Chapter 43 Buying Out the Whole House

In the Northwestern Region, in the city of Luocheng.

After receiving the notice from Hall Master Wang, Ye Fan rushed over without a moment's delay.

He did not want to miss any opportunity that could enhance his cultivation realm.

"Young Master Ye!"

The attendant at the entrance of the auction house recognized Ye Fan at a glance and immediately greeted him respectfully.

Accustomed to it, Ye Fan casually tossed over a small pouch of spirit stones as a tip and said offhandedly, "Take me to the purple-gold private box."

However, the attendant found himself in a difficult spot. "You... Young Master Ye, about that..."

Ye Fan frowned slightly. In the past, the attendant would have immediately and respectfully welcomed him up to the second-floor gallery, but today's reaction seemed somewhat unusual.

"What? Is there a problem?"

Ye Fan inquired.

The attendant raised a hand and pointed toward the purple-gold private box on the second-floor gallery, saying, "Reporting to Young Master Ye, a young lady of a prominent clan from Central Province has already entered ahead of you."

Upon hearing this, displeasure instantly surfaced on Ye Fan's face.

The purple-gold private box of this auction house had always been reserved specifically for him, and no one had ever dared to contend for it.

However, Ye Fan had already guessed from the attendant's words who the woman was.

"Didn't you tell her that it was my exclusive box?"

Seeing that Ye Fan was somewhat angry, the attendant quickly explained, "This humble one did, and even informed her of the gravity of the matter."

"However, that young lady stated that it was of no consequence, and she also said that she is acquainted with you."

"She said that once you arrived, she would personally explain it to you."

"We had no choice, after all. She is a scion of a prominent clan from Central Province, a status that we lowly servants cannot afford to offend."

Without saying anything further, Ye Fan nodded. "I understand. I'll go find her myself."

Soon, Ye Fan arrived outside the second-floor purple-gold private box accompanied by four powerhouse experts at the Half-God realm.

"For a young lady to usurp my place without even a word of greeting—doesn't that mean you hold Ye in complete disregard?"

Ye Fan cared little for what status the other party held; in short, crossing him was out of the question.

"Young Master Ye! To think we would meet again so soon after our parting the other day!"

"We truly are bound by fate. Come right in!"

The door of the private box swung open, and Murong Qian invited Ye Fan inside with a radiant smile, acting entirely as though she were the mistress of the box.

Ye Fan signaled the four Half-God experts to stand guard outside, and then stepped inside.

"Did you arrange all of this on purpose?"

Having no time to play verbal sparring games with her, Ye Fan went straight to the point.

"Nothing escapes Young Master's discernment!"

"To be honest, ever since Young Master displayed your slight prowess in the martial arena that day, I have set my heart on you."

"From now on, wherever Young Master goes, I will follow!"

As she spoke, Murong Qian personally poured a cup of tea for Ye Fan and handed it to him.

"I've said it before, I have no interest in marriage competitions or anything of the sort."

"That day, I simply couldn't stand the sight of that scoundrel surnamed Lin; it had no other meaning."

Once again, Ye Fan emphasized that he harbored no intentions toward her.

Yet Murong Qian only smiled and said, "Men, you are always saying one thing while meaning another, especially exceptional men like yourself, Young Master."

"If you truly felt not the slightest bit for me, you wouldn't have intervened in that matter that day."

"It doesn't matter if you refuse to admit it. As I said, I will keep following you!"

Ye Fan was left somewhat speechless. The young woman before him was even more difficult to shake off than Chu Linger.

It wasn't that he felt any aversion toward her; he merely found her somewhat troublesome.

"By the way, Young Master, you must have come for the rare heavenly treasures up for auction today."

"With no prior notice, this humble maiden presumptuously took possession of your private box."

"How about this? To show my apology, I shall buy all of those heavenly treasures and present them to you!"

"I wonder if Young Master can forgive me after this?"

Seeing that Murong Qian was still putting on a one-woman show, Ye Fan immediately exposed her. "If I'm not mistaken, those items originally belonged to you in the first place, didn't they?"

"You deliberately brought out rare heavenly treasures to attract Hall Master Wang's attention, knowing he would then come to notify me."

"In that way, you achieved your goal of seeing me."

"You bring your own items to be auctioned, only to buy them back yourself."

"My dear lady, you certainly know how to play the game!"

The elaborate play meticulously planned by Murong Qian was exposed just like that by Ye Fan, making her so embarrassed she could curl her toes inside her shoes.

"Ahem..."

"Well... to tell the truth, I just wanted to test how important these things actually are to you, Young Master."

"However, besides these, there might be other things as well."

"Anyway, I'll buy up every single heavenly treasure in this auction!"

Too lazy to entertain her any further, Ye Fan simply sat quietly and awaited the start of the auction.

About an hour later, every seat in the main auction hall was occupied.

Today's auction officially commenced.

The very first item was a valuable sixth-grade medicinal pill.

When the auctioneer announced the start of the bidding, Murong Qian made her bid without the slightest hesitation.

Following a round of competitive bidding, Murong Qian ultimately secured the pill for three million spirit stones.

Next came a set of defensive armor. For a cultivator, possessing a fine set of armor is extremely necessary.

When facing an opponent of the same realm, possessing armor lays the foundation for victory in battle.

The starting price for this armor was 800,000. Such items were in high demand among many.

Consequently, numerous cultivators began placing bids, and when the price reached four million, it finally showed signs of slowing down.

Yet right at that moment, Murong Qian calmly called out, "Five million!"

Ye Fan frowned. He could not help turning his gaze toward Murong Qian. Could it be that everything she had said earlier was not a joke?

These two items had already cost eight million spirit stones—a considerable expenditure for ordinary cultivators.

Yet judging by Murong Qian's appearance, she remained completely unphased, not even blinking an eye.

Ye Fan began to wonder just how wealthy the clan behind Murong Qian truly was.

While Ye Fan was momentarily lost in thought, the third item was also purchased by Murong Qian.

As item after item was placed on display, Murong Qian continued to place bids without stopping.

This spectacle filled everyone present with utter astonishment.

The voice was emanating from the purple-gold private box, which everyone knew was reserved exclusively for Ye Fan.

Yet the voice coming from inside belonged to a woman. What on earth was going on here?

Even Ye Fan wouldn't buy up the entire catalog in such an all-inclusive manner!

Seeing that the items they desired were all being bought up by the woman inside the private box, the crowd grew increasingly dissatisfied.

"This is going too far!"

"Even if someone is filthy rich, they shouldn't act like this."

"Is this even an auction? We're practically just here to watch her go shopping."

"..."

Not just the crowd; even the auctioneer was dumbfounded by Murong Qian's antics.

Having worked in this industry for so many years, this was the first time she had ever witnessed someone buying up the entire inventory of an auction!

With the final item purchased by Murong Qian, today's auction came to a close!