At the same time, Cai Peng looked utterly bewildered. "Who in the world is that?"

That was precisely what Wang Guan wanted to ask, but judging from Young Master Hu's tone, this person must be a highly renowned master swordsmith from Japan. However, due to well-known reasons, the domestic government certainly wouldn't promote him, so it wasn't surprising that they were unfamiliar with the name.

"You really are ignorant," Young Master Hu sneered, pouting slightly before explaining with a mixture of mockery and disdain, "First, you need to know that before the Meiji Restoration, the Imperial family's status was rather low, so for generations, Japan did not have artisans specifically dedicated to forging swords for the Emperor."

"If you absolutely must name one person, the only one would be the first generation Tsukiyama Unryūshi Sadaichi—a great master swordsmith of Japan, a top-tier craftsman of the Shinsin-tō era, an O-gatana-jō (Imperial Swordsmith)."

Young Master Hu waved his hand, and the katana shimmered with a streak of light. "In Japan, swordsmiths are born to serve the gods, holding a significantly high social standing. But not just anyone can be called an O-gatana-jō, which should tell you just how formidable this man is."

"Oh!"

Cai Peng feigned understanding, then continued shaking his head. "Never heard of him."

"That’s your ignorance," Young Master Hu shot back irritably. "He was honored and titled by Emperor Meiji himself, and as the founder of the illustrious Tsukiyama school, he laid the foundation for the Tsukiyama family's dominance in the Japanese forging world. The swords he personally forged are practically national treasures in Japan. Now, do you understand the value of this Kikumura blade?"

"Is that true?" Cai Peng expressed skepticism. "Something like that must be incredibly expensive. Can you even afford it?"

Having dueled for so long, they knew each other perhaps better than their closest friends. That’s why Cai Peng was so doubtful.

"Hmph. Stop the nonsense," Young Master Hu brandished the sword. "The famed Kikumura is in my hands now. Its market value is estimated to be over five million US dollars. If the weapon you brought isn't worth that much, you'd best admit defeat quietly, lest you lose face as well as the match."

For an instant, a visible flicker of hesitation crossed Cai Peng's face. Before arriving, he hadn't expected Young Master Hu to go all-in like this, bringing a famous Japanese blade equivalent to a national treasure. This was clearly a trap set for him.

Yet, then again, with a weapon like that, Young Master Hu should have been certain of victory. The fact that he still managed to trick Cai Peng two or three times showed how meticulously cautious he was.

However, now Young Master Hu felt his little maneuverings were somewhat superfluous. Noticing Cai Peng’s hesitation, he lifted his head even higher, gesturing with his chin toward Cai Peng, adopting an arrogant posture. "Well? Are you planning to go back on your word?"

"Who's going back on their word? I was just thinking..."

Cai Peng’s eyes darted around as he pointed at the Japanese katana. He sneered, "You can't just name any price you want. Even if the so-called famous Kikumura is worth that much, how do we know this is the one? You might just be trying to fool us with a fake."

"Haha. I expected you to say that," Young Master Hu laughed triumphantly, beckoning someone over. Another person approached, holding a thick stack of documents. "Here, examine it yourself. This is the proof!"

Cai Peng hesitated briefly before walking over to look. But after just one glance, he exploded in anger, cursing, "Hu, what is the meaning of this?"

"What's wrong?" Young Master Hu looked genuinely puzzled.

"It's all in Japanese! How am I supposed to read it?" Cai Peng glared. "Are you deliberately trying to mess with me?"

"Haha, I hadn't considered that issue," Young Master Hu said with a grin. "Shall I translate it for you?"

It was clear that Young Master Hu was quite familiar with Japanese, or he wouldn't be so confident.

"Forget it. I don't trust you," Cai Peng challenged. "Besides, if a blade can be forged falsely, why not the documents? Who knows if you had someone whip up fake certification?"

"Fake certification?" Young Master Hu was almost amused by the accusation. "Do I need to do that..."

"Tch. You'd do anything to win," Cai Peng scoffed. "We can't just take your word for it."

"If this doesn't work, and that doesn't work..." Young Master Hu snorted. "Then find someone who understands to look at it. I can wait. But hurry up; I don't have all day to waste on you."

"Why the rush? Don't worry, I’m definitely finding someone to appraise it," Cai Peng said. As he spoke, he turned back to look at Wang Guan and the others. If they were in Taiwan, it would be fine, but in Hong Kong, he could only rely on Wang Guan and his group.

At that moment, Cai Peng walked back lightly and whispered, "Big Brother, could you guys take a look at that sword for me?"

"That's not really our expertise," Wang Guan admitted truthfully. "We lack the experience and background in that area..."

The other three nodded in agreement, indicating they knew little about Japanese swords and couldn't make a reliable judgment.

"Even if you know less than an expert, you must know more than I do," Cai Peng asked softly. "If that thing is genuine... Big Brother, tell me honestly, can your sword win against that blade?"

This was likely the core question Cai Peng wanted answered.

