Xue Qinghe's question

After the Jade Necklace was auctioned off, Chen Feng and the other three did not continue their previous conversation.

It was as if nothing had ever happened.

But in reality, some things just happen.

Even if it's forbidden to talk about it,

Even if an invisible hand covers people's ears and blindfolds them, preventing them from seeing or hearing,

The traces left by the event cannot be erased, and these traces will be etched into history.

Of course, the only lesson humanity learns from history is that it learns nothing.

Those who failed to learn their lesson also had their fates etched into history.

The Qin people had no time to mourn their own fate, yet later generations mourned for them.

If later generations lament but do not learn from their mistakes, they will only cause future generations to lament again.

So, history is truly an interesting thing.

Right?

Among the next few items auctioned was Shadow Stone that Zhu Zhuqing had wanted, which she successfully won at auction.

This girl didn't run away from her family like in the Original Work; rather, she was traveling. Therefore, she received a lot of material support when she left home, and buying Shadow Stone was no problem for her.

As for the items Ning Rongrong had originally wanted to bid on, she now had no interest in them at all, because she thought they were dirty.

Xue Qinghe also bid twice and won the items he was interested in. He then spent the rest of the time chatting with Chen Feng, and the two had a very pleasant conversation.

In Xue Qinghe's eyes, Chen Feng seemed like a rather intelligent young man, and such people were not uncommon in this world.

But for some reason, Xue Qinghe had a feeling that what the young man was showing now was not the whole of him.

There was no evidence, just a simple intuition.

Even though Chen Feng behaved perfectly and did nothing out of line, Xue Qinghe's suspicion remained.

Chen Feng gradually began to understand what was going on, because Xue Qinghe was talking to him about many national affairs, which had the flavor of men discussing politics, and these were clearly not topics suitable for talking to children.

Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing, who were standing nearby, didn't seem very interested in these topics, but Xue Qinghe was still chatting with Chen Feng. Given his past behavior, this was definitely not appropriate, as he was making the two guests feel bored.

But since Xue Qinghe did this, it means that in his eyes, Chen Feng is more important than the other two girls combined.

On the other hand, he did not treat Chen Feng as a child, but rather Adulthood with whom he could discuss political topics.

And that alone is enough to explain something.

Chen Feng knew that Qian Renxue had begun to suspect his identity, and that her invitation to this auction was probably a subtle test.

If he were that Biological Pioneer, he would likely be interested in the Cat Girl being auctioned off, as she is a relatively rare individual with Spirit Mutation.

However, Qian Renxue certainly didn't expect that he had received Old Ning's commission, under the guise of helping the Cat Girl's mother find her daughter, so Qian Renxue's plan was likely to fail.

However, what Chen Feng didn't expect was that even though Qian Renxue hadn't found out anything, she still intuitively believed that Chen Feng might be that genius Scholar.

If Chen Feng knew about this, he would definitely exclaim that a woman's intuition is terrifyingly powerful!

But even if Qian Renxue knew Chen Feng's identity, it wouldn't matter, because his identity wasn't an absolute secret to begin with, and it would even help him ask Qian Renxue for his blood.

The auction below proceeded smoothly. When a cart covered with a red cloth was pushed onto the auction stage, Chen Feng knew that his target had appeared.

The host was now trying to get the bidders excited when he mysteriously said:

"Next, we will be auctioning a rare and precious item, especially for our male VIPs. I'll let you in on a heads-up: the starting price is 100,000 Gold Soul Coin, and each bid must be at least 10,000 Gold Soul Coin. This is truly a top-tier item."

He reached out and yanked off the red cloth covering the cart, revealing a mostly naked girl inside.

By this time, some bidders who had already heard the news were already excited, while others, with the host's explanation, understood the girl's special nature and why she was able to command a starting bid of 100,000 Gold Soul Coin.

As the auction atmosphere grew more lively, the host revealed a knowing smile.

"Distinguished guests, you may now place your bids."

Ning Rongrong leaned close to Chen Feng's ear and whispered:

"Should we just raise the price significantly and suppress the bidding enthusiasm of others?"

"I can't continue." Chen Feng shook his head.

Leaving aside Prince Xue Xing, who is determined to win, those guys who are already under Xiao Tou's control are not people who can be subdued by money alone.

