Chapter 84

The red cloth was slowly lifted, revealing the true appearance of the treasure.

"What the hell is this? I thought it was something valuable!" someone shouted.

"Dead body? No, many people have heard of this. It's the famous jade suit!" Yang Yijun raised his head, looking very pleased with himself. "So far, no private collector has ever owned a jade suit. We went through great lengths to get this one. It's absolutely genuine, and I'm afraid no one here will dare to buy it."

Why is it called the black market? Why is it called the underground market? This is the reason. Many of the items auctioned here cannot be displayed publicly and may even touch the law, such as that pair of embroidered shoes, and this jade suit is no exception.

"What the hell is that? Is that thing the jade suit?" Xu Gang looked up, finding it rather ugly and unappealing, and asked Zhang Tianyuan beside him.

"Many things are not as beautiful as they seem. That should be the jade suit, but whether it's genuine or not, we need to verify it. However, as far as we know, only museums have jade suits in their collections. Private collectors don't have them because they are taken from dead bodies," Zhang Tianyuan explained.

At this moment, Yang Yijun was also promoting the jade suit: "The jade suit is also called a 'jade coffin' or 'jade seal.' It is a burial suit worn by Han Dynasty emperors and high-ranking nobles, with an appearance similar to the human body. The jade suit is a symbol of the wearer's status. The emperor and some close ministers' jade suits are sewn with gold thread, called 'gold-threaded jade suit.' Other nobles use silver or copper threads, called 'silver-threaded jade suit' or 'copper-threaded jade suit.' This one consists of 4,248 jade pieces and weighs 1.6 kilograms. And this is a genuine gold-threaded jade suit!"

"After all that talk, it's still something from a dead body, isn't it?" Xu Gang was somewhat dissatisfied and complained, "Boss Yang, we came here today to bid on items, but everything except the first one is related to dead bodies. How unlucky is that?"

"Is this your first time here, Boss Xu? No wonder. Our auction sells things that others dare not sell. If you don't like it, you can just watch and enjoy the show. There might be something you like later," Yang Yijun smiled and said, but in his heart, he already considered Xu Gang a country bumpkin.

After speaking to Xu Gang, he looked at the audience and said calmly, "This jade suit is very well-preserved, and the jade quality is outstanding. The gold thread is very pure. I won't play games. The starting bid is one million RMB, and the minimum increment is ten thousand."

Xu Gang turned to Zhang Tianyuan and asked, "Is this thing really worth that much money?"

Zhang Tianyuan smiled and said, "The gold-threaded jade suit was mainly used for the burial of Han Dynasty royalty and high-ranking officials. From a historical perspective, it is a priceless treasure. The historical records of the Han Dynasty emperors are quite detailed, making the cultural value of the artifact very high."

"So, it's very valuable, right?"

"Not necessarily. In terms of value, the jade suit is not very valuable. The jade pieces used are ordinary jade, such as Xiuyan jade, which is soft and easy to process. Then, they are connected with gold or silver threads. In ancient times, tomb robbers would take the burial jade objects but extract the gold or silver threads from the jade suit, leaving the jade pieces in the tomb. This shows that the jade pieces themselves were not valuable at the time," Zhang Tianyuan continued.

"Hehe, brother, I think you're out of your depth this time," Xu Gang suddenly laughed after hearing Zhang Tianyuan's explanation.

"Why do you say that?"

"Think about it, what is pottery made of?"

"Clay."

"Exactly, clay is not valuable. But if the pottery is ancient and a fine piece from an imperial kiln, it can be worth a fortune," Xu Gang said proudly. "So, I'm saying you're out of your depth this time. When we look at the jade suit, we shouldn't focus on whether the jade or the gold threads are valuable, but on the overall piece. It's a work of art, a cultural relic."

"Ha, you've caught me out this time. You're right. I think this item might fetch a very high price. Do you still want to bid?" Zhang Tianyuan asked with a smile.

"I bought the embroidered shoes because they weren't expensive, but I'm afraid I can't afford this," Xu Gang said with a bitter face.

"Let's see how it goes. As long as it doesn't end up with a foreigner, that's fine," Zhang Tianyuan tapped the armrest of his chair, thinking about something.

At this moment, Tu Shou said, "We don't know if this thing is real or not. We should at least take a look, right?"

