Chapter 82

The part of the stone that protruded from the sand was a regular circle, about half a meter in diameter. Wu Di circled the large stone a few times and decided to try clearing it with his hands. The sand was loose, and it didn't take long to dig down more than twenty centimeters, revealing the black surface of the stone underneath.

Zhong Qi and the others noticed his actions and curiously gestured a question. Wu Di told them he was going to dig out the large stone. The two women rolled their eyes and turned to play at another reef, while Zhong Qi enthusiastically came over to help.

He asked Wu Di what he had discovered, and Wu Di mouthed that it was a pearl. A pearl? Right, this black stone couldn't be a large clam, could it?

Wu Di continued to clear the sand in the same direction and soon reached the edge of the stone. Sure enough, it was a giant clam! From the exposed part, it was over a meter in diameter! Zhong Qi also noticed the giant clam and worked even harder. After about ten minutes, the two of them lifted the giant clam out of the sand pit.

This was a giant clam with a diameter of at least 1.2 meters. Wu Di could clearly feel a bunch of pearls inside it, but he couldn't tell how many there were.

Wu Di and Zhong Qi gestured to each other, preparing to lift the giant clam out of the water. Zhong Qi thought for a moment, told Wu Di to wait, and then surfaced.

Ten minutes later, Zhong Qi returned with a roll of rope. The two of them securely tied the giant clam and floated it toward the surface. Their oxygen was almost depleted, and the two women swam over from a distance. Seeing the giant clam they were lifting, they became excited and came over to help.

The sunlight grew stronger, and suddenly they felt a heavy weight. The giant clam had emerged from the water. Zhong Qi gestured for Wu Di and the others to hold on, then hurriedly swam toward the yacht. Soon, the three of them felt a lightness as Zhong Qi and the crew lifted the giant clam out of the water.

Climbing onto the yacht, they all realized how large the giant clam really was. The captain laughed and said, "This poor big guy, who knows where he came from. Maybe he has pearls inside!"

Zhong Qi found a fruit knife and tried to pry open the giant clam, but unexpectedly, a jet of water with a strong fishy smell sprayed out, drenching him from head to toe. The onlookers were stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter.

Zhong Qi wiped his face, spat out a mouthful of saliva, and cursed, "When we get back, I'll find a big hammer, take your pearls, and eat your meat!"

Hearing about the possibility of pearls, the two women couldn't sit still anymore and instructed the yacht to set sail. At one o'clock, they finally arrived home.

The giant clam was carried into the yard. Zhong Qi searched for a large iron hammer, but where would a regular household have such a thing? At this moment, the plump chef smiled and walked over with a large knife. He felt around the back of the giant clam and inserted the knife along the seam. After half a minute, he signaled that Zhong Qi could open the giant clam.

They cleared out the pearl sacs and cut them open one by one, extracting a total of 56 pearls. The largest one had a diameter of 28 millimeters! Three others were over 20 millimeters!

Old Mr. Yang picked up the largest pearl and examined it carefully, saying, "South Sea pearls from the Hong Kong waters are very rare, especially such large ones. I've never seen one before. Moreover, the quality of these large pearls is quite good, very close to being perfectly round, which is quite rare."

Chang Liling tugged at Zhong Qi's arm and gently twisted her body. Zhong Qi raised his eyebrows toward Wu Di, and Chang Liling, like a rabbit, hopped behind Wu Di and cooed, "Little Wu..."

Beside her, Yang Yanzi also stared intently at Wu Di, her eyes radiating a fighting spirit.

"Stop! Stop!" Wu Di made a gesture to pause, bent down, and picked up two round pearls, about 18 millimeters in diameter, and said with a smile, "I'll keep two as a memento, and the rest are yours!"

The two women cheered, and Yang Yanzi even gave Wu Di a quick peck on the cheek. Wu Di was so startled that he almost dropped the pearls, but he noticed the two women's heads were already close together, clearly showing that Yang Yanzi was purely expressing her excitement.

Wu Di shook his head, and Zhong Qi suddenly called out, "This isn't scientific!"

"What's wrong?"

"What's wrong? Your skin seems to have gotten whiter after being in the seawater for a while, and it feels quite smooth."

"Go to hell, go touch your Linlin!"

Wu Di pushed Zhong Qi's hand away and whispered, "With just one large pearl, how will they divide it?"

Before Zhong Qi could answer, Wu Di found the answer. The two women had already set up a game of rock-paper-scissors to decide.

The rest of the time was spent discussing how to decorate the pearls. After two days, they finally had a rich dinner at home. The soup from the giant clam was exceptionally delicious, and Old Mr. Yang repeatedly instructed to save two pieces to take back to Beijing.

The evening entertainment didn't start until after ten o'clock. Back in the room, Wu Di began to study the engraving on the woodblock. As soon as he placed his hand on the woodblock, two pieces of information appeared in his mind:

Ming Dynasty Zhu Xianzhen New Year's Woodblock, genuine.

