"I'm right here. If you can kill me, go ahead and try," Li Yang said with a smile, casually slapping Chang Shan across the face.
Chang Shan immediately cried out in pain and rolled onto the ground.
Several of his subordinates rushed over to help him up. "Brother Shan, are you okay?"
"Do I look like I'm okay?" Chang Shan roared furiously, pointing at Li Yang. "All of you, attack! Kill this kid!"
"Don't worry, Brother Shan, this kid is dead today!" the subordinates shouted, raising their weapons and charging at Li Yang.
Many people's faces turned pale, and they secretly broke out in a cold sweat for Li Yang. Others looked towards Gui Bunian, thinking this scoundrel was as despicable as ever.
They all knew that Chang Shan and his gang were Gui Bunian's hired thugs. If anything went wrong at the jade gambling stall, Gui Bunian would call them out to handle it.
Seeing Li Yang about to be in trouble, Gui Bunian wore a smug, cold smile. Kid, you're too green to mess with me!
You think you can walk all over people just because you're good at appraising jade?
How naive!
However, in the next moment, his expression changed drastically.
The subordinates who had just charged forward, like exaggerated actors, let out screams simultaneously and were sent flying outwards.
"Ouch!"
"My backside!"
"My head!"
"Help, how did I end up in a tree!"
"You guys?" Chang Shan was stunned as his subordinates were sent flying away in less than a blink of an eye.
Although it looked like they were acting, as their boss, Chang Shan knew very well that they would never dare to act in front of him.
"You, what did you just do?"
"You want to know? Come here, and I'll give you an experience," Li Yang said with a smile.
Chang Shan retreated a few steps in fear. "You, don't come any closer!"
"If I don't come closer just because you say so, wouldn't that be losing face?" Li Yang took a step towards him with a smile.
Chang Shan's face immediately turned pale with fright, and he turned to run. "I was wrong, Boss Li. I'm leaving now. Don't chase me!"
"Boss Li, spare me!" The subordinates also fled, not daring to linger for another second.
In just a short while, they had all run away.
Everyone was stunned and looked at Li Yang blankly, never imagining that Boss Li's martial arts skills were so formidable.
Chang Shan's gang were not ordinary thugs, yet they were beaten and driven away in just one encounter.
"A bunch of losers!" Gui Bunian gritted his teeth in anger.
Li Yang smiled. "Boss Gui, it seems you're quite unhappy that these guys didn't do anything to me."
"Am I? Li, you're too sensitive," Gui Bunian said with a grim face.
Li Yang smiled. "Heh, if Boss Gui says no, then no. But you won't be saying that for long."
"Pour hot water onto the cut surface of the stone."
"Yes, Boss Li." The staff at Fuhao Jade Gambling Stall immediately picked up the kettle of hot water and poured it onto the cut surface of the stone that had just been opened.
As the hot water was poured, steam rose.
The crowd watched this scene with suspicion. "What are they doing?"
"I don't understand."
"With such high temperatures, won't it damage the jade?"
"Exactly. Boss Li, you should... Oh, what is this!"
Suddenly, someone cried out in surprise.
After being washed by the hot water, the cut surface of the stone revealed a layer of white,渣滓-like substance.
This was something that did not exist in the jade itself.
Some people with sharp eyes and good judgment immediately said, "It's special glue!"
"What is it used for?"
"What else can glue be used for? Of course, to stick things together."
"This stone has a problem. It was glued together with special glue."
"Boss Gui, your goods have a problem. Aren't you going to say anything?" someone asked, looking at Gui Bunian.
Gui Bunian's face turned sinister. "I don't know what's going on. Besides, with so many stones in my jade gambling stall, it's inevitable that one or two might have issues."
"At worst, I'll compensate you double."
"That's easily said," Li Yang said with a smile. "But what if all thirty-seven stones have problems!"
"Impossible!" Gui Bunian said coldly.
He had indeed tampered with some of the stones at the gambling stall, but he wasn't a fool. He wouldn't have put too many problematic stones in the stall at once.
But he overlooked one thing: if the master is crooked, the subordinates will follow.
Since the boss was doing this, why wouldn't his subordinates seize the opportunity to do the same and make some extra money?
Li Yang's lips curved into a smile. "You'll know soon enough..."
"Pour hot water on all the opened stones."
"Okay, Boss Li." The staff at Fuhao Jade Gambling Stall nodded.
The second stone was opened, and after being doused with hot water, it showed similar problems. Then came the third, fourth, and up to the twenty-first stone, all of which exhibited the same issue.
The crowd at the scene felt their hearts go numb. "What's the point of continuing to watch? Boss Gui, aren't you going to admit it?"
"I, I..." Gui Bunian's face turned pale. How could there be so many!
He remembered instructing his cousin to control the number of problematic raw jade stones, not exceeding eighteen per day.
But now, twenty-one were already problematic.
He suddenly looked at his cousin, whose face had turned pale. "Did you do this?"
"No, it wasn't me," his cousin quickly denied.
Gui Bunian grabbed his collar and roared, "You still won't admit it!"
"It really wasn't me."
His cousin naturally wouldn't admit it and instead shouted, "Big Brother, you can't just blame me when something goes wrong!"
"Boss Gui, it's too much to still pretend now," the crowd said. "Are you treating everyone like fools?"
"That's ridiculous. You're the boss of the jade gambling stall. If you didn't approve, would your subordinates dare to do this?"
"Exactly, Big Brother. Everyone knows very well that even if you try to pin the blame on me, people won't believe it," his cousin said immediately.
Gui Bunian trembled with rage and punched his cousin in the eye socket. "Damn it!"
"Ah!" His cousin cried out and fell to the ground. He took the punch but didn't resist, only clutching his head and shouting about his innocence.
The crowd's anger was ignited, and they rushed to stop Gui Bunian from continuing his assault. "Boss Gui, the evidence is clear, and you still won't admit it?"
"There's a limit to your shamelessness!"
"You're beating your own cousin so brutally, do you have any shame?"
"You guys!" Gui Bunian was furious but helpless. He couldn't fight everyone, and even if he did, he was no match for so many people alone.
Li Yang smiled. "Boss Gui, do you want me to continue opening stones?"