The voice that suddenly rang out sounded jarringly out of place in the silent venue.
Everyone turned to look and discovered that the speaker was a slender young man with handsome features seated in the front row.
He sat with his legs crossed and a hand on his chin, looking thoroughly roguish, without the slightest trace of decorum.
Huo Sanjian looked stunned, but when he saw that the speaker was Jun Wangchen, a meaningful gleam flashed through his eyes.
Had anyone else said that, he might not have paid attention. But Jun Wangchen was different. As a prodigy in treasure appraisal who could sense soul aura, he would hardly make a baseless claim. From the looks of it, he must have spotted something suspicious about the painting.
The smiles that had just appeared on the faces of the appraisal masters beside him instantly froze. Surprise flickered in their eyes, while anger stirred within them.
"Young man, this is an auction, not a game of make-believe. Please stop disrupting the proceedings!" the organizer reprimanded him, his expression darkening.
"I'm sorry, everyone. My friend misspoke. My apologies!" Zi Hanyan smiled apologetically and hurriedly tugged at Jun Wangchen's clothes, lowering her voice. "Jun, everyone onstage is a famous appraisal master here in Jinling City. They're incredibly experienced. How could they possibly be mistaken?"
"I didn't misspeak. That painting onstage really is a fake. As far as I can tell, some special technique was probably used to disguise its surface." Jun Wangchen shook his head, his expression serious. Rather than lowering his voice, he let it echo conspicuously throughout the venue.
"Bullshit!" The appraisers onstage could no longer sit still. Master Hou sprang to his feet in fury, pointed at Jun Wangchen, and shouted at him.
"A wet-behind-the-ears brat like you has probably barely