Time quickly passed to the third day.
The next morning, a light drizzle was still falling.
Suddenly, many unfamiliar faces appeared on the street. They all had sharp eyes and a bold style. They ate their meals on the street in twos and threes and then gathered at Hua Man Lou.
The people on the street all consciously kept their doors and cars locked, and didn't go out unless it was absolutely necessary. Even the mischievous children who usually ran around the streets were all locked up at home by their families. Everyone knew that, if things weren't handled properly, a fight might break out in Longyang Town.
On the street, Manager Wang, who loved money more than anything, was opening his business today and was energetically soliciting customers. Groups of unfamiliar faces, unable to resist Manager Wang's smooth talk, entered the Drunken Fragrance Restaurant. When they left, they were all greasy-faced and completely satisfied.
At this moment, everything was already prepared inside the Flower Pavilion, with Qiu Zeyu in charge. All the martial arts figures who entered were timid and no one dared to cause trouble.
Lan Yamei had decorated the first-floor lobby into an auction venue a day earlier. The stage was brightly lit, and half of the benches below the stage were already occupied. Qiu Zeyu was sitting on the second floor above the stage, drinking tea, next to his young apprentice, Wang Fengyang.
Many people in the martial arts world had heard of or seen Qiu Zeyu, and they were all talking about Wang Fengyang who was standing next to him.
A group of exquisitely made-up female waitresses, wearing veils, carried tea and fruit platters, quietly hawking their wares in front of the crowd. At this moment, a girl dressed as a man entered the hall with four or five attendants. She found a place to sit down, but then saw Qiu Zeyu on the second floor. So she got up and went upstairs.
Qiu Zeyu also saw her and was about to turn around and pretend not to know her when the woman spoke first, "So it's my cousin! I knew you looked familiar. Why are you sitting on the second floor? The second floor is where the host family lives."
It turns out that this woman was Qiu Yuxian, Qiu Zeyu's cousin from Xiangyang.
Qiu Zeyu composed himself and said, "I heard from my father's letter that my cousin has found a good marriage! Congratulations!"
Qiu Yuxian gets furious whenever this is mentioned, because she is deeply in love with her cousin and begged her parents to personally propose marriage, only to have him run away. She then chased him all the way to Longyang Town, only to find him flirting with a vulgar woman. She was so blind to have fallen for such a mediocre person that she immediately agreed to be with Qi Qiuping, who had been pursuing her relentlessly.
Qi Qiuping, the legendary thief, is known throughout the martial arts world. Handsome and carefree, he always manages to steal what he sets his sights on without anyone noticing, his exceptional skills ensuring he never misses. Many in the martial arts world follow him, and over time, they have formed the renowned "Amazing Thieves Sect"! Qi Qiuping is its leader!
The Amazing Thieves Guild is incredibly wealthy, and its members are all highly skilled! They occasionally take on high-priced jobs to make a profit.
Qiu Yuxian grinned, a forced smile on her face, and said, "Thank you for not marrying me, cousin! Now Qiu Ping and I are a perfect couple, living happily ever after. He's here today too, and he's willing to get me anything I want! I suppose you're a bodyguard! Well then, I'm sorry, but the one with the best skills gets it!"
Lan Yamei, who was eavesdropping nearby, quickly sent a waitress out.
"Madam Qi! Thank you for gracing the auction. The organizers have prepared a private seat for you. Please follow me," the waitress said, following Lan Yamei's instructions.
Qiu Yuxian turned and followed the waiter, sitting down at another table on the second floor. Two or three waiters quickly brought out three or five fruit platters and a pot of good wine, collected the money, and then slowly withdrew.
Qiu Yuxian was surprised that the private room would cost money. She was taken aback at first, but eventually paid the fee.
The waiter showed Lan Yamei fifty taels of silver, and Lan Yamei just smiled and said, "Why not take advantage of her? Put it in the bill!"
