At this moment, Hao Baoquan had a degree of comprehension. As a successful businessman, he certainly wasn't dull; quite the opposite, he was quite sharp, and he caught the subtle meaning in the words exchanged between Gao Dequan and Wang Guan.

Wang Guan smiled then, "Let's discuss it outside."

As long as they left the collection vault, no matter how much Hao Baoquan regretted it later, he probably wouldn't have the face to take back his word.

As he spoke, Wang Guan gestured to Beiye and cheerfully walked out of the room. Hao Baoquan blinked, instinctively reaching out a hand, but ultimately did not speak to stop them.

Despite a primal feeling that the ancient jade thumb ring was not simple, its outward appearance was truly underwhelming. He had collected the item initially perhaps as an afterthought, and not having the inclination to properly examine it, he had carelessly tossed it onto the counter.

"At worst, it's just something a famous person used," Hao Baoquan mused inwardly, thinking that with such a poor presentation, even if it had belonged to Emperor Qianlong, he wouldn't be particularly interested.

With that thought, Hao Baoquan naturally stopped trying to prevent Wang Guan from leaving.

"Baoquan, don't regret it later."

At the same time, Gao Dequan smiled, patted Hao Baoquan’s shoulder, and quickly followed them out. He was equally eager to discover the mystery hidden within that ancient jade thumb ring.

"Could it be that I actually let a treasure slip away?" Hao Baoquan murmured to himself. After securely locking the collection vault door, he hurried into the living room.

Gao Dequan was already examining the ancient jade thumb ring, slowly commenting, "Stair-step shape. Undoubtedly an artifact from the Ming Dynasty, or perhaps even earlier."

"The color is slightly yellowish, likely due to earth permeation. The staining covers almost the entire surface, inside and out. Its appearance is not good. Not only does it obscure the original color of the jade, but it also severely impacts its value."

Saying this, a subtle change came over Gao Dequan's face. "Wang Guan, this item can hardly be called excellent. Tell me quickly, what is the secret behind this thing?"

"It’s a thumb ring, that’s all. What secret could it have?" Wang Guan laughed. "The only secret is that this thing is made of jade."

"Don't try to fool me. Elder Qian said you're the type who won't release the hawk until the rabbit is seen. Going into the treasure vault, you wouldn't just take an ordinary trinket." Gao Dequan certainly didn't believe him, expressing dissatisfaction. "What, are you going to hide it even from me?"

"No, I already told you, the secret is the jade." Wang Guan smiled, reminding him, "Uncle De, what material do you think this thumb ring is made of?"

"Mutton-fat jade?" Gao Dequan frowned, examining it closely. He saw that beneath the slight yellowing, there was a hint of dark dullness. Thus, he guessed the material was poor-quality mutton-fat jade, which had developed a slight yellow earth stain after years of burial.

"Kacha."

Just then, Wang Guan pulled out a small, exquisite flashlight, switched it on, and handed it to Gao Dequan, saying with a smile, "Shine it in there; it should become perfectly clear."

"Indeed..."

Gao Dequan took the flashlight and directed the beam straight into the aperture of the thumb ring. Instantly, under the strong light, the ancient jade thumb ring became translucent. Immediately afterward, a very beautiful bright yellow luster radiated outwards.

"Whoa!"

Seeing this, not only Gao Dequan but also Hao Baoquan, sitting nearby, were quite surprised.

"Yellow Jade!"

Gao Dequan reacted quickly, a mixture of surprise and delight on his face. "It’s actually Yellow Jade."

"Yellow Dragon Jade?" Hao Baoquan was momentarily stunned.

"Don't insult it by calling it that yellow wax stone," Gao Dequan waved his hand, repeatedly studying the ring under the bright light. After a long while, he finally spoke, "This is true Yellow Jade, not that yellow-mouth material, nor staining material, and certainly not yellow wax stone."

"What's the difference?" Hao Baoquan was very confused.

"The difference is huge," Gao Dequan explained. "As for yellow wax stone, there's no need to elaborate. Good quality ones can be hyped up quite a bit in the market just by changing the name. But among experts, those things are a joke."

"As for yellow-mouth material, that's not bad stuff. It usually refers to the yellow-mouth material from Hetian mountain sources, belonging to the Hetian Jade series. Its color is yellowish with a hint of greenish-yellow, with a soft luster, very close to true Yellow Jade. But it only approaches it; there's still a significant gap in quality."

Gao Dequan spoke smoothly: "And the staining material is easier to understand—it just means the sugar crust staining on the jade is yellow. In reality, the interior of the jade might be white meat, or some other color; there's no yellow core, so it can't be called Yellow Jade."

"But this one is different..."

Gao Dequan gestured: "Can you see? The color permeates uniformly from the inside out, entirely yellow and remarkably coherent. This proves the item is carved from a single piece of Yellow Jade, hollowed out to form a thumb ring."

"Oh."

Hao Baoquan nodded vaguely, perhaps not truly understanding, but at least feigning understanding.

"Forget it, it’s hard to explain to you. You can read about it later," Gao Dequan sighed in resignation. "All you need to know is that Yellow Jade is extremely precious, and not just now—even in ancient times, there wasn't much Yellow Jade around. Especially during the Ming and Qing dynasties, yellow was revered. The essence of Tianhuang Stone is actually just a relatively rare stone, but it was elevated to the status of the Emperor of stones."

