Chapter One: A Death Date for Twenty Yuan

Shen Yan placed the watch down. Luo's duster stopped for the briefest instant. He examined it without touching it. “Republican-era imitation. Brass case, ruined movement. Not worth twenty.” “It has my name inside. And my death date.” Luo's mockery disappeared. “Then throw it away.” “Why didn't you call it a prank?” The doorbell interrupted them. A suited man entered with a blue-and-white bowl he claimed was inherited imperial porcelain. He wanted eight thousand. Luo glanced once and ordered Shen Yan to show him out. The man began shouting that Listening Rain cheated amateurs. Shen Yan took the bowl. His thumb passed over the yellow grime around its foot. The watch kicked in his pocket.