Naturally, this hotel wasn't the Grand Hyatt, but rather where Pi Qiu-Shi had chosen to stay. By this time, those who were meant to leave had already departed, leaving only Old Meng and Sha Qing-Feng behind to accompany Wang Guan and Pi Qiu-Shi to the hotel.

Knowing Wang Guan was coming, Pi Qiu-Shi had already booked a room for him as well. After handling the check-in procedures at the front desk, the group took turns carrying the statue of Lü Dongbin up to the room.

After summoning a waiter to bring tea for their guests and seeing the server retreat, the moment the door clicked shut, Pi Qiu-Shi sprang up from the sofa with surprising agility for his stout frame, landing right next to the statue to examine it closely.

"Brother Pi, what are you doing?" Sha Qing-Feng and Old Meng looked on with a touch of bewilderment.

"Looking at a treasure," Pi Qiu-Shi replied without looking up, continuing his deep inspection, touching here and tapping there, deep in thought. "The wood feels rather hard; could it be a precious material?"

"Precious wood?"

Hearing this, Old Meng and Sha Qing-Feng both crowded closer.

After a thorough look, Old Meng leaned in again and sniffed the aroma, immediately shaking his head. "No, this should be ordinary camphor wood. Camphor has a distinct scent that wards off certain insects, but the smell is also quite obvious and easy to identify."

"Exactly, it's camphor wood," Sha Qing-Feng confirmed confidently.

"It's not the material then. Could it be that the wood carving of the deity is the work of a master craftsman?" Pi Qiu-Shi mused again. "But without any inscription, it's quite difficult to authenticate."

"Besides the features having a certain spirit, the overall craftsmanship of this wooden statue isn't particularly outstanding," Old Meng said, shaking his head. "It probably isn't a master's work, but judging by the surface cracks, it certainly has some age. By the way, can either of you tell what school of carving this belongs to?"

"...Can't tell."

Sha Qing-Feng studied it for a moment, then shook his head flatly. "Although China's most famous styles are the Dongyang wood carving, Leqing Boxwood carving, Guangdong Chaozhou Gold Lacquer wood carving, and Fujian Longyan wood carving—the four major schools—beyond these, various regions have their own unique carving techniques."

"Due to regional customs, culture, and material availability, the choice of raw materials differs, naturally forming many schools with rich local characteristics, each with its own merits." As he spoke, Sha Qing-Feng shook his head. "I'm not a specialist in this area, and the carving features of the statue aren't very pronounced, so it’s truly hard to judge."

"That's very true." Old Meng heartily agreed, also looking puzzled. "No matter how you look at it, this statue seems rather ordinary; it shouldn't be some great treasure, should it?" His implication was that Pi Qiu-Shi might have misjudged it.

When Pi Qiu-Shi heard this, he examined the wooden statue for a moment longer, then immediately turned back. "Brother, don't just sit there sipping tea; come take a look quickly. Something seems off about this thing."

"The thing is just as it is; what could be wrong with it?" Wang Guan smiled lightly and walked over softly.

"It's not that something is wrong, but rather that it isn't as good as we imagined," Pi Qiu-Shi shook his head slightly, hesitating. "It doesn't seem to have anything particularly special about it."

"Heh heh, let me see." As he spoke, Wang Guan also leaned closer, but instead of looking at the Lü Dongbin statue, he casually picked up the small cup that had been used for incense offerings before the statue.

Of course, even if the strong man hadn't been burning incense to the deity normally, Lü Dongbin must have received offerings frequently long ago, so not only was the front of the statue slightly blackened by smoke, but the small cup holding the incense sticks was also covered in ash.

Now that Wang Guan picked up the cup, his hands inevitably got smeared with a large patch of inky blackness. However, he clearly didn't mind, casually dumping the ash into a nearby trash can before heading straight to the washroom to clean up with water.

A moment later, Wang Guan emerged from the washroom with a smile, only to be met by the expectant gazes of Pi Qiu-Shi and the other two.

"Brother, what's so special about the incense burner?" Pi Qiu-Shi asked, his eyes wide with observation, though the object was quite small and delicate, making it impossible to see clearly while Wang Guan held it in his fist.

"A small, three-legged censer, a miniature incense burner shaped like a brush pot," Wang Guan chuckled softly, not rushing to reveal the small object. Instead, he found a clean towel and, in one smooth motion, wrapped the small censer within it, wiping it down very carefully and slowly.

"Still teasing us," Pi Qiu-Shi grumbled, though there was a hint of excitement on his face. "Is it really a treasure?"

"Close enough," Wang Guan nodded, then continued to rub gently, clearing the grime from the small vessel.

"Ah, we were truly looking at the mountain while missing the trees," Sha Qing-Feng said with a wry smile. "We were so focused on the statue that we overlooked the incense burner. Little brother here is much more meticulous; no wonder he was able to pick up such a big bargain."

