Red Envelope Group of the Three Realms
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chapter-1727
Ling Qingfeng felt uneasy meeting Wugui Kojiro.
Wugui Kojiro was notorious for his reputation as a cocky, dictatorial, and patronizing devil incarnate.
But upon encountering him, Ling Qingfeng found him to be very humble and polite – the exact opposite of what she had been told.
Ling Qingfeng was nonplussed. Could the rumors have been wrong? Could the entire Nine Zones have misunderstood this nice young man?
Very quickly, she realized that Wugui Kojiro’s pleasantness was due to Chen Xiaobei’s presence!In front of Chen Xiaobei, Wugui Kojiro was like a docile little cat but with other people, Wugui Kojiro acted like a ferocious tiger.
There was a saying that goes, ‘old habits die hard’!
Even Wugui Kojiro’s old man could not make his son so meek and modest.
However, against all odds, it was Chen Xiaobei who could!
Ling Qingfeng was, once again, amazed by this extraordinary young man. The longer she was in association with him, the less she knew about him.
“Childe Chen! Childe Chen!” Wugui Kojiro welcomed them with a smile while holding a tray of fruits and tea. “I ordered some people to prepare these Spirit Fruit and Spirit Tea! Please enjoy them! Our item is the second last item up for auction.”
“Second to last?” Chen Xiaobei crinkled his brows. “Why so late?”Wugui Kojiro smiled. “As I said earlier, very few people would sell their Earth-God Instruments. It’s an extremely rare item. Naturally, these are to be allocated for the end of the auction!”
Chen Xiaobei asked, “Why isn’t it placed last then? Is there a more valuable auction item?”
“Oh! I forgot to ask about that!” Wugui Kojiro slapped his forehead. “Should I go ask now?”
“No, it’s alright. We have to wait till the end anyway. We’ll just wait and see!” Chen Xiaobei answered.
Wugui Kojiro nodded, and seated himself next to them.
Ling Qingfeng leaned towards Chen Xiaobei and whispered, “You… You’re selling an Earth-God Instrument? Are you serious?”
Chen Xiaobei shrugged in response.
Ling Qingfeng’s eyes widened. “Others could only daydream about owning an Earth-God Instrument! They are extremely valuable items! How could you just sell it? Even if you could sell it for an ample amount of Spiritual Stones, you may not be able to buy another Earth-God Instrument!”
Chen Xiaobei smiled, “Don’t worry! You’ll understand why when you see the two Earth-God Instruments! Also, it’s proof of my innocence!”
“Two… Two?! You’re selling two Earth-God Instruments?! My god… Are you insane?” Ling Qingfeng inhaled sharply, bewildered.
She could not make head or tail of why Chen Xiaobei would do that!
When the auction began, the thousand or more seats on the first level were completely filled.
The private VIP boxes on the second floor were also filled by several mysterious nouveau riche.
According to Wugui Kojiro, this was a large-scale auction which took place only once a month. The items on auction were of a high standard, and the patrons were predominantly wealthy tycoons.
True enough, the first item on auction was a five-star Spiritual Instrument. The further into the auction, the higher the grade of the items were, and so was the selling price.
Towards the end, there was a powerful Spiritual Instrument that had Ling Qingfeng’s hand itching. She joined the bidding but the fat cats of Apocalypse Starfield were so stinking rich that Ling Qingfeng was forced to give up on the bid.
“Our dear distinguished guests, now that starter round is over, it is time for today’s main event!” A smartly dressed auctioneer announced. Her beautiful face sparkled with exhilaration as she gave a stirring introduction. “Everyone, please remain silent as I present the items! The item that I will be presenting now is an extremely rare gem! This is the first time since the founding of Scarlet Moon Auction House a thousand years ago, that we are auctioning off something like this!”
This caught everyone’s attention.
Even Chen Xiaobei was intrigued. What was this item that this long-serving Auction House which had been around for a thousand years would auction for the first time?
“Please allow me to present the second last item of today’s auction –” The auctioneer deliberately paused for a good minute to draw the audience’s curiosity.
On cue, two pretty, long-legged attendants, each holding a platter covered by a ruby red fabric stood on each side of the auctioneer.
The auctioneer pulled the corner of the fabric and announced, “Everyone, I present to you today’s second-last auction item – Ice and Fire Undying Love!”
The fabric fell to the ground and revealed an ice crystal longsword and a crimson flame fan!
Exclamations exploded in the hall.
“What a powerful Spiritual Attribute! Those must be Earth-God Instruments…”
“Ice sword and flame fan… It should have been Ice and Fire Conflicting Nature! Why did she call it Ice and Fire Undying Love?”
“It’s just a name. It’s nothing! The key point is that very few people want to sell their Earth-God Instruments. They are high-priced but there’s simply no market for them! There’s going to be one hell of a fight over these two instruments!”
“Yeah! The ultra-rich is going to get into a ruthless bidding feud!”
Everyone was on the edge of their seats: Those who could not afford to participate were anticipating drama, whereas the rich were preparing to compete against each other. Everyone was eager for the bidding to begin.
“That… That is…” Ling Qinfeng stammered. She recognized the two reputed Earth-God Instruments immediately.
What puzzled her the most, however, was how they could appear in the Scarlet Moon Action House. Those were the Ximens’ and Yuwens’ most cherished treasure!
“Err…” Chen Xiaobei broke into laughter. “I’ve heard of ‘Human and Ghost Undying Love’* But what the hell is ‘Ice and Fire Undying Love’?”
“There’s something you don’t know, after all, Childe Chen! This is a marketing tactic that auction houses use!” Wugui Kojiro grinned. “None of the guests here today are from the nine starfields so they don’t recognize the two Earth-God Instruments. As long as there’s enough hype, the price can be bumped up real high!”
“How are they going to do that?” Chen Xiaobei wanted to know.
“You’ll find out soon!” Wugui Kojiro shot him a cryptic smile.
The attractive auctioneer continued, “I believe our esteemed guests would want to know why these Earth-God Instruments are called ‘Ice and Fire Undying Love’. There’s a poignant love story behind these treasures! A very long time ago, the prince of the Fire tribe fell in love with a princess from the Snow tribe! But since fire and ice don’t mix, their love was opposed by both tribes, and they received malicious curses! Nevertheless, they didn’t care about what other people thought and decided to elope anyway! This angered both tribes and a great war broke out! The prince died in the war, and the princess ended her own life! The ice crystal sword and the crimson flame fan that you are seeing here is the testimony of their devotion and love for each other!”
The auctioneer lady told the story with great passion as if it was real.
Chen Xiaobei could not help but roll his eyes. “This story is… so cliché…”
Footnote:
Human and Ghost Undying Love: the literal translation of the Chinese title for ‘Ghost the Musical’