Chapter 199
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Chapter 199 The Power of Dual Blades
Those few lackeys trembled as they held the car keys, just like they were holding a ticking bomb!
“Why aren’t you getting lost?”
Su Rui gave them a cold glance.
Just this simple glance made the small-time thugs feel as if their bodies had been frozen, with the chill penetrating deep into their bone marrow!
At this moment, Gu Wan’er walked over, looked deeply at Su Rui, and after hesitating for a moment said, “Mr. Su, if you don’t mind, I can give you a ride back.”
Su Rui smiled faintly: “Being escorted by a beautiful woman, I certainly don’t mind.”
Gu Wan’er’s vehicle was a white Audi TT, its powerful engine forming a stark contrast with her delicate elegance in a qipao.
Su Rui sat in the passenger seat, watching Gu Wan’er’s extremely skilled overtaking techniques, and couldn’t help feeling somewhat amazed.
Many people say that there are only three types of people in this world: men, women, and female drivers.
Women driving is often considered a terrifying thing, but Gu Wan’er was an exception.
A relatively beautiful woman who possessed such impressive driving skills, wearing a short qipao yet displaying the flair of a race car driver – this contrast created an extremely powerful impact.
Su Rui observed with interest for a few glances, then stopped looking and faced forward.
Noticing Su Rui’s actions from the corner of her eye, Gu Wan’er was somewhat surprised. She had always been very confident about her figure and appearance, and she thoroughly understood men’s preferences, knowing exactly what to do to have sufficient destructive power, which was why Zhang Xuanqi was so infatuated with her.
But this man? He had merely looked at her a few times without any desire, then stopped looking, his eyes completely clear. This made Gu Wan’er see him in a different light.
This man was quite extraordinary.
In fact, Su Rui wasn’t completely insensitive to beautiful women, but he was surrounded by beauties such as Lin Aoxue, Xue Ruyun, Xia Qing, Zhou Anke, Victoria and others, each with their distinct style. Facing various exceptional beauties every day, Su Rui naturally had developed some immunity to other women.
“Aren’t you afraid that Zhang Xuanqi will retaliate against you for giving me a ride?” Su Rui asked.
“There’s nothing to worry about, he’s just a second-generation rich kid living off his father’s influence,” Gu Wan’er tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, a gesture that appeared quite charming.
“It seems you don’t think very highly of him.” Su Rui raised an eyebrow and said calmly, “If I’m not mistaken, you came to give me a ride today because you have something to say.”
“Dealing with intelligent people is most efficient.” Gu Wan’er put away her previous businesswoman demeanor, and her tone was no longer as coquettish as before. It seemed this woman was quite skilled at disguising herself.
“Just say what you need to say.”
“Mr. Su, to be honest, I was born into a family of collectors, and we have a treasure at home – an authentic work by Wu Daozi. From childhood to adulthood, I’ve observed this authentic piece countless times and am thoroughly familiar with all the lines, colors, and painting habits. In identifying Wu Daozi’s paintings, I consider myself more skilled than those experts on stage.”
“Oh, that’s impressive.” Su Rui looked at Gu Wan’er, thinking that this woman was not only beautiful but also quite capable.
“Surprised?” Gu Wan’er smiled gently.
Su Rui spoke honestly: “I originally thought you were just eye candy.”
Gu Wan’er’s smile deepened: “You’re an interesting person. I’ll take that as a compliment on my appearance.”
Then, Gu Wan’er’s smile faded: “Mr. Su, what I want to ask is, regarding that painting by Wu Daozi, I truly couldn’t find a single point to determine it as a forgery, yet you were so confident, immediately declaring it fake. This is really quite incredible.”
“You came all this way just to ask about my identification method?”
“Yes.” Gu Wan’er was quite straightforward: “I’d like to ask for your guidance.”
Here, she deliberately used the respectful form of address.
“I’m afraid my method wouldn’t work for you,” Su Rui smiled, while a hint of reminiscence appeared in his eyes.
“Why?” Gu Wan’er thought Su Rui was trying to keep his methods secret, though in their line of work, this was quite normal and not something to be resentful about.
Seeing Gu Wan’er’s expression, Su Rui guessed her thoughts: “It’s actually quite simple, because that guy called Zhou Xianwei is my friend.”
“Your friend?” Gu Wan’er exclaimed in surprise!
Without a doubt, that person called Zhou Xianwei possessed astonishing painting skills, able to imitate Wu Daozi’s paintings so perfectly. Given time, he would surely become a master in the art world.
“Yes, though I haven’t seen him for a long time,” Su Rui thought for a moment before saying, “I’ve witnessed him copying Wu Daozi’s paintings many times, which is why I could make that judgment.”
