After a brief discussion among the jewelers, a new round of bidding began.
"$2.95 million."
"$3 million."
"$3.05 million."
...
"$3.7 million."
With a Malaysian jeweler announcing the high bid of $3.7 million in an Asian accent, murmurs and calculator tapping filled the room as the jewelers calculated their profits.
Cao Yi, who had been calmly observing, felt a surge of anxiety. At this rate, $5 million seemed insufficient.
"Jewelry dealers are really wealthy!" Big Gold Tooth exclaimed, both envious and impressed. Back home, he'd get restless with excitement having a couple hundred thousand in cash. Here, that was nothing!
"Big Gold Tooth, I have a task for you..." Cao Yi whispered something in his ear.
Big Gold Tooth's expression shifted from surprise to confusion, then to understanding.
"Start."
Cao Yi handed the bidding paddle to Big Gold Tooth, who took a deep breath and proudly raised it.
"$3.75 million."
"$3.8 million."
"$3.85 million."
...
"$4 million."
Big Gold Tooth jumped from $3.75 million to $4 million, leaving the Chinese auctioneer and jewelers stunned.
"Ah-hem."
Big Gold Tooth cleared his throat, breaking the silence.
The Chinese auctioneer finally reacted and cautiously asked, "Sir, are you serious?"
All eyes turned to Big Gold Tooth.
Standing up, he smiled modestly at the gathered tycoons and said, "To put it bluntly, money is just a number for people like us."
Many wealthy attendees smiled; this eccentric man with a gold tooth was speaking the truth.
The auctioneer sensed Big Gold Tooth's vague response and felt uneasy.
Sure enough, the next second, Big Gold Tooth pointed at the Japanese man in the front row, sternly declaring, "But our money isn't just blowing in the wind! That guy in the front row is a plant—I've noticed him for a while. Whenever there's a pause, he raises his bid. Ladies and gentlemen, this Christie's crowd is treating us like monkeys!"
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Boom!
The auction house erupted into chaos, with shouts in Cantonese, Japanese, English, and Taiwanese.
The wealthy attendees had already noticed the scheme but hadn't mentioned it until now. With someone calling it out, they could voice their frustration at Christie's blatant antics.
The stunned Chinese auctioneer could only watch as the auction house descended into disorder.
Just then, a sharply dressed white man entered, pointing at Big Gold Tooth, his face pale with anger. "Get this troublemaker out."
Six or seven suited men approached Big Gold Tooth, gesturing for him to leave.
"Don't worry, I'll walk myself out," Big Gold Tooth replied, shaking off his jacket with an arrogant expression.
The white man moved to the auction stage and solemnly announced, "Hello everyone, I am Mark Porter, president of Christie's Americas. I can assure you that there are no plants at this auction."
A chorus of boos erupted in response.
The seasoned auctioneer, accustomed to rolling in blood money for decades, paid little mind to it, patting the Chinese auctioneer's shoulder before moving on.
The Chinese auctioneer collected himself, though his expression was stiff as he said, "The previous bidding doesn't count. We'll start again from $3.7 million."
Silence fell over the room.
The tycoons looked at the auctioneer as if he were foolish.
One second, two seconds... half a minute, a minute—his face darkened as he raised his hammer.
"$3.7 million, once."
No response, no sound of calculators.
The atmosphere turned tense.
The auctioneer struck again.
"$3.7 million, twice."
Still no reaction.
With a nearly crying expression, he raised the hammer, preparing to strike, when a light voice broke the tension.
"$3.75 million."
The auctioneer's heart leapt as he turned to see Cao Yi smiling and holding the paddle.
"This time it's not a distraction."
Cao Yi beamed.
The auctioneer shifted his gaze across the room, seeing no other bidders, he resignedly raised the hammer.
"$3.75 million, once."
Just like before, no one responded.
"$3.75 million, twice."
"$3.75 million, three times—sold."
With a bitter expression, the auctioneer brought the hammer down. A piece that could have fetched over $5 million sold for just $3.75 million, likely marking the end of his career.
Cao Yi stood up, pleased with his acquisition; he saw no need to continue bidding.
"Daoist Priest, well played!" a gentle voice came from behind.
Cao Yi turned to see notable figures like Ho Ying Dong, Zheng Yu Tong, and Wang Yong Qing, the older generation of Chinese tycoons, gathered behind him.
"Are you all here for the artifacts?" Cao Yi asked, intrigued.
Ho Ying Dong and the others nodded.
"Then I won't disturb your gathering," Cao Yi said with a smile, turning to leave the auction stage.
Yoko followed closely.
A Christie's staff member approached from behind.
"Sir, please follow me for the paperwork."
"Sure," Cao Yi nodded.
Minutes later, having secured the Purple Dragon King, Cao Yi appeared in the lobby of the Taj Mahal Pierre Hotel.
"Daoist Priest, how did my performance go?" Big Gold Tooth, who had been waiting in the lobby, approached with a grin.
"It was decent," Cao Yi smiled back.
Today, they had certainly made Christie's pay for their audacity in auctioning off Chinese artifacts.
"Hmph..." Yoko, who had been watching, scoffed disdainfully.
As the three exited the hotel, the valet had already brought their car around.
As Big Gold Tooth was about to get in, Yoko frowned and coldly said, "Take a taxi."
She had only been courteous to Cao Yi because of Ying Caihong; her attitude toward Big Gold Tooth was unapologetically dismissive.
Unfazed, Big Gold Tooth grinned. "See you two tomorrow."
Just as he turned to leave, Cao Yi called out.
"Wait a minute." He retrieved three healing talismans from his canvas bag.
"Daoist Priest, what's this?" Big Gold Tooth's face lit up.
These talismans had saved his life once before.
"With these three talismans, you should recover quite well," Cao Yi said seriously.
These were a token of gratitude for Big Gold Tooth's earlier help.
"Thank you, Daoist Priest!" Big Gold Tooth accepted the talismans with deep appreciation.
At that moment, a taxi pulled up.
"Daoist Priest, I'm off," Big Gold Tooth said, hurrying towards the car.
Cao Yi waved cheerfully.