Top Grade Immortal Emperor in the Flower City

The most important part had arrived—the presentation of congratulatory gifts.

If it hadn't been for Ye Ling's knowledge that Elder Lin was a highly esteemed and venerable predecessor, he might have thought this was just another potbellied bureau chief taking bribes under the guise of accepting gifts.

Of course, most of the guests today were younger members of the Lin Family, with only a few outsiders, but these outsiders could not offer anything particularly valuable.

For example, Secretary Mo's gift was a pair of calligraphy he had written himself, five big characters: "Eternal Youth Pine," vigorous and powerful in stroke, emitting a sharp energy at a glance.

Others brought gifts of a similar nature, after all, they all knew that Elder Lin despised evil, it didn't matter if his own family members brought something precious, no one would say anything, but it was different for outsiders.

As he grew older, Elder Lin became extremely concerned about his reputation, cherishing his own impeccable reputation.

After the guests had presented their gifts and well-wishes, it was time for Elder Lin's students and grandchildren to respectfully offer their birthday presents, and their gifts were indeed more valuable than the earlier ones.

After all, students and descendants were hardly considered outsiders, so these people's gifts were also quite acceptable.

As gifts were presented one by one, Ye Ling watched with astonishment—it closely resembled scenes from the Immortal Realm where a big BOSS would sprinkle favors, and a bunch of bootlicking fellows would fall over each other to offer valuable gifts, all vying to leave a good impression.

Just when the birthday banquet was at its liveliest, Ye Ling suddenly froze; he spotted someone among the students and grandchildren—Wang Tao!

But then Ye Ling understood; after all, Wang Tao was a student of Lin Yuqing's father, so by convention, he was like a grandstudent.

There he was, face still somewhat pallid, holding a Bodhi Vajra necklace in his hand, respectfully approaching Elder Lin.

"Elder Lin, when you're free, you might like to play with this Bodhi Vajra necklace. With your state of mind, you will definitely be able to turn this Vajra into a magical treasure in no time," Wang Tao said with a faint smile.

Many people saw the Bodhi Vajra necklace that Wang Tao presented and pursed their lips dismissively; though not cheap nowadays, its price had been inflated by the market. As for its significance, admittedly, it was quite good.

Elder Lin nodded. To him, the value of a gift made no difference—it was the sentiment that mattered most.

A feather sent from a thousand miles away—the gift is light, but the sentiment is profound.

However, when Elder Lin examined the Bodhi Vajra, his murky eyes suddenly widened, and then he gently shook his head, "My child, you are thoughtful indeed."

The others were puzzled after hearing this—thoughtful for just a Bodhi Vajra necklace?

But what they didn't know was that this was no ordinary market Bodhi Vajra bracelet. This one had been brought from Nepal by someone Wang Tao had asked, a sixteen-petal Bodhi Vajra.

The value of a Bodhi Vajra lies in the number of petals—it's common to see five or six petals, and the more petals, the more expensive. In Buddhist lore, a twenty-three-petal Vajra is extremely rare, said to have been possessed by the Buddha himself.

Anything above twenty petals is incredibly rare. As for sixteen petals, one bead alone could fetch nearly ten thousand on the market, and this necklace had eleven such beads, along with jade pieces added to it.

The beads were also of excellent quality; thus, the necklace was valued at over a hundred thousand. It was something Wang Tao had gone to great lengths to acquire.

Upon hearing Elder Lin's words, Wang Tao felt as light as air. This string of beads was nothing compared to his future prospects.

Meanwhile, Ye Ling hadn't noticed the sly smile on Wang Tao's face, nor the sinister eyes fixated on his position.

"Elder Lin, I heard that Yu Qing has brought a friend to wish you a happy birthday, and they've brought a rare and precious gift, a treasure seldom seen in the antique world," Wang Tao said softly with a smile.

After hearing this, Elder Lin was taken aback, then turned to look at Lin Yuqing standing in front: "Yu Qing, how come you didn't tell Grandpa that you brought a friend along?"

Upon hearing Wang Tao's words, a chill crept onto Lin Yuqing's face. This guy was just too devious.

Brother Ye may have said he was confident, but Wang Tao just put it out there so directly, calling it a rare treasure of the antique world. If Brother Ye can't produce it, or if the gift fails to reach this level of rarity, isn't that a slap in Brother Ye's face?

"Grandpa, I was planning to introduce him to you after the birthday banquet," Lin Yuqing said softly, then pointed at Ye Ling.

"This is my friend, Ye Ling."

After Lin Yuqing finished speaking, Ye Ling stepped forward with a slight smile, "I've come uninvited, so I hope the old master won't take offense."

"What are you talking about? Since you're Yuqing's friend, you are a guest of the Lin Family," the Lin family patriarch laughed heartily, though there was an unusual gleam in his eyes.

He doted on Yuqing the most. The Lin family's third generation only had this one girl, and as she had already graduated, the old master was worried about his granddaughter's marriage.

Moreover, having lived nearly a century, he could see a hint of spring on his granddaughter's face.

"Ye Ling, didn't you say on Antique Street that you were going to present a treasure to the old master? Bring it out and let us all have a look," Wang Tao said with a cold smile.

He knew that Ye Ling had a Daqi Tongbao coin and a counterfeit painting, so he set this trap for Ye Ling.

If Ye Ling displayed the painting, Wang Tao would expose it on the spot, slap Ye Ling hard in the face, and cause Ye Ling to harbor hatred in front of everyone.

If Ye Ling brought out the Daqi Tongbao coin, although it would shock everyone, he would also correspondingly lose a massive fortune nearly worth a hundred million!

But a Daqi Tongbao coin is definitely valued close to a hundred million, there's no doubt about that. But would Ye Ling be willing to part with it?

Wang Tao watched Ye Ling with a smug smile, pleased with his seamless plan.

Next to Ye Ling, Lin Yuqing quietly tugged at his clothing, a look of anxiety on her face.

However, Ye Ling just smiled broadly and took out a scroll of painting from his bosom. He walked forward under everyone's gaze and handed the scroll to the Lin family patriarch.

"As today marks the old master's auspicious birthday, the younger generation presents this painting, hoping the old master will like it," Ye Ling said, his narrow eyes glancing at Wang Tao.

His gaze was sharp, like a knife, making Wang Tao feel somewhat uneasy.

The Lin family patriarch smiled and nodded, passed his walking stick to someone beside him, and unrolled the painting.

The painting depicted a woman in green attire, sitting in a field of flowers gazing into the distance. The craftsmanship was exquisite, full of charm, and the signature was enough to make the Lin family patriarch's heart tremble.

That signature was actually Tang Yin's, Tang Bohu!

However, just at that moment, the Lin family patriarch's eyelid twitched as if he had noticed something, and his eyes fixed onto the scroll.

"Ye Ling, what are you trying to pull, presenting a counterfeit to the old master on his birthday? What's your intention?" Seeing the expression on the Lin family patriarch's face, Wang Tao immediately shouted with joy.

A counterfeit?

Everyone drew a sharp breath, looking at the composed Ye Ling.

Then Ye Ling slowly turned around, facing Wang Tao who was acting like a buffoon.

"You little s***, I let you off once, and here you are shamelessly prancing around; you're really a total bastard," Ye Ling said.

After speaking, Ye Ling continued.

"Oh right, I forgot to say—screw you!"