I Won't Take Advantage of You for Nothing

"Them..."

"Who exactly were the 'them' Father mentioned in his letter?"

"Where did Mother go a year later?"

At that moment, Ye Hao had far too many questions.

He vaguely remembered that his father had left home on a rainy night years ago.

After that, he never returned.

His mother had told him—

His father had gone to handle something very important.

Then his mother began teaching five-year-old him how to forge.

By the time his forging skills had steadily improved,

his mother had vanished without explanation as well.

Back then, he had been alone, young, and weak.

Not long after, Uncle Zhang appeared. He would come by from time to time to help him, bringing him food, medicine when he was sick,

and even paying his rent in advance.

He had practically been like a father.

Thinking of this,

Ye Hao slapped his forehead. "Right! How did I not think of that? Uncle Zhang must know something. Asking him is better than sitting here and blindly mulling it over!!"

After changing into a different set of clothes,

Ye Hao made sure there was no one suspicious nearby before leaving the house.

Along the way, he only took streets with few pedestrians.

The Miter Auction House was bustling today.

People streamed in and out,

as though it were a market fair.

It turned out that the Miter Auction House was auctioning off the Qi Gathering Powder Ye Hao had consigned at today's auction.

Thanks to the earlier publicity,

all sorts of large and small factions from Wu Tan City and its surrounding areas had rushed over!

Every one of them wanted to win that Qi Gathering Powder!

One Qi Gathering Powder meant their faction could gain one additional Dou Zhe with absolute certainty!

And that person would very likely become a Dou Master in the future!

A Dou Master still carried considerable weight in Wu Tan City.

In the end, after fierce bidding from all sides, that Qi Gathering Powder sold for the high price of more than three hundred thousand Gold Coins!

Xiao Zhan bought it.

At this moment, the auction had ended.

Ya Fei and Gu Ni stood at the entrance of the auction house,

seeing off the leaders of the various factions who had come to show their support.

"Master Gu Ni, Miss Ya Fei."

Xiao Zhan walked out and clasped his fists toward the two of them.

His gaze seemed to sweep across Ya Fei's body unintentionally.

His Adam's apple bobbed.

Ya Fei smiled politely. "Congratulations, Clan Leader Xiao, on obtaining this Top-grade Qi Gathering Powder."

There was a ninety percent chance Xiao Zhan had bought this Qi Gathering Powder for Xiao Yan.

More than three hundred thousand Gold Coins—he had really gone all out!

"Hehe, it is thanks to Miss Ya Fei and Master Gu Ni's care that I, Xiao Zhan, was able to prepare so thoroughly."

Master Gu Ni did not respond to Xiao Zhan at all.

And even as Ya Fei gave him a polite reply, her gaze kept drifting outside.

She seemed to be waiting for someone.

Xiao Zhan did not dare ask further. He clasped his fists toward Ya Fei and Master Gu Ni, preparing to leave.

Seeing Xiao Zhan receive such a cold reception despite his enthusiasm, Jia Lie Nu and Ao Ba Pa wisely only greeted them before preparing to leave as well!

However, at that very moment,

something happened that left all of them stunned.

Just a second ago, Gu Ni and Ya Fei had barely paid them any attention!

Then suddenly!

Their attitudes took a complete one-hundred-and-eighty-degree turn.

Gu Ni in particular!

That arrogant face of his was actually covered in a fawning smile.

Even his straight back had bent.

Ya Fei lifted her skirt and hurried forward in quick little steps, her seductive face blooming with a smile.

"What the..."

"What is going on?"

Xiao Zhan, Jia Lie Nu, and Ao Ba Pa were all dumbfounded!

Following the direction in which Ya Fei and Gu Ni were welcoming someone,

they did not see any venerable figure at all!

"Could it be him?" When Jia Lie Nu spotted Ye Hao, his expression changed drastically. He muttered in a low voice, "No, impossible! Even if he is a Da Dou Shi, that still should not be enough for Master Gu Ni to treat him like this."

Ao Ba Pa did not hear clearly and asked, "You know him?"

Jia Lie Nu's expression stiffened, and he answered unnaturally, "No, I don't."

