Meeting Xiao Zhan

Jia Lie Bi let out a long breath, but his face immediately turned slightly green again. He had spent forty-two thousand to secure three bottles, a full ten thousand gold coins more than Ao Ba Pa had paid that round!

He angrily signed the confirmation form, inwardly cursing Xiao Zhan and Ao Ba Pa for joining forces to set him up.

Ao Ba Pa cheerfully twisted the knife from the side. "Brother Jia Lie truly is generous. Forty-two thousand for three bottles—tsk, tsk. It seems the Jia Lie Clan's reserves are far more substantial than I imagined."

Jia Lie Bi shot him a vicious glare. "Shut up!"

The third round was the final four bottles of Foundation-Strengthening Liquid. When Ya Fei gestured for an attendant to bring up the silver tray, the atmosphere throughout the hall clearly rose to its peak.

"The final four bottles of Foundation-Strengthening Liquid will be auctioned as a set. The starting bid is twenty thousand gold coins, with each increase no less than one thousand."

Ya Fei's voice remained sweet and seductive, but it now carried an irresistible tension.

"This is your last chance, everyone. Make sure you seize it."

This time, Jia Lie Bi and Ao Ba Pa tacitly refrained from bidding immediately.

The two of them looked toward Xiao Zhan at the same time, a shared understanding in their eyes. In the first two rounds, each of them had taken one, while Xiao Zhan had come away empty-handed.

In this final round, Xiao Zhan would certainly go all out.

Xiao Zhan did not hesitate and directly raised his paddle. "Twenty-five thousand."

Jia Lie Bi laughed. "Clan Leader Xiao failed to get anything in the first two rounds. Are you getting serious this time? I'll add another three thousand—twenty-eight thousand."

Ao Ba Pa joined in the commotion as well. "I'll join the fun too. Thirty thousand."

Xiao Zhan's expression did not change, and his voice remained steady. "Thirty-five thousand."

Jia Lie Bi's brow twitched. His fingers tapped against his bidding paddle as though he were weighing his options.

Four bottles of Foundation-Strengthening Liquid meant an average of less than nine thousand per bottle. If he could secure them, it would not really be a loss. But he had already spent forty-two thousand on three bottles earlier. If he threw more money into this round, his total expenditure today would be far too high.

In the end, Jia Lie Bi gritted his teeth and made one final bid. "Thirty-eight thousand."

Xiao Zhan fell silent for a moment.

The air in the auction hall seemed to freeze for an instant as everyone's gaze focused on him.

He slowly raised his paddle, his voice calm yet filled with unquestionable certainty. "Forty-five thousand!"

The moment the price of forty-five thousand was called, Jia Lie Bi no longer dared to raise it. If he rashly bid higher and Xiao Zhan backed out, today's expenses would become far too great. Ao Ba Pa also withdrew and stopped bidding.

He had spent only thirty-two thousand in his round, making his purchase the best deal among the three. There was no need for him to get involved any further.

Ya Fei swept her gaze across the hall. Seeing that no one else was bidding, she lightly brought down her small hammer. "The four bottles of Foundation-Strengthening Liquid in the third round go to Clan Leader Xiao Zhan for forty thousand gold coins! Congratulations, Clan Leader Xiao!"

Xiao Zhan gave a slight nod.

Jia Lie Bi's face darkened. He cast a sidelong glance toward Xiao Zhan and snorted coldly. "You only picked up a bargain. Sooner or later, I'll make you spit it back out."

Ao Ba Pa, meanwhile, sipped his tea with a smile, looking as though it had nothing to do with him. Yet he was already considering how to use those three bottles of Foundation-Strengthening Liquid to cultivate the younger members of his clan once he returned.

The auction continued, but Xiao Zhan had no interest in the remaining items.

Ever since Ya Fei's words, "a sixth-tier alchemist," had entered his ears, one thought had occupied his mind: could a sixth-tier alchemist cure Yan'er's hidden ailment?

