Chapter 49: Offending Master Wang
766 Words
“A deal is a deal.” Chen Xuan smiled and then turned to Han Chong. “Han Young Master, it’s time to pay up.”
Han Chong felt a pang in his chest. He wasn’t happy about it, but at this point, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and go along with it.
Soon, Han Chong arranged to purchase the raw stone from the gambling hall and called over a stone cutting master to begin the extraction right then and there.
By now, the news of the bet between Wang Yishan and the two young men had spread throughout the gambling hall. Many people started to gather around, watching the scene unfold. In the East River region's jade gambling community, Wang Yishan's name was practically legendary.
“It’s really Master Wang! I can’t believe he’s here at the gambling hall today, and his disciple, Li Ke, is here too. Wait, who are those two young men? Could they be the ones who made a bet with Master Wang?”
“Master Wang is one of the top figures in the East River's jade gambling world. To bet against him? It’s like courting death!”
“Heh, two ignorant young fools. They’ve really stepped on a thorn this time.”
As the crowd continued to murmur, the stone cutting master began to operate the machines. In front of everyone’s eyes, he carefully started to cut the raw stone.
As the first cut was slowly made, there was no immediate sign of anything unusual.
Seeing this, Han Chong grew nervous. At this moment, losing money wasn’t his biggest concern, but losing face would be a huge blow. The humiliation would be unbearable.
“This first cut has already removed a third of the stone. There’s no way it’s going to work. No jade,” someone in the crowd said confidently.
“Gambling stones is always like this. One cut can make you rich, and the next can make you poor. Even someone as skilled as Master Wang can make mistakes. What are these two ignorant kids even trying?”
Wang Yishan sneered, “Young man, a bet’s a bet. You should be ready to lose. I think it’s time for you to fulfill your promise.”
Li Ke added, “Hurry up and apologize to my teacher. If you don’t, you won’t be leaving this gambling hall today.”
Chen Xuan glanced at them, a look of indifference on his face. “Old man, why are you in such a hurry? The stone isn’t even cut all the way yet. Master, keep going.”
“Hmph, you won’t cry until you see the coffin,” Wang Yishan said, his voice dripping with disdain. He was certain that no jade would be found in this stone.
“Struggling in vain, is it really going to help?” Li Ke mocked, turning to the onlookers. “Everyone, please bear witness. If this raw stone doesn’t yield jade, these two must kneel and apologize to my teacher.”
“Don’t worry, Young Master Li, we’ll bear witness. They won’t be able to run away!”
“Daring to offend Master Wang? If these two don’t kneel and apologize, not only will Master Wang not let them go, but none of us will either.”
As the onlookers eagerly anticipated their humiliation, Han Chong’s face turned a shade darker.
But just as Han Chong began to feel the pressure, the second cut was made. To everyone’s surprise, as the master continued cutting, a faint green light slowly began to emerge from the raw stone.
The crowd gasped in shock.
“The stone is rising in value! It’s showing green!”
“It really is green! And it’s an Imperial Green—this is a huge gain!”
“From the initial look, this Imperial Green is worth at least five million!”
“Five million? With some carving, it could easily be worth ten million! This is a massive increase! Those two young men are going to make a fortune!”
Wang Yishan, who had been so confident moments ago, froze in shock upon hearing these words. He quickly looked over at the stone and stumbled back in disbelief. How could it be? Imperial Green—this was a chunk the size of a fist, and it was all from a raw stone priced at three million! How could this have happened?
Li Ke’s face became stiff with disbelief. How could those two lucky fools extract such a valuable Imperial Green from a stone worth only three million?
- Writer
