Coiling Dragon

by welyjesch

  “Most of these sculptures feel hollow. They have a shape but no soul.”

  The 180-year old Count Juneau [Zhunuo] was slowly making his way through the main hall, his gaze flickering past one work of art after another. Count Juneau didn’t have any other hobbies; the only thing he liked was sculptures. Every day, he would spent his morning strolling through the Proulx Gallery.

  But within the main gallery, there were very few sculptures capable of attracting Count Juneau’s interest.

  “Milord Count, have any sculptures struck your fancy?” A beautiful attendant by his side said to him. Because Count Juneau came here every morning, all of the attendants working at the Proulx Gallery had become quite familiar with him.

  Count Juneau shook his head and laughed. “Haven’t found any yet.”

  “Milord Count, the quality of the sculptures here is much inferior than that of the sculptures in the hall of experts and the hall of the masters. Why do you spend every morning here?” The female attendant said curiously.

  Count Juneau intentionally let out a mysterious laugh. “You don’t understand. There are countless sculptures within this main hall. Perhaps hidden within there are some good works. The feeling of panning for gold by sifting through mud is quite marvelous.”

  “Oh?” The attendant looked at Count Juneau questioningly.

  Count Juneau didn’t explain any further. He continued to appraise one sculpture after another without stopping, but when he reached those three works of art sculpted by Linley, his eyes lit up. Having appraised sculptures for over a century, he could immediately discern that these three sculptures were special.

  “Cool, natural, proud and aloof…”

  Count Juneau couldn’t help but praise.

  The word was ‘essence’. For a work of art to be termed a ‘good’ work of art, it had to have that certain special essence to it. At a single glance, Count Juneau could tell that these three works of art emanated a cool, proud, and aloof aura. It was this unique aura which had stopped Count Juneau in his tracks.

  “Come over here and help me place a bid. For these three sculptures, I am willing to bid a hundred gold coins each.” Count Juneau said to the female attendant.

  The female attendant beamed and immediately pulled out a records book. After recording down the registration number of each sculpture, she took out three pieces of paper and placed them next to the sculptures, with each piece of paper bearing the words ‘hundred gold coins’ on them.

  While the female attendant was doing her administrative work, Count Juneau continued to savor these three sculptures.

  “Wait a second!” Juneau’s shadowy eyes suddenly lit up again as he stared fixedly at the sculpture of the ‘Velocidragon’. “How is it possible that the scaly armor on the back of the Velocidragon shares the same outline and line with the leg, as though it were all done as part of one series? Logically speaking, the scaly carapace should have been carved by a butterfly chisel, while the leg should have been carved using the straight chisel. No matter how careful one is, a sculptor can’t possibly make the lines flow together 100% perfectly!”

  Count Juneau had studied sculpture for over a century.

  Originally, he wasn’t a particularly wealthy noble, but based on his keen sight, he had collected many sculptures at a low price which he would later sell at a much higher price. This was how Count Juneau had become one of the wealthy nobles of Fenlai City.

  “Can it be that it was carved using a single tool? Impossible, aside from the butterfly chisel, what tool could possibly have been used to carve out such perfect, exquisite details in each protruding scale?” Count Juneau frowned, concentrating fiercely. He had never seen something so queer.

  “Milord Count?” Seeing him in a daze, the female attendant couldn’t help but call out to him softly.

  Count Juneau’s eyes flickered. He said to himself, “I didn’t expect that I would encounter such a unique work of art in the main hall of the Proulx Gallery. I can’t let others notice it. If I bid a hundred gold coins, some people will take special notice of it. It might cause the price to dramatically increase.”

  Count Juneau immediately made his decision.

  He would leave these sculptures alone for a few days, and come back later to bid on it during the final two days.

  “Help assist me in cancelling my offer.” Count Juneau directly said to the woman next to him.

  “Cancel?” The female attendant was startled. Based on their normal rules, once a bid was made, it could not be retracted. But Count Juneau was a very old, longstanding customer of the Proulx Gallery, and so the female attendant very matter-of-factly removed the three bidding stickers.

