Chapter 185: Chapter 185: Crazy Bidding
"Get lost!"
Ye Xuan could easily hear the resentment in the other’s voice and sneered coldly.
A mere steward was beneath his notice.
"What are you waiting for? Get lost!" the old man snapped. Steward Luo Leng immediately scurried away. He was so humiliated by losing face in front of everyone that he wanted to die.
The old man then turned to Chen Ming. "Young Master Chen, this is an auction house. I hope you can give us some face and refrain from causing trouble. After all, these gentlemen have purchased VIP tickets."
"Since Steward Du has spoken, I, Chen Ming, will of course give you face. I won’t lower myself to argue with such an unreasonable person." Chen Ming sneered, readily accepting the way out. He knew the Celestial Cauldron Commerce Association wouldn’t allow him to keep causing trouble.
The old man smiled faintly. "Now that this is settled, let the auction continue. As for your seating area, gentlemen, I will have someone clean it up."
The old man cupped his fists toward Ye Xuan and his companions, then turned to leave.
"Hold on!"
Ye Xuan’s sudden interjection stopped the old man in his tracks. He turned to look at him. "Is there something else, Your Excellency?"
"We’re just going to leave it at that? Is it over?" Ye Xuan asked coolly. "I can let the matter with your auction house slide, but this Chen Ming came over and insulted my companion. I wonder, how does your establishment plan to deal with him?"
The old man’s pupils constricted. His gaze, now fixed on Ye Xuan, turned bone-chillingly cold.
He was furious. ’This Ye Xuan is far too audacious!’
’I’ve already given him so much face, overlooking the fact that he caused a scene and even punishing Steward Luo Leng. And this brat is still not satisfied? He wants us to punish Young Lord Chen Ming? Does he really think that just because he’s in the right, he can do whatever he wants?’
’In this world, reason is the weakest argument; the fist is the strongest. Doesn’t he even understand something so basic?’
The pleasant look on the old man’s face was gone. He said flatly, "Valued guest, your dispute is a personal matter. Our auction house cannot and will not get involved. Besides, as I see it, this was probably a seat Young Master Chen frequently occupied. It’s understandable that he would be a little upset. Now that Young Master Chen has already dropped the matter, why don’t both sides take a step back? I also have a word of advice for you, Your Excellency. If things end here, everyone is happy. If you insist on pushing this further, I’m afraid it won’t be good for either party."
The old man’s last sentence was a naked threat and a clear warning.
But this was exactly the kind of threat that had no effect on Ye Xuan.
"Haha." He let out a cold laugh. "I have to ask, Steward, does your auction house’s VIP area actually have reserved seats? And regardless of whether Chen Ming sits here often, even if he does, does that mean that from now on, anyone who frequently buys a particular VIP seat can just tell anyone else sitting in his spot to get lost?"
Ye Xuan’s words once again stirred up the surrounding crowd. People were shocked. Where did he get the confidence to be so forceful in the Celestial Cauldron Commerce Association’s auction house? But undeniably, almost everyone thought he had a very good point.
The old man’s face stiffened. Ye Xuan’s words had backed the auction house into an extremely awkward corner. If he didn’t make a decision, his auction house’s reputation would take a massive hit.
For an auction house, reputation was paramount.
"Your Excellency, are you certain you want our auction house to punish Young Master Chen?" The old man’s voice was somewhat chilly, laced with a warning.
Ye Xuan smiled faintly. "This doesn’t seem to be a question of what I want, but a question of what you’re going to do, doesn’t it? Of course, if your auction house believes that any person who has previously bought a seat in your VIP area can, at any future auction, insult the person now sitting in that same seat... well, then you can do nothing at all."
"Fine. Very fine!" The old man shot Ye Xuan a cold look, the chilling intent in his gaze unmistakable.
But he said nothing more. Instead, he turned to Chen Ming. "Young Master Chen, I’m sorry, but your actions have indeed been detrimental to our auction house’s reputation. Please apologize to these gentlemen."
"What? You want me to apologize? Are you sure you haven’t misspoken?" The gloating expression on Chen Ming’s face instantly froze. He roared furiously.
But seeing the old man’s icy expression, Chen Ming waved a hand dismissively. "How ridiculous. I think you people at the Celestial Cauldron Commerce Association are regressing. Let’s go."
With that, he tried to leave with his two guards.
"Stop him," the old man barked. To Chen Ming’s astonishment, he ordered the auction house guards to block their path. Taking a deep breath, he said, "Young Master Chen, please don’t make things difficult for the Celestial Cauldron Commerce Association. If you don’t apologize, we will have no choice but to detain you. When that happens, our Celestial Cauldron Commerce Association will explain matters to Marquis Tianqi personally."
"How dare you! Does the Celestial Cauldron Commerce Association not wish to stay in business anymore?" Chen Ming roared, trying to intimidate him. But when he saw the old man was unmoved and appeared to be serious, he finally started to panic.
"Fine, I’ll apologize."
