Medical Sage

”Brother Fei, Young Master Hua, I think this stone is too risky. Why don’t we just watch the others instead of buying it?” Gu Feishuang couldn’t help but whisper. It was terrifying. Over three million in cold, hard cash had just vanished in an instant. How could any ordinary person withstand that?

”A little flutter is fine.”

Just then, Chen Fei suddenly walked toward a red hanging basket not far away. Inside were several raw stones of considerable size. Their surfaces were uneven and unique, with python-like patterns coiling across them. They were peppered with tiny holes and scattered claw-like marks. The stone he was looking at was grayish-black, with only a faint touch of muddled, poor-quality green on its upper-left edge.

It wasn’t that he had suddenly gained the ability to appraise raw stones. Rather, he distinctly remembered that when he’d used his X-ray vision on Wang Jie’s stone earlier, he had inadvertently spotted a soft green glow from this direction. His Spiritual Energy had been depleting too quickly at the time, so he hadn’t paid it much mind, but now the memory came rushing back.

Green obviously means jade, and this is the only stone over here. Could it be...?

”Da Fei, this stone is no good,” Slickhead immediately interjected. ”Look at all those dense little holes on the surface. That’s a classic ’spirit-devouring stone.’ All the spiritual energy has been sucked right out of it. What good could possibly be left inside?” He and Chen Fei were close, so there was no need to beat around the bush.

”Brother Fei, that stone is so ugly, and it’s marked at three hundred thousand. You shouldn’t buy it; it’s a waste of money,” Gu Feishuang added, kindly offering her advice, worried that Chen Fei was making an uninformed choice.

”Hey, come on, you two. I’m just buying it for a bit of fun. Since I’m already here, I can’t leave empty-handed, can I?” Chen Fei said with a wry smile. With that, he pulled out his bank card, ready to call a staff member over to pay.

”Doctor Chen, I didn’t take you for a man who enjoys the thrill of stone gambling. Are you interested in this piece? How much is it? Allow me to pay for you.” Just then, an enthusiastic voice called out from nearby. It was President Wang Kai of Jin Zun Jewelry, approaching with his entourage.

”There’s no need, President Wang. I can handle it myself,” Chen Fei replied, refusing the offer without a second thought.

After all, it’s only 300,000—an insignificant amount for either of us. But if something truly priceless emerges, what then? He couldn’t imagine the other party would be happy about it, which would put him in an awkward position. It was better to handle it himself and be solely responsible for any profit or loss.

He handed his card to a nearby staff member. ”Here, help me get this stone cut. Grind it slowly; don’t slice it open all at once.” He asked the staffer to arrange for a stonecutter. The five million from Liu Cheng was coming in handy.

”Alright, I’ll grind it slowly,” replied the same craftsman from before. Hearing Chen Fei’s request, he readily agreed and immediately began to prepare.

Meanwhile, one of the men behind Wang Kai took a quick glance at the stone and whispered, ”President Wang, that piece is probably...” but Wang Kai silenced him with a wave of his hand.

His reasoning was simple. It was just a 300,000-yuan stone. He didn’t care about it, and he was sure Chen Fei didn’t either. Besides, stone gambling was mostly about luck anyway. Spending a few hundred thousand for a bit of fun was normal. It wouldn’t be worth it to make a fuss and ruin a potential relationship over such a small matter.

”Look, someone’s cutting another stone! Let’s go see!”

”Huh? Isn’t that the spirit-devouring stone? It’s an obvious scam. Can’t believe someone actually fell for it.”

”Let’s go, nothing to see here. Just a worthless rock.”

When they saw someone else was about to cut a stone, the crowd had gathered excitedly. But when they realized it was the infamous spirit-devouring stone, they all left, shaking their heads in disappointment. Someone had been right—the stone was an obvious ripoff. To think someone actually fell for it...

”Sir, I’m about to start grinding the rind,” the stonecutter announced after finishing his final preparations.

”Go ahead,” Chen Fei replied with a nod and a smile. ”Start grinding slowly from the other side.”

”Da Fei, you seem pretty confident about this one! If you find anything good, you’re treating!” Seeing that his friend’s mind was made up, Slickhead gave up trying to persuade him. He figured Chen Fei really didn’t care about this little bit of money and was just spending it for entertainment.

