Chapter 15: The Magic Capital Trip

Chapter 15: The Magic Capital Trip

Gu Nan was punctually waiting at the arrival exit. After most of the crowd had dispersed, finally, that eye-catching figure appeared.

The bustling hall seemed to quiet down. Passengers ahead turned around frequently to gaze.

A refined maiden from ancient Jinling City approached.

Dressed in a light, tranquil lake green, her raven hair was elegantly held up by a jade hairpin. Her face was exquisite and unparalleled.

It was unclear how her attire achieved this effect, with the fresh lake green as the main color. It looked transparent but didn't reveal any flesh. As she walked, it seemed like rolling waves, refreshing to the eyes.

The only downside was the overly modern suitcase she pushed. Moreover, why should she do it herself? She needed two little maidservants behind her.

Before Xiong Zhaozhao could speak, Gu Nan rushed forward. "Shut up! Don't talk! Let me admire this refined maiden fairy some more. Don't ruin this aura."

As he said this, he circled around her. "This suitcase isn't beautiful. Your outfit should be paired with BK's newly released vintage woven suitcase. Change it when we return."

Xiong Zhaozhao resisted the urge to roll her eyes in public and gave Gu Nan a big hug. Her style hadn't changed—a C-family spaghetti-strap jumpsuit, eight-centimeter high heels, tanned skin, and a vixen with fiery red lips.

Xiong Zhaozhao: "Greetings to Brother Nan. I will strive to maintain the aura of a vintage beauty."

After their playful banter, they left the airport terminal hand in hand, drawing glances from passersby. Two extremes of beauty.

"Are we going straight to Chunqiu now?" Xiong Zhaozhao asked Gu Nan, who was driving.

Gu Nan: "I don't know why you're in such a hurry. You've come all the way here but act so rushed. Chunqiu has an appointment for us at 2 PM. Let's go to the hotel first. Have you eaten?"

Xiong Zhaozhao: "Yes, I have. This busy person plans to use only three days for this trip. What did Chunqiu say?"

Gu Nan: "We've set a time with Chunqiu. Next Wednesday, Chunqiu has a calligraphy and painting art auction. You didn't want to wait for the autumn auction, right? In addition to calligraphy and paintings, there are other categories. The finale is the 'Floating Forbidden Spring Mountain Birds and Flowers' by Wang Jingjiang of the Yong Dynasty. Many people are interested. So, let's go to Chunqiu this afternoon. We can arrange Jiadeli later, depending on your choice."

Xiong Zhaozhao: "Perfect. I trust Brother Nan's arrangements."

"It's useless. Flattery won't work. Admit that I'm more beautiful than you, and everything will be fine. You were also a beauty in your first year of college, but you can't compare to now. How did you grow into this? It's really unfair!" He slapped the steering wheel, expressing his indignation.

It seemed that if he wasn't driving, he would have pounded his chest to express his heartache.

Xiong Zhaozhao: "You, born as the young master of the Whale Lineage, a Roman tycoon, are telling me about the unfairness of fate?"

Gu Nan: "Once your wine vessel sells, you'll be a tycoon too."

Xiong Zhaozhao: "A few tens of millions can accomplish much on our island, but in your grand Magic Capital, it's just enough for a large house."

"That's true, so I only envy your face."

Chunqiu Auction House

After dropping off their belongings at the hotel, the two headed straight to the Chunqiu Auction House. As the top auction house in the country, Chunqiu owned a building in the Magic Capital's prime CBD. The receptionist warmly led them to a meeting room.

Upon entering, a middle-aged man claiming to be Manager Liao greeted them enthusiastically, along with three elderly men drinking tea. After introductions, Xiong Zhaozhao asked, "Did we arrive late? Sorry, my flight just landed in the Magic Capital today."

"No, no. We gathered early because we were eager to see the purple jadeite wine set. Let me introduce you to Professor Chen, who specializes in Jingzhou history. Professor Wang, a doctoral supervisor in ancient cultural relics research at Jinghua University. Mr. Yu, the deputy director of the Magic Capital Museum. They are all authorities in their fields." Manager Liao introduced them.

After greetings, they got straight to the point. Xiong Zhaozhao took out each of the four pieces of purple jadeite one by one. Professor Chen gasped, exclaiming, "Imperial Purple?"

Mr. Yu picked up a wine cup for closer inspection. "Rare Imperial Purple!"

They reached the level of auction-worthy!

Even if this wasn't an antique, its material alone made it auction-worthy. Manager Liao's enthusiasm increased further as he personally served tea. "Can Miss Xiong provide some basic information?"

"This wine set has been passed down in my family. It's called the Northern Sea Purple Jadeite Wine Cup. It's said to be from around the Jing Dynasty, at least three thousand years old." She briefly introduced the basic information. The three elders studied the purple jadeite quartet with various tools. Hearing her words, Professor Wang, holding the tripod wine pot, asked, "Does Miss Xiong know the content of the engraving on the pot?"

Xiong Zhaozhao repeated Yao Guang's explanation: "Engraved on the tripod pot is the scene of myriad beasts paying homage to Yu Jing. Yu Jing, with a human head and bird body, is the sea god. His territory is the Northern Sea, so he is also known as the King of the Northern Sea. The scene depicts the King of the Northern Sea being paid homage by myriad beasts. The two wine cups are engraved with his two incarnations, a bird and a fish. The landscape carved on the tray is the coast of the Northern Sea, Yu Jing's enfeoffed territory."

The three elders were surprised. "Still, it's such an obscure mythological theme from the Residual Book of Mountains and Seas?!"