Seeing that he was about to be hauled away by the Celestial Cauldron Commerce Association’s guards, Chen Ming hastily spoke up. Then, glaring venomously at Ye Xuan, he said through clenched teeth, "Sorry."
After spitting out the word, he immediately stormed off with his two guards, who had been subdued earlier. The old man did not try to stop him further.
"Your Excellency, are you satisfied now?" the old man said coldly, walking up to Ye Xuan with narrowed eyes.
’If so many people hadn’t been watching,’ he thought, ’there’s no way I would have risked offending a Marquis just to make Chen Ming apologize.’
Ye Xuan’s expression was placid. "A piece of advice for you. There’s a saying: ’The customer is god.’ I hope the Celestial Cauldron Commerce Association will be more respectful to its gods in the future and stop letting in any old animal."
Chen Ming, who was hastily departing, almost stumbled and fell when he heard that.
The old man simply sneered without a word, but the look he gave Ye Xuan was exceptionally cold.
"My apologies, everyone. We experienced some minor issues, but the auction will now resume."
The old man cupped his fists to the surrounding crowd and then turned to leave.
The auction then resumed.
At the same time, staff from the auction house promptly came before Ye Xuan and his friends. They cleared away the shattered pavilion, replaced it with a new stone table and pavilion, and refunded the cost of their VIP tickets.
"Tsk, tsk. So the auction house does know enough to give a refund," Chen Xing said with a grin, taking the Profound Tickets.
The surrounding guests couldn’t help but sigh to themselves as they witnessed this. They had no idea what background these young people had to be acting so recklessly.
Although the auction house had given them immense face earlier to protect its reputation, didn’t these young people realize they had now grievously offended the Celestial Cauldron Commerce Association?
The Celestial Cauldron Commerce Association hadn’t become the number one commerce association in the kingdom just because of its fame or profits. Most importantly, it had countless intricate connections with the kingdom’s nobility and powerful figures. For them, teaching a few young people a lesson would be effortless.
And taking a huge step back, even if the auction house didn’t do anything, Young Lord Chen of the Marquis Tianqi household was no pushover. These young people were probably in great danger.
And just as they thought, up in the Sixth Prince’s private box, Chen Ming was staring down at Ye Xuan and his friends with a venomous expression.
"Chen Ming, I can’t believe you actually apologized. You’ve brought shame on all of us," the blue-robed youth scoffed with disdain.
Chen Ming whipped his head around and sneered, "Qin Tian, if you’re so tough, you go give it a try."
"I’m not an idiot like you, openly provoking someone in front of everyone with such a clumsy excuse. There are countless ways to make trouble for someone; why choose to do it like that?" the blue-robed youth named Qin Tian said mockingly.
"Alright, that’s enough," the Sixth Prince cut in, his voice sharp. He looked down at Ye Xuan with a cold and hateful gaze. "Let them be arrogant for a little while longer," he said coldly. "I want that brat to leave this auction with nothing."
Chen Xing and the others seemed not to notice the glares and were still buzzing with excitement. Only Ye Xuan glanced toward private box number six, a faint, knowing smile playing on his lips.
The auction had now reached its middle stage. The curtain behind the high platform parted, and a young woman emerged, walking gracefully while holding a jade box.
"Ladies and gentlemen, our next item for auction is a Third Level Profound Soldier, ’Lankong’! This sword is inlaid with forty-nine Coral Beads, thirty-six Gemstones of various colors, as well as numerous agates and pearls, making it exceptionally rare and unique. Its forging process utilized the cutting-edge Spiral Rending Forging Method to create a unique, spiraled blade body. When it is swung, its shimmering light is not only beautiful and dazzling, but can also mesmerize an enemy’s mind, allowing for a single, fatal blow. The starting bid for ’Lankong’ is one hundred thousand Profound Coins, with a minimum increment of one thousand. The auction starts now!"
The jade box opened to reveal a blue longsword sheathed in an exquisite scabbard. It rested in the box, looking absolutely magnificent and radiating a brilliant light under the lamps. For a moment, it captured the gazes of many Martial Artists in attendance.
This was especially true for the female Martial Artists, who found they couldn’t look away.
"This ’Lankong’ is truly dazzling," Feng Rouyi couldn’t help but marvel.
"It’s beautiful, to be sure, but what a shame its practical use is so poor," Leng Yingying said with a smile.
Feng Rouyi nodded. "The forging method is very clever, but it’s more a work of art than a weapon. In a real battle, it offers no advantage over a standard Third Level Profound Soldier."
Although both women were impressed by Lankong, neither had any intention of bidding on it. It wasn’t a matter of whether they could afford it; they simply disliked impractical items.
Ye Xuan nodded. No matter how the auctioneer praised it, Lankong was essentially nothing more than a showpiece Profound Soldier.
But just because Ye Xuan and his friends understood this didn’t mean everyone else did. In the blink of an eye, the bidding for Lankong had already climbed to one hundred eighty thousand Profound Coins.
"One hundred eighty-one thousand."
Just then, a booming voice rang out next to Ye Xuan. It was Chen Xing, who had stood up with an excited look on his face, raising the bidding paddle in his hand high.
