Firmament Sword

The commotion this time was not the least bit smaller than when that young man from Celestial Brilliance arrived. In fact, it even seemed poised to surpass it.

Through the crystal glass, Xu Luo could clearly see the faces of many people downstairs alight with intense excitement.

"Who... who could be arriving this time?" Xu Luo murmured to himself.

As the number one sect in Xi Hezhou, the arrival of an Advanced Disciple from Celestial Brilliance had already been shocking enough. Who else could possibly create a stir that surpassed that young man's?

The first to catch Xu Luo's eye was a young woman in a red dress. Her hair fell over her shoulders, her skin was fairer than snow, and her red dress was like a ball of fire. Though young and a little unseasoned, there was a bewitching allure in her eyes. If she was already like this at her age, she would undoubtedly grow up to be a peerless beauty.

Following behind her was an exquisitely beautiful woman. Every gesture she made exuded a mature, elegant charm. Though she wore a veil, the sliver of her delicate neck and her wrists, as fair and smooth as lotus roots, was enough to leave one mesmerized.

They were accompanied by five or six very pretty Maids, and the Chief Shopkeeper of the Baihua Auction House was personally leading the two of them upstairs.

Along the way, nearly everyone was greeting the two ladies.

The red-dressed young woman and the beautiful lady nodded frequently, like two dazzling stars ascending to the second floor under the eager gazes of the crowd.

"That lady... If I'm not mistaken, she must be the Lady of Piaomiao Palace, Xie Yudie!" Monkey sent to Xu Luo via sound transmission.

Xu Luo nodded, peering through the crystal glass at the group as they passed his private room.

Coincidentally, as she passed Xu Luo's private room, the beautiful woman casually glanced inside.

Her eyes were bright and captivating, and a faint, enchanting smile played on her lips.

Xu Luo's eyebrow twitched. He exchanged a look with Monkey, and they both instantly had the same feeling: the Baihua Auction House had... sold them out!

At the very least, those people with status must now know that the ones sitting in this room were the ones auctioning the Nether Flower Seed!

Perhaps there was no malicious intent; they just wanted those qualified to bid for the Nether Flower Seed to know who to approach.

But thinking about it on a deeper level, the Baihua Auction House's actions were out of line.

"I can't believe the Baihua Auction House, which claims to be impartial... to absolutely protect its clients' privacy, would actually pull something like this." Monkey's face grew cold as he spoke in displeasure.

"We should have expected they would do this from the very beginning, really." Xu Luo chuckled, speaking as if he wasn't too bothered. "No need to get worked up over it. We've already made our preparations."

Monkey nodded and said, "Baihua City... It looks peaceful on the surface, but there are dangerous currents flowing underneath. Once we're done here, we should leave as quickly as possible!"

Xu Luo nodded. He wasn't yet prepared to face the great powers of Xi Hezhou. The most pressing matter was to resolve Qianqian's issue; he could consider other things after that.

Afterward, many more people from the major factions of Xi Hezhou arrived. Each new group caused a minor stir, and while it wasn't as great as the commotion caused by the Advanced Disciple from Celestial Brilliance or the Lady of Piaomiao Palace, they all commanded significant attention.

Various young masters and ladies from the great powers of Xi Hezhou were led to the second floor, guided by the Baihua Auction House's various Shopkeepers.

Thankfully, aside from the initial Advanced Disciple from Celestial Brilliance and the Lady of Piaomiao Palace, no one else glanced toward Xu Luo's and Monkey's room.

This let Xu Luo and Monkey breathe a slight sigh of relief. It seemed the Baihua Auction House did have some integrity and a bottom line after all.

If it had really gotten to the point where everyone knew, the two of them would have had to seriously consider leaving this place at once.

As everyone took their seats, a middle-aged Auctioneer appeared on the stage. He scanned the somewhat boisterous first floor of the auction hall, then glanced up at the circle of private rooms on the second floor. Clearing his throat, he raised the gavel in his hand and tapped it lightly on the desk.

DONG!

The buzzing auction hall quickly fell silent.

The middle-aged Auctioneer beamed and announced in a loud, clear voice, "Welcome, everyone, to the Baihua Auction House! I am Lu Ping, and I will be hosting today's auction. I hope that all of our esteemed guests will be able to win the treasures their hearts desire! At the same time, I'd like to share a little inside information with you all. Today's final item is going to be a massive surprise! This is an item that has never before appeared, not just in the Baihua Auction House, but in the entirety of Xi Hezhou!"

The first floor of the auction hall immediately erupted in a wave of heated discussion. Almost everyone knew what item the Auctioneer was referring to.

Excited expressions appeared on people's faces. To be part of an auction that would be recorded in the annals of history was an honor for them as well!

Then, a smile spread across the middle-aged Auctioneer's face as he declared, "So, everyone, prepare yourselves! You are about to witness a magnificent auction!"

Xu Luo frowned slightly and sent a message to Monkey via sound transmission: "We're auctioning the Nether Flower Seed to establish a connection with the Lady of Piaomiao Palace, but now that they've made such a big deal out of it, the commotion seems a bit too much. I think... we need to change our strategy."

