Reuniting with Ya Fei, Nalan Jie's Poison Flared Up

The Mittel Auction House in the imperial capital was far larger than the one in Wutan City, and its decor was exceptionally luxurious.

Powerful guards in full armor could be seen everywhere.

The welcoming maids were all young and beautiful as well.

The first floor of the auction house was a vast marketplace, filled with countless crystal display cases containing all sorts of rare items.

Storage Rings, Moonlight Stones, magic core equipment, medicinal cauldrons, and more—every item was extremely valuable and beyond the means of ordinary people.

"Everything sold here is low-tier merchandise and isn't even qualified to enter the auction hall.

The Mittel Auction House is divided into four grades: Heaven, Earth, Mystic, and Yellow. The Heaven-grade auction house rarely opens, but whenever it does, it means the Mittel Auction House is about to auction something immensely important. At that time, experts from half the Jia Ma Empire will swarm here..."

Hai Bodong caught up with Xiao Yan, and the two walked side by side. As the host, he introduced Xiao Yan to all kinds of information about the Mittel Auction House, greatly broadening Xiao Yan's horizons.

Xiao Yan looked around the hall with great interest, taking in the luxurious decorations and the beautiful... maids.

Suddenly, a familiar figure appeared in his sight.

The appearance of that beautiful figure immediately stirred up a commotion in the hall, drawing the attention of more than half the men present.

It was Ya Fei, whom he had not seen for over two years.

She wore a vivid red, form-fitting brocade robe that accentuated her curvaceous figure with fiery allure. Beneath the slit of her robe, her snow-white, dazzlingly straight legs were exposed.

Her hands rested before her lower abdomen as she walked with graceful steps, a faint smile lingering on her charming face.

Her long, narrow peach-blossom eyes casually swept across the hall, making every man she glanced at believe she had shown him favor, causing foolish smiles to appear on their faces.

Then, they willingly pulled out their wallets and lavishly bought expensive items, all for the chance to win a beauty's smile.

Suddenly, the beauty's face bloomed with a radiant, captivating smile. Amid the jealous gazes of the crowd, she quickly walked over to a black-clad youth.

"Little Brother Xiao Yan, it's been more than two years. You've become even steadier and more handsome."

The beauty smiled brightly at the much more mature youth. Thinking back to Wutan City, when he had always tried to act composed only to flee in embarrassment whenever she teased him a little, she smiled with delight.

"Big Sister Ya Fei has become even more beautiful too. Look at the men around us—they're practically ready to kill me."

Xiao Yan curled his lips and joked as he glanced at the looks around him.

At the youth's compliment, Ya Fei's peach-blossom eyes held a smile as gentle as autumn water. Her jade-like hand gathered several loose strands of dark hair and tucked them behind her fair, rounded ear, the corners of her lips lifting slightly.

"Little Brother Xiao Yan, after all this time, your little mouth is still so sweet. But compared to before, you're not nearly as shy now."

Ya Fei covered her mouth and laughed coquettishly.

Xiao Yan awkwardly rubbed his nose.

Back when he had first crossed over to the Battle Qi Continent, he had been a hot-blooded young man, a virgin through four lifetimes, and had just awakened the Vajra Saint Body. Whenever he faced the sexy Ya Fei, his Supreme Bone would become hard as steel, leaving him no choice but to flee in embarrassment.

The current Xiao Yan was no longer that innocent youth, but a battle-hardened man.

Every mature man should master the art of keeping his gun down. Even if a succubus stood before him, he could handle her with ease.

"Big Sister Ya Fei, since you returned to the imperial capital, it seems the clan has begun to value you. Do you control this auction house now?"

Changing the subject, Xiao Yan spoke in a low voice.

"Thanks to you, I did achieve some results in Wutan City and was transferred back to the imperial capital..."

At that, Ya Fei sighed softly and gave a bitter smile. "This auction house in the imperial capital is the Mittel Clan's largest auction house. Its authority is held by those old fellows. How could they possibly hand it over to me? I'm merely the acting elder in charge of supervision here."

Looking at Xiao Yan with her beautiful eyes, Ya Fei smiled. "Although I'm only the acting supervisory elder, I still have some authority. If you need anything, just say the word."

"Let's find somewhere quieter."

Seeing the jealous looks from the men around them, Xiao Yan spoke helplessly.

"Of course."

Ya Fei smiled faintly, then turned and walked gracefully toward a staircase in the hall. Her high heels clicked crisply against the polished jade floor, and her elegant gait was utterly mesmerizing.

Xiao Yan followed behind, admiring Ya Fei's enchanting back. His tall body blocked the other men's view, making them frown as their eyes filled with dislike for him.

After passing through the spiral staircase, Ya Fei led Xiao Yan and Hai Bodong to an office on the second floor.

The three sat down at the reception table, and a beautiful maid soon came over with hot water to make tea.

After taking a small sip of tea, Xiao Yan set down his cup and said with a light smile,

"Big Sister Ya Fei, as an Alchemy Master, I have the habit of seeking out and purchasing medicinal ingredients whenever I arrive in a city."

"So, I'd like to see what high-tier medicinal ingredients the Mittel Auction House in the imperial capital has. Money is not an issue."

Ya Fei beckoned with her hand, and a beautiful maid walked over. After whispering a few words to the maid, Ya Fei smiled and said,

"It doesn't matter if you don't have enough money. When the time comes, Little Brother Xiao Yan can simply have your mysterious teacher refine a few pills for us to make up the difference."

Hai Bodong's expression shifted. He had not expected Xiao Yan to have a mysterious teacher, and his estimation of Xiao Yan rose once again.

