"How could I know as much as you do?" He smiled. "This guy is incredibly cunning. I have to be prepared in advance, or he'll raid my lair without me noticing."
She was amused by his words: "How interesting."
"Don't be fooled by the fact that he's as obedient as a cat in front of you. Outside, he's a tiger," Zhuo Qiang glanced at Lu Yang, "We have to be on our guard against him."
"Then you guys be careful, I have something to do now." She received the message from Shan Cong, got up and walked out.
Preparations for the auction in the evening had already begun. Mu Zishan drove to pick up Shan Cong and went to the hotel together. Many people would be staying there today because of the auction. On the way, Shan Cong gave Mu Zishan a list of all the participants, and she took a look.
"Most of the people here are industry collectors, as well as some enthusiasts. The experts all live in another designated place. Before the auction, they have to verify the authenticity of the exhibits."
"Who is this person?" She saw a person's information, which did not say that he was a collector, and it was his first time to participate in such an auction.
"Wang Yu, the young master of Huaiyuan Group. I was curious at first. How could a man who was just in his twenties be interested in antiques? Later I learned that his grandfather was a famous antique collector in the antique world. I'm afraid he came here this time on behalf of his grandfather." Shan Cong said.
"What's going on with the appraiser?"
"As you requested, we asked them to fill out some background information about the antiques," he said, handing her a few reports. "Several of the best appraisers couldn't explain the specific origins of this bronze artifact, only providing some relevant information about its age. However, one of them was quite interesting. He included a very long story in his information, saying that if this story could be added to the auction item's description, its value would be extraordinary."
She took a look and found that it was indeed filled with dense writing. She was deeply attracted by the story inside.
Long ago, during a time of flourishing rituals, natural disasters and man-made calamities struck the high priest who presided over the ceremony, who fell in love. The king, hoping to escape an attack from an enemy kingdom, held a grand ceremony. To pray for divine favor, the king offered his own sister's precious virgin blood as a token of appeasement. Under these circumstances, the high priest was forced to become the murderer who harmed the one he loved most. Unaware of this, the princess spent the happiest days of her life in her palace. When she finally learned of her fate, she accepted it with equanimity and without resistance.
The high priest tried every possible way to save her life, so he made a bronze vessel for her, and her blood was spilled into it, causing a violent storm, and he escaped with her.
Furious, the king sent men to track them down. They were later found in a tomb, already embraced and gone, leaving behind the bronze vessel. Moved by their genuine love, the king resolved to disregard the matter and buried them together, using the bronze vessel to protect them forever.
Mu Zishan didn't think this story was anything new, but rather that it was just the beginning of the story: "Shan Cong, let's go to the hotel first."
"Um!"
Soon they arrived at the hotel, where all sorts of people were coming and going. Sitting by, drinking coffee, she didn't miss a single detail. After a while, someone who knew Shan Cong came over and said a few words, then noticed Mu Zishan next to him: "Isn't this her? I didn't expect she's also interested in antiques?"
"That's right," Shan Cong tried to smooth things over. "I want to buy something too. It's fine as long as it looks fun."
"No, since you're here, you should pick something nice and appealing," the friend said. "Unfortunately, there's something I've set my eyes on, but it's not for sale."
"Not for sale? What's that, why are you leaving it hanging like this?"
"A bronze artifact," he said. "I heard many people came here just for this."
Shan Cong nodded: "No wonder you are so anxious."
"That's right. If this thing could be bought, it would probably fetch a stratospheric price," he whispered. "I heard people from the You Group are here too. They're bigwigs in the antique world."
"It seems that today's auction will be very exciting."
"That's not the case," he checked the time, "it's getting late, I have to go now."
"Well, let's talk again when we have a chance."
Shan Cong turned around and found that Mu Zishan had disappeared. He looked around but couldn't find her. "Where did this person go?"
Mu Zishan rushed to the area where the antiques were kept at the auction venue. There were four people guarding it, and the security system was in place. She looked around and went in through the ventilation vent above, but was accidentally discovered: "You, get out here."
She stood up and looked at the person who came. He was dressed neatly and didn't look like a staff member here. He grabbed her hand and wanted to take her to the security office, but was stopped by Shan Cong who arrived in time.
"Excuse me, sir. This is my friend. She was just wandering around out of curiosity."
"She looks like a thief to me," the other man glanced at them, "and you look like her accomplice to me."
The other party's insistence forced Shan Cong to show his ID: "Sir, I'm a police officer. How could I steal something? We were just checking the security."
The other party then let them go: "Just investigate seriously, is there any need to be so sneaky?"
Shan Cong nodded: "That's right, that's right."
Mu Zishan looked at his back as he left and felt something was wrong. She looked at Shan Cong and asked, "How did he get in?" She had already broken through the first protection system, unless he was a staff member here, but he didn't look like one.
"Staff, right?"
"No!" She walked forward and found that the man had disappeared. She realized that she had been spotted by him. "Let's go."
Soon, she asked the auction organizers to change the auction rules for bronze artifacts, changing the auction rules from "not for sale" to "to the highest bidder." This made Shan Cong very embarrassed: "We haven't applied to the higher authorities yet, how can they make the decision on their own?"
“Do as I say,” she told the staff.
Shan Cong quickly went out and called Officer Li to tell him about it. He was scolded: "Why didn't you stop her?"
"Officer Li, I can't stop him even if I want to."
"Okay, go watch her and don't cause any more trouble."
"Yes, Mr. Li."
Mu Zishan walked into the auction and sat in the last seat. He looked at the antique items introduced above and saw that there were quite a few people bidding.
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