Even if she had harmed Xu Chen's entire family, Xu Chen would not have cared. She was truly good to him.
But this time, she had a choice. She would definitely treat Xu Chen well.
Xu Chen gave an awkward smile. He had to admit, this girl's acting was flawless.
He had actually failed to see where her act had gone wrong just now.
After that, he played along with wild abandon, making Li Ruoling tremble like a blossom in the wind as she covered her mouth and laughed.
Disgusting as it was, he still had to keep pretending.
Nothing was more important than returning to reality and gaining immortality and vast wealth.
About thirty minutes later, the auction finally began.
The three great Lineages opened with five thousand taels of silver, then bid all the way up to ten thousand.
For a mere third-grade pill, ten thousand taels of silver was already considered a high price.
Xu Chen watched lazily. According to the plot, it was Ye Xuan's father, Ye Wushuang, who bought the Human Spirit Pill.
After Ye Xuan consumed the Human Spirit Pill, his talent would recover, and he would once again make a stunning comeback.
He figured Li Ruoling would not disrupt the plot, right? After all, she belonged to Ye Xuan.
"Twenty thousand taels."
Yet just as the auction was about to be decided with a single hammer strike, Li Ruoling casually raised her hand.
Xu Chen was dumbfounded. They had bid ten thousand taels, and she had directly jumped to twenty thousand?
Did she even know how to raise a bid, big sister?
Holy shit! Could Li Ruoling in this life have a hole in her brain?
Xu Chen looked at Li Ruoling with an expression of pure agony, only to find her grinning happily.
It was as though twenty thousand taels meant nothing to her at all.
He then looked around the auction hall and found that everyone else was equally stunned.
Ten thousand taels had already been a rare price. Twenty thousand taels outright was an astronomical sum.
Who would spend twenty thousand taels on a tiny third-grade pill?
Ye Wushuang's expression darkened. "Jixia Academy truly is wealthy. This old man willingly admits defeat."
He could continue raising the bid, but if he really bought it, he would suffer a tremendous loss.
It was not worth it. Not worth it at all.
The people from the other Lineages clicked their tongues as well. Better forget it.
That price could buy a fourth-grade pill. Only fools would buy it.
For a moment, the entire auction hall fell silent.
"Twenty thousand taels, once!"
"Twenty thousand taels, twice!"
"Twenty thousand taels, three times!"
"Congratulations to Saintess Li Ruoling of Jixia Academy for obtaining this Human Spirit Pill. The auction is over."
The person on the stage shouted loudly.
Just as Xu Chen was wondering what kind of bullshit plot this was, something even more unexpected happened.
He saw Li Ruoling rise to her feet and say loudly, "Please have the auction house deliver this Human Spirit Pill to Young Master Xu Chen. This Saintess has no need for it."
Xu Chen: "..."
Xu Chen's mouth fell open. She had bid for him?
Big sister, he was only a villain! She did not need to pay such a huge price just to get close to him, did she?
The people around them were nearly dumbstruck as well. The Saintess was actually this generous for a mere Xu Chen?
Even though Ye Xuan had gained quite a bit of money at this moment, he could not feel happy at all.
His fists clenched tightly, jealousy surging within him. A dignified Saintess had gone so far for a Xu Chen.
Damn it, why did his heart hurt so much?
It was as though something had been inexplicably snatched away from him.
The auctioneer chuckled. "What you bid on is naturally yours to decide. We will personally deliver it to Xu Chen."
Li Ruoling nodded in satisfaction. "That will do."
After saying that, Li Ruoling sat down beside Xu Chen again, her beautiful eyes flickering.
It was as if she were saying, Do you like this gift I gave you?
Xu Chen could not help asking, "Miss Li, Jixia Academy should have many Human Spirit Pills like this, right?"
Li Ruoling broke into a radiant smile. "Many, but there is only this one that I personally bid on for you."
She had Human Spirit Pills, and she had pills even more precious than Human Spirit Pills.
But no pill could compare to the sincerity of her heart.
Xu Chen: "..."
He remembered that in his previous life, he had fawned over Li Ruoling in exactly this way.
What the hell, had this woman taken the wrong medicine?
He asked the system, "System, what is going on with the heroine's personality?"
System: "Unknown. However, the system has detected that there is no need to restart this life, and the plot can still continue."
Xu Chen bared his teeth. The plot had already collapsed into this state, yet there was still no need to restart?
Damn, it seemed this life really was a little special!
Did that mean as long as the major plot remained unchanged, it would be fine, and he could still return to reality?
Thus, Xu Chen tested it out. "Saintess, this is not very appropriate, is it? After all, we are not familiar with each other."
There was not the slightest bit of fawning in those words. Instead, they carried a hint of rejection toward Li Ruoling.
Xu Chen was testing whether the system would issue a warning.
If it did, that meant he could not say such things and had to keep fawning over her.
Li Ruoling smiled. "It is fine. As the Academy's Saintess, I can do as I please within Qingyang City."
After hearing that, Xu Chen realized the system had not issued any warning at all.
That meant the plot could still proceed.
He was overjoyed. Did that mean he no longer had to be a bootlicker? In this life, did he only need to complete the major plot?
If that was the case, then it would be absolutely amazing.
He had fawned over Li Ruoling, the woman who killed him, until he wanted to vomit. He truly did not want to keep doing it. He could not take it anymore.
Thus, Xu Chen said, "Thank you, Saintess. However, Saintess, you should return to Jixia Academy, lest some accident occur."
Li Ruoling was sensitive by nature. The moment she heard that, she froze.
She seemed to sense that Xu Chen was a little impatient with her.
Or was Xu Chen deliberately maintaining proper etiquette?
She gritted her teeth. It had to be the latter, right? Xu Chen had also respected her greatly in his previous life and had hardly even touched her hand.
She explained, "It is fine. I came out this time because Master asked me to select new disciples to enter Jixia Academy."
Xu Chen nodded. That was indeed the purpose of Li Ruoling's trip.
According to the plot, both he and Ye Xuan would be selected, but Ye Xuan would play the pig to eat the tiger and outperform him.
He still had to follow the plot at this moment, so naturally, he would not refuse Li Ruoling.
Thus, Xu Chen said, "May I ask, Miss Li, I also wish to enter Jixia Academy. How do you select people?"
Li Ruoling hurriedly said, "The rules are very simple. You will definitely get in."
Xu Chen was utterly confused. Simple? Surely not.
He remembered that they had to fight in the plot, battling until one side nearly died. In the end, he had even been injured by Ye Xuan. And that was called simple?
But this time, Li Ruoling seemed unwilling to explain further.
He said helplessly, "All right."
Li Ruoling said playfully, "The Academy's rules do not allow me to reveal the selection criteria yet. You will find out tomorrow."
Xu Chen nodded faintly. "Mm."
Before you continue