This old lady was originally from Jiaxiang, Shandong, with the surname Wang. According to her, her maiden family used to be a wealthy household, and her ancestors had held high official positions, but later the family declined. In the 1970s, she married into Tongshan County, Pengcheng. Her husband was skilled in carpentry—not a wealthy family, but they could at least afford to eat.

Both sons in the family were doing well. The elder son was in his senior year at university in Nanjing and would graduate just a few months after the New Year. The younger son had also been admitted to university this year. But now, with two college students to support, the family’s finances had become strained. They were deep in debt to relatives and friends, scraping together money from all over to barely cover both sons’ tuition. But her husband, trying to earn a bit more, went up the mountain to illegally cut timber. Who could have known he’d be discovered by the forest rangers? In his haste, he tumbled down the mountain and broke his leg. Not only was he injured, but they were also fined 5,000 yuan, plunging the family into misery.

When the old lady got married, her family didn’t have much to give as a dowry—just a few old books. She was told that in prosperous times, these books were quite valuable, so she treasured them. Even when her sons went to school, she couldn’t bear to sell them. Now, with her husband lying in the hospital and no money left for treatment—fearing he might lose his leg—she finally, without telling her sons, dug out the books from the bottom of the chest and came to Pengcheng to see if she could sell them.

After arriving in Pengcheng, she asked around and learned that such books should be sold at the antique market. Braving heavy snow, she made her way there, only to find the market deserted. She went into several shops to ask, but after looking at the books, everyone said they weren’t worth much—five yuan a book, take it or leave it.

The ground at the antique market was covered in snow, so no stalls could be set up. The old lady didn’t know what to do. As the afternoon wore on, she thought she’d soon have to find a ride back to Tongshan County. Standing at the entrance of Charles Miller’s shop, she was blaming herself—she hadn’t managed to get anything done and had wasted more than ten yuan on travel.

Hearing that these were family heirloom books, Ryan Bennett was intrigued. Wasn’t his own couplet also a family heirloom? So he spoke up: “Ma’am, could I take a look at your books?”

The old lady had come to sell the books anyway. Hearing Ryan Bennett’s words, she opened her bundle, took out two yellowed, slightly tattered books, and handed them to Ryan Bennett.

Ryan Bennett carefully took them. To prevent the old lady from seeing the strange look in his eyes, he held the books up in front of his face, blocking her view, and then focused his attention. To his disappointment, there was no reaction from the spiritual energy in his eyes. He withdrew the energy and began to examine the books’ contents.

The two books were volumes one and two, titled: “On Wei and Jin Thought,” authored by Liu Dajie. Ryan Bennett checked the publication date: December 1939, published by Zhonghua Book Company. They weren’t rare ancient books, just relatively early print editions—copies of which could be found in larger libraries. Ryan Bennett wasn’t interested. Since they couldn’t enhance the spiritual energy in his eyes, they were useless to him. Shaking his head, Ryan Bennett prepared to hand the books back.

“Young man, I have one more book here. Those people earlier were unreasonable, so I didn’t show it to them. Take a look—maybe this one is valuable…” Seeing Ryan Bennett carefully examining the books, a glimmer of hope appeared in the old lady’s eyes. She carefully took out another book from her bundle and handed it to Ryan Bennett.

Ryan Bennett first put the two books on the table, then took the book the old lady handed over. He frowned before even looking at it, because this book was in terrible condition—the title on the cover was almost illegible. Ryan Bennett could just barely make out the four characters “香祖笔言,” apparently handwritten with a brush, with no signature. It really looked like one of those “worm-eaten, rat-gnawed, tattered old books” you see on TV.

Anyway, looking at it wouldn’t consume his spiritual energy, so Ryan Bennett didn’t open the book but focused his gaze directly on it, though he didn’t have much hope.

Chapter 0012: Mutation

Every time Ryan Bennett used the spiritual energy in his eyes, a blue-green glow would appear before him, though others couldn’t see it. However, if someone stared into his eyes, they might notice his double pupils. Charles Miller was sitting behind him at the moment, so Ryan Bennett raised his arm, holding the book higher to block the old lady’s view.

Ryan Bennett casually released the spiritual energy from his eyes. He didn’t care much about this battered old book, just looking at it with a “better safe than sorry” attitude. But the moment the spiritual energy in his eyes touched the cover, Ryan Bennett was shocked—he sensed a force far more powerful than his own spiritual energy instantly merging with it and returning to his eyes.

What is a pleasant surprise? It’s when something develops beyond your expectations—in a good way, of course. At this moment, Ryan Bennett truly experienced that feeling.