By the time the auction ended, it was already afternoon.
Xiao Yu left the private room and went to the reception lounge to wait for his eight hundred thousand-plus gold coins.
Before long, Ya Fei arrived, swaying her slender waist as she said with a radiant smile,
"Sorry for the wait, sir."
She personally poured Xiao Yu a cup of tea, then took a Crystal Card from her bosom and handed it to him.
"These are the eight hundred and eighty-five thousand gold coins from your auction proceeds. I hope you're satisfied, sir."
Accepting the Crystal Card, Xiao Yu felt utterly delighted. Honestly, if he had earned such a huge sum back on Earth, he would have jumped for joy.
"I'm very satisfied. Your auctioneering skills truly are impressive, Miss Ya Fei."
Ya Fei covered her mouth and laughed. "You flatter me, sir. They're merely insignificant little tricks."
As the two chatted, Gu Ni finished his business and came over as well.
"My apologies, sir. I was attending to an Alchemist just now and got held up."
"No matter. Since the auction is over, I should be leaving."
Xiao Yu rose to leave. After all, he had achieved the purpose of this trip, so there was naturally no reason to linger.
Ya Fei and Gu Ni exchanged a glance, then escorted Xiao Yu out with smiles.
"If you have any spare pills to sell next time, sir, please consider the Mittel Auction House first. I will personally offer you a fair price."
At the entrance, Ya Fei spoke with some solemnity.
"Mm. If I sell any pills next time, I'll have that youngster contact the auction house. That's all, then. I'll be off."
Xiao Yu did not refuse Ya Fei's request. Besides, in a little place like Wutan City, nowhere other than Mittel could absorb his supply of pills.
Only after watching the white-robed figure disappear into the crowd did Ya Fei and Gu Ni return inside.
Back at the Small Courtyard.
Feeling a little tired, Xiao Yu lay on his bed and quietly gazed at the Crystal Card holding eight hundred and eighty thousand.
"Now that I have the resources to cultivate, all that's left is to work hard and grow stronger."
The four remaining Spirit Ascension Pills would sustain his cultivation for a long time. At his current stage, he no longer needed to keep refining pills.
These eight hundred and eighty thousand would fund his future cultivation, and would also be enough to seek out third-tier pill formulas and buy ingredients.
Early the next morning, Xiao Yu headed to Xiao Zhan's residence.
Now possessing a fortune of eight hundred and eighty thousand, Xiao Yu planned to return the twenty thousand gold coins to Xiao Zhan. After all, yesterday's auction had swallowed nearly a year's income for the Xiao Clan, and Xiao Zhan had also spent forty thousand gold coins buying Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid for Xiao Yan.
Those elders were probably pestering him until his head was scorched and his brows singed by now. Twenty thousand gold coins would at least help relieve some of Xiao Zhan's pressure.
It was not that Xiao Yu did not want to give him more. The main problem was explaining where the money came from. The news that he had produced third-tier pills would be far too earth-shattering. He feared Xiao Zhan might not be able to accept it all at once, and he also feared those elders would start pestering him.
The revelation that he could cultivate Dou Qi would have to come gradually. The Coming-of-Age Ceremony in just over half a year would be the best opportunity. By then, he would at least be a Da Dou Shi, with enough strength to protect himself, so revealing a tiny bit of his ability would not matter.
In any case, after the Coming-of-Age Ceremony, he would head out to gain experience, so he would not have to worry about those old fellows on the council of elders harassing him.
Upon arriving at Xiao Zhan's residence, Xiao Yu could sense through the door that Xiao Zhan was not alone inside.
He decided not to disturb Xiao Zhan and to return that evening instead.
But Xiao Zhan sensed someone arriving and opened the door first, spotting Xiao Yu just as he was about to leave.
"Oh, it's you, Yu'er. From the looks of it, you weren't planning to come in. What's wrong?"
Since Xiao Zhan had come out, Xiao Yu abandoned the idea of leaving. He turned and replied, "I heard you had a guest, Second Uncle, so I didn't dare disturb you. I was going to come back later."
"Since when did your ears get so sharp, you brat? There's no guest, just Yan'er and me. Come in and sit down. It's been a long time since you and Yan'er last saw each other, hasn't it?"
Yan'er? Xiao Yan? It really had been a long time. One could say he had never actually met Xiao Yan at all; he only had some impressions of him in his memories.
Nodding, Xiao Yu followed Xiao Zhan inside.
As soon as he entered, he saw a delicate-featured youth in black sitting beside the table, holding a bottle of faintly glowing green liquid.
So this is Xiao Yan? He really looks exactly like he did in the animation.
Who is this?
While Xiao Yu studied Xiao Yan, Xiao Yan was also wondering who the handsome youth standing beside his father was.
