Chapter 14: Auction, Begin!
Arriving in the mansion, they were welcomed by Madam Feng. She quickly led Zi Ling and Lin Ming to their room while Elder Yang had a reunion with Feng Xuan.
Elder Yang and Feng Xuan were lifelong sworn brothers. They had traveling together when they were young.
'Sweep through eastern land, vanquish evil, and laugh out loud in the world' That was how they remember their journey.
It was a pity that they never had a chance to visit another region before they decided to settle in.
Feng Xuan met Madam Fang and decided to marry and take the helm of his family while Elder Yang became an elder in Heaven Sword Sect guiding the young.
"What do you think of that lass, Snowy?" asked Feng Xuan while sipping a cup of wine.
"Hm, she is quite talented, but that's it." Elder Yang gave an honest opinion.
"This is just advice from an old friend. If you have a chance, you should recruit her."
"Why? What is so special about her?"
Seeing the curiosity in Elder Yang's face, he began to reiterate what he knew about Snowy: Her cultivation progress, her sparring session with Feng Xue, and her knowledge about gourmet even though she was not a spirit chef.
Elder Yang frowned when he heard the story. The young girl more than she meets the eye. If even only half of the story was true, he might be found a jewel in the mud. The girl's talent was actually terrifying.
Questions began to appear in his mind. Where did she come from? What was her background?
Seemingly understand what his friend thought, Feng Xue, said, "She was really mysterious. I have tried to collect information about her background but got nothing."
"Maybe, she comes from Ancient Family and here to experience the world," muttered Elder Yang.
"That is probably true. Anyway, you should really consider having her join your sect," said Feng Xuan.
"You don't have to worry. Even if I won't personally recruit her, your daughter has already planning to bring her to the sect." Elder Yang replied.
"Anyway, I heard in today's Auction there will be a real Phoenix blood. Do you want to get it for your daughter?"
"Yes, that's what I plan to do."
"If you need, I can help you. I might be not rich, but for my cute disciple, I will spare no effort to support her."
"Thanks for always taking care of her."
"Don't mind it. That's what brothers do."
They talked for a while until Madam Feng invites them for lunch.
---
Snowy, Feng Xue, and Heaven Sword Sect's entourage walked into Phoenix Pavilion's Auction Hall.
When they entered, several attendants had already stood by ready to welcome them.
They were lead to the second floor, where the VIP rooms available.
Feng Xue and The Trio decided to enter a separate room as they got two different invitations.
As they walked inside the room, Snowy look around the interior.
The room was not one bit lower in quality when compared to the rooms in top quality Inn.
There were some chairs and tables, even a queen-sized bed near the corner.
Snowy, who did not know the purpose of the seemingly out-of-the-place item, asked Feng Xue about it.
"Why is there a bed here?"
"That's.."
Feng Xue and the young attendant blushing hard when they heard her question.
The auction house has a common practice to treat their VIP customer with the best service, including service in bed.
Feng Xue tried very hard to hide her embarrassment while explaining the reason to Snowy.
She glanced at her several times to see whether her expression changing.
Listening to Feng Xue's explanation, she just nodding and the stop paying attention to the matter.
Seeing Snowy's lack of interest, Feng Xue surprised she felt a little disappointed.
Snowy then went and sat on a chair, looking in a certain direction. There were glasses, and through it, she could see the brightly lit auction stage.
The whole auction hall could be compared to a medium-sized stadium. On one side were the VIP rooms, and on the other end was the auction stage.
On the ground were thousands of seats, and adjacent to it were three balconies fitted with hundreds of seats.
She mused that almost two thousand people without a VIP status would be able to attend this auction.
15 minutes later, a young lady wearing a white cheongsam gave an impression of purity entered the stage.
"Welcome, Esteemed Guest. I'm Xiao Yue will be hosting today's auction. As flawed as I am, I will give it my best to ensure the auction proceed smoothly." She said while raising her tiny fist, and her face showed determination.
All the auction guess clapping and whistling, cheering for the young lady.
"Before the auction start, I'll once again remind you of the auction's rules. First, The Phoenix Pavilion will provide every guess in the common section with a board, and we will provide VIP guests with a bell. Every time you want to bid, you need to raise the board or ring the bell before state your bid."
"Second, if there is no more bid within three seconds after the higher bid announced, the item will go to the highest bidder."
"And the last, we will not tolerate any violence or infighting while the auction still in progress. Anybody who violates these rules will be forbidden to attend another auction at Phoenix Pavilion."
"Am I clear?"
"Yes!!" everyone answered loudly.
"Without further ado, let me start the auction by bringing out the first item of our auction."
A woman with a curvaceous body entering the stage while holding a glass box. Inside the glass box, there was a rainbow-colored pill.
"This is a Profound-grade Rejuvenation Pill that makes your appearance 10-years younger. There is no need for me to say how precious this pill is."
"Our price is starting from 20,000 golds with minimal increment 1,000 golds. Let us see who the lucky man or woman is! Let the auction began!"
"21,000 golds!"
"22,000 golds!"
"25,000 golds!"
.
.
.
The auction has already run for 3 hours. Twenty or more items have been sold.
Some unique items attracted Snowy's and Feng Xue's attention but not enough for them to make a bid.
Even if they have three chances to guarantee winning an item, they want to save it for things near the auction end.
"The next item is a pill that Grand Master Alchemist Chen Xing of Pill Haven personally concocted. This pill gives you a 50% chance to rebuild your body and to expel any impurity inside it. For any cultivator, this will be your second chance to achieve greatness! No name more fitting for this pill other than Heavenly Rebirth Pill!"
"Now, the auction will start with a base price of five million golds and minimal increment 250 thousand golds. Let the auction begin!"
The crowd stirred up by the time they heard the effect of the pill. No one wanted to miss the chance to get even stronger. Even the old fogeys cannot keep their calm.
Feng Xue did not show any interest at first, but suddenly she felt Snowy tugging her sleeves.
"You should get this pill," Snowy said softly with a rare serious expression.
"Why?"