Alliance Leader Zhuangsheng Xiaomeng Mi Hudie a once again gifted a fifty-thousand-colorful-red reward. Many thanks! Wuxian is off to a blazing start in the first few days of the sixteenth year—this year is sure to be red-hot and prosperous. Wishing all our Alliance Leaders and fellow readers boundless prosperity and that all your heart's desires come true.
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The auction hall was buzzing with excitement. The auction hosted by the Purple Source Trading Company was of an exceptionally high caliber—quite a few Emperor Realm masters were in attendance, and every single item up for bidding fetched an excellent price, keeping the beautiful woman standing on the auction stage smiling without pause.
Spiritual pills and wondrous medicines, rare treasures and exotic artifacts flowed out one after another, and the bidding calls rising from all directions rose and fell in an endless wave.
"Next up for auction is a Flowing Cloud Butterfly Hairpin." The beautiful woman on stage suddenly raised her voice considerably, her luminous gaze sweeping across the audience below as she parted her cherry lips and said, "Friends who brought a lady companion or anyone planning to give a gift to their lady—please pay attention. This humble one dares to guarantee that this is absolutely the finest gift one could offer."
Regardless of how the beautiful woman was dressed, as a competent auctioneer she naturally knew what approach to take to drive prices up. Her words immediately piqued the interest of quite a few people. After all, the name "Flowing Cloud Butterfly Hairpin" alone told you it was a piece of jewelry.
Ordinary jewelry would never make it onto an auction block—only valuable artifacts qualified to appear. Everyone was curious about what type of jewelry this Flowing Cloud Butterfly Hairpin was and what kind of power it possessed.
Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, a maidservant walked out from backstage carrying a tray, and came to a stop beside the beautiful auctioneer. On the tray sat something covered by a red cloth, concealing the true appearance of the item from view.
The beautiful woman had thoroughly whetted everyone's appetite before she smiled faintly and reached out to lift the red cloth. In an instant, a deep azure light suddenly soared upward, trailing a streak of ethereal blue luminescence that illuminated every detail of the auction stage in breathtaking splendor.
A chorus of gasps erupted. Many women widened their eyes and gazed up toward the high platform—such beautiful things always captured women's attention.
When the sight became clear, those women let out yet another cry of wonder. The soaring azure light was nothing other than a butterfly dancing gracefully on the breeze, each flutter of its wings trailing beautiful phosphorescent trails that dazzled the eyes and mesmerized the soul.
After a moment, the butterfly descended and came to rest upon a jade-green hairpin, its wings still gently fluttering as though it were alive.
But everyone knew this butterfly had no life at all—it was an ornamental embellishment existing upon the hairpin in a special form.
The crowd marveled at the sight. Now not only the women's eyes shone with adoration—even some of the men had grown interested.
If one bought such a piece of jewelry and gifted it to a woman, it would absolutely win her favor. It might even lead to something wonderful.
"This artifact isn't merely decorative, is it? Might I ask what power it possesses?" A magnetic voice drifted from one of the private boxes.
The question struck at the heart of everyone's curiosity. Though the Flowing Cloud Butterfly Hairpin was undeniably extraordinary in appearance and stunningly beautiful, if it was merely a decorative piece, then its price would have to be significantly discounted.
Something that looked pretty but served no real purpose would only appeal to women. But the ones opening their wallets were men.
The beautiful woman on stage smiled faintly and said, "An artifact crafted by Master Hou—how could it possibly be merely decorative?"
"What?"
"This hairpin is an artifact forged by Master Hou?"
"Is that true?"
The auctioneer's words set the hall ablaze, wave after wave of exclamations rippling through the crowd, as though Master Hou were some truly extraordinary figure.
Yang Kai opened his eyes as well, curiosity piqued. "Who is this Master Hou?"
He asked the question but received no reply. Turning his head, he found Qin Yu with her red lips lightly pressed together, her lovely eyes fixed unblinkingly upon the high platform, her face brimming with visible longing. She was clearly very interested in the Flowing Cloud Butterfly Hairpin.
Yang Kai asked again, and only then did Qin Yu startle back to awareness, flushing slightly. "Master Hou is an artifact-forging master who rose to prominence in just the last ten years. Every artifact he has crafted has been nothing short of masterwork. However..."
"However what?"
"However, Master Hou is extremely reclusive. No one has ever seen his true face. No one even knows whether he is man or woman."
"That mysterious?" Yang Kai raised an eyebrow.
Qin Yu smiled. "Indeed. Over the past ten years, quite a number of exceptional artifacts have appeared in the Southern Domain, all forged by Master Hou. And he seems to be supremely skilled in forging every type of artifact—defensive, offensive, supportive, you name it. The man is simply a remarkably gifted artificer."
Yang Kai said, "If no one has ever seen him, then how does anyone know these artifacts were made by him?"
Qin Yu replied, "Every artifact he forges bears a mark. On each one, there is a hidden monkey-head emblem."
At that moment, on the high platform, the beautiful woman said, "If any of you doubt it, you are welcome to inspect the jade hairpin in this humble one's hand and verify whether it is indeed Master Hou's work."
The moment she finished, countless threads of Divine Sense spread from every direction, descending upon the jade hairpin. Yang Kai's own Divine Sense was among them. He carefully swept over it and found, just as Qin Yu had described, a lifelike monkey head carved on the side of the hairpin. At first glance, the monkey seemed to be scratching its ears and cheeks, vivid and spirited.
"It really is Master Hou's work!"
"Confirmed without a doubt. And it's a Dao Source grade, high-grade artifact."