Wu Shuai pulled at the corner of his lips and said helplessly, "How can a small place like Yingcheng be where she belongs? This time, there must be some major auction item that brought her here. The last time I saw her was two years ago."
Hearing Wu Shuai say this, Shen Xiaoyan suddenly felt a pang of sadness.
The last meeting was two years ago, yet he could remember it so clearly and was so excited upon meeting. What kind of emotion was this?
Turning her gaze back to Concubine Xiang, Shen Xiaoyan noticed that she seemed to be looking in the direction of their private room.
When Shen Xiaoyan looked closely, she saw that Concubine Xiang had already turned her head away.
Even if it was just a fleeting glance, Shen Xiaoyan had to admit that this woman was indeed beautiful.
Her beauty was natural and perfect, exuding mature charm all over her body.
Such a woman was the most fatal poison to any man.
No wonder Wu Shuai looked so lost in his daze when he saw Concubine Xiang.
Concubine Xiang stood on the stage, looking at the greedy men below, a flicker of mockery in her eyes.
She gently swayed her slender waist and said, "Good evening, everyone. I am the auctioneer for tonight, Xiang Fei."
As Concubine Xiang finished speaking, she was immediately met with enthusiastic applause that lasted for a long time. It was only when she raised her hand to signal that the crowd gradually quieted down.
Watching her movements, Shen Xiaoyan couldn't help but admire her. Such a stunner, even as a woman, she couldn't help but be moved.
Na Muzhong remained relatively calm. After all, a woman her age had seen all sorts of people and understood all sorts of characters.
This Concubine Xiang clearly enjoyed others being crazy about her, yet she disdained them.
Suddenly, Na Muzhong realized that Yi Zhixie was also a man!
Although she absolutely believed in Yi Zhixie's feelings for her, would Yi Zhixie be unable to resist taking a few glances at a beautiful woman?
However, after scanning the faces of Yi Zhixie, Zheng Wei, and Lu Taobao, she discovered that among the four men present, three were oddballs.
Looking at the peerless beauty below, all three of them had expressions of indifference.
While she felt pleased, she also had to sigh that not everyone was attracted by Concubine Xiang.
Concubine Xiang finally finished her opening remarks and was about to proceed to the bidding. Shen Xiaoyan and the others now shifted their attention.
"As everyone knows, tonight's auction is the grandest of the year. There's no need for me to elaborate on why. Now, for the first auction item."
As Concubine Xiang's voice faded, a platform slowly rose from the ground at her feet.
The platform was about a foot square and had a square crystal glass cover inside, containing something egg-shaped.
"This is today's first auction item, a Feibao's egg. As we all know, the Feibao is a third-level spirit beast. Not only is it incredibly fast, but it also possesses a certain combat ability. If raised from a young age, there is no possibility of betrayal, making it a rare mount."
"The bidding begins. The Feibao beast egg starts at 100 orange crystal coins. Each bid must be no less than 10 orange crystal coins."
Hearing the price, Shen Xiaoyan couldn't help but click her tongue.
Such a thing, used as a means of transportation, was priced so expensively.
Oh my, no wonder ordinary people couldn't get in.
If the first auction item's starting price was this high, there was no telling about the rest.
Although Shen Xiaoyan wasn't impressed by the Feibao, there were still many people vying for it.
Seeing how generously people were bidding, Shen Xiaoyan felt confused.
Even if the Feibao ran fast enough, this was an egg. After bidding for it, they would still have to find a way to hatch it, and then raise it from a tiny size to one that could be ridden. How long would that take?
She couldn't understand the world of the rich.
In fact, what she found even more baffling was that leopards were mammals, weren't they? How could they hatch from an egg?
After about fifteen minutes, the Feibao was finally bid on by a plump man for 1000 orange crystal coins.
This price was actually quite high, but seeing the plump man's beaming smile, it was clear he didn't think so at all.
With a great start, Concubine Xiang was also very pleased.
"Next, for today's second auction item."
As Concubine Xiang's voice fell, a maid in a white gauze dress walked onto the stage holding a platter. She placed the platter on the platform that had just risen and quickly bowed and retreated.
"This second auction item is three cultivation techniques. This is a bundled auction. If you want it, you must bid for all three books together. The price of each book is 1000 orange crystal coins, so the starting price for all three is 3000 orange crystal coins. Each bid must be no less than 100 orange crystal coins."
Hearing Concubine Xiang's introduction, the crowd below stirred again.
Bundled auctions were indeed rare, especially when the auction items were three cultivation techniques.
Who would want to buy so many cultivation techniques for no reason?
