Yu Feibai’s words had struck a chord with Professor Liu, or perhaps it was simply the joy of acquiring something truly fine that needed expression. This was natural, unavoidable.

Professor Liu was no exception. Prompted by Yu Feibai, he first took the box into his hands, then laughed with delight, “I wasn’t lying, this is indeed resin.

But not just any resin—it’s the sap of a tree called the Fluorescent Tree.” “Fluorescent Tree?” Wang Guan and the others were taken aback. Yu Feibai shook his head emphatically, “Never heard of it.” “It’s normal you haven't heard of it, because this plant is extinct.” Professor Liu smiled, “It vanished as early as the mid-Tang Dynasty.

Now, records of this plant only exist in some obscure, ancient texts. Of course, I named it that based on its function; in the old books, it has a different name.” As he spoke, Professor Liu recited several ancient names in succession.

Wang Guan and Yu Feibai continued to shake their heads, ashamed of their own ignorance. “That’s quite normal.

These are all from rather esoteric books; few people pay attention unless they specialize in that field,” Professor Liu reassured them instead. “Forget about you two, even some great scholars might not know this plant.

Specialization is natural.” Nodding, Yu Feibai continued to seek knowledge, “Then what is the efficacy of this plant’s resin?” “This plant prefers to grow in areas rich in phosphorite. Though it’s a tree, a mature specimen is only about a foot tall.

Due to its extremely developed root system, it can absorb vast amounts of phosphorus powder. As a result, under the moonlight at night, the plant's leaves and branches emit a fluorescence.” Now that the secret was out, Professor Liu held nothing back.

“It’s not just the foliage. After grinding the leaves, branches, and roots to extract the resin, it possesses the same quality, emitting a faint, ethereal glow in the dark.” Having hinted at the mystery of the substance in the box, Professor Liu involuntarily clutched it tighter—not from fear that Wang Guan and the others might regret their exchange, but as a mere instinct.

Moreover, he expected them to be utterly stunned and awestruck at this revelation. Yet, when Professor Liu looked up, he saw their reactions were surprisingly muted, devoid of any emotional fluctuation.

In an instant, Professor Liu felt unbalanced, deeply puzzled. “This is an extremely rare item.

Or perhaps you don’t believe what I’m saying?” “We believe you, why wouldn't we?” Yu Feibai shrugged, saying casually, “Even if the item is rare, put plainly, it’s just a variation of a night-shining pearl. Such a thing might have been priceless in antiquity, but it’s not worth that much now.” “That’s because you don’t understand its true value.” At this point, Professor Liu felt a touch of irritation.

The treasure he considered precious was treated by others like common, street-side cabbage. It was naturally upsetting.

On an impulse, Professor Liu blurted out the substance’s real secret: “According to ancient texts, someone once dissolved this resin into ink and used it to paint or write calligraphy. The resulting artwork would also glow at night…” “What?” Instantly, Wang Guan and the others were startled, tinged with a degree of skepticism.

“Is that true?” Yu Feibai asked, half-believing, half-doubting. “I don’t recall ever hearing about such calligraphic or painted works.” “Didn’t I mention it?

This plant was extremely scarce even in ancient times, and it became extinct by the mid-Tang Dynasty,” Professor Liu defended himself. “Think about it: very few Tang Dynasty paintings have survived to this day, let alone artwork created using this specific resin.

Such pieces would be exceedingly rare, something you might find only by sheer chance.” “What you’re saying does hold some water,” Yu Feibai nodded, then shook his head again. “But I still don’t believe it, unless… Professor Liu, don’t take this the wrong way, but perhaps such a thing existed in ancient times, yet can you truly be certain that the resin in this box is the Fluorescent Tree resin you speak of?

I think you should perform a verification test to avoid being happy over nothing.” “A preliminary declaration: if it turns out not to be Fluorescent Tree resin, we take absolutely no responsibility,” Yu Feibai’s final sentence was spot on, naturally causing Professor Liu to waver. “The item is here anyway,” At this moment, Wang Guan chimed in to push the matter further, “Whether it’s true or false, we just need to take a small sliver for a test.

Of course, if Professor Liu believes it is genuine and is willing to treat it as such, then let’s just pretend we never said anything.” “Exactly, exactly…” Yu Feibai played along with perfect timing, flashing a different kind of smile, one that seemed to mock Professor Liu for preparing to deceive himself. Under these circumstances, how could Professor Liu possibly remain composed?

Without another word, he immediately stood up and extended an invitation, “Gentlemen, please come to my study to witness this.” Wang Guan and the others certainly wouldn't refuse, happily following Professor Liu to his study. Upon entering the room, everyone realized that this place was less a study and more a collector’s room.

The space, as large as a living room, wasn’t just filled with desks and bookshelves; there were also two or three rows of shelving units. These shelves were laden with all manner of antiques, including the Boshan Censer they had acquired from Mr.

Jin’s household. It seemed Professor Liu’s collection was quite substantial, containing several small, exquisite pieces.

Seeing the objects of interest, Wang Guan naturally began to examine them. Even without touching or examining them closely, he could generally determine which items were authentic, which might be reproductions, and which were obviously modern fakes.

