Chapter 155 - Despicable Merchant

Translator: Coca5156

Editor: Drea

“Yan Liang...”

Lu Feng looked meaningfully at his good friend, knowing that this was the entirety of his friend’s savings.

“Let it go. You can’t outbid the Third Prince.”

However, Yan Liang interpreted his friend’s advice differently. Clenching his fist tightly, he replied, “If I don’t try, how could I be okay with just giving up?”

For the sake of the one who moved his heart, he could not accept giving up without first giving it his all. Furthermore, in the first place, he was the one who fell for her first! Why didn’t he confess when he had the chance? If he did so then, maybe things would be different now...

“Okay, it’s up to you,” Lu Feng sighed. He knew that Yan Liang was not going to give up until he had hit a dead end and decided not to interfere any further.

Meanwhile, after a moment of silence, Rong Yuan’s voice resounded again as expected, announcing his bid in a somewhat amused manner, “Seventeen million.”

Hearing this price, Yan Liang’s fist relaxed, and his body seemed to lose all its energy as he slumped down in his chair. Since young, his father had been strict with him, and such a posture was one that was rarely seen on Yan Liang. He had finally given up.

However, even though Yan Liang had decided to let it go, there was someone who still hadn’t given up, continuing to raise the bid, “Seventeen million and one hundred thousand!”

To this, Rong Yuan merely raised an eyebrow and calmly called his own bid.

As the bid rose higher and higher, the ones calling their bids became fewer and fewer, until at one point after Rong Yuan called out a bid of nineteen million and two hundred thousand spirit stones, there was no one else who responded.

When the silence had lasted for over ten breaths of time, Ye Rong raised a small hammer in his hand, and with hidden laughter in his eyes, announced, “Nineteen million two hundred thousand, is this the final bid? If there isn’t, this Spirit Cleansing Pill will go to the Third Prince in the second room.”

𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

“Nineteen million two hundred thousand, going once.”

“Nineteen million two hundred thousand, going twice.”

“Nineteen ...”

“Nineteen million three hundred thousand!” Finally, just as Ye Rong was about to announce the final price, a feminine voice interrupted him.

“Oh? It seems like the Tianfeng Clan’s young mistress feels like joining in,” someone commented, recognizing the owner of the voice.

Rong Yuan frowned, as he naturally could recognize Tianfeng Wei’s voice. Still, without a care in the world, he continued to casually raise the bid, “Nineteen and a half million.”

“Nineteen million six hundred thousand!”

Just as Rong Yuan finished calling his bid, Tianfeng Wei immediately countered, making it obvious that she was planning to duke it out with him.

Rong Yuan certainly did not mind splurging for the sake of his beloved, however, he was not willing to play along with someone who was just trying to string him along. Curling his lips in a smirk, he gave a sidelong glance in Tianfeng Wei’s direction before turning to Ye Rong, “Nineteen million, six hundred and ten thousand. I remember that the Jubao Pavilion does not accept credit. From the way she is bidding, I trust that Lady Tianfeng truly has the means to pay up and really needs the pill. Therefore, if she raises the bid once more, I will graciously give the pill to her. However, if it turns out that there’s foul play involved and she cannot produce the payment, then don’t blame me for being merciless.”

The threat in his words were extremely clear, and Tianfeng Wei immediately found the bid she was going to call out stuck in her throat. With her anger blazing in her eyes, she looked at Rong Yuan’s direction with envy and hate. Rong Yuan had indeed pointed out the truth; Tianfeng Wei could not afford to pay the huge sum of spirit stones. She had merely called out the bid in a moment of impulse, because she didn’t want to see Rong Yuan spend that much money on Gu Lingzhi.

Anyone with brains could tell that the Third Prince was doing all this just for Gu Lingzhi. Yet, she herself had scarcely received anything from Rong Yuan despite being engaged to him for years! How long had Gu Lingzhi been together with him for, that she managed to move him so?

