Li Chonglou's words infuriated Lin Ao, who gritted his teeth and said, "You little punk, how dare you insult me!"
He then glanced at Xu Lie.
He continued, "Don't think you can do anything to me just because you have a big brute of a follower."
"If you can't explain yourself properly today, I'll make sure you regret it."
"On this land of Qin Prefecture, it's easy for me to deal with people like you."
Hearing this, a cold glint shot from Xu Lie's eyes.
He had always been fierce; otherwise, he wouldn't have earned the moniker "Fierce Tiger."
On the boxing ring, he fought with his life, and in his eyes, there was no such thing as high or low status.
There were only those who could fight and those who couldn't.
Lin Ao's attitude had already made him extremely displeased. If Li Chonglou hadn't stopped him, he would have punched him in the face long ago.
"You have poor eyesight but still act tough? Since your master didn't teach you, I'll teach you on his behalf!"
Li Chonglou said calmly, "I have no problem discerning authenticity."
"But as tuition, if this chicken heart pendant is a fake, it will belong to me!"
"You..." Lin Ao was exasperated.
"You pride yourself on being an insider, don't you understand the rules of the antique trade?" Li Chonglou was never one to be easily swayed.
If Lin Ao wanted to slap his face in public and trample on his dignity, he would have to pay a price.
According to the rules of the antique circle, if a buyer found an issue with the seller's goods during a transaction, and the buyer could point out the problem, the seller would have to pay money.
This money was called tuition.
The tuition Qin Muyang had demanded a few days ago was precisely this.
Although Lin Ao hadn't sold anything, his主动 asking Li Chonglou to clarify was equivalent to seeking advice within the circle.
Tuition was unavoidable.
Despite his arrogance, Lin Ao dared not break the rules. He ripped off the jade finger guard and said resentfully, "Fine!"
"If you can point out the flaw, this jade finger guard belongs to you."
"If you can't, I will make you kneel and acknowledge me as your master here in front of everyone today."
This jade finger guard was a great find he had acquired for thirty thousand yuan to match his Han Dynasty costume.
With his eyesight, he couldn't find any flaws.
For Li Chonglou to claim it was a modern imitation was an insult to his skills and intelligence.
If one can endure it, one cannot endure it.
Li Chonglou's eyelids flickered slightly, and a smile appeared on his lips. "The jade finger guard was an ancient archery tool, originating from the Shang Dynasty, used to扣弦拉弓 (扣弦拉弓 - to hook the string and draw the bow).
"However, by the Warring States period, it was exquisitely carved with dragons and phoenixes in relief, gradually losing its practical function and becoming purely decorative."
"In the Han Dynasty, it completely evolved into a jade pendant, known as a chicken heart pendant."
"Your chicken heart pendant, both in its carving and its imitation of ancient craftsmanship, is top-notch. Even the patina is extremely natural."
"But it has a fatal flaw, and that is the knife work!"
Upon hearing this, Lin Ao couldn't help but sneer repeatedly, "Keep fabricating."
"This knife work is standard Han craftsmanship. Are you going to say this jade finger guard is fake because it doesn't have the 'Han Eight Knives' technique?"
"I think you're ignorant and haven't even heard of 'you si tiao dao' (游丝跳刀 - a type of carving technique)!"
He assumed Li Chonglou would identify it as fake based on the patina or the jade quality.
He never expected the flaw to be in the carving knife work.
This was the only evidence he had to confirm the chicken heart pendant was Han Dynasty jade.
For Li Chonglou to claim the knife work was flawed was simply laughable.
It seemed he was destined to win in terms of eyesight today.
He wouldn't even need his master to host a banquet; he could teach this arrogant brat who didn't know his place a lesson on behalf of the Qin Prefecture antique circle.
"Unlike the typical Han Dynasty style shown by the 'Han Eight Knives,' this is a fine incised line technique," Li Chonglou continued unhurriedly. "There are two types of incised lines in Han Dynasty jade wares!"
"One is a smooth, continuous incised line, slender and elastic, commonly known as 'shiba miao' (十八描 - eighteen strokes).