Old Meng heartily agreed. Some things are like that, especially spotting bargains—as soon as you think one step ahead of others, you win, and later regret changes nothing. Just like moments ago, when the four of them were examining the objects, the attention of the other three was fixed solely on the wooden statue, causing them to completely miss the censer it rested upon. For an expert, whether it was carelessness or inattention, this in itself was a failure.

"Brother Sha is too kind. In truth, I didn't pay attention to the statue at all at first; I noticed the unusual shape of the censer," Wang Guan explained at this point. "After all, a three-legged, brush-pot shaped censer is quite rare, so I paid extra attention and took a closer look. Then I felt that even covered in ash, this small burner possessed a rather unique aura..."

Wang Guan was now very experienced; when explaining something that defied easy articulation, he simply attributed it to intuition. After all, compared to supernatural abilities, intuition, while somewhat vague, was still acceptable to most people. Take this instance: after hearing Wang Guan's explanation, the other three tried hard to recall anything particularly unique about the brush-pot shaped censer but couldn't pinpoint anything, yet they didn't doubt Wang Guan’s words. Intuition, after all, is hard to define; sometimes it's spot-on, and sometimes it's worthless. When it’s right, it seems magical; when it’s wrong, it's rubbish. Clearly, judging by Wang Guan's delighted expression, his "intuition" had paid off.

The next three naturally watched Wang Guan with expectant eyes, their faces urging him not to hold back any longer but to reveal the object so they could admire it.

"Okay, it's ready."

Just then, Wang Guan turned the brush-pot shaped censer upside down on the table and smiled. "Take a good look, everyone. This thing isn't simple. Whether it's an authentic piece, a copy, or a fake will require careful appraisal from you three elder brothers."

As he spoke, Wang Guan lifted his fingers from the tabletop. In that instant, the other three looked over, spotting a small, exquisitely crafted bamboo-tube-shaped incense burner resting on the table.

Of course, that wasn't the main point. The crucial detail was that the surface of the censer appeared quite damaged, covered in web-like cracks of various sizes, seemingly layered upon one another. However, the moment they saw these net-like fissures, the three of Pi Qiu-Shi could no longer remain calm; not only did their pupils contract, but their breathing also grew noticeably heavier.

"Ge Ware!"

After a long moment, the three reacted simultaneously and reached out. Their three hands met mid-air, then froze—not out of politeness, but out of fear that in the struggle to grab it, the censer might be bumped and damaged, a loss they could not afford.

Ge Ware was one of the Five Great Kilns of the Song Dynasty. Its most distinct feature is the presence of crackles of various sizes. These crackles are known as the 'gold thread and iron lines'; small crackles nested within large ones. The large crackles appear dark and flash blue, called the iron line, while the small ones are golden-yellow, called the gold thread. This unique style perfectly aligns with the aesthetics cherished by people.

Naturally, the aesthetic referred to here is the beauty of imperfection.

This appearance of cracking must have initially occurred because some potter accidentally mixed up the glaze, leading to numerous cracks during the firing process, thus ruining an entire kiln batch. Since the mistake was already made and irreversible, they decided to proceed. The fired porcelain only had surface cracks; the interior was still relatively sound and usable, so they simply sold it off cheaply on the market...

Then, a miracle happened. Compared to porcelain pieces in perfect condition, those with crackles were undeniably novel. Both ancient and modern people harbor a fascination with the unusual, and since the porcelain wasn't expensive, people simply bought one to take home. Consequently, the cracked porcelain pieces sold out quickly.

Seeing this, even the dullest potter should have realized a lucrative opportunity had arrived. They then dedicated themselves to studying the principles behind porcelain crackling, slowly leading to the formation of Ge Ware porcelain, one of the Five Great Kilns of the Song Dynasty...

The above is purely Wang Guan’s conjecture, but it is quite plausible, at least aligning with market development logic. It’s likely that even the original inventor of Ge Ware porcelain never anticipated that this style would become so highly sought after in later generations.

From the Northern Song Dynasty onward, through the Southern Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties, and even into modern times, the pursuit of Ge Ware porcelain has never faded, and naturally, imitations have become numerous.

As for genuine pieces, they are truly encounters of destiny, rare to find. According to statistics, genuine Ge Ware porcelain is extremely scarce, with only about a hundred pieces known worldwide, far fewer than the existing count of Yuan blue-and-white porcelain. Furthermore, every time one appears at an international auction, the final selling price is usually well over a million US dollars.

The exact statistics can be disregarded. After all, when such precious items are acquired, people usually keep them secret, making an accurate count impossible; one can only count what surfaces. However, it can be affirmed that over 95% of the Ge Ware porcelain appearing on the antique market today are modern imitations. Another 4.9999% are imitations from the Yuan, Ming, or Qing dynasties, leaving only 0.0001% that might be genuine.

Of course, it’s only a possibility; no one can guarantee the accuracy of that probability. Thus, after their initial excitement mixed with shock, the three of Pi Qiu-Shi slowly regained their composure, beginning to ponder whether this Ge Ware brush-pot shaped small incense burner before them was authentic, or perhaps an imitation...