"This deal was a loss." Upon hearing the expert's words, the bald shop manager regretfully patted his head.

It seemed that purchasing this bronze lamp did not make him any profit.

This is also why the prices of antiques in pawnshops are usually appraised very low, even at about thirty to forty percent of the market price.

Because with antiques, not only must authenticity be discerned, but one must also understand the price differences between antiques from various countries.

If this little bronze lamp really was from the Huaxia Shang or Zhou period,

its value would be at least upwards of ten thousand US Dollars, even without a change in shape.

This is because Huaxia civilization has continued to today, whereas Ancient Rome has long vanished into the river of history.

Civilizations with continuity, their ancient cultural products serve as testimony and continuation for later generations.

While those without continuity, the items they leave behind can only be collected by others out of curiosity.

The differences between these are significant and are clearly reflected in their specific prices.

Therefore, this palm-sized bronze lamp's value plummeted as soon as its nationality changed.

"I also have this." The pawnshop owner took out a short dagger.

"A Turkish man sold this to me, claiming he seized it from your country's soldiers during his time in Korea."

The short dagger the owner took out was precisely Chen Yiyang's target for this trip.

The one mentioned in the intelligence report about finding a bargain was this dagger sheath.

Curious, Chen Yiyang took it to have a look.

Just a glance told him that this dagger was definitely not domestically made; it looked more like something from Japan.

As for how Turkey managed to acquire a Japanese short dagger in Korea, Chen Yiyang couldn't fathom.

After all, some coincidences in history are simply impossible to deduce.

Chen Yiyang took a photo of the dagger and sent it to domestic experts for a look.

The expert immediately identified the short dagger as likely a personal short dagger forged by Japanese craftsmen a hundred or two hundred years ago, generally belonging to someone very high-ranking.

As Chen Yiyang listened to the expert's explanation, he also drew the short dagger from its sheath.

Despite being called a short dagger, the sword guard didn't contain an iron blade.

It was, in fact, a wooden one, appearing like a toy dagger.

"Why is it made of wood?" Chen Yiyang inquired out of curiosity.

"I did ask someone about this," the pawnshop owner explained with keen interest.

"Experts say this wooden blade was made to avoid scenarios where a warrior, having lost their dagger, couldn't forge one that would perfectly fit back into the sheath. So, during construction, a wooden blade like this was also made.

This way, if the short dagger in hand was lost due to a worn blade or other reasons, the wooden dummy blade could be used to recreate a dagger that would fit the sheath."

After hearing this explanation, Chen Yiyang acknowledged the pawnshop owner's words.

After all, a good scabbard can cost as much as, if not more than, the blade itself; being able to reuse it would naturally be best in ancient times.

So Chen Yiyang directly asked, "How much are you willing to sell this to me for?"

"Ten thousand US Dollars," the pawnshop owner stated.

"That's expensive," Chen Yiyang tersely replied, then used an old trick, having the pawnshop owner cut the price himself to find a suitable price.

In the end, the pawnshop owner offered eight thousand US Dollars.

Chen Yiyang haggled it down to five thousand US Dollars.

After some back and forth, they finally agreed on using this Japanese-made short dagger to offset part of the sale for the commemorative Panama Canal gold coins, at a price of six thousand five hundred US Dollars.

This price is about the standard market price for a Japanese short dagger.

Because in North America, where ninja culture is popular, Japanese blades have no trouble selling.

Thereafter, the owner brought out several more items from Huaxia or other parts of East Asia.

Chen Yiyang examined each, finding that among these antiques, many misidentifications and fake pieces were particularly rampant.

Indeed, without any added advantage, relying solely on the pawnshop owner makes it challenging to be omniscient and error-free.

As a regular human, it's impossible to both be familiar with antiques from various civilizations and have extensive knowledge of modern collections, cards, celebrity merchandise, and historical memorabilia prices.

So involving various experts for appraisals is the common practice among major pawnshops.

However, experts don't come to appraise for free.

It costs quite a bit to have them come by.

So if some items aren't very expensive, the owner might be willing to take the risk to buy them without authentication, hoping to find a bargain.

This explains why the pawnshop owner took out a bunch of relatively worthless antiques in front of Chen Yiyang.

Of course, such minor losses are within the reasonable range, so the owner wasn't anxious; perhaps a less discerning buyer might purchase them in the future.

In the end, Chen Yiyang only accepted the four-armed deity image and the Japanese short dagger to offset a portion of the price.

The rest he received entirely in cash.

Then he and the pawnshop owner settled up.

Back at the hotel, Chen Yiyang took out the Japanese short dagger to study.

The Japanese short dagger shown in the picture.

This kind of short dagger was typically known as a warrior's third blade in old Japan.

Such short daggers were mainly used indoors, where drawing a long sword was inconvenient, for close-quarters combat, or sometimes for committing seppuku.

Occasionally, when facing heavily armored enemies, the short dagger could be used to stab into the seams of their armor.

Chen Yiyang examined the sheath of the short dagger, finding it quite thick.

He tapped the sheath with force and indeed found that part of it wobbled.

With a tug, a hidden compartment appeared.

As shown in the picture.

Chen Yiyang slowly pulled out the hidden compartment, finding its groove lined with a gray substance, emitting a fragrant scent.

This should be the famous Dragon's Saliva Fragrance.

Of course, it doesn't come from mythical dragons but is the secretion of sperm whales.

With increasingly strict global protection policies, the price of Dragon's Saliva Fragrance has been rising steadily.

This one passed down from the past is priceless.

Since Chen Yiyang did not have professional tools at hand, he reinserted the compartment for preservation after a brief examination.

However, he became quite interested in the small mechanism inside the Japanese short dagger's sheath.

So, he looked it up online.

There are many records of such hidden compartments in Japan. Typically, the short dagger's hidden compartment is not used to store Dragon's Saliva Fragrance, but gold.

Because these short daggers were mostly used by only the highest-ranking warriors or women of noble status.

To prevent being penniless if they ever fell on hard times, the owners liked to design a small mechanism in the sheath to hide valuable, compact items.

For the owner, the short dagger served as a last-resort means of self-defense and was generally worn close to the body.

If even the short dagger was lost, it was basically game over for the owner.

Thus, there was little concern about the owner being present without their dagger.

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