"Young man, the ink you're talking about, is it Eagle Claw?"
The old man gently extended a finger and pointed at the Eagle Claw painting. At first glance, his finger seemed to be stained with ink.
The boss hurriedly said, "Sir, you may not know, but treasures like calligraphy and paintings have very strict storage environment requirements."
"Every year in March and April, there's humidity, and the moisture in the air can also penetrate the painting."
The boss winked at the decoys he had hired, and they all agreed with his statement.
The old man calmly asked, "Young man, do you have any other methods to appraise treasures? As long as you can find absolutely conclusive evidence that it's a fake, this old man will reward you handsomely!"
The old man found himself in a dilemma. He wasn't short of money, but he didn't want to be a complete fool. Buying a fake to display at home would surely be a laughingstock among his old friends.
Su Yang frowned. This shop owner was a seasoned veteran, and he was indeed difficult to deal with. If he were to mention the paper quality now, the boss would likely have an excuse to refute.
Since that was the case, he could only resort to scanning the person. Su Yang used his All-Seeing Eye on the boss, seeing everything that had happened to him in the past ten days. This included who he had transacted with and who had forged this painting.
Su Yang's eyes lit up. He saw that this pavilion held hidden secrets, and there was a secret room in the back that served as a painting studio. It was a place specifically used to forge masterpieces, and there was even a flawed piece in the secret room.
Su Yang's lips curled into a smile. "Sir, I have a method to verify the authenticity of this painting, but..."
"What method?"
The old man and the boss spoke in unison, one anxious, the other flustered. Su Yang whispered the method to the old man, letting him decide whether to break into the secret room.
The old man pondered for a moment and gave a look to his bodyguard. The bodyguard went out and soon returned with several colleagues, all exuding an imposing aura.
The old man smiled at Su Yang, "This matter today shouldn't have troubled you, but since you kindly reminded me, this old man, Shi Wuzun, cannot let you down."
"Ah Da, you and the others push aside that camphor wood shelf and see what's in the secret room."
The old man, named Shi Wuzun, gestured for the bodyguard captain, Ah Da, to enter the secret room. Upon hearing this, the shop owner's face turned ashen, and he reached out to stop them.
"Get lost!"
Bodyguard Ah Da's eyes widened. He only followed orders and didn't care what kind of place this was. Seeing this, all the customers retreated a few steps, ready to watch the show. The decoys, sensing the situation was dire, tried to slip away quietly.
Shi Wuzun narrowed his eyes, now certain that Su Yang's words were more than nine-tenths true.
"You guys can't leave yet!" Shi Wuzun shouted, startling the decoys into freezing in place.
A few minutes later. Bodyguard Ah Da emerged holding a painting, and everyone looked on with curiosity. It was very similar to the one sold for three million earlier, except there were some flaws in the painting. Instantly, everyone understood. It turned out that "Grand Exhibition of Ambition" was indeed a fake.
Shi Wuzun was furious. In front of everyone, he directly tore up the three-million-yuan fake scroll. Not a moment of hesitation.
"I never expected that the centuries-old Wanbao Zhai would sell fakes to amass wealth!"
"Despicable, utterly despicable!"
Shi Wuzun's eyes were wide with rage, veins bulging on his temples. At a glance, he looked like a ferocious tiger, his imposing aura radiating menace.
*Bang!*
Boss Zhao fell to his knees, trembling, his face devoid of color. "I, I, I was wrong, sir. I was momentarily blinded by greed..." He looked up at the enraged Shi Wuzun, his eyes filled with infinite horror.
"You're asking for death!" Shi Wuzun kicked Boss Zhao, sending him spitting blood.
*Poof—*
Su Yang calmly observed Shi Wuzun. When the old man was calm earlier, he resembled a kind old grandpa next door. Now, he was a completely different person, like a seasoned general who had fought countless battles, his invisible aura seemingly strangling Boss Zhao's neck.
Boss Zhao swallowed hard, unable to even speak. Shi Wuzun waved his hand, beginning to clear the area.
"Unrelated personnel, please leave Wanbao Zhai first. Young man, you stay."
From outside, synchronized footsteps could be heard as another team of bodyguards rushed in. The surrounding customers dared not linger, and at this moment, they also guessed that Shi Wuzun's identity was not simple. Since they were clearing the area, they certainly wouldn't stay to become punching bags.
After the customers left, the bloodshot veins in Shi Wuzun's eyes quickly receded, and he regained his composure. His ability to control his emotions was remarkable, his moods shifting unpredictably.
Su Yang suddenly sensed that Shi Wuzun was a very dangerous individual and instinctively stepped in front of Yang Mange.
"Senior, this junior has no intention of getting involved in your affairs with Boss Zhao. I'll take my leave now." Out of caution, Su Yang feared that if these powerful figures were to handle things, he might be dealt with as well.
Shi Wuzun chuckled, "Don't be afraid, young friend. This old man has a question for you: how many genuine treasures are there in this shop?"
Su Yang's eyes blinked, and he once again used his All-Seeing Eye. A hidden light flashed in his pupils as he rapidly appraised all the treasures in the hall.
"This..." Even though Su Yang had suspected it, he still gasped in shock. Out of the 998 artifacts in the shop, only 8 were genuine; the rest were high-quality imitations. Su Yang was also enraged. He immediately walked to the shelves, grabbed a blue and white porcelain vase, and smashed it. He also tore up the calligraphy and paintings one by one.
*Crash, crash, crash!*
"Don't smash! Don't smash my shop!" Shi Wuzun gave a signal, and his men held Boss Zhao down.
"Young friend, what are you doing..."
"There are only 8 genuine items here. I'm smashing the fakes, and from now on, no one will be able to use these worthless things to cheat people."
"Dragon Country people don't cheat Dragon Country people. I, Su Yang, hate fraud the most..."
Su Yang smashed and cursed. In his past life, a close childhood friend had taken a family heirloom to an appraisal show. At that time, the appraiser said his friend's heirloom was fake but offered to buy it privately for 300,000 yuan. Later, that appraiser sold the heirloom at auction for over ten million yuan. He had cheated Su Yang's friend, who later developed depression and passed away. Su Yang was an orphan in his past life, and the loss of his only good brother had deeply affected him, making him unable to suppress his anger.
Hearing this, Shi Wuzun was not angry but pleased. Su Yang's personality was very similar to his own. It was as if he were looking at his younger self. Shi Wuzun laughed heartily and ordered his bodyguards to take Boss Zhao and the decoys away, handing them over to the Songhai City Security Bureau.
In the vast Wanbao Zhai, only three people remained. Yang Mange was stunned, watching an old man and a young man smashing things in the lobby, and they seemed to be enjoying it. She looked at Su Yang, her mind filled with a million questions. Su Yang, in his early twenties, with a net worth of tens of billions and a sharp eye for appraisals, how had he achieved this?
"Young friend Su Yang, the remaining genuine items here, as well as this shop, will belong to you from now on." Su Yang was also taken aback. Shi Wuzun gifting him the shop with a single sentence – who was this person?
Shi Wuzun stood up, and the sound of clanking could be heard from outside the door. Su Yang turned to look and saw a troop of soldiers armed with guns rushing in. There were at least fifty soldiers, all in uniform armor, exuding a fierce aura!