"One of these is called 'you si miao' (游丝描 - thread-like描), where the fine line is comparable to the escapement of a clock and its pendulum. It is fine and full of tension and elasticity. This is a later term."
"High-quality 'you si miao' is like a needle hidden in cotton, continuous and unbroken."
"No dynasty since has been able to imitate it. Only the master craftsmen of the Qing Dynasty court in the mid-period could replicate about sixty percent of the feel, but it still couldn't pass for genuine."
"What you refer to as 'you si tiao dao' is another technique, where fine lines show more obvious joining marks during the carving process, known as 'you si mao diao' (游丝毛雕 - thread-like rough carving) or 'you si tiao dao'."
"Gao Lian of the Ming Dynasty, in his 'Yan Xian Qing Shang Jian' (燕闲清赏笺 - Notes on Leisurely Appreciating Antiques), stated, 'Han people carved with great skill, their brilliance lay in double-hooking (双钩). The grinding technique was fluid and flowing, as fine as autumn hair, with no unevenness or breaks in the lines, appearing like drawn thread outlines, without any trace of stagnation.'"
"Its characteristic is that it looks like it was etched rather than processed with a grinding wheel."
"Modern imitations cannot replicate 'you si miao,' but they can imitate 'you si tiao dao,' which is so lifelike it can be mistaken for the real thing!"
"Your chicken heart pendant, both in its form and its 'you si tiao dao' craftsmanship, is a perfect imitation."
"Even though it's a modern imitation, it's still an excellent piece."
"However, from now on, it belongs to me."
Hiss...
The entourage gasped in disbelief.
Their eyes widened, unable to comprehend.
Lin Ao's face turned from green to white, then from white to black.
His confident gaze gradually turned to bewilderment and confusion.
What Li Chonglou was saying was something that even an expert who had studied Han Dynasty jade for over a decade couldn't fully grasp.
Could it be...
He wasn't relying on luck, but was a true expert?
No!
It was absolutely impossible.
The antique world was vast and encompassed a wide range of categories, including ceramics, jade, textiles, gold and silver, jewelry, glass, enamel, lacquerware, bronze, calligraphy and painting, rubbings, steles, ink inscriptions, coins, seals, carvings, architecture, furniture, ancient animal and plant specimens and fossils, archaeological sites, and more.
In addition to this, one had to be proficient in various historical and cultural aspects.
A person's energy was always limited. Even the most capable person could only specialize in one or a few areas.
At Li Chonglou's age, even with divine help, it was impossible to achieve high accomplishments in ceramics, lacquerware, and jade simultaneously.
He was trying to trick him!
"Nonsense!"
Lin Ao reacted, his eyes regaining confidence. "I've examined this 'you si tiao dao' with a magnifying glass for a long time, and there are no issues."
"Let's see how you explain this."
Li Chonglou was determined to be taken as a disciple today.
However, his so-called acceptance of a disciple was not about genuine inheritance within the circle, but about crushing Li Chonglou under his heel and humiliating him.
Since he was so arrogant, he would be taught a lesson in conduct every day using the rules.
"Magnifying glass?"
Li Chonglou smiled calmly. "Calling you blind is an understatement."
"Ordinary craftsmen can indeed tell the difference with a magnifying glass, but as I said, this chicken heart pendant has extremely high carving artistry."
"If I'm not mistaken, it should be from a master inherited from the late Qing Dynasty court."
"Decades of knife work, leaving no detail unrendered."
"However, no matter how skillful modern craftsmanship is, it must use a rotating electric diamond grinding head, which is vastly different from the manual grinding of the past. It will always leave subtle traces."
"By observing the chipping on both sides of the line wall with a high-power microscope, one can identify it."
"The hospital has microscopes. Do you dare to investigate with me?"
Li Chonglou exuded confidence.
He hadn't, of course, seen the chipping that could only be revealed by a microscope at first glance.
Instead, he had sensed a different aura from the material.
That's why he concluded it was a modern imitation.
But this aura was based on experience and an intuition that couldn't be explained.