  “Might I ask milord Count why you have retracted your bid?” The female attendant asked.

  Count Juneau smiled mysteriously. “No need for you to ask. Oh, right, I want to ask you, how many days have these three sculptures been on display?”

  The female attendant flipped through her records, then smiled. “These three sculptures will be on display until June 30th. They were just brought here to the main hall yesterday.”

  Count Juneau nodded fractionally.

  “Alright, I’ll wander around a bit. You can go ahead and do what you need to do.” Count Juneau smiled.

  But in his heart, Count Juneau secretly rejoiced. In his appraisal, the true valuation of these three sculptures should be in the range of three thousand gold pieces. An ordinary sculpture by an expert was worth around a thousand gold pieces, and these three sculptures were all carved in a very unique manner. Just based on that alone, the actual valuation would be doubled.

  ……

  Count Juneau continued to visit the gallery every day. Indeed, just as he had expected, because the Proulx Gallery had so many sculptures, nobody else had managed to discover these three sculptures. Even if someone had, they only felt that the sculptures looked nice, and couldn’t see the true value of these sculptures.

  June 10th.

  Count Juneau once more arrived at the Proulx Gallery. Casually strolling about the main hall, he browsed through the selections. But once he reached the three sculptures, his face tightened. Next to each of the sculptures, there was a bidding slip.

  Three stone sculptures, each one with a bid for three hundred gold coins.

  Seeing this bid, Count Juneau inwardly seethed. “Fool! Even if you saw the true value of the sculptures, why would you bid such a high price right off the bat? This will just draw more attention to it.” Count Juneau’s heart was filled with rage, but there was nothing he could do. He didn’t have the authority to retract someone else’s bid.

  Everything unfolded just as he predicted and feared.

  June 12th. Count Juneau once again reached the three sculptures. By now, the price had changed once again.

  “Five hundred gold coins?” Count Juneau’s eyes narrowed to slits. “Seems like there’s quite a few people who know quality when they see it.”

  Previous Chapter

  Book 3, Mountain Range of Magical Beasts – Chapter 5, The Price (part 2)

  Count Juneau still refused to make a bid. He planned to make his bid on June 30th. As time flowed past, the valuation of the three sculptures continued to rise, but because even an expert crafter’s work was valued at around a thousand gold, the price rose rather slowly.

  500 gold coins. 510 gold coins. 515 gold coins.

  The bids continued to rise slowly. By June 29th, they had only risen to 625 gold coins.

  June 30th.

  Count Juneau actually did not appear this morning, which was quite a rare occasion. He waited until nightfall, because the Proulx Gallery did not close until midnight. Linley’s three sculptures would also be removed from the gallery at midnight.

  “The price yesterday was 625 gold coins. I’ll make my bid at the end.” Count Juneau smiled as he walked towards the three sculptures.

  “900 gold coins? What idiot made this bid?” Upon seeing the highest bid, Count Juneau’s heart explo
ded with fury.

  The price yesterday was just 625 gold coins, but in a day, the price had risen so dramatically. Although Count Juneau was furious, there was nothing he could do. He decided to wait patiently, and after a long period of time, he finally looked up to see the clock up above.

  “It’s already 11 PM. In an hour, the place will close.” Count Juneau revealed a hint of a smile.

  In Fenlai City, Count Juneau could be considered a middle-class noble. When he was young, Count Juneau was actually quite poor. Later, it was due to his shrewd investment in and collecting of sculptures that helped him slowly gain wealth. His current net worth was in the hundreds of thousands of gold coins. He could be considered a rather well off noble.

  “Count Juneau, you are here as well?” A whiskered middle-aged man in a swallow shirt smiled as he walked over.

  Upon seeing this person, Count Juneau’s countenance changed, but he still was able to smile calmly. “Count Demme [De’mu]! It’s almost eleven. Why are you here?” But in his heart, Count Juneau felt that things had just taken a turn for the worse.

  Count Juneau and Count Demme were both considered rather famous collectors of sculpture within the noble circles of Fenlai City.

