One Last Item

Ye Qing continued to focus on the countdown for the auction to start. Meanwhile, Zi Rumeng gradually calmed down and unfasted her arms from holding Ye Qing, not that he had much of a reaction anyway. She was scared, and he fully understood why she would be.

Zi Rumeng also turned her attention to the device, seeing that there was about one minute for the auction to start. Besides being somewhat scared, she was excited to witness a live auction among the small circle of influential people of Haikou City. Not many people knew of Al-Father's true identity, but seeing the fierce man being so respectful to his counterpart, no one acted out of turn.

Al-Father was used to this treatment, not to mention he wasn't here to take part in the auction but to simply see if this place could rack in enough profits to satisfy the protection fees on his territory. Such protection fees included protection from other syndicate groups among other things— things that could not be accomplished through high cultivation.

After looking around for a bit, Al-Father fixed his glasses a bit and made a detour through the hall, walking up to Ye Qing.

As for Zi Rumeng, she didn't notice the approaching group as she nudged Ye Qing and asked, "How come you're not scared?"

She thought her voice was low enough for the conversation to be kept in a low, and private perimeter.

Little did she know that some of these people had a very keen sense of hearing, and the majority of the few could read lips. For example, Al-Father and his men.

Curious, their steps slowed down a little.

YeQing looked at Zi Rumeng. "Why should I be?"

Zi Rumeng fumbled for a reply. "I mean… they look intimidating, and they have guns…"

Ye Qing gasped an 'Oh' and said, "They're no more than strangers with guns; cops have guns, bodyguards have guns, military personnel have guns… You can't be so anxious around anyone with a potentially life-threatening weapon. That's too stressful."

Ye Qing reached over and flicked the girl's forehead.

He added, "Moreover… if these people wanted us dead, guns are just another means to an end. We're no more than high school students; what would they need firearms for? If they wanted you dead, you'd have long since breathed your last. That scary uncle was probably just teasing you or something."

Zi Rumeng felt a pang of pain and embarrassment intertwined, rubbing her flat forehead with a pair of thinly flatted lips. Her dark eyes with a hint of hazel, unnoticed by Ye Qing from before, blinked back at the latter with bitter resentment.

'I am no child! Don't treat me like one in front of so many people…' Zi Rumeng thought to herself, even as she unknowingly relaxed her taut nerves. Ye Qing was correct, if these people, mighty as they seem, really required guns to finish off a weak sixteen-year-old schoolgirl like herself; that would be too disappointing, even for gangsters.

The fierce man and Al-Father shared a look even as they approached; seems like both of their conjectures were wrong. It would be false to say this child was ignorant but just in the same value, it would be false to say he wasn't scared. At the very least, he seemed to be rational yet naive, a weird, somewhat intriguing mix.

Beep!

Everyone's devices suddenly let out a signal, drawing the attention of most.

At this moment, Madam Ye glanced over at her wristwatch and declared, "Ladies and gentlemen, I announce the start of tonight's auction. The rules are textbook simple; the large screen behind me would display the image of the auctioned product, even as everyone receives a smaller projection on their portable devices. You can inspect for details and bid manually, whilst the highest bid would be displayed on the large screen for all to see."

Zi Rumeng paid close attention to Madam Ye as the latter spoke. Earlier, she might have felt too burdened with guilt to look the woman in the face, but after talking for a bit with Ye Qing, she had come to understand how normal her reaction, driven by fear, was.

It was Ye Qing's reaction that gave her the abnormal feeling, only now realizing she had scared herself while the other man did nothing but spew a web of entrapment words.

The fear of the unknown and unpredictable clouded her judgment, thus, she was almost under that man's spell to open her heart and soul under psychological pressure. She didn't know that Madam Ye wasn't the least bit concerned about whether or not Ye Qing's relationship with her was exposed, and it was all some misconception on Ye Qing's part.

If Madam Ye truly wanted the relationship hidden, she wouldn't even bother taking Ye Qing to school, she would assign the task to Maid Ya. However, rarely did Ye Qing have anyone care for him so much, other than his mother. Thus, he tends to take his thoughts down extreme avenues, enticed by some sense of urgency to help Madam Ye as much as possible.

Ye Qing was a bit at a loss for words at how underwhelming Madam Ye's performance was on the stage even as she promoted one product after the next. Actually, she didn't bother with promoting anything; she simply mentioned the name of the product and asked the people to start bidding.

When the bidding paused for a bit, she wouldn't attempt to lead the enthusiasm or trigger a sense of competitiveness between the bidders. Instead, she would anxiously clench her fists subconsciously while her eyes darted from one corner of the hall to another. She seemed more desperate for the prices to rise than the bidders themselves wanted the price to stagnate.

Everyone can tell how anxious the woman was, especially Al-Father, even as his eyes narrowed a bit. "You're playing a foul game here, Scar. You're undermining her business and by extension, you're cutting my profits short."

He could tell that Scar was pulling strings in the background. Even though this small auction house wasn't doing very well, at least not good to be on Al-Father's radar, it was still within his territory and any profits cut from the business would inevitably mean he was earning less. He was informed of the poor performance of this place, not about how poorly oppressed it was.

"Al-Father… I can explain myself; this woman no longer has the protection of the Kaiser Troupe as Young Master Ye had already left the country. If no one else steps up, who can protect the auctioned items while they're imported and exported abroad? Let alone international trade, she wouldn't be able to guarantee safe delivery within the borders of this province!" Scar hurriedly expressed his willingness to take the safety of this business on himself when his boss took control.

Al-Father remained silent, his thoughts unknown while he watched the circus unfold.

As Ye Qing expected, the items were mostly from Madam Ye's personal stash of goods, and most of these were herbs and Chinese Medicine. Even a few centuries-old wild ginseng only sold for a bit over three million despite its life-prolonging properties that would otherwise prove invaluable.

Even Zi Ruemng could notice something afoot, let alone Ye Qing who was clenching his fists hard. "It's not over yet…"

Ye Qing murmured under his breath as he noticed the next item on the list: the two lesser contract talismans. It was the only item auctioned through the digital service, provided by the only person with a membership on the current site; Mortal.

Madam Ye was already biting on her bottom lip after selling the last item for the evening with a total bidding pool of nearly 14 million yuan. This was supposed to be the estimated net price of the ginseng all by itself, let alone the other products.

Everyone else had wicked smiles on their faces, including Scar, even as the man was about to stand up and taunt Madam Ye, he noticed Al-Father's attention elsewhere.

Scar, Madam Ye, and most of the influential figures who were paying close attention to Al-Father suddenly followed his line of sight to see Ye Qing staring fixedly at his small device's screen.

Scar laughed. "Kid, you've never seen a toy like this before? Haha, I'll be getting new toys for this auction in the future; you can take it home if you want."

Ye Qing lifted his eyes from the device, and Scar felt as though a pair of predatory cold eyes were peering at him from behind the curtains of the deep abyss. Ye Qing was so angry right now, as he could estimate Madam Ye's losses to be in the millions of yuan.

She had no choice but to stand there on display, desperately pleading with her eyes, even as these people ate away at her flesh and dignity. If it wasn't for his rational self-control, he might have stood up and blasted Scar's face black and blue with punches.

Ye Qing took a deep breath, suppressing his anger while he said, "You might wanna take a seat; the auction has yet to end, uncle."