Qi Yun had previously attended several auctions, and the process was basically the same, except Christie's had higher standards for the auction items, and hardly anything too low in value would appear.

"Welcome everyone to Christie's summer..." The auctioneer briefly introduced a few words, and the auction began directly.

The first auction item was a Qing Dynasty Zitan carved flower table, which after several rounds of bidding was taken away by a lady wearing a jade bracelet for 1.2 million.

"Next item, a pair of Ming Dynasty Chenghua Doucai Lotus Scroll Cups." As soon as the auctioneer's voice fell, a close-up of the cups popped up on the screen.

From the appearance, this pair of porcelain cups has a delicate texture, warm glaze, and the blue and white double circles at the cup's bottom are quite beautiful.

After several rounds of bidding, it was finally won by a middle-aged man wearing gold-rimmed glasses, with a hammer price of 35 million.

Shi Feng sighed again, "Damn, they're really rich..."

Lao Wai glanced at the middle-aged man, and said in a low voice, "He's the real big boss, often appearing in the news, quite powerful."

"What does he do?" Shi Feng curiously asked.

"Real estate from years ago, now finance, does whatever makes money." Lao Wai replied indifferently.

Having heard this, Qi Yun also looked at the middle-aged man briefly, then continued to look down at the exhibition catalog in his hand.

After a few rounds, Lao Wai also made a move twice, successfully taking down a vase.

"Next item, 013, the late Qing Dynasty Gilded Buddha Head, which was also Master Zeng Yufan's last work before his death." As the auctioneer's voice fell, the photo of this Golden Buddha Head was projected on the screen again.

This Buddha Head shines brilliantly, with finely detailed spiral hair, a pigeon blood ruby embedded between the brows, even the curvature of the earlobe is sculpted smoothly and harmoniously.

"Zeng Yufan?" Shi Feng stared at the screen ahead and muttered to himself, "Could it be the one who repaired the Buddha statues in Yihe Garden?"

Next to him, Qi Yun closed the catalog in his hand, sat up slightly straightened, and looked at the screen.

"Starting price, 800,000, let's start bidding!"

As soon as the auctioneer's voice fell, bidding quickly started in the venue.

"One million!" Someone in the front row was the first to raise a sign.

"One million two hundred thousand!" Someone on the other side followed.

The price climbed steadily, and when the bid reached three million, the middle-aged man who had just spent thirty-five million spoke for the first time: "Three million five hundred thousand." His voice was steady, with an undeniable aura.

With his bidding, the number of bidders immediately decreased, leaving only one person still persisting.

"Three million seven hundred thousand!"

"Four million."

"Four million three hundred thousand!"

"Four million five hundred thousand." The middle-aged man remained unhurried, as if everything was under control.

In the end, the other competitor shook his head, also withdrew from the contest, and stopped bidding.

The auctioneer, seeing this, began the final countdown: "Four million five hundred thousand, first time!"

"Four million five hundred thousand, second time!"

"Last time, is there anyone else who wants to bid?"

Just as everyone in the hall thought it was settled, about to end, a sudden voice came from the back row.

"Five million." Qi Yun, who had been silent, slowly raised the number plate in his hand.

The other attendees in the hall curiously glanced over here but didn't pay much attention, since it was only five million, and those attending such auctions were generally worldly.

However, the person next to him, Shi Feng, was a bit stunned, obviously not expecting Qi Yun to suddenly bid.

Almost as soon as Qi Yun's voice fell, the middle-aged man in the front row again raised his sign, without even looking back.

"Five million three hundred thousand."

Qi Yun without hesitation planned to bid again, seeing this, Shi Feng hurriedly nudged him with his elbow and whispered, "Is this the thing you're looking to snag?"

"Though it's nice, its liquidity is very poor, and the price of five million is already very high, difficult to resell."

"Relax, I know what I'm doing." Qi Yun nodded to Shi Feng, then bid again, "Five million five hundred thousand."

"Six million."

"Seven million."

"..."

Until the price soared to ten million, Shi Feng couldn't sit still anymore, raised his hand to touch Qi Yun's forehead, wanting to see if he was feverish.

Beside them, Lao Wai also whispered persuasion, "Brother Qi, why not let it go, the price has already far exceeded its value."

Qi Yun didn't mind, chuckling lightly, "I believe in Buddha, faith is priceless, besides, Buddha says I have 'fate' with it."

This reason immediately rendered Shi Feng and the others speechless, shooting him a side glance.

"Fifteen million!" This time Qi Yun went all out, adding five million directly.

The attitude was clear, I'm determined to get this item!

In terms of financial prowess, he might not match the opponent, but the opponent didn't seem likely to pay such a high price to buy back a Buddha Head.

Sure enough, the middle-aged man in front didn't choose to continue bidding, but finally turned back, looking towards Qi Yun's direction, smiling at him.

Qi Yun didn't understand what he meant, so he didn't respond.

"Fifteen million, first time!"

"Fifteen million, second time!"

"Fifteen million, last time!"

"Bang!" The gavel struck heavily, and the auctioneer raised a hand towards Qi Yun's direction, "Congratulations to gentleman number 91, for successfully winning the Gilded Buddha Head from the late Qing Dynasty!"

Half an hour later, the auction reached its climax.

