The Unorthodox Tomb Raider

As for Cai Ba, before leaving, Fang Yun left a fire lotus inside his body. This fire lotus would silently burn away his internal organs and then quietly leave when the time was up, so there was no need to worry about him leaking any information.

After taking a taxi through several blocks, Fang Yun finally arrived in front of a building, the ground floor of which housed the antique shop, Guwanxuan.

The shop's decoration wasn't particularly lavish; it simply used black, white, and gold as decorative colors. The interior furnishings were mostly made of raw wood. Fang Yun glanced around and could tell that many of the items inside were quite valuable, indicating that the owner was an expert.

Therefore, it's quite normal for these assassins to choose this location, as it's relatively secluded and offers the chance to find valuable items—it's practically tailor-made for them.

And today, a private auction will be held here (in the inner hall of the antique shop).

"Sir, what type of product are you looking to buy? Let me introduce some options to you."

After Fang Yun walked around the store, a man in his forties wearing a long robe walked over. Fang Yun said, "I heard there's an auction here, but I haven't seen anyone here."

Upon hearing this, a smile immediately appeared on the man's face: "Sir, you've come to attend the auction. The other guests have already gone in."

Knowing that those who could participate in such private auctions were mostly social celebrities or wealthy tycoons, the man's attitude softened considerably.

Chapter 636 Huo Tianying

"Oh, then please take me inside."

Fang Yun didn't expect these people to be so cautious, arriving so early, probably because they wanted to get to know the venue as soon as possible.

"Sir, please show me your invitation."

The man said respectfully.

"An invitation card?" Fang Yun was taken aback, not understanding why an auction required an invitation card.

Seeing that Fang Yun seemed unaware of the situation, the man's expression changed immediately, and he spoke again, "Sir, please show your invitation."

These auctions are usually held privately and confidentially. No one other than the invited person would know about them. Since Fang Yun knew about the auction but did not have an invitation, it is hard not to suspect his identity.

Seeing that Fang Yun still couldn't produce the money, the man was already contacting security on his walkie-talkie; this matter needed to be investigated thoroughly.

"Sir, we can't get in here without an invitation. You'd better explain how you know about this auction."

The man's voice was noticeably harsher, and at the same time, he stood almost imperceptibly beside Fang Yun, clearly afraid that he would escape.

Not far away, Fang Yun saw several men in suits, who looked quite tough, walking towards him in a long corridor, talking on walkie-talkies as they went.

"Sir?" the man asked again in a deep voice.

"You want this?" At this moment, Fang Yun suddenly pulled out a brown, rhomboid wooden plaque from his pocket, on which was written the number thirty-seven. "I forgot about it when I took a shower. I thought I hadn't brought it with me."

Upon seeing the small plaque in your hand, the man's face immediately lit up with a respectful smile. He stepped aside, bowed, and said, "Honorable guest, please allow me to take you to the auction house."

At this moment, the security team also arrived after hearing the news. When they saw the man leading the way with a respectful expression, they looked at each other in bewilderment, then stepped aside and stood there, not daring to go forward.

"Sir, we have prepared wine and snacks for you. Please contact us if you need anything during the auction."

When the man led Fang Yun to a courtyard, he quietly left.

At this moment, Fang Yun found himself in front of a front hall, which was decorated in a very unique way. The large characters written on the plaque hanging in the front hall were very vigorous and must have been written by a famous calligrapher.

As Fang Yun walked into the front hall, he heard voices coming from behind him. There seemed to be quite a few people there, so the auction venue must be behind them.

When Fang Yun walked over, sure enough, several rows of chairs were neatly arranged in the back hall, most of which were already occupied. In the main seat of the back hall sat a man who looked to be in his fifties with slightly graying temples. He was Huo Tianying, the owner of the antique shop. Next to him was a shelf about half a person's height with a tray on it, which was probably used to place the auction items later.

(bjbd) "Please take your seats as soon as possible, our auction will begin soon."

Fang Yun heard Huo Tianying's voice from afar and found his seat in order. As soon as he sat down, he noticed that no less than a dozen pairs of eyes glanced at him, but quickly looked away.

