Road Builders Die Unburied, Murderers Wear Golden Belts!

"Report!"

"A cellar has been discovered ahead!"

A soldier came up to report.

"Good! Pry open the cellar door!"

Xue Qinghe waved a hand.

Two soldiers stepped forward and pried open the iron lock on the cellar door.

The heavy wooden door was pulled open, and a damp, moldy stench rushed out.

Lifting his robe, Xue Qinghe took the lead in going down.

Ge Long followed him in expressionlessly.

They had found quite a few cellars and basements.

But they usually came up empty-handed!

The next moment...

Ge Long was stunned!

The cellar was not large. By the light of the torches, he spotted her at first glance!

Dugu Yan was bound in iron chains, with a rag stuffed in her mouth.

"You... are..."

Dugu Yan struggled to open her eyes.

"Miss Dugu! I am Xue Qinghe, Crown Prince of the Heaven Dou Empire."

"You have been rescued. I'll send someone to notify your grandfather immediately!"

Xue Qinghe glanced at Dugu Yan and spoke in an even tone.

"Grandfather... the herb garden... he wants Grandfather's herb garden..."

At the mention of the word "grandfather," it was as if something inside Dugu Yan had been triggered.

"The person who captured you was after your grandfather's herb garden?"

"Do you know who ordered it?"

Xue Qinghe paused slightly.

A herb garden?

Jiang Ming was not someone who acted without profit.

That herb garden was definitely not ordinary.

Otherwise, he would not have gone through the trouble of kidnapping Dugu Yan.

Could he really be taking such a huge risk just because of that little wager?

"I don't know."

Dugu Yan shook her head with difficulty.

"I'm afraid this matter is not as simple as it appears."

"Marshal Ge Long, who in Heaven Dou City do you think has both the audacity and the ability to do this?"

Xue Qinghe nodded, a thoughtful glint flashing through his eyes.

Ge Long fell silent.

This was not a question he could answer, nor one he should answer!

There were only a few factions bold enough to lay hands on the granddaughter of a Titled Douluo.

Inside the auction house, the auction had reached its eighth item.

Jiang Ming leaned back in his chair, his gaze falling on the tray covered by a red cloth on the auction stage.

The auctioneer was a voluptuous, beautiful woman.

She wore a well-tailored qipao that outlined every curve of her full figure.

She clearly knew how to stir up the atmosphere, and every pause before unveiling the red cloth was perfectly timed.

"Distinguished guests, the next auction item is rather special."

The beautiful auctioneer smilingly lifted the red cloth.

Resting quietly on the tray was a palm-sized lump of black gelatinous matter, its surface gleaming with an oily sheen.

"This is Whale Rubber. Our auction house's appraisers have determined that it is approximately three thousand years old."

A wave of hushed discussion immediately rose from below the stage.

Whale Rubber was a gelatinous substance formed within whale-type Soul Beasts.

It was basically used as an aphrodisiac for bedroom activities!

For Soul Masters, this stuff was useless!

Only nobles might have use for it.

The beautiful auctioneer clearly knew that as well.

So...

"The starting price is... 1,000 Gold Soul Coins!"

"Each bid must increase by no less than 100 Gold Soul Coins!"

1,000 Gold Soul Coins?

To those who did not know what it was for, spending 1,000 Gold Soul Coins on Viagra?

That was simply the behavior of a wastrel!

But for Jiang Ming...

He had truly found a treasure!

"1,100!"

"1,200!"

"1,300!"

There were not many bidders, only a handful.

Most of them were old men dressed in luxurious clothes.

The sort who were lacking in that department!

"1,600!"

Seeing that no one had bid after 1,300, Jiang Ming made his move.

This price should be enough to secure it outright!

"1,600! A distinguished guest has bid 1,600 Gold Soul Coins! Any higher bids?"

The beautiful auctioneer's eyes immediately lit up.

Tai Long, seated in the VIP area, heard that familiar voice and turned to look behind him.

When he saw that Jiang Ming was the bidder, a malicious smile immediately appeared on Tai Long's face.

"1,800 Gold Soul Coins!"

Tai Long shouted at the top of his lungs, deliberately turning back to jerk his chin in Jiang Ming's direction.

A malicious bid!

"2,000 Gold Soul Coins!"

Jiang Ming's brows furrowed slightly.

"3,000 Gold Soul Coins!"

Tai Long raised the bid again without nearly any pause.

The other guests in the auction house all fell quiet.

Anyone could see that this was no longer normal bidding.

It was deliberate targeting.

"3,500 Gold Soul Coins!"

Jiang Ming bid again without expression.

"That's all? I bid 4,000!"

Tai Long's mocking voice rang out from the VIP area.

Jiang Ming leaned back in his chair and slowly closed his eyes.

There was no need.

Tai Long was clearly determined to disgust him.

And the Strength Clan's wealth was definitely greater than his own.

Continuing to compete would only humiliate himself.

Besides...

Auctioning was not the only way to obtain Whale Rubber!

"4,000 Gold Soul Coins, going once!"

"4,000 Gold Soul Coins, going twice!"

"4,000 Gold Soul Coins, going three times!"

"Sold!"

"Congratulations to the guest in the VIP area for winning this thousand-year Whale Rubber!"

The beautiful auctioneer had clearly noticed that Jiang Ming had given up bidding, so she smiled and brought down the auction hammer.

One strike sealed the deal.

"If you don't have money, then don't come to the auction house and make a fool of yourself! You dare bid with that little wealth? What a joke!"

Tai Long stood up smugly and shouted toward the third-class seats.

Not only did Tai Nuo not stop him, a faint smile even appeared at the corner of his mouth.

In the Strength Clan's eyes, strength was everything.

If someone without strength came to the auction house pretending to be wealthy, they deserved to be trampled on.

Jiang Ming opened his eyes.

There was neither anger nor embarrassment on his face. He was as calm as a stagnant pool.

"Then I won't compete with Young Master Tai Long."

"Consider this Whale Rubber a greeting gift from me to Young Master Tai Long."

Jiang Ming slowly rose from his seat and walked calmly toward the exit of the auction house.

Tai Long remained where he was, the smugness on his face gradually freezing.

For some reason.

That final remark from the pauper did not sound like surrender. Instead, it sounded as though he was saying...

I'll let you keep this for now. I'll come collect it myself another day.

"What are you putting on airs for!"

"Father, people like him only care about saving face. He lost, yet he still refuses to admit it."

Tai Long shook off that faint discomfort and spoke to Tai Nuo beside him.

"Enough. Now that you have the item, stop talking!"

Tai Nuo said irritably.

Time gradually passed, and the auction soon ended.

Tai Long and Tai Nuo swaggered out of the auction house.

As Tai Long stepped through the main doors, he felt a chill down his back, as though a pair of eyes were watching him from some dark corner.

He looked around, but found nothing unusual.

"Damn it."

Tai Long cast that ominous feeling from his mind and quickly followed after his father.

At the same time.

A faint spatial ripple silently emerged.

Jiang Ming appeared on a rooftop.

The moonlight stretched his shadow long, and no joy or anger could be read from his face.

"Road builders die unburied, while murderers wear golden belts!"