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After the excitement subsided, the surrounding crowd dispersed.
Ye Qiu squatted down and gently wiped Xiao Lan's tear-filled eyes with his thumb. "How are you? Are you okay?"
"Xiao Lan is fine, it's just that the candied hawthorns are gone~" She pouted, still thinking about the candied hawthorns that had fallen to the ground.
"Brother will buy you more!"
"Then I want two!" She held up two fingers, and her azure blue eyes sparkled.
"No problem!" This time, Ye Qiu didn't dare to let her run around, so he directly picked her up.
"Mwah~ Brother is the best! Haha." With the sweetness of sugar, a kiss landed on Ye Qiu's lips, sticky, making him unable to resist glaring at Xiao Lan, which only caused her to giggle.
In the distance, at the same time Ye Qiu and his group had their conflict and the Sharingan in his eyes flickered, a luxurious carriage was passing by. It was the exclusive carriage of the Heaven Dou Empire's Crown Prince, Xue Qinghe.
He had just had a small gathering with his teacher, Ning Fengzhi of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School.
Inside the carriage, Xue Qinghe, who had been resting, frowned.
For a moment, he actually felt a tremor in his Spirit, as if something was attracting it.
He lifted the curtain and looked towards the crowd. "Go see what happened over there?"
As soon as the order was given, a subordinate stepped forward to inquire.
"Reporting to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, it was the son of Count Saddio who had a conflict with a commoner." As the accompanying attendant finished reporting, the crowd had already dispersed.
Xue Qinghe frowned. That feeling was fleeting. Could it be his own illusion?
Looking in that direction, he only saw the back of a blue-haired young man holding a little girl.
"Phew! Let's return to the palace!" He rubbed his temples and ordered his subordinates to continue moving. Perhaps he was too tired.
Ye Qiu hadn't walked far when he turned back towards the carriage. Just now, when he tried to use his Sharingan, he felt it was somewhat excited. He scanned the surroundings curiously, but found nothing strange.
"Brother, what are you looking at? Let's hurry and buy candied hawthorns!"
"Alright, alright, we're going now." Urged by the little glutton, Ye Qiu put aside his doubts and quickly left.
...
After buying two more strings of candied hawthorns, Ye Qiu continued to look for a place to stay with Xiao Lan. Looking at the three gold coins remaining in his bag, Ye Qiu felt he had to spend the night in his Divine Might Space.
"Sigh~"
"Brother, what's wrong?" Xiao Lan, who was licking her candied hawthorn, looked up at him curiously.
"Nothing, huh!?"
In Ye Qiu's line of sight, a magnificent domed building appeared. From here, the building's diameter was estimated to be at least five hundred meters, and the golden dome was very striking and eye-catching.
"Heaven Dou Auction House! How could I forget this!" He hit his palm with a clenched fist. Only then did he remember that he still had a four-thousand-year-old Emerald Cloud Winged Tiger Spirit Bone in his Divine Might Space!
Auctioning this item for a few million gold coins would definitely not be a problem!
"Xiao Lan, let's go! Brother will take you to the auction house to play!" He took her small hand and walked towards it.
"Brother, what's an auction house?" Xiao Lan's short legs couldn't keep up with Ye Qiu's speed. She even stopped eating her candied hawthorn and was led by Ye Qiu, trotting along.
"Well, it's a place where things are sold. When Brother sells the item, I'll buy you lots of delicious things!"
"That's great! Phew~ But Brother, can you not walk so fast? Xiao Lan is so tired~"
"Uh~" Ye Qiu's steps paused. Only then did he realize her face was already flushed, and her breathing was a bit erratic.
"Hahaha, sorry, my bad." Ye Qiu simply picked her up again.
Arriving at the entrance of the auction house, the grand facade made Ye Qiu feel a bit emotional. To be able to occupy such a large piece of land in a place like the imperial city where every inch of land is precious, they truly were inhumanly wealthy. Even the marble door frames were inlaid with gemstones.
"It's so beautiful here!" The little girl had no resistance to shiny things. The candied hawthorn in her hand was no longer appealing. Xiao Lan couldn't even take it all in. "Brother~ The big sisters at the door are also very pretty!"
Looking in the direction she pointed, at the entrance, stood several welcoming staff members.
Four young ladies, appearing to be around 20 years old, roughly the same height, with beautiful faces, slender and graceful figures, dressed in white floor-length dresses, covered in silver threads, giving them a touch of luxury, and professional, gentle smiles on their faces.
