Chapter Fifty-Four: The Auction Hall

“Brother Xuan! Were you attracted to Ouyang Qianru?” Xuan Yuan Yunqian ran over, once again looping her arm through Tang Wei’s, and asked Zixuan, who was standing to the side.

“What?” Zixuan replied, still a little muddled. His heart was still racing from Tang Wei’s earlier initiative; how could he spare any thought for such trivial matters?

Yunqian grinned and repeated, “I’m asking if you were charmed by that beautiful woman who fell right in front of you just now?”

“Oh! I didn’t notice,” Zixuan mumbled, but in his heart he thought, “I’m already enchanted by Weiwei—how could I possibly have time to look at anyone else?”

Their conversation was neither too loud nor too soft—just loud enough for Ouyang Qianru, who was behind them, to hear every word. At that moment, she was fuming, her eyes ablaze as she shook off the woman in red and shouted, “Get lost! Who said you could touch me?”

“Miss Ouyang, I’m sorry. I only follow my young master’s orders. He told me to escort you to the Ouyang family’s office, and I must see it through.” The woman in red’s voice was devoid of emotion, strictly businesslike, and she blocked Qianru’s way, refusing to let her pass.

Smack! “Didn’t you hear me tell you to get lost? Move!” Ouyang Qianru, unable to contain her anger, slapped the woman in red hard across the face. Instantly, a bright red handprint appeared on her cheek.

“I’m sorry, but I only obey my young master’s orders!” The woman in red remained utterly unmoved, her tone resolute, not caring in the least about the mark on her face—as if the slap had landed on someone else entirely.

“Ah! Ah!” Ouyang Qianru had never encountered anyone like this before—unmoved by curses, unafraid of blows. Driven to the point of madness, she couldn’t help but scream.

Her main purpose in coming out today had been to seduce Zixuan, so she hadn’t brought any guards. Now, she bitterly regretted it; had she known she’d encounter such a lunatic, she would have dragged someone along even if it killed her. But there was nothing she could do—she couldn’t catch up to them, so she could only curse at the retreating back of Xuan Yuan Zhe, shouting, “Xuan Yuan Zhe, just you wait—I swear I’ll get even with you for this!”

“Hahaha! Second Miss Ouyang, you truly are like the dog that bites Lü Dongbin, unable to recognize a good turn when you see one. I’m only doing this for your own good! What if you fell and hurt yourself? Better take you back to Uncle Ouyang for a checkup!” Xuan Yuan Zhe turned around with a mischievous grin as he replied.

Yunqian ran over, threw an arm around his shoulders, and beamed, “Little brother, not bad! You’re getting more capable by the day! Good, big sister supports you!”

The words “little brother” made Xuan Yuan Zhe’s head ache. Of all the things to call him—did he really look like a mere errand boy? He rolled his eyes at Yunqian, shook off her clinging arm, and said, “Show some respect, will you? I can’t be bothered with you.” Then he squeezed back in next to Tang Wei and continued, “Shiyi, let me tell you, your missing person notice is posted right at the entrance to the auction hall—impossible to miss! I printed a whole stack. Anyone looking can take a copy. So, what do you think?” He wore a look of great satisfaction, eagerly awaiting Tang Wei’s praise.

“Where is it? Where?” Tang Wei perked up at this, grabbing Xuan Yuan Zhe’s hand anxiously.

“Right there, see? Where the crowd is packed together!” Xuan Yuan Zhe, equally excited, stood on tiptoe and pointed toward the throng ahead.

Tang Wei, holding onto his shoulder, jumped up for a better look. Sure enough, she spotted a large group of people gathered around. Delighted, she exclaimed, “I see it! I really do! There are so many people!” Then, beaming, she patted Xuan Yuan Zhe on the shoulder and praised, “You may not look it, but you’re pretty capable when you get things done!”

“Of course! You can always count on me!” With just a little bit of praise, Xuan Yuan Zhe’s chin nearly tilted up to the sky—humility was clearly not his strong suit.

Zixuan watched the two of them interacting—pulling and supporting, bickering and laughing. He couldn’t stand to watch any longer, so he strolled over, took Tang Wei by the hand, and said, “Come, I’ll bring you up front for a better look.”

Tang Wei didn’t think much of it and followed Zixuan into the crowd. From within the gathering, voices could be heard:

“Wow! Are these pills really that miraculous? This can’t be a scam, right? I’ve never heard of anything like this before!”

“You just don’t know enough. Think of all the old masters living in seclusion in our land—how many do you actually know?”

“Exactly! And look, the Xuan Yuan family is guaranteeing this. With their reputation, they wouldn’t be involved in anything shady! Use your head.”

“I trust the Xuan Yuan family’s integrity! I’m going to grab a flyer and search tomorrow. One of these pills is worth at least ten years of cultivation!”

“I’d say it’s worth more than ten! I’ve been stuck at the fourth stage of Qi Refining for ten years and still haven’t broken through!”

“To offer such a potent medicine just to find a little girl—are you sure someone isn’t just pretending to be from the Xuan Yuan family?”

“Don’t be silly! If it were a scam, would they dare set up shop right at the Xuan Yuan family’s doorstep? They’d have to be crazy!”

“Exactly! If you’re not interested, don’t block the rest of us!”

“Right, right! Let’s all get a flyer and try our luck—maybe one of us will be fortunate enough to find her!”

“Yes, yes! Hurry up and get in there. If the flyers run out, we’ll regret it!”

Seeing so many people scrambling to take flyers and join the search, Tang Wei’s hope of finding Yaya swelled—she felt as though the little girl was just ahead of her. Zixuan, noticing her expression, smiled and said, “Feeling a bit more at ease now? With so many cultivators turning the country upside down, I refuse to believe we won’t find Yaya.”

Tang Wei laughed, “That’s true. Thank you, Xiaoxuan!” This was, in fact, the first time she sincerely thanked Zixuan from the bottom of her heart.

Yunqian, oblivious to the mood, butted in, “Sister Chen, don’t worry! Tomorrow I’ll help you look for Yaya—I promise I’ll find her!” On the way here, everyone had already explained the situation to her, so she was now in the loop. In fact, if not for her persistent pestering, no one would have bothered getting involved in such a hassle.

“You just want an excuse to go out and have fun. If you can find her, then even a blind man could stumble upon her!” These siblings really were two of a kind—never missing a chance to poke at each other.

“I’ll find Yaya before any of you do—just watch!” Yunqian declared, and then gave Xuan Yuan Zhe a fierce kick on the backside.

“You little brat, kicking me again! Don’t you run!” Xuan Yuan Zhe, indignant, chased after her to return the favor.

Seeing that they were about to start up again, Tang Wei watched the two with a laugh, all but clapping and cheering them on. Zixuan, unable to stand any more, quickly stepped forward and pulled Xuan Yuan Zhe back, saying, “Xuan Yuan Zhe, isn’t the auction about to start? Shall we go in?”

“Oh, right! I nearly forgot. Sorry about that! Let’s go inside.” Blushing, he sheepishly scratched the back of his neck and quickly led the two inside.

The three of them headed straight for a private room on the second floor, where attendants immediately came in to serve them. Xuan Yuan Zhe waved his hand and instructed, “Just bring the refreshments and wait outside.”

“Yes, sir,” the serving girls replied, neatly placing several small dishes on the table, filling their cups with tea, and then filing out in good order.