Chapter 9: Damaged Magic Artifact
After a week, Su Xiaofan finally could move around freely, but only within the same floor of the hospital.
His recovery speed also surprised the doctors. Several more tests were conducted, all of which showed that his bodily functions were normal. It’s understandable that a young person recovers quickly; the impact was limited to his hospital department, and no major incident occurred.
After more than a week of treatment, the burns on Su Xiaofan’s back were controlled and new flesh had grown. However, full recovery still required a long time.
Fortunately, the most dangerous period prone to inflammation had passed. From now on, as long as he kept his back clean and changed the dressings on time, recovery was just a matter of time.
Under Zheng Dagang’s supervision, Su Xiaofan and the relevant departments reached a settlement. Besides the medical expenses and the initial 300,000 yuan compensation, they paid an additional one-time compensation of 200,000 yuan, settling the matter. From then on, whether Su Xiaofan caused any further consequences from this electric shock or not, it had nothing to do with their department.
Su Xiaofan, who was somewhat guilty, naturally agreed without hesitation. However, Zheng Dagang was somewhat dissatisfied. In his opinion, if he had beaten the electric tiger for more than a million, that would have been impressive. But since Su Xiaofan, the sufferer, agreed, Zheng Dagang couldn’t say anything more. After both sides signed a compensation and liability waiver document, the matter was considered settled.
Since Su Xiaofan had used the repair points to restore his bodily functions after waking up, life in the hospital had become unbearably slow for him. Although his back injury had healed and his body was otherwise restored, he still had to pretend to be weak. And every day, the only food he ate was tasteless, with no trace of meat or anything flavorful. Su Xiaofan was almost sick of plain food.
This made him run out every mealtime to watch the chubby nurse gnawing on a chicken leg. It even made Su Xiaoxiao think her brother had a romantic interest, but her brother’s aesthetic was so unappealing that she looked down on him. She definitely didn’t want a sister-in-law who would impoverish her family with her eating habits.
There was good news too: On the tenth day after Su Xiaofan woke up, the doctor told him that after three more days of observation, he could be discharged. But he still couldn’t shower at home—he could only wipe himself with a towel, and he would need to go to the hospital every week for dressing changes.
When Su Xiaofan heard this, he was ecstatic. He decided that as soon as he left the hospital, he would immediately use his repair points to heal his back burns. He didn’t want to stay in the hospital any longer, especially because the look in that chubby nurse’s eyes had been strange—like a love-struck gaze, making Su Xiaofan feel like that chicken leg was actually her.
There was one more piece of good news—though it was a bit late for Su Xiaofan: on the day before his discharge, his mysteriously absent father unexpectedly returned.
...
The atmosphere in the ward was a bit awkward. Su Xiaoxiao occasionally looked up to glance at her father and brother. When she received the latest mobile phone her father gave her, she forgave him right away. But she still sided with her brother, having already scolded her father for irresponsibility earlier.
Su Weixuan was 45 years old, but he was slim and looked very scholarly. His skin was good, and he appeared to be only around 37 or 38. He didn’t look like a sea captain who had been sailing the oceans for years—at least, Su Xiaofan doubted whether his father’s appearance could handle the tough sailors.
"Ahem, Xiaofan, I didn’t expect you to have an accident again," Su Weixuan said with a bitter smile.
"I planned to come back half a month ago, just in time for Xiaoxiao’s college entrance exam. But we hit a storm in the Indian Ocean. The cruise ship broke down, and we drifted at sea for over ten days. You see, I really didn’t mean for this to happen."
"Dad, first, take that 'again' word back,"
Su Xiaofan said helplessly, looking at his father.
"I didn’t want accidents either, but trouble always comes looking for me. I can’t do anything about it. Dad, can you be more reliable next time and call home more often?"
Su Xiaofan wasn’t really angry at his father, but he was somewhat frustrated. He understood that everything had a cause and effect. If he hadn’t sold that old bronze artifact to pay for his sister’s tuition, he wouldn’t have gotten involved with Wu Chuanbao and others. If he hadn’t gotten involved with Wu Chuanbao, he wouldn’t have been targeted, and naturally, the incident with the electrical box wouldn’t have happened.
"Okay, okay, I’ll be more careful next time,"
his father quickly nodded in agreement after being criticized. He looked apologetic and said,
"Xiaofan, since your phone is broken, I brought you a new one. It’s the latest model, not even on sale in China yet. I asked if it could be connected to the network, and there’s no problem."
"Dad, just one phone to buy my forgiveness? Is my body and mind’s trauma worth just a phone?" Su Xiaofan shot back tiredly, glaring at his father.
Unlike his sister, Su Xiaofan had been more sensible when his father was away working as a sailor. He understood his father’s hardships, so their father-son relationship was quite good. It was his mother’s little sweetheart, Su Xiaoxiao, who seemed somewhat distant from Su Weixuan.
"That’s not how it is. Look, I know you’re into antique dealing. I also bought this for you," Su Weixuan said, pulling a box from his pocket. He opened it and said,
"This is an ancient jade I bought for you at the Antwerp port. I heard it was stolen from China during the Italian invasion back then. I spent twenty thousand dollars on it. You can wear it around your neck now, and someday it can be a family heirloom for our grandson."
"Twenty thousand dollars?" Su Xiaofan’s eyes widened in shock.
