After expending immense effort, Ye Fan finally saw Elder Lei back to his lodging, drenched in sweat. The wine he had consumed was all seeping out through his pores, mingling with his perspiration.
A gentle breeze brought a chill, causing Ye Fan to shiver involuntarily.
Recalling Elder Lei’s terrifying state when drunk, Ye Fan couldn’t help but tremble inwardly.
Patting his chest, he declared, "From now on, I will never drink with this old man again. It's too frightening."
...
The next morning, the appraisal convention continued, and all rankings were to be decided today.
Zheng Zhilong, having shed yesterday’s dejection, appeared much improved in both complexion and demeanor.
"The second round of competition officially begins. As with the first, please hand over your items prepared for the competition to our staff. They will then be appraised and judged by professional appraisers."
Compared to the first round, the second round proved considerably more challenging.
Although there were only ten items, each was exquisitely crafted and precious, truly treasures in their own right.
Appraising these ten items would not only be time-consuming but also extremely taxing.
However, Elder Lei and the others, being professionals, managed to appraise most of the items by the end of the morning.
Yet, they found themselves in a predicament when it came to ranking the top three.
The reason was the sheer abundance of treasures among these ten items.
After much deliberation among Elder Lei and the other two, they finally decided to have the top ten participants describe their own items, and then collectively vote to determine the top three.
In essence, this meant relying on the audience to appraise these items.
Although Elder Lei and his colleagues were master appraisers from the Antique Association, they were not so arrogant as to believe they were invincible. They did not presume to be unparalleled in the world.
If anyone could identify any flaws in these items, they could be disqualified, which would be fairer to everyone.
Hearing Elder Lei’s suggestion, Ye Fan could only offer a wry smile. This old man was simply unwilling to offend anyone, too shrewd for his own good.
Soon, the ten items were successively placed on the appraisal stage.
Elder Lei himself stepped onto the stage, looking at the crowd below, especially Ye Fan, and smiled faintly.
"These ten items can all be considered masterpieces. As the saying goes, many hands make light work, so we invite everyone to appraise them together."
With that, he pushed forward the first item.
"A silver *gu* from the late Eastern Han Dynasty. Dragon head, phoenix tail, three legs. The rim of the *gu* has a reflux tube. The craftsmanship is exquisite, and the quality is excellent. If placed in a museum, it would at least be a first-class cultural relic."
Elder Lei presented his appraisal.
The crowd below all looked on, and even Ye Fan couldn't help but cast a few glances.
However, upon closer inspection, a problem was discovered.
The silver *gu* was indeed exquisitely crafted, but there were traces of repair on the bottom of the legs.
Although well concealed, the repaired area would melt if treated under high heat.
This item was brought by Wu Liuding. Seeing the astonished expressions of the crowd, Wu Liuding couldn't help but beam with pride.
As a member of the Wu family from the Dark Alliance, he naturally looked down upon the ordinary people of Jiangcheng, feeling his status was far superior.
Therefore, he arrogantly declared, "This is one of my Wu family's heirlooms. Many people might not even see something like this in their lifetime. Allowing you to appraise it today is your greatest fortune."
What arrogant words!
Hearing his pronouncement, the crowd below frowned, and several hot-tempered individuals began to curse.
"Just because you have a good family, why are you so boastful?"
"The Wu family is an ancient, reclusive clan, how can they have such shameless descendants?"
"In my opinion, the Wu family probably won't last much longer. With someone like this, they are bound to decline."
Although they dared not confront the Wu family directly, they were unconcerned about the scolding and laughter from the crowd.
After all, with so many people present, Wu Liuding couldn't do anything to them even if they cursed him.
As expected, upon hearing their curses, Wu Liuding’s expression darkened instantly.
"A bunch of ignorant, jealous good-for-nothings. It's a disgrace to the Jiangcheng antique trade to have such fools like you."
Mocking them again, Wu Liuding had reached the pinnacle of arrogance.
Ye Fan had initially no intention of speaking, as the matter did not concern him.
However, seeing Wu Liuding’s extreme arrogance, his expression suddenly turned grim. He slowly rose, his cold gaze fixed on Wu Liuding.
"Young Master Wu of the Dark Alliance, correct?"
Seeing Ye Fan rise, Wu Liuding was slightly taken aback, then replied dismissively, "What if it is? What? You dared to challenge the Liu family, and now you want to try your hand against my Wu family?"
Wu Liuding asked with utter disdain.
In his eyes, Ye Fan was merely a beneficiary of sheer luck.
Appraisal required experience. Only by seeing and experiencing more could one cultivate the divine judgment of seeing a thousand years in a glance.
But how old was Ye Fan? Even if he had started appraising from birth, he would only be in his early twenties by now.
How could such a nobody contend with his Wu family, which had a dignified heritage of centuries?
Seeing Wu Liuding’s arrogance, Ye Fan actually laughed.
"Young Master Wu comes from a noble background, and I am naturally inferior. However, the nobler the family, the more stingy they tend to be. The Wu family has a deep heritage and surely possesses countless good things, but whether they are willing to bring them out is another matter entirely."
As he spoke, Ye Fan’s gaze slowly shifted, finally landing on the silver *gu*.
"As Elder Lei mentioned earlier, this is a silver *gu* from the Eastern Han Dynasty, a magnificent treasure. But from what I see, it looks like it was repaired after being damaged. Young Master Wu, your Wu family wouldn't be trying to fool us with a piece of junk, would they?"
Ye Fan’s lips curled into a cold smile as he taunted Wu Liuding.
"You speak nonsense! How dare a country bumpkin like you criticize my Wu family’s treasure?"
Wu Liuding was enraged, wishing he could carve Ye Fan into a thousand pieces.
Wu Liuding’s words caused the surrounding crowd to point fingers at him.
At the same time, their dissatisfaction with the Wu family grew.
Ye Fan let out a cold snort, "Since Young Master Wu says so, if I don't appraise it, everyone might truly be deceived by you."
Then, Ye Fan slowly walked forward, approaching the silver *gu*.
"The item is indeed from the Eastern Han Dynasty. Both its design and craftsmanship can be considered exquisite. If this item were undamaged, it would be a national treasure. Unfortunately..."
Ye Fan did not finish his sentence, but the cold smile on his face said it all.
Hearing Ye Fan’s words, Elder Lei frowned slightly, his face showing surprise.
"Ye Fan, you mean to say..."
He himself had appraised this item and found no issues.
But Ye Fan claimed it was damaged, filling him with curiosity.
Ye Fan smiled and nodded, "Indeed, this item was repaired after being damaged."
Ye Fan's words stunned the crowd, who looked at him with expressions of utter shock.