Chapter 147 Appraise Raw Gemstones
Ou Yangming entered the backyard while being dubiously looked at by the workers.
Although it was quite late at night, the backyard was still brightly lit. On top of that, Ou Yangming was surprised to see that layers of different raw gemstones were already gathered.
Lin Yichen let out a hollow laugh and explained, “Master Ou, our store isn’t usually fully opened at night, but it’s different today.”
Ou Yangming had already been attracted by the various raw gemstones; there were at least 10,000 of them. The raw gemstones had different appearances, and most of them were useless while a part of them contained amazing attributes.
For example, the Substitution Gem that Ou Yangming possessed. If the gem’s function was leaked, he would not be able to keep it safe.
Ou Yangming felt like he had just entered a treasure mountain when he looked at the numerous gemstones.
He was carried away and lost self-control at the mere thought of the mysterious attributes hiding inside the raw gemstones. Needless to say, he was excited because he had a trick to sense the gems inside the raw gemstones. On the other hand, even the most powerful appraiser would not have such a crazy feeling Lin Yichen smiled when he saw how highly spirited Ou Yangming was. “Master Ou, if you’re able to defeat He Liangce in the raw gemstone challenge today, as the host, I’ll let you keep all the gems you pick!”
“Hehe…” Ni Yinghong puffed out her cheeks and commented with a smart look in her eyes, “Head Shopkeeper Lin, you’re really acting as you please. According to what I know, He Liangce has just risen in Linlang County, but he has challenged more than just one precious stone store throughout his journey here.”
“Master Ni, did you forget that the Yi Pavilion doesn’t mainly deal with precious stones? Hehe, besides, isn’t it the natural responsibility of people from Changlong County to defeat people from Linlang County?”.
Ni Yinghong exclaimed, “You’re really good with your speech, but I suppose the raw gemstones that you were talking about doesn’t include these few?”
She pointed with her slim finger, and the rest could not help but laugh when they looked in that direction.
There were over 10,000 raw gemstones in the backyard, but only three gems were placed where she was pointing at.
The three gemstones were gigantic. In terms of their size only, they were much larger than the rest of the raw gemstones combined.
Lin Yichen shook his head and smiled bitterly. “Master Ni, you’re kidding. It’s obvious that the three gemstones contain a gem each. Stone gambling tests one judgment and experience, but it also involves one’s luck. If these three gemstones are among the other gemstones to be picked, wouldn’t it be considered cheating?”
Everyone else laughed. It was also then that several people arrived together. The person who led the group of people was the white-haired supervisor from the Yi Pavilion. A few men and women, who dressed differently from the other people, followed behind him. They surrounded a young man, who was in his twenties, like stars twinkling around the moon.
The man had a complexion as clear as jade, and he seemed to be giving off a warm aura, hence one would feel inclined to approach him.
Ou Yangming was slightly stunned. Based on Lin Yichen and Zheng Ziwen’s expression of urgency, he had pictured the He family’s young master to have a threatening aura, which was why they were so anxious. Therefore, Ou Yangming was taken aback when he saw the man because his outer appearance and attitude were out of his expectations.
He Liangce’s eyes wandered about, but he laid eyes on Ni Yinghong for a second before looking away.
He grinned. “Head Shopkeeper Lin, where’s Old Sir Shen?”
Lin Yichen cleared his throat and replied to him, “Young Master He, unfortunately, Old Tributary Shen is ill, so he can’t show up for the time being.”
“Ah…” He Liangce openly showed how regretful he was. “How unfortunate indeed. I’ve come all the way from Linlang County and passed by seventeen cities, where I’ve exchanged views with precious stone appraisal masters in each city. Many of them recommended Old Sir Shen to me, so it’s quite a pity that I’m not fated to meet him in the prefecture.”
He was obviously boasting a little, but due to his expression and attitude, nobody actually despised him. In fact, the other people vaguely sympathized with him for having missed the opportunity.
Ou Yangming somehow had a feeling that something was abnormal, as if He Liangce had the power to influence someone else’s emotions and senses. That said, Ou Yangming did not know if the power came from He Liangce himself or if the young master had achieved it through other means.
“You may not have the chance this time, but perhaps you’ll meet him in the future.” Lin Yichen chuckled, then introduced after a pause, “Young Master He, this is Ou Yangming, the Yi Pavilion’s appraisal master. He’d like to gain insight on the skills of Linlang County’s number one precious stone appraisal master.”
