"Who do you think you are? Worthy of me celebrating your birthday?"
Elder Yan's merciless words made Fang Tianhao tremble all over, his face turning from white to red, from red to green, and finally into a bloodless pale.
This change of face was faster than flipping a book, utterly spectacular.
Invisibly.
Everyone seemed to hear the crisp sound of slapping echoing in the hall.
Fang Tianhao's chest heaved violently, feeling dizzy and almost fainting.
A complete and utter humiliation!
He had just boasted that he was on such good terms with Elder Yan that Elder Yan had come specifically to celebrate his birthday. Yet, Elder Yan's words publicly burst his lie.
For a moment.
The gazes of the guests in the hall shifted from initial envy and jealousy to one of schadenfreude and pity.
Chen Yong curiously asked, "Elder Yan, aren't you here for the birthday banquet?"
"Attend his birthday banquet? Is he worthy?"
Elder Yan's face was thick with mockery, his gaze shifting to Xiao Yi as he indifferently said, "I am here today specifically to pay my respects to Xiao!"
Hiss!
Chen Yong and others sucked in a breath of cold air.
To pay respects to Xiao Yi?
The gazes everyone directed at Xiao Yi underwent a drastic change, and the figure of this son-in-law of the Fang Family seemed to grow immensely in stature.
"What merits and virtues does this waste have to warrant such respect from Elder Yan?"
"Do you think Elder Yan is saying this just to give face to the Xiao Family?"
"Impossible, Xiao Yi has already been expelled from the Xiao Family. Elder Yan couldn't be unaware of that..."
"Then how do we explain this?"
"No matter what, this little son-in-law has really shot up in the world. With this connection to Elder Yan, who would dare to look down on him in the future?"
Among the crowd.
Fang Ao's face turned from green to white, resembling a venomous snake coiled in wait, radiating a light of cold malice.
Clenching his fists tightly, the knuckles turned pale from the force.
Ever since Xiao Yi had crippled his 'fifth limb,' Fang Ao's heart had been thoroughly twisted.
He thought of revenge every waking moment.
But with Fang Jin's delayed return, he could only wait. Today, he finally seized an opportunity to make Xiao Yi lose face. Yet, with Elder Yan's appearance, Xiao Yi instead soared high into the sky, becoming Elder Yan's cherished friend.
Look at the way those people are staring at Xiao Yi. Their gazes were no longer filled with disdain and ridicule like before, but with fervent enthusiasm, almost wishing to transform into fawning dogs, eager to grovel at Xiao Yi's feet.
"Why does this waste deserve to have Fang Qingzhu, why does Elder Yan visit him? Why not me? I won't accept this, I won't..."
Fang Ao took a deep breath, his eyes filled with insane hatred as he loudly said, "Elder Yan, please don't be deceived by Xiao Yi, he is the scum of humanity, disloyal, unfilial, unrighteous, and unkind. Just before you arrived, Xiao Yi presented a fake painting as a birthday gift to our family head. When we exposed him, far from feeling any guilt, he walked away, completely disregarding the family head."
Lei Bao also added fuel to the fire, "Fang Ao is right, Xiao Yi is an animal. Elder Yan is not aware, but yesterday, I was the first to take interest in that statue. However, he snatched it from me, accusing me of setting him up..."
Both were weeping profusely as they poured out their tale.
A hint of amusement flashed in Elder Yan's eyes. Pretending to be serious, he asked, "Xiao, is what they're saying true?"
Xiao Yi touched his nose, "What do you think?"
"I think..."
Elder Yan pretended to ponder, then, amidst the expectant faces of Fang Ao and others, he suddenly glared, his invisible yuan qi transforming into two cold palms that fiercely slapped them to the ground. His cold voice sent chills down their spines, covering them with an icy dread, "They're just talking nonsense!"
Elder Yan unfurled the Subduing Tiger Sword Scroll in his hands, his expression cold as he said, "This fake painting you mentioned, is it this one in my hands?"
Fang Ao, covering his face, struggled to his feet and nodded, "Yes, that's the fake painting. Zhang, the head of the Zhang Family, personally authenticated it as a fake!"
"No, that's correct!"
Lei Bao spat out a mouthful of blood mixed with teeth, his face a picture of grievance.