This... couldn't be Father's illegitimate son, could it?!
No matter how he racked his brain, Xiao Yan could not remember who this person was. He had never seen this youth in the Xiao Clan, and so a bold thought sprang into his mind.
Fuck, surely it couldn't be this melodramatic? Is this the part where he comes back to acknowledge his ancestors and join the clan?!
Xiao Zhan was smiling and about to introduce Xiao Yu when he noticed Xiao Yan staring at him strangely, his expression practically saying, So this is the kind of man you are, Father.
No one knew a son better than his father. Xiao Zhan roughly guessed what Xiao Yan was thinking and scolded him with a laugh. "You little brat, this is your cousin."
"My cousin?"
So he was not an illegitimate son. For a moment, Xiao Yan breathed a sigh of relief. His father had not betrayed his mother after all.
Since when did I have a cousin like this? I don't remember him at all, he wondered immediately afterward.
He did have some recollection of the name Xiao Yu, though it was rather hazy.
"Your eldest uncle's son. You two even peeked at a woman bathing together when you were little. What, don't you remember?"
"!"
"!"
Xiao Yan and Xiao Yu were both startled. That had happened?
"Impossible! I don't remember anything of the sort! Second Uncle, you can't falsely accuse an innocent man. I'm an upright and honorable gentleman!"
Naturally, Xiao Yu would deny it to his dying breath. He really had never done anything like that, either, and hurriedly cried out.
"Exactly, Father, I..."
Xiao Yan also wanted to say something, but then froze, seemingly recalling something.
When he was three, he seemed to have peeked at someone bathing. No, strictly speaking, it did not count as peeking. He had merely passed a natural hot spring while playing with a little friend on the Back Mountain and accidentally caught sight of it.
He still vaguely remembered that little friend as someone he had been extremely close to.
"Cousin... Xiao Yu?"
Hearing Xiao Yan call out his name, Xiao Yu, who had still been preparing to argue, froze. How did Xiao Yan know his name?
Seeing that Xiao Yu still could not remember, Xiao Zhan could only remind him. "When you two little fellows were three, you were playing on the Back Mountain and happened to see a woman from the clan bathing in a hot spring. You even shamelessly watched for quite a while."
"After you were discovered, you two little brats ran away. Later, Yu'er, your guilty conscience got the better of you, and you came to me to admit your mistake. You confessed everything and even gave Yan'er away."
"?"
Xiao Yu looked bewildered. Had he been that rotten as a child? No, wait-had "Xiao Yu" been that rotten as a child?
He searched hard through his memories and finally found that particular recollection.
Back then, "he" and Xiao Yan had been quite close. The two little brats had gone to play on the Back Mountain and happened to see a woman of around twenty bathing. Out of curiosity, he had watched with Xiao Yan for quite a while, until they were discovered and hurriedly fled down the Back Mountain.
Later, worried that the woman from the clan would come looking for him, he had come up with the idea of confessing to Xiao Zhan first so his punishment would be lighter. He had even betrayed his friend and given Xiao Yan away.
"..."
Now he did not even have a chance to defend himself. After all, "he" had confessed personally, leaving no room for argument. Xiao Yu could only shoulder the blame.
Xiao Yan also stared wide-eyed at the handsome youth before him. He had never imagined that this cousin was the culprit behind their exposure back then.
With those thick brows and big, honest-looking eyes, who would have thought he was so rotten!
He still remembered how his father had whipped him several times that day, leaving him grimacing in pain.
Seeing Xiao Zhan watching him with a broad smile, along with Xiao Yan's wide eyes, Xiao Yu gave an awkward laugh. "Ahahaha, that happened so long ago. I don't remember it anymore."
Since he could not shake it off, he could only try to muddle his way through.
"Hahaha, you brat." Xiao Zhan laughed, stroking his beard.
It truly was rare to see his nephew looking embarrassed. Usually, he carried himself like an adult who remained calm no matter what happened.
"Ahem, Cousin Yan, don't look at me like that. I remember you were the one watching most eagerly back then."
Seeing that playing deaf and dumb would not work, Xiao Yu could only heartlessly toss the hot potato over to Xiao Yan.
When Xiao Zhan turned toward him in surprise, Xiao Yan's face darkened with exasperation. He was embarrassed to death.
Of course he had watched eagerly. Come on, his mental age had already been over twenty back then. Naturally, he was interested in the naked body of a shapely woman in her twenties. He was a man! It would have been bizarre if he had not been interested.
He had been a normal man back on Earth, all right? Even after transmigrating to the Dou Qi Continent, he still had the soul of an adult man.
Naturally, he liked young, beautiful women. What else did they expect-that he would be interested in those three- or four-year-old brats?
Before you continue