A Flower

"Eighteen hundred low-grade Spirit Stones!"

"Two thousand low-grade Spirit Stones!"

The bidding for the Treasure Pouch, which gleamed with a mouth-watering yellow light, was fierce.

A cultivator in a green robe, slightly plump, and a cultivator in a VIP box opposite Li Honglin also bid frequently. The Treasure Pouch, which had a starting bid of nine hundred low-grade Spirit Stones, saw its price climb all the way to two thousand low-grade Spirit Stones.

"This guy can still bid. It seems he's quite well-off, but those two don't seem short on Spirit Stones either." Wei Suo saw that Li Honglin's forehead was sweating and secretly winked at Nangong Yuqing again.

"Who's your little sister Nangong Yuqing?" Nangong Yuqing said, both annoyed and amused, next to Wei Suo's ear. "You were quite smooth when you called out just now, weren't you?"

Nangong Yuqing leaning in to speak into Wei Suo's ear was seen by Li Honglin, who immediately gritted his teeth. "Two thousand three hundred low-grade Spirit Stones!"

"This is the Young Palace Master of the Golden Vulture Palace. No wonder he's so wealthy."

"Look at him, he doesn't even blink an eye using so many Spirit Stones to buy a Treasure Pouch. How imposing! You useless man, you can't even come up with a thousand low-grade Spirit Stones." As soon as Li Honglin announced his price, the entire auction hall erupted in an uproar. Among them, a female cultivator who was still somewhat attractive complained dejectedly to a male cultivator beside her, who seemed to be her companion. "You useless man, you can't even come up with a thousand low-grade Spirit Stones."

As soon as Li Honglin announced his price, the other two opponents stopped bidding and withdrew from the competition. Shopkeeper Tian of the Golden Jade Pavilion happily waved his hand, and the young man in ornate robes carrying the tray with the Treasure Pouch quickly walked through the hall under the envious gazes of many, entering the VIP box where Li Honglin was.

"Young Palace Master Li, this is the Treasure Pouch you bid for."

The young man in ornate robes from the Golden Jade Pavilion politely presented the tray to Li Honglin.

The Treasure Pouch was very beautiful up close. Its opening was adorned with a golden ribbon with a pattern like ears of rice. Apart from some faint runes, the entire Treasure Pouch was decorated with a pattern of peculiar treasure flowers bearing pearls.

"This... according to your rules, if I don't have enough Spirit Stones, can I substitute with items of equivalent value?" Li Honglin said to the young man in ornate robes.

The young man in ornate robes was slightly taken aback and immediately replied professionally, "This... if it's an item of confirmed value, it should be fine."

"Here are two hundred mid-grade Spirit Stones. Please count them." Li Honglin's eye twitched slightly as he handed a leather pouch containing Spirit Stones to the young man in ornate robes. Then, he took out a snow-white insect egg, about the size of a pigeon's egg, emitting a dense cold aura. "This is the egg of a level four, high-grade Frost Flying Centipede. It can be tamed after hatching and should be worth at least three hundred low-grade Spirit Stones."

"If this is indeed the egg of a Frost Flying Centipede, then it should be fine." The young man in ornate robes counted the Spirit Stones and, after receiving the egg, said politely, "After saying this, the young man in ornate robes was about to turn to leave.

"Oh, right!" As the young man in ornate robes turned around, an expression of extreme heartache flashed across Li Honglin's face. He called out to the young man in ornate robes again. "I just didn't bring enough Spirit Stones today, which is why I'm offering this Frost Flying Centipede egg. Can you tell Shopkeeper Tian not to sell this egg for now? I'll bring the Spirit Stones to redeem it within a few days at the latest."

The young man in ornate robes nodded. "If it were anyone else, our Golden Jade Pavilion wouldn't have this rule. However, Young Palace Master Li is a regular customer and has a good reputation. I'll go down and report it to Shopkeeper Tian, and it should be fine."

"Thank you very much then." A hint of a smile finally appeared on Li Honglin's face, and he regained his usual demeanor. He arrogantly nodded at the Golden Silk Talisman Brush and the Treasure Pouch placed on the tray. "Please deliver these two items to the VIP box over there and give them to Nangong Yuqing. Tell her they are gifts from me."

After the young man in ornate robes nodded understandingly and left, Li Honglin couldn't help but mutter, "What does Nangong Yuqing need a Golden Silk Talisman Brush for? Could it be that she wants to learn talisman crafting from either Tie Ce or one of the other talisman masters?"

"Holy crap, no way?"

