Tomb raiding: A mere 20 is nothing!

"Lighting the Sky Lantern" is a special auction rule at the Crescent Hotel, similar to a private auction. It means that the person who lights the lantern is "determined" to win the item in this round of bidding, and no matter how high the final price is, the person who lights the lantern will pay for it, and there is no upper limit to the price.

Over the past century, only a handful of people have been able to light lamps. During the Republic of China era, Master Zhang Dafo lost all his wealth by lighting three lamps, and ten years ago, Wu Xie ended up owing 260 million yuan after lighting a sky lantern. This shows that lighting a lamp is not something ordinary people can afford; a slight misstep can lead to financial ruin.

These two words were like a thunderclap, and all eyes in the room instantly focused on room number six on the second floor.

Shen Mingchao and his group were no exception.

The curtain was slowly drawn back, and a young man walked out. He stood under the eaves, looking every bit the refined gentleman of a noble family.

The new Chinese-style short shirt he was wearing was based on navy blue with light brown cloud patterns. The stand-up collar was adorned with gold embroidery, and the frog buttons were like stars embedded in the body of the shirt. The fabric had a great drape, and when worn by the young man, it looked elegant without being clumsy.

It was Qi Qiu, whom we hadn't seen in a long time.

It seems he has completely taken over the Qi family's assets and become the true head of the Qi family.

Qi Qiu's private room was directly opposite Shen Mingchao's. Their eyes met in the air. Qi Qiu's eyes were as gentle as spring water, and his voice was neither too loud nor too soft. He did not try to avoid people when he spoke.

"Sister, I've come to keep my promise."

Shen Mingchao had only one thought in his mind right now.

If dreams could truly be communicated, I wonder if Master Qi would scold Qi Qiu for being a spendthrift, or marvel at Qi Qiu's success, that the Qi family, a hundred years later, would even dare to light sky lanterns.

Shen Mingchao picked up his phone and typed: [Xiao Qiu, I don't want your family fortune, you don't need to do this.]

That's the truth. She's not short of money. Even if the Qi family's assets were handed over to her, she wouldn't have time to manage them. It would be too much trouble, and in the end, Qi Qiu would have to take care of them. It would just be a formality and wouldn't make any sense.

While Shen Mingchao was focused on persuading Qi Qiu, he didn't expect that the people around him would also cause trouble.

"Light the sky lantern in room number 1 on the second floor!"

The tone of these words was noticeably higher. Lighting lanterns is a rare sight, but lantern battles are even rarer, happening only once in a century.

The scene erupted into an unprecedented uproar once again.

Shen Mingchao's brain went blank for a second before he came to his senses and looked at Xie Yuchen in disbelief.

"Why are you lighting sky lanterns? Are you in such a hurry to send money to the Crescent Moon Hotel?"

She never imagined that the composed head of the Xie family would act impulsively. It was understandable that Qi Qiu was young and prone to impulsiveness, but Xie Yuchen shouldn't have acted this way.

"I..." Xie Yuchen reacted quickly, trying to justify his irrational behavior: "Once the sky lantern is lit, there's no going back. I've saved Qi Qiu in a way, so I won and I'll pay the bill."

"That makes sense, but..." Shen Mingchao felt something was off. These two fighting over lanterns was like a flood washing away the Dragon King Temple, benefiting the New Moon Hotel for nothing.

Why bother?

Just as Shen Mingchao was wondering what was going on, something even more outrageous happened.

"Light the sky lantern in room number 5 on the second floor!"

Upon hearing this, Qi Qiu and Xie Yuchen both frowned. Playing lanterns with acquaintances was fine as a game, but with strangers involved, the situation was quite different. They were simply curious: who had the ability to challenge the combined strength of the Qi and Xie schools?

They had a very bad feeling, and when the curtain in room 5 was pulled open, their premonition came true.

The only ones who would dare to enter at this moment, without fear of death, are those unfamiliar rivals who share the same thoughts.

Looking around, three men were sitting in room number five, each with a tall and handsome figure.

He exudes a strong sense of detachment, as if there is an invisible barrier separating him from his surroundings.

There is only one kind of person with such an aura, and who is well-known to them—the Zhang family.

The one who was the most restless among them had already raised his glass and toasted them from afar.

"I'd heard about these sky lanterns before, and now I've finally experienced them for myself. You two better be on your toes; we're not going to lose so easily!"

His tone was typically one of stirring up trouble, extremely arrogant, and he issued a challenge from afar.

Shen Mingchao no longer knew how to describe the current situation. She felt as if the world had quietly turned into a place she didn't recognize. After confirming that the people in room 5 were the three from the Zhang family, a question suddenly arose in her mind.

So it turns out that members of the Zhang family can also have occasional bouts of madness?

She really wanted to release Zhang Haixia and give each of the three people opposite her a flick on the head to wake them up.

The Zhang family is already in decline, and they finally managed to cripple the Wang family. Instead of keeping a low profile, they're running around the New Moon Hotel arguing? Does Zhang Qilan know about this?

The three families are now bidding against each other, and the situation is out of control. No one present has ever seen anything like it before. Since someone else is paying, everyone is bidding enthusiastically.

The starting bid was originally 5 million, but it's already almost 50 million. Judging from the high level of enthusiasm from the crowd, the price will probably be at least 100 million.

Shen Mingchao was completely dumbfounded.

"Let's fight those rich people!!" Li Cu said through gritted teeth in the back row.

He knew perfectly well why these people were doing this, but he was dirt poor, and his two brothers couldn't even contribute enough. He could only watch helplessly as his wealthy rivals secretly competed with him, while the three of them didn't even have a chance to speak.

Su Wan hung his head and muttered, "There are so many enemies, and none of them are easy to deal with. Pressure, are we doomed?"

Unable to bear it any longer, Yang Hao smacked Su Wan with a stick and whispered angrily, "How can you boost others' morale while diminishing our own!"

"To be honest," Su Wan said, rubbing his head.

Li Cu's chest heaved violently. At this moment, his desire to make money reached its peak. He looked up and saw Shen Mingchao leisurely getting up and taking a step to leave.

Li Cu was startled, thinking Shen Mingchao was angry, and hurriedly called out to her, "Mingchao, where are you going?"

"The room next door."

"Where are you going and what are you doing?"

Shen Mingchao smiled mischievously, his eyes full of interest. "Since things are already in such a mess, why not add some more firewood and make the fire burn even brighter?"

"What do you mean by this?" Li Chu asked, confused.

"It means joining the group instantly."

Li Chu still didn't understand, but that didn't stop him from following Shen Mingchao's steps, leaving room number one and arriving at room number two. Su Wan and Yang Hao, of course, followed along.

The others who had been paying close attention to Shen Mingchao's movements had some guesses in their minds, but they dared not be completely certain.

It wasn't until a lamp was hung on the eaves of room number 2 that everyone smiled knowingly, thinking, "Just as I thought."

"Room number 2 on the second floor has also lit a sky lantern, so now there are four families competing with lanterns. This scene is truly unheard of and unseen!"

Even the calm and composed female auctioneer couldn't help but get excited.

Shen Mingchao leaned against the railing, her purple dress making her look stunningly beautiful, her face captivating, and every glance and brow exuding charm.

She raised her teacup in return to the crowd, speaking at a measured pace: "How could I miss such a once-in-a-century spectacle? Ladies and gentlemen, the show has only just begun."