At the same time, inside No.3 Room, Xia Qingyao listened to the rapid escalation of the bidding prices outside, feeling rather conflicted.
At present, the bids hadn’t yet exceeded the estimate Wanbao Pavilion had previously given her, but at this rate, it was only a matter of time, and the final price would surely be even higher.
Originally, this should have been something to be happy about—the items would be sold, and she’d earn a hefty sum of spirit stones.
It was the best of both worlds.
But, the one lighting the Heavenly Lamp just happened to be the very person she wanted to befriend.
She had thought that, at worst, the people from No.1 Room and Qin Luoyi would end up fighting over these two items.
Then, she would be forced to buy them back at a high price and, in the end, give away the broken sword along with them, forging a friendship through this costly gesture.
Although this seemed a little counterproductive, at least it would increase the chances of getting closer to Yun Mu.
After all, the Mystic Realm Stele pointed to a mystic realm located in the Ancient Nation of Xiyun.
But… the other party had lit the Heavenly Lamp.
Now, things were no longer so simple.
“Hidden identity, No.1 Room that hasn’t opened for a hundred years yet opens today, lighting the Heavenly Lamp for the broken Mystic Realm Stele…”
She muttered softly over these clues, troubled for a moment.
To be honest, from her perspective, none of these things alone were anything remarkable, since they weren’t particularly rare events.
But when all these things came together, it became rather difficult.
Hiding one’s identity meant the other party likely didn’t come from any of the royal families of the Ancient Nations.
After all, such behavior would only be seen as a negative among them.
Could it be some banished prince who went beyond the Ancient Nations and accomplished something extraordinary, now returning strong to reclaim everything he’d lost?
Her mind instinctively leapt to this conclusion, and her face flushed red.
She almost smacked herself, but her hand stopped mid-air.
But he’s someone who can stay in Wanbao Pavilion’s No.1 Room, isn’t that proof enough that his value is on par with any of the royal families of Li Xun or the Ancient Nation of Xiyun?
She glanced at Xiao Chun and Xiao Qiu, who were watching the auction with great interest, recalling how the two children had called out to him earlier. Her absurd theory once again rose to the surface.
These two children had lived in Li Xun all along, which meant that this “Brother” must have stayed in Li Xun as well.
She didn’t know for how long, but for the children to like him so much, he must have been a person of great virtue.
Li Xun, huh…
At the very beginning, Qin Luoyi had specifically said she wanted to buy the stele, but he’d shown no reaction.
Now, he suddenly lit the Heavenly Lamp to oppose her.
Could he really be some abandoned illegitimate child of Li Xun?’
Qin Luoyi, as the eldest daughter of the Qin Clan, is only seventeen now.
He could be, at most, seventeen as well.
For someone so young to achieve all this in so short a time…
“No! I have to get on his good side.”
After fabricating a half-reasonable, half-ridiculous theory in her mind, the young lady suddenly stood up, unable to suppress the urge to shout out loud.
She took a step forward, then turned and pulled Xiao Chun and Xiao Qiu to sit between the seats.
“Xia Jie Jie, what are you doing?”
“Yeah, yeah, the auction’s just getting good.”
“It’s nothing, Xia Jie Jie just has a few questions for you two.”
She smiled kindly, but for some reason, it was a bit unsettling.
Meanwhile, in No.1 Room, a familiar scene was unfolding.
The youth who had caused all this chaos was now calmly seated in his chair, waiting for the auction—whose outcome had long been decided—to end.
Tu Shan Huaizhi, having finished her own grapes, had moved to Yun Mu’s right side and sat down.
She stared at the tassels swaying on the window, her expression almost identical to Yun Mu’s, except her cheeks were puffed out from two grapes stuffed in her mouth.
“Hey, Yun Mu gege, do you want some grapes too…”
“Achoo! Huh, is someone talking about me?”
“Mmm… pfft…”
Just as the young lady realized how many grapes she’d eaten and was asking if the youth wanted any, she was startled by his sudden sneeze, and accidentally spat out the grape in her mouth, which landed on Yinger, who hadn’t said a word the whole time.
“Ah, I—I’m sorry…”
She hurriedly apologized, but got no response.
Seeing Yinger barely move, Tu Shan Huaizhi became even more flustered.
“Brother, really, can’t you at least give me a heads-up before you sneeze?”
“Ah? I don’t think that’s something I can predict ahead of time?”
“Well, true… Oh, whatever, but what should I do now? The grape dirtied Yinger’s dress, and she’s ignoring me.”
“Why don’t you use something to wipe it off for her?”
“Good idea, I remember I brought some handkerchiefs, let me look for them.”
With that, the young lady started rummaging through her own Qiankun Pouch.
Yinger, on the other hand, seemed to be genuinely hurt by something.
She raised her hand to cover her forehead.
She frowned, swaying unsteadily as she tried to stand.
Her right hand instinctively reached for the armrest of the nearby chair, but found nothing, and she fell forward, right into Yun Mu’s arms.
“Hmm? Huaizhi, weren’t you going to help—”
Sensing the sudden softness, Yun Mu spoke instinctively, but then stopped, “Miss Yinger? Are you alright? Are you feeling unwell?”
He caught the scent of jasmine, different from the usual daisy fragrance on her.
“Ah, I found it, the handkerchief…”
She froze on the spot.
“Ying—Yinger! Wha-what are you doing?! Get off Yun Mu gege right now!” she shouted.
Before Yinger could reply, Tu Shan Huaizhi jumped up from her seat.
The handkerchief she had finally found was flung away in her panic.
“Yun, Yun Mu gege, you too! Let her go! Why are you still holding her?”
She pointed at the woman lying in her brother’s arms, her voice unsteady.
Never had she imagined that the embrace she’d sworn to protect as her own from the first meeting would be stolen right before her eyes.
“Really, I took every precaution! Got past Qin Luoyi, got past Xun Yi jie, got past all those bad women, and I still lost to you! You bad woman!”
Saying this, the young lady took a step forward, ready to push her away.
Yet as if by some silent agreement, Yinger, who had been lying in Yun Mu’s arms, propped herself up by the forehead and got up again.
Now, Tu Shan Huaizhi, who had been full of momentum, was stunned.
She tried to stop her own steps, but the force of inertia was too great, and she once again tumbled straight into Yun Mu’s arms.
“Cough… cough, cough…”
In fact, she knocked into him quite hard.
Yinger, meanwhile, scratched her head with one hand, braced herself on the chair with the other, and knelt on the ground.
Tilting her head at them, her face full of confusion, she softly asked:
“You two… who are you?”