Volume One: Qin Yang of the Northern Sea Chapter 20: Face to Face

Hearing these words, Qin Yang’s mood soured. Damn it, do they even want people to buy things here? But when he saw it was Zhang Yiming speaking, his frustration slowly faded, replaced with confusion in his eyes. “Brother Zhang, what’s wrong?”

Zhang Yiming, naturally aware of what had happened before, didn’t want Qin Yang to misunderstand. Lowering his voice, he said, “Qin Yang, this raw stone looks so rough. Could it be...?”

Qin Yang laughed. “Brother Zhang, stone gambling is all about the gamble. Anyone can misjudge sometimes.” He glanced meaningfully around, especially at those who had just tried to snatch the raw stone from him.

Zhang Yiming paused briefly, then nodded. “That’s true.”

With the raw stone successfully purchased, the people around watched Qin Yang, surprised to see he had no intention of cutting the stone open immediately. Instead, he continued to wander the market. Soon, rumors spread that his recent gamble had failed spectacularly, and the crowd dispersed.

Everyone flocked to watch Sun Tianmu, the Northern Sage, pick raw stones. Qin Yang was pleased by this outcome; after all, he didn’t like people following him when he was choosing stones.

His Qi-Observing Technique couldn’t be used over a wide area—at best, he could only see within five meters.

Wang Hao and Zhang Yiming stood at a distance, watching the lively crowd. Wang Hao frowned, studying Qin Yang from afar, a thoughtful look on his face. He tried to ask around about Qin Yang’s background, but his old classmate knew nothing.

Standing at a crossroads, he lit a cigarette. The gentle breeze tousled his hair.

All along the way, he’d seen no particularly promising raw stones. Most contained jadeite of very low grade, so he hadn’t made any purchases.

Growing a bit impatient, the cool wind gradually soothed his mood.

A sharp glint flashed in his eyes as he spotted a raw stone in the distance, delight rising in his heart.

Judging by the situation, there must be high-grade jadeite inside.

The stone had already been cut in half, revealing a strip of green. The price was set at 2.3 million.

After some bargaining with the owner, he bought it for 2 million.

He still had an hour left and needed to find just one more.

Half an hour later, he suddenly spotted another raw stone and quickened his pace, only to run into Feng Bo head-on. Clearly, Sun Tianmu’s group had also noticed this stone.

Looking at the small cart behind them, filled with raw stones, he used his Qi-Observing Technique and saw that each contained jadeite of high grade.

At that moment, he realized the titles “Southern King” and “Northern Sage” were well-earned.

Sun Tianmu stroked his beard and looked at Qin Yang. “Young man, you’ve set your sights on this raw stone?”

“Ahem.” Such a direct question caught him off guard. Qin Yang nodded. “This stone has good qualities. I plan to buy it.”

Sun Tianmu said with some emotion, “Yes, the rough texture has a python-like vein running across it—there must be jade inside.”

Listening to Sun Tianmu analyze so confidently, Qin Yang felt a headache coming on. He’d only used his Qi-Observing Technique; he knew nothing else.

Feng Bo stood by, delighted, certain he would make a huge profit this time. No matter what, he had to buy this stone.

“Boss, how much for this raw stone?”

Zhen, the wealthy owner, saw the famous Northern Sage Sun Tianmu taking interest, with Feng Bo of Feng Real Estate standing by, and today’s rising star, Qin Yang, also present. Hesitant, he called out a price: “Two hundred thousand.”

He had originally priced the stone at 160,000, but seeing everyone interested, he immediately raised it by 40,000.

“Two hundred thousand?” Feng Bo frowned, unimpressed by Zhen’s tactics. He glanced at Qin Yang in challenge. “Five hundred thousand. I’ll buy it.”

Zhen didn’t agree right away but instead looked at Qin Yang, who didn’t disappoint him and offered an even higher price.

“Young Master Feng, trying to buy glass jade with just five hundred thousand? That’s hardly possible.”

“One million.”

“Glass jade? Could there really be glass jade inside?” The bystanders were shocked by this claim, tempted to join the bidding, but afraid to offend Young Master Feng.

“Two million.”

“Four million.”

Feng Bo’s expression turned grim. He growled, “Eight million.”

Qin Yang looked at him in astonishment, completely ignoring his anger. Shaking his head, he said, “Forget it, boss, sell it to Young Master Feng.”

Standing next to the shop owner, he added, “Oh, by the way, when I mentioned ‘glass jade’ earlier, I was just making it up.”

Though he spoke right beside the owner, he made no effort to keep his voice down.

Everyone was stunned, especially Feng Bo, who felt as if he might explode with rage.

“Qin Yang,” Feng Bo spat his name through clenched teeth, eyes blazing with fury.

Sun Tianmu was entirely the bystander here. If not for his apprentice’s invitation, he wouldn’t have come to help. Compared to Feng Bo, he liked this young man Qin Yang much more.

Having tricked Feng Bo, Qin Yang was in high spirits, completely ignoring any threats as he walked away.

Just now, he had used his Qi-Observing Technique and discovered a raw stone radiating astonishing luck.

This stone was even more important to him, so after Feng Bo and Sun Tianmu left, he quietly made his way over. Sun Tianmu was strong, and if he followed, along with the wealthy Feng Bo, there was no guarantee he could buy the stone smoothly.

Now, as the time for their meeting approached, he checked his phone messages and felt a pang of regret. His fortune, once worth tens of millions, had dwindled to just over four million, with his last raw stone costing a staggering three million.

The stone gambling business was truly not for the faint of heart.

If not for inheriting the Emperor’s Transmission of Slaying Immortals, and if not for his Qi-Observing Technique, he would have lost everything by now.

A little after four o’clock.

Two cutting machines were already set up as Feng Bo arrived early to wait.

Looking at the time, he saw Qin Yang still hadn’t come and began to curse. “Damn it, is that brat Qin Yang too scared to show up because he knows he’ll lose?”

The surrounding crowd buzzed with speculation. Even Zhang Yiming and Wang Hao frowned. They knew Qin Yang would come, but with the venue so large, they had no idea where he was.

Just as they were about to call, they heard a shout from below.

“Qin Yang’s here!”

He was late for a reason—on the way back, he had bought another raw stone. The price was shocking: five million was asked, and after half an hour of bargaining, he got it down to just over four million, leaving his bank account completely empty. Even most of the cash he carried was gone.

In his wallet, only eight hundred yuan remained.

He felt his heart bleed.

In a single night, he was back to square one.

Feng Bo looked at Qin Yang as he arrived and snorted, “Qin Yang, I thought you were too scared to show your face.”

“Scared?”

Qin Yang chuckled. “The word ‘fear’ doesn’t exist in my dictionary.” After a pause, he added, “Perhaps you’re just not worthy enough.”

Feng Bo’s expression was so dark it could drip water, his glare at Qin Yang full of silent rage.

This time, I’ll make you lose everything.