Ou Yangming thought, ‘What do you mean by the Yi Pavilion’s appraisal master? You’re speaking carelessly…’
Nevertheless, he was not going to expose the lie in front of everyone else.
The other people from Linlang County cast strange looks at Ou Yangming.
It was not odd for a young man to be an appraiser because, while not many people were born with mental power, there were definitely more than just a few who were.
However, it would be quite a joke to say that a young man like Ou Yangming had great achievements in raw gemstone appraisals.
Even though the people from He Liangce’s side reacted that way, He Liangce kept a plain smile on his face. “Okay, since it’s the Yi Pavilion’s appraisal master who asked, let’s have a challenge.”
“Young Master He, every raw gemstone that the Yi Pavilion has acquired lately is here, you may select together with Master Ou.” Lin Yichen nodded with a smile, then added in a serious tone, “According to the rules, you both have an hour to choose ten raw gemstones from the pile. Once stone-cracking is done, you’ll be judged based on the number of gems and their quality, and the superior one will be deemed victorious.”
Someone from He Liangce’s side suddenly blurted, “Head Shopkeeper Lin, since he’s the Yi Pavilion’s raw gemstone appraiser, he must’ve studied the gemstones here more than once. Isn’t the challenge unfair?”
“It’s fine.” He Liangce waved his hand.
Though he had only uttered two words, it was obvious how confident he was.
Ni Yinghong expressed all of a sudden, “Master Ou has never been here before, and if you don’t believe it, there’s no need to go on with the challenge.”
The other people were stunned, and they looked at her with shock.
He Liangce laughed out loud and remarked, “Since the Ni family’s little princess has spoken, of course, we believe it.”
Ni Yinghong blushed right away, and she glared at him angrily.
Although Ou Yangming had already guessed her identity, and they both had faintly pointed it out, it was completely different from having it revealed with solid proof.
When Ni Yinghong thought about how Ou Yangming would look at her at that moment, she was embarrassed and enraged. Despite that, she was able to control herself and showed only a hint of her emotions.
He Liangce felt rather strange, but he would never have figured out-not even if he was beaten to death-how exactly he had offended the little princess.
Nonetheless, it was not the time to dwell on the matter. He Liangce cupped his hands at Ou Yangming and uttered, “Master Ou, please!”
Ou Yangming twitched his mouth and suppressed the urge of laughing out loud. The fact that Ni Yinghong’s real identity as a lady was revealed in this situation made him want to burst out laughing.
In spite of that, he suddenly felt a chill when his eyes met He Liangce’s.
“This is clearly Ni Yinghong’s first time meeting him, but why was he able to identify it right away?’ Ou Yangming looked deeply at him before he said, “Young Master He, please.”
Almost at the same time, they walked into the bunch of messily arranged raw gemstones. Ou Yangming reached out his hand to casually touch the gemstones next to him. Each time he did, a glimpse of red light was seen on his palm.
It was the sign of his Military Fire burning, but it only lasted for a split second. It could not be seen once Ou Yangming let go of the raw gemstone. Even if people were watching him at that moment, nobody would notice the mysterious happening.
That being said, Ou Yangming put on a full act. He could already tell the result by touching the raw gemstone, but instead of making a decision so easily, he studied them carefully from time to time.
As for the raw gemstones that he especially paid attention to, most of them were actually just for show. If someone paid a lump sum to purchase the stones, that person would make a loss so huge that he would have to give up even his underwear.
On the other side, He Liangce carried out the process differently.
Instead of touching every raw gemstone, he stood on a good spot to scan them, then he began looking and picking only after 15 minutes.
However, by then, everyone could tell that He Liangce picked gemstones that he had already noticed during the observation, and he was doing a targeted search.
In short, Ou Yangming was casting a net to catch every fish regardless of their size; He Liangce targeted those that had better quality before proceeding to select them.
While their methods were absolutely different, one could tell from the crowd’s expression which one was more reliable.
Everyone from He Liangce’s side looked proud as if their victory was already guaranteed.
In comparison, Lin Yichen and the others looked grim, which was clear that they were not confident.
Indeed, Ou Yangming was a gifted person, but he had not been reputable in this trade, after all. Hence, even Li Yichen, who knew Ou Yangming possessed the ability of the integration of Heaven and man, was being ill at ease.
Ou Yangming reached out to casually brush his hand past a precious stone.
He initially wanted to pretend like he was inspecting it, but the instant his Military Fire appeared, he sensed an indescribable blue ocean.