After saying that, he ran off as if fleeing, taking a detour around the other side.

Ao Ba Pa narrowed his eyes, sensing that something was amiss.

"My lord, we finally waited for you. Ya Fei thought you might not come after all."

Ya Fei arrived before Ye Hao and spoke with a beaming smile.

Her attitude was completely different from how she had treated Xiao Zhan earlier.

Ye Hao looked at Gu Ni. "Bring Zhang San, Uncle Zhang, from the shops around the auction house, over here."

"Of course, my lord. Please wait a moment."

Gu Ni had already heard from the maidservants that Ye Hao was quite close to Zhang San.

Therefore, he had shown Zhang San special consideration and even refunded all his rent.

He even refused the offer of help from a young maid nearby, insisting on personally going to invite Zhang San.

"Prepare a quiet room for me later," Ye Hao said.

"Certainly, my lord. This way, please. Oh, and the Qi Gathering Powder you consigned was just auctioned off today."

Ya Fei turned sideways to lead Ye Hao into the auction house. As she walked, she smiled and thoughtfully reminded him to watch the steps.

Xiao Zhan and Ao Ba Pa were stunned!

They stared blankly as those two figures vanished from sight!

Gu Ni attentively led an old man after them.

The two of them were even more bewildered!

That old man was clearly just an ordinary person. Why was Master Gu Ni being so courteous to him?

Could it all be because of that young man?

Ye Hao was about the same age as Xiao Zhan's younger son, Xiao Yan!

Yet he could make Ya Fei, and even Gu Ni, a Second-grade Alchemist, receive him so carefully!

They were filled with curiosity about Ye Hao's true identity, yet did not dare follow after him to ask.

Inside the reception room,

Ya Fei had someone bring over a pot of fine tea.

She personally poured Ye Hao a cup.

"My lord, please have some tea." Ya Fei held the teacup out to him.

As Ye Hao accepted the cup,

Ya Fei deliberately created an opportunity for physical contact.

But Ye Hao showed no unusual reaction.

Ya Fei understood and smilingly took out a purple gold card.

The Mite'er Family crest was depicted on the card.

"My lord, this is our Mite'er Family's Seven-Patterned Purple Gold Card. As long as you take it to any auction house belonging to the Mite'er Family, you will receive VIP treatment. At the same time, all fees required for auctions will be waived!"

Only experts at the Dou Wang level or above qualified to obtain a Seven-Patterned Purple Gold Card.

There were only a handful in the entire Jia Ma Empire, and every holder was one of the empire's top experts!

"That Qi Gathering Powder sold for three hundred and fifty thousand Gold Coins this time. Not a single coin is missing; it is all in this Seven-Patterned Purple Gold Card."

In order to curry favor with Ye Hao, Ya Fei had directly waived the consignment fee.

"Have the medicinal ingredients I needed been fully prepared?"

"Of course."

Ya Fei handed over a Storage Ring.

"My lord, all the medicinal ingredients you requested are inside. You do not need to pay for them either. Consider them a gift from Ya Fei."

Those medicinal ingredients were worth at least tens of thousands of Gold Coins!

In order to show goodwill toward Ye Hao,

Ya Fei had truly spent a fortune.

Naturally, Ye Hao understood!

"I won't take advantage of you for nothing. How about this? Prepare ingredients for two portions of Qi Gathering Powder, and I'll refine them for you free of charge."

Ya Fei knew that her gesture of goodwill had worked.

Now, she only needed to keep at it!

She would definitely seize this opportunity tightly!

With such a promising prospect at her side, would she still have to worry about being unable to prove herself within the Mite'er Family in the future?

Therefore,

Ya Fei hurriedly bowed and said, "Then Ya Fei thanks you, my lord."

When Ye Hao saw that Zhang San had arrived,

he had Ya Fei and Gu Ni wait outside.

Zhang San was still confused at the moment.

"Uncle Zhang, I came today because there are some things I want to ask you."

"What is it, Little Hao?" Zhang San asked, his eyes flickering.

Ye Hao paused before asking, "Uncle Zhang, I want to learn about my parents from you."

P.S.: Please give some monthly votes, recommendation votes, and follow-up reads...