The excitement subsided, and the crowd dispersed.
Ye Qiu crouched down and gently wiped Xiao Lan's still tearful eyes with his thumb. "How are you? Are you alright?"
"Xiao Lan is fine, it's just that the candied hawthorn is gone~" She pouted, still thinking about the candied hawthorn that had fallen to the ground.
"Brother bought you some!"
"Then I want two!" She held up a pair of peace signs, her azure eyes shining.
"No problem!" This time, Ye Qiu didn't dare let her run around, and directly picked her up.
"Mwah~ Brother is the best! Haha." The sweet taste of the candy lingered on Ye Qiu's lips, sticky and making him glare at Xiao Lan, which only made her giggle.
In the distance, while Ye Qiu and the others were arguing, their Sharingan flashing, a luxurious carriage drove by. It was the personal carriage of the Imperial Crown Prince Xue Qinghe.
He had just had a small gathering with his teacher, Ning Fengzhi of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School.
Inside the carriage, Xue Qinghe, who had been taking a nap, frowned.
For a fleeting moment, he felt a tremor in his martial soul, as if something was drawing it in.
He lifted the curtain and looked towards the crowd. "Go see what's going on over there?"
The order had barely been given when a subordinate stepped forward to inquire.
"Your Highness, it's a conflict between the young master of Count Sadio's family and a commoner." As the accompanying attendant finished reporting, the crowd dispersed.
Xue Qinghe frowned; the feeling was fleeting. Could it have been his imagination?
Looking in that direction, he saw the back of a blue-haired youth carrying a little girl.
"Phew! Let's go back to the palace!" He rubbed his temples and ordered his subordinates to continue. Perhaps he was just too tired.
Ye Qiu hadn't walked far before heading towards the carriage. Looking back, he remembered that when he tried to use his Sharingan earlier, it seemed somewhat excited. He glanced around strangely, but found nothing unusual.
"Brother, what are you looking at? Let's hurry and buy some candied hawthorns!"
"Okay, okay, let's go buy them right away." Urged on by the little glutton, Ye Qiu put aside his doubts and quickly left.
...
After buying two more skewers of candied hawthorns, Ye Qiu and Xiao Lan continued looking for a place to stay. Looking at the three gold soul coins remaining in his bag, Ye Qiu felt he had to spend the night in the Divine Might Space.
"Sigh~"
"Brother, what's wrong?" Xiao Lan, who was licking a candied hawthorn, looked up at him curiously.
"Nothing, huh!?"
A magnificent golden domed building appeared in Ye Qiu's sight. Judging from this location, the building was estimated to be at least 500 meters in diameter, and the golden dome was very eye-catching.
"The Heavenly Dou Auction House! How could I forget about this!" He clenched his fist and slapped his palm, only then remembering that he still had a soul bone produced by a four-thousand-year-old Jade Eye Cloud Winged Tiger in his Divine Might Space!
This thing would definitely fetch several million gold soul coins at auction!
"Little Blue, come on! Brother will take you to the auction house!" He took her little hand and headed there.
"Brother, what's an auction house?" Little Blue's short legs couldn't keep up with Ye Qiu's speed. She even stopped eating her candied hawthorn and was led by Ye Qiu to run.
"Well, it's a place where things are sold. After brother sells the things, I'll buy you lots of delicious food!"
"Great! Whew~ But brother, can you not walk so fast? Little Blue is so tired~"
"Uh~" Ye Qiu paused, only then realizing that her face was already flushed and her breathing was a little disordered.
"Hahaha, sorry, brother's fault." Ye Qiu simply picked her up again.
When they arrived at the entrance of the auction house, the magnificent facade made Ye Qiu sigh. To be able to acquire such a large piece of land in the capital city, where every inch of land is precious, was truly outrageous. Even the marble door frames were inlaid with gemstones.
"It's so pretty here!" The little girl was completely powerless against anything sparkly. She even forgot the candied hawthorn in her hand, unable to take it all in. "Brother~ the ladies at the entrance are so pretty too!"
Looking in the direction she pointed, several welcoming staff members stood at the entrance.
The four ladies looked to be around 20 years old, roughly the same height, with beautiful faces, slender and graceful figures. They wore white floor-length dresses studded with silver threads, giving them a touch of elegance. They wore professional, gentle smiles.
