Cohabitation with Sword Spirit-Chapter 55 - 46: Money Is But a Worldly Possession

Chapter 55: Chapter 46: Money Is But a Worldly Possession

The Celestial Fortune Jade Bracelet that Qian Yu brought onto the stage had been appraised at over three thousand spirit stones. The six thousand spirit stones bid held firm, clearly surpassing Li Xinyu.

Even if Li Xinyu tried to scrape together a few hundred more spirit stones, Qian Yu still had four more pieces in his set, and his wealth was indeed incomparable.

The auctioneer saw that Li Xinyu was silent and loudly announced, "Six thousand spirit stones for the first time."

"Six thousand spirit stones for the second time."

"Six thou—"

The words were suddenly interrupted by a clear and distant young girl’s voice, still carrying a hint of childishness.

"Ten thousand spirit stones."

The whole room buzzed as countless eyes focused in the direction of the voice.

Under the gaze of everyone, Shen Qingming sat expressionlessly not far from Li Xinyu, gently lifted her head, and looked at the dumbfounded auctioneer, saying, "I bid ten thousand spirit stones, didn’t you hear?"

Before the auctioneer could speak, from the other side, Qian Yu stood up, embarrassed and furious: "Li Qingming?! Why is a pauper like you jumping out to make trouble? Ten thousand spirit stones? You might not save that in a hundred years!"

Shen Qingming remained unfazed outwardly but clenched her fist tightly under the table. After a while, she slowly took out a deed from her sleeve—the deed to Shen Garden.

"Isn’t this deed worth ten thousand spirit stones?"

Of course, it was.

Although the Li Family had bought Shen Garden for just two hundred spirit stones in the past when Cyan Cloud was an almost deserted city, now, as one of the top three strongholds in Xiangzhou, property prices had soared. A large estate with permanent ownership, although somewhat distant, was indeed not overpriced at ten thousand spirit stones.

As the son of the wealthiest family, Qian Yu could naturally see the value of Shen Garden at a glance and was filled with resentment, asking incredulously, "Why are you spending ten thousand spirit stones on Dream of Scarlet?! Do you even know what Dream of Scarlet is for?!"

Shen Qingming replied, "I don’t know; I just don’t want you to have it."

"You?!" Qian Yu exploded with anger again, "The Li Family really loves being unreasonable! But one might say ten thousand spirit stones doesn’t give you the audacity to be so arrogant. I bid fifteen thousand spirit stones; let’s see if you have another Shen Garden!"

As he spoke, Qian Yu removed his necklace and jade pendant, placing them on the table with his jade bracelet. One was estimated at five thousand and the other at four thousand; together with his previous assets, they totaled fifteen thousand spirit stones, stunning everyone present.

A scroll worth no more than a few hundred spirit stones had been bid up to a sky-high price of fifteen thousand, leaving many people nearly having heart attacks. Even the auctioneer, accustomed to dealing with upheavals, felt somewhat dizzy and weak in the legs.

Now that the third son of the Qian Family had offered a price of fifteen thousand, how would Shen Qingming respond?

As everyone watched Shen Qingming with interest, they saw her nod, casually retract the deed—carefully securing it in her sleeve—and then say, "Oh, you win."

"...Huh?" Qian Yu’s eyes were bloodshot, and he looked a bit lost.

Shen Qingming said, "Fifteen thousand spirit stones, you win. Dream of Scarlet is yours; enjoy it."

With that, she turned her head away, ignoring everyone else’s gaze.

Li Xinyu was also dumbfounded, "Sister Qingming, did you...stand up for me? Thanks so much..."

"Nothing to do with you. Stay away from me!" Shen Qingming scolded unceremoniously.

Li Xinyu accepted it joyfully, and even his disappointment and regret at not getting Dream of Scarlet were greatly alleviated.

——

Afterwards, the auction continued, but the atmosphere was somewhat awkwardly subdued.

Having experienced the climax of a fifteen-thousand spirit stone bid for Dream of Scarlet, it seemed everyone had reached a sage-like calm and couldn’t summon interest in any auction items.

Meanwhile, Shen Qingming began questioning Li Xinyu about the mysterious item he was so eager to obtain.

"Oh, it’s just a secret technique manual," Li Xinyu evaded.

"A secret technique manual?" Shen Qingming felt like she was being treated like a fool, and said angrily, "Fine, I hope you can explain this to your mother as well."

"What, my mother?" Li Xinyu was so scared he almost had a heart attack, "You’re going to tell my mother?!"

"You’re right; if you’ll go so far as to take a loan to buy Dream of Scarlet, I’m sure she’d know exactly what it’s for."

Li Xinyu plopped down to his knees: "Mercy, Sister Qingming!"

"Stay away from me!"

...

Li Xinyu eventually, albeit reluctantly, confessed.

"In theory, it is indeed a special secret technique manual, but the cultivation technique recorded is, well, that kind of technique."

"That kind?"

Li Xinyu’s chubby face turned red: "You know, that kind of thing, the name should be self-explanatory!"

Shen Qingming still looked confused, "Dream of Scarlet? Is it a dream illusion technique?"

