In Hong Kong, the permanent resident population exceeds seven million, with an additional hundred thousand or so transient individuals.
Searching for someone amidst such a large number is akin to finding a needle in a haystack.
Even for a well-known figure like He Xinyi, if she wished to remain hidden, finding her would become an exceedingly difficult task.
Having been expelled from the He family, it was undoubtedly the darkest moment of He Xinyi's life. At such a time, she would certainly not want to be discovered.
Therefore, despite Brother Hua mobilizing most of the members of Lao K and Lao He to search for her, there was no news of He Xinyi for the time being.
In the evening, Old Huang came to find Chen Xiao, inviting him to attend an auction.
Yang Zhen gladly accompanied him, and Brother Hua, the little follower, also tagged along. Wu Yufei, however, did not go.
She felt that she was, to some extent, a celebrity, and it would not be good if she were photographed by tabloid reporters at the auction.
After all, it was widely known that Hong Kong's paparazzi were the most formidable and could infiltrate anywhere.
Auctions were prevalent in Hong Kong, with numerous auction houses, some even internationally renowned, such as Sotheby's and Christie's.
As for smaller auctions, they were as numerous as cow hair, with one taking place every few days.
The auction that Old Huang brought Chen Xiao to was a small one, with only a few dozen participants.
The auction was held in a five-star hotel. Although the number of attendees was not large, the quality was exceptional.
As soon as Chen Xiao walked in, he sensed a significant fluctuation of spiritual energy. Looking around, he realized that half of the participants were masters of mystical arts.
It seemed that while the martial arts scene in Hong Kong was not particularly impressive, the mystical arts community had many experts. A mere small auction had gathered so many powerful individuals.
Chen Xiao's divine sense quietly enveloped everyone. Their cultivation levels were not low; among them were Golden Core cultivators, and several individuals were stronger than Old Huang.
Some even sensed their presence being probed by divine sense and immediately looked around, searching for the source of the investigation.
However, no one discovered that it was Chen Xiao.
Chen Xiao concealed his aura, making it impossible for these mystical arts masters to detect any spiritual energy fluctuations from him.
Moreover, Chen Xiao appeared to be only in his early twenties, so no one would suspect him.
"Mr. Chen, please have a seat."
Old Huang led Mr. Chen to a seat and made a gesture of invitation.
The three of them took their seats.
Brother Hua was looking around, finding everything novel. Having lived in Hong Kong for many years, this was his first time attending such an event, somewhat revealing his unsophisticated nature.
Old Huang frowned slightly, thinking to himself, why would Mr. Chen choose such a person to be his subordinate? He seemed ordinary, with no outstanding qualities.
However, since Brother Hua was Chen Xiao's man, Old Huang, despite his dissatisfaction, dared not criticize him lightly.
Just then, a sarcastic voice suddenly cut through the air.
"Oh? Isn't this Old Man Huang? You're still alive?"
Following the sound, they saw an elder with silver hair and dressed in opulent clothing walking towards them.
The elder had a sharp mouth and monkey cheeks, giving off an appearance of being sour and spiteful.
Brother Hua immediately slammed the table and exclaimed, "Hey, you old ghost, what are you saying? Believe it or not, I'll chop you to death!"
Old Huang was the ancestor of the Hongmen. Brother Hua was now a prominent figure in Hongmen. Someone daring to disrespect Old Huang, he naturally had to stand up for him.
However, as soon as he finished speaking, Old Huang angrily rebuked, "Ah Hua, sit down!"
"Old Huang, but he..."
Brother Hua was still somewhat defiant. Old Huang rebuked again, "Shut up!"
Brother Hua reluctantly sat down.
He looked full of indignation, but Chen Xiao knew that Old Huang was merely protecting Brother Hua.
Because that old man, despite his unremarkable appearance, possessed Golden Core stage cultivation, surpassing Old Huang.
Then, Old Huang said unceremoniously, "You old scoundrel, you're not dead yet, so how could I bear to die?"
Upon hearing the words 'old scoundrel,' the old man was enraged, as if a vital nerve had been struck.
"Old Man Huang, you're asking for death!"
Old Huang looked at him disdainfully and provocatively said, "What, not convinced? Then let's spar a couple of rounds?"
The old scoundrel said angrily, "You wait for me, once I have some free time..."
"I'll be waiting for you. Why not strike while the iron is hot? How about after the auction?" Old Huang said casually.
"I have important matters, no time to chat with you!"
The old scoundrel did not accept the challenge and, after saying this, walked towards another seating area.
Although his cultivation was superior to Old Huang's, in terms of actual combat, he might not be Old Huang's match. Therefore, he only dared to verbally provoke Old Huang; if it came to a physical confrontation, he would immediately back down.
Of course, Old Huang was not confident of victory, as there was still a level difference in cultivation.
Brother Hua asked, "Ancestor, who is this old scoundrel? Why is he so arrogant? Should I call more of my brothers, and we'll chop him after the auction!"
Old Huang snorted, "Chop him? Even if you tied Lao He and Lao K together, they wouldn't be enough for him to fight! In the future, keep your eyes open and clearly see who you should provoke and who you shouldn't!"
Brother Hua scratched his head upon hearing this. Wasn't he just an old scoundrel? What was so formidable about him?
Then Old Huang introduced Chen Xiao, "Mr. Chen, this old scoundrel also came from the mainland. He was known as Xu Banxian in the capital. He has some skills, but he is morally corrupt and insatiably greedy. He's not a good sort!"
"I have some past grievances with him, but our strength is comparable, and neither of us can do anything to the other."
Chen Xiao nodded slightly upon hearing this, not taking it to heart. He knew that Old Huang intended to use him to eliminate Xu Banxian, but he had no such inclination.
Brother Hua, however, was secretly astonished. He only now realized that there were so many experts in Hong Kong. In his perception, the Ancestor and Chen Xiao were the top existences.
Just as the auction was about to begin, this matter passed as a minor interlude.
"Sir, this is the catalog for this auction. It contains detailed descriptions of each item. If you are interested in any item, you can bid at any time."
A scantily clad waitress handed over an exquisite booklet with a sweet smile.
Chen Xiao took it casually and flipped through the catalog, looking for anything worth bidding on.
After a brief perusal, Chen Xiao's interest waned. The catalog mostly featured porcelain and antiques from several hundred years ago, worth at most a few million.
Such items held little significance for Chen Xiao, unless they were imbued with spiritual energy, but the probability of that was no different from winning the lottery.
Chen Xiao continued to flip through. The magical artifact would surely appear at the end as the highlight of the auction.
However, before Chen Xiao could reach the end, he discovered something that piqued his interest...