The boss looked awkwardly at Zhang Yang, still arguing forcefully, but his tone had shifted, no longer as certain.

Zhang Yang shook his head. If this stall owner weren't so greedy, he would have been willing to spend some money to buy the stone, letting the owner make a profit. After all, the value of the Yuban Lingjun (Jade Spot Spirit Fungus) inside that stone couldn't be measured in money; no matter how you calculated it, Zhang Yang was getting an incredible bargain.

"Look here."

Waving Mi Xue to remain silent, Zhang Yang picked up the stone and turned it over, holding it right up to the boss's eyes so he could clearly see the moss in the groove of the stone, which resembled an eagle's claw. He then said, "Look here. Do you really think this thing is worth four thousand seven?"

"Ah!"

When Zhang Yang held up the stone, the stall owner clearly saw the moss-like patterns in the groove. A chill ran down his spine, and he inwardly cursed, This is bad!

He had noticed Zhang Yang’s intense interest in the stone and completely forgotten about the large patch of moss in the groove. He had found it troublesome earlier and hadn't bothered scraping it out. Now, it was backfiring spectacularly. With that moss present, everything he had just said was clearly a lie.

Generally, even if jade develops spots, they are only brownish jade blemishes, growing inside the jade rather than on the surface. Anyone with basic knowledge would know that only low-quality jade or washed jade exhibits severe spotting—such jade is worthless scrap. The severe spotting in the stone’s groove was sufficient proof that this was merely an ordinary rock.

The stall owner’s eyes darted rapidly as he stared at the stone in Zhang Yang’s hand. He immediately devised a plan, exclaiming with a gasp, slapping his forehead, and saying in a tone of deep regret, "How could this be? I... I was tricked by that other boss. Back then, the jade looked so unique that I didn't examine it closely. This... this..."

Hiss...

Even the surrounding tourists couldn't help but gasp. Everyone could see that the stall owner was merely trying to cover up his deception, desperately trying to backtrack from his previous claims.

Zhang Yang couldn't be bothered to argue. He stated directly, "This stone, one hundred yuan. I'll just buy it back as a display piece."

Even at a hundred yuan, the stall owner would make a profit, but he still hesitated for a long time, clearly unwilling to profit only this small amount from Zhang Yang.

"Boss, this jade, I truly spent a fortune buying it from the Kunlun Mountains side. I was fooled by that vendor; hmph, I'll settle the score with him later!"

The stall owner put on a mournful face, complaining to Zhang Yang, then paused before continuing, "One hundred yuan, that’s too little. This moss... if it's slightly processed and polished, this moss will disappear, and no one will notice. How about this: four hundred yuan. For four hundred, I’m still losing over four thousand..."

As he spoke, the stall owner reached out, intending to take the stone back from Zhang Yang’s hand, muttering, "If you find it troublesome, don't worry, I can do a little processing for you, remove the moss from the groove. I guarantee the jade will look the same after the work."

Zhang Yang pulled his hand back, preventing the boss from taking the stone. The most precious element in that stone was precisely the Yuban Lingjun; if it were removed, the stone would indeed be worthless.

"Boss, what are you doing..."

The stall owner paused, not understanding Zhang Yang's intent.

"I think you misunderstood me. If I wanted to remove this moss, I wouldn't need to send it out for processing."

Saying this, Zhang Yang held the stone in his palm, inserted a finger into the groove, and emitted internal energy from his fingertip, enveloping the entire inner wall of the groove.

Zhang Yang was using the method of energy shaping to scrape off every last trace of the Yuban Lingjun from the stone walls inside the groove.

However, no one around noticed Zhang Yang’s action. When Zhang Yang pulled his finger out of the groove, a clump of green moss clung to his fingertip, while the inner wall of the stone was smooth as a mirror, with no trace of the green moss remaining.

All the Yuban Lingjun were collected on Zhang Yang’s fingertip. He set the stone down, casually picked up a small jade box made of jadeite from the stall, scraped the moss from his finger into it, and closed the lid.

The Yuban Lingjun had another characteristic: no matter what material was used to store it, it would neither diminish its spiritual energy nor affect its efficacy.

Knowing this well, Zhang Yang casually placed the incredibly precious Yuban Lingjun into another jade box.

Glancing at the label on that jade box, Zhang Yang looked up and said to the stall owner, "I've changed my mind. This jade box plus this stone, one hundred yuan total. If you won't sell, then I’m leaving."

