Of course, even if it was a shakedown, Wang Guan could see the immense popularity of the Chi Xiao Sword and the Gong Bu Sword; even the props for the extortion were related to them.

Wang Guan frowned, but he wasn't in a hurry. He trusted that Cao Xiang could resolve the matter properly.

"Brother, stop joking."

Just then, Cao Xiang offered a genial, money-making smile: "Look at the items in our shop; most are porcelain or calligraphy and painting. You can tell we don't deal in ancient weaponry. However, if you turn the corner just three hundred meters ahead, there's a place that might be interested in your items. You might as well take them over to have a look..."

"Three hundred meters around the corner?" Wang Guan thought for a moment, a strange smile touching his face.

"...That's the police station."

Clearly, the man knew the local layout well. Hearing Cao Xiang's direction, his face immediately fell: "What do you mean by that?"

"It means nothing," Cao Xiang said calmly. "I just want to tell you, brother, that the state's control over restricted blades is extremely strict. It’s best not to wander the streets carrying things like that."

"Shopkeeper Cao."

As they spoke, quite coincidentally, a police officer in uniform walked by on the street. He called out a greeting from a distance—it was just a polite acknowledgment, not an intention to approach—but the man holding the broken sword in the shop immediately changed his expression. He hastily lowered his hand, a flattering smile appearing on his face.

"Big Brother, Big Brother, I was just joking, please don't take offense..."

Some people are like this: soft when you are hard, and hard when you are soft. This man was much the same. Realizing his bluff wasn't working, he immediately became meek, with a hint of pleading in his voice: "I'm just trying to make a living. If you think the items aren't good, then forget it. I'll leave right away, immediately."

Sensing the tide had turned, the man was quite decisive. He tossed the broken sword back into the case and started dragging the leather suitcase away. Unexpectedly, the suitcase was too worn out. As he dragged it, the zipper snapped, and a large pile of items scattered out with a clatter.

The onlookers naturally looked over and saw that the contents were indeed very messy, though blades and swords predominated. No one knew where this man had sourced so many ancient blades and swords—long ones, short ones, thick ones, thin ones, all sorts of shapes, none repeated.

Of course, these swords and blades shared one common trait: they were wrecked. They weren't just haphazardly broken, but their condition was truly poor. Not to mention anything else, the severe rust spots on the blades alone were enough to make anyone shake their head. Furthermore, as these swords and blades fell onto the floor, a large area of rust flakes and debris appeared.

Seeing this scene, the shop assistant's mouth twitched. He barely managed to suppress the urge to reprimand him over the disruption. However, his displeasure was clearly visible. He couldn't help it; as the errand boy, he was responsible for cleaning the shop. Since he had just cleaned it, this unforeseen situation would definitely increase his working time, making it impossible for him to be happy.

Despite his internal dissatisfaction, at Cao Xiang’s signal, the assistant reluctantly went to help clean up. After all, compared to hygiene, getting rid of this man quickly was more important.

"Third Brother."

Meanwhile, Wang Guan secretly nodded upon seeing this development. He had intended to return upstairs, but as his gaze swept over the floor, he suddenly spotted an item. His heart stirred, and he immediately changed his mind, calmly walking back down.

"Proprietor."

Cao Xiang quickly greeted him and took the opportunity to explain: "Someone brought items over to sell, but they seem a bit outside our usual scope of business, so we regretfully had to turn him away."

This explanation was tactful enough; even the man, hearing it, understood the situation without feeling offended. However, upon hearing the title "Proprietor," he couldn't help but look up at Wang Guan. While startled by the youth of the antique shop owner, he quickly lowered his head to gather his things.

"I see!"

At this moment, Wang Guan smiled and said casually, "It's not easy for anyone to make a living these days. As long as the items aren't too bad, it's fine to take one or two as a gesture. A small cooperation like this can even be considered expanding our channels..."

As he spoke, Wang Guan vaguely pointed to an item on the floor, then waved his sleeve and turned to go back upstairs. But at the turning point of the stairs, he shot Cao Xiang a deep glance.

"En!"

Cao Xiang's eyes flashed, and he gave a nearly imperceptible nod. As the main manager, constantly dealing with different customers, reading faces was instinctual; how could he miss Wang Guan's subtle hint?

Immediately, a smile spread across Cao Xiang's face, and he offered a congratulatory expression: "Brother, you have good luck. Our Proprietor has a kind heart, and he finds you... quite agreeable..."

The man actually knew Cao Xiang meant to say he looked pitiful, but he didn't mind. In fact, he hoped others would treat him like a beggar, so that out of sympathy, they might toss him a few hundred thousand.

Of course, that was wishful thinking. Cao Xiang wasn't that benevolent. He simply picked out three or four items from the pile and named a price: "I'll give you two hundred. Is that enough?"

"Two hundred?" The man bristled. "Are you trying to pay off a beggar? ...At least five hundred!"

"Paying off a beggar doesn't require five hundred; fifty dollars would be more than enough," the shop assistant muttered beside him. The man pretended not to hear.