"Sure, you can look, but this thing is very precious. Only those who are interested in bidding can come up to look. The rest should stay back. If it gets damaged, no one can afford to pay for it," Yang Yijun smiled.

Tu Shou's mouth twitched, but he didn't go up, clearly not very interested in the jade suit.

The first one to go up was the Korean man, who had a good physique, at least from a woman's perspective. From a man's perspective, he was a bit too skinny.

The second one to go up was the man with the slicked-back hair, who combed his hair and then stuck the comb into the bra of the model next to him before standing up and walking over.

The third one to go up was a foreigner with blonde hair and blue eyes, who seemed to be holding some kind of instrument.

Several more people went up afterward. It was clear that some of them had gone up after receiving phone calls, likely because they had bosses behind them who only needed the photos of the item.

Zhang Tianyuan guessed that there might be museum people among them. Museum people often play tricks like this, buying an item at a high price but splitting the cost with the seller, so no one would know. As long as both parties kept quiet, no one would find out, and the auction attendees could vouch for the price.

Yang Yijun let the people look but did not allow anyone to touch the item, saying it was too precious.

Identifying an item is not easy, so the jade suit was examined from all angles for several minutes. During this time, Xu Gang went out to buy a few bottles of mineral water and two takeout family buckets.

Eating here was a casual affair, and buying food himself was more reassuring. The organizers provided tea, but everyone felt uneasy drinking it. Even if the mineral water wasn't as good as the tea, it was just for this one time, and they could endure it.

After eating two spicy chicken wings, the people finished their examination, but their expressions gave no indication of their findings. These were experts who wouldn't reveal their opinions to others. Only they knew the truth.

After the examination, Yang Yijun smiled and said, "Since everyone has examined it, it's time to bid. This isn't a formal auction, so no need to be polite."

"I'd like to buy it, but what for? I can't even show it off. What if I get caught?" someone sighed.

But even if he didn't buy it, someone else would.

If this thing was genuine, it was undoubtedly a treasure. Even if donated to a national museum, a reward would be given. Whether it was worth it depended on personal choice.

Since this item had never appeared at an auction before, there was no reference price. The final price would depend on the bidders' judgment.

Yang Yijun remained calm. If the item sold for a good price, he would get more commission. If it didn't, he wouldn't lose much. In such a large auction, it was normal for some items not to sell.

"One million and one!"

Sure enough, someone bid, the Korean man, whose Mandarin had a strange accent.

"One million and five!"

Patriotic sentiment kicked in again. Rich people didn't want to see such treasures go to foreigners, as it would be embarrassing.

"One million and six!"

"One million and eight!"

"One million and ten!"

Since the starting price was already high, the bidding increments were slow, unlike the rapid increase for Zhang Tianyuan's painting.

Zhang Tianyuan remained calm. He didn't bid but prepared to use his appraisal technique to determine if the jade suit was genuine. He didn't care about others' opinions because he didn't trust them. He trusted his own qi and his appraisal technique.

Although his seat was far from the front, it wasn't a problem. Since his qi had reached the Golden Dragon realm, he could control it more easily, with a range of about 200 to 300 meters. This meant he could sense treasures within that range.

The same applied to appraising items. Within 200 to 300 meters, he could use his透视 (penetrating vision) and 查微 (microscopic examination) abilities, as well as his qi's penetration ability, which was much more convenient than before.

In the past, he had to hold an item to appraise it, but the benefits of reaching a higher realm were significant.

He first used 查微 (microscopic examination) to look at the entire structure of the jade suit. It consisted of a hood, upper body, sleeves, gloves, pants, and shoes, all made of jade pieces and sewn together with gold thread.

The suit had jade eye covers, nose plugs, a genital cover, and an anal plug. The edges were hemmed with red fabric, and the pants were reinforced with iron strips to maintain their shape. The face cover had eyes, nose, and mouth carved on it, and the chest and back were broad, with a protruding abdomen, resembling a human body.

The suit used a large number of jade pieces and gold threads, and the craftsmanship was extremely fine. The jade pieces were neatly arranged, the seams were tight, the surface was smooth, and the colors were harmonious, truly a marvel.

PS: The power came back at eleven, so I'm uploading now. This chapter counts for yesterday and doesn't affect today's update.

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