143: Unfair match

The next morning at ten o'clock, Qin Yun and Julia arrived at Haishizi's manor.

Upon pressing the doorbell, an elderly man in his sixties wearing a tailcoat walked out.

"I am Potter, the butler of the Haishizi household. You must be Mr. Qin Yun. My master has been waiting in the living room for a long time. This way, please."

After the Old Butler finished speaking, he bowed and invited the two inside.

Julia and Qin Yun glanced at each other, both sharing a knowing, subtle smile.

She greatly admired Qin Yun's judgment.

The Old Butler knew they were coming and had been specifically waiting here; it seemed Haishizi really did have business with Qin Yun.

Furthermore, he clearly placed great importance on Qin Yun. The Old Butler appeared the moment they arrived and was extremely polite to them.

All of this confirmed that Qin Yun's suspicions were entirely correct.

"Thank you."

After expressing his thanks, Qin Yun followed behind the Old Butler with Julia, walking toward the living room.

Arriving at the drawing room, the Old Butler served them coffee and was just about to go inform his master.

A hearty voice drifted in from outside the door.

"You must be Qin Yun. You truly possess a dignified and extraordinary appearance. I am Haishizi, and it is an honor to meet you."

Qin Yun and Julia turned to look as a bohemian yet very meticulously dressed middle-aged man walked in from an inner room.

Qin Yun stood up calmly. "You must be Haishizi. You certainly have an extraordinary and distinctive presence."

Haishizi burst into laughter, ignoring his image. The butler standing nearby watched speechlessly, hesitating for a long while about whether to remind his master to mind his decorum, but he was eventually sent away by Haishizi.

"Old Butler, you go on and get busy. Qin Yun and I hit it off quite well; he won't take offense."

After speaking, Haishizi sat directly opposite Qin Yun, casually resting both arms on the back of the sofa like some mountain king.

"That half-volume of the yongle encyclopedia is in my hands. I also know you've been busy running around quite a bit for this book. It's slightly beyond my expectations that you were able to find me so quickly."

Haishizi said this while looking at Qin Yun with a smile.

The expression on his face practically said: 'Hurry up and beg me; as soon as you speak, I'll tell you everything.'

In reality, he wasn't as carefree as he appeared on the surface.

Last night, after learning that Bowen had been sent to prison, he had a premonition that Qin Yun would come.

He had instructed the butler to keep an eye on the entrance monitors, but even after waiting until past ten at night, there was no sign of Qin Yun.

Haishizi realized that Qin Yun wasn't as impatient as he seemed, chasing after every lead on the yongle encyclopedia the moment it appeared.

He had waited for several hours in vain and felt he had been slighted, which was why his words were so vague—he wanted to reclaim some face.

Qin Yun also leaned back on the sofa, looking very relaxed.

"It was rude of me to visit so abruptly without preparing a gift. I heard you have many collections here; would you mind letting me broaden my horizons? If there's something I like, I'll certainly pay a high price to buy it."

Qin Yun spoke of being rude, but his demeanor and tone showed not a hint of restraint.

His words even turned the tables, suggesting he wanted to buy a treasure from a Collector's own hands.

"Hahaha."

"Qin Yun, you truly are different. There's a reason you've made such a name for yourself in the highly competitive Treasure Hunter industry. I've heard you have many treasures in your possession; would you be willing to part with any?"

Haishizi wasn't angered; he laughed a few times and began to exchange pleasantries, praising Qin Yun.

Qin Yun could sense that Haishizi wanted him to speak first to gain the upper hand.

He could have haggled with Haishizi for a long time to see who would cave first, but with half the yongle encyclopedia in Haishizi's hands, no amount of pleasantries would be useful.

"You've been meticulously planning for so long, why don't you just state your objective directly?"

"I don't absolutely have to have this volume of the yongle encyclopedia. If your demands are too excessive, I'll turn around and leave, and I guarantee I won't bother you again, Mr. Haishizi."