Monkey thought for a moment, then said, "Good idea. If we stick to the original plan, even if we get to meet the Lady of Piaomiao Palace, there will be countless pairs of eyes watching us from the shadows. That would make everything that follows much more difficult."

"Since she already knows the Nether Flower Seed is ours, then I believe... even if someone else wins the bid for it, she will definitely come looking for us!" said Xu Luo.

Monkey nodded, then stood up and called in the Maid who was waiting outside.

After Xu Luo gave the Maid a few instructions, she nodded with a gentle smile on her face, turned, and left.

The auction had already begun, but neither Xu Luo nor Monkey paid any attention to what was being sold down below. Generally speaking, while the opening items at an auction wouldn't be too bad, they would never be exceptionally good either.

A moment later, the auction house's Chief Shopkeeper entered without a smile. The moment he was through the door, he clasped his fists toward the two of them with an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, you two. This humble one's hands were tied. I absolutely did not intend to set you two masters up!"

With a cold expression, Xu Luo said grimly, "Do you think you can just bully us as you please because we look secretive and appear to have no powerful background?"

Monkey snorted coldly from the side, and the temperature in the private room instantly dropped by several degrees.

The Chief Shopkeeper gave a bitter smile. "Our auction house seems impressive, and the power backing us is not small, but compared to great powers like Celestial Brilliance and Piaomiao Palace, we are simply not worth mentioning. So, when they came to our door asking who had the Nether Flower Seed, we truly couldn't withstand that kind of pressure... We couldn't refuse!"

"It seems we... haven't given you any pressure at all, have we, Shopkeeper..." Monkey grinned, revealing only a row of pearly white teeth from beneath his cloak. The sight was quite menacing.

"You two masters must believe this humble one... I've actually resisted many others already, and I've offended quite a few factions because of it... But there are some things this humble one just cannot do!"

The Shopkeeper looked at the two with a pained expression and said, "The Nether Flower Seed... A treasure of this level is practically a supreme treasure. To women, its allure is simply fatal. For men who want to please women... it's the same. If the news hadn't gotten out, it would have been fine, but once it spreads... it's impossible to control!"

"There's no point in you saying all this. I only remember... what you promised me in the beginning, and what this situation has become now." Xu Luo laughed coldly. "Shopkeeper Zhao, don't you forget, the Nether Flower Seed... is on my person!"

"I know, I know..." Shopkeeper Zhao wiped the cold sweat from his brow as he spoke in a rush. "Regarding this matter, the auction house has wronged you two masters. We will definitely compensate you!"

Monkey sneered, "Words are useless. Anyone can talk. What are you going to compensate us with?"

Shopkeeper Zhao gritted his teeth and said, "For this transaction's commission, I have the authority to waive it for you two masters! While you two may not care about such a small profit, it is ultimately a token of this humble one's sincerity!"

For such a large-scale transaction, the auction house's commission was quite substantial. Shopkeeper Zhao's offer was an expression of considerable sincerity.

"And?" Monkey asked, his face expressionless.

"And... in the future, when you two masters visit the Baihua Auction House, all your transaction commissions will be fifty percent off!" Shopkeeper Zhao said, his face twisting as if in physical pain.

Xu Luo shook his head and said calmly, "You can forget about that. Just agree to two of my conditions, and... I will not pursue this matter further, nor will I say anything to damage your auction house's reputation."

Shopkeeper Zhao looked at Xu Luo with a pathetic expression. In truth, what Xu Luo had just mentioned was the thing he cared about most!

For an auction house, the most important thing isn't how rare or valuable the auctioned treasures are, but the reputation of the house itself!

Not having valuable treasures wasn't a big deal; they could slowly figure that out. But if they lost their reputation... then the auction house was basically not far from going out of business.

That was why Shopkeeper Zhao had taken such a low posture before the two of them, to the point of being almost servile. This was the reason.

"Please speak... So long as this humble one can do it, I will certainly not refuse. Don't say two conditions; I'll even agree to three!" Shopkeeper Zhao said with a pathetic yet sincere expression.

"First, since this Nether Flower Seed has caused such a massive stir and drawn the attention of so many people, it seems inappropriate to auction it using the previous method." Xu Luo looked at Shopkeeper Zhao. "Therefore, we've decided that we want this Nether Flower Seed to be auctioned normally, just like any other treasure—the highest bidder wins!"

Shopkeeper Zhao was stunned for a moment after hearing this, and then his face grew bitter. He had just personally promised to waive the commission on this transaction.

He had been playing a little trick there. According to their previously agreed-upon method, the Baihua Auction House needed the prestige, while Xu Luo needed confidentiality, so they were supposed to handle it through private communication. Aside from the fame, the Baihua Auction House stood to gain no profit.

That was why he had been so generous and offered to waive the commission.

He never expected Xu Luo to propose such a condition. However, their concerns were perfectly reasonable, so Shopkeeper Zhao could only bite the bullet and accept it. Who could he blame but himself for being in the wrong in the first place?

"And the second condition?" Shopkeeper Zhao took a deep breath. He had already steeled himself for an outrageous demand.

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