Xia Fei frowned. This girl’s so-called deductions were extremely laughable to him, completely devoid of any supporting evidence.
Shifting his butt to one side, Xia Fei increased the distance between him and Zhou Xiaoman by a little.
Zhou Xiaoman was in a very awkward spot. The deductions that she was so proud of had failed to draw Xia Fei’s attention, only causing him to put on an expression that said he did not want to associate with her. The proud Zhou Xiaoman could not accept the disregard of others, so her face immediately darkened.
It would have been fine if Zhou Xiaoman had dropped the matter here, yet she insisted on using her ‘meticulous thought processes’ and ‘fine observation skills’ to make bold deductions, which had Xia Fei cringing and shaking his head.
A person’s endurance had a limit; after Zhou Xiaoman passed judgment on a woman’s identity, Xia Fei finally spoke.
“This woman isn’t his real wife. Look at how proud that man is when he introduces her, and the other women are shooting hostile looks at his companion. In normal circumstances, no man will bring out their homebound wife to the public and even brag about them.
“Plus, there’s a faint mark on that man’s left hand. It’s obvious that he took off his wedding ring right before coming. That woman couldn’t be his first wife, for not even an idiot would take off that ring right in front of his wife.
“There’s something off about that lady’s expression, too. Although she’s wearing high-class clothes, she’s unused to them; see how she’s constantly tugging at her skirt. She’s probably lived a rather poor and simple life before this, never once wearing such flashy yet uncomfortable clothes in the past.” Zhou Xiaoman was dumbfounded by what she heard. In just a few seconds, Xia Fei had observed and analyzed these two people so thoroughly that she could not believe what she was hearing.
Xia Fei paused a moment before continuing. “Look again. The woman’s hands are rather coarse, so she’s probably done some rough jobs in the past, but the man has a big belly and is dressed extravagantly. This sort of person has no reason to have their wife do housework.
“There’s also no hiding the excitement in the woman’s eyes, meaning that she’s probably never been to such a high-class event before. The brand-new, high heels are making her very uncomfortable, and when entering, she almost tripped, yet her first instinct wasn’t to support herself on the man next to her but rather to grab a nearby chair.
“That’s because she needs to be obedient to the man next to her and also somewhat fears him. In addition, these two are far from having a close relationship. Behavioral science says that girls in a strange place will instinctively seek protection, but the first thing that lady did was to support herself with a chair. Don’t you think that’s strange?”
Zhou Xiaoman opened her mouth to say something; alas, Xia Fei’s astonishing observation and analytical powers did not permit any sort of comments, let alone rebuttals.
“My conclusion is that they’re not husband and wife but rather two people who have only recently started an affair. The man is showing off his newly obtained prey, and the hunger in his eyes means that while he brought her to the auction, he hasn’t actually bedded her yet. The lady’s behavior proves this. From the way she walks, she should still be a virgin; she must’ve worked up a lot of resolve to get involved with this married man. Once these two are done with the deed, she’ll undoubtedly be abandoned.”
Zhou Xiaoman blinked and asked, “Why would she be abandoned? Couldn’t they be together? This man can just divorce his wife.”
Xia Fei shook his head. “Impossible. You can tell at a glance that while this man is a womanizer, he’s afraid of his wife. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have gone to the trouble of taking off his ring. Behind his smug demeanor is a guilty conscience. Look at how furtive he’s acting; he’s worried that an acquaintance of his wife will see him.
“You’re hoping that this man, who can commit the crime but not take responsibility, will leave his way to run off with a cook? Stop joking around.”
A cooked goose’s beak would harden, and Zhou Xiaoman was like that. Xia Fei clearly had the upper hand, but she still wanted to argue.
“Why do you say that she’s a cook?” Zhou Xiaoman puffed up her chest and asked, her actions revealing without a doubt that she was a girl.
“There are several small cuts on her hand, likely left by a kitchen knife. Her eyes look nervous when she gazes around, and only when she’s looking down at a forty-five degree angle does her gaze become steady. That’s because her job often involves cutting vegetables, and this is the angle she’s familiar with. I also know that she works with fresh produce, for the knife that inflicted those wounds on her hand is sharp and small, clearly a flat-sided cuisine knife.”
Zhou Xiaoman could not manage another word. In truth, Xia Fei had many different ways of proving his deductions, but for the sake of an amateur like Zhou Xiaoman, this explanation was enough.
As Xia Fei smiled, his gaze suddenly sharpened and he asked coldly, “Miss, who are you that you had all these people fill in this box with me?”
*Zing~*
Zhou Xiaoman turned ghastly pale. She placed a hand on her chest and began to shiver as she looked around.
The bodyguards from the Boundless Heaven Trading Association behind her also became nervous. After all, they took Xia Fei for some bandit who could kill without blinking an eye. It would be a disaster if a fight broke out and someone got hurt.
Zhou Xiaoman pursed her lips and prepared to say something more, but Xia Fei extended a hand and stopped her.
“I didn’t expect for the Boundless Heaven Zhous to treat a VIP like this.”
Everyone was immediately stunned! Not only had Xia Fei discovered that Zhou Xiaoman and the guests were all part of the same group, he had even found out their identity! This sort of observation and deductive ability was simply absurd!