More importantly, they didn't know what type of cultivation techniques they were. Judging by Concubine Xiang's demeanor, she didn't seem to want to elaborate.
If they bought them and couldn't cultivate them, wouldn't it be an even bigger loss?
Therefore, even though Concubine Xiang had finished speaking for a while, no one spoke up to bid.
In the private room, Shen Xiaoyan was also asking Zheng Wei and the others for their opinions, "There are exactly three books. Should we place a bid?"
Lu Taobao looked down and hesitated, "But we don't know if those three books are..."
Before Lu Taobao could finish his sentence, Zheng Wei stopped him with a look.
Covering his mouth, Lu Taobao knew he had said the wrong thing, especially with Wu Shuai present.
He turned to look at Wu Shuai and found him staring at Concubine Xiang below, as if he hadn't heard anything.
Breathing a sigh of relief, Lu Taobao simply closed his mouth and stopped offering his opinion.
Zheng Wei thought for a moment and said, "Let's buy them."
If they weren't suitable, they could sell them later when the opportunity arose.
"We'll have to trouble Young Master Wu to help us bid," Zheng Wei said, turning to Wu Shuai.
Wu Shuai was taken aback. Why ask him to help bid?
Seeing Zheng Wei's serious expression, Wu Shuai didn't say much. Since no one was bidding now, it seemed they could acquire it at the lowest possible cost.
"3000 orange crystal coins."
Concubine Xiang below couldn't help but twitch the corner of her lips when she heard the number.
This was truly...
They were clearly taking advantage of the fact that no one was bidding to try and get it at the lowest price?
Although she felt a little regretful, there was nothing she could do if no one else bid.
She scanned the faces of everyone present. Seeing that no one seemed willing to bid, Concubine Xiang sighed in her heart. "3000 orange crystal coins for the first bid, 3000 orange crystal coins for the second bid, 3000 orange crystal coins for the third bid. Alright, the transaction is successful."
Hearing the sound of the gavel, Shen Xiaoyan and the others simultaneously breathed a sigh of relief.
Before long, they heard a knock on the door of the private room. The maid who had served tea earlier entered.
This time, however, she was holding a wooden tray with three books on it.
"Young Master Wu, hello. These are the three cultivation techniques you bid for."
The maid said, placing the wooden tray on the table.
Seeing Wu Shuai move his finger slightly, Shen Xiaoyan was the first to stand up and handed a pre-prepared cloth bag to the maid. "Here are the 3000 orange crystal coins."
The maid respectfully accepted it and bowed before leaving without checking it.
Only after the door to the private room was closed did Shen Xiaoyan pick up the cultivation techniques on the table to examine them.
She read through the three books one by one but found that there were no words on any of them.
Frowning in confusion, Shen Xiaoyan asked nothing. For whatever reason, she would ask Yi Zhixie about it after they returned.
Wu Shuai watched Shen Xiaoyan calmly put away the three cultivation techniques, while Zheng Wei and the others didn't even glance this way. He felt a bit suspicious. Did they not really need these cultivation techniques?
Otherwise, why wouldn't they even look at them after bidding for them?
In the following time, the auction items included weapons, elixirs, rare treasures, and spirit beasts, all sorts of things, innumerable.
From these items, Shen Xiaoyan gained some insight into the Holy Spirit Continent.
It was truly a continent of cultivation, where people revered martial arts.
Without strength, nothing could be obtained.
Although Shen Xiaoyan and the others were somewhat tempted by these items, unfortunately, the price of the items they fancied was higher and higher, while those they could afford were all things they looked down upon.
Unknowingly, an hour had passed, and they had reached the final auction item.
Even though she had been standing for over an hour, constantly speaking, Concubine Xiang's enthusiasm had not diminished in the least. On the contrary, the atmosphere she had created in the venue only made her more excited.
She parted her red lips, and her charming voice slowly flowed out.
"Next, we welcome the final auction item of tonight. I believe many people present have come for this auction item. Without further ado, bring up the final auction item."
Shen Xiaoyan had been watching with an attitude of amusement, but when she heard Concubine Xiang say that the final item was to be brought up, she suddenly had a different feeling.
Her heart felt as if it were being tightly gripped by a large hand, making it difficult for her to breathe.
Noticing Shen Xiaoyan's discomfort, Zheng Wei immediately asked with concern, "Mimi, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell? Should we leave first?"
Hearing Zheng Wei's words, Yi Zhixie and the others all looked at Shen Xiaoyan.
Seeing Shen Xiaoyan's pale and bloodless face, they all became worried.
Even Wu Shuai said, "If you're not feeling well, I'll take you back. After all, the price of this final auction item will definitely not be low, and we're just here to watch the show."