After they entered the hotel, someone came to arrange their seats.
An attendant had originally led Gu Cheng and the others toward seats in the first-floor hall, but Xie Yuchen declined.
"I have a private box on the second floor. Why don't we sit together?"
Xie Yuchen extended the invitation.
"We'd be delighted."
Gu Cheng didn't want to sit downstairs either. The view wasn't very good.
Once they entered the private box, everyone took their seats and chatted for a while.
To Gu Cheng's surprise, Wu Xie and Hu Bayi were having a particularly lively conversation.
Wu Xie was like an endlessly curious child, constantly asking about all sorts of strange tales involving the Gold-Seeking Commandants.
Hu Bayi also loved playing the teacher. Gu Cheng usually gave him no chance to show off, but now that he had met someone as curious as Wu Xie, he was practically a john who had found a hooker. The two hit it off instantly and chatted away with gusto.
Gu Cheng found it strangely absurd.
The undisputed protagonists of two major tomb-robbing series were actually sitting together and chatting?
How should he describe it?
A conversation across time and space?
He instinctively glanced at Fatty Wang, who was standing excitedly by the railing, looking all around.
He had asked earlier, and Wu Xie had yet to meet Fatty Wang.
Otherwise, he would really have looked forward to seeing what would happen when Fatty Wang from Ghost Blows Out the Lamp met Fatty Wang from The Grave Robbers' Chronicles.
Guan Yu fighting Qin Qiong?
Mars crashing into Earth?
It would definitely be a blast!
Soon enough.
The auction began.
The auctioneer was a woman.
She first introduced the day's auction, which featured ten lots, all priceless treasures.
Then she gave a brisk explanation of the auction rules.
Finally, she launched straight into the bidding.
The first lot.
Was a Buddha head.
"This is a bronze-cast head of Shakyamuni Buddha, rendered in lifelike detail."
"Rating: two stars."
"Test response: sitting cross-legged before the Buddha head and reciting Buddhist scriptures induces visions. However, none of the test subjects could recall what those visions contained."
"Test results: so far, all test subjects remain in good health, with no adverse effects."
"Starting bid: ten million."
As soon as the auctioneer finished, a buzz of discussion rose throughout the room.
Someone raised a hand and asked, "May we try it ourselves?"
The auctioneer replied, "This must be your first visit, sir. The Crescent Hotel's auctions never permit on-site testing."
The man could only sit back down.
Beside him, Fatty Wang asked with a bewildered expression, "Young Master Gu, what's she talking about? At an antiques auction, aren't they supposed to explain the history, the age, and the stories behind the pieces? What are these tests and visions she's talking about? I don't understand any of it."
Hu Bayi and Yingzi also looked at him curiously.
Gu Cheng told the three of them, "Uh, I forgot to tell you earlier. Anyway, it's a long story. I'll explain everything once we get back. Just watch for now and consider it a chance to broaden your horizons."
The three could only suppress their confusion and continue watching the auction.
Although this was Gu Cheng's first time attending this kind of auction, he had already known on his way here that tonight was the Divine Artifact Special, so nothing in the auctioneer's introduction surprised him.
The rating, on the other hand, did catch him by surprise.
Asking whenever he didn't understand something was one of his strengths.
"Boss Xie, what does this two-star rating mean?"
Xie Yuchen replied, "It's a grading standard the Crescent Hotel established based on the effects of divine artifacts. It later spread, and now everyone in the trade uses the Crescent Hotel's standard to classify them."
"The lowest rating is one star, for divine artifacts whose effects are of little consequence."
"For example, there's a pillow called the Lovesick Pillow. It lets people dream at night about whatever occupies their thoughts during the day. It's certainly magical, but aside from inducing dreams, it serves no other purpose, so it was rated one star."
"The highest rating is five stars. Only three such artifacts have appeared in the Crescent Hotel's nearly two-hundred-year history, and all possessed extraordinary powers."
"For example, the legendary Qilin Gall that grants immunity to all poisons."
Gu Cheng nodded. So that was how it worked.
Beside him, Fatty Wang and the other two looked even more bewildered as they listened.
Gu Cheng turned his gaze to the Buddha head.
A dozen or so seconds later.
[Item name]: Buddha Dharma Transmission Head [Item grade]: Low-grade magical artifact [Item ability]: Buddhist Dharma transmission [Item description]: A Buddhist Buddha Dharma Transmission Head. It allows people to enter a Heavenly Dragon Illusion, comprehend the mysteries of Buddhist Dharma, and receive its teachings.
So it was a Buddhist Buddha Dharma Transmission Head.
It worked along much the same lines as his Visualization Secret Slip.
Gu Cheng immediately lost interest in it.
If it passed down Buddhist martial arts, such as the Muscle-Tendon Transformation Scripture or the Golden Bell Shield...
He would definitely make a bid.
But Buddhist Dharma transmission?
He had no desire to become a monk!
Still, his lack of interest didn't mean everyone else felt the same.
Before long, people began bidding one after another.
The price was soon driven above seventy million.
Hu Bayi and the other two watched, utterly dumbfounded.
Seeing that Xie Yuchen hadn't bid, Gu Cheng smiled and asked, "Boss Xie, don't you like collecting divine artifacts? Why aren't you bidding?"
Xie Yuchen smiled. "That depends on the artifact."
"Divine artifacts such as Buddha heads, Buddha statues, and Buddhist scriptures are generally connected to Buddhism. Their effects usually involve Buddhist matters as well, such as comprehending Buddhist Dharma, understanding the Buddha's heart, or receiving Buddhist teachings."
"I've even heard of a Buddha head that makes people want to become monks if they worship it at home for too long."
"So I've never been particularly interested in things like these."
Gu Cheng looked astonished. "Then that Buddha head ought to be enshrined in a temple!"
"Yes. I heard its owner later took it to the Shaolin Temple and became a monk."
"..."
To all you handsome readers, writing a book isn't easy, and mine isn't one of those formulaic tomb-robbing stories.
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