Chapter 48 My Junior Brother's Happy Life (Part 6) My Junior Brother, I'll Spoil Him...
On the high platform of the auction house, all kinds of rare treasures were displayed one after another, and the sounds of bidding rose and fell. This lively scene made Song Ce, who usually preferred quiet, frown slightly.
Qin Nian'an was witnessing such a scene for the first time. He was only five years old, and seeing his older brother indulge him in everything, he had become a little bolder. He would ask Song Ce a few questions about anything new and interesting, like a cheerful little bird.
During the auction, Song Ce bid on a pair of Heart-Sensing Bells. Their function is that if one of the holders encounters danger, the other's Heart-Sensing Bell will ring instantly. They are usually gifts from elders to younger family members.
The starting bid for the Heart-Gathering Bell was 100 spirit stones. After the bidding reached 350 spirit stones, Song Ce directly raised the bid by 100 spirit stones and won the Heart-Gathering Bell.
"Nian'an, you and your brother will each have one. As long as your brother is around, no one will dare to bully you anymore," Song Ce said gently, patting Qin Nian'an's head.
"Um!"
After waiting with Qin Nian'an for about half an hour, Song Ce finally announced loudly, "Fellow Daoists, the next item for auction is a protective robe called the Moonlit Robe. The Moonlit Robe is made from five-hundred-year-old ice silkworm silk and star silk gauze, crafted by the master craftsman Lou Jing over forty-nine days! The robe contains a defensive array personally created by the sect leader of the Imperial Sect, capable of withstanding a full-force attack from a Nascent Soul cultivator at a critical moment!"
These words caused an uproar in the room.
"Are you telling the truth? Can Yue Huashang really withstand a full-force attack from a Nascent Soul cultivator?"
"Was this actually made by Master Lou Jing himself?"
"What a treasure! I never imagined that Chang Le City would have such a treasure!"
"Stop keeping me in suspense, what's the starting price? Tell me now!"
The cultivators on the second floor were all attracted by the Moonlit Robe, whose starting bid was one thousand spirit stones!
In the short time it takes for an incense stick to burn, with each bid from the cultivators, the price of the Moonlit Robe quickly climbed to an astonishing level.
Thirty-six thousand spirit stones!
This high price was already unaffordable for many cultivators. After the hype from these minor figures subsided, Song Ce glanced at the auction and found that only three sects were still bidding: Qingyun Sect, Tianyuan Sect, and Yijian Pavilion.
Unexpectedly, he encountered the sect where Qin Muqing had lived in this very place. Song Ce looked at the leading disciple in the blue robe and tapped his finger on the spirit table in front of him.
To say that Qingyun Sect can only barely be considered a second-rate sect is due to the fact that the sect's patriarch unexpectedly perished in a secret realm, leaving the sect without anyone to oversee it. As a result, most of Qingyun Sect's territory was taken over by the neighboring Tianyuan Sect. In order to find a solution, the sect leader of Qingyun Sect barely broke through to the early stage of the Nascent Soul realm with the help of elixirs and then went into seclusion. On weekdays, all matters of Qingyun Sect are handled by the sect leader's eldest disciple, Lan Ying.
Lan Ying was unlucky. Back then, when he saw Qin Muqing's elder tablet shattered in the sect, he hurriedly went down the mountain to investigate. However, as soon as he entered this secret realm, he happened to encounter Baiyun Sect disciples who were preparing to return to the sect. He only asked a few questions before he brought disaster upon himself. He was seriously injured in the encirclement and attack of many Baiyun Sect disciples and returned to Qingyun Sect using the life-saving magic treasure given to him by his master.
After returning to the sect, Lan Ying secluded herself for a year before she could barely recover some of her strength.
Much later, when the original owner returned to the Qingyun Sect and learned of her master's death, she went berserk and ruthlessly slaughtered the entire Qingyun Sect, including Lan Ying...
"Forty thousand!" The leading cultivator of the Tianyuan Sect stood up and shouted the bid.
