ABCFWGR Chapter 45: Master Qi's Master

Entering the venue.

The first floor had display booths and regular seats.

The second floor consisted of private boxes, totaling twelve in all.

Apart from Chen Xingxian and Gu Chen, who each occupied one, the owners of the other boxes were unknown.

"Anyone qualified to attend this auction is basically someone of high status and reputation."

"Besides the locals of Lin'an, there are also many influential figures from out of town."

Liu Hanyan peeled an orange and handed it to Gu Chen.

Though they couldn't determine the identity of each box owner, it was certain that none of them should be underestimated.

"How many of these people do you think are here for the Five Elements Spirit Medicine?" Gu Chen asked involuntarily.

"Not many, but definitely not few either."

Liu Hanyan confessed, "Firstly, those privy to this information are all well aware that it won't leak out. At the very least, it requires someone like you or me to have the qualification to know."

"Exaggerating a bit, even Mayor Chen might not qualify to know unless he's benefiting from your influence."

She wasn't looking down on anyone, but there were certain things that one wouldn't have the qualifications to know until reaching a certain level.

Gu Chen nodded, "From this perspective, I actually don't hope that the Five Elements Spirit Medicine will be auctioned off. Otherwise, it will definitely lead to bloodshed."

"Don't do anything reckless!"

Liu Hanyan was somewhat nervous, "Just because the auction is being held in Lin'an doesn't mean you can do whatever you want. This is only a branch of their organization, and even I can't find out who the real organizers are."

"If you're short on money, I can lend it to you, but please don't cause trouble. Consider it a plea from me."

Her status was special, to some extent representing the Liu family, and she always had to be mindful of her words and actions.

If she caused a big mess that reached the Liu family, her outcome wouldn't be too good.

Born into the Liu family was both her fortune and misfortune.

"What are you thinking?"

Gu Chen smiled bitterly, "I'm not a highway robber. I won't stoop to committing crimes for money or life."

Liu Hanyan breathed a sigh of relief and smiled apologetically, "I was just giving you a reminder."

Soon enough, the auction officially began.

A woman dressed in office attire, the auctioneer, gracefully walked onto the stage and spoke into the microphone, "Welcome everyone to this auction. I am the auctioneer for this session, Ou Ya. Let me first introduce the rules."

"Each guest is equipped with a bidding device. Pressing the blue button once indicates the minimum bid increase, and you can manually enter your bidding amount. Pressing the red button indicates withdrawal from bidding."

"In addition, if no one continues to bid for over thirty seconds, it means forfeiture, and the last bidder wins."

"..."

The rules were pretty much the same as usual.

Gu Chen wasn't particularly interested and boredly looked around.

Suddenly, his gaze paused as he spotted Chen Yuwei in the front row downstairs.

Sitting next to her were Chen Wantai and Li Junjie, chatting happily, which was a bit eye-catching.

At this point, the first item was already displayed on the big screen.

"A gilt phoenix pattern plum vase, starting price three hundred thousand."

The depiction on the vase was vivid and lifelike, not only a collectible but also an exquisite work of art.

Soon, a round of bidding ensued.

However, since it was only a few hundred years old, its historical value was greatly discounted.

After bidding reached seven hundred and eighty thousand, it basically couldn't go any higher.

Gu Chen wasn't interested, but Liu Hanyan seemed to be enjoying herself.

Women naturally had a fondness for such flashy but insubstantial things.

"Bang!"

"Congratulations to VIP No. 17, who acquired it for eighty-three million."

Ouya announced with the hammer.

Then the next item was presented...

The auction proceeded smoothly, and most items were sold at or close to their intrinsic value.

But these were just warm-ups; the real show was yet to come.

"All right, everyone has been eagerly anticipating the next item."

"Yes, it's the latest masterpiece by Master Qi Dedao, 'Spring Rain on Cold Mountain.'"

"For this auction, we are fortunate to have Master Qi himself present. Now, let's warmly welcome Master Qi to the stage to briefly talk about his creative process!"

As Ouya spoke, she led the applause.

There were many admirers of Qi Dedao in the audience, with Chen Wantai leading the applause enthusiastically.

Then, a dignified old man, wearing a Daoist robe and a topknot, accompanied by the staff, walked onto the stage.

"Thank you all for your enthusiasm."

"In fact, the creation of this 'Spring Rain' painting is related to an experience I had several years ago. You should all see the figure sitting at the top of the cold mountain, right?"

"This scene is precisely the one I encountered when I first met my mentor, and it has lingered in my mind ever since."

"If it weren't for my mentor's guidance, I wouldn't have achieved what I have today."

"Unfortunately, my mentor thought me dull and refused to see me again. So, I painted him as a commemoration."

As Qi Dedao spoke, he became increasingly emotional, unable to hold back his tears.

This caused a stir among the audience.

Ouya was afraid things might get out of hand and quickly had Qi Dedao escorted offstage.

But the discussions below didn't stop there.

"Master Qi actually has a mentor?"

"And from what he said, his mentor is still alive?"

"Damn, Master Qi is already in his seventies, so his mentor must be over a hundred years old?"

"So what? Master Qi's mentor must be an extraordinary person, living a long life isn't surprising at all?"

The discussions downstairs reached the private box upstairs.

Gu Chen couldn't help but curl his lips, barely resisting the urge to punch someone.

Next to him, Liu Hanyan noticed his unusual reaction and couldn't help but speculate boldly, cautiously saying, "Could Master Qi's mentor be you?"

With this thought in mind, she looked at the screen again.

Liu Hanyan increasingly felt that the aloofness of the figure in the painting was strikingly similar to Gu Chen.

But she always felt something was missing. Was it Gu Chen's recklessness? Or his arrogance? Or his fearlessness?

"Don't mention him to me. I'm not that kind of rebel."

Gu Chen was annoyed, "I'm not dead yet, and he's already memorializing me in his painting. What's the point of selling it?"

"Besides, I never agreed to take him as my disciple. He shamelessly insisted on calling me his mentor!"

Liu Hanyan couldn't help but chuckle at his appearance, "Are you really so angry? Master Qi is one of the top masters of our time, it wouldn't be too bad for you to be his mentor."

"I've told you, you wouldn't understand. His paintings can only be considered ordinary. They might look good to ordinary people, but they're nothing special in reality." Gu Chen didn't explain further.

Some things couldn't be explained in just a few words.

Being unexpectedly turned into someone's mentor made him quite annoyed.

Meanwhile, the bidding had reached a fever pitch, soaring to tens of millions.

Even so, there was still no shortage of bidders.

"Fifteen million!"

"Eighteen million!"

"Twenty-two million!"

"... "

In a flash, it soared to thirty-seven million, with no sign of slowing down.

Chen Wantai, sitting in the front row, gritted his teeth and reluctantly pressed the "forty million" button.

He hadn't been doing well in the stock market lately, and his funds were a bit tight. All his assets amounted to just over fifty million.

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