  “Me? For these three sculptures, of course.” Count Demme stroked his whiskers, then said contentedly, “Count Juneau, take a look. The lines and aura of these three sculptures are so very mesmerizing. The expert who was able to produce such a unique aura must surely also be a unique person.”

  Count Juneau’s heart trembled.

  Indeed…

  This Count Demme had also seen the value of these three sculptures. For him to arrive at eleven o’clock most likely meant he had the same idea as Count Juneau.

  “Miss, come over here, please.” Count Demme said quite courteously to a nearby female attendant, who walked towards them with a smile. Count Demme pointed at Linley’s three sculptures. “I’m willing to pay a thousand gold coins for each one of these sculptures.”

  The attendant said courteously, “Just a moment.”

  She took out a record book and made some notations before placing the bidding slips next to the sculptures.

  “A thousand gold coins?” The facial muscles on Count Juneau’s face twitched.

  Count Demme said to him with a smile, “Count Juneau, these three sculptures really are exceptional. Right, what brings you out here so late at night, rather than resting at home? Are you here for these three sculptures as well?”

  Count Juneau let out a light hum.

  “I didn’t expect that Count Demme would be so interested in these three sculptures. Honestly, I hadn’t paid them much attention yet. Let me take a good look first.” Count Juneau smiled, then turned and began intensely studying the three sculptures, totally ignoring Count Demme.

  Seeing the scene before him, Count Demme sneered mentally. “Old fellow, do you really think you can hide your thoughts from me?”

  Like the murmurs of a river, the music continued to play in the main hall of the Proulx Gallery Count Juneau and Count Demme both quietly viewed various sculptures. The gallery remained as quiet as ever.

  “Dong. Dong.” The clocks on the walls began to chime.

  It was now midnight.

  “Miss, please come here.” Count Juneau said to the attendant, who immediately ran over.

  “These three sculptures, I am willing to buy for 1010 gold pieces.” Count Juneau made his bid at the last moment.

  The attendant saw that the current bid on the sculptures was 1000 gold pieces. She couldn’t help but glance sideways at Count Juneau. It was quite fortunate that Count Juneau had added ten pieces, and not just one.

  “Please wait a moment.” The attendant took out her record book.

  “Count Juneau, you actually just overbid by ten gold pieces? I’ll offer 1100 gold pieces!” Count Demme’s voice rang out. Count Juneau frowned as he turned to stare at Count Demme, who was casually striding over with a jocular air, an arrogant look in his eyes.

  As it turned out, Count Demme had been paying attention to Count Juneau this entire time, and as soon as Count Juneau made his bid, he came over.

  “I bid 1200.” Count Juneau said in a low voice, his fury clearly visible. Seeing the oncoming struggle between the two nobles, the attendant closed her record book and stood off to the side, happily watching the battle. The attendants of the Proulx Gallery loved to see customers enter bidding wars.

  Count Demme glanced at Count Juneau with ‘astonishment’. “Count Juneau, even the sculptures in the hall of the experts is worth only around a thousand gold coins. How could a frugal man such as you be willing to pay 1200 gold?”

  Frugal?

  Miserly was the word! Count Juneau was notorious for his miserliness.

  “Count Juneau, if even you are willing to bid 1200, then I can’t be stingy either. 1300 gold pieces!”

  Count Juneau’s gaze was ice cold. “The only reason why I am willing to offer a high price for these three sculptures is because I am fond of them. Their real value is only around a thousand gold or so. 1500 gold pieces! If you, Count Demme, are willing to make a higher bid, then you can take them.” Count Juneau made his final offer.

  In all honesty, Count Demme was not as insightful as Count Juneau. He didn’t discover the unique, strange aura to these statues.

  In Count Demme’s eyes, these statues didn’t hold any secrets. They were just three good pieces of art, worth a thousand gold or so. If he raised the price any further, there wouldn’t be much point.

  “Haha.” Count Demme laughed. “It’s so rare for Count Juneau to be so refreshingly magnanimous in his bidding. In honor of this occasion, I certainly can’t rob a man of his beloved possessions. These three sculptures are all yours, Count Juneau.”

