When the knock came at the door, the group was already prepared.
The knocking was hurried. Before the visitor had even spoken, he tried to push open the door.
“Stop,” Canglang snapped.
“Is this how your auction house treats honored guests—barging in without permission?”
They still had an unconscious rabbit demon hidden inside the room, so receiving visitors was rather inconvenient. Their only option was to put on airs and feign irritation.
“Again and again, you people...”
The guard stopped outside, not daring to force his way in. Lowering his voice, he said, “Honored guests, Miss Scarlet sent me to discuss something with you.”
“They really came!” Chi Yantian’s eyes lit up. He was about to speak when Scholar Xiao lowered his folding fan, signaling for him to remain calm.
Sounding as though his interest had finally been piqued, Scholar Xiao asked, “What does she wish to discuss?”
The guard answered obsequiously, “We merely wished to confirm something with our honored guests. You bid two million five hundred thousand spirit stones on the Heaven-Tempered Yellow Crystal just now. Is that correct?”
“That’s right.” Scholar Xiao deliberately sighed with regret. “Unfortunately, someone with deeper pockets bid three million.”
“I still want to see what other treasures appear later, so I suppose I’ll have to let it go...”
“Oh, honored guest, that is precisely what Miss Scarlet sent me to discuss!” the guard hurriedly interjected. “Do our honored guests truly intend to give up so easily?”
“Miss Scarlet could tell at a glance that you are discerning buyers. Heaven-Tempered Yellow Crystal of such quality is worth far more than that...”
Scholar Xiao laughed despite himself. “What? Do you want us to help drive up the price?”
“No, no. How could we possibly do such a thing?” The guard told the barefaced lie without so much as blinking. “It’s merely that... the guest who made the last bid is somewhat unusual.”
Of course he’s unusual. He’s your own shill, Yu Qingtang thought.
He exchanged an amused glance with Ye Chenyan, curious to see how the man intended to explain his way out of this.
“That guest is extremely powerful, but...” The guard gritted his teeth. “He has a habit of delaying payment.”
“If our honored guests are willing to settle the payment immediately, Miss Scarlet is prepared to make the decision herself and reserve the Heaven-Tempered Yellow Crystal for you at two million five hundred thousand spirit stones.”
“Oh?” Scholar Xiao looked thoughtful. “You mean... you want us to continue bidding?”
Inside the water mirror, Scarlet had once again deployed his greatest talent, coaxing the guests until laughter and suggestive replies rang throughout the auction house. But only a small number of people could produce several million spirit stones, and he was clearly running out of ways to stall.
Outside the door, urgency crept into the guard’s voice.
“Bid whatever you please. So long as you win the Heaven-Tempered Yellow Crystal, the agreed price is two million five hundred thousand spirit stones. Not one stone more!”
As though afraid they might change their minds, he hurriedly pushed a written contract through the crack beneath the door.
“This contract will serve as proof!”
Scholar Xiao deliberately dragged out the moment, pretending to hesitate. “This...”
He glanced at Chi Yantian.
Chi Yantian had already leaped impatiently to his feet and called out without the slightest burden on his conscience.
“Five million!”
The entire auction house fell silent.
Even Scarlet, who had sent the guard over, froze for a moment. It took him some time to recover before he cried out in delighted astonishment, “My! An honored guest has bid five million!”
Terrified that the bidder might reconsider, he rushed through the count.
“Five million once, twice, three times! Sold!”
Scholar Xiao put away the contract after scanning it. At least there were no traps hidden in its terms.
As for whether anything was wrong with the Heaven-Tempered Yellow Crystal itself...
Seeing Chi Yantian in such high spirits, Scholar Xiao did not spoil the mood by voicing his suspicions. He merely looked contemplative and quietly formed a hand seal.
“Scholar Xiao, you really are something!” Chi Yantian’s delight was entirely genuine. “They actually came! I bought that ore for half its value!”
He scratched his head.
“But why did they come to us at all?”
“They could’ve simply auctioned it again next time...”
“Wouldn’t that expose them?” Yu Qingtang had already figured it out. “If the Heaven-Tempered Yellow Crystal they supposedly sold today appeared at the next auction, it would prove there was something wrong with the previous bidding.”
“Still...”
Yu Qingtang rubbed his chin.
“Why do I have such a bad feeling about this?”
When the bathhouse proprietor, Nobody-Likes-Me, had introduced them to this auction, he had said it was held every three to five days. The location changed every time, and the scale varied, but the organizers had a decent reputation for honesty. There had never been any serious incidents.
This time, however, the organizers had deliberately spread word in advance, telling their distinguished guests to bring plenty of spirit stones because an extraordinary treasure rarely seen in the world would be appearing. The rumors had circulated throughout Great Wilderness Mountain.
