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天行醫尊
隱面佳人
家有盲夫太腹黑
美女的超強近衛
今夜星辰似你
我的高冷大小姐
專職高手
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乘龍快婿
新書榜單
傅少的心上佳人
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重生霸道嫡女
冷總鎖妻纏情
極兵強衛
歷少的限時婚寵
至尊狂兵都市遊
狼性老公太纏情
一等狂兵
我的傾城美人
原創榜單
我的高冷大小姐
初婚有刺
神級透視
賴上冷豔女總裁
終極教官在花都
恰似愛如潮
都市玄醫民工
戰龍在都
最強天王
冰山總裁的貼身保鏢
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my booty, I asked if anybody would take my place, and made a notion to rise; upon which an old Gascon, who sat opposite to me, and of whom I had won a little money, started up with fury in his looks, crying, 「Restez, foutre, restez! il faut donner moi mon ravanchio!」 At the same time, a Jew, who sat near the other, insinuated that I was more beholden to art than fortune for what I had got; that he had observed me wipe the table very often, and that some of the divisions appeared to be greasy. This intimation produced a great deal of clamour against me, especially among the losers, who threatened with many oaths and imprecations, to take me up by a warrant as a sharper, unless I would compromise the affair by refunding the greatest part of my winning. Though I was far from being easy under his accusation, I relied upon my innocence, threatened in my turn to prosecute the Jew, for defamation, and boldly offered to submit my cause to the examination of any justice in Westminster; but they knew themselves too well to put their characters on that issue, and finding that I was not to be intimidated into any concession, dropped their plea, and made way for me to withdraw. I would not, however, stir from the table until the Israelite had retracted what he had said to my disadvantage, and asked pardon before the whole assembly.
As I marched out with my prize, I happened to tread on the toes of a tall raw-boned fellow, with a hooked nose, fierce eyes, black thick eyebrows, a pigtail wig of the same colour, and a formidable hat pulled over his forehead, who stood gnawing his fingers in the crowd, and he sooner felt the application of my shoe heel, than he roared out in a tremendous voice, 「Blood and wounds! you son of a whore, what’s that for?」 I asked pardon with a great deal of submission, and protested I had no intention of hurting him; but the more I humbled myself the more he stormed, and insisted on gentlemanly satisfaction, at the same time provoking me with scandalous names that I could not put up with; so that I gave loose to my passion, returned his Billingsgate, and challenged him down to the piazzas. His indignation cooling as mine warmed, he refused my invitation, saying he would choose his own time, and returned towards the table muttering threats, which I neither dreaded nor distinctly beard; but, descending with great deliberation, received my sword from the door-keeper, whom I gratified with a guinea, according to the custom of the place, and went home in a rapture of joy.
anks of the Ten Masterpieces!」
「Young master Yale of the Dawson Conglomerate bids six million gold coins!」 Austoni once again announced from the third level.
Upon hearing this price, Kalan’s face was beginning to turn black.
The price had reached six million gold coins so quickly. This truly had exceeded Kalan’s expectations. Based on Kalan’s predictions, given that the cheapest of the Ten Masterpieces was valued at 5.28 million gold coins, the eight million gold coins he had prepared should have been more than enough.
But…
Kalan wasn’t a true collector. He didn’t have a deep understanding of the field of stonesculpting.
Those true connoisseurs could totally sense the unique, soul-stirring aura of this sculpture, 『Awakening From the Dream』, especially when viewing all five images together. Such a thing was extremely rare. In the entire history of the Yulan continent, there had never been a case of five figures carved into a single sculpture, especially in such a manner as to evoke a sad, beautiful feeling in the viewer.
What’s more, the sculptor was only sixteen years old when this was completed. And he was a genius magus!
「I cannot allow the price to continue rising like this.」 Kalan frowned.
He knew that if the price continued to rise slowly, his chances of winning the auction would grow slimmer and slimmer.
「Eight million gold coins!」 Kalan’s loud voice announced his bid.
From six million gold coins to eight million gold coins. A sudden increase of two million gold coins. This sort of explosive increase was enough to stun everyone present. After all, even the Ten Masterpieces were only worth so much. Even those three precious sculptures by Proulx were only worth around seven million gold each.
True collectors didn’t collect just for the sake of collecting; they had a keen eye for value as well.
Otherwise, if they just wildly threw their money around, they would bankrupt the clan.
The golden-haired, middle-aged man immediately shouted loudly, 「The Debs clan bids eight million gold coins! Such a nice, tidy, neat increase to eight million gold coins. From this, one can tell that they are determined to win this auction for this sculpture! I can already imagine how, in the future, once Master Linley becomes a Saint-level combatant, this sculpture’s price will no longer just be eight million gold coins. Most likely, by then, it will be worth sixteen million gold coins!」
This golden-haired man’s promotion ability was really very fierce.
But none of those who were present were fools. All of them were pondering…after all, even if they had money, it had to be spent in a meaningful way.
….