“It seems like Miss Tianfeng has no further intention of bidding. Supervisor Ye, don’t you think it’s time to announce the final price?”

“Oh, yes.” Being prompted by Rong Yuan, Ye Rong announced with some disappointment, “Nineteen million six hundred and ten thousand going once ... going twice... ... going thrice... and sold!”

As the hammer landed, the Spirit Cleansing Pill was sold to Rong Yuan for a price of nineteen million six hundred and ten thousand.

Watching as the beautiful assistant girls packaged the Spirit Cleansing Pill into a jade bottle and delivered it to Rong Yuan’s room, Gu Lingzhi felt happy but conflicted at the same time.

On one hand, she was happy that a single Spirit Cleansing Pill was able to earn her so much money, giving her financial power like never before. On the other hand, she was conflicted thinking about whether the Rong Yuan was really planning to give the pill to her.

Most importantly, Rong Yuan had said before that he could recognize her handiwork in refining pills. If he really could identify that it was her who had made the Spirit Cleansing Pill...it was starting to give her a headache.

In Rong Yuan’s private room, he delightedly received the jade bottle. After paying the amount to the assistant girl who had delivered the jade bottle, he eagerly opened the bottle and took a sniff. An enchanting cool fragrance that made one feel extremely refreshed assaulted his senses.

“This is of great quality!” Rong Yuan couldn’t help but exclaim in praise. His anticipation for the effects of the medicine grew.

If someone like him who had taken the Yuli Snow Lotus could feel such a potent effect from the Spirit Cleansing Pill, how strong would it be like for the common person? Consuming the Spirit Cleansing Pill would definitely result in stunning effects.

Standing behind him, Yuan Zheng also came forward out of curiosity to take a whiff. Immediately, his eyes narrowed, and he appraised, “This is...truly refreshing and invigorating! I wonder how it’ll be like to consume this.”

“Well, it definitely will have a very strong effect,” Rong Yuan answered assuredly.

Saying so, he tipped the bottle over to take out the pill, placing it in the palm of his hand to give it a closer inspection. Rolling it around, he carefully observed the lines that manifested on the surface of the pill. Then, as though afraid he had made a mistake, he did a second, more thorough inspection of the pill. Finally, he let out a long sigh, wearing a vague smile on his face.

“This....haha, we meet each other everywhere.”

In order to avoid being found out by others, Gu Lingzhi had deliberately tweaked the refining method she used in refining the Spirit Cleansing Pills so that it would not be associated with the other pills she had made. Still, for Rong Yuan who had carefully observed everything about Gu Lingzhi, the similarities between the Spirit Cleansing Pill and her other pills were as clear as day.

Meanwhile, as Rong Yuan was thinking about how Gu Lingzhi’s secrets were truly abnormal, another assistant had brought up a tray to the stage. On the tray was another jade bottle, exactly identical to the one that contained the Spirit Cleansing Pill earlier.

Facing the suspicious gazes of the crowd, Ye Rong laughed calmly and announced, “It seems like many of you are disappointed that you did not manage to get the pill earlier. Well, let me share with you a piece of good news! Actually, our Jubao Pavilion managed to get our hands on not just one, but two pills! Now, let us begin the bidding for the second pill. Let me remind you, if you don’t get it now, who knows how many more years you’ll have to wait before you get to see it again!”

“What! How deceitful! Why didn’t you say it earlier!”

“There’s actually two pills? Then what the hell were we bidding like madmen for earlier?”

Instantly, all sorts of comments were being shouted by the audience. Even Rong Yuan could not resist swearing a little, thinking that he too had been conned. However, thinking about it a little more, he realized that the higher the pill sold for, the happier Gu Lingzhi would be. Therefore, in a weird way, he took earlier events of his unrestrained bidding as a badge of pride.

As expected of the woman he admired! Even a simple pill that she refined could cause such a commotion. He definitely had to take the chance to make her his, before others realized her potential.