"Mr. Lin, I won't keep it from you, this piece of jade can only be considered intermediate quality among jade stones," Liao Zhiping didn't hide anything as he pondered over this stone for decades, yet he couldn't discern any special aspect of it. However, because handling this jade every day made him feel extraordinarily peaceful and comfortable, he took the matter very seriously and treasured it.
Lin Mo held the jade, and suddenly, a bold thought surfaced in his mind.
The spirit veins within the Heavenly Sect had dried up, but now that spirit stones were appearing among the commoners, could it be that the 'dead' spirit veins in the mundane world were beginning to revive?
Of course, this was just Lin Mo's speculation. If those dried-up spirit veins on Earth were to revive, even he couldn't fathom the impact it would have.
And if that happened, the Heavenly Sect and the nations would be embroiled in a struggle for these resources, inevitably leading to new wars!
"Was this jade excavated in Tengchong?" Lin Mo asked with a frown.
Liao Zhiping nodded, "Indeed, this jade was mined in Tengchong, at a new mine. Our exploration team has been researching these years, and we've discovered this new mine. However, Hei Xiong also has his eyes on it. I've agreed to face him in three days at the Tengchong Gambling Stone event to decide the ownership rights of the mine."
"What's this Hei Xiong's story?" Lin Mo continued to inquire.
Lin Mo had already guessed that perhaps that mine was actually a reviving spirit vein. Liao Zhiping was unaware of the matters regarding spiritual energy, but did Hei Xiong know about it?
"Hei Xiong is a local boss in Tengchong with a following of around a hundred people, active around Myanmar, Thailand, and Yun Province. But he has only risen to prominence in the past decade, and even our Liao Family does not dare to underestimate him," Liao Zhiping said gravely.
Lin Mo nodded, thinking that if Hei Xiong could rise so quickly to become a local boss in Tengchong within a decade, there might be an expert behind him.
"I'll accept the jade stone, and I'm also interested in the Gambling Stone event. I'll stay with the Liao Family for three days," Lin Mo said calmly.
A look of joy spread across Liao Zhiping's face, "That's great. I will arrange for you to stay at Xiao Ke's place for these few days and have Xiao Ke and Xiao Fei keep you company."
At the end of his statement, Liao Zhiping looked meaningfully at his granddaughter Liao Ke and his granddaughter-in-law Li Yunfei.
An expression of helplessness appeared on Lin Mo's face; he clearly understood what game Liao Zhiping was playing.
Both Liao Ke and Li Yunfei, however, blushed prettily.
Liao Ke's family also lived in Tengchong in a rather small two-story villa, where they arranged a room for Lin Mo. Liao Changhai and Li Huiyun both treated Lin Mo as an honored guest.
The next day, Lin Mo asked Liao Ke and Li Yunfei to take him on a tour of the Gambling Stone market. He wanted to find out whether it was indeed the revival of the spirit veins that had caused jade to contain spiritual energy.
Jade, being transparent and pure, easily stores spiritual energy, but previously, due to the depletion of spiritual energy on Earth, jade had only shape without inner essence.
Tengchong was rich in jade, with nearly fifty percent of the population engaged in jade-related businesses, from mining, transportation, stone opening, gambling stones, carving, retail, to distribution, every industry closely intertwined with jade.
"This street is all jade shops; some sell raw stones as well. The provincial Gambling Stone event is in a few days, and recently many people have come to Tengchong," explained Liao Ke as they walked.
Lin Mo glanced around; the entire street was bustling with people, some owning shops while others set up street stalls.
However, someone like Lin Mo accompanied by two beautiful women, dressed in cool, youthful garb, certainly attracted many envious glances.
Li Yunfei nodded and said with a smirk, "But there are a lot of scams here, some cut open a fake stone and smear a bit of 'green' on it with special techniques to deceive laymen."
Lin Mo had seen programs on television before, and knew the waters of gambling on stones were very deep. One could easily lose everything without careful attention. There were many people that used special or high-tech methods to create fakes, duping tourists who came to Tengchong or laymen.
Lin Mo's eyes casually swept over the stones, he didn't have x-ray vision, but any jade without Spiritual Energy was of no use to him.
After looking around, he didn't find a single piece of jade containing Spiritual Energy, which inevitably left him feeling disappointed.
"Could it be that only those from the New Mine contain Spiritual Energy?" Lin Mo pondered to himself.
"Eh, isn't that the Eldest Lady Liao?"
As Lin Mo, Liao Ke, and Li Yunfei were strolling around, a group of young men and women approached from behind. Among them, a woman in her early twenties expressed surprise.
These young men and women were the same group that dined at the restaurant in Tengchong the day before. The young woman, who spoke, was named Tian Zi, a Taoking model with a fiery figure and striking appearance.
The two young men and the woman all had extraordinary demeanors, but it seemed that they all deferred to a young man standing in the middle.
The young man appeared to be in his mid-twenties, dressed in a well-tailored GIVENCHY suit, with a refined hairstyle that matched his handsome face. He was the epitome of tall, rich, and handsome.
The young man was named Dan Wen, the eldest son of the Shan Family from Yun Province, and had an engagement arrangement with Liao Ke.
"Is that man shopping with her again?"
"Xiao Ke?" Dan Wen narrowed his eyes slightly, his gaze piercing through the crowd to see Liao Ke, as well as the young man accompanying her. Liao Ke's shoulder was very close to the other person's, and they talked while walking, looking very intimate.
Dan Wen clenched his hands, his expression turning slightly strange. He had interacted with Liao Ke before, but she was aloof and very distant toward him.
However, Liao Ke was beautiful, and Dan Wen believed that beauty and pride were proportional in a woman, and he did not take it to heart. After all, before long, Liao Ke would become his woman.
But now, seeing Liao Ke intimate with another man irritated Dan Wen greatly.
"We saw them at the restaurant yesterday..." a young man started to say.
But Huang Yongfei suddenly coughed fiercely, scaring the young man into shutting his mouth instantly.
"Brother Yong, what exactly happened?" Dan Wen asked the tallest and most muscular man among them, Huang Yongfei.
Although Huang Yongfei was a member of the Sanda Team, in today's society, money and connections were what mattered. Being good at fighting didn't get you far, and he hung around Dan Wen, helping him to fight and vent his anger occasionally.
Seeing Dan Wen's stern look, Huang Yongfei hesitated before saying, "Yesterday, Tian Zi and I were dining at the restaurant and happened to see Miss Ke and that boy eating together. And that boy even tried to touch Miss Ke's..."
"That's enough, there's no need to say more." Dan Wen's face turned pale, his fingernails dug fiercely into his palms. "Even daring to touch a woman of mine, Dan Wen, I don't know which rich young master he is, but I need to meet him properly."
Huang Yongfei said, "Maybe we misjudged the situation. We're still not sure about their relationship."
"There's no need to discuss this anymore." Dan Wen's face darkened as he strode forward.
Meanwhile, Lin Mo, Liao Ke, and Li Yunfei had just entered a restaurant named 'Little Bridge and Flowing Water.' From morning to noon, the two girls were already starving, their stomachs growling loudly.