Chapter 705: Chapter 702 Worthless

“All right, then I’ll get going first.”

Wu Qingshan prepared to leave, but suddenly remembered something, turned back, and bowed to Huo Sining:

“Miss, I really must thank you for today. Matters are pressing and I need to deal with them immediately, here is my business card. If the Miss has any need for assistance, please don’t hesitate to come to Huimo Hall and look for me, Wu will do his utmost to help!”

Perhaps because he saw Ji Kun standing nearby all along and knew they were together, he didn’t want to favor one over the other, so he took out two business cards from his pocket, handed one to Huo Sining and one to Ji Kun.

“In times of emergency, I might have had ulterior motives, simply wanting to settle a personal grudge. I never expected it would actually help you solve a big problem.”

Huo Sining’s face remained composed, but her words surprised both Wu Qingshan and the peach-blossom boy.

This girl actually had a feud with those two men just now?

Wu Qingshan and the peach-blossom boy didn’t recognize Liang Jinhong, but Ji Kun did. However, they both knew that matters of the Tengchong Ghost Market weren’t to be discussed with outsiders, so neither of them spoke up to explain.

Although Huo Sining said so, she did not refuse, and took the business card from Wu Qingshan’s hand, “I am surnamed Huo, Huo Sining.”

Wu Qingshan promptly replied, “Miss Huo, though you say that, you did indeed do me a huge favor. This kindness Wu will remember in his heart and will never forget! Keep the business card safe, we shall meet again when the time allows! Time is pressing, so I won’t delay any longer and will take my leave first.”

Wu Qingshan’s expression didn’t show it, but he made sure to remember this name in his heart.

Huo Sining nodded, then Wu Qingshan strode out. Just having taken a few steps, he suddenly thought of something, turned his head back, and looked straight at the peach-blossom boy:

“Young Master, I won’t be following you in the auction later, you must be sure of the items before you bid, be cautious!”

“Pfft!”

Huo Sining couldn’t help but laugh out loud. It turned out that this flamboyant spender’s skills were long established–no wonder earlier, when that guy was bidding for the Plum Vase, Boss Wu had such a look of pained resignation on his face. This fool, wearing the face of a nouveau riche, had a history of this?

The peach-blossom boy’s complexion darkened as his secret was uncovered, and a chill flashed in his eyes as he looked at Wu Qingshan.

Wu Qingshan shrank his neck a bit, but still stubbornly met the peach-blossom boy’s gaze.

The peach-blossom boy was frustrated and finally clenched his teeth and said, “Understood!”

Once Wu Qingshan left, Huo Sining and her two companions hurried to the fourth underground floor.

The auction was due to start at nine, and it wasn’t easy for Huo Sining to attend such a gathering. If she missed it, it was uncertain when the next chance would be.

It was almost nine, getting close to eight fifty, by the time they reached the fourth underground floor, and Huo Sining had been having a lively conversation with the peach-blossom boy along the way.

This flamboyant man was named Wei Yanli, a genuine Changnan Jingdezhen native. Although somewhat silly, he did indeed know quite a lot.

The Huimo Hall mentioned earlier by Wu Qingshan was a Wei Family business. Seeing how freely this young master spent his money, the financial power of the Wei family was probably not to be underestimated.

The auction is the real highlight of the Imperial Capital Ghost Market; it is said that one could see not only openly available items there, but even newly unearthed cultural relics.

When Huo Sining heard this, she was startled, and her first thought was that right under the nose of the emperor in the Imperial Capital, the Ghost Market dared to operate so boldly. It seemed that the organizers of the market must have powerful backing, bold enough even to meddle with cultural relics.

As if guessing what was on Huo Sining’s mind, Wei Yanli gave a frivolous laugh and said casually:

“It’s all stuff passed down from poachers and tomb-robbing gravediggers. Such goods can’t see the light on the regular markets, so naturally, they end up in the Ghost Market. The buyers coming here to the Imperial Capital are mostly antique collectors, and since they can afford to buy cultural relics, they undoubtedly have plenty of social status and connections. They aren’t afraid of the dubious origins of these items. They can always figure out ways to launder them.”

Reaching the fourth underground level, Wei Yanli led Huo Sining and another person straight ahead until they stopped in front of the entrance to a massive venue.

Upon entering the venue, Huo Sining could only think of four words: glittering and golden splendor.

The entire venue, from the wallpaper to the decorations, was uniformly based on a gold color scheme. The spacious venue had eight round pillars standing erect, each carved with golden dragons that added to the imposing aura.

By that time the venue was already filled with people. Huo Sining looked around but couldn’t find Zhou Shitao. Sharing a glance with Ji Kun, they prepared to casually find two seats in the back.

Unexpectedly, at that moment, a server was already waiting on the side. Seeing Wei Yanli, the server’s eyes lit up and hurriedly greeted him, “Wei Shao, you’re here?”

Wei Yanli hummed softly and continued walking forward with Huo Sining and another person, not forgetting to instruct the server while walking, “Add another seat next to mine, these two are my friends.”

The server didn’t say anything else and went ahead. Wei Yanli directly led Huo Sining and the other person to the front row of the auction.

There, Huo Sining spotted Zhou Shitao sitting beside the seat arranged by the server and immediately showed a look of pleasant surprise, calling out, “Master!”

Zhou Shitao was calm, merely lifting his eyes to give them a casual glance and nodded, “You’ve arrived?”

When Wei Yanli heard Huo Sining calling him ‘Master,’ he was somewhat surprised, glanced at Zhou Shitao, then at Huo Sining, and smiled, “So Miss Huo is a distinguished disciple of Elder Lu.”

Wei Yanli thought to himself no wonder; he had been questioning how a young girl in her teens, unknown to the world like Huo Sining, could have such a discerning eye. It turned out she was a disciple of Zhou Shitao, which explained it. With Zhou Shitao’s skill, it would be no surprise that his disciples would be as astute.

Just as Huo Sining was about to ask if Wei Yanli also knew Zhou Shitao, she noticed Zhou Shitao looking at Wei Yanli with a look reserved for fools, showing a facial expression that seemed to ask, ‘Who are you?’ This left Huo Sining speechless.

Zhou Shitao had many qualities, but he was also childish and forgetful. If it was someone he didn’t care about, he could forget them entirely as soon as he turned around.

“Mr. Zhou, you surely don’t remember me. I come to every Ghost Market auction, and you always sit in this fixed spot. I do the same, sitting right next to you.”

As he spoke, Wei Yanli pointed to his own reserved seat, his face still wearing that frivolous smile.

Zhou Shitao’s expression remained unchanged, and he simply uttered an indifferent “Oh,” then turned his head to look at Huo Sining, “Did you see anything you liked?”

As soon as he said this, Huo Sining looked at Ji Kun with a smile that was not quite a smile. These two really were alike, even the first question they asked upon seeing her was exactly the same. However, Ji Kun had only asked casually and didn’t press further, whereas Zhou Shitao went straight to rummaging through Huo Sining’s backpack without another word.

When he found the album of stamps, Zhou Shitao just glanced through it briefly before his face darkened, and he uttered four words, “Worthless as garbage.”