Amidst a chorus of praise, Fang Mingsheng's spirits soared, his face alight with unconcealed excitement. Truthfully, even if the price of the Jade Buddha had doubled, it was inconsequential to him. Fang Mingsheng had firmly decided he wouldn't sell the Buddha regardless.

What truly thrilled him was the miraculous phenomenon emanating from the Jade Buddha, which brought him immense prestige. He even caught glimpses of envy and jealousy in some onlookers' eyes, further lifting Fang Mingsheng, making him feel wonderfully proud and distinguished.

"Little Fang, it was indeed sheer luck. If the young man hadn't possessed such keen sight, none of us would have known that the Jade Buddha held such a marvelous, reflected light," Old Zhang shook his head, his tone complex. "Truly, I am getting old; the new generation surpasses the old."

"Has Old Zhang finally conceded defeat?"

At this, Old Qian chuckled, "I truly thought you'd never admit it. Truthfully, being old is nothing strange. Birth, aging, sickness, and death are natural laws; no one can escape them. However, the most crucial thing is having successors."

"Indeed," Old Zhou added with a gentle smile. "It is a blessing when the student surpasses the master."

"Enough, stop consoling me, you two old fogeys," Old Zhang waved his hand, huffing. "I’m just old, not narrow-minded enough to be unable to tolerate rising talents." As he spoke, Old Zhang clapped Wang Guan on the shoulder, praising him, "Don't let the young man's age fool you; his eyesight is far superior to us old fellows."

"Sir, you jest; I was simply fortunate," Wang Guan hastily shook his head, daring not to accept Old Zhang's compliment.

After all, it was the truth—he had a special ability allowing him to cheat. Whereas Old Zhang and the others had accumulated decades of effort through dedicated study. The two were in no way comparable.

"The young man is good, and modest too. While one shouldn't grow arrogant, one shouldn't lack ambition either. If you can't surpass us now, you surely will in the future," Old Zhang laughed heartily. "In the future, if there’s anything you don't understand, feel free to come to me."

"Thank you, Old Zhang," Wang Guan nodded quickly.

For a moment, the gazes directed toward Wang Guan were tinged with envy. With a statement like that from Old Zhang, regardless of future prospects, as long as Wang Guan applied himself diligently, he was guaranteed to learn a great deal.

"Young man, what a fortunate encounter."

"This sort of thing is truly fate; it can’t be envied..."

Amidst the whispers, someone eventually asked with curiosity, "Old Zhang, do you have any idea how that Swastika symbol on the paper was formed?"

"Yes, no matter how I look at it, I can't fathom how that Swastika symbol was projected."

Most people attributed Wang Guan's vision to pure chance. After all, given his age, it was difficult for them to believe his skill could be truly profound.

Therefore, after the initial astonishment subsided, their focus shifted, becoming more concerned with how the light from the Jade Buddha, falling onto the white paper, managed to create such an peculiar symbol.

"I suspect it's the structure of the Buddha statue itself," Old Zhang speculated after carefully examining it for a moment. "Look, the Buddha's hands. The right hand is raised, palm toward the chest, while the left hand holds a string of beads dangling down—one high, one low, forming a cross. Then there's the jade behind the Buddha's back and the golden crown on its head... all the light rays refracted and scattered, converging in the air to form that Swastika symbol."

"Of course, this is just my hypothesis; the precise reason requires further research."

Finally, Old Zhang’s eyes gleamed as he looked at Fang Mingsheng and said with a smile, "Little Fang, I am very interested in this Jade Buddha. Could you perhaps transfer it to me?"

"Old Zhang, you know I'm not short of money..." Fang Mingsheng replied evasively, his expression showing clear reluctance.

"Old Zhang, don't put the young man in a difficult position,"

At this, Old Qian stepped in to mediate, "Such a rare treasure—if it were you, you wouldn't part with it easily either. Besides, you don't truly love it; you just want to study the symbol on the Buddha. There’s no need to buy it outright."

"That's true," Old Zhang nodded. "Little Fang, lending me the Jade Buddha to study for a few days shouldn't be a problem, right?"

"Since you’ve asked, Sir, how dare I refuse?" Fang Mingsheng managed a wry smile, realizing that Old Qian and Old Zhang were colluding to corner him. Of course, even knowing they were setting a trap, Fang Mingsheng had no real way to refuse. Firstly, there was the matter of saving face, and secondly, the backgrounds of these two elders made Fang Mingsheng deeply wary.

Actually, there was a third reason: Fang Mingsheng himself was intensely curious and wanted to uncover the mystery of the Swastika symbol.

"Very good, leave the item here for now, and let's continue the appraisal,"

Having received a satisfactory answer, Old Zhang returned to his seat, content and somewhat impatient, announcing, likely eager for the appraisal meeting to end so he could take the Jade Buddha back for research.

The crowd returned to their seats in small groups, though their gazes still occasionally drifted toward the Jade Buddha.

"Wang Guan, you really are something else."

Meanwhile, Yu Feibai praised him, "I still can't figure out how you saw that Swastika symbol. I tried for ages just now, my eyes blurred, and I didn't even catch a shadow of the symbol."

"I told you, it was purely coincidental," Wang Guan smiled, continuing his deflection.

"Wang Guan, don't be so modest. In my view, luck is only one part of it."

Yu Feibai shook his head. "Old Zhang’s praise of your eyesight is justified. With the Jade Buddha's light floating in the air, to capture the most precise angle among so many possibilities—perhaps even a camera couldn't manage it, yet you succeeded. Speaking of which, it’s quite a small miracle."

Wang Guan smiled and maintained his low profile.

"That makes some sense."

However, those nearby instinctively nodded upon hearing this.

Subsequently, others recalled that seven or eight people had hung white paper and fiddled with it for ages without projecting the Swastika symbol, whereas Wang Guan had merely extended his hand casually, and the symbol appeared.

Thinking it over carefully, without a certain level of insight and calculation ability, it would indeed be difficult to achieve. At that moment, many people revised their assessment. While they still believed Wang Guan was very lucky, they acknowledged he possessed some genuine skill.

Many attendees were lost in thought, their attention scattered, thus failing to notice that the ninth item had already been appraised. If the ninth item hadn't been placed close to the display stand, they might not even have known what it was.

"The final treasure, an ancient ink cake!"

Old Qian and the other two didn't mind and proceeded with the hosting. After all, the ninth item was relatively ordinary compared to the Jade Buddha and didn't warrant much attention.

Accompanied by faint music, an ink ingot was presented from the display case.

However, the mood of those present was still immersed in the marvelous symbol of the Jade Buddha, not yet fully settled. Especially upon seeing that the last item was an ancient ink cake, their interest plummeted further.

"Is no one coming up to appraise it?"

Seeing the situation, Old Zhou smiled and said, "In that case, I shall proceed with the commentary directly."

.................... Thanks to readers wylx_700, TIANLANG, and for the tips. In the final hours before the Sanjiang push, please cast your collections and recommendation votes!