Chapter 252: Helsinki
It was also a painting.
Even though it was covered in layers of spider webs and dirt, Xu Youyou could still sense the faintly ominous and eerie energy radiating from it.
Lu Jingyao followed her gaze and quickly raised his hand to cover Xu Youyou’s eyes.
“Don’t look at it too much,” Lu Jingyao said softly.
Xu Youyou nodded. Although she couldn’t fully make out what the painting on the ceiling depicted, her intuition told her it wasn’t something good.
She couldn’t help but ask the system, “Did the previous owner of this castle intentionally leave this painting behind as part of some special foreign witchcraft?”
The system responded: [Do not delve too deeply into the unknown. The more you know, the more it might harm you.]
“So what you’re saying is, as long as I know this painting is valuable, that’s enough?” Xu Youyou asked.
The system confirmed with a positive reply.
Xu Youyou didn’t dare to look at the painting any longer and, by extension, she also began to feel uncomfortable with the castle. Initially, she had planned to sell the valuable items inside, then have the place renovated, hoping to use it as a vacation home in the future.
Now, she had completely changed her mind and turned to Hua Lao, saying, “You know a lot of people. Do you think anyone might be interested in this painting?”
Hua Lao’s expression was not good. After hesitating for nearly half a minute, he slowly nodded, “I might know a few buyers.”
“Then please help sell the castle along with this painting. The commission is negotiable,” Xu Youyou said.
Hua Lao nodded lightly and asked, “How much do you want to sell it for?”
He was asking to gauge Xu Youyou’s expected price.
Xu Youyou hadn’t fully thought it through yet, but the system interface suddenly displayed a line of text.
“Two hundred million euros,” Xu Youyou said.
Hua Lao’s eyes widened in shock. “Just because there’s a painting, you’re asking for such an outrageous price? Is this painting worth more than a Van Gogh?”
The entire castle had only cost two million euros, and now, with the addition of a single painting, the value had increased a hundredfold. Hua Lao felt that Xu Youyou was being overly unrealistic.
Xu Youyou, however, fully trusted her system and said decisively, “You just quote that price, and I’ll only accept that price.”
Hua Lao had initially estimated the price to be around ten million euros, but since Xu Youyou was his boss now, he had no choice but to go along with it.
After leaving the castle, the group returned to their place in London. Hua Lao had only just arrived in London that morning and hadn’t booked a hotel, so he naturally followed them to Lu Jingyao’s place in London.
“Your house is big, so what’s the problem with letting me stay for a while?” Hua Lao said confidently, proud of himself for saving money.
Lu Jingyao couldn’t be bothered to argue with him and had someone arrange a guest room as far from his own room as possible.
Hua Lao didn’t mind. After placing his suitcase down, he started contacting potential buyers for Xu Youyou.
“There’s a painting on the ceiling?” The first buyer seemed very interested when he heard this.
Hua Lao sent over the photos he had taken.
Soon, the buyer asked, “How much?”
Hua Lao said, “Boss, let me tell you, buying this painting now is a great deal. It’s a buy-one-get-one-free offer—purchase the painting, and you get the house as well. The location is fantastic, with beautiful scenery all around…”
Hua Lao tried to provide a lot of background, but the buyer, clearly impatient, simply said, “Don’t waste time with all that. Give me a price.”
Thinking about the buyer’s shady background, Hua Lao was worried that highballing could get him into trouble. After a moment of caution, he finally spoke up, trying to be tactful, “The seller is a crazy woman. She says she won’t sell for less than 255 million euros.”
To Hua Lao’s surprise, the buyer immediately responded, “That works.”
Hua Lao had originally planned to add a few more lines to negotiate the price down to 200 million euros, to show off his skills, but the buyer accepted the initial asking price without hesitation.
“Alright… okay… I’ll contact the buyer right away,” Hua Lao stammered.
For a moment, he felt like the world had become unfamiliar. Xu Youyou and this buyer were like two people who dared to sell and buy without hesitation. What he had thought would be a tough negotiation had ended up being so easy.
Xu Youyou, too, hadn’t expected that after just one dinner, Hua Lao would finalize the deal, even making a profit of fifty million euros.
“Mr. Hua, I apologize for speaking too loudly earlier,” Xu Youyou teased.
Hua Lao proudly puffed out his chest and said, “It’s nothing. Don’t worry, I’m not just frugal, but I have a wide network. There’s no buyer I can’t find.”
He didn’t mention that this buyer was just the first one he had found. He even regretted not having pushed for a bidding war. If he had, the painting might have gone for an even higher price.
Clearly, the buyer was very eager. The next day, he arrived in London to finalize the deal.
The buyer was a middle-aged man wearing a white robe, with an ordinary white face. Xu Youyou couldn’t quite explain why, but she felt a subtle sense of dislike when looking at his almost stereotypical white European features. She couldn’t shake the feeling that this man wasn’t as simple as he appeared.
Not wanting to dwell on it further, she took the man in the robe to inspect the painting on the ceiling of the hidden room.
The man was quick to pay and request the transfer of the property.
In the span of just one day, Xu Youyou had obtained a huge fortune, and it left her feeling strangely numb to the experience.
At that moment, Qing Yatou suddenly called.
“I dreamt that you should head north,” she said before hanging up.
Although Xu Youyou found it a bit odd, when Lu Jingyao asked about the next part of their European journey, she immediately replied, “Let’s head north.”
Lu Jingyao didn’t object and said, “If we go north, we can see the Northern Lights.”
And so, the plan was set. After leaving London, they headed for Finland.
In March, southern Finland had a relatively normal temperature, but the further north they went, the colder it became.
【Dear host, it seems you have arrived early at the treasure-hunting location. Do you still require the system’s guidance? If you choose to forgo the system’s hints, you will be granted an exemption from one treasure-hunting failure penalty.】
Xu Youyou had just arrived in Finland and didn’t even know where the treasure was, so despite the system’s tempting offer, she shook her head.
“I don’t have the skills for this,” Xu Youyou said.
After a brief flicker, the system displayed a golden pointer in mid-air.
Xu Youyou was currently staying in a luxurious residence in Helsinki, which Lu Jingyao had booked in advance. It was very close to the Helsinki Cathedral, and they had planned to visit it in about half an hour.
Seeing the system’s three-day deadline appear, Xu Youyou grabbed Lu Jingyao’s hand and said, “I just want to wander around. Can we go to the cathedral tomorrow instead?”