Ye Qiu, holding Xiao Lan, stood not far from the entrance, and Xiao Lan's voice was undoubtedly heard.
"Young lady, you have such a sweet tongue! But not just anyone can go in here!" The girl closest to Ye Qiu's smile became more genuine; it was clear she was genuinely happy.
"What are the requirements to enter?" Ye Qiu stepped forward and asked with a smile.
Only then did she notice how handsome and extraordinary the man in front of her was. A blush appeared on her face, but she didn't hesitate, placing her hands in front of her and bowing slightly.
"Young master, there are two ways to enter. One is to pass the bidding qualification certification, which is divided into different levels. The lowest threshold is having 10,000 gold soul coins in assets."
He glanced up and then added, "The other way is to consign items to our auction house. Only items valued at over 1,000 gold soul coins after being appraised by our appraisers can qualify you to participate in the auction. If the auction is successful, we will take one-tenth of the winning bid as a commission."
"I see. May I introduce you to one of your appraisers? I have some items to auction."
"Ah? Of course, no problem. Follow me~" He gestured for them to enter, swaying his slender waist and taking small steps as he walked inside.
Ye Qiu followed with Xiao Lan. As they passed, the girls on both sides couldn't help but glance at him a few more times.
"Brother, the ladies are all peeking at you!" Their voices weren't quiet, but they were enough for others to hear. Not only did they lower their heads awkwardly, but Ye Qiu also felt a little embarrassed.
"I was looking at you, after all, you're so cute~" He pinched her cheek, nodded apologetically to the girls on either side.
"Look... their faces are all red... um!"
Ye Qiu covered her mouth, glared at her, and stopped her from saying anything more.
Following behind the girl, they walked along a long corridor. The marble on both sides was carved with dragons and phoenixes, as well as reliefs of various soul beasts. Every few steps there was a glass cabinet filled with all sorts of rare treasures, quite magnificent!
"Hehe." The girl leading the way also chuckled, "The little girl is so cute!"
"Thank you, Miss. You're very pretty too, but aren't you tired of swaying your hips like that?"
Hearing Xiao Lan's words, she stopped, her face turning red with embarrassment. Her walking rhythm changed, and her posture became awkward. She was too embarrassed to continue swaying.
"Ouch!" "
Hehe. Children say the darndest things, children say the darndest things, haha!" Ye Qiu chuckled dryly, and this time he directly tapped Xiao Lan's head.
"If you keep talking nonsense, I'll sell you!"
"Ah! No! No! Little Blue won't say anything more!" Biting her lip, she hugged Ye Qiu's neck and started to whine, twisting and turning for a while before finally calming down.
Ye Qiu was led into a large hall, where a round table was placed. Opposite him sat seven old men, wearing monocles, their cloudy eyes gleaming with shrewdness.
"I wonder what young brother wants to auction?" Among them, the oldest man gestured for Ye Qiu to sit down.
Suddenly, a brocade box appeared in Ye Qiu's hand.
"This is a head soul bone, from the four-thousand-year-old soul beast, the Jade-Eyed Cloud-Winged Tiger!"
He placed the box in the center and pushed it towards the opposite side.
"A soul bone!" Several people immediately stood up; soul bones were extremely rare.
The leader carefully opened the brocade box, his face reflecting a green light. "Hiss~ It really is a soul bone, and a precious head soul bone at that!"
Apart from the external soul bone, the most precious of the six soul bone sets were the torso bone and the skull.
He carefully picked it up, examining it with his monocle.
"How is it?" Ye Qiu looked at them after they put it down.
"Young brother, no! VIP, we're prepared to start the bidding with one million gold soul coins, is that alright?" The head appraiser bowed to Ye Qiu and offered their opinion.
"Wow! One million! Brother!" Xiao Lan excitedly shook Ye Qiu's head.
"Of course, no problem!" Such a huge sum of money made Ye Qiu's heart flutter.
"Alright, then take this young master to the red VIP area!"
"Yes, sir! Please come with me! I'll take you both to complete the necessary procedures." At the old man's instruction, the young woman was still leading Ye Qiu.
She hadn't expected that the young man she brought in would have such wealth; it seemed her commission this month would definitely be substantial!
(End of Chapter)