When Qinglu was mentioned, Qiao Zhizhuo's eyes brightened.
But the next second, his suspicion grew.
Why would a person who normally wouldn't even acknowledge him call him big brother? Why was he being so generous?
His eyes went back to the wooden box.
Disregarding Ye Hong's obtrusion, he opened the box.
Inside were the highly scratched Go board and Go bowls, Qiao Zhizhuo could not understand what was happening.
His hand extended to the Go bowls' lid. Before he could open it, his hand was stopped.
Ye Hong stared at him in agony, as if he had been hit in the balls, "I'll add my Yongle Go set on top of Qinglu!"
"Woah~" After he spoke, everyone gasped.
The Qinglu set was already a rare collectible, the Yongle set was also a Ye family treasure that was passed down from generations before! That was an antique Noble Da Guan had used!
Two highly valuable sets in exchange for a damaged set?
Qin Yongmei and her daughter looked over in suspicion. They started to feel unsettled.
Everyone else were also now closely checking out the Go set in Qiao Zhizhuo's hands.
After inspection, someone suddenly made a "Huh" noise. He then rubbed his eyes, "Did I see it wrong? This set..."
"What is it..." Qiao Zhizhuo followed his gaze.
Though he could not understand what was special about this at all, based on Ye Hong's reaction, this was not just a set of Go pieces.
His instinct told him that if he exchanged this with Ye Hong, he would be at a loss.
So he desperately needed a professional right now.
A young man in a suit said, "I think I know where this set came from, but I'm not too sure."
Qiao Zhizhuo answered, "Speak freely. It's not a big deal if you are wrong."
The man nodded, "I'm a history major. After graduation, I worked with a team of archeologists. The pattern on this GO box looks familiar. It looks like it's the same pattern as... the heirloom seal of the realm from the prosperous North Xia dynasty!"
Everyone at the scene widened their eyes. They looked at that pitiful looking set of Go in disbelief.
The young man continued, "The first emperor of the North Xia dynasty was a great militant. He was also a studious man who enjoyed playing Go and reading. Historical books had records that all of his Go sets were carved using the same pattern as the North Xia heirloom seal of the realm."
"The first emperor of the North Xia dynasty had the last name Rong. He really liked lions and sika deer. So his seal incorporated the shape of those two animals. The way the seal is designed positioned the two animals to look like the character "Rong"."
"The Go board is made out of high-quality phoebe zhennan wood. The black and white stones were made using the now extinct forest ink wood and bamboo snow jade. All the pieces were specially made by skilled craftsman over the span of three years."
"These stones are cool to the touch. They are said to help with prolonging one's lifespan. Legend has it that even one touch of it can make you feel relaxed and comfortable!"
"I didn't believe that at first. I thought it was probably an exaggerated legend. But when I saw the pattern on the box, I realized that it looks exactly the same as the one described in the book!"
After he finished speaking, everyone there was utterly stunned.
The Go set used to belong to the first emperor of a dynasty... ancient jade stones that had the effect to prolong lifespan...
If all these were true, then the Go set in Qiao Zhizhuo's hands was an immeasurable treasure!
Qiao Zhizhuo looked down onto the pattern carved on the box and his soul felt a crushing impact. No matter what, he could not suppress the excitement he felt.
As if he was seeking confirmation, he asked Ye Hong, "Master Ye, is what he said true?"
Ye Hong had an extremely stinky expression on his face, "Fake news!"
Obviously, the more he denied, the more Qiao Zhizhuo felt like he was lying.
Thinking about what that young man had said about the stones' effect, Qiao Zhizhuo plied away Ye Hong's hand and lifted the lid off one of the Go bowls...