141: Brass as bait, those who are willing will take the bait.

Western Xia script.

Lin Feng's fingertips lingered on the tiny engraving for a moment, the touch cold and hard. In his mind, countless broken fragments of history began to reassemble rapidly.

Genghis Khan died on the way to besieging Xingqing Prefecture, the capital of Western Xia. The exclusive totem of the Golden Family and the Western Xia script—the simultaneous appearance of these two things on a single item was no coincidence. It pointed to the final moments of an emperor's death and a nation's downfall that occurred over seven hundred years ago.

His fingers gripping the copper fragment tightened instinctively for a moment.

But his face remained calm, even revealing a hint of perfectly timed regret.

"Boss, this thing looks quite nice, but it's a pity it's broken like this." Lin Feng placed the copper fragment back on the stall, his tone indifferent. "If it were complete, it would make a decent little pendant."

"Hah, there are no complete ones." The stall owner was finally fully awake. He sat up straight and glanced at the copper fragment with a look of indifference. "These were all poured out of a rotten chest; they're all broken like this. The piece in your hand is already the largest and most complete one."

Lin Feng felt a stir in his heart but didn't show it, simply following the man's lead. "There are more? Doesn't that mean they're even more fragmented?"

Wang Dalong was listening in a daze, but he knew Lin Feng never did anything in vain. Seeing that Lin Feng seemed interested in this pile of junk, he immediately caught on and started to chime in.

"Exactly, Uncle, what's the use of this stuff? It takes up space even if you sell it as scrap." As he spoke, he kicked another pile of dark iron lumps on the stall with his toe. "These are more practical; at least they can be melted down."

A glint of cunning flashed in the stall owner's half-asleep eyes. He slowly stood up, walked to a large burlap sack behind the stall, untied the rope, and poured out a pile of things with a clatter.

Sure enough, there were over a dozen more brass fragments of varying sizes.

These fragments were in much worse condition than the one in Lin Feng's hand. Almost every piece was covered in thick, dark green patina. Forget the patterns; even the original color was invisible. Piled together, they emitted a sour, decaying smell of metal mixed with earth.

"Here, they're all here." The stall owner pointed his chin at the pile of broken copper fragments. "They're even more broken than the one in your hand, covered in rust, you can't even tell what they are. If you want them, I'll give them to you for a lower price."

Lin Feng squatted down and feigned a search through the pile of copper fragments. His fingertips touched the cold, rough surfaces, and the cold prompt of the system sounded in his mind at the right time.

[Key Historical Beacon (Fragment) detected...]

[Collect all fragments to assemble the complete beacon and analyze historical information.]

It worked!

Lin Feng's heart gave a heavy thud, but he knew now was not the time to be excited. The more he wanted it, the more he had to appear indifferent.

"This... this is too broken." Lin Feng stood up and shook his head, looking disinterested. "It's all covered in green mold. I'd have to clean it myself if I took it back. Why bother?"

Wang Dalong also chimed in repeatedly, "Brother Feng is right. How is this any different from something dug out of the dirt? Uncle, this pile of stuff is only worth scrap value in my eyes."

Seeing the two were about to leave, the stall owner grew anxious. He had displayed this pile for several days without anyone asking. Having finally encountered two people who were interested, he couldn't let them get away.

"Hey, young man, don't be in such a hurry to leave." He stopped the two and rubbed his hands. "Although this stuff is broken, it's still an old item passed down from ancestors. Maybe it was used by some prince. Look at the patterns on it, how exquisite!"

He picked up the copper fragment Lin Feng had first looked at and began to boast with spittle flying everywhere.

Wang Dalong rolled his eyes as he listened, thinking the boss was really good at making things up.

Lin Feng waited until he was almost finished before speaking with feigned hesitation, "Fine, then give me a price for this whole pile."

The stall owner's eyes darted around, and he held up five fingers. "Fifty thousand! This is an antique. If you buy it and resell it, you might make a fortune!"

"Fifty thousand? Why don't you just rob us!" Wang Dalong exploded on the spot, his voice rising an octave. "Uncle, I wouldn't even take this pile of scrap metal if you sold it to me by the pound! Five hundred yuan, will you sell it or not?"

He slashed the price straight down to the ankles.

The stall owner's face turned red with anger, and he began to argue heatedly with Wang Dalong. One asked for an exorbitant price, while the other countered with a rock-bottom offer; the two bickered at the stall like they were at a vegetable market.

Lin Feng stepped aside, watching coldly. He knew that at a time like this, it was best to let Wang Dalong, the "professional," take over.

Finally, after a half-hour tug-of-war, Wang Dalong successfully slashed the price from fifty thousand down to twenty thousand.

"Twenty thousand! Not a cent less! Any less and I won't sell it, I'll keep it as a family heirloom!" The stall owner panted, making his final concession with a look of deep pain.

Wang Dalong looked at Lin Feng, questioning him with his eyes.

Only then did Lin Feng step forward and nod. "Fine, twenty thousand it is."

He paid promptly by scanning the code. Then, under the astonished gazes of the stall owner and Wang Dalong, he found a plastic bag and carefully packed the "scrap metal"—which seemed worthless to them—along with the best-looking piece.

Carrying the heavy bag of copper fragments, Lin Feng didn't want to stay a moment longer.

"Let's go." He called out to Wang Dalong and turned to leave.

Wang Dalong followed in a daze. "Brother Feng, did you really spend twenty thousand on this pile of trash? This money is enough for me to buy a top-of-the-line drone!"

Lin Feng didn't explain, just quickened his pace.

Just as they left the market and joined the flow of people returning to the city, the system prompt sounded in his mind again.

[Key Historical Beacon: "Sitian Copper Scroll (Fragmentary)" obtained.]

Lin Feng's hand holding the plastic bag tightened even more.