155: Chapter 155 Crusader Knight's Badge

He turned it over to examine the base.

The base was unevenly trimmed, bearing the marks of hand-shaping. There was a ring of kiln grit at the foot, and the glaze did not reach the bottom, revealing iron-gray clay with fine, uniform particles.

Hu Tian ran through the possibilities in his mind: song dynasty Jian kiln, hare's fur cup, or perhaps a variant of brown glaze...

No, that wasn't right. The glaze color and crackle pattern looked more like something from the song dynasty Jizhou kiln.

Jizhou kiln, located in Ji'an, Jiangxi, was one of the most important folk kilns during the Southern song dynasty. It was renowned for its leaf patterns, tortoiseshell glazes, and paper-cut decals. The vessel shapes were rustic, the glaze colors rich and varied, and it possessed a strong folk character.

Using the light in the shop, he carefully examined the inner wall of the bowl.

The glaze on the inner wall was deep and profound. Against the dark brown base, there were several irregular light-colored markings, resembling clouds in the mountains or fish swimming in water. They were naturally formed, not hand-painted, which was the typical characteristic of Jizhou kiln tortoiseshell glaze.

In Hu Tian's mind, the system radar interface quietly unfolded.

Lines of information appeared like flowing water.

[Item Name: Jizhou Kiln Tortoiseshell Glaze Tea Bowl] [Origin: Mid-Southern song dynasty, fired at Jizhou kiln in Jiangxi, approximately 800 years old]

[Craftsmanship: Hand-thrown, coated with brown glaze, with wood ash and iron elements added to the glaze. Fired in a 1200-degree high-temperature reduction flame, the tortoiseshell texture formed naturally on the glaze surface. Due to variations in kiln temperature and atmosphere, each piece's texture is unique and impossible to replicate.]

[Condition: Intact and undamaged, natural glaze crackles, warm and mellow patina, kiln grit on the base clearly visible. It is a handed-down piece, well-preserved.]

[Historical Value: Jizhou kiln was one of the six major folk kilns of the song dynasty. Tortoiseshell glaze tea bowls are rare. This piece has a regular shape, rich glaze variations, and possesses high artistic and collection value.]

[Estimated Market Value: 1.2 million - 1.8 million yuan.] Hu Tian's heart stirred slightly.

An item worth over a million, sitting in a corner, treated as a fake.

Hu Tian calmly placed the bowl back onto the velvet cloth.

"Boss, how much for this?"

The shop owner, who had been nonchalant, saw Hu Tian asking for the price and a glint of shrewdness flashed in his eyes. He quickly composed himself and said slowly, "Well, I say it's a fake, but if you like it, take it for a thousand yuan."

Hu Tian smiled, knowing this was just the routine in this trade.

He took out his phone, opened WeChat, scanned the shop owner's payment code, and paid the thousand yuan.

The shop owner was somewhat surprised; he hadn't expected Hu Tian to be so straightforward. He paused for a second, then helped wrap the bowl, layering it with bubble wrap, placed it in a paper bag, and handed it to him.

"Are you an expert?"

The shop owner couldn't resist asking.

"No, I just think it looks nice, buying it to put on display."

Hu Tian said with a smile, took the paper bag, thanked him, and turned to leave.

Behind him, the shop owner stood in place, looking at his departing figure with a complex expression.

Hu Tian left Bogu Pavilion and continued walking inside.

He entered a few more shops, browsing around. Most were ordinary items. There were a few bronze pieces from the Republic of China era with decent condition, but nothing particularly outstanding. Hu Tian looked around and didn't make any purchases.

Walking to the middle section of the Antique Street, there was a small, particularly inconspicuous shop.

The storefront was narrow, and the sign was an old wooden board with faded lettering. The three characters were barely legible: Wancang Pavilion.

Several folding tables were set up at the entrance, piled messily with all sorts of miscellaneous items: old coins, copper cash, old locks, old photos from the Republic of China era, old books and newspapers...

It was very chaotic, but within the chaos, there was an indescribable sense of worldly life.

Hu Tian had originally just glanced at it casually and was already walking past, when suddenly, the system radar jolted sharply.

It wasn't the slight ripple from before, but a distinct, powerful jolt, like a rumble coming from deep underground, carrying a strong signal.

Hu Tian paused, turned back, and began to re-examine this Wancang Pavilion.

He walked up to the folding tables, lowered his head, and slowly scanned the pile of miscellaneous items on the tabletop.

A stack of old copper cash was thrown casually into a cardboard box. Their condition was uneven, and they weren't worth much.

A stack of yellowed old black-and-white photos depicted street scenes of Shanghai during the Republic of China era. They had collector's value, but they weren't the source of the radar's signal.

An old bronze ink box had plum blossoms, orchids, bamboo, and chrysanthemums carved on the lid. It was in decent condition, but it wasn't the one either.

Hu Tian's gaze continued to move inward, scanning until it landed on an inconspicuous small cloth bag in the inner corner of the table.

The bag was small, about the size of a palm, made of coarse burlap. The edges were frayed, and the thin string at the opening was tied in a knot. It looked like just another inconspicuous item tossed onto the table.

The radar signal was coming precisely from there.

Hu Tian picked up the cloth bag and weighed it lightly in his hand.

It felt heavy, much heavier than it looked, so it must contain something metallic.

"Boss, what's the price for this?"

He looked up at the shop owner.

The shop owner was a wrinkled old man with gray hair, hunched in an old chair. He held a cup of tea, eyes squinting, unsure if he was dozing off or just spacing out.