In Wei Suo's VIP box, Wei Suo was momentarily stunned by the two items delivered by the young man in ornate robes.

"Brother Li Honglin is truly generous!"

Afterward, Wei Suo was overjoyed. Not only did he receive a Treasure Pouch, but he also got the Golden Silk Talisman Brush that Wei Suo had just wanted.

The young man in ornate robes from the Golden Jade Pavilion looked at Wei Suo with pity. Poor guy, Nangong Yuqing would probably never be yours in the future. But at this moment, Wei Suo suddenly looked up and asked him, "By the way, can you tell me something? When Li Honglin paid for the Spirit Stones, how many Spirit Stones did he seem to have on him?"

"I don't know about that." Out of principle of not deceiving customers and out of sympathy for Wei Suo, the young man in ornate robes replied honestly, "He probably didn't have many Spirit Stones on him. He used the Frost Flying Centipede egg to cover the three hundred Spirit Stones."

"Got it, thanks a lot."

"You guy, you've already extorted so many Spirit Stone items from him, and you're still not satisfied?" After the young man in ornate robes left, Nangong Yuqing couldn't hold back any longer. She looked at Wei Suo with a mix of amusement and exasperation. "What extortion? He wanted to give them to me himself." Because Wei Suo had already retreated to the inside of the box, Li Honglin couldn't see him, so he happily took the Golden Silk Talisman Brush into his hands without any reservations. "What a great item!" Wei Suo exclaimed with genuine admiration. The entire talisman brush looked as if it were made of pure gold, shining brightly and looking very beautiful, but it felt very light when held. When he drew the brush tip across his palm, it felt like flowing water, soft and without any resistance.

"I say, Nangong Yuqing, if it weren't for you, that guy wouldn't have sent these two items over." After playing with the Golden Silk Talisman Brush with great affection, Wei Suo said reluctantly, "How about you take this Treasure Pouch, and you can lend it to me occasionally when I need it?"

"I don't want anything from that guy." Nangong Yuqing gave Wei Suo a look. "Seeing how pained you look, if you want it, you can keep it."

"Over two thousand Spirit Stones!" Wei Suo immediately nodded without being polite upon hearing this. At the same time, he said to Nangong Yuqing, "Nangong Yuqing, but I don't quite understand. That guy's cultivation is not bad, he's not bad looking, he's the Young Palace Master of the Golden Vulture Palace, and he's generous. Why don't you like him?"

"Isn't it the same reason you don't want to join Tie Ce? If I accepted him and joined the Golden Vulture Palace, wouldn't I have to give up many things?" Nangong Yuqing glanced at Wei Suo. "Moreover, some people are still themselves even without the backing of the Golden Vulture Palace. If he lost that backing, he probably wouldn't be Li Honglin anymore. If I like someone, I definitely like the person themselves, not what's behind them."

"What character!" Wei Suo gave Nangong Yuqing a thumbs-up. At the same time, he thought to himself, I like Shui Ling'er for her figure, her incredibly captivating face, and her proud twin peaks... not because she's someone's disciple or anything.

"One piece of Mid-grade Cold Jade. This piece of Cold Jade is huge, flawless, and very rare. The starting bid is six hundred low-grade Spirit Stones." Just then, Shopkeeper Tian's voice rang out again, and Wei Suo and Nangong Yuqing immediately became excited.

"Seven hundred low-grade Spirit Stones!"

"Eight hundred low-grade Spirit Stones!"

Wei Suo's eyes welled up with tears again. The Cold Jade, wrapped in red velvet cloth, had been polished by the Golden Jade Pavilion, and the crack had been smoothed away. Now, the entire piece of Cold Jade looked perfectly round and flawless. For an artifact refiner, such a large flawless piece of Cold Jade could be used to easily refine a cold-attribute Magic Treasure. Most of the cultivators attending this auction were discerning, so as soon as Shopkeeper Tian finished speaking, it immediately attracted the competition of many cultivators, and the price soared. In the end, when a Taoist priest in a moon-white robe bid for it, the price reached one thousand five hundred low-grade Spirit Stones.

Although it was agreed that this piece of Cold Jade would be divided among Nangong Yuqing, Ye Xiaozheng, and Ye Guowei, and the Golden Jade Pavilion would charge a 10% fee, even so, Wei Suo would still earn at least two hundred low-grade Spirit Stones.

A Golden Silk Talisman Brush, a Treasure Pouch, and two hundred low-grade Spirit Stones. Wei Suo felt like his life was blooming like a flower.

(The third update will still be around 10 PM tonight. Please support with red tickets and such.)