Just as Qiu Yuxian's situation calmed down, a haughty couple entered, snorting and refusing to sit with the others in the audience. They were quickly arranged by Lan Yamei to watch from the second floor for two hundred taels of silver.
The auction hadn't even started all morning, and the poorest people downstairs had already spent dozens of taels of silver on food and drink, so they started complaining and urging the auction to begin quickly!
Just then, a distinguished-looking middle-aged man in a yellow jacket entered through the door, followed by several guards. Qiu Zeyu on the stage was startled; the Emperor himself had actually come to the scene.
Unaware of the situation, Lan Yamei thought it was another big fish and hurriedly ordered the waiter to swindle him out of two hundred taels of silver and place him on the second-floor viewing platform.
The place was packed, both upstairs and downstairs. Lan Ya Mei, still wearing her frog costume, waddled onto the stage!
No one had ever seen such strange attire before, and the hall fell silent instantly. Lan Yamei, speaking through a megaphone, announced, "Thank you all for traveling so far to attend the first Jianghu Treasure Auction hosted by Frog Hero! Enough with the pleasantries, let's welcome the first treasure to be auctioned today: the Heaven-Slaying Sword!"
As soon as she finished speaking, the waitress presented a gleaming sword with both hands, drew it, and waved it in the air.
The crowd below burst into laughter. A bearded man carrying a sword stood up, pointed at the frog, and yelled, "I don't care if you're Frog Hero or Fat Pig Hero! We've come all this way not to see this piece of junk! Get down here and bring out the lost treasures of the martial arts world!"
The crowd joined in the jeering! It looked like the roof was about to be blown off.
The waitress seemed a little nervous, but Lan Yamei gestured for her not to panic and said to the bearded hero in the audience, "Since you don't think much of my treasure, I'll have a contest with you."
"Alright! How shall we compete?" The bearded man was unconvinced. He took off the sword from his back and walked onto the stage.
Lan Yamei pulled out a bench and said to everyone, "You are all martial artists with profound internal strength. Even without weapons, you can shatter this bench with your internal energy. Today, we will not compete in internal strength, but only in weapons! Let's use this bench as a test and see whose weapon can easily break this bench."
The bearded man jumped onto the stage, brandished his sword, and the bench immediately broke in two.
The audience applauded enthusiastically!
Lan Ya Mei remained calm and composed. This Heaven-Slaying Sword was a finely crafted steel piece taken from her spatial storage, and it was incredibly sharp. The smelting technology of this era was far inferior to that of modern people, resulting in weapons that lacked purity and were far less sharp.
She first gestured to the waiter to chop it down, and the bench shattered into two pieces. Seeing that the crowd was not satisfied, Lan Yamei continued, "Please, Bearded Hero, show me your sword."
When the two swords were compared, it was discovered that the bearded sword had a small nick on its blade, while the Heaven-Reliant Sword was completely undamaged. The crowd gasped in amazement and began to regard the Heaven-Reliant Sword with newfound respect.
Seeing this, Lan Yamei brought out an iron pot and cleaved it in two with her sword. At this, thunderous applause erupted from the audience! They raised their arms and shouted, "Heavenly Sword! Heavenly Sword! Heavenly Sword!"
The bearded man silently sheathed his sword and returned to the stage.
Lan Yamei continued, "This Heaven-Slaying Sword is incredibly sharp, capable of cutting through iron like mud. If your internal energy is profound, you can imagine the power of this sword. Now it's up for auction, starting at one thousand taels, the highest bidder wins! Let the auction begin!"
"Five thousand five hundred taels!" the bearded man shouted first.
Everyone bid, and soon the price reached 11,000 taels! It was bought by the Jiangnan Eccentric Swordsman, and the money and goods were settled on stage.
Those who didn't get the Heaven-Slaying Sword sighed in disappointment. The giant frog continued, "There are even better treasures; as long as you pay, you can take them home. Please welcome the second treasure: the Mighty Vajra Rope!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