Gu Wan’er nodded thoughtfully, but she felt this wasn’t sufficient reason for Su Rui’s confident judgment. The painting was virtually identical to the authentic work, and if it were genuine, the cost of destroying it would be too great.
“Because of the ‘Hundred Lotus Painting,'” Su Rui looked at the road ahead and smiled.
“His hometown was full of lotus flowers.”
…
After this sentence, the car fell silent for a long time, neither of them speaking, and Gu Wan’er seemed to sense a different aura from Su Rui at this moment.
After a long while, she finally said, “Mr. Su, what were you planning to pawn at the Guohua Pawnshop today?”
Su Rui patted his bag: “The item is in here, but I’m afraid you can’t afford it.”
Afraid you can’t afford it!
Though this statement was simple, it conveyed an undisguised strong confidence.
Upon hearing this, Gu Wan’er executed a beautiful drift, stopping the car: “Mr. Su, perhaps you don’t understand the background of Guohua Pawnshop. It was established with joint funding from several financial groups, and I believe money is the last thing they lack.”
Born into a family of collectors, when Guohua invited Gu Wan’er to serve as manager, they also gave her a certain amount of original shares. Although the percentage wasn’t large, the quantity was already astonishing.
Therefore, Gu Wan’er could confidently say that money was the last thing they lacked. Of course, collecting antiques itself is an extremely expensive hobby, and small-scale operations simply can’t afford to play.
“If Mr. Su doesn’t mind, may I take a look at your collection?” Gu Wan’er asked.
“Of course.”
Su Rui directly handed her the entire knife sheath.
When Gu Wan’er saw the exquisite knife sheath, her pupils immediately contracted. She was also skilled in embroidery, but such extreme craftsmanship was extremely rare.
Just this simple knife sheath represented the pinnacle of Chinese embroidery craftsmanship. The dragon and phoenix were lifelike, not only in form but also in spirit, with their imposing presence clearly emanating!
The knife sheath could at most be considered the outer packaging of the knife. If even the outer packaging of an item was so extraordinary, how astonishing must the contents be?
With an expectant heart, Gu Wan’er drew out the two exceptional knives, and her eyes were immediately illuminated by a dazzling cold light!
“Excellent knives!”
Even without any knowledge about weapons, Gu Wan’er could clearly feel the chilling sensation that made one’s heart palpitate from the snow-bright cold gleam of the blade!
Almost in an instant, these two sharp knives must have seen blood!
These were definitely not finely crafted artifacts!
These were pure weapons!
Gu Wan’er truly dared not casually judge their value!
At this moment, she heard Su Rui say softly, “You don’t understand weapons, so you certainly wouldn’t comprehend.”
“Then please, Mr. Su, introduce them to me.” Gu Wan’er tried to suppress her excitement. A collector’s feeling upon seeing a treasure is like a person who has been freezing for a long time suddenly seeing a bowl of hot soup – they can’t wait to pounce on it.
Although she couldn’t determine the value of these two precious knives, Gu Wan’er was completely certain that they were extraordinary items!
“The reason I said Guohua Pawnshop might not be able to afford this item is not because I don’t believe in your financial strength, but because I know too well the value of these two knives.”
Gu Wan’er didn’t interrupt, but listened very attentively.
“Where there is a court, there is a jianghu, and this jianghu is something ordinary people don’t understand.” Su Rui said calmly, “In China, some enthusiasts have compiled a ‘Chinese Weapons Ranking,’ which is relatively objective and authoritative, and these two knives rank tenth on this list.”
Gu Wan’er’s mouth opened slightly. Clearly, what Su Rui was saying had completely exceeded her knowledge!
Jianghu? Does jianghu still exist in this world?
Gu Wan’er thought this in her heart, and naturally asked it aloud.
“Of course, the world you see is merely a surface, and the real games and struggles are no different from the jianghu in martial arts novels. You can understand it this way: this world is the jianghu.”
Gu Wan’er didn’t respond further because she truly didn’t know what to say.
“The top hundred weapons ranked on the Chinese Weapons List are all treasures,” Su Rui said. “And this weapon ranks tenth, so what value it contains, I believe you’ll understand without me explaining further.”
“Hearing you say this, this item is indeed something our Guohua Pawnshop can’t afford.”
Gu Wan’er looked at the pair of knives in her hand with a hesitant expression.
“You probably don’t know what kind of power these knives possess.” Su Rui smiled slightly, took the knife from Gu Wan’er’s hand, flicked his right hand, and the entire blade sank into the center console of the Audi TT! Only the handle remained outside!
The center console was made of hard plastic with a layer of soft leather, yet when the knife went in, it didn’t make even the slightest sound! It was as easy as cutting through tofu!
Gu Wan’er’s eyes were filled with shock!
Su Rui smiled lightly: “I hope you won’t ask me to compensate for your center console?”
