Chapter 9 Second Visit to Antiquities City

• "I'm heading downstairs now." As soon as Aiden said that, he placed the bowl of ramen on the ground and walked downstairs, minding his own business.
• "Flashy?" Angelina murmured, yet a hint of inexplicable emotion could be seen in her eyes as she stared at Aiden's retreating silhouette.
• She realized that the aura he exuded had changed at that moment. Aiden is no longer the extreme loser from the past. Instead, the current him seems to have an undisguised pride behind the indifferent facade.
• After he cleaned up the mess left by Linda, he returned to his room—a storeroom situated in the corner of the house. Although it wasn't the best room the Grays had to offer, he wasn't unaccustomed to it at all. Although he hailed from an influential family, he wasn't as squeamish as those usual run-in-the-mill heirs.
• Moreover, as the child of the Finnegans, he had to practice martial arts since childhood. Likewise, the pain Aiden had to endure in order to become a martial artist his family could be proud of was immense.
• After Aiden sat on the bed, he immediately swallowed one Marrow Cleansing Pill.
• He practically stayed up all night, cooperating with the effect of the Marrow Cleansing Pill to continuously circulate the flow of his inner energy all over his body. During this process, the meridians in his body started to open up one by one. As a result, the energy in his body also increased rapidly with each small step of success.
• When Aiden woke up at dawn and checked his cultivation base, he nodded in satisfaction. "This guide truly is a godsend. I believe it won't take long before I can return to my previous cultivation base or achieve greater heights."
• Aiden was already a martial arts master prior to today. If only someone hadn't ruined his martial arts foundation, his strength would have been at its martial cultivation peak within these three years.
• Angelina was slightly taken aback the moment she woke up and saw Aiden. At that moment, she felt that Aiden's whole temperament wasn't what it used to be.
• If I were to say I had sensed the changes in his aura last night, then Aiden this morning gives me a feeling of a completely changed man.
• During breakfast, Aiden consciously took his tableware and went to take his seat in the kitchen after he saw the unhappy look on Linda's face. I really don't want to continue putting myself through Linda's nagging.
• Angelina, on the other hand, felt slightly sorry for him. If I hadn't told Mom the truth last night, her attitude toward Aiden wouldn't have become like this. In fact, she treats him even colder than before.
• "Aiden, come over and join us at the table!" Angelina said loudly in the direction of the kitchen.
• Linda immediately looked up and glanced at her daughter. She wanted to say something but was instantly shut down by Angelina's firm gaze. "We are a family, after all. We will be a laughingstock if others find out about this!"
• "I have never regarded him as my son-in-law," Linda snorted derisively.
• "Aiden, come and join us!" Angelina beckoned once again.
• When Aiden heard that, he had no choice but to make his way over to the dining table with his meal in his hand. I can't help it. I have fallen in love with Angelina, after all.
• Besides, her attitude toward me has at least gotten far better than before, considering that she has taken the initiative to let me join them at the dining table.
• "Head to the bookstore later and buy some beauty-centric books! Study about the beauty industry more, and you will be able to land a job in Gray Enterprise in the future," Angelina said lightly. "Stop having unrealistic dreams like becoming a traditional medicine practitioner. Tell me—which doctor in that field can achieve great success and be famous before they reach old age? How can you achieve success rapidly by simply reading a few books?"
• Although the words that escaped her lips were scornful, Aiden could still hear a trace of concern in her tone.
• "Okay," Aiden nodded and said agreeably.
• "What's the use of him studying? Your position in Gray Enterprise isn't as great as it used to be. What can he do if he goes to work there?" Linda questioned snidely, dismissing the idea.
• Of course, Angelina was very well aware of her situation. Still, she insisted, saying, "Even if my position isn't great, Aiden can still work as a salesman in the company in the future if he works hard. That's still better than nothing."
• A salesman, huh? Aiden murmured inwardly, She still doesn't believe me, after all.
• Immediately afterward, he smiled. Well, I have been deemed as a good-for-nothing for three years. So, how can I still expect Angelina to have hope for me?
• "You still have the audacity to smile? Have you no shame? Did you grow up under a rock?!" Linda blew a fuse when she saw Aiden smiling. Truthfully, Linda had yet to calm her anger since last night.
• Initially, she thought about claiming ties with a great family, such as the Webbs, so that she could be one step closer to living a prosperous life. Alas, out of her expectation, Aiden just happened to save William. For Linda, it would be lucky for the Grays if the Webbs didn't return to look for Aiden, let alone consider living a prosperous life under the Webbs.
• Moreover, she even boasted to her poker buddies that Aiden was going to strive high when she went shopping with them yesterday. In the end, it was nothing but only her wishful thinking. So, it was only natural that Linda would bristle with shame and anger after her sudden fall from heaven.
• The rage within her surged the moment she saw Aiden smiling without having the slightest bit of worry. That was why she reprimanded him.
• Aiden didn't say anything but suddenly raised his head to look at Linda. The iciness in his gaze sent a penetrating chill to Linda's bone, making her shut up.
• Meanwhile, Angelina regarded Linda's strange behavior with a sense of wonder. Mom actually shut up after Aiden glanced at her?! This has never happened before.
• Aiden would be lucky not to get his head chewed off if he dared to look at Mom like this.
• Strange! Aiden has gotten a little too odd within these two days!
• After breakfast, Angelina went to work while Linda, as usual, went out to play poker with her buddies.
• Aiden also left the house and went to a bookstore. However, he bought two translated versions of ancient books about traditional medicine instead of buying some beauty-centric books that Angelina had ordered under a veil of suggestion.
• Then, he visited Antiquities City again. He wanted to try his luck and see if he could purchase a pair of silver needles this time. I have given up looking for golden needles, for they aren't something that I can buy in such a place.
• Nowadays, many traditional medicine practitioners use steel needles, for they don't require any special techniques at all. Unfortunately, this also results in the scarcity of silver needle practitioners, who wouldn't even touch silver needles before they had ten years of experience under their belts. After all, steel needles can produce the desired results even though the patients would be in more pain.
• On the other hand, the advantage of using silver needles is that patients will only feel slight pain when we insert the needles at the beginning of the procedure. Moreover, the therapeutic effect is better than steel needles. As for golden needles, I need not expand further about the advantages they could bring to the table.
• As a matter of fact, the loss of many acupuncture techniques in traditional medicine has a significant correlation with the emergence of steel needles.
• Aiden was a little surprised when he visited the marketplace in Antiquities City this time. Unlike last time, he could actually see a faint energy field emanating from the items sold in the market.
• He tried to hold an item with a relatively weak energy field. Then, he realized that it was only a masterpiece of a famous artist upon careful examination and wasn't an antique at all.
• After several comparisons, Aiden realized one thing.
• That was, the greater the energy field of an item, the older and the more valuable it was.
• Regrettably, most items sold in a marketplace selling antiques like this were counterfeit. In fact, the finest thing one could get from such a marketplace was nothing more than the works of famous contemporary masters. Thus, it would be challenging for Aiden to find a genuine antique.
• Aiden found nothing he liked after strolling half of the Antiquities City's marketplace. He was about to turn around and leave when he was attracted by an item in a small stall situated in the corner.
• The energy field emanated by the item gushed straight to the roof. It was like a bright lightning piercing through the dark night.
• It was the most dazzling item in the entire Antiquities City.