Tomb Raider: I Am Hu Bayi's Cousin

Chapter 96 Goodbye to Big Gold Tooth

It didn't take long for everyone to return to the original town. With so many people dead this time, there must be an explanation. Fortunately, although Xiao Ye was not fully recovered, she was much more lucid. Her explanation saved a lot of trouble.

Inside the town's Chinese restaurant...

Hu Bayi, Fatty, Hu Ming, and Yang Xueli were eating.

“Speaking of which, Mingzi, we really have to thank you this time. If it weren’t for you, we wouldn’t have been able to escape Jingjue Ancient City. But you were too reckless, throwing the Prophet’s Book of Heaven directly on the ground. Aren’t you afraid that we really won’t have a chance to get out?” Fatty Wang said, still somewhat doubtful.

After all, Hu Ming's actions at that time were far too hasty.

If it really is as prophesied in the celestial book, then aren't they doomed?
"You wouldn't understand. I threw the Heavenly Book away just to test whether what the prophet recorded was true or false," Hu Ming said calmly.

"What do you mean? I don't understand."

"That's right, the book left behind by the prophet does indeed record the way out, but how do we know if it's true or not? If he doesn't intend to let us leave, then following the book might just lead us down a dead end."

In contrast, if that prophet is truly kind and wants to let us leave after I discard the Heavenly Book, he naturally won't hold it against us! Do you understand?" Hu Ming said with a smile.

"Got it, you're the best, brother," the fat man said, still combing his thumb.

Indeed, as Hu Ming said, if the prophet truly wanted to let them leave, then they could escape no matter what. But if the prophet refused to let them go, what good would it do even if they obtained the Heavenly Book?
Therefore, Hu Ming's actions were not wrong.

While the two were chatting, Yang Xueli, who was serving food to Hu Bayi, casually remarked, "The records in that parchment scroll are indeed correct. Cishan, Jingjue, and Guidong will all be buried under the yellow sand. It seems that it will be impossible to find those places again in the future."

"Forget it, I don't want to stay in this godforsaken place for even a day longer. Come back? Dream on. And there's that Jingjue Queen monster..." Fatty Wang said directly.

This desert has now become his number one enemy, so no matter what, he will never come back. After all, this place is simply hellish torture. Not only do he have to be wary of attacks from wild beasts and poisonous insects, but most importantly, he has to guard against the occasional sandstorms, which are indeed quite terrifying.

Hu Bayi chimed in, "Alright, let's talk about the future later! Let's rest here for a few more days, and then we'll head back to the capital!"

Everyone nodded after hearing this.

Three days later...

After several twists and turns, the group finally returned to the capital. As soon as they arrived, Yang Xueli took Ye Yixin and Professor Chen to the hospital, while Hu Ming and the other two went to find Da Jinya first.

About fifteen minutes later.

They had arrived at Panjiayuan and went straight into Big Gold Tooth's shop.

The man with the big gold tooth, who had been sitting on the sofa, stood up excitedly as he walked in, saying, "Master Ming, Master Hu, Master Fatty, you're finally back! I've been waiting for you here for so long. Ever since you went to the desert, I've been burning incense and praying for you every day, afraid that something might happen to you!"

Upon hearing this, Hu Bayi sighed and said, "This was indeed dangerous, and the archaeological team suffered heavy casualties..."

Hu Bayi gave a brief account of their experience, and Da Jinya couldn't help but marvel at how lucky the three Hu brothers were.

"Alright, Lao Hu, let Fatty take a look at what we brought back this time," Hu Ming said helplessly, watching the two who kept talking.

As soon as he finished speaking, the fat man became excited and quickly pulled out several items from his pocket, saying, "Big Gold Tooth, can you take a good look at these things for me? Are they valuable? I, Fatty, worked hard to get these from the Nine-Story Demon Tower and the Jingjue Ancient City. I almost died in there trying to get them." "Alright, gentlemen, please sit down and rest for a while. I'll take a look," Big Gold Tooth said, picking up the antiques to examine them.

A look of joy appeared on his face. It must be said that this time he had indeed made a considerable haul. A full half hour later, Big Gold Tooth finished looking at Fatty's antiques and then said, "These antiques all look quite old."

"It's at least a thousand years old. If you sell it, you'll definitely make a fortune. Gentlemen, you've really struck it rich this time."

"Hahaha, I knew it! This trip wasn't a waste of time. Oh, right, here are a few gold coins. Can you take a look?" The fat man said, as if he remembered something. Hu Ming had given him several gold coins earlier.

Now, naturally, we should take it out and show it to this person.

"Gold coins? Let me see," Big Gold Tooth said with interest.

However, when the fat man took out the gold coins, Big Gold Tooth immediately lost interest. After all, although these gold coins had some weight, they were not valuable, and the minting process was quite poor. At most, they could be sold for the price of gold.

"How about it? Is it worth anything, bro?" the fat man urged.

“Well… Fatty, these gold coins really aren’t worth much. The minting process is really poor. And the refining isn’t pure either. This kind of thing is only worth selling as gold at best; it has absolutely no collectible value,” Big Gold Tooth said sincerely.

"No way? So much gold, and it's worthless?" Fatty Wang began to doubt his life. In his opinion, these coins should be the most valuable thing.

Who would have thought that these things were worthless?

"If you don't believe me, you can ask Master Ming. He should be able to tell that these coins are indeed useless. They have no collectible value whatsoever." Seeing that the fat man was unwilling to believe him, Big Gold Tooth immediately gestured for him to ask Hu Ming.

"Akiko, is what he said true?"

“Theoretically speaking, it should be true. This kind of coin is indeed simple to manufacture and the refining technique is not mature, so it has little collectible value. However… it would be wrong to say that this kind of coin is worthless,” Hu Ming said, changing the subject.

"Mingzi, you mean it's still valuable?" Fatty Wang asked with some surprise.

"It's not just valuable, it's priceless," Hu Ming said calmly.

"Mr. Ming, you're not kidding, are you? This kind of thing clearly has no collectible value. Who would buy it? Besides, both the carving and refining techniques are immature. Under these circumstances, how could anyone be willing to pay a high price to collect something like this?" Big Gold Tooth asked incredulously.

Although he really admired Hu Ming, over the years, when it came to antique appreciation...

Big Gold Tooth was quite knowledgeable; with his discerning eye, he genuinely couldn't see what was valuable about the money. After all, with such poor craftsmanship, why would a wealthy person collect it?
"Old Jin, you've overlooked one crucial point: the year! Yes, the engraving on this gold coin is extremely poor, but it was currency circulated in the ancient Jingjue Kingdom. I'm sure you don't need me to explain the history of the Jingjue Kingdom to you, do you?"
This country has existed for thousands of years since its demise. So, do you think such a coin is valuable? Moreover, most importantly, over the years, items from various dynasties have appeared on the market, but items from this ancient Jingjue Kingdom are extremely rare.

Now that these exquisite ancient city coins have surfaced, do you think they have any collectible value?
"After all, very few people have been able to produce anything from this ancient city of Jingjue over the past few centuries," Hu Ming said with a hint of pride and a smile.

Big Gold Tooth, who was initially somewhat dismissive, instantly realized the value of the item after hearing Hu Ming's explanation. He was genuinely surprised that it was so valuable, considering its two-thousand-year history.

Items like these, which are quite old, are very valuable!
It's probably even more valuable than the gemstone necklace and gold plate that the fat man just took out.

(End of this chapter)