Chapter 17: Tomb of the Celestial Master

Upon hearing the auction items, Jiang Zhiyue quickly moved a plate of exquisite snacks closer to her hand and glanced at Pei Heng. He produced a thick booklet from somewhere and was about to flip through it.

“What’s that?” she asked sincerely.

“It’s the list of auction items for this afternoon. When you enter the venue, the organizers prepare this booklet for attendees, so everyone can roughly identify the items they want to bid on. Little Jiang, look, today’s auction actually includes talismans!”

He smiled with delight, sliding the opened booklet toward Jiang Zhiyue. “See, it even has authentication from a Taoist master.”

Jiang Zhiyue’s gaze fell on the booklet, but the pastry in her hand dropped back onto the plate with a soft thud.

She leaned in, disbelief growing as she recognized the image clearly, her heart sinking halfway.

The good news: the talisman is an authentic relic from an ancient Taoist master!

The bad news: it’s a ghost-repelling talisman!

The masters had sealed the malevolent spirits tightly—who would be reckless enough to disturb that?

“Little Jiang, look here,” Pei Heng continued, “it’s personally authenticated by Master Qin, a renowned Taoist. The patterns on this talisman were created by ancient masters specifically to ward off evil and banish demons.”

“So the master estimates that carrying this talisman or placing it at home would repel all evil spirits, which is why many people want to bid on it today. After all, when people have money, they start to value their lives more, and many are interested in things like this.”

Meanwhile, Jiang Zhiyue was staring intently at the photo of the talisman in the booklet.

The patterns looked familiar—it was a close replica of the ghost-repelling talisman she had developed in her previous life.

Though its suppressive power was weaker, it would still suffice against ordinary malevolent spirits. After all, her own talisman was so complex that no one else could replicate it just by looking.

“Pei Heng, are you saying the tomb where this talisman was found belongs to a Taoist master? Is that information reliable?”

Pei Heng nodded with certainty. “Yes, that’s what the archaeological team reported. The tomb contained a large number of ritual tools, and the occupant of the main coffin was wearing a Taoist robe.”

Jiang Zhiyue exhaled deeply. Good heavens, what kind of spirit must have been sealed here?

Not only the talisman and ritual tools, but the master himself had used his very flesh as a seal.

“Little Jiang, you’re so skilled—can you tell if this talisman is genuine? Does it work? If you like, I’ll bid on it for you later!”

Jiang Zhiyue gave him a sidelong glance. There was no need for such courtesy; if she had the materials, she could draw many better talismans than this one.

What made this talisman valuable now was the yellow paper used to create it, made through a special ancient process imbued with inherent energy.

Also, the vermilion ink used was pure, natural cinnabar, so the effectiveness was considerable.

In today’s world, such yellow paper was scarce.

The production itself was extremely demanding, starting with the selection of wood grown under very specific conditions.

Then, the wood was processed into pulp through a series of special techniques before being made into usable yellow paper.

After all those steps, a single sheet of this thin yellow paper could cost more than gold—far beyond her current budget.

Still, no matter how expensive, the auction’s starting price was outrageously high.

One million yuan to start bidding? What kind of joke was this?

Did everyone’s money come from the same printing press?

She quickly placed a hand on Pei Heng’s, who was itching to bid.

“Don’t buy it. This thing isn’t worth that price. The auctioneers really think you’re a cash cow! Charging a million for such a scrap—why don’t they just rob people?”

No, wait, robbery isn’t so fast a way to make money.

“I-I... I get it. I won’t buy it, I won’t,” Pei Heng stammered, a strange blush coloring his clean, handsome face.

Little Jiang had just touched his hand!

She was worried about him wasting money, so she stopped him from buying it. But he didn’t see it as wasteful. As long as Little Jiang liked it, any price was worth paying.

He wanted her to know that his bad luck was just bad luck.

He was still good at making money!

Although his parents worried about him and rarely let him go out, he had always helped manage the family business.

In the past two years, Pei Group’s assets had doubled under his hands. Little Jiang didn’t need to scrimp on his behalf.

He had the means.

Thinking of this, he shyly looked up. “Little Jiang, I didn’t expect you to…”

At that moment, the sound of a gong echoed through the hall, drowning out Pei Heng’s words.

Through the partition window, a tall, elegant woman in a cheongsam with long legs gracefully ascended the main stage.

Only then did Jiang Zhiyue notice that quite a few people had already taken their seats in the hall.

The windows of several nearby private booths were opened, and each had a dedicated attendant standing respectfully outside.

Pei Heng rubbed his hands together, his scholarly face brimming with confidence. “Little Jiang, just point to whatever you like later, and I’ll bid for you. Today, I’m paying!”

Jiang Zhiyue had intended to refuse painfully, but considering her current role as Pei Heng’s personal bodyguard...

Since she was responsible for protecting him and changing his reckless life, it wasn’t unreasonable for her boss to buy her some powerful, useful tools.

At that moment, the woman on stage spoke softly:

“Welcome, esteemed guests, and thank you for taking time out of your busy schedules to attend this special auction. We have compiled all the items up for bid into a catalog, and I trust you have already familiarized yourselves with them.”

“I solemnly promise that all items tonight have been professionally authenticated and are genuine, so you may bid with confidence.”

“Now, let us begin the auction. As always, the highest bid wins.”

“Our first item today is an original early spring outing painting by a master of Tang Dynasty national painting. Starting bid: 500,000 yuan, with increments of 50,000 per bid!”

“Now, let the bidding begin!”

Pei Heng was eager. “Little Jiang, don’t you think this painting is quite beautiful? Should I bid on it for you? It would look nice hanging at home.”

Jiang Zhiyue glanced at the stage.

Indeed, the painting was lovely.

The scene was serene and elegant, as if looking at it could soothe a restless heart.

Still, she shook her head decisively, uninterested.

She was more of a mountain girl—this refined fare wasn’t her taste.

Besides, where did she even have a home?

No more talk—she was about to break down!

Few people bid on the first item, and after several rounds, the painting was happily won by an elderly man dressed in traditional Tang attire for 850,000 yuan.

The next few warm-up lots were mostly ordinary antiques and collectibles, which failed to spark Jiang Zhiyue’s interest, and Pei Heng naturally refrained from bidding as well.