A Great Villain Seemed Loyal

"Sky Shipping Auction Number Ten?" Liang Qu was puzzled. "Doesn't the Celestial Ship Merchant Guild use the same dates in the Imperial Capital and everywhere else?"

"I checked thoroughly. The Imperial Capital and Southern Zhili hold three a year—one at the beginning, middle, and end of the year. Some places hold two a year. Our Pingyang is ordinary, so there's only one in the middle of the year. What do you say, A Shui? Want to go broaden our horizons?"

"An auction... should require an invitation, right?"

Whenever Pingyang Prefecture held an auction, invitations were always delivered with great courtesy. Without one, attending required paying a substantial deposit.

Liang Qu's official rank was not high, and he was merely a local official, but he felt that in his half month in the capital, he had made quite a name for himself.

Sure enough.

The following morning, the Celestial Ship Merchant Guild sent someone with an invitation, inviting Liang Qu to the Sky Shipping Auction at the chen hour ten days later.

"What beautiful paper!"

Liang Qu opened the red invitation, nearly blinded by the paper inside.

The invitations in Pingyang Prefecture were golden leaves as thin as cicada wings. Those from the Imperial Capital were a level above, made from some unknown treasure material. The gold-leaf-like paper seemed to contain a layer of clear water that flowed without end.

How wondrous.

"Senior Brother, come take a look. What kind of paper is this?"

Lu Gang rose to his feet and recognized the material at a glance. "Water Flow Gold. When crushed as thin as paper, it takes on this effect. Under sunlight, it looks like a sheet of flowing golden water membrane. It's more expensive than gold."

Xu Zishuai leaned closer. "Well? Is it a private room?"

"It is." Liang