At this moment, Old Qian also regained his composure. "What painting?"

"A bird-and-flower painting by Bada Shanren."

Wang Guan chimed in to explain, "At Banshan Temple, someone brought a painting asking Master Banshan to bless it. We suspect it’s an authentic piece. Moreover, on the painting, there is a collector's seal bearing the characters 'He Wei'."

"A painting by Bada Shanren."

Old Qian pondered for a moment, then inquired, "What does the painting look like?"

"Gnarled branches and strange birds…" Yu Feibai began describing it, then looked puzzled. "Old Qian, is there something wrong with the painting?"

"It's not that something is wrong, it’s just…" Old Qian hesitated, then shook his head. "Forget it, I’ll send someone to take a look."

As he spoke, Old Qian stood up and returned to his room to make a phone call.

"Avoiding us like that, there must be something fishy, a big secret."

Just then, Yu Feibai, naturally taken aback, snapped back to reality and immediately grabbed Wang Guan’s arm, whispering, "It seems that He Wei is no simple figure."

"Nonsense," Wang Guan replied irritably. "Not simple—that’s the key point."

"Tch, Old Qian won't say, how would I know?" Yu Feibai urged, "Why don't you go ask him?"

"You go," Wang Guan refused to be tricked. Old Qian had clearly indicated he didn't want to discuss it; asking would likely be fruitless.

"Then never mind," Yu Feibai also understood this point and frowned in deep thought. "So secretive, it must be some hidden story. And it probably involves someone's privacy, which is why Old Qian doesn't want to say more."

"You keep guessing," Wang Guan agreed with a nod, then also stood up. "I’m going to prepare."

"Prepare what?"

"Prepare the materials for Mr. Anderson to inspect…"

As he spoke, Wang Guan left to make his preparations, leaving Yu Feibai sitting in the hall, listlessly watching television.

The day passed just like that. The next morning, Wang Guan was waiting at the airport, and Mr. Anderson arrived right on schedule. Furthermore, he wasn't alone; there were several accompanying personnel.

However, Wang Guan could tell that these accompanying staff were not Mr. Anderson’s secretaries or employees; they were likely friends, or appraisers he had specifically invited to verify the authenticity of the metal.

Whoever they were, Wang Guan hadn't done anything wrong, so he wasn't afraid of having company.

"Wang…"

After the initial greetings and pleasantries, Mr. Anderson got straight to the point. "Where is the item you mentioned?"

"In Jinmen."

Since they weren't close, Wang Guan didn't want to bring them to Old Qian’s grand residence. So, he had stored the item at the Xiyi Museum. This approach seemed to show the utmost importance. Moreover, the Xiyi Museum’s reputation was already famous across the country; in the public eye, it wasn't strange for the museum to present another rare treasure, saving him the trouble of lengthy explanations.

Hearing this, Mr. Anderson showed no surprise, instead urging Wang Guan to lead the way.

After several turns, everyone arrived at the Xiyi Museum. Since the previous treasures had been taken for a traveling exhibition, the museum didn't have the same bustling atmosphere it once had. But its fame had drawn a crowd, so people still came to visit. Thus, as the group walked into the museum, they didn't attract much attention.

The first, second, and third floors still had many people viewing various exhibits. To avoid disturbing them, Wang Guan directly led Mr. Anderson and the others up via the internal elevator straight to the fourth floor.

"This way, please."

After leading Mr. Anderson and the others to the reception room and ordering tea, Wang Guan excused himself briefly. He soon returned, holding an exquisite box.

Knowing the item’s value, it certainly couldn't be casually placed out; thus, Wang Guan had placed it in a beautiful brocade box, wrapped inside several layers of silk, carefully preserved to highlight its rarity.

To put it this way: even an ordinary stone, placed inside such a brocade box, would make ordinary people subconsciously feel the stone must be extraordinary. This was the effect of packaging—clothes make the man, and gold gilds the Buddha.

Of course, Mr. Anderson was no one who bought the casket and returned the pearl; he didn't care about the box or the packaging. What mattered most was the item itself.

Upon seeing Wang Guan take out the metal, especially noticing its unusual appearance under the sunlight, his eyes lit up like a wolf starved for days, almost flashing green light. Not just him, but the people he brought along had almost the exact same reaction.

At this, Wang Guan smiled, tactfully placing the item on the table, signaling Mr. Anderson to examine it.

In that instant, Mr. Anderson forgot all polite restraint and hurried over to study it. He picked it up to gauge its weight, observed its material, and discerned the characters inscribed on it…

Mr. Anderson scrutinized it repeatedly, inside and out, several times. More than ten minutes passed, and he showed no sign of stopping. Wang Guan understood his state of mind and certainly didn't intend to interrupt. The others beside him, however, couldn't hold back. They coughed a few times, but seeing Mr. Anderson still immersed in his study, they directly patted his shoulder.

