Babel Novel
Chapter 209 You Really Can't Afford to Pay for It!
Chapter 209 You Really Can't Afford to Pay for It!
What?
Did Gu Long-En want to be Ye Fan's apprentice?
When they heard Gu Long-En wanting to be his apprentice, the crowd was stunned.
Who was this Gu Long-En?
He was a visiting professor at a renowned local university and even the deputy president of Yunzhou's
Antique Association. The curio community held him in high regard.
In terms of their prestige in society, Ye Fan was far behind Gu Long-En.
In terms of age, Gu Long-En was old enough to be Ye Fan's grandfather.
So no one could have expected such a respectable old man to humble himself and ask Ye Fan to be
his teacher.
This was all too much for their tiny little brains to process.
Everyone stood where they were in a daze. They kept looking at the painting and Old Master Gu while
he waited for Ye Fan to take him in as his student.
It was undoubtedly a surprise for Su Qian and Qiu Mu-Cheng too. This was a completely unexpected
ending.
Yang He was on the verge of crying. While he hung his head looking like a withering plant, he asked
fearfully, "Pre...President Gu, is this really Su Dong-Po's work?"
Even though Yang He was still unable to accept this harsh reality, when he saw Ye Fan revealing the
truth behind this painting, Yang He knew in his heart that all was lost.
After all, almost all the artwork that was kept in such a fashion became treasures in the antique circles.
What's more, Old Master Gu was around. He could serve as a witness to verify the truth that this work
was indeed hidden behind another painting.
"Although I can't be 100% certain, based on my experience and judgment, it's an original for sure. After
all, the forgers can't possibly have the same mastery in brushwork and calligraphy writing." Gu Long-En
verified once more that he was certain. Old Master Gu's words sounded like a death knell to Yang He
and made him turn pale instantly.
But Ye Fan's gentle laughter sounded like rocks crashing into the sea and caused a tidal wave yet
again.
"President Gu, I suggest you look more carefully again."
"Hmm? Little Teacher, what do you mean? Do you think this isn't authentic?" Gu Long-En didn't
understand what Ye Fan meant. Content bel0ngs to Nôvel(D)r/a/ma.Org.
When he said it wasn't an original, Ye Fan told him to look more closely.
When he said it was authentic, Ye Fan told him to look more thoroughly as well.
So now Old Master Gu was clueless about the situation and didn't get what Ye Fan was trying to say.
Ye Fan nodded in response to Gu Long-En's question, "That's right, I don't think this is authentic. Also, I
never said it was from the start."
What?
"Do you mean this is a fake?" At first, Yang He lost all hope in his heart. But when he heard Ye Fan's
words, it rekindled in his heart, and he was delighted.
Yang He was on the brink of tears from this major turn of events.
The others shivered in surprise as well.
"Damn, what's this brat up to?"
"Wasn't he so confident it was a real treasure that he made a bet with the shop owner?"
"Why is he saying it's a fake now?"
It's sheer nonsense. Is this guy an idiot?" Everyone started murmuring among themselves and had no
idea what Ye Fan was thinking.
While Gu Long-En repeatedly shook his head as well and kept saying, "That can't be right. That can't
be.”
"Little Teacher, you must be joking, right? If it were a lousy forgery, how could I have missed it? This
painting was meticulously composed and consisted of solid brushwork. If this was considered a low-
quality imitation, then there would be no originals left in the world," said Gu Long-En deeply. He felt a
little displeased as Ye Fan seemed to be making fun of him.
"Ye Fan, are you an idiot? If President Gu says it's an original, then you should just accept it. Why go
on spouting this nonsense? Are you only going to stop after Mu-Cheng loses her house?"
At first, Su Qian was impressed by Ye Fan for exposing the secret behind the painting.
But she didn't think that Ye Fan would be idiotic enough to insist that it was a fake again.
Why would anyone do that?
Everyone usually resorted to all means to say their paintings were authentic, but here he was saying
his was a forgery.
That idiotic Ye Fan almost drove Su Qian mad!
Ye Fan ignored Su Qian's exasperation. Instead, he stood there with his hands in his pant pockets and
said indifferently, "President Gu, I merely said it was an imitation, but I didn't say it was of low quality."
"Do...do you mean...?" asked Gu Long-En when a thought suddenly struck him and made him shiver.
Ye Fan nodded, "Yes, that's right. The artistic value of this imitation can rival its original."
What?
It was an imitation.
But its value matched the original?
Ye Fan's words sent everyone into shock again.
Yang He chuckled instead and cursed right away, "That's nonsense! A fake is a fake. It's common
knowledge that a counterfeit is worth next to nothing compared to its original. But you're actually saying
that a fake is worth more? That's the joke of the year!"
"Enough of this crap! Since you admitted that this is a forgery, then pay up the $1,000,000. Are you
paying by bank transfer or with your title deed? Plenty of people witnessed us making a bet, so don't
even think about defaulting payment!" smirked Yang He as he asked Ye Fan for payment again."
But Ye Fan laughed instead. However, the smile on his face seemed somewhat cold.
"Mr Yang, I didn't take that bet seriously and merely treated it as a joke between us.
But since Mr Yang is so forceful about it now, I suddenly had a change of heart," sneered Ye Fan. He
then went up to point at four tiny words appearing in a corner on the painting and said, "Does everyone
recognize these five words?"
Hmm?
Gu Long-En was too eager to see the painting earlier on and failed to notice the words hidden in the
corner.
When Old Master Gu came over right away for a look, he was stunned, and his face twitched instantly,
"Imitation by Zha...Zha... Zhang Da-Qian?"
What?
When the crowd heard that name, they all shivered.
Even Yang He felt so jolted that he was dumbstruck.
"That's right. This painting was done by the King of Imitations, Zhang Da-Qian! In the history of
Chinese calligraphy and painting, the only person whose imitation can surpass its original is
undoubtedly Zhang Da-Qian, also known as the Oriental Brush!” said Ye Fan coldly. His words
sounded weighty and sonorous as it reverberated through the showroom.
Then Ye Fan turned and looked sharply at Yang He before continuing to say coldly, "In 1946, the
Chinese painting master, Zhang Da-Qian, imitated the ‘Sunny Peak Painting' by Ju Ran from the Bei-
Song era. 55 years later, it was sold for $70 million! Then in 2016, the 'Imitation of Sunny Peak Painting
by Ju Ran' was sold for $103.5 million at the Guardian's fall auction. In 1946, Zhang Da-Qian forged
the Southern Tang era 'River Embankment Evening Scene' by Dong Yuan. 70 years later, this painting
was sold for $130 million! And now this imitation of Su Dong-Po's 'Withered Wood and Stone Painting'
has unparalleled brushwork and calligraphy. Its artistic value vastly surpasses his other two works. Just
the lowest auction price Zhang Da-Qian's work went for was $70 million.
Mr Yang, you just bragged that if this painting fetched over $10,000, you would compensate me ten
times its worth...” said Ye Fan eloquently. Although they were just words, they struck everyone like a
thunderclap and exploded everywhere. As Ye Fan advanced with each line, his aura intensified.
His entire being seemed like a sword that was slowly coming out of its scabbard!
Ye Fan finally paused before shouting earth-shatteringly in a cold voice!
He seemed like a razor-sharp prized sword that was getting unsheathed!
"I told you, you really wouldn't be able to afford this bet!!!"
B000M!
Ye Fan's words made everyone feel as though they were attacked by violent winds.
Yang He fell to the ground with a thud in terror right away.