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Seeing everyone in the courtyard turn to look at him in unison, Gu Yugui smiled and introduced him casually. "Ran into him at the gate. He said he came because of your reputation. He wants to invite the old man abroad for an auction and have him appraise some items."

Gu Jiuque looked over with an unfathomably calm gaze. His eyes settled on the man's face.

The sunset that had struggled through the entire dusk finally sank behind the western hills.

Gu Jiuque's tall, slender figure was enveloped by the nightfall of late summer and early autumn.

He lifted his head and glanced at the cloud-filled sky.

It would probably rain tomorrow.

Thinking that, Gu Jiuque suddenly smiled.

Chapter 19

"Hello, Old Master Gu. I'm Zhou Mu. I came here because I heard that you have exceptionally unique insights into the appraisal and dating of cultural relics. I would like to invite you to accompany me to an auction and help appraise some items. The auction will be held in Country B—"

It was too late. Other than Zhou Mu, who had come to discuss business with Old Master Gu because of his reputation, the restoration specialists from the Cultural Relics Administration and even Bai Yuesheng, who had been pestering them nonstop, were all sent away by Father Gu. Bai Yuesheng's face was deathly pale when he left. He was clearly worried that a lawsuit from the Gu family would leave an unsavory stain on his future. But he truly could not remember what the person who tampered with Father Gu's car looked like.

At this point, Bai Yuesheng could only find a way to raise the sixteen million in compensation before the Gu family filed their lawsuit. As long as he covered that sixteen-million gap, the Gu family would no longer have anything they could use against him.

At that thought, Bai Yuesheng's eyes lit up. He hurried out of the Gu family residence and headed toward the antique market, not even noticing Zhou Mu passing right by him.

Zhou Mu did not notice Bai Yuesheng either. His attention had been completely drawn to Gu Jiuque in the courtyard. It was not until Gu Yugui led him into the main house to meet Old Master Gu that he remembered why he had come.

"No!" The moment Grandpa Gu heard that he would have to go abroad, he impatiently waved a hand and cut Zhou Mu off. "I'm old. I don't like all that fuss. You'd better find someone else."

Zhou Mu smiled faintly and continued, "I understand that a trip to Country B would put you through considerable trouble, sir. If things work out, I'm willing to pay ten million as your fee."

Grandpa Gu was still uninterested. Though ten million was no small sum to the Gu family, it was not enough to make Grandpa Gu travel overseas at his age to appraise items for someone. In his previous life, the entire Gu family residence had burned down, and the family had been killed or injured. Grandpa Gu had urgently needed money and could only accept Zhou Mu's invitation.

But in this life, thanks to Jade Celestial Pivot's warning, the blaze had been extinguished in time. Only Gu Jiuque's west wing had burned down. The five members of the Gu family were all safe and sound. Grandpa Gu had devoted all his attention to rebuilding the west wing and had no interest in going abroad.

No matter how Zhou Mu pleaded, even continuously raising his offer, Grandpa Gu remained unmoved. Still, touched by Zhou Mu's sincerity, he was willing to recommend several veteran appraisers with sharp eyes while refusing him.

Zhou Mu had offered such generous terms specifically because he wanted Gu Eight Blades. Seeing that Gu Eight Blades would not budge and was even trying to introduce him to other people, Zhou Mu groaned inwardly. Just as he was worrying over how to explain things to the big boss behind the scenes, a clear, cool, pleasant voice drifted over. "I want to go."

Everyone instinctively looked toward the speaker.

A night breeze blew in through the open window, carrying faint strands of osmanthus fragrance. The cloud-covered sky was also parted by the early autumn wind, revealing a sliver of bright moonlight. The moon's silvery radiance spilled down, shrouding the youth by the window in layers of cool mist. It made his skin seem even paler, his features even more picturesque. Even his jet-black eyes seemed tinged with a frost-like, snow-chilled indifference.

Zhou Mu could not stop his heart from pounding. From the first moment he saw Gu Jiuque, he had been captivated by Gu Jiuque's peerlessly handsome face and cold, lofty aura. Looking at him now, as though the faintly drifting osmanthus fragrance around them had plucked at his heartstrings, Zhou Mu suddenly wondered how soul-stealing those cold, detached eyes would be if they were stained with lingering desire.

Gu Jiuque did not notice Zhou Mu's wandering thoughts. He looked at Old Master Gu and smiled gently. "Grandpa, I want to go."

That barely perceptible, faint smile made Zhou Mu's eyes brighten. For an instant, he seemed to smell the fragrance of moonlight.

"If you can persuade your grandfather to go with you," Zhou Mu said after a moment's thought, gritting his teeth, "I can raise the fee to fifteen million."

This time, Gu Jiuque finally turned his gaze toward Zhou Mu.

The instant Gu Jiuque looked at him, Zhou Mu felt as though everything around him had blurred away, leaving only a hazy expanse of bright moonlight before his eyes. Under the moonlight, Gu Jiuque wore a faint smile, his eyes clear, his handsome face like the finest carving of creamy white jade. His temperament was cold, his skin snow-pale. His eyes were sharply black and white, like two bottomless icy pools melting into millennia-old snow—cold and clear, making one impatient to bring a little warmth into them.

Gu Jiuque smiled slightly, but the smile did not reach his eyes. Still perfectly polite, he asked Zhou Mu, "Grandpa doesn't want to go. Would it not work if I went alone?"

The cool voice sounded beside his ear, and Zhou Mu felt a little dizzy. He could even hear his own heartbeat. "Thump, thump. Thump, thump." He swallowed reflexively and barely maintained his last shred of clarity. "But this time, I came specifically to invite the old master."

If he failed to persuade Old Master Gu, there would be no way for him to answer to the big boss behind the scenes. Unless...

Zhou Mu glanced at Gu Jiuque again. He knew that Gu Jiuque was Gu Eight Blades' grandson and the Gu family's only heir of the next generation. Even if Gu Eight Blades refused to take the bait, if he could ruin the Gu family's next-generation heir, he could still destroy the Gu family's century-old reputation.

Considering it that way, compared to Gu Eight Blades, who was sly as a fox and vastly experienced, Gu Jiuque—the fledgling with little experience or worldly savvy—was clearly better suited to their plan.

At the thought of this cold, breathtaking youth soon traveling abroad alone with him, of being pushed little by little into a trap without realizing it, eventually left isolated and helpless with no way to defend himself, free for Zhou Mu to manipulate and dispose of as he pleased, Zhou Mu suddenly grew excited.