Hearing Hu Tian's question, the old man slowly opened his eyes, glanced at the cloth bag in Hu Tian's hand, and spoke in a lazy tone.

"Oh, that? There are a few old copper badges inside. I just picked them up to put on display. Five hundred yuan."

"Can I open it and take a look?"

The old man waved his hand: "Help yourself."

Hu Tian untied the thin string, opened the bag, and poured the contents into his palm.

There were three copper badges.

They were about four centimeters in diameter, a size larger than typical copper badges. Due to long-term oxidation, the surface was covered in a thick layer of verdigris, turning black, making the details hard to see.

Hu Tian gently rubbed the front of one with his thumb. A small patch of verdigris came off, revealing the dark red copper underneath and a faint relief pattern.

He squinted his eyes and leaned in to look closer.

The relief was a human silhouette wearing a triple crown, dressed in luxurious robes, with a dignified posture—clearly a Western classical style.

Around the portrait was a circle of letters. The writing was small, but the outlines were fairly clear. Hu Tian recognized it: it was latin.

He lined up the three copper badges in his palm and examined them one by one.

The portraits on the front of the three badges were all different. One looked like a monarch, one like a bishop, and the third had an even older style, looking like something from the Ancient Roman period.

The reliefs on the back were also different: some had architectural patterns, some had shield-shaped coats of arms, and others had complex monograms.

Hu Tian stared at the three copper badges in his palm, his fingertips gently caressing the edge of the badge that revealed the dark red copper. Suddenly, the system radar in his mind seemed to be activated; it vibrated violently, and then lines of information appeared, unfolding like a light screen—clear, detailed, and carrying a certain calm, authoritative feel.

[Item Name: Crusader Knight Badges, three in total, collectively known as the "Three Seals of the Holy Land"]

[Origin: During the Seventh Crusade, approximately 1248 to 1254 AD. Commissioned by King Louis IX, they were specially cast by the Royal French Mint master and bestowed upon three knightly order leaders who had rendered outstanding military service: the Commander of the Knights Templar, the resident Bishop of the Teutonic Knights, and a mercenary knight leader of Ancient Roman noble lineage. Each of the three badges represented its owner; they were both proofs of honor and tokens of identity. Those holding these three seals could command three knightly troops during the Crusade, known as "King Louis's Three Hands."]

[Craftsmanship: The casting material was high-purity red copper exclusively supplied to the French royal family at the time, with trace amounts of gold and silver added to enhance toughness. They were individually cast by royal craftsmen using the lost-wax method. The portraits in relief on the front were sculpted based on the original owners, and the crests on the back were the exclusive emblems of the owners' families or knightly orders. The latin inscriptions on the outer ring varied, each engraved with the names and titles of the three knight leaders. After casting, they were consecrated by Vatican priests, carrying powerful dual symbolic meanings of religion and politics.]

[Provenance: After the Crusade ended, the three badges were scattered across Europe with their respective owners, passing through centuries of wars and the rise and fall of noble families. One appeared in the estate inventory of a 16th-century Venetian collector. Historical records indicate another flowed into the Eastern antique trade market in the late 19th century. The process by which all three eventually gathered in one place is impossible to verify; it is an extremely rare case of a complete set of scattered artifacts being reunited.]

[Artifact Grade: International Artifact Grade A. It is primary physical historical material of European medieval religious and military history. Global stock of similar collections is extremely rare, and there are currently no records of a complete set of this kind in public museum collections.]

[Estimated Value: The auction market price for a single piece fluctuates between 800,000 and 1.2 million RMB. As a complete set of series artifacts, if they enter an international auction house, the overall valuation would be no less than 5 million RMB. If auctioned by specialized collection institutions or European knightly order historical research foundations, the premium space is enormous, and the actual transaction price could exceed the ten-million level.]

The information reading finished, the radar's vibration slowly subsided, and his consciousness returned to quiet.

Hu Tian lowered his head. The three copper badges lay quietly in his palm, looking completely unremarkable—blackish, covered in thick verdigris, not worth a second glance if dropped on the side of the road.

Five hundred yuan.

The old man asked for five hundred yuan.

Hu Tian took a deep breath, slowly put the three copper badges back into the cloth bag, pinched the opening, looked up, and put on a nonchalant expression.

"Boss, five hundred yuan, I'll take it."

The old man nodded, not even raising his eyelids, took the money Hu Tian handed over, stuffed it into his pocket, continued holding his teacup, and closed his eyes again.

Hu Tian took the cloth bag and walked out a few steps, then turned back to look at the faded old wooden sign of Wancang Pavilion.

This old man...

Hu Tian thought for a moment, vaguely feeling that this old man was not an ordinary vendor. To be able to keep such items—perhaps he really didn't know, or perhaps he knew but didn't care.

He didn't dwell on it, put both his acquisitions into his canvas bag, and continued walking deeper into the street.

At the end of the Antique Street, there was a teahouse with several strings of dried gourds hanging at the entrance, and the faint scent of tea wafted from inside.

Hu Tian stood at the entrance for a moment, then pushed the door open and went in.

The teahouse was small, with seven or eight tables covered in blue-printed cloth tablecloths. There were a few ink paintings on the walls, and several old teapots sat on the shelves by the windows.

The light was soft, filtering in through the carved wooden windows, carrying a quiet warmth.

Hu Tian found a table in the corner, sat down, and ordered a pot of Longjing tea.

The tea was served. As he sipped it slowly, he took out his two acquisitions from the bag, placed them on the table, and examined them carefully once more.