Courtyard House: Starting by inheriting the tradition and suppressing the barbarians.

Winter, 1988.

Hong Kong, a city known as the "Pearl of the Orient".

It is in its most prosperous and extravagant golden age.

The night view of Victoria Harbour is dazzling and captivating, with skyscrapers lining the streets of Central.

Meanwhile, at Pacific Place in Admiralty.

A highly anticipated auction is about to begin.

Tonight, luxury cars are everywhere.

Almost all of Hong Kong's wealthy and famous people, as well as top collectors from all over the world, gather here.

Because tonight's final auction item is a rare treasure that is enough to shake the collecting world.

The ox and monkey heads from the twelve zodiac animal heads of the Yuanmingyuan!

......

The auction hall was dazzling with lights.

Li Xuan was dressed in a well-tailored Chinese-style stand-up collar suit, exuding a refined and profound air.

Beside him was Lou Xiao'e.

Lou Xiao'e is very familiar with Hong Kong.

"Xiao Xuan, tonight's battle won't be easy."

Lou Xiao'e looked at the blond, blue-eyed foreigners around her, and the shrewd-looking Jewish merchants, and said in a low voice:

"I heard that many people are eyeing those two animal heads this time, not only for collection, but also for speculation."

"The valuation has reached an outrageous level."

Li Xuan remained calm as his gaze swept across the room.

Since activating the [Aura Observation] technique, such occasions have become particularly interesting to him.

Everyone here is steaming from their heads.

Some have golden wealth, some have pink romance, and some have black bad luck.

But when his gaze fell toward the vault behind the auction stage...

Two thick and melancholic purple-gold energies surged into the sky!

You can still faintly hear cries and shouts that seem to come from more than a hundred years ago.

That's the aura of a national treasure.

Those are the souls of wanderers who are away from home and yearn to return.

Money is not a problem.

Li Xuan spoke calmly, as if discussing grocery shopping, "As long as the national treasure can return home, any amount of money is worth it."

"Does Jishi Pharmaceutical really need this little bit of money now?"

Lou Xiao'e smiled slightly upon hearing this: "That's true. The one thing we have in abundance right now is money."

......

Just as the two were about to sit down, a shrill noise came from not far away.

"Baka! Get out of the way! A good dog doesn't block the way!"

A group of Japanese men dressed in black suits and sporting small mustaches rudely pushed aside the people blocking their way.

Surrounded in the middle was a short, middle-aged man with a fleshy face.

He held a folding fan in his hand, his head held high, his nostrils pointing to the sky, as if he were the master of this place.

Jiro Tanaka.

He is a famous second-generation zaibatsu in Japan and a representative of the nouveau riche who have been on a shopping spree at international auctions in recent years.

Taking advantage of the appreciation of the yen, he went on a buying spree of art around the world, and was known for his arrogance and domineering behavior.

"Oh, isn't this Mr. Tanaka?"

A local Hong Kong tycoon wanted to go up and say hello.

Tanaka didn't even glance at him, and said something to the translator beside him.

The translator translated with an arrogant expression: "Mr. Tanaka said that he doesn't like talking to people who have no taste."

"Mr. Tanaka is determined to get the animal heads tonight; everyone else can go home and get some sleep."

"You!" The tycoon was so angry that his face turned green.

Tanaka gave a smug sneer, his gaze sweeping across the entire room.

Finally, the image landed on the animal head displayed on the big screen.

He spoke in extremely contemptuous, broken Chinese, deliberately made so that all the Chinese people around him could hear:

"The treasures of China... no, China are indeed exquisite."

"However, it would be a waste to leave it in the hands of the Chinese."

"Only our great Japanese Empire knows how to appreciate and protect."

Upon hearing this, the expressions of the surrounding Chinese buyers instantly changed, and they all glared angrily.

But Tanaka didn't care at all. Instead, he went even further, pointing at the two beast heads and letting out a nauseating laugh.

"Ha ha ha ha!"

"I bought them not to collect."

"I plan to saw these two bronze heads off."

"Then, it will be embedded in the entrance hall of my Tokyo mansion to hang umbrellas, or as a food bowl stand for my Akita dog."

"I think that would be incredibly artistic! It would be the best way to commemorate that war!"

boom!

The entire audience erupted in uproar.

This is not just arrogance, this is blatant humiliation!

This is a slap in the face to all Chinese people!

Buy China's national treasure to hang on an umbrella?

Feeding the dog?

"That's too much!"

"You little devils! You've gone too far!"

Several patriotic Hong Kong businessmen were so angry they were trembling and wanted to rush up and argue with them.

But he was blocked by the burly man next to Tanaka.

"What? You want to fight?"

Tanaka brandished his folding fan, a defiant look on his face. "At the auction, money talks!"

"Don't you Chinese people value face?"

"If you're so capable, then bury me in money! You poor bastards!"

Looking at Tanaka's disgusting face, Li Xuan's eyes instantly turned cold.

Even from more than ten meters away, Tanaka suddenly felt a bone-chilling cold.

As if being stared at by an ancient ferocious beast, the hairs on the back of his body stood on end.

"Xiao Xuan..."

Lou Xiao'e was so angry her hands were trembling. "These Japanese devils are too arrogant!"

"I want to punch him too!"

"Don't rush."

Li Xuan pressed down on Lou Xiao'e's hand. His voice was deep, yet it carried a chilling pressure.

He activated the [Aura Observation] technique and looked at Tanaka.

Although the Japanese man exuded an aura of wealth, his forehead was dark and shrouded in a thick aura of bloodlust.

"Those who commit many unrighteous acts will surely perish."

Li Xuan withdrew his gaze, a cruel sneer curling at the corner of his lips.

"Does he want to outdo others in wealth? Does he want to humiliate Chinese people?"

"Alright, then I'll grant his wish."

Li Xuan straightened his collar, then, with Lou Xiao'e in tow, strode towards the VIP seats in the first row.

It's right next to the field.

As Li Xuan passed by Tanaka, he stopped.

He looked down at the short Japanese man as if he were a grasshopper oblivious to its fate.

"Mr. Tanaka, is that right?"

Li Xuan said calmly in standard Japanese, "Remember what you just said."

"I hope you'll still be smiling when the auction ends."

"Who are you?" Tanaka was so overwhelmed by Li Xuan's aura that he could hardly breathe.

Who I am is not important.

Li Xuan sat back down, staring straight ahead, his voice clear and resonant.

"The important thing is that China's national treasures must return to China."

"Anyone who dares to rob me, I'll bury them in money."

Just then, the auctioneer struck the gavel.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the auction is now officially open!"

......