Chapter 585: Yu Xiang Hall
Weichi Song’s other hand was gripping his chest tightly as he gasped violently for air. Sweat kept dripping down his forehead, and his face had turned ghastly pale.
“What’s wrong, Master?” asked Chu Liuyue in shock. Did something happen in there? But nothing seemed off about them when they came out of the room earlier…
A crisp cracking sound was heard when Weichi Song exerted too much of his force into his hand and crushed the wall as a result.
Feeling even more worried, Chu Liuyue moved to support him, only to realize that he was trembling badly.
“…L-Little Crescent…” cried Weichi Song with much difficulty. Feeling deep shock and anger, he spoke through clenched teeth. “It was him… It really was him…”
Chu Liuyue froze. Is he talking about…
“It really was him!” Weichi Song slammed his fist against the wall so hard that cracked lines instantly appeared on it.
Chu Liuyue hurriedly said, “Master, we should go back first. There are people walking about here.”
What she said made Weichi Song return to his senses. Slowly, he straightened his back and pushed her hands away. His expression had returned to normal, save for the hints of wariness and hatred that hadn’t faded from his eyes.
Although Chu Liuyue was very curious about what happened earlier, this was clearly not the time for her to ask questions.
Weichi Song stood in place for a while and only looked at Chu Liuyue when he regained his composure. He said apologetically to her, “Did I scare you, Liuyue?”
Chu Liuyue shook her head. “It’s all good as long as you’re fine.”
Weichi Song, however, suddenly revealed a mocking smile. Nothing is wrong with me. I merely… discovered something shocking… Jiang Yucheng—he needs to die a horrible death!
“Liuyue, you go back first. I want to be alone,” said Weichi Song tiredly.
Chu Liuyue hesitated a little before saying, “Alright. Please be careful, Master.”
Weichi Song nodded and looked at her, feeling somewhat consoled. “Thank you for your understanding, Liuyue…”
Chu Liuyue flashed him a smile and then turned around to leave.
After she left, Weichi Song stood there for a long time before turning to leave in another direction.
…
Chu Liuyue didn’t head back to Chong Xu Cabinet right away. Instead, she went to Xi Ling City’s largest auction house—Yu Xiang Hall.
It was a reputable and popular auction house because it could always get its hands on rare treasures.
Many of the rich people in Xi Ling City liked to shop there in hopes of coming across something they liked. Sometimes, items could even be sold at rocket-high prices because of the fierce bidding going on between them.
Chu Liuyue visited the auction house in plain clothes many times during her past life. She, too, had also bought many things she fancied from this place.
Standing at Yu Xiang Hall’s entrance were two good-looking pageboys. Both were formidable stage-six warriors, which showed how powerful Yu Xiang Hall was.
There weren’t many customers here today. In fact, other than the times when the rich and powerful people in Xi Ling would gather for the monthly auctions, it was relatively quiet in Yu Xiang Hall most of the time. After all, the average commoners weren’t even qualified to enter Yu Xiang Hall for the normal auctions.
The pageboys’ eyes lit up when they saw Chu Liuyue heading toward the entrance. She looked no more than 16 years of age, but from her outstanding appearance and air of nobility, they could tell that she was no ordinary person even though she was an unfamiliar face to them. Since when did a noble lady like her appear in Xi Ling City?
“May I know your surname, Miss?” One of the pageboys walked up toward her with a polite and eager smile on his face.
“Chu,” answered Chu Liuyue.
I don’t think there’s any big shot with that surname in the city. Although she’s simply dressed, she has a unique presence to her. To play it safe, I’d better serve her well. The pageboy then said, “I don’t think I’ve seen you around before, Ms. Chu? This must be your first time here, am I right?”
Chu Liuyue nodded.
“Then, you might not be familiar with how Yu Xiang Hall works. First-timers have to pay a certain fee before they’re allowed inside.”
Yu Xiang Hall must be the only shop in Xi Ling City that dares to ask money from their customers before they even step into the place, thought Chu Liuyue.
“We have three tiers in all. The first tier—which is the most common of all—costs 10 white crystals, while the second and third tiers cost 50 and 100 white crystals respectively. The higher the tier, the better your seat will be.”
Chu Liuyue proceeded to take out some money from her Cosmic Ring. “Here are 100 white crystals.”
Shock flashed across the pageboy’s eyes when he noticed the Cosmic Ring on her hand. Those who could work at Yu Xiang Hall all had the ability to make discerning judgments, so he could tell that the Cosmic Ring was of a very high grade with just a glance. Immediately, he respectfully took the money from her and said, “Please enter, Ms. Chu.”
The other pageboy came forward and presented a gold tag that had the number ’16’ written on it. “Ms. Chu, this is your tag, as well as your token of identity.”
Once Chu Liuyue put away the tag, the pageboy said, “Please follow me, Ms. Chu.”
…
Chu Liuyue followed the pageboy all the way inside and entered a huge auction hall.
In the middle of the hall was a platform, and it was surrounded by circular rows of seats. There were three levels in total, with the bottommost seats being the most in numbers. The uppermost seats—on the other hand—were individual private rooms, and that was where the pageboy led her to.
“You can see the entire auction hall from here while keeping your identity a secret,” said the pageboy respectfully.
Chu Liuyue nodded.
“The auction will soon commence, so you have some rest here first. If there’s anything you’re interested in bidding on, just raise your tag. The items you won will be delivered to you.”
Those who chose to come to the third floor usually had plenty of money to spare, and they valued their privacy very much. Some didn’t want to be recognized, while others were afraid of attracting trouble should others find out that they won the auctions. Yu Xiang Hall had all along been doing a great job in this aspect.
“I got it. You may take your leave now,” said Chu Liuyue.
Bending at his waist, the pageboy retreated from the room and carefully closed the door after him.
Chu Liuyue stood by the window and looked down.
The window was specially made such that one could look out, but the people outside couldn’t look in. This was why people didn’t need to worry about being seen over here.
By now, most of the seats on the first and second floors were already taken.
Chu Liuyue swept a glance at the people downstairs and saw quite a few familiar faces. Among them, she had met two not long ago. They were Jiang Yuzhi and Xiahou Tingan—both sat next to each other on the second floor, with the former giggling nonstop over something that the latter had said.
It looks like they’ve made up already. Chu Liuyue raised her brows. Xiahou Tingan seems to be bent on marrying Jiang Yuzhi…
Just then, a white jade table slowly rose from the platform.