”Brother Fei, if you really cut something valuable, you have to give me a finder’s fee! It must be my good luck rubbing off on you!” Gu Feishuang said playfully, trying to lighten the atmosphere. Clearly, neither of them believed Chen Fei’s choice would yield anything of value. They were just trying to soften the blow for when he inevitably lost.

”What are you wasting time grinding this piece of junk for? Just cut it already!” a man in the remaining crowd grumbled impatiently.

Chen Fei’s brow furrowed. ”If you don’t want to watch, then get lost. Did I ask you to be here?” he snapped back.

The impatient man’s face flushed with a mix of embarrassment and anger. ”Hmph! Hopeless,” the man sneered, trying to save face. ”I’d like to see what you can get from this piece of junk. It’s probably nothing but limestone inside...”

But before he could finish his taunt, he was cut off by a stunned cry from the crowd. ”It’s green! It’s actually green! No way, could this crappy stone actually be hiding something good?”

The stonecutter had revealed a patch of tender green on the other side of the stone. Coupled with the sliver of green on the upper-left corner, that meant it was showing green on two faces. The crowd was justifiably astonished.

”Whoa, Da Fei, you’re something else, man. I’m impressed!” Slickhead rubbed his eyes, stared dumbly at the stone for a moment, and then shot Chen Fei a big thumbs-up. With green on two sides, the stone very likely contained a High Quality gem. And given its size, it had to be extraordinary. This wasn’t just a win; it was a massive windfall, an astronomical profit.

”Brother Fei, did you see that? It’s green, it’s really green! You’re amazing, hahaha!” Gu Feishuang saw the heart-stopping green appear on the stone. When she noticed the nearby jewelers’ eyes turning red with greed like hungry wolves, she instantly understood and grabbed Chen Fei’s arm, shouting with excitement.

”Young man, don’t cut any further! Sell that stone to us at Gold Joy Jewelry! We’ll offer three million!”

”Three million? Are you kidding? You think he’s an amateur you can fleece? I’ll offer four million! Friend, sell the stone to me!”

The frantic bidding from earlier erupted once more. Before it was even fully cut, the price of Chen Fei’s stone had skyrocketed to four million, all because it showed green on two sides. It was a staggering sight, and many, including the man who’d been scolded, were red-eyed with jealousy.

”Hmph, what’s so great about that? Go on, keep cutting! It’s just a lucky fluke. There’s a thin layer of green on the surface, but I bet it’s completely empty inside!” the man snorted, his words dripping with envious scorn.

”Mr. Chen, why don’t you sell this stone to Jin Zun Jewelry? I’ll offer seven million!” At that moment, Wang Kai, who had been standing nearby, spoke up, his bid stunning the entire crowd into silence.

Sure, the stone showed green on two sides, and the odds of it containing a treasure were high, but that didn’t justify a seven-million-yuan gamble. After all, until it was fully cut, nothing was certain. The unfortunate Young Master Wang was a prime example. As the president of the largest jewelry chain in Jiangnan Province, Wang Kai couldn’t possibly be ignorant of that fact.

”Gulp... Seven million? Da Fei, I think you should sell. Even if you cut it open, it’s not likely to be worth that much!” Slickhead swallowed hard, his voice barely a whisper.

In his opinion, Wang Kai was probably trying to do Chen Fei a favor; otherwise, why would he make such an outrageous offer? He had to convince his brother to sell. Pocketing a cool seven million was already hitting the jackpot! What more could he ask for?

”Brother Fei, what do you think?” Gu Feishuang was incredibly tense. That was seven million, earned in the blink of an eye. In her old life, she might have worked her entire life and never seen that much money.

However, Chen Fei just shook his head and said to the stonecutter, ”Keep grinding.”

He refused?

Slickhead, Gu Feishuang, Wang Kai, and everyone else present was shocked. No one had expected Chen Fei to actually turn down the offer. Wang Kai, in particular, was dumbfounded. As Slickhead had guessed, he was trying to do Chen Fei a favor, a gesture to smooth over the awkwardness from their previous misunderstanding.

But he refused? Was the goodwill I offered not enough, or... Even with all his years navigating the treacherous business world, he was genuinely at a loss. Could it be that he doesn’t want to reconcile?

”More green! There’s more green! Damn, this stone has such a huge piece of quality material inside! Even if the grade is a little off, it has to be worth at least eight or nine million!”

Just as Wang Kai’s face darkened and his mind raced, a sudden shout shattered his train of thought.

What? More green?!

Even a seasoned and composed tycoon like Wang Kai was completely and utterly dumbfounded.