Central Asia. As everyone understands, imported goods today carry a connotation of high expense; one can only imagine the cost of such a material during the Tang Dynasty. With raw materials hard to obtain, the resulting artifacts were naturally scarce, and those that survived intact to the modern day are even fewer.

Given this context, everyone could easily surmise the potential price tag of this blue Tang Sancai horse.

Seeing the crowd’s captivated expressions, Da Ge felt a surge of smug satisfaction and quickly reminded them, "Mr. Tan, please verify the authenticity of the piece quickly, then we can discuss the price."

"What's the rush?"

Yu Feibai casually remarked, "An item like this requires repeated and careful examination to confirm its authenticity. Haste invites error. If you press us, we might begin to suspect you are hiding something."

"Exactly,"

Mr. Tan agreed with a nod, then smiled. "No matter how eager you are, a few more moments won't hurt. Why don't you have some tea first? We should be done examining in about twenty minutes."

"Twenty minutes?" Da Ge frowned. "Can you speed it up? After all, there are other items."

"Oh? There are more?"

Hearing this, Yu Feibai immediately grew intrigued. "If that’s the case, why not bring everything out at once? We can examine them simultaneously and cross-reference our findings, saving considerable time."

"Indeed. If you're in a hurry, lay out all the pieces so we can inspect them thoroughly," Wang Guan concurred, his eyes burning with shared anticipation alongside the others. If they didn't see them now, they wouldn't get a chance once the police arrived.

Da Ge was unaware of Wang Guan’s true motives, but he was swayed by their suggestion. After a moment's consideration—likely reassured by the confirmed deposit of 1.3 million—he exchanged glances with his subordinates and immediately nodded in agreement.

Instantly, the group rushed to remove everything else from the cases, arranging the items on the table, thereby capturing everyone’s complete attention. Each piece, viewed individually, could be considered a treasure. Displayed together in an artful arrangement, they seemed to enhance one another, flooding the onlookers with even greater surprise.

Relative to the Ming Guang Armor and the Tang Sancai horse, the remaining items were visually more appealing—mostly gold, silver, and jade artifacts that caught the light, emitting sparkling glints that were almost dazzling.

Exquisite, beautiful, attractive, and most importantly, valuable.

Wang Guan estimated that if Mr. Tan genuinely intended to purchase all these items, the total would reach at least six or seven million. Even with bargaining and discounts, the final price likely wouldn't dip below four or five million.

A deal worth several million—it was no wonder Mr. Tan needed to liquidate his collection. But this was a common practice in the collecting circles; aside from exceptionally wealthy magnates like Fang Mingsheng, most collectors operated under the principle of 'cultivating the collection through collecting' (yi cang yang cang). Very few hoard items without ever selling; even Wang Guan couldn't claim that purity, as he ran an antique shop, which was a prime example of this principle in action.

"Hey, what is this thing?"

At the same time, Yu Feibai expressed a touch of surprise. He had been admiring an unusually shaped jade ornament, but after a moment, he found it rather ordinary. As he set it down, he immediately noticed a peculiar object. He picked it up, turning it over in his hand, and laughed. "I can't believe they had toys like this back in the Tang Dynasty."

Wang Guan looked over curiously. Yu Feibai held an object about three inches long, which looked sword-shaped; its outline closely resembled a sword, albeit magnified dozens of times smaller.

From a modern perspective, the object truly looked like a child’s toy. Nor should one be surprised; toys specifically designed for children existed in ancient times.

It’s hard to say about Tang Dynasty children’s toys, but during the Song Dynasty, the markets were filled with diverse, novel, and intricate toys, much like a modern shopping mall. Therefore, the existence of a miniature model sword from the Tang period was not an outlandish claim.

"Let me see,"

Driven by curiosity, Wang Guan took the three-inch miniature sword from Yu Feibai and examined it. It was sheathed, perfectly straight. Of course, the scabbard was likely ornamental, or perhaps the piece was built with a sheath but no actual blade. After all, being a child's toy, having the sword shape was sufficient; forging a sharp edge would have been unnecessary trouble.

"It might not be a toy," Yu Feibai speculated. "It could just be a pure decorative item, or perhaps something used for the zhuazhou ritual for a one-year-old."

"That's also plausible..."

Wang Guan smiled, weighing the object in his hand, conceding that Yu Feibai had a point.

The item was quite refined; its surface was dusted with gold powder, intricately engraved with fine patterns, and even the hilt was set with two small turquoise stones the size of mung beans. Such an opulent item, even if a toy, was likely quite valuable—which explained why these tomb robbers had managed to acquire it.

Yes, tomb robbers.

If Wang Guan and his group had been only 80 or 90 percent certain before, the moment they saw the Tang Sancai horse and these gold, silver, and jade artifacts, they became one hundred percent sure: Da Ge’s crew were unequivocally grave robbers.

These items were clearly burial goods. Selling them piecemeal might not attract attention, but seeing them all gathered together immediately signaled questionable origins, even to an amateur, let alone to the experts present.

In retrospect, Da Ge had allowed greed to cloud his judgment. It wasn't that he didn't understand the risk, but Mr. Tan’s decisiveness had lowered his guard. In Da Ge’s mind, once Mr. Tan agreed to buy one piece of stolen property, he was implicated, unable to escape entanglement; buying more items became inconsequential.

Of course, given the heightened scrutiny lately, selling the pieces separately was riskier. Da Ge’s desire to conclude the deal quickly made selling everything as a bulk lot to Mr. Tan the best option. Even if the price was slightly lower, it was acceptable, provided he could secure the payment and immediately leave this perilous location...

(To be continued.)