"I nearly violated the rules of the village trying to help Xiaoxiao with her tuition, and you spent twenty thousand dollars on this? Dad, do you even understand what ancient jade is? And a family heirloom? Don’t buy plastic imitation!"
Holding the exquisitely packaged box, Su Xiaofan felt helpless—he had been in the antique market for two years and had seen many so-called "ancient" items. But out of ten items, almost none were truly authentic. Especially with jade, porcelain, and bronze, real ancient artifacts were usually sold at auction houses. How often did they even appear on the market?
"You don’t need to worry about Xiaoxiao’s tuition. I’ll handle it,"
Su Weixuan took out a bank card and handed it to Su Xiaofan.
"I earn a lot annually. I was afraid you’d spend recklessly, so I didn’t leave you money before. This card has one million yuan. Keep it and use it."
"One million?" Su Xiaofan stared at his father in shock.
He remembered that last time, his father left him 50,000 yuan with a bitter face, almost acting like that was his inheritance.
"If you had given me money earlier, I wouldn’t have this unexpected disaster," Su Xiaofan muttered, but he quickly accepted the card. His father’s irresponsibility was evident, but he didn’t want to push him too far.
"Don’t dwell on that. Anyway, I believe you’ll have good days ahead. Open the box and see if you like the jade. I still have some good eyes for this,"
Su Weixuan casually glanced at his son’s neck.
"I think I also gave you a piece of jade before. Did you wear it?"
"You gave me jade?"
Su Xiaofan was momentarily stunned.
"Yes, after your accident. I told you to wear it as a talisman," Su Weixuan said.
"You mean that jade Buddha?"
Su Xiaofan thought for a moment, then pointed at Su Xiaoxiao and said,
"Dad, obviously you don’t know much about this. There’s a saying—men wear Guanyin, women wear Buddhas. If I really wore a jade Buddha pendant around my neck, I’d be laughed at by the antique market folks. I was wearing that meteorite you gave me, but I lost it after the electric shock. Don’t know where it went."
Before he started selling at the antique market, Su Xiaofan had worn that jade Buddha for two days. But after meeting Zheng Dagang at the market, he learned that men usually wear Guanyin, women wear Buddhas. So he gave that pendant to his sister, and now it still hangs around her neck.
"Where did this rule come from? That jade Buddha was hard enough for me to get,"
Su Weixuan’s mouth twitched a little when he heard his son. But looking at his daughter, he didn’t say much more.
"Dad, since you’re back, talk to the doctors later. Can we leave the hospital today?"
Su Xiaofan was opening the box as he spoke. He couldn’t stand staying at the hospital one more day. Especially when he saw the fat nurse every day, he felt like he wasn’t even wearing clothes—she kept looking at him as if everything was exposed.
"Yes, I’ll talk to them later. Staying here isn’t useful," Su Weixuan said after thinking.
"Our crew at sea often get sunburned, which is similar to burns. I have some ointments that work well—better than the hospital’s. Use them when you get home, and you’ll recover faster."
"Dad, are your ointments reliable?"
Su Xiaofan was skeptical. He casually opened the box and took out the jade pendant inside.
"Wow, Dad, your eye for this is pretty good. This looks like a good piece of jade from the carving and shape."
Su Xiaofan’s eyes lit up with surprise. Though he had only been in the antique market for two or three years, he learned quickly. Especially because he often worked with master craftsmen who had real insight, he had some basic knowledge of antique appraisal.
"This is a Sancai Dragon and Phoenix jade pendant from the Warring States period. Similar pieces from the Han Dynasty are quite common. Usually, they’re found as a pair—one dragon, one phoenix. But the one your dad bought has no color or dye, so it probably isn’t an antique."
He examined the jade pendant carefully, feeling uncertain. He had only said it was good jade, not ancient jade. Because, in his view, most ancient jade was probably stolen from tombs—no matter how well-preserved the so-called authentic ones were, they were essentially from tombs. Over generations of handling, they became “authentic,” but their true origin was from tomb excavations.
The old saying goes:
“Without dye, it’s not jade.”
The dye on ancient jade is formed from long-term burial in the earth, where trace elements interact with the soil, causing the color change.
Because different burial soils contain different substances and the burial time varies, the dye on jade also varies. But any genuine ancient jade usually has some dye on it. Many fake antiques are artificially stained with dye to pass as authentic.
But this piece of jade in Su Xiaofan’s hand was crystal clear, smooth, and delicate, like freshly cut mutton fat jade, with a glossy luster like refined oil—completely free of any discoloration or dye.
Material-wise, it was an excellent piece of mutton fat white jade. But calling it “ancient jade” was a bit of a stretch. To him, it was probably a modern carving from a top-quality piece of mutton fat jade.
However, in terms of value, such a top-quality piece of mutton fat jade would be extremely expensive. And that dragon-shaped pendant with its ancient style was also a replica. Even if it was a modern jade carving, the fact that his father spent $20,000 on it meant he got a great deal. If it were sold at auction, it could fetch 300,000 to 500,000 RMB.
*"Huh? What... what does this mean?"*
As Su Xiaofan admired the jade pendant, a few words suddenly appeared in his mind:
【Han Dynasty Dragon-Shaped Jade Pendant, Mid-level Damaged Magic Artifact, Repairable, Requires 50 Repair Points. Repair?】
(End of chapter)
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