Nobody-Likes-Me had gone to considerable trouble to obtain the golden beetle from some unknown demon and give it to them.
Chi Yantian had clearly heard none of what Yu Qingtang said. His eyes blazed as he sprang to his feet.
“Dragonbone Jade!”
“This is the second-to-last treasure in today’s auction.” Scarlet ran his fingers across a semitranslucent piece of jade. Even through the water mirror, everyone could vaguely glimpse the shadow of a dragon flashing within it.
“I’m sure everyone knows what an extraordinary treasure Dragonbone Jade is.” Longing appeared on Scarlet’s face. “Years ago, a human sect skilled in artifact refining was fortunate enough to obtain a piece of Dragonbone Jade no larger than a fingernail. By combining it with other heavenly materials and earthly treasures, they forged a pair of blades—Hidden Dragon and Flying Dragon.”
“Those blades are now first-rank spiritual artifacts of the Heavenly Fire Cult in Rongzhou and among the cult’s most precious treasures!”
He clicked his tongue in wonder, his gaze flowing seductively over the audience.
“With a piece of Dragonbone Jade this large, just how many first-rank spiritual artifacts could be forged?”
Yu Qingtang looked worriedly at Chi Yantian, afraid those few sentences would go to his head and make him bankrupt himself to obtain the jade.
To his surprise, Chi Yantian wrapped his voice in spiritual power and sent it into the auction hall.
“That’s wrong.”
“The reason those twin blades are first-rank spiritual artifacts is because they were forged by the artifact-refining grandmaster Flame Immortal!”
“Strictly speaking, the meteorite iron used for their blades was far rarer. Dragonbone Jade is certainly valuable, but Dragonbone Jade alone cannot produce a first-rank spiritual artifact.”
Scarlet’s smile stiffened for an instant.
“...”
“And another thing.” Chi Yantian clearly had tremendous respect for the first-rank spiritual artifacts forged by his sect’s Patriarch. “They only used a fingernail-sized piece of Dragonbone Jade because that was all they needed.”
“Dragonbone Jade contains draconic energy, so it served as the perfect finishing touch. Adding more would actually have compromised the hardness and quality of the twin blades. Furthermore—”
“Ah...” Scarlet gritted his teeth and interrupted with a dry laugh. “It appears we have an expert artifact refiner among us.”
Years of navigating occasions like this had made him shamelessly adaptable. He managed to keep smiling.
“But I don’t understand artifact refining. All I know is that first-rank spiritual artifacts require Dragonbone Jade, which means it must be something valuable, right?”
Chi Yantian allowed himself to be led along and readily agreed.
“Of course it’s valuable.”
“The main reason is its rarity. After all, you need members of the dragon lineage before you can—”
“Ahem.” Having obtained the answer he wanted, Scarlet did not allow him to continue. Smiling broadly, he pulled the conversation back on course. “See? Even an expert agrees that it is an extraordinary treasure.”
“The entire piece will be auctioned together, with bidding starting at fifty million spirit stones. Should no one be capable of purchasing it whole...”
He looked regretful.
“We will have no choice but to divide it into smaller pieces and sell them separately.”
Before he could finish, someone spoke.
“One spirit stone more.”
Scarlet narrowed his eyes and chuckled.
“What an interesting guest. Very well—fifty million and one spirit stone.”
He was about to signal his own shill. Dragonbone Jade was enormously valuable and worth the risk of driving up the price.
Chi Yantian looked thoughtful.
Yu Qingtang asked in a trembling voice, “Brother Chi... you can’t actually afford this, can you?”
“Hm?” Chi Yantian turned around and gave him a hearty smile. “Since I came here specifically in search of rare spirit ores, naturally I brought enough spirit stones.”
Yu Qingtang: “...”
For some reason, the approachable Brother Chi he knew suddenly seemed to loom much larger than before.
He leaned numbly back in his chair and closed his eyes.
Chi Yantian called out with the overwhelming confidence of a man drowning in money.
“Fifty-one million!”
Yu Qingtang pressed his palms together and tried to persuade himself, “...It’s all the same.”
“A few million spirit stones would be enough to crush me to death. Tens of millions would crush me just as dead. It’s all the same.”
Ye Chenyan suppressed a laugh, cleared his throat, and moved closer to him.
“If you want spirit stones... every province has standing bounties. We have ways to earn money.”
“Exactly.” Yu Qingtang’s gaze became resolute as he clasped both of Ye Chenyan’s hands. “We must rely upon our own two hands...”
“Oh, right. You helped me save all those spirit stones earlier.” Chi Yantian spoke with magnificent generosity. “When you have time, come with me to Rongzhou. I’ll take you into the Heavenly Fire Cult’s treasury, and you can choose whatever magical artifacts you like!”
