Outside the room, the bidding went on in fits and starts, while inside, a brief silence fell, sparked by Yun Mu’s sudden interruption.
Yinger let out a light laugh, and then the youth hastily corrected himself.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to say the item is bad. I just… sorry… I didn’t choose my words well.”
After fumbling for an explanation for so long without making any sense, Yun Mu could only scratch his face awkwardly and give up on trying to explain.
“Miss Yinger, please, go on.”
“All right. Although I feel a bit apologetic, what you said isn’t entirely without merit. It’s a bit much to dismiss appetizers as worthless, but compared to the main dishes that come later, these earlier treasures do tend to have more restrictions.”
As she spoke, she raised her hand and pointed at the auction item not far away.
“For example, that Broken Sword on stage—after appraisal, it’s been determined that to truly unleash its power, it must absorb a massive amount of Killing Intent. But as everyone knows, not just anyone can possess Killing Intent. Even those who do rarely manage to release large quantities of it in a short period of time. So, in most cases, this sword is little more than scrap.”
“I see! So that so-called ‘fated one’ actually means this, huh? Speaking so vaguely just confuses people’s judgment, doesn’t it?”
“Don’t worry, Miss Huaizhi, with me here, that sort of thing won’t happen. If there’s anything you don’t understand later on, feel free to ask me. I’ll explain everything to you.”
“Mm, thank you.”
The young lady nodded with satisfaction.
Compared to before, there was much less hostility in her tone.
She glanced at the clothes Ripple was wearing, mind quietly turning over some little schemes, completely missing the fact that the usually polite Yun Mu hadn’t thanked Yinger after her introduction—he’d just fallen silent.
“One Upper-grade Spirit Stone and forty-three Lower-grade Spirit Stones, going once.”
“One Upper—”
In his ears, the sound of bidding faded, while in his mind, the two words “Killing Intent” echoed over and over.
In his thoughts, the image of a figure in a cherry-pink long dress—someone he hadn’t seen in a long time—appeared:
Shangguan Xunyi.
‘I wonder how Gou Yijie is doing now. And what about that Sha Mo, how are things between them? Killing Intent… that does seem pretty fitting for Xunyi… Maybe I should… win this item and give it to her the next time we meet?’
“Two Upper-grade Spirit Stones.”
He pressed the bidding button almost reflexively, blurting out the words.
A light voice sounded.
Instantly, the hall fell silent.
The auctioneer, who was about to announce the winner, was abruptly cut off.
Immediately after, Ripple’s voice rang out, changed on the spot:
“No.1 Room, two Upper-grade Spirit Stones. Is there anyone who wishes to offer a higher bid?”
Inside No.1 Room, Tu Shan Huaizhi looked back at the youth who had called out that bid, feeling incredulous.
She didn’t think this item suited him at all.
But the next moment, before she could react, an even more unbelievable bid sounded.
“No.2 Room, three Upper-grade Spirit Stones.”
“No.3 Room, four Upper-grade Spirit Stones.” “No.2…”
Originally, the bidding for this sword had stopped rising, but after Yun Mu called out, No.2 and No.3 Rooms began a new round of competition.
Even the increments went up, from one Lower-grade Spirit Stone at a time to one Upper-grade Spirit Stone.
You know, on this continent, anything can change—dynasties rise and fall, stars shift, the sun rises and sets—but only the rule that one Upper-grade Spirit Stone equals one hundred Lower-grade Spirit Stones has never changed.
No one knows when this rule was set or by whom, but every living thing on this continent that uses Spirit Stones follows it in unspoken agreement.
As the bidding war between No.2 and No.3 Rooms escalated, everyone reevaluated the value of the Broken Sword, but no one dared to intervene lightly.
No.1, No.2, and No.3—these three top rooms—anyone could tell with a glance that they weren’t to be trifled with.
“No.3 Room, one Supreme-grade Spirit Stone.”
Silence fell in an instant.
That sudden increase left Qin Luoyi in No.2 Room dumbstruck.
At last, the traditional call rang out:
“No.3 Room, one Supreme-grade Spirit Stone—going once… twice… sold!”
The gavel fell, finalizing the result.
Inside No.3 Room, the final winner of the Broken Sword—Xia Qingyao—sat slumped in her chair, sighing repeatedly.
At her side, Xiao Chun and Xiao Qiu looked at their elder sister with faces full of puzzlement, unable to understand.
“Big Sister Xia, didn’t we bring this Broken Sword here to sell? Why did you buy it back?”
“Yeah, yeah! Isn’t that like spending our own money to buy our own stuff? Feels kind of weird. Or… is there some special meaning to it?”
The children’s innocent words cut straight to the heart, catching the young lady off guard like knives.
It was as if her heart had been slashed.
She clutched her chest, forced a bitter smile, and simply said, “Sister has her reasons,” saying no more.
After all, she was too embarrassed to tell the two kids that Wanbao Pavilion also took a commission fee as the auction agent.
Not only did she not make her money back this way, she’d actually lost quite a bit.
‘If I’d known that guy in No.1 Room wanted this Broken Sword, I wouldn’t have put it up for auction. It was just something we brought along to sell on the side anyway. I could’ve just given it to him. Now, look what happened…’
She grimaced.
Ugh…
It’s all Qin Luoyi’s fault.
She just had to stir up trouble.
Now look… not only did I lose the sword, I lost money too.
Sigh… I just hope the Stone Tablet and that piece of clothing sell smoothly later on…
‘After all, no one can be unlucky enough to take a loss twice in a row, right?’
With that thought, she felt a little better.
“Heh, Little Yun, did you really think this Princess is a fool? Trying to buy a gift for Shangguan Xunyi, huh? Not a chance!”
Inside No.2 Room, Qin Luoyi was looking smugly out the window, playing with her emerald dagger.
“Ah well, even if I didn’t get it, it’s fine—saved me some money. Let’s just say… Xia Qingyao, that silly sucker, paid for me… Heh…”
Talking to herself, the smile on her face only grew.
Behind her, Qin Wanyin and Qin Wanzhou exchanged glances at her slightly chilling tone, not daring to say a word.
They were only here to show their faces, after all.
What Qin Luoyi decided to bid on was none of their concern.
In No.1 Room, the culprit behind all of this—Yun Mu—sat calmly in his chair.
Except, his face was cupped between Tu Shan Huaizhi’s hands.
“Big Brother, if you wanted it, why didn’t you bid higher? Now look, you lost the bid.”
“Actually, I just thought it’d be nice to get it for cheap, but if it’s too expensive, then forget it.”
“If you want something, the price doesn’t matter! Even if it’s way above its original value, it’s fine. We’ve got plenty of Supreme-grade Spirit Stones in our Qiankun Pouch.”
“That’d just be wasting money, wouldn’t it? It was just a whim anyway, thinking I’d get it to give someone. Didn’t win, so that’s that. Money should be spent where it counts, right?”
“Hmph! Mother’s Spirit Stones are our Spirit Stones. We can spend them however we want… Wait, to give to someone?”
“Yeah, that Broken Sword can absorb Killing Intent and unleash its power, right? Xunyi seems like a perfect fit for it, so…”
“So from now on, Big Brother, you’re not allowed to spend Spirit Stones recklessly anymore.”
“Huh?”
“Unless it’s for yourself, Huaizhi, Mother, or Elder Eleven, you’re not allowed to bid for anything else.”
“Eh?”
“Did you hear me!?”
“Okay, okay.”