Appraisal, Ya Fei

The lavishly built venue before him was precisely Zhou Changqing's destination!

The Mittel Auction House!

Without stopping, Zhou Changqing walked straight toward its main entrance.

Unlike his usual cautious approach, he made no attempt to disguise himself this time.

In fact, he had done the same when setting up his stall last time.

In Zhou Changqing's view, disguising himself would do little good, no matter how much effort he put into it.

He was not like Xiao Yan, who had Yao Lao backing him up and could pose as a powerful expert without risking his life even if his disguise was exposed.

One should never underestimate the Dou Qi Continent. As a fantasy world, even without modern surveillance cameras and analytical equipment, it had no shortage of ways to get to the bottom of someone's identity.

Zhou Changqing was, after all, merely a small fry at the Dou Zhe level. However well he disguised himself, the major powers in Wutan City would not have to expend much effort to track him down if they wanted to.

Locking onto his aura, analyzing portraits, narrowing down the search by his distinguishing features and investigating people one by one—with all those methods deployed in succession, they would inevitably uncover every detail of his identity.

Rather than disguise himself, then, he might as well stand openly in the sunlight.

Was that not another kind of disguise, one that invited others to underestimate him? Clever people might even be misled into thinking he had some powerful backing.

It was the same principle as feigning weakness or acting utterly fearless in front of an enemy.

Under the guards' scrutinizing gazes, Zhou Changqing entered the venue with complete composure.

The summer heat was stripped away entirely the moment he entered, as though the inside and outside were two different worlds.

Feeling the coolness in the air, Zhou Changqing raised his head and surveyed the spacious, resplendent hall.

Soon, his gaze settled on a room on the left side of the hall.

Three large, glittering golden characters spelling "Appraisal Room" were emblazoned on its door.

Having found his destination, Zhou Changqing walked over.

Creak~

He pushed the door open and entered. The room was rather spacious, its furnishings elegant and simple, with only a few tables and chairs.

A short distance directly ahead, a middle-aged man sat behind a desk, staring blankly into space out of sheer boredom.

Only upon hearing the door open did the middle-aged man snap out of his daze and look up.

When he saw that the visitor was a handsome young man, a flicker of surprise crossed his eyes.

He had met quite a few people, but very few came to the Mittel Auction House at such a young age.

What surprised him even more was that, of all the people he had seen in his life, not one possessed looks to rival this young man's.

"Welcome to the Mittel Auction House, honored guest. Are you here to have a treasure appraised?"

As an appraiser for Mittel, the middle-aged man's professionalism was impeccable. He instantly put away his surprise and addressed Zhou Changqing with a smile.

"Yes. Sorry for the trouble!"

Zhou Changqing nodded slightly as he reached the desk, then took the bundle off his back and placed it on the desktop.

Seeing this, the middle-aged man replied courteously with a smile, "No trouble at all. It's my duty."

"May I ask what you would like appraised?"

As he spoke, the middle-aged man's gaze fell on the bundle on the desk.

Zhou Changqing wasted no words and simply opened the bundle, revealing its contents.

Three weapons of different shapes immediately appeared before the middle-aged man's eyes.

They were an elegantly styled longsword, a fierce-looking broad saber, and a long-handled straight blade resembling a Mo Dao.

"This..."

Once the middle-aged man saw the items clearly, he froze, unsure what to say.

It was not as though he had never appraised weapons before. He had examined plenty of weapons embedded with magic cores, but this was the first time anyone had brought ordinary weapons in for appraisal.

Zhou Changqing naturally noticed his speechlessness, but did not mind. "I wonder if you've heard of Iron-Cleaving Treasure Weapons?"

"Iron-Cleaving Treasure Weapons? Are you saying these three weapons are the Iron-Cleaving Treasure Weapons that have been the talk of the city lately?"

At those words, the middle-aged man instantly perked up and stared at Zhou Changqing in astonishment.

"Won't an appraisal tell you whether they are?" Zhou Changqing offered no further explanation, instead turning calmly to sit in a guest chair nearby.

Seeing how composed he was, the middle-aged man already believed him to a considerable degree. Not daring to neglect him, he promptly served Zhou Changqing a cup of fine tea and said with a broad smile, "Honored guest, if all three of these are Iron-Cleaving Treasure Weapons, their value would be far too great for me to make the decision."

"Please wait a moment while I fetch the manager, and then we can discuss the matter. Would that be all right?"

"Certainly."

Zhou Changqing lifted the teacup and took a small sip, maintaining his air of composure, before nodding lightly.

At this, the middle-aged man cupped his hands in farewell and hurried out of the Appraisal Room.

He could hardly do otherwise.

The name "Iron-Cleaving Treasure Weapon" had become so hot lately that countless people were searching for one.

A few days earlier, someone had even approached the Mittel Auction House hoping to purchase one, only to leave disappointed.

Meanwhile, the price offered for the sole treasure weapon, the Ghost-Head Saber, had already been driven up to nine thousand gold coins.

That price was already comparable to that of some Second-Rank Pills!

Yet even with such a high offer, the mercenary who owned the treasure weapon remained unmoved!

The middle-aged man understood that mercenary perfectly well. After all, the boost in combat strength provided by a treasure weapon was enough to substantially improve his chances of surviving a hunt in the Magical Beast Mountain Range.

However much money there was, how could it compare to his life?

A few minutes later.

The Appraisal Room's door opened again, and two figures walked in.

One was the middle-aged man who had left earlier, while the other was a beautiful woman wearing a tight-fitting black qipao.

With wine-red hair, a tall, voluptuous figure wrapped in a black qipao patterned with gold, exquisitely beautiful features, and a mature, seductive air, she was enough to make any man drool!

The way the middle-aged man followed half a step behind her, slightly bowed and wearing a respectful expression, made it clear that her status was far from ordinary.

Zhou Changqing looked over the instant the door opened.

Upon seeing the woman, he immediately recognized her identity, though his expression remained unchanged.

Ya Fei—the chief auctioneer and head manager of the Mittel Auction House in Wutan City!

"Hehe, sorry to have kept you waiting."

As soon as Ya Fei entered the Appraisal Room, she spotted Zhou Changqing in the guest chair.

The instant she saw his face clearly, a flash of admiration passed through her alluring, peach-blossom eyes.

Fortunately, she was no little girl. That unusual look vanished from Ya Fei's eyes in an instant, replaced by a warm smile.

In the time it took her to speak, the two had already reached him.

As a delicate fragrance wafted into his nose and the woman before him carried herself with the utmost allure, Zhou Changqing's eyelids twitched.

He had to admit that this woman, whose seductive charms in the original story could cloud men's minds and make those with poor self-control do a little "needlework" right at the auction, was truly difficult to withstand.

Only because Zhou Changqing had lived two lives, with a powerful soul that made his will considerably firmer, along with the self-control he had cultivated over fifteen years in this world, did he avoid betraying even the slightest loss of composure.

If he had still been Xiao Chulan from his previous life, he would never have been able to withstand her!

(End of chapter)