Instead, Wang Jiu provided the answer: "Based on my study of current human literature habits, the term ’Dream of Scarlet’ is often synonymous with ’Erotic Dream,’ so Dream of Scarlet is probably a kind of erotic painting."

"What?! " Shen Qingming’s voice suddenly rose.

Wang Jiu continued to explain, "Just now, when Qian Yu got the scroll, he slightly unrolled it. I could roughly make out the internal outline and can probably confirm that it’s indeed related to physiological health knowledge like reproduction and procreation."

Shen Qingming incredulously exclaimed, "That fatso and Qian San would rather spend thousands of spirit stones on an erotic painting?!"

"It’s not just a simple erotic painting." Li Xinyu murmured.

"Shut up!"

Wang Jiu explained, "Although it’s not a hundred percent confirmed, I speculate that there might be a sprite within the ’Dream of Scarlet’."

"What’s that?"

"Similar to the immortals in books, primarily there to guide readers through the contents of the secret manuals. These sprites aren’t true artifact spirits due to their limited strength and realm. They lack complete intelligence and can only execute simple tasks as programmed. However, if the settings are exquisite enough, the sprites within the painting can often achieve effects comparable to real artifact spirits."

Li Xinyu couldn’t help but nod upon hearing this, "Exactly, exactly. This ’Dream of Scarlet’ was painstakingly crafted by a divine artisan from Golden Jade City. The sprites in the painting come in all shapes and sizes, from long-legged dominant sisters to innocent lolis. As long as you infuse a bit of divine sense and true essence into the painting, you can dive into a boundlessly beautiful dream and enjoy the attentive service of various beauties. That feeling, no man can resist..."

Before he could finish speaking, he was interrupted by a series of fierce tut-tuts from Shen Qingming.

"Disgusting, disgusting, disgusting!"

Li Xinyu helplessly and aggrievedly said, "I can’t help it either. Except in dreams, where else can I find a girlfriend? It may seem vulgar and sleazy to you guys, but for me, this is a lifelong matter!"

Wang Jiu also agreed, "The reproduction and procreation of living beings is indeed a significant matter that should be treated correctly."

Li Xinyu was deeply moved, "I never expected Brother Wang to understand me so well!"

"Because I’ve always been seriously observing and analyzing humans."

"Hehe, I also like observing and analyzing humans, especially in summer. Those pretty girls on the streets, wearing thin clothes, I can deduce accurate measurements at a glance..."

"Biological entities do have different metabolic rhythms influenced by the environment in summer, which is indeed worth studying."

Shen Qingming could no longer bear it, "How do you two even manage to connect on this topic!"

While speaking, they suddenly heard a burst of exclamations and screams from the other end of the auction hall, as if some incredible auction item had been put on display.

According to a typical auction procedure, the current stage should consist of items of moderate value meant to fill the process. So why all the excitement?

Then they heard the host say, "The next auction item is a portrait personally drawn with divine sense by the artist Luo Chuling."

Having said that, the host unfolded a painting.

Li Xinyu and Shen Qingming simultaneously felt as if their jaws were about to dislocate.

The painting depicted a man, with a slender and tall figure, a handsome yet robust appearance, features like jade, sword-like eyebrows reaching the temples, eyes bright as stars with a clear yet profound gaze, compelling one’s mind to sink into it...

"Wang Jiu?!"

At the same time, the host revealed, "The Li Family’s newly hired honored guest elder, the mysteriously intriguing handsome man, Wang Jiu!"

As the identity was revealed, countless girls’ delighted screams surged like a tsunami.

Relying on an amplified array, the host continued to explain, "Master Luo’s divine sense painting not only captures Mr. Wang Jiu’s portrait in two dimensions. If infused with true essence, the figure in the painting can leap off the page and appear lifelike. If the true essence is pure enough, the figure can even speak, as if a real person is accompanying you..."

With each explanation from the host, the screams from the girls below rolled like waves. Li Xinyu, envious, muttered, "If I had such popularity, I’d be willing to die happy."

Shen Qingming, after being stunned, protested angrily, "This is a blatant infringement of portrait rights! I’m going to complain to the auction house!"

Wang Jiu asked, "What’s infringement of portrait rights?"

Shen Qingming explained, "It means you can’t randomly use your portrait for profit without permission. Think about it, it’s your face, yet the artist and auction house are making money from it. That’s really unfair!"

Wang Jiu said, "But I already gave permission."

"What?!"

"One day when I was out, someone stopped me and said they wanted to paint my portrait, and any future profits from sales would be split fifty-fifty with me. I thought it sounded okay, so I agreed."

"You...?" Shen Qingming widened her eyes, at a loss for words.

By this time, people below had already begun bidding.

"Fifty spirit stones!"

"One hundred, I bid one hundred!"

"Two hundred spirit stones, nobody better outbid me!"

A group of clearly wealthy young ladies began frantically bidding, numbers not as exaggerated as those for the Dream of Scarlet, but still far exceeding the typical value of a portrait.

Shen Qingming found it hard to believe, "My god, you actually... can make a living off your looks."

Li Xinyu was also incredulously looking at a certain place in the hall, "Chaolu!? Why is she here?"

"I bid five hundred spirit stones!" Li Chaolu waved her hard-earned spirit stone coupon high in the air, her face full of determination!