Ghost Catching System

A jeweler sighed, ”This stone named Dragon Egg has been on display for over ten years.”

”Isn’t that the truth! Who can afford such a price, unless an Imperial Green is carved from it.”

Someone lamented, ”Longhua Pavilion, truly the world’s largest jewelry group, has gathered so many stones from all over the country for this auction.”

Chu Hao saw the stone named Dragon Egg. Its potential for wealth isn’t very high, but the jade that could be carved from it would basically be comparable in value to its asking price.

Then, Chu Hao saw another jade stone. It was quite peculiar, shaped like a person’s head, and named Seven Apertures Sky.

The price of this jade stone was also astonishing, clearly marked at five hundred million.

Chu Hao noticed it because there wasn’t much flow of qi on this Seven Apertures Sky stone. Could the jade inside be worth the five hundred million price tag?

However, Chu Hao felt this wasn’t the case. The stone was too much like a human head; staring at it for a few moments made his eyes blur. This sensation is as if the Seven Apertures Sky stone, with its seven holes acting as eyes, is mesmerizing my vision. My consciousness is strong, so how could I feel my eyes blur? What’s going on here?! Chu Hao was clearly startled. Is this a jadeite stone? It feels like a living thing.

By this time, the other three had chosen their first stone, leaving only Chu Hao.

One person laughed, ”Are you going to buy Seven Apertures Sky? That stone has been sitting there for fifteen years. The price is too high; many people find it unacceptable.”

Another person sighed, ”This piece of Seven Apertures Sky is clearly priced at five hundred million. Even Master Chen would hesitate, wouldn’t he? Apart from a stone-gambling expert like Master Chen, perhaps no one would dare to buy it.”

Five hundred million—if it turned out to be worthless, the loss would be too great for anyone to bear.

Of course, Chu Hao didn’t buy it. He didn’t have that much money at the moment, and he found the Seven Apertures Sky very strange.

In the end, Chu Hao directly chose a stone enveloped in a deep, almost red aura of fortune qi. It was a deep crimson hue, priced at three million eight hundred thousand.

Seeing Chu Hao choose a stone without even examining it, a jeweler’s mouth twitched. ”He’s buying it without even looking! Does he even know how to gamble on stones?!”

”Young people nowadays are far too confident.”

On the stone-cutting platform, equipped with all the necessary tools, stood a middle-aged man wielding the cutter; he was the most experienced stone-cutting expert.

First was Chen Lan’s jade stone, a raw stone valued at twelve million.

”Go ahead and cut,” Chen Lan said, his expression solemn.

I’ve made my preparations, Chen Lan thought. In my view, Chu Hao and Su Huansheng are not a concern. It isn’t that I look down on Su Huansheng, but everyone has their own areas of expertise. Yesterday was just for fun with Chu Hao. Today, my real competitor is Xu Sheng.

Chen Lan, trembling slightly with excitement, said, ”Xu Sheng, I have waited too long for this day!”

SCREECH! SCREECH!

With the first cut, the stone rind was peeled away, revealing a patch of inky green jade inside.

”Ink Jade!”

Seeing that Chen Lan’s stone yielded jade, the crowd remained relatively calm. The mere presence of jade didn’t automatically mean high value; it also depended on the type and quality.

A judge, about seventy years old, walked over. He observed the Ink Jade with his glasses and said, ”It has medium to high-grade translucency. This Ink Jade is quite good.”

SCREECH! SCREECH!

Next, more of the stone rind at the edge was cut away, revealing more Ink Jade.

”It’s a rise!” the crowd exclaimed.

Once the surface rind was completely cut away, the exposed area of Ink Jade measured roughly twenty centimeters across.

Chen Lan let out a sigh of relief and looked towards Taoist Bei Sheng with a smug expression.

A few experts assessed it. ”This piece of Ink Jade has medium to high-grade translucency, and the green inside is quite clear. Our final valuation is twenty-four million.”

Chen Lan’s twelve-million investment had doubled in value. In the world of stone gambling, that was considered a huge rise.

”Amazing! He made a profit of twelve million on the first round!”

”Sigh! Making money is just too easy for people like him.”

Indeed, if anyone had Chen Lan’s skills, they would never have to worry for their entire lifetime. This was also why many people flattered Chen Lan.

Bei Sheng said expressionlessly, ”Cut mine.”

SCREECH! SCREECH!

As the stone’s rind fell off, Chen Lan stared intently at the exposed material. His heart skipped a beat; the jade inside was very clear, without a hint of impurity.

The judge announced, ”Top-quality old-pit glass-type jade!”

Glass-type jade is highly valuable among jadeite. This old-pit glass-type was only visible on the surface; it was still unknown if its value would increase further.

SCREECH! SCREECH!

”It’s risen! It’s risen again!” The crowd was incredibly excited, with everyone itching to get a closer look.

Indeed, the area of the glass-type jade was substantial, almost large enough to make a decorative piece. Once cut and crafted into jewelry, it could fetch an immense price.

The judge announced, ”Old-pit, top-quality glass-type. We value this piece of jade at thirty-five million!”

Xu Sheng had bought it for seven million, instantly making a profit of twenty-eight million—a fourfold increase!

The entire venue erupted in an uproar.

”Amazing! Truly amazing!” someone exclaimed in awe.

”Both of them struck jade! They truly live up to their names as the Saint of Gamblers and the God of Gamblers! To witness them stone gambling today is an experience I won’t regret for the rest of my life!” a stone-gambling enthusiast said.

Taoist Bei Sheng clasped his fists and said, ”You let me win.”

Chen Lan snorted. This is just the first round.

It was Su Huansheng’s turn. The stone he had chosen was valued at six million five hundred thousand and had a diameter of fifty-seven centimeters.

SCREECH! SCREECH!

Su Huansheng was very calm, as if the stone being cut wasn’t his, but someone else’s.

As the blade descended, the surface layer of the stone rind fell off. The Knife-handling Master wiped it with a piece of burlap, immediately revealing purple jadeite inside.

The judge exclaimed in surprise, ”Violet jade!”

Everyone was stunned. Yesterday, Chu Hao had cut open violet jade, and today, it appeared again!

”Excellent translucency, leaning towards a lavender-blue color. The question is, how large is the area?” an elderly judge commented.

However, Su Huansheng said indifferently, ”Compared to the piece from yesterday, it’s not small.”

”Ah!” The judge was taken aback. How does he know? The cutting isn’t even finished yet!

Sure enough, as more of the stone rind fell away, its overall size became apparent.

The crowd gasped. Even Chen Lan and Taoist Bei Sheng felt the pressure. Can Su Huansheng really see the jade inside the stone? they wondered.

There it was: a solid piece of purple Violet Jade, fully forty-five centimeters in size, large enough to make a large decorative piece.

The judges also gasped, looking at Su Huansheng in disbelief. They all knew Chen Lan and Taoist Bei Sheng; they were legends in the stone-gambling world. Su Huansheng looks so young; how can he be this skilled? We’ve never even heard of him before!

The judge announced, ”This piece of jade is valued at seventy-eight million!”

The audience was in an uproar. Their roughly six-million-yuan investment had increased twelve-fold!

”This... is this the strength of a senior?” Chen Lan marveled.

The expression on Taoist Bei Sheng’s face became grave.

Su Huansheng looked at Chu Hao and smiled. ”Young friend Chu, it’s your turn.”

All eyes, recovering from their shock, turned towards Chu Hao.