Yu Qingtang immediately changed his tune.
“Actually, there’s nothing wrong with occasionally eating a pie that falls from the heavens.”
Ye Chenyan raised an eyebrow. “...Oh?”
Yu Qingtang muttered under his breath, “It’s a pie from my Brother Chi. What’s wrong with taking a bite?”
He hooked an arm around Ye Chenyan’s shoulders.
“I’ll let you have some too!”
The earlier bidder raised the price again.
“One more spirit stone.”
Yu Qingtang tilted his head and listened closely.
“This person never bid on anything before. It sounds like he came specifically for the Dragonbone Jade.”
After a pause, he added, “He never reacted to Scarlet’s flirting either.”
“Who cares?” Chi Yantian narrowed his eyes, his fighting spirit clearly awakened. “He reacted to my Dragonbone Jade!”
“Fifty-two million!”
The other bidder replied with the same airy indifference.
“One more spirit stone.”
Chi Yantian’s temper flared.
“Sixty million!”
Yu Qingtang manually tuned out the voices engaged in this shameless display of wealth and turned to Ye Chenyan.
“What are we eating tonight? I still haven’t taken you to the Curiosities Tower with the Esoteric Sect disciple’s apology letter posted outside, have I?”
Amid the noisy exchange of “one more spirit stone,” “seventy million,” and “one more spirit stone,” Ye Chenyan calmly nodded.
“No. But you did show me the apology letter.”
The price soared all the way to ninety million spirit stones.
At last, the opposing bidder fell silent.
Scarlet’s eyes curved with delight. He said gently, “Ninety million spirit stones once. My, honored guest, won’t you raise it just a little more? Add one more stone.”
The other voice finally answered.
“Very well. One more spirit stone.”
Chi Yantian narrowed his eyes.
Yu Qingtang pulled a snack from his storage ring to calm his nerves. Biting down on half a bar of puffed-rice candy, he swallowed.
“This isn’t going to pass one hundred million, is it?”
Chi Yantian looked back at him. “That would be far too much above its proper value. Tsk.”
He looked conflicted.
“Why don’t we...” Ye Chenyan suggested. “Let it go for now?”
Chi Yantian frowned without immediately agreeing.
“It’s in Great Wilderness Mountain, after all.” Ye Chenyan’s smile was not particularly friendly. “We might get an opportunity to take it from them later.”
Yu Qingtang and Canglang slowly turned to stare at him.
“Ahem.” Ye Chenyan cleared his throat and gave Yu Qingtang an obedient look. “Provided the buyer isn’t a good person... or a good demon, naturally.”
“That makes sense.” Chi Yantian pursed his lips and sat back down with a face full of regret.
“It’s all right, Brother Chi.” Yu Qingtang patted him on the shoulder. “You refused to let yourself get fleeced. That alone was very impressive.”
Chi Yantian muttered, “But if Dragonbone Jade is only the second-to-last main attraction, just what kind of treasure could the final item possibly be?”
Scarlet knew the audience was waiting. He chuckled.
“The final item cannot be purchased with spirit stones. It must be exchanged for a contract, and only someone above the Soul Transformation realm is qualified.”
Someone scoffed disdainfully, “What kind of treasure requires all this posturing?”
“I’ve never heard of bidding like this. What contract? You haven’t explained anything...”
“Don’t be impatient. Take a look at my treasure first.” Scarlet smiled and swept the cloth from the display table before him.
Beneath it lay an exquisite young woman curled into a ball.
Scarlet laughed arrogantly.
“The final item is the biological granddaughter of the Thundercrest Leopard King—the Demon King who entered death seclusion fifty years ago and has not been heard from since.”
“She is also a rare atavistic genius whose bloodline manifested as the Nine-Heavens Thundercrest protecting her body.”
“And then there is that beautiful little face...”
The entire auction house shook with commotion.
Someone immediately shouted, “I’ll take her!”
“Don’t be so hasty.” Scarlet gave a mocking laugh. “You may live long enough to buy her, but I fear you won’t live long enough to enjoy her.”
“The contract my master demands is no simple matter...”
Killing intent flashed through his eyes.
“To obtain this Thundercrest Leopard, you must sign a contract with my master and help him kill a demon at peak Soul Transformation.”
The bidder who had won the Dragonbone Jade suddenly spoke.
“A peak Soul Transformation demon would be a renowned figure even within Great Wilderness Mountain. You might as well tell us plainly—who does your master want dead?”
Scarlet’s smile deepened.
“The Mountain-Shaking Ape King is already dead. My master wants the life of his second-in-command—the Mountain-Blasting Ape.”
Author’s Note:
Yu Qingtang: Senior Sister Tianxin, someone here is illegally trafficking wildlife! It’s this person... this demon!
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