"I'm right here. If you think you can kill me, go ahead and try," Li Yang said with a smile, casually slapping Chang Shan across the face.
Chang Shan immediately cried out in pain and rolled onto the ground.
A few of his subordinates rushed over to help him up. "Brother Shan, are you okay?"
"Do I look like I'm okay?" Chang Shan roared, pointing at Li Yang and shouting, "All of you, attack! Kill this brat!"
"Don't worry, Brother Shan, this brat is dead for sure today!" the subordinates yelled, raising their weapons and charging at Li Yang.
Many people's faces turned pale as they silently broke out in a cold sweat for Li Yang. Others looked at Gui Bu Nian, thinking that this scoundrel was as despicable as ever.
They all knew that Chang Shan and his gang were Gui Bu Nian's hired thugs. Whenever something went wrong at the jade gambling site, Gui Bu Nian would call them out to handle it.
Seeing that Li Yang was about to be in trouble, Gui Bu Nian wore a smug, cold smile. Kid, you're still too green to mess with me!
Did you think you could walk all over everyone just because you're good at appraising jade?
How naive!
However, the next moment, his expression changed drastically.
The subordinates who had just charged forward suddenly cried out in agony as if they were overacting actors. Almost simultaneously, they were sent flying backward in all directions.
"Ouch!"
"My backside!"
"My head!"
"Help! How did I end up in a tree!"
"You guys?" Chang Shan was stunned as he watched his subordinates get flung away in the blink of an eye.
Although they looked like they were acting, as their boss, Chang Shan knew very well that they would never dare to play such a trick on him.
"What... what did you just do?"
"You want to know? Come here, and I'll give you a taste," Li Yang said with a smile.
Chang Shan retreated a few steps in fear. "Don't... don't come any closer!"
"If I don't come closer just because you say so, wouldn't that make me lose face?" Li Yang said with a smile, taking a step towards him.
Chang Shan's face immediately turned pale with fear, and he turned to run. "I was wrong, Boss Li. I'll get out of here right now. Don't chase me!"
"Boss Li, spare me!" the subordinates also began to flee, not daring to linger for even another second.
In just a moment, they had all run away.
Everyone was stunned, staring blankly at Li Yang, completely unable to comprehend how powerful Boss Li's martial arts were.
Chang Shan and his crew were not ordinary thugs, yet they were driven away by him in just one encounter.
"A bunch of losers!" Gui Bu Nian gritted his teeth in anger.
Li Yang smiled. "Boss Gui, you seem quite unhappy that these guys didn't do anything to me."
"Do I? Are you too sensitive, Li?" Gui Bu Nian said with a grim expression.
Li Yang smiled. "Heh, if Boss Gui says no, then no. But you won't be saying that for long."
"Pour hot water onto the cut surface of the stone."
"Yes, Boss Li." The employee of Fu Hao Jade Gambling Site immediately picked up the pot of hot water and poured it onto the cut surface of the stone that had just been opened.
As the hot water was poured, steam rose.
Everyone watched this scene with suspicion. "What is this for?"
"I don't understand."
"With such high temperatures, won't it damage the jade?"
"Exactly. Boss Li, you should... oh my, what is this!"
Suddenly, someone exclaimed.
After being washed by the hot water, the cut surface of the stone revealed a patch of white, scummy-like substance.
This was something that did not exist in jade itself.
Some people with sharp eyes and good judgment immediately said, "It's special glue!"
"What is it used for?"
"What else can glue be used for? It's for sticking things together."
"This stone has a problem. It was glued together with special glue."
"Boss Gui, your goods have a problem. Aren't you going to say anything?" someone asked, looking at Gui Bu Nian.
Gui Bu Nian's face turned sinister. "I don't know what's going on. Besides, with so many stones in my gambling site, it's inevitable that one or two might have issues."
"At worst, I'll compensate you double."
"You say that so easily," Li Yang said with a smile. "But what if thirty-seven stones all have problems!"
"Impossible!" Gui Bu Nian said coldly.
He had indeed tampered with some of the stones at the gambling site, but he wasn't an idiot. He wouldn't put too many problematic stones in the gambling site at once.
However, he overlooked one thing: if the superior is corrupt, the subordinates will follow.
Since the boss was doing this, why wouldn't his subordinates seize the opportunity to do the same and make some extra money?
Li Yang's lips curved into a smile. "You'll soon know that it's not impossible, but a hundred percent certain."
"Pour hot water on all the stones that have been cut."
"Alright, Boss Li." The employees of Fu Hao Jade Gambling Site nodded.
The second stone was opened, and upon pouring hot water, the same problem appeared. Then came the third, fourth, and all the way to the twenty-first stone, all exhibiting the same issue.
The crowd was dumbfounded. "What's the point of continuing to watch? Boss Gui, aren't you going to admit it?"
"I... I..." Gui Bu Nian's face turned pale. How could there be so many!
He remembered instructing his cousin to control the number of problematic rough jade stones, and that it should not exceed eighteen per day.
But now, twenty-one stones already had problems.
He suddenly looked at his cousin, whose face had turned pale. "Did you do this?"
"No... it wasn't me," his cousin quickly denied.
Gui Bu Nian grabbed his collar and roared, "Are you still not admitting it?"
"It really wasn't me."
The cousin naturally wouldn't admit it. Instead, he shouted, "Big brother, you can't just blame me when something goes wrong!"
"Boss Gui, it's too much to pretend now," everyone said. "Are you treating us all like fools?"
"This is ridiculous. You're the boss of the gambling site. If you didn't approve, would your subordinates dare to do this?"
"Exactly, big brother. Everyone knows very well that even if you let me take the blame, people won't believe it," the cousin immediately said.
Gui Bu Nian trembled with rage and punched him in the eye socket. "Damn it!"
"Ah!" The cousin cried out and fell to the ground. He took the punch but didn't resist, only clutching his head and shouting about his innocence.
The anger in everyone's hearts flared up, and they came forward to stop Gui Bu Nian from further violence. "Boss Gui, the evidence is clear. Aren't you going to admit it?"
"There's a limit to shamelessness!"
"You hit your own cousin so hard, do you have any shame?"
"You guys!" Gui Bu Nian was furious but helpless. He couldn't possibly fight everyone. Even if he did, he was no match for so many people alone.
Li Yang smiled. "Boss Gui, do you want me to continue cutting the stones?"