When he looked at the jade pendant in the hostess’ hands, Yang Long couldn’t help but feel a bit envious. If he could use the Milk of Purple Frost himself, he might even be able to break through into the master rank within three years! Unfortunately, he had to offer it up to King Yan, which meant that he was doomed to never be able to use it.
His expression changed several times. In that instant, his eyes even flickered with something else; he thought he should use the chance to actually take it for himself, then secretly look for the Milk of Purple Frost’s whereabouts.
But in the end, he helplessly threw the idea away. With how powerful King Yan and Sun Xiang were, he still wouldn’t be a match for them even if he became a master rank cultivator.
Meanwhile, Zu An didn’t get upset and was instead happy to see that. He had been worried that he wouldn’t have enough money to buy the thing, and yet who could have thought that this spendthrift would step in? This kid was giving him everything!
Zu An looked at Sun Ji fondly, which made Sun Ji shiver. Why is that guy looking at me so weirdly?
“Two million, three hundred and fifty thousand!” A bid was placed from another private room. This amount was no small number. Everyone was becoming more and more cautious with their bidding.
But the only reason the price still remained at that level was because the pendant merely gave some clues about where the Milk of Purple Frost really was, and thus it didn’t guarantee the actual item even if one possessed it. Otherwise, the price would definitely be far greater.
Zu An thought for a bit, then also placed another bid. “Two million and four hundred thousand!” He gave Sun Ji a provocative look after saying that. He was actually quite worried that the other party wouldn’t keep up with him. If that happened, how was he supposed to buy something so precious?
Sure enough, anger surged inside of Sun Ji when he saw Zu An’s provocative gaze. “Two million and five hundred thousand!”
You have successfully trolled Sun Ji for +222 +222 +222…
He could already tell that Zu An actually wanted the item, so there was no way he could let the other party buy it. Even if he had to lose to someone, he couldn’t lose to that bastard! Let alone the fact that he had been going to buy it for King Yan to begin with. He had to obtain it no matter the price.
Zu An smiled when he saw that Sun Ji had taken the bait. He didn’t pay him any more attention and instead watched how the rest of the auction played out. There was no lack of big shots among the private rooms. The price quickly reached three million. Zu An sighed. This price was already really outside of what he could afford.
Sun Ji’s eyes twitched as well. After all, three million wasn’t a small amount even for the Sun clan. If not for his father’s influence in collecting all sorts of wealth and the plundering of some caravans, how could they possibly gather this much silver?
Fortunately, after the price was raised to that point, the other private rooms momentarily fell silent. They were clearly considering whether spending three million on some clues that might very well be useless was worth it.
Sun Ji shot Zu An a hateful look. If that bastard dares to put another bid, I’ll just let him have it! Not only would he completely redeem all of the dignity he had lost before, he could even steal it from the other man once he left. He wouldn’t even have to spend a cent himself! He felt a bit regretful when he thought of that. If he had realized that sooner, he wouldn’t have been in such a rush to bid early.
Zu An naturally guessed what Sun Ji was thinking. He wouldn’t give him the chance at all and just gave up on bidding. But just because he gave up didn’t mean that the other local tyrants were willing to. Sure enough, the price quickly climbed higher and higher.
Sun Ji’s expression became ashen, but he continued to bid no matter how high the price reached. In the end, the price ultimately broke past four million.
The other big shots in the private rooms couldn’t take it anymore either. Yi Commandery was the Sun clan’s domain after all, so they couldn’t really compare in terms of wealth. Furthermore, the information on the jade pendant might not even be useful. Eventually, those in the other private rooms gave up one after another, and Sun Ji bought the pendant at the price of four million.
Sun Ji felt as if his heart were bleeding. However, it would still be worth it if he offered the item up to King Yan.
Chubby Senior personally delivered the pendant to Sun Ji’s private room afterward. He was delivering the item, but also coming to collect the money.
Sun Ji took out close to three million in silver notes, then said, “I didn’t bring enough money with me today, I’ll send the rest over to you guys once I return. You can also send people to follow me back to get it.” That damn guest 333 had scammed him out of a few hundred thousand silvers, so he really couldn’t take out that much money at the moment.
Chubby Senior’s face darkened. He said, “Young master Sun, this is not in accordance with the rules.”
