In his previous life, Xia Nan didn’t have any particular hobbies.
During his student days, he could still occasionally gather a few friends to play sports on the field, but after starting work, the only way to relax was to sit in front of the computer and play games on his days off.
If the "transmigration" hadn’t happened to him, perhaps in another decade or so, when he reached the age where his first digit was "4" or "5", he might start to enjoy things like "fishing" or "antique appreciation".
Moreover, he himself did not possess the related knowledge or artistic talents.
Therefore, most of the time, someone like Xia Nan, an outsider, would judge the quality of a sculpture based only on appearance, material, price... These basic aspects.
The more exquisite the content, the more prominent the material, and the higher the price, the better.
But now, the gray-black wood carving in front of him gave him an entirely different feeling.
Amidst the dust, it rested quietly on the shelf like a rock, completely unremarkable, yet somehow attracting the attention of passersby, making one unable to help but focus on it and discover its rugged yet subtly refined wooden texture.
The statue itself was not complicated; one couldn’t even discern the specific content of its carving upon careful examination.
Yet, those lines seamlessly integrated with the texture seemed to be born naturally, turning and elongating, carving out what the sculptor had imagined in an almost intuitive manner.
While one couldn’t articulate exactly what was good about it, the lines and facets of the statue conveyed the superior skill and ingenious design inherent within.
The sheep deer statue, standing as if a humanoid creature, blatantly mismatched in body proportion, with hoofs and fingers nearly indiscernible, let alone any details like fur or muscle contours.
Yet it imparted a bizarre sense of harmony blending subtly into the darkness.
As though it should naturally be this way.
And the two horns extending upwards like withered branches, vanishing into the deep gray-black lines, seemed like a support, holding a vast expanse of blank space above.
Causing one to unconsciously imagine what scenery should rest upon the branched horns.
Be it lush treetops swaying in the forest wind, tumultuous waves undulating on the boundless sea, radiant stars adorning the vast cosmos, bubbling spots in crimson blood, or massive entities writhing in dead silence...
Xia Nan suddenly cursed in his heart.
Almost forcing himself to clear his mind of the constantly swirling thoughts, he moved his eyes away from the statue.
His body couldn’t help but retreat two steps.
"What the hell is this!?"
He gasped, his inner vigilance suddenly surging to its peak.
He desperately wanted to turn around and run.
Yet the next moment, as his breath filled his nostrils, the fragrant scent wafting through the air of the general store, mingling with the hustle and bustle from the street outside.
Made Xia Nan realize that he was not on an adventure, nor were any dangerous demons around him.
But was in River Valley Town, where the adventurer association was stationed, frequently visited by high-level professionals, utterly safe.
The statue lay quietly in the corner of the shelf, its carving technique still superb, naturally complete, and the material texture still attracting attention while remaining plain.
But it no longer bore that terrifying feeling of swallowing thoughts like a whirlpool.
If not for the fabric behind him being drenched in sweat and the gradually fading translucent text in his vision, he might have thought it was merely a hallucination caused by excessive labor over this period.
"Something’s not right!"
"There must be an issue!"
Recalling the feeling of his body and spirit detaching, consciousness sinking into the deep sea, getting further from the surface, surrounded by an ever-expanding darkness, Xia Nan shuddered inwardly.
If not for the over-concentration that triggered the automatic emergence of the attribute panel, interrupting the process and aiding his escape.
Allowing his thoughts to continually sink, ultimately engulfed entirely by darkness.
He dared not imagine what would have happened.
"Sir, is there something wrong?"
Behind the counter, Farrello watched with concern at Xia Nan, who had a pallid complexion and a rigid expression.
Evidently, Xia Nan’s sudden behavior caught the grocery store owner’s attention.
Alongside the middle-aged adventurer hiding in the store’s corner, just kicked out from the blacksmith shop by Barn, who only dared to glance using peripheral vision heard the commotion and looked over too.
"The offer I gave you is actually already higher than the market price; in the past couple of years..."
"No worries, that’s not the reason."
Noticing that Farrello seemed to misunderstand something, Xia Nan took a breath, waved his hand, indicating not to worry about it.
His face suddenly showed some hesitation.
After a pause, he tentatively asked:
"Earlier, did you hear any sounds, or feel anything unusual?"
"Unusual..." Farrello’s expression grew increasingly puzzled, "I don’t think there was anything?"
Feeling even more strange, Xia Nan’s body involuntarily retreated two more steps.
And then he pointed distantly at the wooden sculpture on the shelf and asked:
"That statue, the one that looks like a gray stone, what’s its origin?"
Hearing the question, Farrello’s eyes behind the glasses suddenly brightened, even his tone unconsciously elevated, passionately introducing:
"Sir, you have a keen eye!"
"This statue’s style has become quite popular in Neum City recently."
"It’s said to originate from a master sculptor, whose work is adored by many aristocrats in high society."
"I leveraged many connections and barely managed to bring it here."