Auction
At midnight, the doors of Fu Man Lou were tightly shut, and the auction officially began.
Countless people who received the news rushed over, only to be locked out. They angrily pounded on the door and cursed incessantly.
"Closing up so early, does Fu Man Lou even want to survive?"
"That's right, I rushed over here because I heard there was a peacock feather fan, but it was too late."
"Do you think this peacock feather fan is real? Isn't it in Vermilion Bird's possession? How did it end up here?"
"Could it be a false rumor spread by Fu Man Lou?"
The discussions outside Fu Man Lou continued, with the unspoken implication being that the feather fan was a fake.
A knowledgeable demon explained, "I heard that someone stole the feather fan and injured the Vermilion Bird, who is still lying down and unable to get up."
"Really?!"
“My uncle lives in Mingguang City. He told me this himself. How could it be false?”
Upon learning of Zhuque's injury, the discussions grew louder, and more demons banged on the door, demanding to be let in. The demons inside, who were blocking the door, pretended not to hear.
Steward Mu dusted himself off, casually set up a soundproofing array, and said to Zhan Xin beside him, "Steward Zhan won't mind me overstepping my bounds, will he?"
Exhibition: "Of course not, it would be my honor if Steward Mu graced us with his presence."
Manager Mu nodded in satisfaction, then turned and went upstairs.
Zhan Xin watched him walk away, rolled his eyes, and thought that if it weren't for the fact that he was brainless and the most important person in the whole plan, he would have dealt with him long ago.
He ordered the door to be blocked off so that Zhanxin could prepare for the auction.
Wen Zheng had taken a nap in a room on the second floor. When she woke up, she was still confused. "Has the auction started yet?"
I should have just gone to sleep after all this time.
"Let's begin immediately." Mu Qing glanced down at the demons sitting below. Many of them looked fierce and menacing, while others were fighting in the corners.
"Tsk, what a mess."
Mu Qing looked in the direction of the voice and saw Wen Zheng standing beside him, her eyes fixed on the demons fighting in the corner. He asked, "Should we go help?"
Wen Zheng shook her head. "Forget it, let's not make trouble."
Those demons exuded a fierce aura, and their clothes were stained with blood, indicating that they had often clashed with other demons.
The two withdrew their gaze, and a demon appeared on the platform in the center. He gently raised his hand, and someone brought out the first treasure.
Wen Zheng paid no attention to these treasures, instead practicing new talismans. Mu Qing, on the other hand, was completely focused on the treasures that appeared, considering which ones were suitable for Wen Zheng. The room fell silent for a moment.
On the third floor, above them, Steward Mu leaned back in his chair with his legs raised high. There were three or four maids massaging his shoulders and legs, creating a rather unusual scene.
The maid massaging Steward Mu's legs asked softly, "Lord Mu, what brings you here? I heard that Elder Lieyan has been worrying about the Grand Elder's birthday gift lately. We sisters thought you hadn't had time to come around lately."
The woman spoke in a sweet, charming voice, and the smile on her lips almost overflowed.
Steward Mu playfully patted a maid's face, laughing smugly, "Aren't you happy to see the master? I heard there's a peacock feather fan up for auction tonight, so I came for a birthday gift, and I also took the opportunity to see you all." His hand swept over the other maids, his eyes gleaming with wicked light.
The maids laughed and slapped his hand away, saying, "Lord Mu, have you come for the feather fan as well?"
"What news have you leaked?" Steward Mu asked, taking out spirit stones and throwing them at the group. Watching them tear at each other like vicious dogs fighting over food, he laughed particularly maliciously.
Once all the spirit stones were gone, Steward Mu clapped his hands, and several maids immediately looked over. One of them explained, "I heard from Fu Lu, who serves Zhan Xin, that two people disguised themselves and came to Fu Man Lou tonight to auction off the peacock feather fan."
Steward Mu's eyes darted around, and he asked, "Have you seen those two people?"
The maids shook their heads. "We usually stay in the back hall and can only come out when Lord Zhan gives the order. We don't know anything about these matters."
As soon as he finished speaking, the room fell silent. Steward Mu leaned back in his chair, tapping his fingers together, the wood making a dull thud. None of the maids dared to speak.
After a long while, Steward Mu finally spoke and asked, "Is the peacock feather fan real?"
A maidservant smiled and said, "Fu Man Lou never sells counterfeit goods. Besides, Master Zhan has already examined the items, so he wouldn't be mistaken."
Upon hearing that Zhan Xin had verified the authenticity of the peacock feather fan, Steward Mu finally felt relieved and waved for the maids to leave.
Several maids, carrying spirit stones in their hands, left with happy expressions. When they reached the back hall, far away from the guests, one of the younger maids spat and cursed, "I really don't want to serve this arrogant bastard anymore."
The other sisters stepped forward to persuade them, saying, "Lord Zhanxin specifically instructed us to go today, so we had no choice but to go. We won't do it again in the future."
The younger maid was still cursing, and the sounds of comforting and cursing rippled across the pond in the back hall.
Wen Zheng carefully collected the talismans she had just written and categorized them using her newly devised method.
Mu Qing's eyes were fixed on the auction stage, but her divine sense was watching Wen Zheng from a place where she couldn't see her. When Wen Zheng finally stopped writing and tidying up, Mu Qing quietly withdrew her divine sense, sat down next to her naturally, picked up a stack of talismans, and asked, "Why are you folding them together?"
This was the first time he had ever seen such a novel method of organizing talismans.