"Is the capital my dad gave me enough? If not, I have more here," Ning Rongrong asked softly.

"More than enough, don't worry," Chen Feng said with a smile.

The card that Old Ning sent this time contained one million Gold Soul Coin. This was not only for buying the Cat Girl, but also for Chen Feng and Ning Rongrong's expenses in this auction, as well as their pocket money afterwards.

Old Ning's intention was clearly to let Chen Feng and Ning Rongrong buy whatever they liked at the auction, as a reward for their hard work in cultivation over the past period.

However, the item Ning Rongrong had her eye on turned out to be a scam, and Chen Feng wasn't particularly interested in anything, so the money remained untouched and was more than enough to compete with others for the Cat Girl.

At this moment, Xue Qinghe also said:

"Don't worry, Rongrong. Since it's a request from our teacher, I, as her disciple, will naturally help."

Ning Rongrong felt relieved, and the host then announced the price again:

"170,000! The VIP in Box Number Three has bid 170,000!"

"Heh." Xue Qinghe suddenly chuckled, "My uncle here is quite interested."

As he spoke, he pressed a button on the bidding device, raising the price of the Cat Girl by another ten thousand.

"Brother Xue, your... uncle?" Chen Feng asked, puzzled.

"Yes, my uncle, Prince Xue Xing, he should be in box number three," Xue Qinghe nodded.

"Huh? It's actually Prince Xue Xing? If I want to save Cat Girl, wouldn't that mean I have to go Your Highness His Highness?" Chen Feng seemed a little nervous at this moment.

Xue Qinghe looked at him and smiled:

"It's alright, you can bid in my name."

"This..." Chen Feng hesitated, "This doesn't seem quite right."

"What's wrong with that?" Xue Qinghe glanced at Ning Rongrong beside Chen Feng. "Sect Master Ning is my teacher. We can be considered family. It's perfectly reasonable for you to use my name to conduct the auction."

"But... I don't really want to get involved in palace affairs," Chen Feng hesitated.

Xue Qinghe understood what Chen Feng was worried about, and he smiled and said:

Don't worry about that, I won't let those things bother you. You just need to do what you want to do.

Xue Qinghe took out a gold medal. Although the medal was simple in design, it contained a special energy flow and had the Heaven Character) engraved on it.

"Xiao Feng, take this sign. If you encounter any trouble, you can come directly to the palace to find me."

"Brother Xue, I can't accept this," Chen Feng quickly declined.

"Xiao Feng, this isn't anything valuable. It's just a symbol of my personal status and has no other use. I'm doing this so it'll be easier for you to come to the palace in the future, and so we can have a good chat when we're free. We had a really good chat today, didn't we?" Xue Qinghe said with a smile.

"Well... alright, then I'll visit you at the palace often, Brother Xue." Chen Feng hesitated for a moment before putting away the gold medal.

Xue Qinghe's smile deepened considerably. He pressed the bidding button on the room's bidding device once more, and the host's bids were quickly heard from below.

"...200,000 for room number three, and... room number one has increased the price by 10,000! Now it's 210,000! Is there anything higher?"

At this point, some people are already having second thoughts.

Because in their eyes, Cat Girl is just a plaything, and spending over 200,000 yuan on a plaything is still a bit too much for some people.

But the remaining people were even more excited. They were the old money of the empire, and compared to the new money, they had much more capital and more refined tastes, at least that's what they thought.

For them, Cat Girl had become a symbol of taste and status.

They had something that others didn't, and besides, Cat Girl herself had a unique charm, so they didn't hesitate to raise the price further.

Inside VIP box number three, Xue Xing was quite annoyed. He said to one of his subordinates beside him:

"Let's see which family is in VIP room number one. Let's ask them to give me face and not raise the price any further."

After the subordinate left, Xue Xing rolled up the window of the private room, and another subordinate came to his side and said to the person below:

"Ladies and gentlemen! This is the esteemed Prince Xue Xing! His Your Highness is determined to have the Cat Girl and has decided to raise the price by fifty thousand. We hope you will all give him the honor."

The entire audience erupted in uproar. The old money-grubbers who had originally wanted to continue bidding were unwilling to accept defeat, but they dared not openly oppose Prince Xue Xing. They had no choice but to back down and suppress their own manipulated opinions.