Hearing this, Wang Guan and the others couldn't help but smile—a smile of pure confidence.

As for the sharpness of the blades, it was hard to say before an actual contest. But purely comparing the preciousness of the weapons, the difference was like heaven and earth. The Kikumura blade simply didn't qualify to be mentioned in the same breath as the Gongbu Sword.

Cai Peng was also quick-witted. Sensing the meaning behind their smiles, he immediately felt greatly relieved and chuckled, "Since that's the case, what's there to worry about? We’ll just go take a look at the sword; it doesn't matter if it's real or fake."

"...That works too," Wang Guan nodded gently. It was just going through the motions, nothing that needed to cause them distress.

Seeing this, Cai Peng immediately called out, "Bring the sword over. Let us examine it closely."

"Hmph."

Young Master Hu pouted, sheathed the sword himself, and signaled his attendant to hand it over.

Cai Peng took the katana and immediately passed it to Wang Guan, whispering conspiratorially, "Find as many flaws as you can..."

Wang Guan offered no reply, just smiling faintly as he took the katana to admire it. First, it had to be admitted that purely based on appearance, Japanese katanas truly were exquisite works of art. Their ornamentation was lavish, yet this lavishness wasn't gaudy excess but a profound, restrained beauty.

He heard that many people enjoyed collecting Japanese katanas not only for the quality of the blade itself but also because they were captivated by the exquisite decoration on the hilt and scabbard, making them unable to resist purchasing them.

This supported the idea that presentation was crucial; an item, once packaged well, could see its value soar by several times.

Another noteworthy point was that this packaging technique had been fully realized and amplified in China. Take an ordinary box of mooncakes; if packaged to resemble a villa, it could naturally sell for an astronomical price.

Getting ahead of himself, Wang Guan gently drew the sword. A flash of snowy, crystalline light immediately became visible. Wang Guan focused his gaze, noting parallel, curved lines on the blade, resembling parallel waves—undoubtedly a pattern-welded blade.

At the same time, Old Meng seemed to possess some knowledge of Japanese swords and offered a pointer nearby: "When steel is folded and forged, these textures appear. We Chinese call it huāwén gāng (pattern steel), while the Japanese call this texture jihada—essentially meaning the texture looks like the fine, layered fibers revealed when muscle is cut..."

"Jihada!"

Wang Guan felt a flicker of curiosity. He lightly ran two fingers over the lines on the blade surface. He found the surface incredibly smooth, carrying a faint chill to the touch—the handling was indeed extraordinary.

After observing for a moment, Wang Guan located the mei (signature) etched on the blade. What surprised him was that the signature was in Chinese characters: the characters for Kikumura were perfectly clear, followed by a line of smaller text written purely in Japanese.

Just then, Cai Peng asked impatiently, "So? Does this sword have any flaws?"

That question was certainly direct, but it made Wang Guan subtly shake his head. Good was good; to arbitrarily slander it without sufficient reason would only reveal one's own lack of confidence.

"How could it have no flaws?" Cai Peng’s eyes spun. "For instance, maybe the blade wasn't handcrafted but stamped out by a machine. Or perhaps those textures weren't formed by forging but etched using acid..."

"Oh," Wang Guan expressed surprise. "You actually know quite a bit."

"Of course. I looked up a lot of material these past couple of days," Cai Peng boasted. "I know what I need to know."

"Since you know, then you should be able to see that their blade truly has no obvious defects."

Wang Guan gave a fair assessment: "It's a very fine Japanese sword. Its resilience also seems good, especially the flow of those wave-like textures. It must have come from a master's hand."

"However..."

Saying this, Wang Guan frowned, looking somewhat puzzled. "This sword is named Kikumura, which, as the name suggests, implies the blade's texture should resemble the pattern of a chrysanthemum (kiku). But this blade has a wave-like pattern—it’s somewhat misnamed, wouldn't you say?"

"Of course, this is just my personal view. Perhaps the smith named it this way to commemorate someone, or maybe for other reasons," Wang Guan added, as naming something was ultimately a personal preference and not a major issue.

"Exactly, exactly! That's the point!"

However, Cai Peng was overjoyed. He didn't care if the reasoning was sound or not; he immediately turned and shouted, "Hu! Did you hear that? This sword is misnamed!"

"What..."

Young Master Hu jumped up, losing his composure momentarily. A flash of panic crossed his eyes, but he quickly regained his composure and angrily rebuked, "You are talking nonsense! On what grounds do you say there is a problem with my sword?"

"Hmm?"

Seeing this reaction, not only did Wang Guan’s heart stir, but Pi Qiushi and the others, with their richer life experience, also sensed a distinct undertone of guilt in Young Master Hu's demeanor and behavior.

"Brother, there seems to be something fishy about this sword," Pi Qiushi whispered as a reminder.

"Indeed, there might truly be a problem," Old Meng and Sha Qingfeng concurred. Although they didn't know how to authenticate Japanese swords, reading expressions was their trade, and Hu's reaction felt decidedly off. (To be continued)

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