"I see that the carving technique is indeed from the Jing and Zhou eras."

"The style conforms…"

"It hasn't been buried…”

"I've never seen this theme before…"

Saying that the wine set was a family heirloom, Manager Liao believed it. Xiong Zhaozhao's attire was indeed extraordinary. He glanced again at the jade hairpin on her head, the qilin head vivid and fierce, undoubtedly the work of a master.

He couldn't resist asking, "Miss Xiong's jade hairpin is quite remarkable. Is there any possibility of parting with it?"

"Beloved possession, sorry." The refusal was absolute. Manager Liao turned to discuss the upcoming auction with them.

For two whole hours, modern and traditional tools were used in turn. The three experts agreed that the wine set was at least three thousand years old, largely confirming Xiong Zhaozhao's account.

Complete jade artifacts from the Jing Dynasty were rare, making this complete set especially precious. The carvings were grand and rustic, in the highest grade of Imperial Purple.

Another rarity was that it hadn't been buried, meaning it wasn't a burial object. Purple was a symbol of imperial power in ancient China, as evidenced by Laozi's "purple qi coming from the east." Mr. Yu's conclusion was that it was priceless, a treasure of humanity.

Xiong Zhaozhao liked hearing that—it meant money!

She exchanged a glance with Gu Nan. This was just the beginning.

The three experts were certifying the authentication information. Manager Liao expressed their auction house's greatest cooperation intentions. After deliberation, Chunqiu offered a starting bid price of 50 million yuan. If it didn't sell, Chunqiu would buy it at the original price.

The proposed auction plan was to include it in their calligraphy auction next Wednesday or choose the autumn auction.

This wine set was enough to be the finale of any auction. Chunqiu's desire to cooperate was strong. After discussing with Gu Nan, they still didn't agree. Her starting bid was at least 70 million yuan. If the calligraphy auction next Wednesday had fewer participants and it didn't sell, she would lose out. Besides, Chunqiu's handling fee was quite high. They decided to visit Jiadeli tomorrow.

They told Chunqiu that the price wasn't what they expected and that they needed to consider it further, then took their leave.

Stepping outside, Gu Nan cautiously surveyed their surroundings. In a low voice, she said, "Shouldn't we bring two bodyguards? Walking around with fifty million as two weak women?"

"Don't worry. No one can take anything from me." Gu Nan lived with her family, which would be too intrusive.

Gu Nan had heard about her having a master but had never seen her in action. "Really? What level are you now? How do you compare to the bodyguard of the richest man, from Mount Song Sect?"

"If you arrange it, I'll spar with him. I'll definitely win." Xiong Zhaozhao acted as if it wasn't worth mentioning.

"Bragging! Don't wander around. Let's go straight back to the hotel."

She couldn't tell Gu Nan about her spatial dimension, so dinner was room service. The two chatted in the room, not having seen each other for half a year, until midnight.

Gu Nan kicked her lightly with her feet. "Are you asleep? To put it bluntly, you seem much broader than before graduation. Let me explain. Back then, you gave me the impression that as long as you had enough money in your pocket for the day, you wouldn't bend down to pick up a stack of money even if you stepped on it. You lived day by day, with low interest in the world. I even thought I'd receive news of your ordination at some point."

Xiong Zhaozhao: …

Quite accurate. With the massive cheat of the Yao Guang Realm, the outside world was easily within reach. She wasn't an ambitious person, living alone without clear goals, making it hard not to slack off.

"Perhaps a bit. Now that I've returned to the small island where I grew up, I have something I want to do. I want to bring the sea that my grandfather loved and that island to life. The old man raised me with that sea… I want to buy a large ship, venture beyond the continental shelf, and explore the distant seas, fulfilling the unfulfilled wishes of my forefathers. Brother Nan, you don't know how barren the surrounding waters of our island are. The seabed is scraped cleaner than the land. There's hardly any life. The fishing industry is completely depressed. Going out to sea can even result in a loss, risking one's life."

"I know. I work at my family's restaurant now. It's hard to get good catches from the sea. They're all farmed goods. The rich folks in the Magic Capital aren't easy to please."

"The Magic Capital is too far from our island. Last time, I livestreamed diving and caught a sea cucumber, which I struggled to sell. It would be better to sell it to the Whale Lineage if it were closer. We're also related now, knowing the young lady."

Gu Nan: "What? A sea cucumber? You livestreamed? How many things don't I know about?"

"Just to create an account to promote Jinshe Island. It would be better if it could make money. I want to open a large fish farm at sea in the future and improve the surrounding marine environment. It's a money pit."

Gu Nan covered her head. "Wait, I can't keep up. You're selling the purple jadeite to start a fish farm?"

Xiong Zhaozhao: "That's definitely not enough. I'll take it step by step. First, I'll buy a large ship and take my younger brother fishing to save up money."

Gu Nan looked at her as if she were crazy. Was the beautiful fairy going to fish in the wind and rain? "When I see you next time, won't I win? Your porcelain-like white skin, how will it be after being blown by the sea breeze?"

Xiong Zhaozhao: "Not at all. My beauty is eternal."

Gu Nan: "Shameless! Hand over your livestream account first!"

Handing over the livestream account meant no sleep. The person beside her laughed heartily.

"My goodness, what kind of livestream level is this…"

"Ah, if your younger brother were older, his skin tone would match mine so well…"

"How does this parrot spirit not have a bird accent…"

"What breed is Gungun? Can it grow bigger than my Lightning? I don't believe it…"

"Ah, so smart, I want to pet it! I must visit you when I have a holiday, Zhaozhao…"

Are you coming to see me or the dog…