C.3644 – Lord Gui Chi

Zhu Yun’s eyes lit up and he giggled, “Young Master, that’s a great plan! With your status, the Jian Family’s old ancestor will be more than happy to accept! When the brat hears of it, he’ll go crazy with frustration!”

Zhu Jian revealed a sinister laugh. No one knew if it was intended, but he chose the pavilion beside Tao Han’er. As Huang Xiaolong took the pavilion on her right, Zhu Jian took the one on her left.

After entering the pavilion, Zhu Jian got Zhu Yun to send Jian Bifei his greetings. Very quickly, laughter filled the other pavilion as Zhu Yun introduced his young master to Jian Bifei.

“Lord Zhu Jian’s fame long precedes him.” Jian Bifei grinned.

Cupping his fist, Zhu Jian returned the pleasantry. “I’ve heard of Brother Jian Bifei’s achievements too! It’s an honor to meet you today. Now that I’ve seen you in person, I can confirm that you’re a dragon amongst men!”

“Young Master Zhu Jian is the true genius… Your talent overshadows everyone in the younger generation of the Zhu Lan Lands!” Jian Bifei continued.

Zhu Jian pretended to look around and his gaze landed on Tao Han’er. “This… Is this your long lost young lady?”

Jian Bifei quickly introduced, “Yes! This is my younger sister, Han’er! Han’er, quick! Come over and greet Young Master Zhu Jian of the Zhu Family!”

Afraid that she wouldn’t know who he was, Jian Bifei continued the introductions, “Young Master Zhu Jian is the grandson of Lord Zhu Chen! He’s also the son of the third strongest expert of our Zhu Lan Lands, Mei Jie!”

Tao Han’er wasn’t planning to bother with the group at all. However, she had no choice after hearing Jian Bifei’s introductions.

Zhu Jian smiled, “Young Lady Han’er’s talent has long reached my ears.”

“Brother Zhu Jian, do you mean…” Jian Bifei muttered.

“Young Lady Han’er’s beauty is unparalleled. She’s the greatest beauty in the Zhu Lan Lands.” Zhu Jian laughed.

Jian Bifei laughed with him. The two of them shot an unconscious gaze towards Huang Xiaolong.

Noticing the stupid expression on Zhu Jian’s face, Huang Xiaolong sniggered silently in his heart.

Soon, the auction began.

The first item was a jade hairpin. It was said to be a low-grade creation artifact made by a half-step Universe God. Moreover, it was made by a female God of Creation who had worn it for a long time. Even though it didn’t possess offensive abilities, the defensive properties weren’t too bad.

Tao Han’er’s eyes lit up when she saw the hairpin. It was clear she loved it a lot.

When she learned that the starting price was a trillion dao coins, the light in her eyes dimmed. Since she followed Jian Bifei to the auction, she didn’t bring much money with her.

“Does Han’er like this hairpin?” Huang Xiaolong’s voice came from the side.

Tao Han’er nodded softly in response. “I do! This is really similar to the hairpin you gave me the other year… Back in the Hengshan Mountain Range, the hairpin saved my life! But the hairpin was broken beyond repair…” A look of guilt appeared on her face. It was as though she was sorry for breaking the present he gave her.

“Since you like it, I’ll get it for you.” Huang Xiaolong chuckled mischievously.

“Really? Thank you!” Tao Han’er jumped in joy.

Huang Xiaolong glanced at Cao Dehong and the latter immediately knew what to do.

“1.01 trillion.” Cao Dehong started things off.

Zhu Jian’s voice came from the side. “1.1 trillion!”

Everyone looked at him, dumbfounded.

Zhu Jian looked at Jian Bifei and smiled, “Since Young Lady Han’er likes it, I’ll buy it for you!”

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Jian Bifei responded, “Young Master Zhu Jian’s favor will be remembered by our Jian Family.”

“It’s just a hairpin. Even if Young Lady Han’er likes a peak-grade creation artifact, I’ll buy it for her!” Zhu Jian continued to boast.

Tao Han’er’s eyebrows scrunched together when she heard what he said.

Gently raising two fingers at Cao Dehong, the bidding continued. “Two trillion!”

“Three trillion!” Zhu Jian wasn’t willing to back down.

“3.5 trillion.” Seemingly having lost his patience, Huang Xiaolong called out his bid personally.

The crowd started to clamor instantly.

“4 trillion!” Zhu Jian sneered.

“40 trillion.” Huang Xiaolong snorted coldly as soon as Zhu Jian spoke.

“What?! 40 trillions?! The entire venue erupted.”

Everyone turned to stare at Huang Xiaolong in shock.

“Who is he? Even the old ancestors of the Cao and three other families treat him so respectfully… Moreover, he seems familiar with the young princess of the Jian Family!”

“The Zhu Family is the true owner of the Zhu Lan Lands… He’s stupid for trying to go against Zhu Jian!”

Zhu Jian’s expression sank and he wanted to raise the price. However, Zhu Yun stopped him. “Young Master, forget about it. That’s 40 trillion we’re talking about! From the looks of it, the brat doesn’t plan to stop. We don’t have to go against him for the sake of it. It’s just a hairpin. In the future, we’ll get the experts of our family to make a better one for Young Lady Han’er!”

Zhu Jian hesitated slightly before turning to Tao Han’er. “Young Lady Han’er, this hairpin is a low-grade creation artifact. It’s not worthy to be worn by you. In the future, I’ll get the experts of my family to refine a better one for you.”

Jian Bifei added, “Young Master Zhu Jian is right! The treasury of my Jian Family is filled with stuff like that! Little Sister Han’er deserves much more! Only a bumpkin would buy a hairpin for 40 trillion…”

Cao Dehong snorted in contempt when he heard their conversation. “Didn’t Young Master Zhu Jian say that he would buy the hairpin for young miss over there? What’s wrong? Are you too poor to buy a low-grade creation artifact?”

Zhu Jian’s face flushed red with embarrassment. However, he didn’t continue to bid.

After Huang Xiaolong sent Cao Dehong to pay for the hairpin, he got the auctioneer to pass it to Tao Han’er. As she held it tightly in her hand, she turned to Huang Xiaolong with a sweet smile, “Many thanks, Lord Huang!”

Huang Xiaolong nodded in response.

Soon, the auction continued.

There were many rare treasures that were on sale, but none of them caught Huang Xiaolong’s eye. He didn’t join in the bidding, but Zhu Jian and Jian Bifei got quite a few items for themselves.

After more than a dozen items were auctioned off, the final item was revealed. It was a batch of universe-level spiritual veins!

The auctioneer did some simple introductions and everyone learned that there were sixteen peak-grade universe-level spiritual veins in the batch and fifty-three high-grade ones. The others were of the mid and low grade.

Ordinarily, no one would sell precious goods like that! They would only trade it for other treasures! As the auction started, no base price was set. Everyone was allowed to yell their bids and the highest would win! Of course, no one was stupid enough to purchase them with dao coins. Creation artifacts were used as the currency for bidding.

“Ten high-grade creation artifacts!” A black robed man started it off.

As he sat in the corner of the venue, no one noticed him until he called his first bid.

The faces of Zhu Jian and Jian Bifei changed when they recognized him. “Lord Gui Chi!”