"To be honest, if Su Chen were really just a minor salesman, by now, under Qin Youwei's powerful presence, he would have been shivering with fear and scurried away."
"But he's not just a minor salesman. He's also the Death God."
"The world-famed Reverse Dragon Death God."
"Even though Reverse Dragon no longer exists."
"But... the Death God... still does!"
"His gaze met Qin Youwei's."
"Qin Youwei first assumed the posture of a superior."
"But after a few seconds, he suddenly realized."
"His gaze did not exert any pressure on Su Chen; instead, it was Su Chen's gaze that made him somewhat creeped out."
"As if what he was looking at was not a person, but a ferocious beast."
"But soon, Su Chen reeled in his gaze."
"He picked up the calligraphy on the table and said, 'Uncle, are you saying that even if I worked for ten lifetimes, I couldn't afford such a painting?'"
"'Exactly!' Qin's father, although surprised by Su Chen's gaze, would not be intimidated by a young punk."
"Su Chen slowly nodded, then made a move that shocked everyone."
"He directly tore the painting apart."
"'You crazy kid!' Qin's father's face changed drastically upon seeing this."
"That was Zhao Mengfu's running script Luoshen Fu!"
"And now it was torn to pieces by Su Chen."
"Qin Keren was also stunned."
"She couldn't believe that Su Chen dared to do such a thing."
"But quickly, Qin Keren smiled."
"She felt Su Chen did the right thing."
"Regardless of whether Su Chen had the ability to confront that person or not."
"The fact that he dared to tear up the painting at least proved he had the courage to rebel."
"Unlike her, who didn't even have the courage to resist."
"Su Chen casually threw the shredded pieces of paper onto the floor, dusted off his hands, and said, 'Trash, really. Tearing it up is no loss.'"
"'Young man, do you realize what this is?' Qin's father trembled with rage."
"For someone who treasures calligraphy as his life, obtaining such a priceless treasure was like being given a second life."
"It could be said that the eighty percent of the reason he agreed to marry off Qin Keren was because the other party gave a national treasure level piece of calligraphy and painting."
"But now this calligraphy and painting worth tens of millions had been torn up by Su Chen."
"'Young man, you're too impulsive.'"
"'Yeah, do you know how much this painting is worth?'"
"'Even selling you hundreds of times over wouldn't be enough to match the value of one word of it!'"
"Qin Keren's various aunts shook their heads and sighed."
"Although Su Chen's act was satisfying for a moment, from now on, his entire life would be spent in the darkness of debt repayment."
"Moreover, he might not even have the chance to repay the debt."
"With Qin Youwei's influence, he could easily end up in prison."
"Facing everyone's sighs, Su Chen indifferently said, 'Of course, I know this is Zhao Mengfu's running script Luoshen Fu.'"
"'Do you know how much it's worth?' Qin Youwei was nearly unable to contain his anger."
"'If it was real, it should be worth tens of millions, too bad, it's a fake!'"
"As soon as Su Chen spoke, everyone in the room was stunned."
"There were not a few among them who understood calligraphy and painting."
"I have studied it before, and there is no doubt that it is authentic."
"And even if they were mistaken, how could Qin Youwei, who cherishes calligraphy as life itself, fail to recognize the true from the false?"
"Would he marry off his daughter for a counterfeit piece of calligraphy?"
"Where is your proof that it's fake?" Qin Youwei said with a cold sneer.
"On the surface, there isn't any," Su Chen shook his head.
"Boy, you're playing me!"
"No, I'm not playing you. This piece of calligraphy indeed has no evidence to prove it's fake, but I am certain it is."
"Young man, you need to base your claims on evidence."
"That's right. If you can't prove this painting is fake, you could be sued."
A painting worth tens of millions naturally isn't something one can just tear up on a whim.
If Su Chen couldn't prove the painting was fake, then he would have to compensate as if it were genuine.
"I was talking about how it appears on the surface." Having said this, Su Chen grabbed a handful of the calligraphy fragments and then took out a lighter to ignite them.
The painting quickly caught fire.
Releasing a pungent smell.
"Since Uncle has studied ancient calligraphy and painting, you can certainly tell by the smell of this burning paper that it's actually modern paper, right?" Su Chen shook the burning calligraphy fragments in his hand and said.
Initially, Qin Youwei didn't believe it, but when he smelled it, he indeed detected it.
They say the best method to verify ancient calligraphy and painting is to set it on fire.
But who would actually do that?
If it's fake, then it's burned. But what if it's real?
So, even though Qin's father knows this method could be used to determine the authenticity of the painting, he would never actually use it.
Apart from this point, Qin's father couldn't find any faults with the painting.
It was nearly identical to the original.
"Old Qin, could this piece really be a modern imitation?" someone asked Qin Youwei, seeing his furrowed brows.
After a moment of contemplation, Qin Youwei finally nodded and said, "This is indeed a modern imitation."
A modern imitation, even if mimicked perfectly on the surface, lacks the accumulation of time within the paper fibers. Upon burning, the smell is completely different from that of burning ancient calligraphy and painting.
The crowd exchanged glances upon hearing this.
They didn't expect the calligraphy and painting sent by Dongyin to be an imitation.
"But even if it's an imitation, it's still from the hand of a top master. Its value is still considerable!" Qin Youwei suddenly said.
"That's right, if the imitation reaches this level of skill, even if the calligraphy is fake, it should still be valued over five million yuan!" an uncle familiar with ancient calligraphy and painting chimed in.
After all, without setting it on fire, even experts can't distinguish the real from the fake.
If sold for a few million, even if the buyer knows it's fake, they might still purchase it.
It's enough to throw people off.
If it falls into the hands of some big spenders who take it for a genuine piece, selling it for tens of millions is also possible.
Five million is not a small amount.
With Su Chen's income of a few thousand yuan a month, it would take decades to compensate.
But Su Chen didn't seem to feel any pressure of debt at all.
Smiling, he said, "Uncle, you say it's valuable, but I think it's worthless because I can produce such calligraphy myself."
"Well then, if you can produce a piece of calligraphy exactly one, not only will I not pursue you for tearing my painting, but I will also agree to let you date my daughter Keren. But if you can't...heh heh!" Qin Youwei sneered.
He didn't believe Su Chen had such ability.
It's impossible to produce any good work with a brush without decades of skill.
Not to mention creating imitations that could be mistaken for the real thing.
"Can you really do it?" Qin Keren asked, looking worried as Su Chen was brimming with confidence.
"Of course!" Su Chen chuckled and whispered in Qin Keren's ear, a voice only she could hear: "Because the words on this imitation were written by me!"