Everyone says hearing is fake, seeing is believing. Although Huo Sining hasn’t been in the jade gambling business for long, she has encountered her fair share of outlandish events, even cutting imperial green and Emerald Heavenly Beads from Mogang rocks that were discarded as waste.
But she had never encountered such a thing as cracks appearing under the intact surface of a stone.
Huo Sining, though she often read about cracks in books and jade forums and knew that there was a specific gambling practice dedicated to betting on these flaws, she had never realized their power until now after seeing so many raw stones.
A crack as fine as a strand of hair had ruined an entire piece of superior jadeite, and she was truly at a loss for words.
Cracks can be extremely damaging to jadeite. Cracks that appear on the surface are easy to spot, so one can judge their impact on the internal jadeite according to their pattern;
However, fine interior cracks that were not visible and were prone to change, such cracks were unpredictable and difficult to control.
No wonder some say that in jade gambling, it wasn’t moss that was the biggest taboo, but cracks, which was exactly the case with the piece of raw stone in Huo Sining’s hands now.
Huo Sining suspected that this piece of raw stone was a product of a weathering zone, because near the weathering zone was an earthquake zone. These raw stones, located in the weathering zone and subjected to various rapid geological changes and countless earthquakes, had developed internal cracks.
Seeing this condition, Huo Sining couldn’t help but feel pity and was about to retract her Heavenly Eye when suddenly, a bright blue sheen appeared before her eyes, instantly capturing her attention.
On the other side of the stone, away from the Qi Pine Flower area and a few centimeters from the Emerald, wrapped by the crack, was another hidden piece of jadeite.
Seeing the piece of jadeite about the size of a baby’s fist, an immense joy arose in Huo Sining’s heart, and the disappointment and regret from seeing the Emerald destroyed by the crack vanished without a trace.
Joy rippled through Huo Sining’s heart. Without the Heavenly Eye, her incredible advantage, she would have never imagined that within such a small piece of raw stone, there were two pieces of superior jadeite hidden.
To say Blue Elf might not make sense to many, but Ocean Blue and Blue Water Piao Hua are types of jadeite familiar to many.
The color of Blue Elf is deeper than that of Ocean Blue, and more intense than Blue Water Piao Hua. Only when the blue of jadeite is pure and reaches full saturation, and when both the texture and the luster achieve a superior level, can it be called Blue Elf.
Jadeite is mainly green, but many other colors of jadeite like red, blue, purple, etc., each have their own ultimate expression, and Blue Elf is the pinnacle among blue jadeite.
Because blue jadeite itself is rare, finding a superior quality is even more unusual. Jadeite like Blue Elf and Blood Beauty Purple Eyes exists mostly in legends for most people, and might not appear even once in several decades or a hundred years.
Although this Blue Elf was only as big as a baby’s fist and too small to carve into a bracelet, Huo Sining couldn’t contain her excitement.
This Blue Elf wasn’t an offshoot of the damaged Emerald; it had formed at the same time as the Emerald. The appearance of a twin treasure within one piece of raw stone left Huo Sining in awe.
Particularly, the glassy texture and the pure, transparent water head color of that Blue Elf, bluer than the vast sky, made it a perfect piece of superior jadeite. No matter how small, it was worth a fortune because it was something that was coveted but couldn’t be found, not even with money.
"Miss Huo, are you sure about what you saw?"
Seeing Huo Sining step back after inspecting the raw stone, Qin Lianshan’s eyes showed a look of concern.
Huo Sining smiled and nodded.
Liu Yuxuan had finished looking as well, and upon seeing Huo Sining nod, she spoke up, "Since you’ve found one you like, let’s not waste any more time and get started."
Although Liu Yuxuan’s tone was clearly unfriendly, Huo Sining did not intend to quarrel with her. With a faint smile, she offered no objection.
An employee was already waiting on the side, with two tables, two sheets of paper, and two marker boxes ready. Huo Sining and Liu Yuxuan each walked to a table, picked up a sheet of paper, and started writing.
With Qin Lianshan and Du Qingting acting as public notaries, naturally, no one raised any objections.
But the moment Huo Sining picked up the pen, she couldn’t help but furrow her brows and look at the raw stone again with some hesitation.
She had noticed when Liu Yuxuan examined the raw stone that Liu had not inspected the stone very carefully with her magnifying glass, indicating her extreme familiarity with this piece and her confidence in winning the bet, which was why she appeared so indifferent.
This gambling match was between Huo Sining and the grandfather and granddaughter of the Liu family.
However, as she was about to write, Huo Sining hesitated.
That crack was a few inches inside the stone, with no outward indications at all. She could see it because of her Heavenly Eye, but could the grandfather and granddaughter of the Liu family see it?
Moreover, the internal condition of this stone was special; it contained two pieces of superior jadeite. Liu Chongren and his granddaughter had noticed the Qi Pine Flower, but would they also guess the presence of an exquisite Blue Elf underneath?
Huo Sining couldn’t resist frowning tightly. She had never directly confronted Gambling King Liu Chongren, so she had no idea about his capabilities.
Someone who could become the Jade Gambling King was certainly not that simple; Huo Sining had no confidence that Liu Chongren would be unable to see through this dual-jadeite raw stone, so she dared not be overconfident.
Initially, she wanted to hold back and see if she could find an overlooked flaw after the stone was cut, but considering she was facing a veteran who had held the title of Gambling King for many years, Huo Sining did not dare to take him lightly. After hesitating for a moment, she decided to go all out.
After thinking it over, Huo Sining firmly wrote down her answer, signed her name, and dropped the paper into the marker box.
Liu Yuxuan had also finished writing, and the boxes were gathered by the staff and placed together. Soon, a stone cutting machine was brought over, and a middle-aged man stepped forward. Seeing Liu Chongren, he could not hide the excitement on his face.
"This is Mr. Hu Zexin, the owner of the raw material. The stone is his, and in accordance with his wishes, Mr. Hu himself will be the one to cut it open for us. Miss Liu, Miss Huo, do you have any objections?" Du Qingting asked, looking at the two women.
Huo Sining and Liu Yuxuan both shook their heads. It didn’t matter who did the stone cutting, and letting the owner of the stone do it was indeed the most appropriate. No one else had the standing or qualification to do so.
But from the moment Hu Zexin drew the first line, Huo Sining couldn’t help but frown deeply.
Although Hu Zexin’s stone cutting technique was not bad, his line drawing seemed a bit careless.