Chapter 155: The Luminous Pearl Has a Problem

He felt a bit of regret; why did he agree to Lu Linglong's request to invite Lin Yang?

Our company does have appraisal experts; inviting Lin Yang now is simply embarrassing ourselves.

Lu Linglong saw her father's expression and knew he was very displeased.

But she trusted Lin Yang; since Lin Yang spoke, that painting must definitely have a problem!

Lin Yang looked at the smug Fang Jie, gave a light chuckle, then turned his gaze to Mr. Wu.

"This painting is a treasure; I wonder how much Mr. Wu is selling it for."

"Tch, if it's a copy made to look old, you actually still bought it."

"Old Lu, are you really going to believe this kid?"

Lin Yang smiled and said, "I'll buy this painting, so there's no need for Mr. Lu to spend money."

At this moment, someone said, "Although this is a copy, it's still from the Tang-Song period."

"The price can still be over a million."

Lin Yang smiled and said to Mr. Wu.

"I'll offer five million to buy this painting."

Fang Jie frowned and asked the old man beside him.

After the old man whispered a few words in his ear, Fang Jie burst out laughing.

"Good, good, good—spending five million on this painting is really interesting."

But after Lin Yang paid the money, he said to Mr. Wu.

"Mr. Wu, could you please hand me the small knife?"

Upon hearing that, Wu Zhen had someone bring a small knife.

Seeing Lin Yang produce the small knife, Fang Jie burst out laughing.

"Do you think this painting has a hidden layer with something inside, so you'll make a big profit!"

"Haha, you kid do have some vision; you figured that out."

"Too bad, you're overly arrogant and conceited, not coming forward to take a look."

While he was speaking, Lin Yang had already scraped off the surface layer of the painting.

At that moment, Fang Jie gave a cold snort.

"The lower layer is just a bunch of fragmented paintings pieced together; even if it were a genuine work by Gu Kaizhi, it's still junk!"

As Fang Jie said, beneath the first layer of paint, everything is a picture assembled from piece after piece.

Everyone, seeing this, smiled.

Lu Jin Yan saw this and sighed.

If I had known, I wouldn't have brought Lin Yang; bringing him only leads to embarrassment.

From now on, we can only rely on ourselves.

"Mr. Lin, occasionally missing the mark is quite normal."

Seeing Lu Linglong comforting himself, Lin Yang smiled and said.

"I already knew this was a puzzle; go get me a wooden board."

"Tch, stubborn as a dead duck."

Lu Linglong, hearing that, still did as told.

Lin Yang shook out all the fragments and placed them on the wooden board.

"Legend has it that someone who copied Gu Kaizhi's 'Admonitions of the Instructress of the Court Ladies' also hid a treasure map inside the painting."

"I originally thought this was just a folk wild history legend, but didn't expect it to be true."

After saying that, amid everyone's incredulous gazes, he assembled the fragments into a map.

When the map appeared before everyone, everyone was stunned.

"The legend is really true?!"

While everyone still wanted to examine the map closely, Lin Yang had already put it away.

He looked at Fang Jie and said, "Do you know what 'half a bottle of water sloshes' means?"

Fang Jie and the old man beside him flushed red with anger.

The other three appraisal experts felt somewhat relieved that they hadn't mocked Lin Yang just now.

Lu Jin Yan immediately burst out laughing.

"Mr. Lin is truly a jack-of-all-trades!"

Wu Zhen glanced at Lin Yang, smiled, and said.

"Congratulations, Mr. Lin, on finding the treasure map."

Lin Yang smiled and said to Wu Zhen, "Still, I must thank Mr. Wu for bringing out the treasure."

"This isn't my treasure; it belongs to the other sellers."

Lin Yang smiled and didn't say anything else.

Wu Zhen also didn't continue, he clapped his hands and said.

"The next item is a luminous pearl."

Upon hearing it was a luminous pearl, Fang Jie became somewhat displeased.

"It's just a luminous pearl; we can buy one and exchange it."

Wu Zhen gave a slight smile and said, "Please don't rush; this luminous pearl is not ordinary."

"It's said that this is the luminous pearl Empress Dowager Cixi spoke of."

As he spoke, someone dragged in a luminous pearl.

Even in broad daylight, the night pearl also emits a dazzling light.

"Close the doors and windows."

But the moment the doors and windows were shut, the night pearl's light grew even more brilliant.

The whole interior was just like daytime.

Looking at the baby‑fist‑sized night pearl, Fang Jie excitedly gave a thumbs up.

"As expected of you, Old Wu, you can even get hold of such a good thing!"

Wu Zhen gave a slight smile and said to everyone.

"You can go up and see if it's the genuine article."

The already eager crowd surged forward, each picking up the night pearl to examine it closely.

After all, this is the world's one‑and‑only night pearl.

It was a treasure buried together with the Empress Dowager back then!

As Lu Jinfei also stepped forward, Lin Yang blocked him.

"Don't go; this night pearl has a problem."

"Fake?"

Lu Jin Yan looked at Lin Yang, puzzled.

Lin Yang remained silent, observing with his eyes.

Hearing Lin Yang's words, Wu Zhen glanced at him and frowned.

"Everyone, have you taken a good look?"

After Wu Zhen spoke, the eight of them returned to their seats and sat down.

"This is a night pearl only the Empress Dowager can use; if I bought it home, wouldn't that mean I'm the Empress Dowager?"

Fang Jie said this and burst out laughing.

Hearing Fang Jie's words, the others nodded and turned to Wu Zhen, saying.

"Boss Wu, what's the reserve price for this night pearl?"

Fang Jie asked excitedly.

Wu Zhen chuckled and said to Fang Jie.

"The opening bid is ten million."

"But I'll say this first: the pearl's origins are shady, so if anything goes wrong, don't come looking for me."

Hearing this, Fang Jie laughed and said.

"Rest assured, we know the rules."

"Many of the things we buy have dubious origins."

With Fang Jie's words, Wu Zhen smiled and said.

"Everyone, please begin."

Hou Cheng, who had kept a low profile, shouted.

"Fifty million, I'll take it."

Lu Jin Yan also made a bid, but Lin Yang stopped him.

"That night pearl is of unknown origin; we can't buy it."

"Unknown?"

Hearing that, Lu Jin Yan grew wary.

Fang Jie scoffed, 'What's unknown? How can you still be superstitious?'

"Old Lu, the youngsters are scared; are you, an old hand, scared too?"

At this moment, Wu Zhen also wore a stern look and glanced at Lin Yang.

"Mr. Lin, although you're a guest, you'd better speak responsibly; otherwise, don't blame me for being rude!"

Seeing Wu Zhen's stern face, Fang Jie looked as if he were enjoying the show.

Lin Yang looked at Wu Zhen, gave a cold laugh, and said.

"Since you want me to take responsibility, I'll let you get what you wish for!"

He looked at Fang Jie and said, 'Place your hand on the night pearl.'

Fang Jie heard this, gave a cold laugh, placed his hand on it, and sneered.

"I've placed my hand on it—nothing happened, right?"

Lin Yang gave a soft laugh, raised his right hand, and pointed a finger at it.

A stream of spiritual energy shot straight toward the night pearl.