Second floor of the Spring River Pavilion.

Two people sat by the railing.

Liu Xianhong and Wang Lei sat together.

Wang Lei's family is in the electronics industry, and they are considered one of the giants in Flame Country's electronics sector. Their computers are even exported abroad and are one of the major national brands.

So, the Wang family can be regarded as extremely wealthy, with immense financial power.

It is only with such a status that they barely qualify to associate with the Liu family. At least, that's what Liu Xianhong thought.

"Young Master Liu, who is this person? He can be escorted by Young Master Zhu like that, and they seem to have a pretty good relationship," Wang Lei asked curiously.

Because it was his first time attending such a gathering, he was brought by Liu Xianhong. When he first arrived, he also attracted a lot of attention and met quite a few big shots.

Yang Chen's appearance completely drew away the attention that should have belonged to him.

This made Wang Lei quite unhappy.

Liu Xianhong squinted his eyes slightly at Yang Chen, a flash of deep apprehension in them. When he looked at Wang Lei, his eyes were filled with jealousy. He hadn't expected Zhu Hai to manage to call Yang Chen here.

If Zhu Hai can establish a connection with Yang Chen, his position within the family would essentially be secure.

Unfortunately, it was Zhu Hai who brought Yang Chen, not him.

Regarding Wang Lei's inquiry, Liu Xianhong replied irritably, "Stay away from them, this person isn't someone you can afford to provoke!"

Hearing this, Wang Lei felt displeased, thinking that Liu Xianhong was somewhat underestimating him.

He secretly resolved that he must let Liu Xianhong see his capabilities later!

Meanwhile.

Zhu Hai led Yang Chen and others to a private box on the third floor to rest.

Of course, above the second floor, all the elegant seats, booths, and private boxes require expensive fees, and even time is charged by the minute.

"There's still some time before it starts, this is the time for everyone to mingle, but I thought you might not enjoy it, so let's rest here in the private box for a while."

Yang Chen nodded slightly, picked up the drink Zhu Hai handed over, and took a light sip.

Zhu Hai went out for a while, and when he returned, he was all smiles and said to Yang Chen, "Young Master Yang, I bet you don't know what items are available at this little auction."

Yang Chen looked at Zhu Hai and said, "Something that can excite you like this must be extraordinary."

Zhu Hai laughed heartily, took out a photo from his pocket, and handed it to Yang Chen.

Seeing it, Yang Chen couldn't help but furrow his brows.

"A bronze figure in the style of Western Yan Tombs!" Yang Chen was quite surprised.

Although it wasn't the bronze figure from the Western Yan Tombs, the style was similar, with distinct edges and sharp eyes that left a deep impression!

"Haha! That's right! They say it's an ancient relic!" Zhu Hai laughed, obviously very interested in this item.

Yang Chen frowned and said, "You believe it?"

Zhu Hai shrugged, "Sort of, usually items that make it here have been studied by experts, if it were fake, it wouldn't have been brought in."

Yang Chen shook his head, expressing disbelief, "The original discovery of the Western Yan Tombs was a miracle that shocked the world. If they managed to get hold of these items again, it would definitely be a cultural explosion in history! I think the possibility is very small!"

Sun Yue also frowned and said, "It's said that a lot of items were lost during the original excavation of the Western Yan Tombs, could it be from that batch?"

Yang Chen and Zhu Hai exchanged a glance, finding it very possible.

While they were talking in the private box, a lot happened outside.

Time was almost up, and with the announcement, everyone headed to the auction hall on the first floor.

Zhu Hai had already booked a front row seat to get a good look at the items on the auction stage.

Just as Zhu Hai was leading Yang Chen there, Liu Xianhong arrived with Wang Lei.

"Young Master Zhu, Young Master Yang!" Liu Xianhong greeted proactively.

He had a face full of smiles, as if he had forgotten what happened last time.

Zhu Hai looked at Liu Xianhong playfully and said with a smile, "Young Master Liu, what a coincidence, you're here too!"

Liu Xianhong gave an awkward smile and looked at Yang Chen, saying, "Young Master Yang, is there anything that caught your eye this time?"

"No, just here to take a casual look," Yang Chen replied casually.

Originally, he was just bored at home and decided to come out with Zhu Hai for a look.

"That's fine too, there are some good things here." Liu Xianhong apparently didn't know what else to say, and the atmosphere turned a bit awkward.

Wang Lei saw this and extended his hand, saying, "Young Master Zhu, I've long admired your reputation."

Zhu Hai gave him a faint look, hesitated for a moment, then shook hands with Wang Lei, saying, "The Wang family, your family does quite a nice business."

Zhu Hai knew about Wang Lei and his family.

Actually, the Wang family had long had the opportunity to join Spring River Pavilion, but they never had someone to introduce them, so it was only now that they got in.

Hearing Zhu Hai's words, Wang Lei was quite pleased.

Then, he provocatively extended his hand to Yang Chen, saying, "Hello."

Yang Chen merely shook hands with Wang Lei casually, not saying much.

Yet Wang Lei wanted to get acquainted with Sun Yue, but he received a cold shoulder.

This made Wang Lei's expression rather unpleasant.

Wang Lei said to Zhu Hai, "Young Master Zhu, if there's anything you fancy later, let me know, I'll definitely make sure to win it for you!"

"Oh! Is that appropriate?" Zhu Hai looked at Liu Xianhong.

Liu Xianhong's expression turned slightly sullen.

Because Wang Lei was brought by him, and now he was trying to ingratiate himself with Zhu Hai, which made Liu Xianhong lose face.

"Let's go! It's about to start!" Liu Xianhong said coldly, turned around, and went to find his seat.

Wang Lei seemed to realize that he might have said something wrong, gave a sheepish smile to Zhu Hai, made a gesture, and hurriedly caught up with Liu Xianhong.

After all, he was introduced by Liu Xianhong and couldn't afford to offend him because of Zhu Hai; that would be a losing proposition.

Yang Chen and the others also sat in their designated places.

The auction proceeded as usual, no different from auctions outside, with a professional auctioneer.

The only difference was that the items on stage were bizarre and rare, things not commonly seen outside.

For instance, some Star Meteors.

Or pieces of amber encasing strange prehistoric creatures.

Even as strange as an ape-man's skull.

Later on, they started auctioning funeral objects.

For example, a jade cicada placed in the mouth of the ancient deceased.

Or some silk brought up from underground.

Even a precious gold-threaded jade suit.

Yang Chen nodded quietly from below, acknowledging that the scale of this auction was indeed very high.

"Next, we have a rare treasure, everyone keep your eyes wide open," announced the host in a thick Beijing accent, presenting an item.

The item was in a red wooden box.

Just by looking at the wooden box, it was no simple object.

This shade of dark red was peculiar to huanghuali wood, and the box was carved with exquisite patterns, the craftsmanship admirable.

The host slowly opened the wooden box and, with a hand clad in white gloves, carefully took out a short sword!

The short sword was entirely a dark red color, engraved with diamond-shaped patterns, a typical Warring States-style short sword!

This was indeed a priceless treasure!

Upon seeing this sword, Yang Chen became visibly excited.