On the third level of the auction hall, Linley, Yale, King Clayde, Cardinal Guillermo, and Cardinal Lampson were all engaged in idle chatter and laughter as they watched the below events.
「Third Bro, that Kalan has made his bid.」 Yale said in a low voice.
Linley couldn’t help but turn to look at Kalan’s booth. He could clearly see Kalan holding hands with Alice inside their booth. Judging from Kalan’s expression, he was very agitated.
「Third Bro, let me give him a bit of pressure. No matter what, we can’t allow your sculpture to fall into his hands.」 Yale said in a soft voice.
「No need.」 Linley slowly shook his head.
Linley was staring directly at Alice. Sitting there in the booth, Alice looked like a pitiable little girl who had suffered some sort of mistreatment. All of the other members of the Debs clan were looking at Alice with a hint of dissatisfaction in their eyes. After all, their clan was spending an enormous amount of money for Alice’s sake.
「If they really want it, let them have it.」 Linley said emotionlessly.
Sitting next to him, Guillermo and Lampson exchanged glances, then chuckled.
…..
Within the private booth.
All the members of the Debs clan were feeling very nervous. But of course, Alice and Kalan were the most nervous of all.
「Relax, Alice. Eight million gold coins is already an extremely high price. It won’t get any higher.」 Kalan comforted Alice…but who was going to console him? Because the clan had only authorized him to bid up to eight million gold.
That golden-haired middle-aged man lifted up a small hammer. 「The Debs clan has bid eight million gold. Is anyone going to outbid them? If not…I am going to begin the countdown.」
「Ten million gold.」
A rather lazy voice sounded out from one of the seats in the middle of the first level. Up till now, virtually all of the bids for this sculpture, 『Awakening From the Dream』, had come from those extremely powerful clans seated in the second level. They were the ones who were really engaged in this bidding war. Those nobles sitting below were just there to watch the excitement. Nobody expected one of them to make a bid as well.
「None of you have any insight. From what I can tell, this 『Awakening From the Dream』 can be considered to be the start of an entirely new style of stonesculpting. Its carving style is totally different from every other sculpture, and what’s more, it has five images with totally unique yet connecting auras. It definitely is worth ten million gold coins.」 That man who bid ten million gold coins said casually.
From the loose, baggy long robes of this thirty to forty year old man, everyone could sense his lazy, indolent nature.
「Ten million gold coins?」
Within their private booth, Alice and Kalan were both stunned.
Book 5, The Godsword, Bloodviolet – Chapter 16, An Owner Found
「Big brother Kalan.」 Alice called out in a low voice, while looking at him with urgency in her eyes.
Perhaps others would feel pride at being the inspiration for a Grandmaster-level sculpture. But this 『Awakening From the Dream』 of Linley’s was different. Anyone who had ever spent any time analyzing sculptures would be easily be able to tell from the aura given off by those five figures that there was a romantic history between Linley and Alice.
If Alice had just married into a small clan, that wouldn’t be as much of an issue.
But…she was marrying into the clan of Kalan Debs.
Kalan was the future successor to the leadership of the Debs clan, and the Debs clan was one of the top three clans of the entire Kingdom of Fenlai.
「Calm down, calm down.」 Kalan comfortingly held Alice’s hand.
But Alice could feel that Kalan’s hand was covered in sweat.
「Father…」 Kalan turned towards his father, Bernard, then looked at his mother. His parents both doted on him exceedingly, which was why they were willing to spend eight million gold coins on Kalan’s behalf. After all, even to the Debs clan, eight million gold coins was an exceedingly large sum.
「Kalan, don’t even think about it. The clan can’t possibly hand over ten million gold coins just for the sake of your fiancée.」 Bernard said, his face extremely solemn.
Kalan was stunned. Even Alice turned her head to look at Bernard, her eyes filled with worry and a hint of supplication.
「We』ll act in accordance with our previous discussion.」 Bernard totally ignored Alice’s silent appeal as he coldly pronounced his judgment.
Kalan froze for a long moment, while by his side, Alice tightly clutched his hands, staring into Kalan’s eyes. Alice fully understood what Bernard meant by his words just now. Alice was extremely unwilling to accept this result.
Kalan glanced at Alice. He let out a helpless sigh, then slightly shook his head.
「Big brother Kalan, I’m not willing…」 Alice said in a small voice.
Kalan clasped Alice’s hands. He gently shook his head again. 「There’s no other way. Alice…I am the heir to our clan. I have to put the considerations of the clan first. I hope you are willing to sacrifice a little bit for me as well. I promise you that my heart towards you will never waver.」
Alice fell silent.
The heir to the clan!
These five simple words guaranteed that every single action of Kalan’s would reflect upon the honor and glory of the Debs clan. Although Bernard loved and doted on his son very much, no matter what, he could not permit Alice to become Kalan’s principal wife.
That’s right. There was no way she could become the principal wife.
In other words, any children which Alice bore Kalan in the future would not be able to become a heir, or be considered to be direct line of descent.
