Chapter 22: The Wind Blows Fiercely
Under the guidance of a female attendant, Xiao Yan entered the ongoing auction.
As soon as he stepped inside, the bright environment around him dimmed, and the noise surged in like a tidal wave, causing the usually calm Xiao Yan to frown deeply.
The auction house was large, easily accommodating hundreds of people. At that moment, under the lights in the center of the auction house, a beautiful woman in a red dress was using her enchanting and slightly sultry voice to explain the functions of the items in her hands to everyone present.
Amidst the woman's crisp and enticing voice, the price of that item, which wasn't particularly rare, was rapidly climbing at a scorching pace.
Finding a secluded spot, Xiao Yan quietly sat down, his gaze sweeping across the beautiful woman in the arena; with his keen eyes, he could naturally tell that most people here had come for her.
The chief auctioneer of the Miter Auction House: Yafei, a beauty known throughout Wutan City, her mature and charming allure has caused many men to fall at her feet.
Sitting still, Xiao Yan suddenly frowned deeply, slightly tilting his head to look at a man hidden in the darkness not far from his seat; at that moment, the man was staring intensely at Yafei on the stage, his hands subtly moving as his rosy lips parted and closed...
"Damn it!" He muttered under his breath, rolling his eyes beneath the cloak; this guy is just too intense.
Cursing in his heart, Xiao Yan quickly shifted some distance away, shaking his head with a bitter smile, his gaze sweeping back to the high platform, looking at the enchanting curves of the woman in the red dress, muttering softly, "Fairy."
His gaze casually scanned the item in Ya Fei's hand, and Xiao Yan immediately lost interest; he didn't have that much money to buy a useless thing, even if it was being auctioned by a beautiful woman. He shifted his eyes away from her and slowly moved around the auction house.
"Uh... Father?" His wandering gaze suddenly paused as Xiao Yan caught sight of a middle-aged man sitting in the front row, instantly feeling a mix of shock and oddity: "Could it be that Father is also interested in this woman?"
That strange thought was abandoned in an instant as Xiao Yan noticed that his father's gaze was not fixed on Ya Fei; he looked calm, as if he was waiting for something.
"What is my father doing here?" With a murmur in his heart, Xiao Yan glanced around and was somewhat astonished to discover that the two clan leaders of the other two prominent families, the Galley family and the Ouba family, were also present.
"Something that's about to be auctioned is attracting them!" With a thought, he raised an eyebrow, and Xiao Yan curiously rubbed his nose, wondering what could be so enticing that it drew the leaders of three major families here?
I have to say, the woman named Yafei is a master of setting the mood; every smile and frown of hers sends the prices soaring in the crowd, and whenever that happens, she throws a charming smile to the person raising the bid, instantly revitalizing those who were originally hesitant about increasing their offer.
The atmosphere in the venue, under the cover of this alluring woman's soft laughter, remained **.
"Hehe, everyone, just now the auction house received a new item for auction, and I think everyone will definitely be interested." After finishing the auction of the item in her hand, Yafei suddenly said with a smile, waving her delicate hand, a servant hurriedly brought over a jade plate, on which was a small white jade bottle.
"This is a second-grade elixir." Yafei carefully picked up the white jade bottle, her enchanting voice made the auction momentarily quiet, and after a moment, the noise erupted again. On the Douqi Continent, the most sought-after items are the various elixirs refined by alchemists.
"This is called Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid, and it only works for those below the Fighter level. Soaking your body in this liquid to cultivate will speed up the training of those under the Fighter level! Hehe, if you all want your descendants to become young geniuses, then don」t let this opportunity slip by." The enticing red lips parted slightly, and the sweet, delicate voice that came out made everyone in the room feel a bit weak in the knees.
"Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid? It can actually enhance the training speed of fighting energy? Miss Yafei, isn」t it true that those at that stage can」t handle the impact of pills?" Although Yafei is indeed beautiful and enchanting, there were also calm individuals in the crowd, and after a brief silence, someone asked.
"Hehe, this spirit liquid has been personally appraised by Master Guni from our auction house, and it is classified as second-tier, so there won」t be any issues. Everyone can rest assured." Yafei replied with a smile.