Wen Zheng took the talisman from his hand and explained, "It's not stacked together; this stack represents one attack."
Although she has entered the Nascent Soul Realm, her skill in talismans seems to have remained at the level of drawing talismans, and the power of the talismans has never increased. She can only use quantity to replace quality.
Mu Qing reached out and touched the somewhat thick talisman, paused for a moment, and said, "I'll take some pictures of self-defense items later."
Such a large stack of talismans, if there's a mistake, could really blow Wen Zheng up.
"No need." Wen Zheng patted her stomach like a well-fed animal and said, "I haven't even used the soft armor the city lord gave me yet."
Given the rising danger level among the demon race, Wen Zheng even sleeps in the soft armor given to her by the Lord of Vermilion Bird City. The soft armor also has various protective talismans pasted inside, which she can use whenever she wants.
Mu Qing watched as she patted her stomach, her face flushed suspiciously, and she unconsciously turned her head away and hummed in agreement, "I know, you go ahead with your work."
He didn't look at Wen Zheng again, his eyes fixed on the treasure that had appeared on the stage.
Wen Zheng was busy arranging the talismans and didn't notice his abnormality. By the time she finished and turned her gaze to the stage, Mu Qing's face was no longer discernible.
Several treasures appeared on the stage, and bids rose and fell.
Wen Zheng leaned lazily against the railing, glancing casually at the audience below. When she saw Zhan Xin appear, carrying the peacock feather fan she had brought from Mingguang City, she suddenly perked up.
Zhan Xin stepped to the front of the stage, and the audience immediately fell silent. He took out a feather fan and displayed it to everyone. "You should all recognize what this is, so I won't introduce it. The auction price is one hundred high-grade spirit stones."
The price of spirit stones wasn't high, and everyone stared intently at the feather fan, still somewhat skeptical.
Back then, Elder Zhuque had a fight with the Grand Elder and the others, resigned from his position as elder, and ran away to Mingguang City with his feather fan. Unexpectedly, someone was able to injure Elder Zhuque and take the feather fan to Fumanlou for auction.
Considering the entanglement between Elder Zhuque and the Grand Elder, most of the demon race believed that the person who injured Elder Zhuque was the Grand Elder, and their covetousness for the feather fan diminished by seven-tenths.
No one made a bid for a long time. Zhan Xin remained calm and checked the feather fan a few times. A blue peacock phantom appeared, further confirming the authenticity of the feather fan.
"Fu Man Lou has never sold counterfeit goods. The peacock feather fan is so cheap thanks to a friend. This is a one-time opportunity, so those who want it can make an offer."
As soon as he spoke, the people below the stage became restless. Some people had already hidden in the crowd and started bidding, each time higher than the last. The sound carried up to the third floor, and Steward Mu narrowed his eyes.
He was very interested in the feather fan, but he didn't want to pay for it. Why should he lose face and compete with these people for a chance to keep the money for himself?
He stood on the third-floor railing, confidently watching the bidders below, a satisfied smile on his face.
The bidding continued below the stage. Wen Zheng's gaze swept back and forth between the bidders. Now in the Nascent Soul stage, she could already detect other people's cultivation levels. The demons present were all below the Divine Transformation stage, which made her frown.
"Are there many cultivators at the Nascent Soul stage?" Wen Zheng asked Mu Qing, who was standing beside her.
Mu Qing paused for a moment, then quickly replied when she saw the question: "Not many, really. Among the major immortal sects, there are no more than ten people besides me, but..."
He paused halfway through his sentence, and continued under Wen Zheng's questioning gaze: "It seems that all the geniuses of the Immortal Sect are in the Thousand Saints Palace. In the last Immortal Sect Grand Competition, there were at least twenty or thirty Nascent Soul stage cultivators in the Thousand Saints Palace."
Such a huge surprise made Wen Zheng frown slightly, further confirming the danger Thousand Saints Palace was in danger.
However, her reverie only lasted a moment before a knock at the door interrupted her thoughts. A woman dressed in a dance costume entered and said urgently to Wen Zheng, "Lord Zhanxin wants you to take the feather fan."
Wen Zheng: "Huh?"
What is Zhan Xin up to?
She wasn't a hired shill.
The woman in the dancing dress seemed to be in a hurry. She repeatedly told Wen Zheng to take a picture of the feather fan before leaving, leaving Wen Zheng with a confused look in her eyes.
Is she going to take a picture?
In an instant, Wen Zheng made her choice. She counted her spirit stones. After helping the Lord of Vermilion Bird City, she received a lot more spirit stones, and now the total amount was considerable.
"Ten thousand spirit stones."
Wen Zheng's bid caused a moment of silence among those present, who all turned to look in her direction. She hadn't even changed out of her original attire when she entered the city, and she didn't look like someone with much money. Coupled with her mediocre cultivation level, some demons even whispered about her below.
Wen Zheng ignored the discussions, glanced in Zhan Xin's direction, and after seeing him nod slightly, thought for a moment and said arrogantly, "No one is bidding? Aren't all the people who come to Fu Man Lou rich demons? I haven't seen any."
These provocative words only fueled the murmurs. One of the guests on the second floor said to Wen Zheng, "I wonder which clan you belong to? How dare you speak so arrogantly? Didn't your elders teach you anything?"
When the reprimanding words came over, Wen Zheng didn't react at all. She saw Zhan Xin shake his head at her and immediately understood what he meant.
Not enough, huh?
Wait.
She picked up the tea on the table and drank it all in one gulp. She cleared her throat and prepared to curse back.
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