“While this may be the territory of your Zhou Clan, I can come and go whenever I please. No one will be able to stop me,” Xia Fei said darkly. If Zhou Xiaoman had just come with her people and not said much, Xia Fei would have silently accepted their presence, treating it as if nothing had happened, but Zhou Xiaoman had instead gotten her people to surround Xia Fei and had started chattering about things Xia Fei did not like to hear. This left him rather unhappy, so he decided to give her a small lesson.
His gaze chilling, Xia Fei turned his head back to the auction platform and ordered, “Young miss, please take your people and get lost!”
…
The large box was now for Xia Fei’s personal use. Occasionally, someone would look over and wonder which wealthy clan Xia Fei belonged to that he could occupy the large box seat area of the high-class Boundless Heaven Auction House all by himself.
Xia Fei lit a cigarette and smoked a little as he waited for the auction to begin.
Oro pursed his lips and asked, “Xia Fei, isn’t that a little too improper? You know that she’s a member of the Zhou Clan, but you drove her away. This is her clan’s territory. Aren’t you worried about causing trouble?”
Xia Fei casually replied, “You have to fight for your dignity. Besides, I already have plenty of problems. Adding one more won’t do any harm.”
Oro was rendered speechless. Xia Fei had always been like this. Once his temper got going, he would give anyone who annoyed him a hard time, no matter who they were. This incident had once more proven his personality.
The auction was about to begin. Xia Fei took out his card from Rock Private Bank and inserted it into the bidding device next to his chair. If he won an item, the amount would be immediately deducted from his account.
A curly haired auctioneer quickly emerged onto the stage. With an excited face and intense tone, he riled up the audience and stirred up their fervor.
“Now, up for auction is a bottle of valuable Cloud-swallowing Liquid!”
Several emotional sighs resounded throughout the auction house, everyone staring at the milky white fluid, many of them even clenching their fists.
Xia Fei continued to smoke his cigarette. Folding his arms, he muttered, “Is one bottle of medicine really worth all the fuss?”
Oro replied, “That’s easy for you to say! You have a brain region that’s 100% open, and you’re an apothecary, so you naturally don’t put any value on some Cloud-swallowing Liquid. As for those people who need it, they treat this medicine like god. Without it, even the most talented warrior will have to stop.”
Oro seemed to be feeling melancholic over all the different fields Xia Fei dabbled in. Other people could specialize and still not get good results, while Xia Fei was somehow able to learn anything he was interested in. Oro could not help but feel that this was unjust.
“I’m sure that there’s no need to describe at length the functions of the Cloud-swallowing Liquid; I simply want to tell everyone one thing.” The auctioneer had an excellent grasp of the flow of the auction, deliberately pausing here. “This medicine uses Floating Cloud Seed as its foundation, making its effect much greater than usual!”
Xia Fei was startled. Floating Cloud Seed was actually the seed of a tree that grew on extremely high-altitude mountains. It was a companion of the clouds, resulting in its name.
In Xia Fei’s view, using such a precious material on a medicine that could open the brain region was a huge waste. The most the Floating Cloud Seed could do was make the medicine milder and easier to absorb. It was completely at odds with Xia Fei’s method of using every herb to its utmost, so he did not approve of this.
“Ten thousand!”
“Twenty thousand!”
“Twenty-five thousand!”
The price began to soar, and the final bid ended up being sixty-five thousand grade 5 Origin Crystals! In other words, nearly thirty million grade 4 Origin Crystals!
“It’s worth this much?!” Xia Fei was in disbelief.
The one who won was flushed with excitement while those who failed hung their heads in sadness. It turned out that the people of the Law Realm were really willing to go to extravagant lengths for a single bottle of medicine, spending so boldly that anyone else would feel inferior.
Pursing his lips, Xia Fei began to do some mental calculations. Opening the seventh brain region was not easy, and it could not be done without top-class herbs. Xia Fei did not know the prescription for the Cloud-swallowing Liquid, but he was confident that he could achieve a similar effect through his own method. The cost price would only be about four thousand grade 5 crystals, so he would be able to take ten times that in profit!
‘That’s a good way of making money. I’ll try it out in the future,’ Xia Fei mentally noted.
Of course, stealing from the Galerain Society was still better in Xia Fei’s eyes. Not only could he drain others of their energy, he could earn a large number of crystals in the process. However, that was not something that happened every day. Making medicine for money was a more reliable source of revenue.
The auction moved very quickly, and more and more valuable objects came onto stage. The mood grew livelier and livelier; countless eyes stared at the stage and countless hands clenched bidding devices as their owners prepared to spend everything they had.
“The next item up for auction is one loved by artificers, an ultimate-grade catalyst: the Solid Gold Flying Cicada Pupa!” The curly haired auctioneer loudly spoke as he thrust out his hand. A bright spotlight flew over and illuminated that golden crystalline pea.
“It’s finally here!” After a moment of shock, Xia Fei stroked the bidding device with his right hand.
“The starting price is ten thousand grade 5 Origin Crystals! Is there anyone willing to pay ten thousand to take away this precious Solid Gold Flying Cicada Pupa?!” the auctioneer excitedly howled.
