Chapter 26 - 26 - Auction House (Part 3) (1/2)

Li XinWen was observing Xue Rui closely from his seat. Xue Rui was hunched forward in his seat wearing an uncomfortable yet happy expression. By this time, Li XinWen had somewhat figured out most of Xue Rui's behavior, and at that particular moment he could easily read Xue Rui. Especially when it came to his penchant for demonstrating his affection physically towards Li XinWen.

'He's acting all happy by himself… the fool!' he thought as he shook his head. 'I will let that kiss slide today… I'll consider that as payment, since he made sure that I was not taken advantage of by that sly manager. Perhaps this fool actually thinks that I have acknowledged his advances?' seeing the smile plastered on Xue Rui's face, he couldn't help but shake his head.

'He is indeed a fool. The only reason I did not pull my hand away was because I was busy reprimanding myself for almost falling for such a petty trick from the manager,' his thoughts continued as he closed his eyes exercising a lot of control over his desire to collar Xue Rui.

'Just you wait until I can use my full strength in the open Xue Rui… you won't be able to touch even a hair on my head… ha!' and he let out a sigh and managed a restrained smile.

They didn't have to wait long for the auction to begin. A smartly dressed man in his late fifties walked on stage and stood behind the lectern. He wore round-rimmed glasses and his hair was predominantly white including his mustache. He was a little bit on the pudgy side but was relatively tall. He fumbled with the microphone and smiled at the seated would-be bidders, as if the fumble was all part of an act to set up a relaxed and friendly mood in the hall.

The auctioneer's smile was replaced with a furrowed brow and he suddenly touched his left ear and looked down as if listening intently to something. This particular behavior by the auctioneer intrigued Li XinWen. From where he sat, he noticed something fixed on the auctioneer's left ear which roused his curiosity even further. He looked through the original's memories and came across a piece of information which clarified everything.

'Oh, so that's what they call an earpiece… a device you can use to listen to things privately…' Li XinWen thought to himself. He compared the earpiece with the transmission jade slip from Long Xing and noticed that though the earpiece was small and looked aesthetic, its functionality was inferior to the transmission jade slip, since the earpiece's capability depended on its distance from the source. However, what Li XinWen forgot was that there was something closer in comparison to the transmission jade slip - a technology called a mobile phone.

Suddenly, the sound of the gavel striking the wood block pulled Li XinWen out of his thoughts. ”Ladies and Gentlemen! Welcome to the 46th Auction of the Moqi Association,” came the rich baritone voice of the auctioneer. ”I'm sure all of you are excited to make your bid on the vast collection of items we have included for today's event. Without further ado, we will now officially begin! The first item on the list is the statue of Lucrais Forsàidh!” The auctioneer introduced the item with much flair and drama, which instantaneously grabbed the participants' attention.

A group of employees wheeled in a cart covered with cloth onto the stage. From its size, one can discern that the item under the cloth was quite big, but Li XinWen did not show even the slightest interest.

When the statue was uncovered, several gasps and murmurs started to fill the auction hall. Upon hearing the crowd's gasps and murmurs, Li XinWen was suddenly filled with curiosity. The reaction from the participants was similar to the reaction elicited from cultivators in Long Xing whenever they encounter a rare treasure during an auction. He narrowed his eyes and leaned a little forward to examine the statue from his seat.

”It is the last work of the well-known sculptor from the 1400s, Daniel O'Brolchain. As history would have it, Master Daniel died without ever getting married. A group of people found the statue after forcibly entering Master Daniel's lodgings because of the foul stench of rotting flesh coming from inside. Within the house, they found Master Daniel's corpse, the tools of his trade, and this unfinished statue,” the auctioneer explained.

Then he rambled on that the statue brought with it a curse to whoever had ownership, which, once again drew gasps and murmurs from the participants. The auctioneer could not have been happier with this reaction from the crowd. As if baiting the participants, the auctioneer went on to share that although the previous owners died grotesquely, they did enjoy ten years of success in their lifetime.

He went on to tell tales of how one of the owners became a successful employee in his chosen career, another became a well-known entertainer, and the last owner even entered the list of the world's richest men within a week of obtaining the statue.

'Oh, I've got your attention now! Hook, line and sinker!' the auctioneer thought.