135: Chapter 225 Yu Bo's Work – "A Traveler Returning Home on a Snowy Night"

Yu Bo signaled the Cutting Master to carefully put away the red jade that had been cut successfully, his gaze immediately falling on the grey-white skinned raw stone wrapped in red cloth, valued at 388,000.

The clamor and enthusiasm of the crowd had not yet fully subsided, and everyone's eyes focused once more, filled with even greater anticipation—after all, this mysterious boss had already opened two highly successful stones, each more astonishing than the last; could this final one continue the myth?

The Stall Owner clutched his still-aching heart, forcing himself to muster some spirit as he leaned in. Although the previous stone had made him regret his actions deeply, if this one also turned out to be a huge success, he could at least save some face and prove that his stall really did have good goods. Yet, as he watched Yu Bo's calm and composed demeanor, he felt a faint sense of unease in his heart.

The Cutting Master took a deep breath and picked up the chalk again. The window of this stone showed a faint red mist with red light vaguely visible, but the skin was grey-white, and there were slightly more cracks on the surface, making the risk actually higher than the previous one. He cautiously chose a cutting line that had relatively fewer cracks and offered the greatest possibility of preserving the red portion, then looked at Yu Bo.

Yu Bo nodded, still saying only that calm word: "Cut."

The cutting machine roared again, its ear-piercing sound tearing through the air and tightening the hearts of the new wave of onlookers. This time, the atmosphere seemed even more solemn than before. The "good luck" halo of two consecutive successes was both a pressure and an even greater temptation. People held their breath, their eyes wide open, fearing they might miss the moment to witness the miracle of a "triple success."

Yin Tianxue's heart was also hanging in the balance. Yu Bo's performance today was too abnormal; what would the result of this final piece be? Would it continue to be a huge success, pushing this "performance" to its climax, or... would it finally "fail" once, letting this illusory and unsettling "perfection" show a crack?

Tang Guo gripped Yin Tianxue's arm tightly, her nails almost digging into her flesh. She did not understand stone gambling, but she could understand the atmosphere. The almost fanatical anticipation of the people around her made her feel suffocated. The dizziness and fear brought by the first two stones had not yet fully faded, and a new round of torment had begun.

"Szz—ga—!" The stone skin separated.

The Stall Owner almost beat the Cutting Master to it, grabbing a water ladle and splashing water onto the cut surface, his movements urgent and rough.

The water washed away the stone dust, revealing the cut surface.

In an instant, the air, which had just been filled with various subtle sounds, fell into an eerie silence once again. Everyone widened their eyes, looking at the stone that had been split in two, the expressions on their faces rapidly shifting from anticipation and excitement to shock and disappointment, finally turning into sighs and... undisguised schadenfreude?

"It failed..."

"Sigh, as expected, good luck cannot last forever."

"This is a truly thorough failure..."

It was clear that on the grey-white cut surface, there was absolutely none of the expected rich red jade meat; there was only a bleak, dusty background color. Even worse, this grey-white background was filled with tiny, cotton-like white impurities, dense and thick, almost running through the entire cut surface, greatly affecting the purity and value of the jade. And near the center of the cut surface, a piece of black and white, clearly defined, and rough-looking color block the size of half a fingernail was abruptly embedded, like an ugly patch, ruining the already "dirty" jade meat even more thoroughly.

This 388,000 stone actually contained such unbearable "brick material" and "dirty impurities"! Never mind bracelets or pendants, it probably couldn't even yield a decent ring face; its value instantly plummeted to the bottom. Never mind 388,000, it probably wouldn't even be wanted for 38,000.

"Tsk tsk, so much cotton... and it even has such ugly black and white stiff spots..."

"It's a total failure, 388,000 down the drain!"

"The last two stones were so successful, maybe he used up all his luck?"

"I told you, how can one always win at stone gambling? This is normal!"

The crowd discussed it noisily, sighs, mockery, and words of comfort interweaving. The gazes that had just been filled with awe and envy for Yu Bo now held a bit more mockery for the spectacle and a sense of "as I thought." The subtle changes in human nature were vividly displayed at this moment.

The Stall Owner looked at the failed stone, the expression on his face first one of astonishment, then he quietly breathed a sigh of relief, and even a trace of imperceptible satisfaction flashed in his eyes. Although he also lost money, the stone had come from him after all, and its poor performance affected his stall's reputation. But seeing this "luck-defying," "sharp-eyed" boss finally "slip up" once, and watching him lose everything on this stone after making millions on the previous one, he felt a strange sense of psychological balance. He feigned a sigh and shook his head: "Oh, Boss, what a pity... This Damakan material, it changes so much, even the gods can't judge it!"

The Cutting Master also shook his head, silently putting down his tools, ready to clean up the mess. In his view, this stone no longer had any value.

Yin Tianxue looked at the failed stone, and the tight string in her heart inexplicably relaxed a little. Sure enough, luck was not infinite. Yu Bo was not a god either. This sudden "failure," although it cost hundreds of thousands, made her feel that the Yu Bo in front of her seemed... a bit more real. At least, he could also "fail" at gambling and "misjudge" things. She looked at Yu Bo, wanting to see disappointment or annoyance in his expression.

However, Yu Bo's face did not show the disappointment or embarrassment that everyone expected. He remained calm, even more focused than when he had successfully cut the previous stones. His gaze did not fall on the disappointing grey-white background or the annoying cotton-like impurities, but was fixed, unblinking, on that ugly black and white color block in the center of the cut surface, and the seemingly chaotic patterns formed by the grey-white background and cotton around the color block.

His brows furrowed slightly, his eyes deep, as if he were looking through that rough jade meat toward some distant and blurred place. The discussions of the crowd, the Stall Owner's feigned sighs, the Cutting Master's cleaning movements... everything seemed to drift away from him. A strange feeling, like cool spring water, silently washed over his heart.

This stone... this pattern on the cut surface...

The grey-white background was like a vast snowfield.

The tiny, scattered white cotton-like impurities were like snowflakes drifting across the sky.

And that abrupt, high-contrast black and white mixed color in the middle... the black part was as heavy as ink, its edges jagged, the white part as bleak as frost, the boundaries blurred... This shape, this position...

A name, an image, without warning, broke through the fog of memory and crashed into his mind — the person returning home in wind and snow.