The Western Zhou Zilong Cauldron, seen on the promotional poster in the corridor earlier, finally made its grand entrance.

As soon as the bidding began, no fewer than ten people were involved in the competition.

Each bid increased by millions, even tens of millions, which again refreshed Qi Yun's understanding of Shanghai—it truly was a place where big shots roamed.

To know that even in the largest auction house in Bird City, it might not produce an item sold for over ten million in a whole year.

However, tonight's auction had already seen four or five such items, and even more astonishing was this Zilong Cauldron, with bids rapidly approaching one hundred million.

"One hundred and twenty million!" spoke the middle-aged man in the front row again.

The price jumped from ninety-eight million directly to one hundred and twenty million!

As his words fell, the scene was instantly filled with silence.

Even the auctioneer, accustomed to big scenes, showed a momentary look of shock on her face, but she quickly reacted and spoke in a slightly excited tone: "One hundred and twenty million! Now it's one hundred and twenty million from gentleman number 001 in the front row!"

"Is there anyone else willing to bid higher?"

The auctioneer's excited inquiry pulled everyone back from their shock.

But this time, no one raised their placards to bid higher.

...

After the auction, Qi Yun followed the staff's guidance to a lounge.

"Mr. Qi, would you like to take your item with you later, or should we arrange delivery to a specified location for you?"

Qi Yun looked down and skimmed through the relevant paperwork for the Buddha Head: "I'll take it with me directly."

The staff nodded politely: "Alright, I'll arrange that for you now."

About ten minutes later, another staff member arrived at the lounge carrying a specially made box.

This box was fifty centimeters long and wide, about sixty to seventy centimeters high, with the Golden Buddha Head inside padded with special materials to prevent collision.

The staff member handed over a pair of white gloves with a smile: "Mr. Qi, please inspect it first, and if everything is confirmed, I'll take care of the further procedures for you."

"Of course, if needed, we can also arrange for a professional appraisal team to assist you with the inspection."

Truly worthy of being a top-tier auction house, the service was impeccable.

"Thank you, that's not necessary." Qi Yun waved his hand and then picked up the Buddha Head to examine it closely.

He wasn't interested in checking if this Buddha Head was damaged, but was rather curious about how the Dog Head, mentioned in the intel as one of the Twelve Bronze Heads, was hidden inside.

This Buddha Head wasn't light, estimated to weigh around ten pounds, with its gilded surface glowing softly in the lighting.

Holding it in both hands, Qi Yun turned it around, observing that every detail of this Buddha Head was seamlessly joined, leaving no trace. After a few glances, he placed the Buddha Head back in the box, planning to examine it more thoroughly at home.

About ten minutes later, he met up with Shi Feng and the others at the elevator entrance, carrying the box.

Upon seeing him, Shi Feng immediately asked impatiently: "What on earth were you thinking? Didn't you say we're here for a bargain? Spending fifteen million on such a thing?"

"Believe it or not, you might not even get five million for it now."

The old Bai standing next to him had a face full of incomprehension as well.

Qi Yun glanced at the old Bai and then smiled, patting Shi Feng on the shoulder: "I've told you, faith is priceless, how can it simply be measured with money?"

Shi Feng was speechless, giving him a thumbs up: "Impressive, now you've started pursuing faith."

The three of them took the elevator down to the underground parking lot. Just as they were about to get in the car, a voice from a man not far away called out to the old Bai, who turned his head to look and then said to Qi Yun and Shi Feng: "I ran into an acquaintance, I'll go say hi, you guys wait for a bit."

Qi Yun nodded: "Alright, go ahead."

After the old Bai walked away, Shi Feng whispered to Qi Yun: "What exactly is your plan?"

In the antique business, everyone was a savvy player, and with Shi Feng's understanding of Qi Yun, he naturally wouldn't believe in some ridiculous excuse like faith.

He guessed that Qi Yun was keeping quiet most likely because the old Bai was also present.

Qi Yun handed the box to Chen Wei and then feigned mystery: "This is the bargain, you'll know when we get back."

Shi Feng was helpless, no matter how anxious he was, he couldn't force Qi Yun to speak if he didn't want to.

All he could do was keep guessing to himself, wondering what kind of treasure was worth the fifteen million spent for this bargain.

After the old Bai finished greeting his acquaintance, they all drove away.

Over twenty minutes later, the car arrived at a commercial street.

The old Bai was generous and directly booked rooms for Qi Yun and the others at a five-star hotel in the city center.

They went into their rooms, locked the valuables they brought in the room safe, and prepared to go out to find a place to eat.

"Let's eat first, then go take a bath; a new club just opened over in Pudong, all blond and blue-eyed masseuses..." the old Bai grinned with a knowing smile on his face.

Shi Feng's eyes lit up at this but then he rubbed his sore waist, knowing that his current stamina couldn't handle such an intense situation anymore.

Chatting and laughing, the four of them took the elevator down to the first floor, heading out of the hotel.

Just as they reached the parking lot and were about to open the car door, two young men with close-cropped hair came straight toward Qi Yun.

Seeing this, Chen Wei immediately stepped forward, blocking the two men, and asked sternly, "What do you want?"

Qi Yun and the other two looked towards the two young men.

One of the young men glanced at Chen Wei and said to Qi Yun, "Mr. Qi, right? Our boss wants to meet you, please come with us."

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