Listening to Master Gu Ni's personal appraisal, the noise in the venue suddenly quieted down a lot. Everyone knew that Master Gu Ni was a second-tier alchemist, and even the heads of the three major families in Wu Tan City wouldn't dare to be the slightest bit negligent in his presence.
Xiao Yan leisurely leaned back in his chair, watching the lively atmosphere in the venue, feeling a sigh of relief in his heart. It seemed this Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid would bring him quite a harvest. His gaze subtly shifted towards his father, only to find that his father's expression seemed to have suddenly become a bit excited.
Slightly taken aback, as if recalling something, Xiao Yan felt a bit touched in his heart.
"Hehe, the initial price for the spirit liquid is 8,000 gold coins. Please start bidding, everyone!" Ya Fei said with a smile, her gaze sweeping across the crowd before finally landing on the heads of the three major families sitting at the very front. She knew in her heart that these three were the main competitors.
"8,500!" As soon as Ya Fei finished speaking, someone immediately called out a price.
"Nine thousand!" The voice of the bidding came right after.
The prices in the venue were constantly fluctuating, and in just a moment, it had already reached the height of thirteen thousand.
Although Xiao Yan's father looked a bit excited, he didn」t immediately shout out a bid; instead, he slightly closed his eyes, waiting for the commotion from those small fries to die down.
The competition continued for a moment longer, and the voices finally quieted down. At the same time, an old man sitting next to Xiao Zhan spoke淡淡地:「Twenty thousand!"
As soon as the bid was called out, the noise in the hall fell silent. Some people, looking at the expressionless old man, could only sit back down in disappointment; they didn」t have the strength to compete with the Galley family.
"Hehe, Galley Bi, hasn」t your son already advanced to the Fighter level? Why are you still eyeing this Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid?" A middle-aged man turned around, grinning but not really smiling.
"Opa Pa, can」t I buy it for my future grandson?" Galley Bi clearly didn」t get along with this middle-aged man and directly sneered.
"Well, that depends on whether you have that kind of luck. Who knows, maybe one day your son will get his... uh, you know what cut off..." Cursing in his heart, Obapa shouted, "Twenty-three thousand!"
"Twenty-five thousand!"
In less than ten minutes, under the astonished gazes of everyone present, the two of them actually raised the price to thirty-one thousand like ravenous dogs fighting over food.
"Forty thousand!" Suddenly, Xiao Zhan spoke up with his eyes closed.
The hall fell silent, and all eyes instantly shifted to Xiao Zhan. Even Obapa and Galebi were taken aback by his sudden high bid.
"Hehe, it looks like Clan Leader Xiao is determined to get this Foundation Establishment Liquid," Galebi chuckled.
Xiao Zhan glanced at him and calmly said, "If you want it, just bid for it. I won't bid again."
Jalebi's face twitched, as if he was contemplating the truth of Xiao Zhan's words. After a moment, he shook his head; his goal this time was that item, not this foundation-building spirit liquid. Randomly spending money now would undoubtedly be a foolish decision.
On the side, Omafa shrugged when he saw Jalebi retreat. Although the foundation-building spirit liquid was enticing, it wasn't his goal either, so he decided to withdraw.
"Patriarch Xiao Zhan bids 40,000 gold coins. Is there anyone else willing to raise the bid?" Looking at the calm scene, Yafei smiled.
"Since no one is raising the bid, this foundation-building spirit liquid will be purchased by Patriarch Xiao Zhan!" Seeing that no one responded, Yafei decided to take the win; she lightly tapped her small hammer on the table, confirming the buyer.
In a remote corner, Xiao Yan couldn't help but laugh and cry; after all this time, he ended up extorting his own father.
"Hehe, next up is the secret auction item for this auction!" After taking the jade bottle, Ya Fei waved her delicate hand, and the lights on the high platform dimmed, slightly bending down to take out a silver platter from the stage, on which lay an ancient blue scroll.
The scroll faintly glowed with a blue light, looking quite mysterious against the backdrop of the silver platter.
"Xuan-level advanced skill: Wind Scroll Decision!"