At this moment, Ye Qiu, holding Xiao Lan, stood not far from the entrance. Xiao Lan's voice was undoubtedly heard by others.
"Little girl, your mouth is so sweet, but not just anyone can enter here~!" The girl closest to Ye Qiu had a more sincere smile on her face. It was clear that she was indeed happy.
"May I ask what conditions need to be met to enter?" Ye Qiu stepped forward, asking with a smile.
Only then did she notice that the man in front of her was so handsome, and possessed extraordinary temperament. A blush appeared on her face, and without any delay, she clasped her hands in front of her and bowed slightly.
"Young Master, there are two ways to enter here. One is to undergo auction qualification certification. Qualification certification is divided into different levels, and the lowest threshold is to possess assets of ten thousand gold coins."
She looked up and stole a glance, then added: "The other way is for you to consign an item for auction at our auction house, and if the item is appraised by our appraisers to be worth over one thousand gold coins, you can obtain the qualification to participate in the auction. If the auction is successful, we will deduct a 10% commission from the transaction price as a handling fee."
"I see. May I ask if you could introduce me to your esteemed appraiser? I have an item I need to auction."
"Oh? Of course, no problem, please follow me~" She made a welcoming gesture with her hand, swayed her slender waist, and walked inside with small steps.
Ye Qiu followed with Xiao Lan. As they passed, the girls on both sides couldn't help but steal a few more glances at his face.
"Brother, the big sisters are secretly looking at you!" Her voice wasn't small, loud enough for others to hear, causing not only them to awkwardly lower their heads, but Ye Qiu also felt a bit embarrassed.
"They're looking at you, actually, since you're so cute~" He pinched her cheek and nodded to the girls on both sides, indicating an apology.
"You see... their faces are all red... Mmmph!"
Ye Qiu directly covered her mouth and glared at her, not letting her say anything more.
Following behind the girl, they walked down a long corridor. The marble on both sides was carved with dragons and phoenixes, and various Spirit Beast reliefs. Every few steps, there was a glazed display cabinet containing various rare treasures, truly magnificent!
"Hehe..." The girl leading the way also chuckled softly. "The little girl is truly adorable!"
"Thank you, big sister. Big sister is also very beautiful, but isn't it tiring for you to walk like that, wiggling your butt?"
Hearing Xiao Lan's words, her steps paused, her face flushed with embarrassment, and her walking lost its previous rhythm. Her posture became strange, and she was too embarrassed to wiggle anymore.
"Oh dear...!"
"Hehe... Children's words, children's words, haha!" Ye Qiu gave a dry laugh. This time, he directly tapped Xiao Lan on the head.
"If you talk nonsense again, Brother will sell you!"
"Ah! No! No! Xiao Lan won't say anything anymore!" She bit her lip, wrapped her arms around Ye Qiu's neck, and acted spoiled, squirming for a good while before finally settling down.
Ye Qiu was led into a large hall where a round table was placed. Opposite him sat seven old men, wearing monocles, their cloudy eyes gleaming with shrewdness.
"May I ask, little brother, what item do you wish to auction?" The oldest among them gestured for Ye Qiu to sit down.
In Ye Qiu's hand, a brocade box suddenly appeared.
"This is a head Spirit Bone, from a four-thousand-year-old Spirit Beast, the Emerald Cloud Winged Tiger!"
Click! He placed the box in the center and pushed it across.
"Spirit Bone!" Several of them immediately stood up. Spirit Bones were rare items.
The leader carefully opened the brocade box, and a green light reflected on his face. "Hiss~ It truly is a Spirit Bone, and a precious head Spirit Bone at that!"
Aside from external Spirit Bones, among the six-piece Spirit Bone set, the most difficult to obtain were the torso bone and the skull.
He carefully held it up and observed it with his monocle.
"How is it?" Ye Qiu looked at them after they put it down.
"Little brother, no! Esteemed guest, we plan to set its starting bid at one million gold coins. Is that acceptable?" The leading appraiser bowed to Ye Qiu and presented their suggestion.
"Wow! One million, Brother!" Xiao Lan excitedly shook Ye Qiu's head.
"Of course, no problem!" Such a huge sum caused some ripples in Ye Qiu's heart.
"Very well, then, take this young master to the red VIP section!"
"Alright, alright! Young Master, please come with me! I will now take the two of you to complete the relevant procedures." Under the old man's instruction, the same young lady continued to lead Ye Qiu.