However, as a guest, even if Wang Guan spotted a fake, he had no intention of pointing it out. After all, the most taboo thing in the antique trade is speaking too frankly before a deep acquaintance.

If the relationship isn’t strong enough, pointing out an item is fake might lead the owner to believe you are trying to swindle them. Why do experts always use veiled language when discussing fakes?

The reason is simple: being sold a fake is disheartening enough. If you don't choose your tone carefully, the owner will certainly feel you are gloating, rubbing salt into their wound, and it would be a miracle if they didn't become hostile.

So, even if Wang Guan noticed something amiss, he wouldn't speak carelessly. Furthermore, Professor Liu was in no mood to listen at this moment.

After entering the study, he immediately retrieved brush, inkstone, paper, and an ink slab, intending to verify his assumption. The paper was high-grade Xuan paper, the brush a Huzhou brush from Jiangnan, and the inkstone a Duan inkstone that generated moisture with a breath.

As for the ink, it was naturally not simple either; it was a specially made pine soot ink ingot. Unless they lacked the proper conditions, contemporary calligraphers and painters generally use high-end, impressive ink ingots.

Ink fluid is considered a low-end item, no longer suitable for serious work. Using an ink ingot is not merely following a retro trend or pretending to be refined; more importantly, concentration means essence.

The ink fluid ground from an ingot has a lacquer-like blackness and a lustrous sheen; its quality is indeed superior to bottled ink. Of course, Professor Liu was using the ingot now out of necessity for the mixture.

At this critical juncture, he shaved off a small piece of the supposed fluorescent resin from the box and placed it onto the inkstone, then added a few drops of clean water, before picking up the hard ink ingot to begin grinding. As his fingers moved evenly, the resin showed no sign of dissolving.

However, Professor Liu possessed great patience, grinding continuously, rolling and pressing. A good amount of ink fluid appeared, but the resin remained like toffee, refusing to dissolve for a long time.

Seeing this, Wang Guan and Yu Feibai exchanged a look, their eyes filled with suspicion. This situation seemed wrong.

According to Professor Liu, the resin should have easily melted into the ink, allowing the specially mixed ink to be used for writing and achieving the night-glowing effect. But now, the resin showed no sign of dispersing, proving Professor Liu’s hypothesis to be flawed.

Of course, Professor Liu wasn't ready to give up so soon and continued grinding diligently. Seeing this, Wang Guan lightly shook his head, walked away a few steps out of mild boredom, and returned to admiring the collection on the shelves.

It was evident that although Professor Liu’s collection was somewhat disorganized, there was a discernible trend toward specific areas of collecting. Among the numerous items, stationery implements related to the scholar’s desk were most numerous.

These mainly consisted of small objects like brush pots, brush rests, brush hangers, brush washers, paperweights, and arm rests. These items were crafted from various materials—jade, bamboo, wood, ivory, horn, and ceramic—and featured diverse shapes and exquisite carvings; they were functional and aesthetically pleasing.

Naturally, there were larger pieces too. For example, Wang Guan spotted a large, pot-bellied vase nearly fifty centimeters tall, decorated with polychrome patterns on its surface.

It strongly resembled a Qing Dynasty wucai vase, but the quality of the painting was too poor—or rather, it showed no sign of hand-painting at all, appearing as if decals had been pasted on. A quick glance confirmed it was a modern craftwork.

However, Professor Liu likely knew the vase’s true nature, which was why he had placed it in the far corner. Wang Guan smiled, his gaze sweeping across the corner, then suddenly fixed on one particular object.

He froze, staring intently—a mixture of shock, delight, and disbelief washed over him; his emotions were immensely complicated. The others hadn't noticed Wang Guan’s anomaly and remained focused on Professor Liu grinding the ink.

Seeing that the resin in the inkstone still hadn’t dissolved, Yu Feibai finally couldn’t restrain himself and spoke tactfully, “Professor Liu, you’ve been grinding for so long, you must be tired. Perhaps you should rest?” Professor Liu paid him no mind, continuing to grind.

The rich, lustrous ink kept accumulating, but the resin—whether round or flat—took on countless strange shapes under the pressure of the ink ingot, yet stubbornly refused to melt. Under these circumstances, Professor Liu grew somewhat vexed.

Finally, he threw down the ink ingot. The force of the movement was so great that it even vibrated the inkstone, splashing a puff of ink that stained a large patch of the pristine Xuan paper on the desk.

Suddenly, the desk was somewhat messy, but Professor Liu made no move to clean it up. Instead, he picked up a bar of soap at the nearby basin and slowly washed his hands.

His facial expression was stern, yet his eyes couldn’t conceal his disappointment. “Professor Liu, you don’t need to be so upset.” At this moment, Wang Guan snapped back to attention, glanced back, and immediately understood the situation.

With a flurry of thoughts, he began to console the professor, “Even if this item is Fluorescent Tree resin, after hundreds or thousands of years, it might have undergone some qualitative change and lost its original efficacy…” “That’s very true,” Yu Feibai wholeheartedly agreed, sighing, “Time is a butcher’s knife, every strike draws blood, unstoppable by anyone—especially something like a resinous substance. It has likely degraded and become useless by now.”