"Ah…"

Only then did Mr. Anderson finally come to, giving an embarrassed smile as he prepared to speak, only to be interrupted by his companion. Mr. Anderson immediately understood the implied message, fell silent, and directly handed the item over.

Wang Guan grasped the reason: when authenticating an item, one must fear the interference of others' opinions most. Therefore, the more precious the item being appraised, the more cautious one must be, only discussing it after one has finished their own examination.

At this point, Mr. Anderson’s companions, with great tacit understanding, took about ten minutes each to examine the metal seriously. During the appraisal process, their expressions fluctuated constantly—sometimes surprised, sometimes delighted, showing a mixture of reactions.

After a long while, everyone had finished looking. They then gathered together and quietly exchanged opinions. At first, their voices were low, but unknowingly, the volume grew louder, sounding like an intense argument.

Unfortunately, Wang Guan didn't understand a word, but he could roughly guess the gist: the appraisal results differed, and their opinions were not unified, leading to the debate as they tried to persuade the others to believe them.

This was entirely expected, and Wang didn't mind, calmly sipping his tea. However, Mr. Anderson had no intention of letting him remain an outsider. With the argument reaching a stalemate, he naturally turned to ask Wang Guan about the object's origin.

"It was discovered inside a crate of parchment versions of the Jewish Bible," Wang Guan did not conceal the truth, clearly stating the item's background, and then produced the Jewish Bible and fragments of the crate.

Mr. Anderson and the others immediately verified these items as well. Magnifying glasses of various sizes covered the table—from fist-sized ones to lenses as delicate as a fingernail clipping—which they used one by one, finally confirming that Wang Guan had not lied.

"Oh, and there’s this too, take a look,"

At the same time, Wang Guan handed over a stack of documented materials—the results from optical analysis—and said confidently, "Of course, if you still have any doubts, you can take it to a research institution you designate for testing."

To facilitate Mr. Anderson's reading, Wang Guan had specially prepared bilingual materials in both Chinese and English, so not only Mr. Anderson but also his partners faced no language barrier.

A moment later, some were convinced, while others remained skeptical. After all, setting aside Chinese research institutions, even foreign ones were known to have various internal scandals and testing errors.

Therefore, following the suggestion of his companions, Mr. Anderson formally stated, "We need to take this for retesting."

"That's fine."

Wang Guan nodded; after all, with modern transportation, one could easily fly to any corner of the globe.

"However, let’s get the ugly words out first."

As he spoke, Wang Guan laid out his own condition: "You can take it for testing, but the item cannot leave our sight. You designate an institution, and we will take it for testing ourselves. We will show you the documentation once we have the results."

"Of course…" Mr. Anderson naturally did not object.

After discussion, Mr. Anderson designated a research institution in Germany, asking Wang Guan to deliver the item for appraisal. German technology is renowned for its rigor and holds great authority, thus making it quite convincing.

Wang Guan agreed, then reported back to Old Qian, who arranged for dedicated personnel to send the item for testing. As for Mr. Anderson and the others, they stayed behind to await the final outcome.

A day passed, and Wang Guan had not yet received feedback, but Mr. Anderson hurriedly contacted him, with a hint of excitement on his face. Wang Guan was momentarily startled, realizing that Mr. Anderson must have an inside contact at the designated institution, leading him to know the test results faster than Wang Guan.

"So?"

At this moment, Wang Guan was calm and composed. "Facts prove that I wasn't lying, right?"

"Wang, I never doubted you,"

Mr. Anderson smiled ingratiatingly, not blinking as he lied. "I always believed in you; I was just being cautious. Like your ancient saying: caution wards off great errors…"

Wang Guan curled his lip, then smiled and asked, "So, now you don't have doubts anymore?"

"No doubt, never a doubt," Mr. Anderson swore solemnly, then shifted the topic: "Wang, let's stop dwelling on these minor details. I think we should have a proper talk now."

"Yes, we should indeed talk properly," Wang Guan highly agreed. Everyone was smart; there was no need for games of coy resistance.

After all, everyone knew the underlying nature of the item. Moreover, when Mr. Anderson and the others expressed doubt, Wang Guan readily agreed to have the item tested. One side wanted to sell, the other wanted to buy; naturally, they could strike a deal immediately without circling around.

"What price must I pay?"

Mr. Anderson was very direct, even prepared to pay a heavy price.

"It’s very simple."

At this opportune moment, Wang Guan smiled. "As you know, I don't lack money, so I won't take money. I'm just quite interested in Chinese cultural relics…"

"Good," Anderson immediately nodded. "All the Chinese relics on my ship are yours."

"No, that's not enough," Wang Guan shook his head. "Mr. Anderson, I’ve seen what’s on your ship. Chinese relics are only one part of it. In terms of sheer value, it certainly cannot compare to your holy Jewish artifacts…"