Just then, Boss Lü and Boss Tan also walked over, looking curious.

"What do you say to Cao Cao's Seven-Star Sword, are you interested?" Lei Yunzhang asked with a smile.

"What is that?" Boss Lü was very surprised. He walked over for a closer look, then burst out laughing, "Brother Lei, you dare call this piece of junk the Seven-Star Sword?"

"Just because it's junk now doesn't mean it was junk before."

Boss Tan retorted, quickly stepping closer. At Lei Yunzhang's signal, he saw the clerical script on the blade and couldn't stop grinning, "Well, I'll be. It really is Cao Cao's Seven-Star Sword, with Luo Guanzhong to vouch for it."

"It seems the ancient history groupies were no less enthusiastic than the modern ones," Boss Lü mused with a smile. "Legend says the Seven-Star Sword had seven gems embedded along its blade, arranged like the Big Dipper, hence its name."

"They aren't on the blade; they're usually inlaid on the scabbard..."

Boss Tan immediately thought of this, his gaze shifting toward Wang Guan. More precisely, toward the scabbard in his hand.

Wang Guan looked down and saw that one side of the scabbard indeed held seven small, fingertip-sized beads, arranged in the pattern of the Big Dipper. However, these beads were not the jade, amber, agate, fine jade, or pearls one might expect, but rather unremarkable iron beads.

Wang Guan touched them lightly and found they were severely corroded, covered in rust spots.

Boss Lü saw them too and immediately shook his head in disappointment. "Alas, I knew it. Anyone who used the Seven-Star Sword as a true fighting blade wouldn't be able to afford embedding pearls and gems."

"Well, the state of the blade shows its age," Boss Tan chuckled. "Even if there were pearls and gems on the scabbard, they were probably pried off long ago. It wouldn't be left for us."

"True enough..."

Boss Lü readily agreed, wasting no more time, and continued searching the storeroom. Seeing this, Boss Tan, afraid of falling behind, quickly moved to other counters to rummage and examine.

At this moment, Lei Yunzhang returned the long saber to Wang Guan and then smiled, "Wang Guan, you should keep looking too. Don't waste time on these weapons."

"Right."

Wang Guan nodded, returning the saber to its sheath in one motion. After placing the sword back in its original spot, he glanced around and noticed a small writing desk by the window.

This desk was an integrated unit combining a desk and shelves, with two or three layers stacked high with books.

Wang Guan felt a surge of curiosity and walked over, discovering that the books were mostly novels by famous Chinese and foreign authors, and classic literary works. Naturally, there was also an entire row dedicated to books introducing antique appraisal knowledge.

Wang Guan figured this desk was where the old collector usually read. On the desk lay two thick books, their pages slightly yellowed, indicating frequent use.

It was a pity that the old collector's descendants had no interest in antique collecting. He had passed away not long ago, and the collection he likely spent a lifetime painstakingly assembling was now being sold off piece by piece.

Truly, things have changed.

With a touch of melancholy, Wang Guan casually picked up a thick book from the desk. His eyes moved, and the large characters The Biography of Li Zicheng immediately caught his attention.

"Uh..."

For a moment, Wang Guan felt something subtly strange, but he didn't dwell on it then and simply flipped it open. Unexpectedly, a deep yellow note card, about the size of his palm, fluttered out.

Seeing something drift down, Wang Guan reacted with lightning speed, instinctively reaching out to catch the thin slip of paper.

After a quick look, Wang Guan saw that the note card was crumpled, as if it had been squeezed, and had some roughly drawn lines sketched in ink—not forming any specific shape, looking a bit like a child's doodle.

Wang Guan casually observed it, paying it little mind, and tucked the note card in to place it back where he found it in the book.

However, while flipping through the pages, Wang Guan noticed that many pages within the book had been folded down, acting as rudimentary bookmarks. Wang Guan wasn't sure which bookmark the note card had fallen from.

Hesitating briefly, Wang Guan randomly opened the book to a page and slipped the note card inside.

"Luo Rucai, a major leader among the thirty-six battalions of the peasant army, one of the fifteen families of Chu. Cunning, resourceful, and capricious, his sobriquet was Cao Cao... Later, friction grew with Li Zicheng, and he was eventually attacked and killed by Zicheng."

Just as he was about to close the book, Wang Guan's eyes caught a line of text on the page that made him freeze, as if a jolt of lightning had shot through his mind.

"Seven-Star Sword, Cao Cao, Luo..."

At this point, Wang Guan couldn't help but turn back to look at the long saber on the rack moments before. An absurd thought suddenly sprouted in his mind. Could that Seven-Star Sword actually have been Luo Rucai's personal blade?

Or perhaps the character 'Luo' inscribed on the saber didn't refer to Luo Guanzhong, but to Luo Rucai.

"I must be overthinking things."

Wang Guan frowned and shook his head, deeming the notion a bit too fanciful.

Yet, once an idea takes root, it's hard to rein in. This was exactly Wang Guan's state now; despite verbally dismissing the possibility, his curiosity was intensely piqued, driving him to seek a thorough understanding.

As for how to investigate, Wang Guan naturally had his own methods.

Driven by a sense of discovery, Wang Guan walked back to the rack holding the swords and sabers, took down the Seven-Star Saber again, and focused his special ability to examine it closely.

In an instant, a surge of qi moved over the saber. Along with a flash of golden light, Wang Guan noticed that the sixth bead among the seven iron beads on the scabbard was actually hollow.

Discovering this anomaly, Wang Guan was momentarily stunned. Recovering his composure, he quickly reached out to press the bead on the scabbard. As he gently rubbed it, it indeed rotated, revealing a finger-sized opening.

This hole was now empty; he had no idea what might have once been concealed there.

Wang Guan pondered deeply, and somehow, his thoughts drifted suddenly to the note card sandwiched in The Biography of Li Zicheng.

"Could there be some connection between the two?" Wang Guan felt a sense of vague disorientation, as if he were grasping something intangible, yet a veil prevented him from understanding.

At this very moment, Wang Guan's curiosity had been fully ignited. He returned to the writing desk, retrieved the note card from the book, and focused his gaze upon it. He saw a floating, yellow luminescence around the paper.

Seeing this, Wang Guan was certain this note card was also an antique artifact. Whether the note card was the item that had been hidden in the hollow bead of the Seven-Star Saber's scabbard would require further research and investigation.

Simultaneously, Wang Guan examined the note card closely and noticed the ink lines outlined the form of mountains and rivers. The more he looked, the more it resembled a legendary treasure map.

........................... Thanks to book friends "koufuye008, Grass Mat, Book Friend 121222185910439, Book Friend 120703153132306" for the tips. Still asking for collections and recommendations, please give more support everyone. C

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