In truth, ever since the 『Awakening From the Dream』 had been viewed by many people, the elders of the Debs clan had been constantly urging Kalan to give up Alice. Even if Kalan insisted on marrying her, they didn’t wish for Alice to become his principal wife. But Kalan had remained steadfast.
In the end, Bernard, the doting father, compromised. He decided that if they were able to purchase this 『Awakening From the Dream』, then this matter would more or less be at an end.
But from the looks of it…
「Big brother Kalan!」 Alice looked at Kalan, her eyes turning moist. At the same time, she turned to look at the other members of the Debs clan. But at this moment, neither Kalan, nor Bernard, nor Kalan’s mother, paid Alice any mind.
At that moment, Alice felt her heart grow cold.
She suddenly thought back to everything she had experienced with Linley, how Linley had protected her and unstintingly cherished her. In the past, she had always taken Linley’s constant yielding to her for granted, but at this moment, how she longed for that feeling!
Raising her head, her gaze passed through the glass window to stare at the third level. But all she could see was the black glass.
「Ten million gold! Ten million gold! Is anyone willing to bid higher?」 That golden-haired man was calling out from the platform.
The man dressed in the loose robes casually glanced around. And then, he directly addressed that golden-haired auctioneer. 「Hey, stop wasting time. Hurry up and start counting.」 The nobles nearby all began to laugh.
How could an auctioneer possibly obey the commands of one of the bidders below?
Based on their understanding of this golden-haired auctioneer, they knew him to be someone who would constantly escalate the bidding wars until the price reached an extremely high level.
But upon hearing the words of the man in the loose robes, the auctioneer seemed to have been hypnotized. Very naturally, he said, 「Okay, then I』ll start counting! Three, two…」
「10.1 million gold coins!」
An ancient-sounding voice rang out from one of the second-level private booths.
Everyone’s attention turned towards that booth. Even that man dressed in the loose robes turned to stare at that booth in astonishment. In that second level booth, aside from the Debs clan, every single clan present was one of the major, world-spanning clans of the Yulan continent.
The wealth of those clans was far higher than that of the Debs clan.
「Whoah, so there’s someone here who appreciates value after all. But raising it by just 100,000 is a bit too stingy. 10.3 million gold coins.」 The man in the loose robes said casually, grinning.
Linley and the others on the third level all noticed the man in the loose robes now, but from their current angle, they could only see the man from the side, and were unable to see his face clearly.
「Hrm?」
Cardinal Guillermo and Cardinal Lampson of the Radiant Church both suddenly rose to their feet. Frowns on their face, they walked to the opposite end of the glass, carefully looking down at the loosely-attired man below.
Just at that moment…
The loosely robed man seemed to have discovered the presence of the two Cardinals, as he raised his head upwards and glanced towards them.
「Him?」
The faces of the two Cardinals suddenly turned bone white.
Guillermo and Lampson exchanged glances, then they both shook their heads. In truth, the Radiant Church had already come to a decision about this auction. They had decided to spend a very large sum of money to purchase this sculpture, and thus improve the relationship between them and Linley.
But upon seeing this man, both Guillermo and Lampson silently decided to change their course of action.
「It’s best that we not get into a bidding war with this madman.」 Cardinal Guillermo said softly.
Cardinal Lampson nodded as well. 「I definitely don’t want to agitate that
My faithful valet, who had set up all night in the utmost uneasiness on my account, let me in with his face beslubbered with tears, and followed me to my chamber, where he stood silent like a condemned criminal, in expectation of hearing that every shilling was spent, I guessed the situation of his thoughts, and, assuming a sullen look, bade him fetch me some water to wash. He replied, without lifting his eyes from the ground, 「In my simple conjecture, you have more occasion for rest, not having (I suppose) slept these four-and-twenty hours.」 「Bring me some water!」 said I, in a peremptory tone; upon which he sneaked away shrugging his shoulders. Before he returned, I had spread my whole stock on the table in the most ostentatious manner; so that, when it first saluted his view, he stood like one entranced; and, having rubbed his eyes more than once, to assure himself of his being awake, broke out into, 「Lord have mercy upon us, what a vast treasure is here!」 「』Tis all our own, Strap,」 said I; 「take what is necessary, and redeem the sword immediately.」 He advanced towards the table, stopped short by the way, looked at the money and me by turns, and with a wildness in his countenance, produced from joy checked by distrust, cried, 「I dare say it is honestly come by.」 To remove his scruples, I made him acquainted with the whole story of my success, which, when he heard, he danced about the room in an ecstacy, crying, 「God be praised! — a white stone! — God be praised! — a white stone!」 So that I was afraid the change of fortune bad disordered his intellects, and that he was run mad with joy. Extremely concerned at this event, I attempted to reason him out of his frenzy, but
以上為部分近期熱門小說，平臺有近100萬部小說供您閱讀，進入「免費小說全本」公眾號。公眾號菜單欄「進入書城」在「書城首頁」可查找所有小說