Chapter 83: She Was Determined to Become That Child’s Grandmother

As the bidding climbed higher and higher, the auction’s theme today being the martial world drew a great many people from that world to join the excitement. After all, theirs was a life lived with blades licking blood; they might possess fine martial arts, but money was not something that came easily. So when the people in the privileged rooms kept driving the price past two hundred thousand, the crowd below finally could not sit still.

Many faces on the first floor turned dark with anger.

“What does this mean? A broken book up to two hundred thousand taels? I say these people must be from the house itself, deliberately inflating the price.”

“Exactly. How could the bidding reach two hundred and ten thousand taels… and in gold, no less!”

“If Four Directions House never intended to auction the Medical, Gu, and Poison Canon, then why bring it out at all? What are they trying to do by driving the price so absurdly high?”

The woman who had been giving the explanation grew cold-eyed and said, “Four Directions House has always treated its guests with sincerity. There is absolutely no possibility of inflating prices.”

A burly man strode out. He wore a fur-lined cloak in the style of the northern frontier city, tall and massive, standing before the woman like a mountain twice her height. With a vicious look, he said, “What, you dare do it but not say it? You people at Four Directions House are using this kind of trick to drive up the price. Give us an explanation.”

Anyone could tell he had come looking for trouble. Four Directions House did immense business; the manor lord was a figure from the martial world and also had some backing in the court. But with business this large, if they had no means of protection, how could they possibly stand firm in the royal capital?

The woman smiled faintly, as lovely as spring blossoms, a soft and delicate figure that inspired pity and tenderness. The burly man wanted to cow her with his presence, but her gaze suddenly turned icy. With a backhanded kick, she sent him flying to the ground.

Those who had been watching for excitement and hoping to see the man teach the fragile woman a lesson had been shouting from the sidelines, but after she showed her hand the scene fell silent. Then her expression changed, and she said, “Thinking of causing trouble at Four Directions House? You’re courting death.”

All around, armed attendants in matching blue long robes rushed out and firmly subdued the burly man. Since Four Directions House dared to auction treasures, it naturally had extraordinary backing that made others reluctant to lay a hand on it. To dare cause trouble here was to have lived too long.

The woman shouted, “Continue the bidding. Anyone who doesn’t want to bid, get the hell out!”

Truly, one could not judge a book by its cover. She had looked frail and harmless, but in truth she was a tigress.

At that point, no one doubted that the people of Four Directions House were intentionally driving up the price. After all, they were the ones auctioning the item; even if they wanted to inflate the bidding, they could not keep the treasure for themselves in the end.

But the other side was clearly not short of money either. In the end, the people in the elegant room produced a challenge token and prepared to settle the matter through a duel.

The duel token was another method used by Four Directions House when bidding on treasures. Usually, if an item’s price kept rising and the spectators were still unwilling to yield, this was the alternative, combat-like procedure employed.

The two sides each selected one person for a contest. The winner could obtain the treasure without spending a single coin, while the loser not only failed to win the treasure but also had to pay the final bid, footing the bill for the other side’s purchase.

The people in the elegant room had already presented the duel token. The people in the celestial room had the right to accept or refuse. Of course, if they refused, they would lose the right to continue bidding, and the treasure would go to the elegant room.

After hearing the rules from Jun Buwen, Xia Jiangs sneered. “A duel token? If this isn’t a contest of who has deeper pockets, then I truly have nothing to fear.”

Having said that, Xia Jiangs stepped out of the celestial room in the bearing of a graceful young nobleman and went to the first floor to prepare for battle with the guest from the elegant room.

On the first floor, a long pearwood table had been placed before the Medical, Gu, and Poison Canon. Xia Jiangs stood there with a murderous air, eager to see which blind fool dared fight her for it.

She had not yet seen the person before hearing the voice. Suddenly, a somewhat familiar voice rang out from diagonally behind her. “It’s you!”

The voice sounded familiar, and from the tone it seemed the speaker knew Xia Jiangs. She turned in confusion and saw a face with exotic features: deep-set eyes and hair with a subtle natural curl.

That naturally curly arc was so unfairly flattering it made women envious, perfectly setting off his porcelain-white skin and dazzling eyes. Had he gone and had a straightening treatment done?

The man saw Xia Jiangs and, with shock still mixed with anger, stormed up to her. Xia Jiangs studied him carefully and let out a mocking laugh. “You think I won’t recognize you just because you took off one mask?”

The man was none other than the one who had seized Xia Jiangs in the eastern courtyard of the Great Li temple not long ago and mistaken her for Princess Anya.

He snorted. “You think I won’t recognize you just because you changed your mask?”

Very good. They had both left unforgettable impressions on each other, recognized at a glance. Ming Ze thought of how Xia Jiangs had toyed with him several times that night, and his face darkened. To see that Xia Jiangs was the one openly challenging him for the Medical, Gu, and Poison Canon only made his anger burn hotter.

Standing beside Xia Jiangs, Jun Buwen looked at the person she seemed to know, his expression flickering between dark and bright. Though his face remained impassive, a faint chill could still be felt emanating from his eyes.

Xia Jiangs muttered, “What bad luck. Why do I keep running into him?”

Ming Ze was furious. By any measure, his face was handsome and dashing; in the southern kingdom he had captivated the hearts of countless maidens. Yet Xia Jiangs called him a lingering ghost that would not leave?

Ming Ze said with self-importance, “You... I’ll be the bigger person and not hold a petty grievance. You don’t need to fight me for this Medical, Gu, and Poison Canon. Just let me have it.”

Xia Jiangs found it laughable. “Who are you to make decisions for me?”

“You made me suffer three times. What’s wrong with letting me have one Medical, Gu, and Poison Canon?” Ming Ze snapped.

Xia Jiangs snorted. “You simply weren’t as skilled as others. Don’t blame me for making you suffer.”

“You... you... you... Fine, fine! You won’t yield, is that it? Then let’s duel! I want to see what tricks you have.”

Xia Jiangs deliberately said, “All right, then tell me what kind of duel. But looking at you, I doubt you can produce anything very clever. As for poison, I’m sure you can only manage a few paltry tricks.”

Ming Ze was provoked by her words and shouted, “Poison? Fine, then let’s compete with poison. We’ll poison each other. Of course... neither side may use poison that kills. Whoever breaks the other’s poison first wins. How about it? Do you dare?”

Ming Ze was pleased with himself. After all, he was a prince of the southern kingdom. Though he lacked the saintess’s ability to control gu, he still had considerable skill with poison. Just as well, too—during the last incident in the eastern courtyard of the Great Li temple, he had never understood why, despite poisoning her, she had emerged completely unharmed.

Xia Jiangs intentionally showed a hesitant expression.

Ming Ze thought she was frightened and failed to realize she was deliberately luring him into a poison contest. He said, “It’s too late to regret it now. I told you to give it to me just now, but you refused. Since that’s how it is, then you have to accept the challenge. Whoever is afraid to compete is a coward.”

Xia Jiangs gave a low laugh. Competing with her in poison? He had truly found the right person.

A coward?

She would be the grandmother now, then.