"From that, you can imagine how valuable Yellow Jade is. If it were a Yellow Jade seed material of 'chicken-oil yellow' quality, even if it were only the size of a thumbnail, it would probably be worth over ten million."

Gao Dequan spoke with complete seriousness, with no hint of joking, which naturally astonished Hao Baoquan. However, he remained unconvinced, reasoning that even if the thumb ring was Yellow Jade, its quality wasn't high, so its value certainly wouldn't be exorbitant.

"Rarity dictates value; it's a perfectly normal principle... Huh!"

As he spoke, Gao Dequan suddenly gasped in surprise, rubbing his fingers carefully inside the thumb ring's aperture, as if he had discovered something particularly unusual.

"What is it?" Hao Baoquan quickly asked.

"Strange," Gao Dequan frowned, putting down the flashlight and meticulously examining the ancient jade thumb ring. The more he handled it, the stranger his expression became, making Hao Baoquan even more curious.

"Ah De, Brother De, Brother Gao..."

A moment later, Hao Baoquan couldn't stand the suspense and switched between several forms of address, urging him, "Stop fiddling with it! If there’s something odd, hurry up and tell us."

"I’m puzzled. It seems there are minute inscriptions inside the thumb ring’s aperture," Gao Dequan mused. "Unfortunately, they are obscured by patchy marks, making them hard to see clearly."

"Where?"

Hao Baoquan was very curious, and following Gao Dequan's guidance, he also extended a finger to probe the inside of the ring, indeed finding traces of carving.

"It really is..." After leaning close to examine it for a long time, Hao Baoquan shook his head. "But it’s too blurred; I can't make out anything."

"If you can't see it, never mind," Gao Dequan said with a smile at this point. "Regardless, a Yellow Jade thumb ring is a very precious item. Its overall ancient, rustic aura is more than enough to offset the value of the tortoiseshell scales."

"Precious, rustic?" Hao Baoquan expressed doubt. "Why can't I see that?"

"That's because you don't know how to appreciate it," Gao Dequan stated calmly. "Having this item in your collection was truly casting pearls before swine. Now that it’s in Wang Guan's hands, it’s a perfect match, finally bringing light to the darkness."

"Is that so?"

Hao Baoquan was naturally unconvinced, but he didn't argue, as in his estimation, he had still made a profitable exchange.

"It’s getting late. We’ve selected items and toured your collection; it's time to go back and rest," Gao Dequan said, rising with a smile. "I’ll come by for tea tomorrow, and then I need to return to the Porcelain Capital."

"Leaving so soon?" Hao Baoquan asked casually. "Stay a few more days."

"Tied up with worldly affairs; I have no choice..."

As they spoke, accompanied by Hao Baoquan seeing them off, the three left the villa and soon returned to their hotel lodging.

"Uncle De, thank you."

Upon entering the room, Wang Guan's first action was to thank Gao Dequan, which left Beiye next to him somewhat bewildered.

"Why thank me? You have good eyes; it's natural you spotted a bargain," Gao Dequan said with a wry smile. "Besides, it’s better if he never finds out about this, lest it becomes a permanent worry for him."

Wang Guan hesitated. "Uncle Hao is broad-minded; surely he wouldn't be that affected."

"He would, absolutely he would," Gao Dequan sighed. "Let alone him, if it were me, I'd probably regret it for a lifetime. This is a legendary item! If I found out such a treasure had slipped right past my nose, I might even feel like hitting my head against a wall."

Wang Guan smiled and asked deliberately, "Uncle De, are you sure?"

"You already figured it out; why are you asking me?" Gao Dequan steadied himself, letting out another sigh. "At first, I only suspected, but now that it even bears a mark, it’s almost certainly true."

"I never expected the legend to be true," Wang Guan said modestly with a smile. "And I always thought that if the legend were real, the material of the thumb ring should be Mutton-Fat White Jade. I never imagined it would be Yellow Jade."

"Actually, that’s quite normal..." Gao Dequan smiled faintly. "After all, precious items like Yellow Jade were probably only available for unrestricted use by the Emperor in ancient times."

Meanwhile, Beiye grew increasingly confused as he listened and couldn't help but ask, "What are you two talking about?"

"We’re talking about this jade thumb ring," Wang Guan smiled and explained softly. "This thumb ring seems to be the work of a very formidable master jade carver from the Ming Dynasty."

"Not a master, but a Grandmaster," Gao Dequan corrected him. "Someone at the level of the founding patriarch."

If a peer were present, they would immediately understand what the two were discussing, but since Beiye lacked that specific knowledge, he remained curious and perplexed. "Who are you talking about?"

"Lu Zigang!"

In that instant, Wang Guan and Gao Dequan spoke the name in unison, an expression of admiration involuntarily appearing on their faces.

Indeed, who else in the history of jade carving could be called the Grandmaster of Jade Craftsmanship besides Lu Zigang?

After all, the history of carving jade in China could be traced back to antiquity, spanning at least five thousand years. In that long span, it was impossible that only one Grandmaster of Jade Carving had emerged. Yet, contemporary jade sculptors wholeheartedly venerated Lu Zigang as their founding patriarch, and there were, of course, many reasons for this.

His transcendent carving technique was certainly the most fundamental reason, but the most important factor was that everyone admired his courage to defy convention—being the first to carve his own name onto a jade artifact, leaving behind the Zigang mark... (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, you are welcome to vote with recommendation tickets and monthly tickets at Qidian (. ). Your support is my greatest motivation.) No Pop-up Novel Network www.RT