Those who came were all well-known figures in Guangling, and everyone wanted to see who else would come.

As for Fang Yun, he also noticed some unusual looks among those who were looking over. Compared to those businessmen, these looks carried a hint of murderous intent and a natural sense of defensiveness.

As expected, these were the assassins Fang Yun was looking for.

But at this moment, these people were all dressed in suits and ties, and they were very well-dressed, just like multinational businessmen.

Fang Yun's purpose in coming here was not to fight these people, but to find an opportunity to strike up a conversation with them so as to find out their background without drawing attention to themselves.

To achieve that, the first step is to attract their attention.

Once everyone was seated, Huo Tianying, who was standing in front of the hall, spoke up: "Gentlemen, my antique shop has always been committed to honesty in business and never does anything dishonest. Since you trust me and are willing to do business with me, I would never do anything that would cause you to lose money."

"As before, although it's an auction, I've arranged for a master to appraise all the items for you. Before the auction, he will authenticate each item and give a rough estimate of its value. Whether or not you should make a purchase is up to you."

After saying that, Huo Tianying stood up and called out to the side, "Please welcome Master Tang!"

Then, everyone saw an elderly man in his sixties, holding two walnuts in his hand, slowly walk out from a side door. As soon as he came out, many celebrities present couldn't help but start talking.

"It's actually Master Tang here! Now we can all shop with peace of mind. Everyone knows that Guangling has 'Three Eyes,' and one of those eyes is none other than Master Tang!"

Chapter 637 The Appearance of a Great Treasure

Huo Tianying was quite satisfied with the reaction of his subordinates, because Master Tang could be considered one of the top appraisal masters in Guangling, and ordinary people would not be able to invite him if they did not have a certain status.

Therefore, being able to invite Master Tang today is one of the reasons why Huo Tianying has the confidence to hold such a large auction at once.

"Everyone here must know Master Tang. With him here, I believe that today's collection can provide you with a fairly objective judgment and reference."

"And today, I will also unveil a very precious treasure for everyone. Who will get it in the end depends on who has the fate to possess it."

As soon as Huo Tianying said this, the people below started whispering among themselves.

The reason they've all come so enthusiastically today is related to the treasure Huo Tianying mentioned. If it weren't for that, they wouldn't have all come.

After all, there have been so many auctions in the past year, and Guangling is a major place for unearthing antiques. If they had to run around like this every time, they wouldn't have enough time. So, although they were attending this auction today, everyone's attention was focused on the last and most important treasure.

The reason these assassins from the south risked exposure and came in such large numbers was because they had heard rumors of this priceless treasure. If they could acquire it today, it might take them all a long time to acquire, and if that were the case, taking the risk would be well worth it.

This time, these assassins weren't there for nothing. Among them was a feng shui master who had come with the team. It was said that in his country, this person had once single-handedly stolen a treasure from a queen's tomb without a scratch. Therefore, he was also known as the "Master" among these assassins and held an extremely transcendent status.

At this moment, the master was wearing a cloak and sitting alone in a corner.

When he heard everyone praising Master Tang, the master couldn't help but reveal a mocking smile.

Then, Huo Tianying knew that everyone was eager to see the auction items, so he stopped keeping them in suspense. He clapped his hands, and two beautiful women dressed in ancient costumes with excellent temperament walked over together, carrying a tray with the collection covered by a white gauze.

Although Huo Tianying gave a detailed introduction to the Eight Treasures Glazed Vase, it was clear that the wealthy and famous people present were not very interested, and it was auctioned off without anyone bidding much higher.

Most people's money is earmarked for that final piece of the collection. Beforehand, everyone tries to save as much cash as possible to prepare for the battle for that last item.

Fang Yun learned about this item from these people and immediately became interested. He originally planned to secretly approach the assassins and use his ancient coins to attract their attention, but now he decided to wait and see.

Finally, after displaying several more items, Huo Tianying knew what everyone was thinking, so he stopped teasing and had the last item brought out.