"I'll give you three hundred. If you agree, fine; if not, forget it." Cao Xiang raised an eyebrow, showing a hint of impatience, clearly dissatisfied with the man's nerve in pushing his luck.

"Fine, whatever the manager says goes," the man immediately softened and happily agreed.

Cao Xiang nodded in satisfaction, took money from the counter, and handed it over. Then he said, "In the future, if you have any good items... note, truly good items, you can bring them back here for me to see. If they are genuinely good, we will give you a satisfactory price..."

With that, Cao Xiang ignored the man's fawning smile and took the items upstairs himself. After rounding the corner, he couldn't help but examine the items in his hands. The other two or three pieces were just filler; he had picked them randomly, and they were certainly worthless. The main interest lay in the item Wang Guan had indicated, which piqued his curiosity.

After examining them briefly, Cao Xiang became thoughtful and couldn't help but sigh. No wonder this young man already possessed such an establishment and was constantly finding treasures. This wasn't just luck; it was primarily due to extraordinary eyesight.

Shaking his head with wonder, Cao Xiang entered the office and began with flattery: "Proprietor’s vision is like a torch; it is truly admirable."

"So, you're saying I wasn't mistaken?" Wang Guan chuckled. "Is that piece of iron truly something good?"

"Proprietor, please don't be so modest." Cao Xiang quickly handed the item over. "How can this be just a piece of iron? It is clearly a fragment of some antique. Unfortunately, my eyesight isn't good enough for me to tell what the complete object was."

During his initial inspection, Cao Xiang had noticed signs of cutting on the iron piece. Analyzing its quality further confirmed that the item was not as simple as it appeared on the surface.

"I think so too..." Wang Guan agreed and then offered his own view: "The first time I saw this object, I felt something was special because it was so regular."

"It's not that regularity is bad, but being too regular doesn't look like an ordinary piece of iron. Especially this shape—it somewhat resembles a split bamboo tube, so I initially thought it might be an arm guard, but now it doesn't seem like it..."

Wang Guan studied it for a moment, then shook his head: "I must have misjudged it."

"Proprietor, it's too early to say you misjudged it," Cao Xiang disagreed. "The rust layer is quite thick. Once we clean it off, we'll know what the item might be."

"That works."

Wang Guan nodded. In fact, from the moment he held the item, he knew that despite the many rust marks on the surface, the material felt quite hard, indicating it hadn't fully decayed. This suggested the quality was likely decent and worth further investigation.

Since he had time, Wang Guan casually picked up a rag, dipped it slightly in linseed oil, and began wiping it slowly. After a while, the rust marks on the object's surface gradually faded.

"Eh."

Just then, Wang Guan noticed some faintly discernible, peculiar markings on the surface of the object. Looking closer, they resembled incomplete brushstrokes. It appeared that characters had once been engraved on the surface, but due to the passage of time, the strokes had partially flaked off, resulting in the current fractured state.

"Third Brother, come take a look."

Seeing this, Wang Guan grew more interested. "It looks like there's an inscription."

"Really?"

Cao Xiang's eyes lit up. As an expert, he certainly understood the difference between an item with text and one without. If there were no characters, no matter how ancient the object, its value wouldn't be high. But having text was different; it could increase the item's value several times over.

For example, ancient bamboo slips, if they survived to modern times, would be nearly worthless, but if those slips bore writing, they would be extremely valuable relics. Thus, in a sense, judging an object's value largely depended on its added value.

Now, Cao Xiang scrutinized it closely and immediately frowned: "It's so vague..."

"Not only is it vague, but it's missing limbs and legs, completely incomplete." Wang Guan studied it for a moment, then suddenly smiled. "But I think I know what this thing is."

"What is it?" Cao Xiang quickly inquired.

"A Dānshū Tiě Juǎn (Iron Scroll of Red Letters)," Wang Guan murmured. "I just don't know if this is the left scroll or the right scroll."

"Dānshū Tiě Juǎn?"

Cao Xiang was stunned. He quickly examined the object again: it resembled half of a bamboo tube, yet it was made of iron, and it had inscriptions on its surface. He immediately agreed with Wang Guan's assessment.

Speaking of the Dānshū Tiě Juǎn, these were commonly referred to by the populace as 'death exemption tablets.' During the Warring States period, similar bronze tally tokens existed, but the true Dānshū Tiě Juǎn generally began with Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang.

Historical records state that after Liu Bang seized power during the Western Han dynasty, to consolidate his rule and court the meritorious officials, he bestowed Dānshū Tiě Quàn upon them as rewards. This was known as the Dānshū Tiě Qì, or Dānshū Tiě Juǎn.

Note that the iron scrolls from this period did not carry promises of immunity from death or punishment; they only served as credentials for enfeoffment. This is why the folk tale about Han Xin gaining an assurance of immunity from the Dānshū Tiě Juǎn—that swords could not touch him—and Empress Lü having him surrounded by a fishing net and then stabbed to death with bamboo swords... is pure nonsense! RS

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