Xue Tao, enraged, glared at Ye Fan with a contorted face.
Already annoyed, seeing Xue Tao's appearance only intensified Ye Fan's anger. His dark eyes gradually narrowed, and an icy, powerful chill erupted from him.
The terrifying cold made Lei Shi, standing beside him, tremble and look at Ye Fan in alarm.
"Young friend Ye, please..."
Lei Shi intended to plead for Xue Tao, but Ye Fan wouldn't give him the chance. He suddenly stood up and slapped Xue Tao hard.
As still as a spring breeze, as动 as thunder, like a storm or lightning, he was in front of Xue Tao in an instant.
Although Xue Tao was on guard, he never expected Ye Fan to be so decisive and swift.
"Slap."
The slap landed squarely on Xue Tao's cheek.
For a moment, Xue Tao felt a crushing pain on his cheek. His head was then uncontrollably thrown to the side.
The next moment, his body followed his head, and his feet left the ground.
"Bang."
He was violently thrown sideways onto the ground.
Ye Fan was truly angered by this slap, and his strength was naturally greater, actually knocking Xue Tao down.
Everyone was stunned, looking at Ye Fan with terror. Lei Shi, in particular, frowned slightly.
After all, Xue Tao was his prized disciple. Even if he had made a mistake, it was for Lei Shi to punish him.
Even if he harbored suspicions about Ye Fan's identity, Lei Shi still valued Xue Tao more before confirming if he was "that person."
Sensing Lei Shi's gaze, Ye Fan slowly turned his head to look at him.
"Elder Lei thinks I did something wrong?"
Ye Fan's directness left no room for maneuver.
Lei Shi was a bit at a loss, but then he heard Ye Fan say, "Appraisers cannot tolerate insults, just as tomb keepers never bow their heads. Your disciple repeatedly targeted me and insulted me with words. I tolerated it out of respect for you, Elder Lei, but he got too carried away. This is a small punishment for him.
If anyone is unsatisfied, they are welcome to attack me. I will accept it."
A smile slowly curved Ye Fan's lips.
"This is Jiangcheng, not Jiangnan. It's laughable that someone with such incomplete abilities dares to show off disgracefully. I advise you, Elder Lei, to be more discerning when taking on disciples in the future, especially regarding their character."
Ye Fan's words were like a thunderbolt, shocking Lei Shi.
Despite his displeasure, his disciple was in the wrong first. Moreover, Ye Fan's words carried a veiled threat.
This was Jiangcheng, and he was the local power here.
Lei Shi let out a helpless wry smile, "Young friend Ye is right. This child is inherently unruly and useless. He made a fool of himself before you today, and I am also very angry."
What a smart person!
Ye Fan couldn't help but sigh. It was rare to find such a smart person like Lei Shi nowadays.
His evaluation of Lei Shi involuntarily improved a few notches.
"Take him back."
He instructed another disciple beside him. Then, two young men helped Xue Tao up and left the hall.
"Young friend Ye, your analysis just now was brilliant. However, where is the treasure hidden? And how can we determine the distance? Please enlighten me."
Xue Tao's matter was in the past. The treasure was the most important thing now.
If a great treasure could truly be found, it would be a tremendous shock to themselves and to the antique industry of Jiangnan.
The Jiangnan antique industry had been too quiet for too long, allowing many insignificant figures to emerge, claiming to be experts, disrupting the market, and manipulating prices. It was time for a cleansing.
And this treasure would be the best catalyst.
Heh~
Ye Fan chuckled and returned to his seat.
"Elder Lei thinks too highly of me. Being able to analyze the treasure's location is already great luck. As for the specific distance, I'm afraid we'll have to study it further.
If Elder Lei doesn't mind, I'd like to see the Buddha statue. Perhaps I can discern something."
Actually, Ye Fan already had a guess, but he needed to verify it.
And the best way to verify it was to personally go to the Buddha statue.
Upon hearing Ye Fan's words, Elder Lei nodded without hesitation, "That's easy. The Buddha statue is in the backyard, and you can see it anytime."
He had already gotten a preliminary glimpse of Ye Fan's abilities, which were no less than his own. Perhaps he could truly figure it out.
"In that case, let's go see it now."
Ye Fan stood up and walked towards the door.
He was indeed somewhat impatient. After all, he had never experienced such a treasure hunt in his past or present life.
For him, this was a new and fascinating field.
...
The Buddha statue, four to five meters tall, sat in the open space of the backyard. Its open eyes stared ahead, as if searching, or perhaps guarding.
Elder Lei and the others followed Ye Fan, their gazes fixed on the Buddha statue.
With Ye Fan's inspiration, they were all considering various possibilities for determining the distance.
Ye Fan slowly circled the Buddha statue, his eyes constantly scanning its body. From time to time, he would pat it.
His actions puzzled Elder Lei and the others. "Young friend Ye, have you made any discoveries?"
Unable to contain his curiosity, Elder Lei asked.
Ye Fan shook his head, "Just searching randomly. You all don't need to mind."
He said it lightly, but his words meant something else entirely to these people.
It seemed Ye Fan had already discovered a clue and knew how to search, but was merely struggling to find it.
This made Elder Lei even more excited, and he kept praying in his heart, hoping he would find it.
Having lived for sixty to seventy years, he already had power, status, and fame, but he had never done anything earth-shattering. This had always been his regret.
And now, the opportunity was right before him. How could he not be excited?
At this moment, a small protrusion on the Buddha statue's toe caught Ye Fan's attention.
He narrowed his eyes and slowly walked to the toe, his finger hovering lightly above the protrusion.
With a slight push, the protrusion actually moved slightly.
Ye Fan quickly withdrew his hand, a faint smile curving his lips.
It seemed the secret was here.
He had to admit that the wisdom of the ancients was indeed profound, to have designed such a clever mechanism.
Even by today's standards, it was unlikely many people would have such an idea.
Having confirmed his guess, Ye Fan was in high spirits. He slowly stood up and looked at Elder Lei, who was still diligently searching for the secret. "I have a preliminary idea, but I need to confirm it further."
Hearing this, Elder Lei and the others were stunned and took a while to react.
Elder Lei was the first to step forward, placing his hands on Ye Fan's shoulders.
"Young friend Ye, you, you're telling the truth?"