At that moment, Wang Guan settled onto the sofa, placing his cup down before meticulously examining the smooth jade. Perhaps it was psychological, but the more he looked, the more extraordinary the stone appeared to him.

"Not a night-shining pearl?"

Simultaneously, Yu Feibai was starting to believe him. After all, a night-shining pearl would still emit light even under illumination, but the lamps were on now, and the object in Wang Guan's hand gave off no glow—a rather unusual phenomenon.

Thinking this, Yu Feibai walked over directly and reached out to demand, "Let me see it."

"Here, look carefully and make sure you see it clearly." After handing over the jade, Wang Guan chuckled, "I can be one hundred percent certain you have absolutely no idea what this thing is."

"Hmph, looking down on me, are you?" Yu Feibai was naturally unconvinced. Taking the jade, he had a flicker of recognition. "The small, dull blackish-gray stone I tossed back to you earlier?"

"That's the one," Wang Guan nodded. "Though the stone is small, its value is beyond measure."

"Anyone can brag; it doesn't require paying tax." Yu Feibai certainly didn't believe it. He first weighed it, then studied the texture and grain of the jade under the light. Finally, he reached his conclusion: "This is clearly a very common and obscure local jade material, belonging to none of the Four Great Jades. It's not worth much."

"You've made your selection now," Wang Guan asked with a smile. "Are you sure you won't change your answer?"

"Wait a moment..." Yu Feibai had been about to nod, but the memory of the jade glowing under the moonlight made him hesitate immediately. He scrutinized the jade repeatedly, but still found nothing.

"It's plainly ordinary jade material."

A moment later, Yu Feibai frowned. "Even if it can refract moonlight, at most it means it's a variant of fluorite. It might have some value, but certainly not the exaggerated value you claim."

"If you don't believe it, never mind." Taking the jade back, Wang Guan chuckled lightly. "After Elder Qian examines it tomorrow, you'll know if it’s worth that much."

"Tomorrow?" Yu Feibai started, then realized. "You plan to return to the Capital tomorrow?"

"Yes," Wang Guan nodded. "There's no point staying here, might as well go back."

"You're not going to Dunhuang?" Yu Feibai hesitated. "Don't you want to know who attacked us? Or do you think my brother and the others definitely won't catch the culprit?"

"Roughly so."

Wang Guan admitted, "Since they dared to attack us, they must have arranged an escape route. I suspect they have already safely withdrawn from China by now. Even if they haven't left, they are certainly hiding in some secret location, not easy to find."

Yu Feibai wanted to retort but felt Wang Guan's reasoning held water, so he simply played mute.

"Besides, as long as that person isn't found, we’ll probably be confined here day after day. Do you want to live like this?" It was this sentence that completely swayed Yu Feibai, making him firmly support Wang Guan’s decision to return to the Capital the next day.

"Going back already?"

Hearing this, Murong Guang was quite surprised and instinctively tried to persuade them. "Stay a few more days before leaving!"

"We can't stand staying any longer. We're stuck inside the manor every day—it’s stuffy and boring," Yu Feibai stated frankly. "Rather than wasting time like this, we might as well go back."

"Uh..."

Murong Guang managed an awkward smile, but after thinking it over, he agreed it was probably the best course of action. If the two returned, their safety wouldn't be a concern, allowing everyone else to focus entirely on capturing the culprit.

"Very well, I'll book your flights."

Overnight, the others learned of the two men’s impending departure. Their thoughts mirrored Murong Guang’s—that their return to the Capital was actually a good thing. Naturally, no one objected; instead, they came early in the morning to see them off.

Ouyang, in particular, felt deeply apologetic. She had prepared many gifts and insisted on stuffing them into the two men's luggage, even threatening to fall out with them if they refused to accept them.

Under the circumstances, Wang Guan and Yu Feibai had no choice but to accept. After going through security, the two boarded the plane and arrived smoothly at the Capital Airport.

On the way back to the grand residence, Wang Guan noticed Yu Feibai seemed crestfallen and found it strange. "What's wrong? You're back in the Capital now; it's a world of opportunity, like the sea for fish to leap and the sky for birds to fly free. Why do you still look unhappy?"

"What is there to be happy about?" Yu Feibai drawled lazily. "In my feeling, we fled back here in disgrace after being threatened. The thought alone severely wounds my pride..."

"Then you can slowly lick your wounds," Wang Guan was optimistic. "As long as I have that piece of jade, I wouldn't mind being threatened again."

"A piece of glowing jade—is it really that precious?" Yu Feibai frowned. "I admit the thing is decent, but surely not as outrageously valuable as you claim."

"Whether it's an exaggeration or not, you'll know soon enough." Wang Guan smiled broadly, continuing to keep his secret. He didn't reveal the jade's miraculous effect to Yu Feibai, thinking that telling him immediately would take away the fun.

