Chu Chen replied with a bitter smile, "Old Xu, to be honest, I can't be completely certain that this is an imitation."
This brush pot was simply too "convincingly" made. If his special ability had not always been accurate, and if he had not felt that there was indeed something wrong with the glaze color, he would not have believed that this brush pot was an imitation either. But because it was made so "convincingly," Chu Chen found it difficult to provide a reason for judging it a fake. He couldn't exactly say that his special ability had given him the answer, could he?
Old Xu looked puzzled when he heard that. "Then why do you think it might be an imitation?"
Chu Chen said, "Because I have two landscape-and-figure vases at home. Their painting techniques and scenery are the same as those on this brush pot, with only slight differences in the details. More importantly, both vases bear Zhang Huo Ni's mark."
"Zhang Huo Ni?" Upon hearing the name, Old Xu's face immediately revealed a look of shock. After a long moment, he came back to himself and hurriedly asked, "It really is Zhang Huo Ni's mark?"
Chu Chen said seriously, "I've already examined it carefully. It really is his!"
Old Xu knew that Chu Chen would not joke about something like this. Besides, the objects belonged to Chu Chen himself. Why would he deliberately claim that a genuine item was fake?
Old Xu then carefully examined the brush pot before him again and murmured, "This could be an imitation? That shouldn't be possible, should it?"
After saying that, he fell into thought again. Only after a long while did he speak. "Little Chu, do you think those two vases of yours might have been made by Zhang Huo