The maid brought over a thick, ancient-looking book. Ya Fei took it and handed it to Xiao Yan.

"This is the master inventory record for the Mittel Auction House's high-tier medicinal ingredients. There are also many duplicate copies. If an ingredient is sold, as long as the duplicate copy is marked as sold, the master record will retain a corresponding entry. It's very convenient."

Xiao Yan flipped through the thick book. The pages were made of a special material, each one like a thin metal sheet—solid and hard—with faint soul force lingering over them.

As he turned the pages, the names of medicinal ingredients appeared before Xiao Yan's eyes, along with brief descriptions of their effects. Xiao Yan understood most of the ingredients very well.

Xiao Yan named one medicinal ingredient after another, while the beautiful maid beside him recorded them one by one.

"That will be all."

Half an hour later, Xiao Yan closed the book, returned it to Ya Fei, and asked,

"Calculate how much these medicinal ingredients cost."

Without needing Ya Fei's instruction, the maid quickly began calculating in a ledger beside her.

In less than three minutes, the beautiful maid began whispering into Ya Fei's ear.

Ya Fei nodded and smiled at Xiao Yan. "The medicinal ingredients you requested are worth 1.8 million gold coins. But since we know each other so well, I can give you a ten percent discount."

"Little Brother Xiao Yan, if you don't have enough money, you can refine pills to offset the cost."

She lightly bit her red lips, her peach-blossom eyes brimming with amusement.

Although the Mittel Auction House in the imperial capital had quite a few Alchemy Masters working with it, precious medicinal pills were always in short supply. No matter how many pills there were, they would never be enough.

Xiao Yan turned to Hai Bodong and smiled. "Mr. Hai, I don't have enough gold coins. I'll have to trouble you to cover the payment for me."

Cover the payment? Would he ever pay it back?

I'm here to be his fighter. It's already generous enough that I haven't asked him for a monthly salary, and now I have to pay for his purchases too?

Hai Bodong frowned deeply, and displeasure appeared on his face.

"Although Mr. Hai's seal has been lifted, your strength has yet to return to its peak. I can refine a Purple Restoration Pill for you, which can help you quickly recover two to three stars of strength."

At that moment, Xiao Yan spoke calmly.

Hearing this, Hai Bodong's eyes lit up. He stared intently at Xiao Yan and said, "Little Friend Xiao, is that true?"

"Hehe, there's no need for me to deceive you."

Xiao Yan chuckled softly.

Hai Bodong took out an exquisitely crafted purple-gold card from his Storage Ring and tossed it to Ya Fei. "Deduct Little Friend Xiao's medicinal ingredient expenses from this card."

Then, Hai Bodong revealed a flattering smile toward Xiao Yan. "Little Friend Xiao, what medicinal ingredients does the Purple Restoration Pill require? See whether this auction house has them."

Xiao Yan took out a list of medicinal ingredients from his Storage Ring and casually tossed it to Hai Bodong, smiling teasingly.

"I checked just now. The Mittel Auction House doesn't have most of the ingredients you need."

The rule for Alchemy Masters refining pills for others had always been for the client to provide the medicinal ingredients.

Whether Hai Bodong could gather all the ingredients was something he could worry about himself.

The Purple Restoration Pill was a sixth-tier medicinal pill and required more than a dozen ingredients, most of which were rare, high-tier medicinal ingredients.

The Mittel Auction House only had five of the more common high-tier ingredients among them.

Looking at the ingredients listed on the sheet, Hai Bodong gave a bitter smile. He handed the list to Ya Fei and asked her to keep an eye out for them in future acquisitions.

While they waited for the maid to retrieve the medicinal ingredients, Ya Fei told Xiao Yan about some recent major events in the imperial capital.

The most famous of them was naturally the upcoming Alchemy Master Tournament. Upon hearing about it, Xiao Yan had no intention of participating.

The other major event was unexpectedly related to the Nalan Clan.

The mysterious disappearance of Nalan Yanran had also spread through the imperial capital over the past year.

The disappearance of his beloved granddaughter had dealt Old Master Nalan Jie a tremendous blow. His spirit had fallen into decline, causing the Brand Poison he had suffered in his early years to flare up. It had already reached its late stage.

The Nalan Clan had invited many Alchemy Masters to purge the poison, but all of them had been helpless.

Even Gu He, the Pill King of the Cloud Mist Sect, had come, but he too had failed to purge the poison.

However, he had left behind a method for purging it: an Alchemy Master possessing a Heavenly Flame would need to control the Heavenly Flame and send it into the body to remove the poison.

"Little Brother Xiao Yan, you're an Alchemy Master too. Do you want to try your luck at the Nalan Clan? I heard that whoever cures Old Master Nalan will receive a stalk of Seven-Colored Spirit Saliva as a reward. It's a heavenly treasure capable of restoring and enhancing soul strength."

At that moment, Ya Fei spoke with a smile.

Xiao Yan's heart stirred upon hearing this. He had been planning to visit the Nalan Clan anyway.

He wanted to obtain the Seven-Colored Spirit Saliva, which could restore and enhance soul strength, and give it to Medicine Elder.

"In that case, I can give it a try. But I don't want to reveal my identity."

Xiao Yan spoke with a frown.

"Oh? Why is that?" Ya Fei asked curiously.

Since Nalan Yanran had been imprisoned in Xiao Yan's Portable Space before she could call off the engagement, the engagement between the Xiao Household and the Nalan Clan was not known to the public.

Xiao Yan said softly, "Old Master Nalan's missing granddaughter is actually my fiancée. I just don't want Old Master Nalan to be reminded of her when he sees me."

He casually came up with an excuse.