Mr. Cao's face was flushed with anger, his eyes burning with fury.
Ye Fan curled his lips into a cold sneer, "Since Mr. Cao puts it that way, if I don't provide an explanation, I might be in danger."
Then, Ye Fan stepped forward and pried open the jewelry box.
This action stunned everyone.
"Even if the jewelry box isn't valuable, there's no need to damage it."
"This kid is just lashing out in embarrassment."
"It's worth even less if it's broken. What exactly is he trying to do?"
The onlookers speculated, watching Ye Fan with confusion.
Even Mr. Cao frowned at this moment. Could there be some hidden mechanism within the jewelry box?
Liu Piaoxu stared intently at Ye Fan, trying to figure out what he was doing.
"Are you trying to break it and then deny responsibility?"
Liu Cheng scoffed at Ye Fan, asking with a cold snort.
"You're not worthy of me doing that."
Ye Fan smiled and continued to dismantle the jewelry box piece by piece.
Then, Ye Fan picked up a piece and said to Mr. Cao, "This jewelry box is indeed not valuable, it's very ordinary, but what's inside has value."
As he spoke, he applied force with both hands, and that piece of wood immediately cracked in half.
"This is..."
Sun Yilang, who was beside Ye Fan, saw a flash of golden light from the crack.
"The interlayer of this jewelry box is made of gold."
Ye Fan smiled and placed the two halves of the wood on the table.
At this moment, even Mr. Cao was stunned. He quickly picked up the piece, his expression priceless.
Then, the remaining pieces were broken, and Ye Fan collected all the gold.
"This gold should be over a hundred grams. At the current market price of over four hundred yuan per gram, the value of this gold is over forty thousand yuan. We are competing on the value of the chosen items, not their historical significance. Mr. Cao, who do you think won or lost?"
"Heh heh."
Mr. Cao stroked his beard and laughed. The anger on his face had completely vanished.
His gaze towards Ye Fan held a newfound interest.
"Wonderful, truly wonderful. I didn't expect the reversal to be so sudden. Even this old man was fooled by you."
At Mr. Cao's level of status and prestige, being deceived by someone could also be a form of enjoyment.
Ye Fan disdained Mr. Cao's pretentious attitude, but since they were in the Ghost Market, on his turf, he could only force a smile.
"I declare that in this competition, this young brother has won. Liu Cheng of the Liu family should honor the bet, and from now on, this life belongs to this young brother."
As Mr. Cao announced the result, the surrounding crowd erupted in cheers.
Liu Cheng's face darkened, "No, he cheated, he cheated! He clearly exceeded the time limit, so this doesn't count. I won, I am the winner of this competition."
His face contorted, wishing he could devour Ye Fan alive.
He had clearly won just moments ago, but Ye Fan had made a desperate comeback, making him lose utterly. How could he accept this?
"Hmph, a bet is a bet. When they returned earlier, you didn't stop them. Now that they've won, you remember the time limit? How laughable."
"If he had lost the competition just now, would you have mentioned the time limit and asked him to redo it?"
Staring intently at Liu Cheng, Mr. Cao's domineering aura instantly erupted.
Sensing the formidable presence emanating from Mr. Cao, Liu Cheng trembled violently and dared not speak further.
In the Ghost Market, no one could challenge his authority.
Liu Piaoxu and another member of the Liu family also wore somber expressions.
"Liu Cheng, a bet is a bet. We Liu family members can win, and we can also lose. Since we lost, why argue? Haven't we already embarrassed the Liu family enough?"
Liu Piaoxu reprimanded him fiercely.
The Liu family could lose, but they absolutely could not lose face!
"But..."
Liu Cheng still wanted to argue, but Liu Piaoxu snorted, "There's no 'but.' You lost, you lost. Now, apologize to this gentleman immediately."
Liu Piaoxu's words were final and commanding.
Liu Cheng's face darkened, and he dared not speak, but the anger in his eyes was unmistakable.
Seeing Liu Cheng's unwillingness, Ye Fan snorted, "A bet is a bet. Since you lost, you must fulfill the stakes. From now on, your life belongs to me. You must obey any command I give. With so many people as witnesses, I don't think Young Master Liu would go back on his word and make the Liu family a laughingstock, would he?"
This final blow to Liu Cheng's pride shattered him completely.
"You..."
His body trembled, and he pointed a finger at Ye Fan. Finally, unable to catch his breath, he fainted.
Liu Piaoxu frowned, a chilling glint in her exquisitely beautiful eyes.
But the situation had reached this point, and she was powerless.
"May I know this gentleman's name? Piaoxu will pay a visit another day."
Slowly, she glided forward and spoke politely to Ye Fan.
"Boguzhai, Ye Fan."
He didn't harbor any ill feelings towards Liu Piaoxu. Although this woman was somewhat cunning, she ultimately had her principles, far more so than Liu Cheng.
Liu Piaoxu smiled faintly and nodded, then signaled the other Liu family man to quickly carry Liu Cheng away.
Watching Liu Piaoxu's retreating figure, Ye Fan narrowed his eyes slightly. This woman gave him a sense of formidable presence, even dangerous.
However, if he wanted to achieve his plans, he couldn't avoid dealing with the Liu family.
"There's no choice."
Ye Fan murmured softly.
"Mr. Ye, what were you saying?"
Sun Yilang had only heard Ye Fan speak but hadn't caught the words, so he quickly asked.
Ye Fan shook his head, "It's nothing, Old Sun. Boguzhai's business needs to be extra careful recently. The Liu family will not give up easily, so don't fall into their traps."
If the Liu family could swallow their pride, they wouldn't be the Liu family.
Sun Yilang nodded heavily. Without Ye Fan's reminder, he understood the current situation.
The moment Ye Fan announced his affiliation, Boguzhai and the dark alliance of the Liu family were destined to stand in opposition, a life-or-death struggle.
The fear and dread he had felt earlier had gradually disappeared. In fact, a faint sense of anticipation stirred within Sun Yilang.
If Boguzhai could crush the Liu family under Ye Fan's leadership, the thought alone made his blood boil.
For so many years, no one had dared to provoke the members of the dark alliance. Today, Ye Fan had done it!
This boldness was enough to shock everyone in the antique circle.
What he had to do now was to help Ye Fan, succeed or die trying.
"Brother Ye, what's the background of those arrogant guys just now? The Liu family? I haven't heard of them. Are they from our Jiang City?"
After the crowd dispersed, Jiang Zhitao quickly walked over, his face filled with confusion.
From Ye Fan's reaction, he could sense that this Liu family was probably not simple.