  Only now did the attendant step forward again and begin recording the bid into her book.

  “Milord Counts, it is already midnight. The gallery is about to close. Count Juneau, tomorrow I will arrange for people to deliver the sculptures to you.” The attendant smiled. Only now did Count Juneau also smile.

  Count Juneau flicked a glance at Count Demme, feeling scornful. “Kid. How many years have I spent analyzing stonesculpting? You don’t have any insight, and you still want to bid against me?”

  Previous Chapter

  Book 3, Mountain Range of Magical Beasts – Chapter 6, The Invitation

  “Hrm, there were three sculptures in the main hall which sold for 1500 gold pieces each?” Austoni [Ao’Si’Tuo’Ni], a manager at the Proulx Gallery, stared at the records in astonishment. After flipping through the biographical details of the sculptor, Linley, he couldn’t help but be even more amazed. “These three are all made by Linley, and he’s only fifteen?”

  The world of sculpture was definitely that of a pyramid.

  The entire Holy Alliance had only five or six master level sculptors who stood at the peak of this field, and perhaps a hundred or so expert sculptors. From this, one could imagine how rare these experts were. Usually, someone who could be termed a ‘expert sculptor’ was someone who had an understanding of life and whose skill in this art was such that he could infuse this understanding into his sculptures. Only then would their sculptures have special auras.

  A fifteen year old expert sculptor?

  All but unheard of!

  “And this Linley fellow is a student at the Ernst Institute?” Austoni was growing more and more shocked. The Ernst Institute was the number one magus academy in the entire Yulan continent. “And he is a student of the fifth class? A fifteen year old student of the fifth class?”

  Austoni sucked in a cold breath.

  Genius!

  “Even if these three sculptures were only worth a thousand gold apiece, based on the age of the sculptor alone, the true value of these sculptures would definitely be several times greater.” Austoni became absolutely convinced of this.

  For a fifteen year old sculptor to be able to produce sculpture at this level meant that the value o
f his artwork would be exponentially greater.

  For this fifteen year old sculptor to also be a student at the Ernst Institute meant that he was a genius amongst geniuses. Once again, this would multiply the value of his sculptures.

  “This afternoon, I am going to the Ernst Institute. It has been quite some time since the Proulx Gallery has enrolled a new expert sculptor amongst our ranks.” Austoni made his decision. By virtue of the fact that all three of his sculptures had fetched a high price, Linley clearly had proved his worth.

  He was fully qualified to be invited to have his sculptures displayed in a private booth in the hall of experts.

  That very afternoon.

  A horse carriage drew up outside the main gates of the Ernst Institute. It was Austoni and two guards. Arriving at the main gate, Austoni took out his identification showing himself to be a manager at the Proulx Gallery. The Ernst Institute actually deployed one of their own guards to escort him.

  At the instructional areas for the fifth grade students at the Ernst Institute.

  “Mr. Austoni, this is where most of the instructors for the magi of the fifth rank congregate.” Smiling, the escort pushed the door open. Currently, around ten or so magi were here, chatting and laughing. To be qualified to instruct magi of the fifth rank, one would be a magi of the seventh or perhaps even the eighth rank.”

  As the door opened, these magi of exalted rank all turned to look.

  “Milords, this is Mr. Austoni of the Proulx Gallery. He has some business which he would like to beseech your aid for.” The escort said respectfully.

  The magi all nodded calmly.

  The Proulx Gallery had multiple branches in all of the kingdoms and empires in the Yulan continent, and it possessed astonishing power and influence. Thus, even proud, arrogant magi would be fairly cordial when dealing with the Proulx Gallery.

  “Milords magi.” Austoni said with a smile. “I’m here in search of a student named Linley?”

  “Linley?”

  All of the magi laughed. Amongst them, a purple robed magi said with a smile, “Linley? That’s one of the two utmost geniuses of the Ernst Institute. He is a dual-element magus, wielding earth and wind. Go speak with his wind-element instructor. He might know.”