The situation had reached this point, and Murong Ba had nothing more to say. He could only watch Lu Ming walk onto the stage.
In front of everyone, Lu Ming opened the small red box. Inside lay a small pendant, made from the remaining half of the original jade, it was very small.
It was only about the size of the tip of a little finger.
Seeing such a small pendant, everyone laughed.
Murong Ba scoffed, "Lu Ming, are you desperate? You actually give such a small pendant to Miss Ma. Heh, if you're short on money, just tell me, I'll sponsor you."
Ma Xiaoling didn't seem to mind much.
The value of a pendant wasn't determined by its size. She was an expert and understood the craftsmanship involved.
However, after just one glance, Ma Xiaoling looked disappointed.
The material of this jade was indeed excellent, but it was truly small. Moreover, the carver's skill was rather average.
Although there were no flaws in the carving, there was also no element of surprise.
It was just an ordinary, common teardrop-shaped jade.
He hadn't even bothered to create any special shape, let alone complex craftsmanship. In short, it was a failure.
"Is that it?" Ma Xiaoling said with disappointment, waving her hand at Lu Ming. Just as she was about to say the word 'leave', Lu Ming gently flipped the pendant over, revealing its side to Ma Xiaoling.
Huh?
Ma Xiaoling was surprised to find a small hole on the side of the pendant.
It was very small, about the size of an ant.
"What's the meaning of this?" Ma Xiaoling didn't understand.
Lu Ming smiled slightly, handed the pendant over, and also handed her a magnifying glass he had prepared. "It's hard to explain in a few words. Please take a closer look, Miss Ma."
"What are you up to?" Ma Xiaoling asked doubtfully, taking the pendant and the magnifying glass.
Under Lu Ming's guidance, Ma Xiaoling aimed the magnifying glass at the hole on the side of the pendant and looked inside.
She couldn't believe her eyes!
It turned out that this ordinary pendant held another secret. The interior of the pendant was completely hollow, and inside, a painting was carved!
"This..." Ma Xiaoling stared with wide eyes, examining it closely.
The painting depicted mountains, rivers, flowers, trees, birds, and beasts—everything imaginable! Each element was so lifelike.
Such an excellent painting would be extremely difficult to complete even on a large canvas, let alone on a thumb-sized piece of jade.
Even more terrifying was that this was not done on the surface of the jade, but through an ant-sized hole, using special tools to carve a picture inside the jade piece by piece.
Was this something humans could accomplish?
Even the most precise machines in the world couldn't do this!
Ma Xiaoling became more and more shocked as she looked.
She marveled at the existence of such skilled craftsmen who had reached the pinnacle of human capability.
Ma Xiaoling, after all, knew her stuff.
She suppressed her excitement as much as possible and said, "Is this painting a replica of the Shanhe Sheji Tu?"
Lu Ming nodded, "Exactly!"
The crowd below was stunned.
"Is it true? To complete a Shanhe Sheji Tu inside a thumb-sized jade? Is this something a human can do?"
"My god, just thinking about it makes my head hurt, let alone actually doing it."
"I've lived long enough to see this."
"If I'm not mistaken, this is the long-lost Yu Xuan technique of China!"
The so-called Yu Xuan was the process of opening a very fine slit on the side of a whole piece of jade, then using special tools to grind into the interior of the jade, carving a thin layer of picture or text inside the jade under invisible conditions, and then refilling the slit with jade powder and sealing it with special material.
On the surface, it still looked like a beautiful piece of jade, and the slit on the side could easily be mistaken for accumulated dirt over time. It was very useful for secretly transmitting information in ancient times.
Here, Chen Yin Gong had completed 80% of the Yu Xuan work. He hadn't done the final filling of the slit, to maximally showcase the jade's exquisiteness.
Since this jade was not meant for transmitting information, filling was unnecessary.
Ma Xiaoling said, "The Yu Xuan technique originated in the Spring and Autumn period and ended in the late Tang Dynasty. It has been lost for a long time, and this skill can only be found in some ancient books. I never expected that even today, someone would possess such skill, as if they had traveled from the Tang Dynasty to modern times!"
Chen Yin Gong's face turned slightly red.
He was both happy and embarrassed to be praised so highly.
Chen Yin Gong cupped his hands and said, "I only saw Yu Xuan in a museum and was very interested, so I studied this technique myself. What is presented to Miss Ma is entirely my own research into the Yu Xuan art; whether the ancients operated in the same way, I cannot say."
Ma Xiaoling was even more shocked after hearing this.
To recreate the supreme ancient skill of a thousand years ago without any references, relying solely on talent, and presenting China's excellent civilization.
This effort, this perseverance, this talent, were all one in a million!
This Yu Xuan pendant was ordinary on the outside and magnificent on the inside.
It also symbolized a person who appeared calm and unassuming on the outside, but possessed a turbulent inner world.
So it is with people.
Appearing ordinary on the outside, but full of knowledge within.
Talented, yet not arrogant.
Great wisdom indeed!
Ma Xiaoling liked it more and more. Her eyes seemed to emit fire. She excitedly put the Yu Xuan pendant around her neck, and even more exaggeratedly, she didn't want to take it off again.
She loved it, she loved it so much.
"This pendant is the most perfect pendant I have seen since I was born."
"It is worthy of being my 20th birthday gift."
"Lu Ming, Chen Yin Gong, thank you for giving me such a perfect gift, thank you, thank you!"
Saying this, Ma Xiaoling even bowed to Lu Ming and Chen Yin Gong!
Everyone was dumbfounded.
Good heavens, the aloof and frosty Ma Xiaoling actually bowed to others! This was enough to show how much Ma Xiaoling loved the Yu Xuan pendant.
"I originally thought that Angel and Demon were formidable enough, but I never expected there to be an even more powerful Yu Xuan pendant."
"I'm convinced, truly convinced, with all my heart."
"If the Yu Xuan pendant doesn't win first place, I'll write my name backward!"
"Chen Yin Gong, I didn't expect China to have such an excellent carver. We must find a way to recruit him, no matter the cost."
Whoosh—
Ma Xiaoling took a deep breath and walked to the edge of the stage.
The spotlight shone on her face.
Ma Xiaoling, with great excitement and emotion, declared loudly, "I, Ma Xiaoling, hereby announce that the champion pendant of this birthday banquet is the Yu Xuan pendant from Kaixuan Jewelry!!!"