"It must be top-quality jade! It must be top-quality jade!"
In front of the stone that was being cut, stood a somewhat portly middle-aged man, his fists tightly clenched, his face full of anticipation as he watched the raw stone that was gradually being unveiled, his expression incredibly tense and uneasy, constantly muttering to himself.
"Itâs green, itâs green!"
Suddenly, a cry of excitement sounded, and everyone present turned their gaze, only to see a patch of green light glowing from a cut section of the raw stone, clearly indicating the presence of jade. The middle-aged man looked very excited at this sight.
"Sir, would you like to continue cutting?"
At that moment, the stone cutter looked at the middle-aged man, asking.
"Of course, keep going, this must be top-quality jade, Iâm going to make a fortune this time."
The middle-aged man roared with excitement, his eyes fixed intently on the raw stone as the stone cutter continued to adjust the cutting machine, and everyone around the shop watched with hopeful expressions.
"Do you also like gambling on stones?"
All of a sudden, Situ Luoyunâs voice rang out beside Ye Luo, who glanced over to find that Situ Luoyun had somehow appeared next to him, her face full of smiles as she looked at the gambling stone.
"I wouldnât say I like it, just that Iâm interested, thatâs all."
Ye Luo smiled. With the Clairvoyant Eye, gambling on stones was a guaranteed win for him. The thought also occurred to Ye Luo that if he ever ran out of money, he could try his luck on gambling stones; with his Clairvoyant Eye, he was bound to make a fortune.
Moreover, Ye Luo felt that many of the raw stones that contained jade also held Spiritual Energy, which would be of great help to his Cultivation.
"What kind of jade do you think will come out of this raw stone?"
Situ Luoyun asked, gazing at the stone that was being cut.
"Nothing at all will come out, just that little bit of jade on the surface."
Ye Luo laughed, as he had already seen with the Clairvoyant Eye that apart from the small piece of jade that had just been uncovered, the rest of the raw stone was full of pits or streaks and spots of inferior stones, essentially worthless.
Situ Luoyun appeared slightly surprised as she glanced at Ye Luo, her phoenix eyes sparkling as she watched the stone.
By this time, the raw stone had been cut in half, and as Ye Luo had predicted, apart from the tiny bit of jade uncovered originally, there was nothing elseâjust the bare raw stones, along with some flawed and cracked pieces of jade, which were completely useless.
As for the owner of the raw stone, the middle-aged manâs forehead was now covered in cold sweat, his throat moving continuously, his expression looking very uneasy and tense. His eyes were glued to the raw stone, hoping for another miracle to happen.
But in the end, after the entire raw stone was cut open, apart from the initial bit of jade, there wasnât even a trace of jade found, causing the middle-aged man to collapse to the ground with a thump.
"Itâs all over, everything is over." The middle-aged man said in a defeated tone, his expression dulled, clearly financially ruined by this failure.
This was the rise and fall of life, further proving the thrill of gambling on stones.
"Is anyone else interested in buying a raw stone? We can cut it right here, and if you reveal a top-quality jade, it could mean sudden wealth."
The owner of the jade store looked around at the crowd, speaking enticingly. However, having seen what had just happened to the middle-aged man, these people didnât dare to make a move, since they werenât regularly involved in stone gambling, lacking the confidence to unearth top-quality jade. Besides, even the cheapest raw stones here cost at least hundreds of thousands, not something the average person could afford.
"Boss, Iâll take this raw stone."
At this moment, Ye Luo suddenly pointed to a rough stone among the pile, one that was covered with pits and spots.
"This... are you sure you want to buy this one? Young man, I must remind you, with my years of experience in gambling on stones, this rough stone will definitely not yield anything. Itâs completely a waste stone," the owner said, looking at Ye Luo.
Ye Luo responded with a smile on his lips, "Iâll take this one, how much?"
"Ye Luo, this rough stone really wonât produce any jade if you look at the texture. Youâre purely wasting your money," Situ Luoyun could not help but say to Ye Luo.
"Itâs okay, consider it a game. How much, boss?" Ye Luo said to the owner.
"Young man, since you insist on doing so, I canât stop you. This rough stone, you can have it for fifty thousand," the owner replied.
"Good, letâs swipe the card!" Ye Luo pulled out his Supreme black card and said.
Seeing the Supreme black card in Ye Luoâs hand, the owner was stunned and thought to himself that Ye Luo must be a rich young master.
"I really canât understand you now. Do you have money but nowhere to spend it? First, you spend thirty thousand on a worthless furnace, and now youâre spending fifty thousand on a piece of waste stone. There couldnât be something wrong with your head, could there?" Situ Luoyun was utterly baffled by Ye Luoâs actions.
Ye Luo smiled mysteriously. He naturally wouldnât waste his money for no reason; he had already examined this rough stone with his Clairvoyant Eye and was certain it was the most valuable among all in the bunch.
Soon the owner returned with the black card, handed it to Ye Luo, and asked, "Young man, are you going to take this rough stone home, or do you want to cut it here?"
"Letâs cut it here!" Ye Luo said indifferently, upon which the stone cutter carried the rough stone marked with pits and spots over to the stone cutting area, ready to begin the cutting process.
The onlookers all wore expressions of peculiarity and ridicule, most of them disbelieving that Ye Luoâs rough stone could yield any jade.
Sparks flew as the stone cutter began to slowly slice through the rough stone with his cutting machine, while Ye Luo watched on calmly, holding the furnace with an air of relaxation, showing none of the tension and anxiety typical of gambling on stones.
Countless chips of stone flew about; in the blink of an eye, a third of the rough stone had been cut away to reveal nothing but the white stone inside without a hint of green to be seen.
"Young man, I told you so. This rough stone is just a waste stone. This must be your first time gambling on stone, isnât it? Consider this an expensive lesson," said the owner of the jade shop in a lecturing tone. Ye Luo remained silent, while those around wore smirks, thinking to themselves how naive Ye Luo was.
The cutting machine continued its work, slicing through countless pieces of rubble. In just a few minutes, only a third of the rough stone was left, looking utterly hopeless.
"You see now, donât you? Thereâs no way this rough stone will yield any jade," Situ Luoyun said with a light parting of her red lips, her voice carrying a melodious tone.