The reason for carrying it was that the item was placed in a huge, locked wooden box. This box even used the most advanced Mössler algorithm lock in the world, which made Fang Yun a little suspicious. Could it be that the item inside was really that valuable?

However, over the years, Fang Yun has only seen a handful of treasures that amaze him. It's impossible that he could find a collection worth hundreds of millions in this small antique shop.

· ·········Request flowers· ···

"Everyone, now that the treasure has been brought out, I won't say any more. I won't describe it either; you can all judge its wonders for yourselves. I'll say it again: whoever is destined to have it today will have it."

Then, when the box was opened, everyone clearly felt the surrounding air suddenly turn cold, as if a refrigerator door had been opened. Or, if you didn't know better, you might have thought there was a huge block of ice inside the box.

......... .. .......

But when Master Tang took the object out, he discovered that it was just a small piece of jade with a white sheen, only about the size of a thumb, and the chilling aura was emanating from this jade.

Master Tang treated the jade piece like his own child, first putting on a pair of white gloves before carefully displaying it to everyone.

"Ladies and gentlemen, based on my rough assessment just now, I know that this jade artifact should have a trace of magical power. So, judging from this point alone, the material of this thing is definitely not simple, and is of a much higher quality than the first type of jade that has been excavated so far."

Everyone knows the value of this type of jade, and it hasn't appeared on the market for a long time. However, now people's attention is no longer on the quality of this type of jade, but on the trace of "magic power" that Master Tang mentioned.

If something possesses magical power, it means that it was something that those masters of magic who cultivated morality once had, and these mortals naturally yearn for it.

Chapter 638 Sudden Assassination

With Master Tang's statement, everyone clearly had more trust in the white jade. Now that an expert had made a move, they breathed a sigh of relief. At least today's trip was worthwhile. As for what happened next, that would depend on everyone's competition.

Even so, many people still remained skeptical. After all, if it were truly a magical artifact, it would be extremely rare and hard to come by. Such things are often priceless and unavailable. Why would Huo Tianying make a move like this? There might be something fishy going on.

There are quite a few people like this who are preparing to wait and see.

Huo Tianying had been in this line of work for many years and had a good understanding of everyone's thoughts. He waved to Master Tang and said with a smile, "Master Tang, although our guests today are all famous people, not many of them have actually seen magic artifacts. We need your guidance."

Master Tang nodded slightly upon hearing this, and then said, "Everyone, this thing has only exerted a little effect just now. Now I'm going to activate the trace of magic power within it. Please feel it carefully."

Then, Master Tang made a hand seal and touched the white jade. Suddenly, a ray of light flashed on the white jade, and it seemed to tremble involuntarily, as if it had resonated with the magic power that Master Tang had just poured in.

"Bai Yu, listen to me and open it for me!"

At this moment, under Master Tang's voice, a layer of frost actually formed on the white jade, and at the same time, the temperature in the entire hall suddenly dropped by several degrees, an effect much faster than any air conditioner.

The wealthy and famous people who came all stared wide-eyed at the sight, only realizing their loss of composure when they felt the chill approaching their bodies.

"Everyone, this piece of white jade contains the power of life. Once activated, it can release the essence of cold energy. As long as you can bathe in this essence of cold energy for many years, it will have the effect of prolonging life."

After saying that, Master Tang withdrew his magic, and the entire hall began to warm up again, gradually returning to normal.

After hearing what Master Tang said, many people felt more comfortable and their blood circulation improved.

As a result, many celebrities revealed greedy eyes, staring at the white jade pendant for a long time without looking away.

This item is practically priceless; who wouldn't want to live a few more years in this world? Therefore, its price range has been infinitely inflated in people's minds.

Those who had been hesitant and observing before now showed expressions of emotion, clearly not wanting to miss this opportunity.

"Mr. Huo, let's keep it short today. You name your price first, and then we'll follow your rules."

Now, many people are already itching to act, not wanting to wait any longer, lest something unexpected happens.

Seeing the crowd's excitement, Huo Tianying smiled and said, "Everyone, as I said, this treasure will be found by those who are destined to receive it today. My starting price is not high, ten million. The rest of you can bid."