Yu Feibai was very displeased by this and continued to speculate internally about just how precious the item truly was.

A dozen minutes later, the two returned to the grand residence. As they approached Elder Qian's courtyard, they were surprised to find quite a few people gathered in the living room. Upon entering, they realized these were all senior figures from the collecting circle, prompting them to quickly offer respectful greetings.

"You're back."

At this, Elder Qian looked up, his gaze carrying a touch of concern. "Nothing went wrong, I trust?"

"Elder Qian, everyone said not to worry; look, aren't we perfectly fine?" As he spoke, Yu Feibai flexed his arm, deliberately showing off a muscle.

"It’s good that you are unharmed."

Although everyone insisted they were fine, Elder Qian was only truly reassured after seeing them with his own eyes. Nodding in satisfaction, he couldn't help but express his anger. "Those people are far too reckless."

"Not only reckless, but they've become utterly unscrupulous," another senior figure said grimly. "Twenty years ago, they only resorted to cheating and trickery; now they're using threats and intimidation. Does that mean kidnapping and murder are next?"

"The customs are declining, and people's hearts are not what they used to be," a different elder sighed quietly. "Nowadays, people are increasingly disregarding the rules for profit, let alone expecting those who operate in the shadows to behave themselves."

"Indeed," the others nodded in strong agreement.

In earlier years, even trickery and deceit adhered to a certain code of conduct; there were still bottom lines. But people today seem to have fewer scruples, leaving the elders feeling helpless.

Since the reform and opening up, the antique collection scene had begun to revive. In over thirty years, though it had grown from nothing, a well-regulated, orderly market had still not been established, which worried them deeply.

However, no amount of urgency could fix this, as the current antique market was booming—not only flourishing nationwide but also connected internationally, forming an ever-expanding chain of interests.

Therefore, even though many people recognized the market's significant flaws, they felt powerless to change things. Mainly, those already benefiting from the current structure were unwilling to alter it; they had already gained immense advantages within the interest chain, so why would they want change? Conversely, anyone attempting to change the status quo became their enemy and faced their resistance.

This phenomenon wasn't limited to antique collecting; it occurred in almost every industry. History constantly repeats itself, and the act of drinking poison to quench thirst is continuously re-enacted—a sadness, one must admit.

So, after discussing for a long time, the elders ultimately had no good solutions and dispersed with sighs of regret.

Of course, Elder Qian hadn't expected to solve the problem by gathering his old friends today; he merely wanted to give them a warning so they wouldn't fall prey to machinations while unaware.

After seeing these people out, Wang Guan and Yu Feibai returned to the living room.

Just then, Yu Feibai's gaze shifted, and he noticed with surprise an object placed on a nearby table—something he had seen just yesterday: Mr. Zhu’s counterfeit, the Yongle Blue-and-White Porcelain Dish with Lychees and Long-Tailed Birds.

"Elder Qian, you managed to get this back."

The large dish had been pried open at the staples by Yu Feibai the night before, and it was now split into two halves on the table, accompanied by a row of magnifying glasses of various sizes, clearly indicating Elder Qian and the others had just studied it.

"Elder Qian, what do you all think of this piece?" Yu Feibai asked curiously at the same time. "Besides that hidden mark, could you discern any other flaws?"

"Now that we know it’s a fake, picking bones out of an egg is easy; we can certainly find many faults," Elder Qian admitted frankly, speaking casually. "For instance, the body finishing is too perfect, the paste is too stark white and bright, and the underglaze blue is too vibrant—these conclusions are all drawn based on the prerequisite knowledge that it is a fake, comparing it to the genuine article, so they are somewhat meaningless."

Wang Guan and Yu Feibai nodded in understanding. Reverse-engineering a process after knowing the result is relatively simple; it lacks general applicability and targeted relevance for decoding Mr. Zhu’s counterfeits.

If one could spot the flaws without knowing whether the object was real or fake, that would be true skill.

"However, there is one relatively obvious vulnerability."

Elder Qian explained at this point. "It mainly concerns the glazing technique. In the early Ming Dynasty, at least before the Xuande period, or perhaps even during it, the brush-glazing method was primarily used. Although this dish was also glazed by brushing, it was done too flawlessly. While the brush-glazing technique was gradually improved during the Yongle period, it certainly hadn't reached perfection."

"Yet, the glaze surface of this dish shows absolutely no trace of being brushed; thus, it presents a rather obvious flaw. I suspect Mr. Zhu was overly zealous in pursuing perfection, causing him to accidentally leave a small defect."

Elder Qian smiled but was not very optimistic. "But the flaw isn't very noticeable. It would likely only be discovered by an experienced appraisal master who was concentrating deeply on the research, unswayed by the dish's other characteristics. In short, this is worthy of being Mr. Zhu's work—as ingenious as ever, nearly perfect..."