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In Gu Jiuque's eyes, this man was nothing more than a dog raised by the Jin family to charge into battle for them. The Jin family and Jin Weixie had often used Zhou Mu's social media resources to smear and fabricate rumors about their competitors.

In his previous life, Gu Jiuque had gathered extensive evidence proving that Zhou Mu's self-media company exploited the unique nature of online social platforms to spread rumors, defame public figures, and extort them. Later, Zhou Mu was imprisoned for defamation and extortion, while Jin Weixie, who had close financial dealings with Zhou Mu, managed to escape unscathed.

Unfortunately, severing the tail to survive still left them badly weakened. Although Gu Jiuque had failed to find conclusive evidence exposing the truth behind Jin Weixie's plot against his grandfather, he had made many well-informed people aware of the collusion between the Jin family and Zhou Mu. Those who had once suffered at the hands of the Jin family and Jin Weixie joined forces to take revenge, causing Jin Weixie no small amount of trouble. In the end, it was only through Bai Yuesheng's guidance and a fortunate coincidence that earned them the favor of another powerful figure that the Jin family and Jin Weixie narrowly survived the crisis.

He wondered whether Jin Weixie would still have such good luck in this life.

"What's so interesting about this?" Old Master Gu still could not understand why Gu Jiuque was making things difficult for Zhou Mu. "If you don't trust him, just refuse him outright. There's no need to make things so hard for him. If word gets out, it won't reflect well on you either."

"We should at least give him a chance to prove himself." Gu Jiuque came back to himself, smiling meaningfully. "Perhaps after thinking it over, Boss Zhou will decide that the fifteen million was money well spent."

Old Master Gu shook his head. Since things had come to this, he could only warn Gu Jiuque not to do it again.

Old Master Gu had thought the deal had fallen through. To his surprise, early the next morning, he received the fifteen million Zhou Mu had transferred to him.

That morning, Boss Zhou, dressed in a crisp suit and leather shoes, paid another visit. He directly finalized the time for the charter flight to Country B, as well as the hotel they would stay in during the auction.

This time, without Gu Jiuque needing to say a word, Zhou Mu lavishly booked three presidential suites at a five-star hotel in Fog City, the capital of Country B. It was meant to prove that he truly had sufficient funds to follow up on the coming auctions rather than merely putting on a show, as Gu Jiuque had feared.

Although Zhou Mu said nothing, Old Master Gu still felt terribly embarrassed. Fortunately, Boss Zhou was broad-minded and did not take the minor incident to heart. He merely smiled as he asked Gu Jiuque, "Is the young master reassured now?"

Gu Jiuque did not take Zhou Mu's teasing to heart either. Since Zhou Mu and the Jin family behind him wanted to frame the Gu family, they would naturally do everything possible to lure Gu Eight Blades into their trap. The fifteen million, the hotel, and the charter flight were merely appetizers before the main course. If the Jin family was unwilling to even pay this little bit of interest, how could the real show continue?

With that thought, Gu Jiuque smiled faintly at Zhou Mu. The smile was like amber light held in a jade bowl, making Zhou Mu's heart stir. He raised his covered bowl and took a sip of tea, using the motion to conceal the greed and desire that had nearly shown on his face.

Zhou Mu had never seen anyone more beautiful than Gu Jiuque. He could hardly wait to see the lamb step into the trap.

"I'm sure this trip will leave a deep impression on the young master." Zhou Mu raised his teacup toward Gu Jiuque and spoke in what he believed was a suitably veiled manner.

Gu Jiuque's expression softened as he smiled. "I'm looking forward to this trip as well."

Zhou Mu sneered inwardly. Looking at the exquisitely handsome youth, elegant and noble in every gesture, he sighed regretfully.

The young master of Antique Appreciation Studio was certainly clever enough, and cautious enough. Unfortunately, he was still only an eighteen-year-old boy. No matter how meticulous his thoughts were, he was still far too green. He simply could not imagine how sinister human hearts could be. He actually thought that securing fifteen million meant he could rest easy.

Little did he know, this was only the beginning. That fifteen million was meant to pay for the Gu family's funeral.

Watching Gu Jiuque return to his gentle and courteous manner, Zhou Mu regretfully blew on his tea. Yet inwardly, he looked forward to the auction even more.

Carrying a secret anticipation he could not speak aloud, Zhou Mu practically floated as he took his leave. As he exited the gates of the Gu Residence, he happened to run into Old Huang, an antique market stall owner who had come to collect payment.

Old Huang gave Zhou Mu, whose face was flushed with excitement for some reason, a strange look. When he saw Gu Jiuque, he did not forget to warn him, "That fellow doesn't look like a good person!"

Gu Jiuque smiled, handed Old Huang the money he had prepared long ago, and casually asked, "Why didn't you come last night?"

"Ah!" Hearing that, Old Huang seemed to recall something and suddenly burst out laughing. "You don't know this, but after you all left yesterday, that boy from the Bai family came running over again, all flustered. While the antique market was still open, he rushed around trying to pick up bargains. And all the items he picked were the good pieces you'd selected that afternoon. Who knows where he got the news? But once wealth is out in the open, who would let him get such a bargain? There was quite a commotion!"

Old Huang had been too busy watching the drama unfold. By the time he packed up his stall, it was already very late. He did not care much about the tens of thousands in payment anyway, so he simply waited until the next morning, before setting up his stall, to come over.

Gu Jiuque could not help but pause at Old Huang's words.

"Bai Yuesheng went to the antique market to pick up bargains?"

"Didn't he just!" Old Huang lifted the fresh tea Gu Jiuque had poured for him and laughed as he drank. "Who knows what he was thinking? He insisted that your Gu family was leaving no way for others to survive, saying over and over that he wanted to pick up bargains, make money, and repay his debts."

But they had all been old neighbors for decades. They had practically watched Bai Yuesheng grow up. How could these old neighbors not know what sort of person he was?

Never mind whether Bai Yuesheng had the ability to appraise antiques and pick up bargains—even if he really did find a treasure, whether he could successfully sell it for cash would be another matter entirely!

The antique trade ran deep.

Old Huang clicked his tongue and shook his head, failing to notice the fleeting contemplation in Gu Jiuque's dark eyes.

Gu Jiuque had originally believed that Bai Yuesheng's ability to appraise antiques and pick up bargains in his previous life had been entirely due to Jade Celestial Pivot's supernatural ability. But now, it seemed Bai Yuesheng had more secrets than he had imagined.