"Hey Li Xuanzhi, are you eyeing this Moonlit Robe again, planning to use it to curry favor with your junior sister? Look at you, acting like a lapdog. Forty thousand spirit stones isn't a small sum for you, is it?" A cultivator from One Sword Pavilion turned around and said flippantly.
"Chu Ren, mind your own business. At least Junior Sister is polite to me, but what about you? You're just the son of a concubine. Fairy Ronghua doesn't want to be engaged to you. You should be more understanding of her!" Li Xuanzhi sneered.
"Forty-two thousand!" Chu Ren cursed angrily, "No matter how humble my origins are, I am still more upright than your Tianyuan Sect! You took advantage of the fact that the Qingyun Sect was empty, and you have done countless acts of plundering and robbery. Don't you think so, Brother Lan Ying?"
Chu Ren's words were not meant to stand up for the Qingyun Sect, but rather to win Lan Ying over, thus eliminating one competitor for the robe.
Lan Ying smiled faintly upon hearing this and did not reply.
Seeing this, Li Xuanzhi scoffed, "No matter how nicely you speak, Sect Master Lan Dai won't appreciate your gesture." With that, he raised his hand: "Forty-five thousand!"
In the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the price of Yuehua Chang soared to a high of 58,000.
At this moment, Lan Ying, who had been calmly drinking tea, suddenly spoke up: "Sixty-five thousand."
Upon hearing this, Li Xuanzhi's expression changed, and he glared at Lan Ying with hatred. "What, does your Qingyun Sect want to oppose my Tianyuan Sect?"
Upon hearing this, the disciples of Qingyun Sect hesitated and said, "Senior Brother, this..."
"It's alright. If someone bids higher, we'll stop bidding," Lan Ying said.
Chu Ren hesitated for a moment. No matter how good the robe was, was it really worth 65,000? But looking at Li Xuanzhi's distorted expression, he felt a strange sense of satisfaction.
A thousand pieces of gold can't buy my happiness!
"Seventy thousand!" Chu Ren gritted his teeth and shouted loudly.
Seeing that someone had offered a higher price, Lan Ying led her disciples back to their chairs obediently. Li Xuanzhi, seeing this, felt even more irritated. He slammed his fist on the table: "I, Tianyuan Sect, will remember this grudge! Seventy-five thousand!"
Seeing this, Chu Ren waved his hand regretfully: "Brother Li is truly generous and wealthy, I admire you. It's just a robe, I'll give it to Brother Li today!"
"Hmph! All you can do is argue with words!" Li Xuanzhi mocked.
"Alright! This fellow Daoist has bid 75,000 spirit stones. Are there any other fellow Daoists who would like to raise the price? If..." Before the auctioneer could finish speaking, Song Ce smiled slightly and said, "100,000."
The moment the price of 100,000 was announced, the previously noisy auction house fell silent.
Li Xuanzhi was stunned upon hearing this. Their Tianyuan Sect had not concealed their whereabouts on this trip, so if this person were traveling on the continent, it would be impossible for him not to recognize someone from their Tianyuan Sect.
Unless, this person has an even greater background, so great that they completely disregard the Tianyuan Sect.
“Senior.” Li Xuanzhi immediately composed himself, stood up and said amiably, “My sect desperately needs this robe. I hope you will part with it. My Tianyuan Sect will remember your kindness in giving it to us.”
All the cultivators present were shocked by Li Xuanzhi's change in attitude; the speed at which he changed his expression was even faster than turning the pages of a book.
"No need, I'm not going to give it to you. If you want it, just make an offer," Song Ce said loudly, holding Nian An's hand.
"Hmph, don't think you're so great just because you have a few spirit stones! You refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit! Do you know who this person is? This is Li Xuanzhi, the eldest disciple of Elder Wudao of my Tianyuan Sect! If you know what's good for you, leave quickly, and our Tianyuan Sect will definitely have this Moonlit Robe!" A proud young man behind Li Xuanzhi shouted loudly.
Li Xuanzhi remained silent, his gaze fixed intently on the two figures, one large and one small.