At that moment, the host suddenly paused, then said somewhat flusteredly:

"Your Highness, the price for VIP room number one has increased by another ten thousand."

"Which bastard is it? Come out here!" Xue Xing roared, looking out the window of VIP room number one.

The window of VIP room number one slowly rose, revealing Xue Qinghe's figure. He smiled and asked Xue Xing:

"Uncle, how have you been lately?"

Prince Xue Xing froze, "Crown Prince? You, how did you get here?"

"Uncle, what are you saying? If you can come here, then naturally I can come here too. Is there anything wrong with that?" Xue Qinghe said with a smile.

Xue Xing gritted her teeth. "There's nothing wrong with it."

After saying that, he pulled the window shut again.

Xue Qinghe looked down and said with a gentle smile:

"An auction house is simply a place for auctions; everyone should bid freely based on their assets. Don't worry too much about status or position."

The old money-grubbers below nodded in agreement, but none of them dared to raise the price further, clearly showing that they still held His Highness the Crown Prince and His Your Highness the Prince in awe.

At least that's how it appears on the surface.

The host was very sensible; he quickly read out the bid of 270,000 for VIP box number one three times before finally setting the price with a gavel.

"...270,000 Gold Soul Coin, third time! Sold! This Cat Girl belongs to the VIP in Box One!"

"Let's go see that poor girl," Xue Qinghe said to Chen Feng and the other two.

The four of them walked out of the private room and saw a man dressed as a waiter being held by the shoulder by an old man, trembling and afraid to move.

"Your Highness... it was Prince Xue Xing who sent me to greet Your Highness." The servant dared not tell the truth and could only embellish the story.

Xue Qinghe smiled, waved his hand, and said:

"Take him back to my uncle, and please give him my regards as well."

"Yes, Your Highness," the old man replied, then grabbed the waiter and headed towards VIP room number three.

Chen Feng glanced at the old man's back discreetly, then quickly looked away. Strong people are very sensitive to gazes, and he dared not stare for too long.

However, if he wasn't mistaken, the old man should be one of Qian Renxue's guards, She Long and Ci Xie.

Just as Old Ning would always bring one of the two Douluo with him when he went out, Qian Renxue would definitely bring a Titled Douluo with her.

The Titled Douluo in this world all have the ability to reverse aging, so the old man's appearance is probably a disguise.

Led by the auction house Chen Feng, Chen Feng and Xue Qinghe first settled the auction fees before arriving at the room where the Cat Girl was imprisoned.

The receptionist stepped forward, opened the door to the room, and respectfully introduced Xue Qinghe:

"Your Highness, gentlemen, these are your items for auction."

"Okay, you can go now," Xue Qinghe said calmly.

"Yes." The receptionist bowed, handed over the Cat Girl's key, and then left.

Upon entering the room, the group saw the Cat Girl from earlier locked inside. A barely perceptible hint of pity flashed in Xue Qinghe's eyes.

He handed the key to Chen Feng.

"Go, Xiao Feng, reunite this girl with her family."

"Thank you, Brother Xue." Chen Feng took the key and stepped forward to unlock the Cat Girl's chains. The Cat Girl looked at him with some fear and unease, wondering what her fate would be.

Chen Feng smiled at her:

"Don't worry, it was your mother He Yun, who asked us to come and rescue you."

Cat Girl's eyes widened in disbelief. "R-really?"

"Okay, I'll take you to her now." With that, Chen Feng took out a garment and draped it over the Cat Girl's shoulders. "This is a garment your mother gave you."

Cat Girl clutched the familiar clothes she was wearing, large tears streaming down her face.

After leaving the auction house, the group returned to the Academy gate by carriage. Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing helped the Cat Girl into the Academy first, while Chen Feng was left in the carriage by Xue Qinghe to chat.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Xue Qinghe suddenly asked:

"Xiao Feng, is your auction of the Cat Girl auction really just because of your teacher's request? Is there any other reason?"

"What does Your Highness believe is the reason?" Chen Feng asked with a smile.

"I think you might be curious about her Spirit Mutation." Xue Qinghe looked at Chen Feng quietly.

Am I right?

Chen Feng paused for a moment, then nodded and said:

"Yes, this phenomenon is indeed something to be curious about."