Medical Sage

Before them, on a red-lacquered, carved railing, sat a stone about the size of two fists. It rested on a red square plate, draped with a brocade handkerchief, and was surrounded by a small crowd. A strikingly fresh green hue was visible along its edges, looking quite natural, and the stone’s texture met the standards for a piece containing high-quality jade. It was no wonder so many people had gathered around, most of them hesitant but eyeing the stone with great interest.

”This stone costs a million?” Just then, Gu Feishuang, who was clinging to Chen Fei’s arm, happened to glance at the tag on the railing. A one followed by six zeros made her gasp.

I may be a fairly famous actress now, but a million isn’t something I can earn casually. Is this one rock really worth that much?

”I’ve heard you can get rich overnight with stone gambling, but I never imagined a single stone could be this expensive,” Chen Fei said with a sigh, also startled by the staggering price of the raw stone. It wasn’t that he couldn’t afford it; his spending habits just hadn’t caught up to his new reality.

”This is what you newcomers don’t understand,” Master Zhou explained. ”Almost all the stones in this area are open-window stones, and this piece, along with a few others, has the best appearance. If you cut something valuable out of it, it will be worth at least this much.”

Master Zhou extended five fingers. He had delivered his explanation in a single breath, but he paused dramatically at the crucial part, leaving them in suspense.

”Five million?” Gu Feishuang asked curiously.

”Nonsense. Of course, it’s five million. What else? Five hundred thousand?” Master Zhou shot her an irritated look.

”Five million,” Gu Feishuang muttered, shrinking back from his glare. She then stuck out her tongue sheepishly, marveling inwardly. This one rock could be part of a five-million-dollar gamble, and after all these years of hard work, I haven’t even earned a fraction of that.

”Da Fei, what do you think? Should I give it a try?” Slickhead licked his lips, clearly wrestling with the decision. ”My dad gave me seven million to buy raw materials this time. Wagering one million on a gamble should be fine.”

As the scion of a jewelry dynasty, he had picked up a thing or two over the years just by being around the business. He considered himself somewhat knowledgeable about stone gambling and agreed that the stone’s appearance was indeed excellent. Even with a hefty price tag of one million, he felt it was worth a shot.

After all, Master Zhou himself had spoken highly of it. Even if it turned out to be a bust, his father probably wouldn’t blame him, given Master Zhou’s endorsement.

”Give it a try?” Chen Fei muttered the words. Unconsciously, the Spiritual Energy within him surged toward his eyes, and his vision of the world instantly changed.

The raw stone, which had appeared to be of excellent quality just a moment ago, now looked completely different to him. Only the thinnest surface layer was green; inside, it was entirely grayish-white.

Chen Fei was stunned for a moment, then quickly realized that the Spiritual Energy in his body must have the magical ability to penetrate the stone’s surface. But before he could feel pleased, a sudden tightness gripped his chest, and his legs trembled. He nearly collapsed.

”Brother Fei, what’s wrong? Are you alright?” This sudden change frightened Gu Feishuang, who was clinging to him. She quickly used her body to support him, keeping him from falling, her face etched with concern.

What’s wrong with Brother Fei? Why did he suddenly go limp? And his face has gone pale... Is he sick?

”It’s nothing, nothing. I just slipped.”

Chen Fei quickly steadied himself, discreetly wiping the cold sweat from his forehead. Damn it! I didn’t realize seeing through the stone would drain so much Spiritual Energy. It was only for a second, but it completely emptied me out. I didn’t even notice it happening.

”Slipped? You’re a big guy, be more careful,” Slickhead replied, paying no mind to the lame excuse, as all his attention was focused on the stone.

After a moment of hesitation, he bit his lip and called out to a nearby staff member, ”Has anyone claimed this stone yet? I’ll take it. One million, right? I’ll pay by card.”

”Certainly, no problem.”

The staff member beamed and took the card from Slickhead’s hand to process the transaction.

”Hold on,” Chen Fei said, suddenly reaching out to stop him. ”Let’s wait and see.”

”Da Fei?” Slickhead gave him a puzzled, somewhat strange look.

”This stone is good. I’ll take it for one million,” a portly businessman declared, stepping forward to buy it.

”This piece has excellent characteristics, with interlacing fog and scale patterns and quite vivid snake-like veining. There must be something hidden inside. I bid 1.2 million!” Someone else, drawn by the commotion, jumped into the fray, and the price immediately began to climb.

”1.4 million!”

”1.5 million!”

”1.7 million!”