For the past two years, it had been a massive stone weighing on his heart day and night. Now, he had finally seen a faint sign that it might be moved.

He did not so much as glance at the next several auction items. He sat upright and motionless, lightly tapping the armrest with his fingers as he waited for the auction to end.

At last, Ya Fei's small hammer fell one final time, announcing the successful conclusion of the auction.

The guests rose and departed one after another. Jia Lie Bi and Ao Ba Pa each left with their gains, though they still did not forget to trade a few barbs before leaving.

Only after they had gone far away did Xiao Zhan rise and walk directly toward Ya Fei.

Ya Fei was standing at the side of the stage, quietly giving instructions to an attendant. As if she had anticipated this long ago, she smiled before Xiao Zhan could speak. "Clan Leader Xiao, you wish to ask about the alchemist who refined the Foundation-Strengthening Liquid, don't you?"

Xiao Zhan froze for a moment, then nodded. "That's right. Might Miss Ya Fei be able to tell me something?"

Ya Fei turned slightly and made an inviting gesture with her slender hand. "Clan Leader Xiao, please come with me. Master Su already expected that you would come to ask."

Xiao Zhan was stunned.

He had anticipated it in advance? Was this sixth-tier alchemist surnamed Su?

Though he had doubts, he had no time to think further and immediately followed her with large strides.

After passing through several corridors, Ya Fei stopped before the door of an elegantly decorated private room. She lightly knocked, then pushed the door open and entered.

Xiao Zhan followed her inside, swept his gaze over the room, and his heart immediately tightened.

The private room was not large, but it had been arranged with exceptional care.

A youth who looked no older than sixteen or seventeen sat in the seat of honor, holding a cup of clear tea with a composed expression.

Behind him stood a man in black. Further back stood Gu Ni, the resident second-tier alchemist of the Mitel Auction House in Wutan City. At this moment, he was standing respectfully behind the youth with an exceedingly humble posture, like an apprentice attending his teacher.

Xiao Zhan's gaze lingered on Gu Ni for a moment, and he immediately understood.

Gu Ni was a prominent figure in Wutan City. Even the clan leaders of the three great clans treated him with courtesy. Yet he was now standing so respectfully behind a youth. The youth's identity was self-evident.

Ya Fei gave Su Zhao a graceful bow. "Master Su, Clan Leader Xiao has arrived."

Xiao Zhan did not dare be negligent. He stepped forward and respectfully bowed. "Xiao Zhan, Clan Leader of the Xiao Clan, greets Master Su."

Su Zhao set down his teacup and smiled faintly. "Clan Leader Xiao, there is no need for such formality."

He gestured for Xiao Zhan to sit. Only after Xiao Zhan had taken his seat did he continue.

"Clan Leader Xiao, I presume you came today because of your son?"

Xiao Zhan's heart skipped a beat, though his expression remained unchanged. "Oh? Master Su has heard of my son as well?"

Su Zhao smiled, his tone casual. "An eleven-year-old Dou Zhe was famous throughout the Jia Ma Empire for a time. How could I not have heard of him? However... I heard that your son has not been doing well lately."

Xiao Zhan gave a bitter smile. This was the hardest part of asking another for help. He took a deep breath and roughly explained Xiao Yan's circumstances over the past two years. "It is a long story. More than two years ago, my son suddenly developed a strange illness. His Dou Qi has been constantly dissipating, and now he can only maintain three stages of Dou Qi. I have been deeply troubled by this and searched everywhere for renowned physicians, but to no avail..."

As he spoke, his gaze gradually became firm. He rose to his feet and gave a solemn bow. "May I ask Master Su to diagnose my son? No matter what Master Su asks of me, so long as I, Xiao Zhan, can do it, I would not hesitate to climb mountains of blades or plunge into seas of fire!"

In his view, if the youth before him truly was a sixth-tier alchemist, then Xiao Yan's strange illness would definitely improve with his help.

If even a sixth-tier alchemist was helpless, Xiao Zhan truly did not know what else he could do.