Chapter 19: Gains at the Auction

The album depicted a corpse obscured by mosaic. The explanatory note above stated that a battle involving extraordinary powers had occurred early this morning at a certain inn; the corpse belonged to the loser, while the victor neither extracted any supernatural attributes nor disposed of the body. The matter had been sealed by the Holy Blood Council, which was now auctioning the opportunity for close observation and research.

To maintain the pretense of an antique auction, a desk lamp was circled in the photograph, and they insisted that this seemingly high-tech lamp was an antique. Everyone claimed to be researching antiques, and the corpse was presented as evidence of a cursed relic.

Ou Xiaolu immediately recognized that the dead man was the transparent figure who had ambushed him last night. Yet curiosity gnawed at him regarding the man's identity; he needed to know who had tried to kill him.

As Ou Xiaolu pondered, the auction officially began.

He tossed aside the album and focused intently on the items being exhibited. For others, these objects were merely curiosities, but for Ou Xiaolu, they were different; he could use the appraisal interface to determine whether they would be useful to him.

Unfortunately, luck did not always favor him, and the surname he so often invoked could not influence everything.

One by one, the auctioned items were bought, but none matched what Ou Xiaolu sought.

Just as he was about to abandon the auction and search elsewhere for a longsword, a striking blue light caught his eye.

Ou Xiaolu gazed at the antique displayed on the stage.

It was a simple folding fan with sandalwood trim. Oddly enough, though typically a scholar’s accessory, it was painted with a scene of Zhong Kui capturing ghosts.

What was most baffling were the five little ghosts being caught. Each was painted vividly, their eyes colored in red, yellow, blue, green, and purple.

After the fan was displayed, Milu announced loudly, “Here we have the mysterious Ghost Fan from the enigmatic East. Legend has it that five terrifying little ghosts are imprisoned within. With a blood sacrifice, you can summon them to serve you.

But each person may only summon them three times; after that, forcing another summoning will result in the ghosts devouring your life.

Now, let us begin the auction for this fan. The starting bid is fifty thousand dollars, with increments of no less than one thousand dollars.”

Most attendees had heard of this fan and were not particularly eager to purchase it. Only three or four raised their paddles, but none pursued it further.

Until Ou Xiaolu acquired the fan, he could not determine whether it was a character card or a world card.

Yet, regardless, blue was blue, enough to prompt Ou Xiaolu to bid.

With little competition, Ou Xiaolu secured the fan for sixty-three thousand dollars.

The moment he paid and took possession of the fan, the system interface promptly displayed a message: it was a complete spatial card, containing five little ghosts and one ghost king.

[Zhong Kui’s Ghost-Capturing Fan, Spatial Card, Blue, Residential-type spatial card (specters, undead, ghosts), can accommodate ten minions (0/10), five professionals (5/5), and one supporting character (1/1).]

Suppressing the urge to summon all the ghosts and the ghost king for acquaintance, Ou Xiaolu continued to watch the auction.

Soon, the cursed sword came up for bidding. Yet, when it was brought out, Ou Xiaolu sensed nothing unusual about it. He sighed, preparing to leave.

Just then, another gleam caught his attention.

It appeared to be a music box.

Ou Xiaolu leafed through the auction catalogue and found that it was a birthday gift Napoleon had given to his wife.

Such a relatively recent antique was of little concern to Ou Xiaolu; what intrigued him was the white light emanating from it—what could it signify?

He sat down again, waiting for the music box to be auctioned, and observed the bidding trends.

He noticed that the attendees held unique views about conquerors and infamous historical figures. They preferred legendary items that had seen the battlefield or accompanied these figures throughout their lives.

Conversely, items with multiple former owners were generally ignored.

Ou Xiaolu speculated that legendary figures might imbue their belongings with special properties during their use.

The Holy Blood Council thrived on extracting the powers attached to such items to achieve their own supernatural abilities.

The fewer the legendary figures who used an item, the more targeted the extracted power. Otherwise, the randomness increased, for even the Holy Blood Council could not always ascertain which legend their extracted power originated from.

Thus, when the music box Napoleon had given his wife was auctioned, hardly anyone contested Ou Xiaolu’s bid.

He easily spent a hundred thousand dollars to acquire this genuine antique.

Once in hand, Ou Xiaolu immediately confirmed that the white light was no illusion.

This music box could be converted into a world card.

[Island Prison, World Card, Micro, 3/3/0. This is a portal to a certain island prison. Upon entry, you will encounter an imprisoned emperor, whose fate is determined by your choices.]

Two acquisitions in one auction—Ou Xiaolu considered it a fine harvest.

His curiosity piqued, he remained until the auction concluded.

Upon leaving, Charles, who had been waiting outside, hurried over.

He eyed the folding fan and music box in Ou Xiaolu’s hands and asked, “Xihu, weren’t you here to buy weapons?”

“There was nothing suitable here. Let’s head to Chinatown,” Ou Xiaolu replied directly.

“No problem, Xihu! Yesterday’s cleaver came from Chinatown,” Charles said excitedly.

“If you keep mentioning that cleaver, we’re still friends,” Ou Xiaolu retorted.

“Wasn’t the cleaver good? I asked lots of people, and they all said it’s the best kind.”

“It’s not about the cleaver. Right now, we’re looking for a machete—one meant for fighting.”

“Don’t you use a sword?” Charles asked.

Ou Xiaolu, exasperated and unable to explain further, decided not to engage with this clueless man.

Soon, the two arrived at Chinatown. As they passed under the archway, Charles shouted, “Xihu! Xihu, over here!”

Seeing the sign for the Master Chef’s restaurant before him, Ou Xiaolu felt a strong urge to cut Charles down.