Sun Ji said, “Chubby Senior, I’m sure you know my identity. The Sun clan can assume this debt, and we have no reason to not pay you back. Furthermore, we didn’t know this item was going to be auctioned, so I didn’t bring enough money. Our Sun clan has many businesses in the Yi Commandery; our stores are everywhere. Don’t tell me we don’t have this bit of credibility?”
When he heard the threatening tone in Sun Ji’s voice, Chubby Senior felt quite troubled as well. There was indeed no reason to offend the Sun clan, because they had King Yan backing them. If they decided to get revenge out of anger, the Hub of Freedom would be the one with nowhere to run. He finally said, “In that case, then, I will make an exception for the young master. However, the Hub of Freedom has to take on unnecessary risk for this matter, so we will collect a hundred thousand as a service charge. I hope the young master can accept this.”
Sun Ji’s eyes narrowed, but he still agreed. “That’s fine.”
Both sides chatted for a bit, then Sun Ji wrote down a loan agreement and placed his seal on it. He also left behind his folding fan to use as collateral. When Chubby Senior confirmed everything, he handed the jade pendant over.
…
After Chubby Senior left, Sun Ji stored the case away, then he got up to leave.
Yang Long was surprised, asking, “The young master is going to leave now? How about we contact our people from the manor to receive us tomorrow morning?”
Sun Ji nodded and said, “The longer we stay here, the more trouble will arise. It’s best if we deliver this jade pendant to father and King Yan earlier, as I’ll feel more at ease then. As for the issue of safety, with you and the guards escorting me, apart from Chubby Senior, who else can stop us?”
Yang Long nodded. The Hub of Freedom was in Yi Commandery, so they wouldn’t dare to do anything. Apart from that, the Hub of Freedom’s unique way of coming and going prevented any of the other guests from tracking their whereabouts either. That was why it would instead be safer if they left as early as possible. If they dragged things out longer, there might be those with evil designs waiting to ambush them. They might even be able to track them down.
Sun Ji assigned a few guards to continue guarding his room’s entrance in the Hub of Freedom, making it look as if he were pleasure-seeking inside. Apart from that, he also sent one of his subordinates to tail guest 333 outside of his room.
“Hmph, I’ll let him live for another night. Once I finish what I need to do and return with my men, he’ll wish he were dead!” Sun Ji definitely wouldn’t let this man who had humiliated him several times live. However, he was the son of an influential clan, so he was still able to discern what was more important at the moment.
…
Meanwhile on his end, Zu An was concentrating on their conversation. Suddenly, there was a knock on his private room’s door. He asked, “Who is it?”
“Young master, it’s me,” said a sweet voice.
“Is there something you need?” Zu An frowned. It was that hostess from before. What had she come over for?
The gorgeous hostess’ smile froze on her face. She hadn’t expected such a reaction at all! Judging from the man’s tone, it didn’t seem as if he had any intention of opening the door. This really is an unromantic and insensitive man!
But she reacted quickly and said, “I came to deliver the Gray Wolf King Fangs and Nine-Headed Pheasant feathers.” There’s no way you’ll refuse now, right? Sure enough, the room door opened.
Zu An sized up the woman in front of him. He had to admit that she was a first grade beauty. Now that she was up close, he could sense just how fine and impressive her figure was underneath her cheongsam. Together with her bright and seductive red lips, her sweet smile, and her intelligent eyes, it would be hard for anyone to develop a negative impression of her.
He gave her a look and said, “Judging from how the lady is dressed, I do not believe there are any areas where those things can be stored.” She was only here with that flimsy dress of hers. She hadn’t even brought a bag.
“Aren’t you being a bit too distant by calling me ‘lady’? My name is Tang Tian’er; the young master can call me Tian’er,” the beautiful hostess said with a big smile. “Is the young master not going to invite me inside for a chat? It would be a bit embarrassing if the other guests see me standing by the door like this…”
“Your surname is excellent, and your name is pleasant-sounding. The lady is as sweet as candy after all,” Zu An said. But inside, he was thinking something completely different. This woman was following the script of a high-end green tea bitch perfectly.[1]
“The young master’s words are also extremely sweet. I wonder what I should call the young master?” Seeing that the other party had turned to the side to make way, Tang Tian’er took the chance to walk in. She closed the door behind herself.
1. In the name ‘Tang Tian’er’, the surname is actually the ‘Tang’ of the Tang Dynasty, but the same pronunciation with different characters can mean candy. ‘Tian’ means sweet. ☜