Elder Yan looked at Zhang Yong and said indifferently, "Zhang Yong, you say this painting is a fake? What is your evidence?"
Ah?
Zhang Yong was taken aback and dared not lie under Elder Yan's sharp gaze, he reluctantly nodded and said, "Elder Yan should know that although Jin Wuheng, the Life-Claiming Scholar, is one of the Four Great Talents alongside Tang Pu, he bore too much killing intent, and all his works were destroyed by enemies. There are no known surviving masterpieces of his. Moreover, this 'Subduing Tiger Sword Scroll' has no mention in any historical records, which is why I concluded it was fake!"
"See, Elder Yan, the Life-Claiming Scholar left no works behind, how could this painting possibly be genuine? We deduced that Xiao Yi definitely bought this substandard forgery from some unscrupulous counterfeiter, presenting it as a gift for longevity..."
Fang Ao, thinking he had found the truth, spoke more and more proudly, "But what he never imagined was that Master Zhang is a major collector with an extensive understanding of ancient paintings and saw through the forgery at a glance, exposing his hypocritical guise!"
Watching Fang Ao who seemed to have grasped the truth, Xiao Yi touched his nose and looked at Elder Yan with a strange expression.
An unscrupulous counterfeiter?
Elder Yan's face turned green, with a gloomy expression, he said, "Do you know where he got this painting from?"
Fang Ao shook his head, "I haven't inquired that... I heard Elder Yan loathes counterfeiters and swindlers the most. I believe that with some stern interrogation, Xiao Yi will surely confess and bring the fraudster to justice!"
"There's no need for coercion, I know who the counterfeiter you're talking about is!" Elder Yan said with a dark face.
"Ah?"
Fang Ao was stunned, then quickly put on a flattering smile and said, "Elder Yan is wise and martial, able to guess who the fraudster is without even stepping outside!"
Elder Yan said flatly, "You know him too!"
"I do?"
Fang Ao looked confused.
With a cold expression, Elder Yan enunciated deliberately, "This painting was taken from my study. The counterfeiter you're talking about, if I'm not wrong, is me! Are you going to bring me to justice?"
Thump!
Fang Ao, terrified, collapsed on the ground, his face turned deathly pale, and he looked at Elder Yan in disbelief, "This, this, this painting is yours?"
At that moment, Fang Ao felt so regretful he could have died.
Damn it!
He had actually called Elder Yan a counterfeit swindler? Wasn't this like an old birthday deity ingesting arsenic because he was tired of living?
Fang Ao trembled all over with fear, repeatedly opening his mouth to argue, but so nervous he could hardly make a sound, nearly close to tears.
The surrounding crowd was also stunned.
Nobody had anticipated such a twist.
Gurgle!
Fang Tianhao was the first to come back to his senses, disbelievingly looking at the 'Subduing Tiger Sword Scroll' in Elder Yan's hand, he ventured, "Elder Yan, if this painting is genuine, then, then its value must be incredibly high, right?"
Standing beside him, Zhang Yong also full of shock, swallowed and said with a trembling voice, "If this is genuine, then it's the only remaining precious artifact of the Life-Claiming Scholar Jin Wuheng in this world. Its value is immeasurable. At the very least, it's worth millions of taels of silver."
"What?"
Everyone was astonished.
Especially Fang Tianhao, who was shaking all over with tremors, wishing he could slap Fang Ao to death. If it wasn't for Fang Ao's instigating remarks just now, he wouldn't have thought to discard the painting!
This was worth millions of taels of silver!
Even for the Fang Family, several million taels of silver was not a small amount.
Elder Yan sneered with scorn, "A bunch of frogs at the bottom of a well, treating such a treasure like trash. If it were to fall into your hands, that would truly be a pearl covered in dust!"
Fang Tianhao's face turned extremely ugly. Although the Fang Family was not as prominent as Treasure Pavilion, being repeatedly disregarded by Elder Yan, the head of the Fang Family, his anger rose, and he stubbornly said, "While a million taels of silver is not a small amount, my Fang Family can still afford it. What pearl covered in dust?"
"Idiot!"
Elder Yan looked at him with contempt, and said indifferently, "I believe the Fang Family can come up with a million taels of silver, but what about a third-grade high-level sword technique? Does your Fang Family have it?"