Qin Yun didn't want to beat around the bush and got straight to the point.

He didn't want Haishizi to hold the half-volume of the yongle encyclopedia over his head, so he stated his terms with a hint of a threat.

Haishizi sat up straight, not dwelling on Qin Yun's threat.

"I'm a man who enjoys a good gamble. I have a massive gamble here for you; it just depends on whether you have the guts to participate."

After speaking, Haishizi gave Qin Yun a provocative look.

"Cut the nonsense and just say it!"

Qin Yun shook his head, his mindset unaffected by the other's words or demeanor.

Haishizi laughed somewhat awkwardly. "I suppose I was being a bit petty."

"I'll put up my half-volume of the yongle encyclopedia, and you put up the treasures in your shop. We'll have a gamble, and the winner takes everything."

After proposing his gamble, Haishizi looked at Qin Yun with burning eyes.

It seemed as though he cared more about whether the other would participate in this gamble than Qin Yun did.

"That's unfair."

Julia couldn't help but speak up in protest.

There were many good things in Qin Yun's shop; the stakes on both sides were completely unequal.

Moreover, that half-volume of the yongle encyclopedia originally belonged to Qin Yun; Haishizi had merely used schemes to obtain it, yet he wanted to use Qin Yun's own things to bet against him. It was absurd no matter how one looked at it.

Haishizi gave a contemptuous smile and said, "Fair? Fairness is a charity given by the strong to the weak. Did Qin Yun talk about fairness with other Treasure Hunters when he participated in Warehouse Auctions? Besides..."

"Don't give me that useless talk. Just tell me what the gamble is about."

Qin Yun didn't want to hear a long lecture and coldly interrupted Haishizi.

Haishizi sat up straight. "It's in your area of expertise. We'll determine the winner through a Warehouse Auction!"

"Don't worry, this is an extraordinary Warehouse Auction, a rare opportunity. You will definitely gain something from it."

After speaking, Haishizi stared at Qin Yun with fervent eyes, awaiting his response.

Qin Yun's mind raced. He had guessed that someone like Haishizi was likely looking for him for a Warehouse Auction.

After going to such great lengths, conducting rigorous tests, and setting up such an outrageous gamble, the Warehouse Auction Haishizi spoke of was certainly out of the ordinary!

He still had quite a few small antique gems in his Secondhand Store, but the most expensive ones had already been sold.

As for the Xia Country antiques that Qin Yun cared about deeply, they were all kept in a safe.

Qin Yun absolutely had to get that half-volume of the yongle encyclopedia.

In a gamble related to a Warehouse Auction, it was impossible for him to lose with his Profound Vision Treasure Eye.

The only question was how he wanted to win and by how much.

Thinking of this, he decided to accept the gamble.

To prevent Haishizi from overthinking, he hesitated for half a minute before replying, "Fine."

Upon hearing Qin Yun's straightforward answer, Haishizi's tense face relaxed.

He had been very nervous just now, fearing that Qin Yun wouldn't agree to his gamble.

"I knew you would agree."

"Trust me, as long as you use eighty percent of your ability, our harvest will definitely exceed your expectations."

After speaking, Haishizi called the Old Butler over and instructed him to treat Qin Yun and Julia with the highest level of hospitality.

Qin Yun didn't feel particularly happy. Even if there were high rewards, they would be earned through his own strength.

There was no need to feel grateful toward someone like Haishizi; it was better to measure their transaction through cold, hard interests.

With his warehouse-viewing abilities that far surpassed ordinary people, he could take the leading position in this cooperation.

Once he calmed his mind, Qin Yun began to enjoy the capitalist luxuries.

Expensive red wine, gold-leaf desserts, top-tier beef, deep-sea fish slices... Haishizi put down his knife and fork and wiped his mouth with a towel.

"Prepare yourselves well. The day after tomorrow in the morning, I will pick you up at the Bolton City airport."