Ming Dynasty Tang Yin, "Sending a Friend off in a Cold River," rare treasure.

A scene appeared in his mind: a group of people holding umbrellas, sending a person with a backpack onto a boat.

The background mountains were layered and rugged, depicted with small axe-cut strokes, appearing majestic and perilous. The entire painting was finely detailed, with a sparse and elegant layout, and a refined and clear style. The figures in the foreground had clear and fine lines, with bright and elegant colors, beautiful postures, and accurate shapes; the distant figures were painted with freehand brushstrokes, simple and full of charm. The river was depicted with just a few strokes, but a sense of desolation and sorrow was vividly conveyed. The small black boat was meticulously rendered, as if it carried the complex emotions of the parting friends.

The signature read "Tang Yin," and the seals were "Zen Immortal," "Tang Jushi," and "Jieyuan of Nanjing."

Wu Di searched online for a while but found no information about this painting, not even similar ones. Checking the Heavenly Book's prompt again, it confirmed it was by Tang Yin, but why was it labeled as a "rare treasure" instead of a "genuine" piece? Recalling the evaluation of Lu Zigang's masterpiece, Wu Di understood that the Heavenly Book had categorized these works. This meant it was an extraordinary piece, likely representing Tang Yin's highest level of skill and having some unique characteristics.

Wu Di's vision penetrated the painting, examining it in detail. The upgraded penetration was clearer and more three-dimensional. After a moment, he confirmed it was a silk painting, with two layers. The material of the lower layer was unclear, but it was definitely not paper. Between the two layers, there were some irregular ink blobs, but no traces could be seen in the corresponding positions on the painting.

After studying for a while and finding no special features, Wu Di put it aside and turned to study the bloodstone seal.

The bloodstone seal in Wu Di's hand looked even more vivid under the light. With Wu Di's intent, the penetration was effortless. The image two millimeters below was even clearer, and Wu Di confirmed that all four sides of the image were on the same plane. He breathed a sigh of relief; if the seal needed to be uneven to show the tiger descending the mountain and the deer playing in the forest, its value would be greatly reduced. Carefully admiring the tiger in the painting, Wu Di couldn't help but marvel at the wonders of nature. The appropriate placement of the scenery and the detailed depiction of the tiger made him doubt whether a master had painted on the stone and then filled it with paint. The craftsmanship of nature was truly amazing!

After putting away the items, Wu Di closed his eyes and pondered. The upgrade of the Heavenly Book didn't bring new functions, but the penetration ability was much stronger, and he didn't feel any significant drain on his energy after such a long time. He believed that in the future, large-scale penetration of raw materials would not be a problem, especially with the ocean to replenish his energy. The biggest benefit of the upgrade was the change in his body. Seeing impurities being expelled from his body was still an unreal sight. When he was dragging the giant clam in the water, Wu Di knew his strength had greatly increased, but he needed to test it in a secluded place to determine the exact extent...

A knock on the door woke Wu Di up. It was almost ten o'clock, and he guessed they were calling him to go out for the night. Although he wasn't particularly interested, he couldn't skip a group activity. Besides, it wasn't a bad idea to experience something he had only seen on TV.

Lan Kwai Fong is located on the south side of Queen's Road Central in Central, Hong Kong Island, between Wyndham Street and Des Voeux Road Central. It is a short, narrow, L-shaped street paved with cobblestones, lined with Western-style restaurants and bars, and is quite famous.

A few people entered an English-named bar, which was small but elegantly decorated. Yang Yanzi looked around as soon as she entered and saw a small hand waving at her from a corner. She quickly walked over.

This was a space enclosed by two semi-circular sofas. Four young people, two men and two women, were already there, and their opened beers were half-drunk. When they saw the group approach, the four of them also stood up to greet them. Yang Yanzi introduced them:

"Zhou Lifu, the young master of Zhou's Jewelry; his sister, Zhou Ying'er; Zheng Huateng, the young master of Hesheng Shipping; and Xiao Yanmei, the young lady of Angel Investment Fund. Hehe, they are all my good sisters. This is Chang Liling, Zhong Qi, and Wu Di."

Zhou Lifu was dressed casually, with a clear and fair complexion, forming a stark contrast to Wu Di. Zhou Ying'er was clearly a mischievous and lively girl like Yang Yanzi, while Xiao Yanmei was a mature woman with a light makeup and elegant demeanor. Zheng Huateng appeared a bit unruly, with a mocking smile on his face.

They sat down politely, and Yang Yanzi pushed Zheng Huateng and the others to one side, pulling Chang Liling and the other two women into a group. After ordering drinks, Yang Yanzi couldn't wait to take out two South Sea pearls, about 17-18 millimeters in diameter, and proudly held them in her palm.

The bar was dimly lit, but Zhou Lifu immediately recognized the South Sea pearls, living up to his reputation as the young master of a jewelry dynasty.

"Golden South Sea pearls? The quality is good. Wait, these are natural? Eighteen-millimeter natural South Sea pearls! Where did you get them?"