Shen Wancai listened carefully, he heard Ling Yue and the little foxes talking in low voices about Li Yundong and the others raising money.
“Hey, do you think Leader will be able to bid for the Medicine King Tripod?”
“I don’t know. I’m very curious about which sect will cooperate with him.”
“Yes, it seems that all sects are hostile in the cultivation world. Which sect would be willing to cooperate with us?”
“Isn’t the Quanzhen Dragon Sect on good terms with us?”
“Bah, that’s just an act! Look at what happened in the Taoist assembly last time, didn’t Du Fei hide somewhere far off?”
“That’s not the case. They are from a big sect, so they naturally have more concerns. Do you think this is a game?”
“Tut-tut, even if we work together, we may not be able to get our hands on it How many sects covet the Medicine King Tripod? Even I want a Renyuan Jindan!”
“Yes, it would be great if Leader could get the Medicine King Tripod. I don’t hope for the Diyuan Jindan, but a Renyuan Jindan can be distributed to each of us, hee hee!”
The little fox who had spoken this final sentence made everyone burst into laughter. However, they quickly noticed that Shen Wancai was looking at them with a glint in his eyes. Ling Yue’s expression immediately turned serious. She lowered her voice and said, “Stop it. Don’t let outsiders hear these things. Be careful of causing trouble again.”
The little foxes stuck out their tongues and scattered.
Shen Wancai was eavesdropping to one side. Although he didn’t hear all the words, he heard a lot of things intermittently.
He thought to himself, “It’s strange. Who is the leader they are talking about? Judging from the situation last time, it must be Young Master Li. Hey, what era is this? Why are they still calling him their leader?”
Shen Wancai couldn’t help laughing in his heart. Suddenly, he saw that as Feng Na was busy cleaning the table, she accidentally knocked down a plate. The teacup and teapot on the plate fell to the ground with a clatter.
Su Chan only took a glance out of the corner of her eye and acquitted herself of her duties efficiently, immediately bending down into a beautiful arch. With a gentle reach of her slender hand, she picked up both the teacup and teapot.
Su Chan’s move was beautiful and elegant, which inadvertently showed her amazing reaction speed, which was different from that of a mortal’s.
Shen Wancai suddenly felt a chill in his heart. He remembered that when he had participated in the opening ceremony of the Disanxian Tea Shop, the little foxes had shown amazing skills. Moreover, Li Yundong’s divine skills were amazing, so it was really impossible to judge him on a secular person’s level.
Shen Wancai thought to himself, “Could it be that not only is Young Master Li himself an immortal, he is also the leader of a sect like Wu Dang and Shaolin?”
He was confused and wanted to find out the truth. However, he was an experienced and knowledgeable man after all, so he did not dare to take the initiative to ask Su Chan and the others. He was afraid that he would break their taboo and make them unhappy, thus cutting off his way to immortality.
“It seems that there won’t be any results if I stay here any longer. I heard from them that Young Master Li seems to be going to a bidding party to bid for a Medicine King Tripod or something… I don’t know what that is… But if I can get it and give it to Young Master Li, I’m sure he’ll feel he owes me a favor, right?”
A moment’s thought gave Shen Wancai this idea. He stood up, addressed Su Chan, Feng Na, and the others with a smile, and then went about his business.
After returning home, Shen Wancai pressed a button on his desk and called in his personal secretary.
His secretary was an ordinary-looking man named Xu Weikang. He wore a pair of gold-rimmed glasses and looked very refined.
When Xu Weikang walked into Shen Wancai’s room, He bowed slightly in a respectful manner and said, “Mr. Shen, what can I do for you?”
Shen Wancai crossed his arms over his chest. After thinking for a while, he said, “Go and check whether or not the auction house has sent me a letter recently.”
Before every large-scale auction, major auction houses would try their best to create hype and attract attention to the event. In this way, the auctioned items could be sold at a higher price, and they could earn more profits.
However, for a commercial giant like Shen Wancai, who was interested in antiques, calligraphy, and painting, he didn’t need to pay attention to this news at all. People like him were the top VIPs of major auction houses. Whenever there was an important auction, there would be a VIP letter sent directly to him, inviting him to participate in it in advance.
After hearing Shen Wancai’s words, Xu Weikang immediately laughed. “There’s no need to check it, Mr. Shen. I just saw it this morning. There are two invitations from the auction house. One is from the Jia De Auction House of China, and the other is… Well, it’s an invitation from the auction house of the Tian’ai Auction House of Jiangsu.”
Shen Wancai nodded and ordered, “Show me both.”
Xu Weikang bowed and respectfully left. After a while, he came back carrying a folder in his hand, took out two delicate invitations, and handed them to Shen Wancai with both hands.
Shen Wancai took them and looked at them. He glanced at Jia De’s letter and threw it aside. When he looked at the other one, his eyes suddenly narrowed and he laughed.
There was graphic information on all kinds of antiques that were about to be auctioned. Among them was a three-legged purple-golden furnace tripod, which was the most conspicuous. A row of big words was clearly marked on the picture: “The antique world was shocked to find the Liandan Dingdan used by Sun Simiao, the king of medicine of the Tang Dynasty!
Shen Wancai said mockingly, “The Liandan Dingdan of Sun Simiao, the king of medicine of the Tang Dynasty? Are you kidding me? If that’s real, it must be a national treasure. How could it be auctioned off?”
