"Heh heh, this trick is clever, but it won't escape my notice," Yu Feibai chuckled. "If I were to stumble on something like this, it would just make me a laughingstock and prove that I haven't wasted over a decade dabbling in jade." "You're impressive," Wang Guan praised with a smile.

"Impressive my foot, you're the impressive one. I've never once found a hidden gem," Yu Feibai muttered sullenly, studying the jade fish again.

After a long moment, he finally handed it back to Wang Guan. "Well, did you spot any illusion or trick?

It's not a bargain, is it?" Wang Guan asked with a smile. "I can't see anything," Yu Feibai admitted, perplexed.

"But the piece really isn't much. Why did you buy it?" "Like I said, it's for fun," Wang Guan replied, taking the moment to activate his special ability.

He saw a faint white treasure light emanating from the small jade fish, clearly indicating that it was an item from the late Qing or early Republican period. "What's fun about that?" Yu Feibai shook his head.

"Actually, that shopkeeper was right. Apart from inherited masterpieces, most ancient jades simply can't compare to new jade.

If you want to appreciate it, you should just buy modern pieces." "We'll see when the time comes," Wang Guan smiled. "A couple of days ago, I read up on jade polishing techniques.

Today, I happened to see this piece and got the idea to buy it for a good polish. Anyway, it's not expensive, so it doesn't matter if I damage it while working on it." "So you plan on using the 'Wu Pan' method," Yu Feibai said, showing sudden interest.

"Mm," Wang Guan nodded. "Wen Pan takes too long—it takes three to five years just to see a minor result, and that's only surface luster.

If you want the entire piece to glow through and become crystal clear like water, don't even dream about it without decades of effort." "That's true," Yu Feibai agreed. "Relatively speaking, Wu Pan shows results faster, but it's easier to damage the jade." The terms Wen Pan and Wu Pan here refer to two different methods of jade polishing.

Wen Pan involves keeping the jade close to the body, allowing it to maintain constant contact with the body's stable temperature through wearing, handling, and touching, thus achieving the goal of nourishing the jade. As for Wu Pan, it utilizes external force for maintenance: continuously rubbing the jade with a clean white cloth.

The heat generated by the friction rapidly drives out the earthy impurities within the jade, making it crystal clear and lustrous. Of course, the drawback of Wu Pan is quite obvious: if rushed, the jade material can be damaged.

Despite this hidden danger, Wang Guan still wanted to try it, as he couldn't afford to wait decades. "Then you play with it slowly by yourself.

Anyway, you're not short on money now; it won't matter if you ruin it." Then, Yu Feibai laughed. "By the way, let me teach you a Wu Pan method.

This is an ancient Qing Dynasty technique: pack the jade fish together with ground Qiannao Shell, Qianmai Jiu, and crushed Pingdan bamboo leaves into a soft cloth bag. Then, continuously manipulate the bag by hand, allowing the jade fish's surface grayness to be removed, and then switch to wiping it with a fine white cloth.

Repeating this cycle should quickly restore the jade fish's luster." "Have you tried it?" Wang Guan asked. "No," Yu Feibai shook his head and smiled.

"Old Man Qian taught it to me, but I rarely buy antique jade, so I never had the chance to practice it." "So, I'm the guinea pig," Wang Guan chuckled, feeling a touch of envy. Having someone mentor you makes all the difference; they know all these secret lore and methods that aren't found in many books.

It’s no wonder there often needs to be a guide in the antique circle to truly integrate into it. "Heh heh, I'm just offering a suggestion," Yu Feibai emphasized, adding slyly, "Whether you use it or not is up to you." Wang Guan smiled and decided to give it a try.

Since neither of them felt like browsing antique shops anymore, they bought the necessary materials for the Wu Pan method at the shopping street and immediately headed back to their lodging. By the time they returned to the Tourist Center, it was nearly dusk.

Gao Dequan was nowhere in sight; a phone call revealed he had gone out to dine with Su Wenyu. Wang Guan and Yu Feibai certainly weren't going to wait idly.

After taking care of dinner, they returned to their respective rooms to organize their things. After all, having spent most of the day out, they must have purchased some souvenirs or similar items.

In half a day, Wang Guan had bought two large bags of things, planning to mail them home tomorrow. Soon after tidying up, Wang Guan felt a slight weariness and lay down on the bed for a short rest before regaining some energy.

Simultaneously, Wang Guan reached into the leather suitcase next to the bedside table, unlocked the combination, and after fumbling for a moment, pulled out a dull, unremarkable-looking bead. "A Golden Toad holding a pearl, a stone concealing jade—it's quite fitting," Wang Guan murmured to himself.

"However, the person who hid it was perhaps too cautious, one layer of protection wasn't enough, they even added a double layer of insurance. If I didn't have my special ability, I probably wouldn't know that this ordinary-looking bead might be a priceless treasure." Wang Guan could imagine that even if someone smashed the three-legged Golden Toad and saw the bead inside, they absolutely wouldn't know that the bead was extraordinary.

The most likely scenario would be throwing it away as trash. "A bright pearl hidden in the dust—that is the greatest tragedy." Wang Guan smiled faintly.

"Now, let me lift your veil and reveal your true form." He said that, but how to restore the bead to its original state, Wang Guan had no immediate idea. After pondering, Wang Guan decided to start with the simplest step: he poured a cup of clean water, then picked up a piece of white gauze, soaked it, wrung it out until semi-dry, and gently wiped the bead.

At this moment, Wang Guan noticed that the bead's color deepened after getting wet. However, the bead's surface showed no change; it remained that unremarkable brown color.

"As expected, cracking an illusion isn't that easy," Wang Guan frowned slightly, feeling a bit helpless. Scratching his head in thought, Wang Guan hesitated for a moment, then gently dropped the bead in his hand into the cup of clean water.

With a soft gurgle, the slightly heavy bead immediately sank to the bottom of the cup, splashing up a small string of bubbles. It was at this moment that Wang Guan observed closely.

One minute passed. The bead lay quietly at the bottom of the cup, showing no change at all.

Then two minutes, three minutes, four minutes, five minutes... Time flowed by, and in the blink of an eye, over ten minutes had passed, yet the bead remained the same.

Wang Guan rubbed his slightly sore eyes, a hint of impatience already growing in his heart. However, he did not take the bead out, allowing it to continue soaking in the clear water.

Even if Wang Guan couldn't identify the bead's material, its texture was hard, like jade or stone, so water certainly wouldn't dissolve it. Next, Wang Guan stopped staring at the bead and picked up a book on antiques, lowering his head to read.

He only occasionally looked up to glance at the cup. Finding no abnormality in the bead, he became completely engrossed in the ocean of knowledge.

Unknowingly, Wang Guan had finished reading an entire book. He blinked his slightly dry eyes and suddenly remembered the experiment he was conducting, quickly looking up at the cup.

"Eh!" In an instant, Wang Guan discovered that the bead in the water had finally undergone a noticeable change. ..........................

Thanks to the reader 'Next 10 Years' for the tip. Still soliciting favorites and recommendation tickets.

Also, please help out with material gathering; give a few replies at least. Leaving it hanging alone looks bad.

C