The stall owner hadn't thought much about what Zhang Yang had just done. His entire focus was on the stone, desperately trying to sell it for a good price. But with Zhang Yang’s new offer, he felt even more helpless. The jade box Zhang Yang held was marked at sixty yuan, meaning Zhang Yang was now only offering forty yuan for the stone—even less than before.

However, seeing Zhang Yang’s resolute expression, the boss knew the other party wouldn't raise the price further. If he refused, the other party might genuinely turn and walk away.

"Fine, I’ll sell...!"

The stall owner dared not be too greedy any longer. After a quick calculation, he immediately spoke up, afraid Zhang Yang would change his mind again. After all, the jade box Zhang Yang held wasn't worth much; calculating it at sixty yuan, he could still profit at least forty, and the stone itself was pure profit no matter what it sold for.

"Boss, this stone, sell it to me, I'll take it, four thousand yuan!"

Just as Zhang Yang nodded, preparing to signal Mi Xue to pay, a voice suddenly rang out from beside them, causing Zhang Yang to frown!

Behind Zhang Yang and Mi Xue, two blonde, blue-eyed foreigners—a man and a woman—suddenly appeared. The one who spoke was the tall foreign man.

He walked over, still breathing heavily. Upon arrival, he immediately picked up the Eagle Claw Stone Zhang Yang had set down. He glanced at it, and when he saw the mirror-smooth inner wall of the groove after Zhang Yang's treatment, his eyes lit up, and he clicked his tongue in admiration. He then placed the stone back on the stall and looked up at the boss, saying, "This stone, four thousand yuan, you selling or not?"

The stall owner seemed momentarily stunned, staring blankly at the suddenly appearing foreigners, his face a picture of bewilderment.

"Sorry, I already bought it."

Zhang Yang frowned. He was willing to pay for the stone only because he had discovered the Yuban Lingjun inside it. These foreigners suddenly offering such a high price was baffling to him.

The foreign man glanced at Zhang Yang, showing no worry, a look of smugness on his face, as if he were certain the stone was his.

The woman beside him, however, looked with spirited interest at Chase Wind, who was behind Zhang Yang and Mi Xue.

"No, no, I haven't agreed yet!"

As expected, the stall owner finally reacted, lightning-fast, snatching the stone into his hand. His face was flushed with excitement, feeling as though a pie had fallen from the sky and hit him. At this moment, he stopped caring whether his actions were appropriate!

He had never considered that anyone else would value this stone. He had already given up on making a profit from it. In short, he was completely blinded by greed. Looking at the two foreigners, he saw them as two piles of gold ingots, radiating warmth toward them, while completely ignoring Zhang Yang.

"I'll sell you this jade box for twenty yuan, but this stone, I’m not selling it anymore!" The stall owner held the stone tightly, looking at Zhang Yang, and immediately went back on his word.

Zhang Yang sighed. If he had truly wanted the stone, even with the stall owner’s speed, he couldn't have snatched it away. But now, since the Yuban Lingjun inside the stone had been extracted by Zhang Yang, the most valuable item at that moment was actually the jadeite box in Zhang Yang's hand.

Taking twenty yuan from his canvas bag, Zhang Yang didn't want to get entangled with this stall owner any longer. He directly bought the jade box in his hand, then pulled Mi Xue, preparing to leave.

The stall owner now had his entire focus on the suddenly appearing foreign couple and paid no attention to Zhang Yang. After accepting Zhang Yang's money, he didn't even bother to acknowledge him, immediately saying to the foreigners, "Don't worry, I haven't sold this piece of jade yet. If you want to buy it, there's absolutely no problem!"

"Can you wait a moment? I didn't look closely just now. Can I examine it again, look a bit clearer?"

Taking the stone from the stall owner's hand, the young foreigner breathed a sigh of relief and told the boss, then retrieved a magnifying glass from his bag and began examining it closely.

"Ah, no, no problem..."

The boss's eyes were shining now. Although he was impatient to receive the money, he still managed to restrain himself.

"Honey, why are you insisting on snatching that stone from that person?"

The woman beside the foreigner leaned in and whispered.

The foreign man, still peering through the magnifying glass, muttered in reply, "Louise, you know there’s a phrase in China called shilou (picking up a bargain)? Some people just like to wander around these small places; their goal is to find treasures hidden here. I saw that person’s expression just now; he must have discovered what kind of rare item this jade is. And looking at the inner wall of the jade, it seems very much like... wait a minute, this, this is just an ordinary rock!"

Suddenly, the man froze, and the magnifying glass in his hand trembled slightly, revealing an expression of disbelief!