Xu Weikang said in a low voice, “It is said that it was discovered by a local villager in Mount Huangshan and has been in the news for a while.”
Shen Wancai glanced at him and didn’t comment. He carefully read through the materials of the Medicine King Tripod and became lost in thought for a while. “This auction will be held in two days’ time. I wonder if Young Master Li has applied for it.”
Thinking of this, he turned his head and said to Xu Weikang, “Go to Tian’ai Auction House to find out who the buyers are.”
Xu Weikang hesitated for a moment before saying, “This… must be a trade secret, they won’t disclose it, will they?”
Shen Wancai mocked him disdainfully, “Call them and tell them I’m asking. Ask them to send me a document. We’ll see if they will give it to me or not.”
Xu Weikang nodded and went out. About ten minutes later, he came in with a few documents and a broad smile. “Mr. Shen, they have released all the information about the buyers, however, this is the information of the previous applications of qualified buyers. There may not be much information on applications after only two days.”
Shen Wancai took the documents and scanned through them. Sure enough, he saw the name of Li Yundong and Zi Yuan. However, this time, he saw the name of Zi Yuan, and he also the name of the Zhengyi School of Linggong Sect. Li Yundong’s name was behind Zi Yuan’s. Furthermore, there was also the name of Zhou Qin behind Li Yundong.
Shen Wancai’s expression suddenly froze. He thought to himself, “The eldest daughter of the Zhou family is also participating in the bidding? With her family’s strength, it’ll be impossible for them not to buy it!”
However, Shen Wancai came to his senses and thought to himself, “Right, Zhou Qin must not want to make any trouble for Zhou Keqiang, so she didn’t use the Zhou family’s connections and strength. Hey, this is a good opportunity! If Young Master Li doesn’t win, I will. I will give this Medicine King Tripod to Young Master Li, and that’ll be killing two birds with one stone! I’ll both win Young Master Li’s favor and ingratiate myself to the daughter of the Zhou family!
“Ha, this is a deal. I’ll definitely do it!”
Since ancient times, there had been nothing in China that could make people rich more than the collusion of officials and businessmen.
“If I can connect with the Zhou family and learn Young Master Li’s magical skills, it’ll be a very lucrative deal!”
Shen Wancai laughed proudly. Xu Weikang, who was next to him, inquired, “Mr. Shen, what are you laughing at?”
Shen Wancai chuckled and did not answer him. He just handed over the documents in his hand and said, “Go and check on the backgrounds of these people. Find out the companies or consortia behind them! Have I made myself clear?”
Xu Weikang felt a chill in his heart. He knew that Old Master Shen had always been a very meticulous man. His words were always true, and he would never make a fool of himself!
It was obvious that Old Master Shen was going to make a move on this auction!
Xu Weikang took the order and went away. About two hours later, he came in with a stack of sheets as thick as his little finger. “Mr. Shen, they are all here, but…”
Shen Wancai put on his glasses and carefully looked through the materials. He asked casually, “But what?”
Xu Weikang smiled and said, “But the strange thing is… there are many religious organizations and financial groups, including several famous domestic pharmaceutical groups and traditional Chinese medicine chain organizations, and even a few Taoist temples and sects.”
Shen Wancai raised his head in surprise. “What? Are you sure that’s correct? Religious organizations? Who are these religious people?”
Xu Weikang said with a smile, “Most of them are followers of Taoism and Buddhism. Two-thirds of the buyers are Buddhist or Taoist.”
Shen Wancai was in a state of shock and uncertainty. When he lowered his head to read the information, he clearly saw the name “Quanzhen Dragon Gate Company”. He immediately chuckled and said, “So Zhenren Du is also going to join! Ah, it seems that… there is something up with this Medicine King Tripod!”
There was an intrigued smile on Shen Wancai’s face. He didn’t take these opponents seriously. With his understanding of these financial groups and the strength of the companies, they could not pose a threat or become a stumbling block to him.
But when Shen Wancai suddenly saw the next page of information, he was startled and blurted out, “Why are there Japanese names here too? Why is there so little information about them?”
Xu Weikang glanced at the information and said, “Yes, Mr. Shen! This Ju’s financial group, and it doesn’t seem to have a big background, so…”
Shen Wancai immediately slammed the documents down on the table and said angrily, “*sshole, only when you know yourself and your enemy can you win a hundred battles! Hurry up and check it out! In addition, try every means to find out the market information of the company and the working capital that can be used at any time in private! The more detailed it is, the better!”
Xu Weikang bowed shamefully and went out.
Shen Wancai was left in the room alone, looking through the messy materials on the table. Almost all the information on every page of information was related to the hidden companies and financial groups behind the current cultivation sects. Although Shen Wancai didn’t know much about the cultivation world, and he didn’t even know that there was a cultivation world around him, he suddenly felt that he seemed to have accidentally touched a huge, secret world with the special sharp sense of a businessman!
Shen Wancai’s gaze slowly shifted away from the documents and landed on the image of the Medicine King Tripod that had been included in the invitation. He couldn’t help but murmur, “So many people… Could it be that they’re all after this thing? What exactly is it?”
What Shen Wancai didn’t know was that the cultivation world of China, and even the cultivation world of Japan, were about to start a terrible, earth-shattering battle all because of this very item…