When the price of the stone soared to 3.3 million, the bidders began to fall silent. Most judged that even if the stone yielded something valuable, it would be worth four or five million at most. The bidding had already hit its ceiling; there was no point in going higher.

”Da Fei, I… what’s going on?” Seeing this, Slickhead felt resigned but still couldn’t hide his confusion.

”I think there’s something wrong with this stone,” Chen Fei whispered into his ear.

”Really?!” Slickhead was taken aback. He never expected Chen Fei to say something like that. Could it be? This kid actually knows about stone gambling? No… that’s impossible, right?

In the end, a wealthy tycoon from out of town purchased the stone for the sky-high price of 3.3 million and prepared to have it cut. Everyone watched with bated breath.

”Someone actually bought it. Sigh, I was thinking about making a move, but I was too timid. A step too slow.”

”That stone really does look high quality. It’s very likely to yield some excellent material. Let’s wait and see. I bet what comes out of it will be worth at least four or five million.”

The news that someone was cutting a stone drew a crowd, which quickly encircled the area several layers deep. Judging from the spectators’ comments, the mood was overwhelmingly optimistic.

BZZZT…

Amid the dull whir of the small stone saw, a puff of white mist erupted from the incision. Someone with sharp eyes spotted a sliver of fresh green on the stone and cried out, ”It’s a rise! A big win! This stone must be worth at least four or five million! A huge profit!”

”Friend, stop cutting! How about selling it to me? Gold Joy Jewelry offers 3.5 million!”

”3.5 million? You must be dreaming! Pal, I’ll offer you four million for it, how about that?”

”Don’t forget about us at Supreme Treasure Jewelry! We offer 4.2 million!”

The crowd erupted. Representatives from various jewelry companies began a bidding war, quickly driving the offers for the partially cut stone up to 4.2 million.

”It’s a rise! What a shame,” Slickhead lamented in frustration. If only I’d fought for it a little harder, that stone could be mine right now. Look at this commotion. The value must have increased by at least a million!

Chen Fei, however, simply frowned, his gaze fixed on the stone, and said nothing.

”Keep cutting.”

The businessman was clearly wealthy and refused to sell, instead ordering the cutting to continue.

”Alright, I’ll keep going!” The stone-cutting master, naturally full of confidence, rubbed his hands together. He didn’t use the saw again, instead switching to another method and beginning to carefully grind away the stone’s skin.

Almost everyone’s heart was in their throat. No one was thinking about it being a bust anymore; they were all guessing what kind of amazing material it might contain and how much it would be worth.

”What’s going on with that stone…?”

But as time went on, the crowd’s expressions grew strange. The stone was not yielding the treasure they had imagined. Grinding away at the other faces revealed only a uniform grayish-white. After nearly half the stone was worn away, the truth was… becoming obvious.

”Seriously? Such a promising stone turned out to be a bust. I never saw that coming,” many said, disappointed.

”You can’t call it a total bust,” someone else countered with an air of expertise. ”Didn’t you see how nice that one face is? I’m guessing the piece of jade is small, but its quality is still excellent. It should be worth a lot.”

”Impossible. It’s a real bust? Da Fei, how did you know?” Seeing this, Slickhead stared at Chen Fei, his face a mask of disbelief.

Leaving aside whether there was any treasure left inside, the current state of the stone and its small size meant its value was doomed to be nowhere near the four million-plus it was being offered for just moments ago. In other words, the stone was a bust—a spectacular one. But how had Chen Fei seen it coming? This… this…

”Damn it!” Seeing the result, the businessman stalked away, his face grim. He thought he’d made a huge profit, but instead…

There is a saying in the industry: ”One cut for life, one cut for death.” It means one slice can make you rich overnight, while the next can leave you broke, having lost everything.

Of course, this was stone gambling, where everything hinged on the word ”gamble.” If you won, you were lucky and had a good eye. If you lost, it was because you were too greedy, always trying to bite off more than you could chew, just like that businessman.

When he made that first cut, everyone thought it was a huge win. Bidders competed fiercely, with some throwing out astronomical figures over four million. At that moment, he could have easily sold it and walked away with a clean profit of over a million. But he tempted fate, always believing he could land an even bigger prize by cutting further. In the end, it was a bust. A catastrophic loss.

”It’s a bust! A total bust!” As the crowd watched the stone being ground thinner and thinner, a commotion rippled through them. Some shook their heads in pity, while others gloated over his misfortune.

To think that this ”top-quality” open-window stone, purchased for over three million in cold hard cash, would turn out to be such a complete and utter failure, a total loss…