Huo Sining was adept at reading people, and she noticed a change in Su Qingqing’s expression. Su Qingqing remained focused on the auction downstairs, which stirred something in Huo Sining’s heart, hinting at a realization: "Is there something wrong with Lu Huairu?"

Su Qingqing’s body instantly stiffened. She suddenly raised her head to meet Huo Sining’s gaze, and apprehension flashed in her eyes.

Seeing Su Qingqing’s expression, Huo Sining knew her guess was likely correct. After contemplating a bit, Huo Sining tentatively asked, "Did you call your senior brother? Did he tell you something? With Lu Huairu being so close to Zhou Zhen, did he resign from your senior brother’s shop and join the Zhou Family?"

This was the most plausible speculation Huo Sining could think of, but she wasn’t prepared for what Su Qingqing said next—it would completely redefine her understanding.

"No."

Su Qingqing lowered her head, leaving Huo Sining unable to read her emotions. But the words from her mouth shocked Huo Sining greatly: "My senior brother said, Manager Lu is in Magic Capital, currently working overtime at Yin Yizhai counting the accounts."

"What?!" Upon hearing this, Huo Sining was taken aback and almost jumped up. Her eyes widened in disbelief, akin to seeing a ghost. Her reaction mirrored Su Qingqing’s; upon hearing Su Qingqing’s words, her first instinct was to look towards the auction hall downstairs.

The person sitting next to Zhou Zhen was definitely Lu Huairu, it couldn’t be anyone else. In this, Huo Sining was certain.

"But... isn’t that... Lu Huairu down there? How is this possible? How could he be in Magic Capital? Is your senior brother joking with you?"

Huo Sining felt she was somewhat incoherent, unable to articulate properly.

Seeing Huo Sining’s reaction, Su Qingqing realized that Ningning reacted the same way she did when faced with such an extraordinary event. For some reason, her mind suddenly became clearer. With a peculiar look, she glanced at Lu Huairu and his companions downstairs, shook her head, and said:

"I also doubted the same, but later my senior brother had Manager Lu call me; the voice was unmistakably his, no doubt about it."

This left Huo Sining feeling a bit confused as well, now understanding why Su Qingqing previously asked her such an odd question.

Huo Sining even wondered if she was mistaken from the start, thinking perhaps the Taoist she encountered in Magic Capital wasn’t Lu Huairu but someone who looked exactly like him?

But quickly, Huo Sining dismissed this thought; if the person in the auction hall wasn’t Lu Huairu, she and Su Qingqing couldn’t possibly both be wrong. If the Lu Huairu in Magic Capital’s Yin Yizhai wasn’t him, Yin Zeyan living with Lu Huairu for years couldn’t fail to notice.

Yet, how could two identical people exist simultaneously in the same timeframe and dimension? It was simply mind-boggling.

Perhaps the scrutiny of Huo Sining and Su Qingqing was too blatant and reckless, as Lu Huairu sensed something and raised his head to look at Huo Sining’s VIP box, his eyes showing hints of vigilance and probing.

Huo Sining and Su Qingqing hid behind the bead curtain and silk, not worried "Lu Huairu" would see through them. However, Lu Huairu’s glance backs them more shocked and convinced: the old man sitting downstairs was indeed Lu Huairu, without a doubt!

Huo Sining knew Lu Huairu was a Taoist, and Xie Daoyuan had personally seen him use cinnabar to draw talismans, further confirming what Huo Sining witnessed in the temple at Magic Capital.

This gave Huo Sining an indistinct feeling she was onto something.

Over the past two years, Huo Sining hadn’t seen much but had encountered numerous oddities, such as Jiaoren, a grandmother who remained youthful over decades, a resurrected father, and the miraculous liquid from the underground palace rumored to revive and restore flesh and bones.

Thus, the existence of these two Lu Huairu, although astonishing and unbelievable to Huo Sining, after a short moment of surprise, she quickly recovered. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Huo Sining’s contact with Taoists was minimal; aside from Lu Huairu, the only one she saw perform alchemy was Bai Buzhi.

Bai Buzhi was quite knowledgeable in this area. Huo Sining instinctively thought of calling him for inquiries about this matter but realized it wasn’t the right time, as the auctioneer wearing white gloves was now taking the stage to announce the start of the auction.

Foreign auctions differ from domestic ones; there are no grandiose speeches or drawn-out opening ceremonies—just the auctioneer managing the entire session alone, simply tapping the table bell to begin; the crisp sound marked the official start of the auction.

The first items up for bid were moderately priced, ten pieces in the first round, among which was a Huaxia antique that caught Huo Sining’s eye.

Perhaps due to the beginning atmosphere, many in the venue eagerly raised their paddles, though these individuals bid on anything only to abandon their efforts midway. Observing this, Huo Sining quickly understood these were likely stooges placed by Clayflo among the bidders.

Such occurrences are typical, even domestically. It’s common to have such individuals in venues, dedicated to stirring bidding excitement. Generally, once a certain price point is reached, these stooges automatically retract and do not disrupt genuine bidders wishing to continue.

However, what seemed routine now felt like a dire threat to Huo Sining; she realized these individuals might soon participate in serious bids, potentially disrupting the tranquil waters, so she focused intently on the bidders who withdrew midway, memorizing their faces one by one.

In contrast to Huo Sining’s cautious approach, the four professors on the other side remained silent upon seeing the Huaxia antiques among the displayed items, fervently fixating their devout gaze on the Huaxia artifacts on the platform, eyes as openly longing as one admiring a beloved goddess, consuming them with greedy eyes.

Huo Sining empathized with the professors’ sentiments; in truth, upon first entering the auction building and seeing the exhibited antiques, she too wished to personally touch each treasure. So many items lined the display cases in the building, with each piece bringing tears to her eyes.