Seeing the grim expressions on the faces of the Tianyuan Sect group, the auctioneer cautiously said, "This... fellow Daoist has bid 100,000, but... is there anyone else bidding?"
"110,000!" Li Xuanzhi gritted his teeth and made the offer.
"Two hundred thousand!" Song Ce said without changing his expression.
“Alright! I see you are…” The young man tried to step forward, but Li Xuanzhi stopped him.
"In the auction, the highest bidder wins, of course. But I have a word of advice for you: On the path of cultivation, one must be willing to give up something and know when to advance and when to retreat. If you act rashly for a moment, you must be extremely careful in your future actions and be on guard at all times."
"No need for you to trouble yourself," Song Ce said calmly.
Seeing that Song Ce remained completely unmoved, Li Xuanzhi's expression grew even uglier. He snorted coldly and sat back down in his seat.
Seeing Li Xuanzhi sit down angrily, the auctioneer immediately spoke up: "Since none of the fellow Daoists present are bidding, then this Moonlit Robe will be awarded to this... uh, fellow Daoist!"
Song Ce smiled faintly, completely unconcerned about the probing gazes around him.
As the auction drew to a close, Song Ce led Qin Nian'an to her feet. Hong Xianzi, who had been waiting at the entrance for a long time, hurriedly came forward to greet them. "Fellow Daoist, please move to the third floor. The auction house has prepared auction items for you. You may exchange them on the third floor."
Song Ce followed Hong Xianzi all the way to the third floor. She opened a door with a smile and then stood respectfully outside the door.
"Fellow Daoist, please come inside and wait a moment," said Fairy Hong.
Upon hearing this, Song Ce nodded slightly, picked up Qin Nian'an who was tightly clutching his clothes, and went inside.
Almost the instant the two sat down, two maids in yellow robes entered. One carried two cups of warm tea, and the other presented two plates of pastries. The maids respectfully placed these items on the table next to Song Ce, then smiled, bowed, and gracefully withdrew from the room.
Seeing Qin Nian'an's curious expression, Song Ce ruffled his hair, then took out some warm pastries he had prepared earlier from his storage space and handed them to Qin Nian'an.
"An'er, this is the first lesson your brother is teaching you. When you're out and about, especially with people you've just met, you must be careful and always be wary of others."
"Yes, brother, An'er remembers." Qin Nian'an replied obediently.
About fifteen minutes later, several light footsteps approached from afar. Song Ce put away the pastries on the table and looked towards the door.
Immediately afterwards, a beautiful woman in red, accompanied by two maids in yellow who had just served tea, walked gracefully in.
"I presume this is the fellow Daoist who won the Moonlit Robe? I am the person in charge of the auction house, you can call me Manager Feng. May I ask how you should address me?" The woman in red stepped forward and smiled.
“Junming,” Song Ce said.
"Hehe, so it's Fellow Daoist Junming. You truly have an extraordinary demeanor." Master Feng waved his wide sleeves lightly, and the maid behind him immediately presented a jade plate to Song Ce with both hands.
“Fellow Daoist Junming, these are the Heart-Soothing Bell and Moonlit Robe that you purchased.”
Seeing this, Song Ce nodded slightly, then took out 200,450 spirit stones from his storage bag and placed them in the jade plate in front of him, and put the Heart-Feeling Bell and Moon-Blooming Robe into his pocket.
"Master Feng, it's been a pleasure working with you. I won't bother you any longer today." Song Ce took Qin Nian'an's hand and prepared to leave past the group.
"Fellow Daoist Junming, please wait a moment. I have a business deal I'd like to discuss with you in detail. Do you have the time?" Manager Feng said with a charming smile.
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Author's Note: Don't ask, the answer is I have more spirit stones than I can spend! More details later, hahaha.
P.S.: Thank you so much to the adorable "Old Man Doesn't Wear Old Man Shirts" for the nutrient solution! Thank you again to all the little angels for your favorites, comments, and continued support! Sending love!
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