50: Chapter 50: Old Ma Stumbles 50: Chapter 50: Old Ma Stumbles As Wufu’s knife steadily fell, a thin layer of crust fell off, revealing the quality of the stone within—a shallow, faint hint of green with a slight crack, visible to the naked eye.
The crowd was so quiet you could hear a needle drop.
Is this, is this really jade?
Shopkeeper Lin’s complexion changed as he instinctively looked towards Master Lin Gonyun at his side.
Hadn’t he said that this was just a piece of stone?
Lin’s eyes bulged, his lips tightly pressed into a firm line, his hands clenched into fists.
But that hint of green, although faint, still painfully stung his eyes.
His eyes had been sharpened over many years, surpassing even his master.
He was sure he hadn’t made a mistake—a bit of pale green meant nothing.
Cut deeper and there would certainly be nothing.
This was just an ordinary stone.
The bit of green had to be the color of old moss from deep in the mountains.
It must be so, without a doubt!
“Um, is this jade, Master Lin?” someone asked timidly.
Lin said nothing, fixating on the stone, wishing he could see right through it to discern its true nature.
But alas, he was only human after all, and he wasn’t getting any younger.
His perceptive ability had lost a bit of its accuracy.
Wufu paid no attention to the audience, continuing the task at hand, and made another precise cut to remove a thin slice.
A massive uproar erupted from the crowd.
This slice was unlike the first; the green revealed this time was fresher, more translucent, clearer, and more uniform.
Undoubtedly, this stone, whether the jade it bore was top quality or not, proved with its exposed color that it was not just an ordinary stone as Mr.
Shopkeeper Lin’s complexion turned utterly dark, fearfully watching Wufu’s hands, feeling he might have made a wrong decision.
He began to fear, afraid that if Wufu continued cutting, Hundred Treasures Silver Building’s century-old reputation would be ruined.
If Hundred Treasures Silver Building lost its reputation under his management, then he might as well pack up and leave without saying another word!
And then there was Master Lin Gonyun, who had declared there was no jade in front of so many witnesses.
Now, people were even placing bets against him, and losing to a girl—how could he still claim the title of a master?
Did he even have the face to meet people anymore?
No, he had to stop her.
She must not be allowed to keep cutting!
Yet, as much as Shopkeeper Lin thought this, his mouth seemed sealed shut by someone; he could not utter a sound, simply watching as Wufu carefully connected two dots along a fissure with a steady cut, revealing the true face beneath.
Complete silence engulfed the arena.
Old Man Shen was the first to collapse, staring dumbfounded at the opened stone, at the lush green, his eyes shifting from the green to red as tears ran long.
The stone before them, like Mt.
Lu shrouded in thick fog being forcefully cleared, revealed its true face—a jade green like seawater, under the lights used for illumination, radiantly see-through like fine jade.
“There really is jade!” someone shouted.
The onlookers erupted like boiling water.
Shopkeeper Lin’s legs went weak—done for!
“Sir, Master?” The clerk’s shout brought him back to his senses, and he looked over.
But there was Master Lin Gonyun, too, collapsed on the ground, staring hard at the green, muttering under his breath that it was impossible, this can’t be happening!
Shopkeeper Lin couldn’t bear it and closed his eyes; Yulin Ghost Hand, the grandmaster, who had never made a mistake since his fame rose, had stumbled this time!