Chapter 94: Ups and Downs
At this time, the purple-robed old man's eyes flickered, and then he nodded slightly, as if listening to someone speaking. A hint of difficulty appeared on his face, and he disappeared before opening his mouth: "Tang Yuan Gongzi has already bid 500 taels, but is there anyone who can offer a higher price than 5 million taels?"
"You can't be serious, old man! This is clearly Li Zhen's malicious price hike, what does it have to do with my friend? Why are you forcing the price up to 5 million taels?"
"Bidders who have not participated in the bidding are not allowed to speak and disrupt the auction!" The old man in purple robes ignored Jun Mo Xie and asked Tang Bao instead: "Does Young Master Tang have any objections?"
Tang Yuan suddenly changed his usual arrogant tone and whispered: "I didn't say much earlier, did I?"
Don't be suspicious, how did this Tang Baozi suddenly become timid, where is his previous arrogance? It's strange, but why would he be willing to spend 5 million taels of silver to buy the Burning Scripture Pavilion? This is nonsense!
Moreover, it seems that Sheng Bao Tang is intentionally making things difficult! How could Jun Mo Xie's arrogant bones tolerate this loss? He coldly smiled and said: "Is Sheng Bao Tang going to force a sale? Just now, Tang Baozi's words were taken as the standard, so there should only be 500 taels. When did it become 5 million taels? If Sheng Bao Tang thinks that's acceptable, then let's settle on 500 taels of silver!"
Indeed, just now Táng Yuán only called out the two words "five hundred", and before he could say the rest of the phrase "ten thousand taels", his mouth was covered by Jūn Mò Xié.
Both sides were suddenly frozen, while Li Zhen and others all showed joy on their faces, obviously wanting to see the joke of Jun and Tang. The people in the hall also closed their mouths, one side was Sheng Baotang, the other side was Jun's family, neither side dared to provoke the other.
Suddenly, in the midst of silence, another ethereal voice rang out: "The rules of Sheng Bao Tang cannot be broken! Since a price has been offered, it must be honored!" The voice was ethereal and seemed to come from nowhere, yet it was clear and distinct, entering the ears of everyone present. The old man in purple robes heard this and his expression changed: "Sheng Bao Tang would never force a sale, regardless of whether the Jun or Tang families will set foot here again. This auction has already been established, and now Tang Yuan Gongzi has offered 5 million taels!" The mysterious figure's words caused the old man in purple robes to suddenly become stern. Even with Jun Da's calm demeanor, he couldn't help but change his expression slightly. He wasn't surprised by the old man's sudden sternness, nor was he particularly concerned about the 5 million taels, which was an astronomical price. What truly surprised him was the sudden and ethereal voice, whose power was on par with Ye Guhan, a high-ranking expert from the Tianjie stage! But why would such a powerful expert want to make things difficult for Jun Mo? Or was it for himself? Ability was one thing, but Jun Mo's pride wouldn't allow him to take this lying down! This was 5 million taels of silver we were talking about! Although the 500-year-old Burning Scripture had an extremely high value and was the best medicine for Jun Wu's unintentional injury, its value was one thing, but being forced into a bad deal was another. If he were to be coerced into making this transaction at the price of 5 million taels of silver, regardless of whether it was a good deal or not, just the feeling of being stifled would be enough to suffocate him! Moreover, Sheng Bao Tang seemed to be taking advantage of the situation. Jun Mo had always despised people who used their power to bully others, and this matter was no exception. "What rules cannot be broken? Hahaha..." Jun Mo's previous calm demeanor was now replaced with genuine anger. He sneered: "If that's the case, then I'll just sit here and raise the price every day. Let Sheng Bao Tang make a profit!" The ethereal voice replied, its tone unchanged but with a hint of pressure: "What do you mean, Jun Gongzi? Do you want to go against me, Sheng Bao Tang?"
Everyone present looked at Jun Mo Xie with pity, and as long as this good-for-nothing responded, it would be a catastrophe for the Tian Xiang Country's royal family. This Jun Mo Xie was truly reckless, even daring to provoke Sheng Bao Tang!
Li Zhenhai and others, however, were beaming with joy. Although they spent a bit more silver today, if this matter could lead to a connection between the Jun family and Sheng Bao Tang, it would be worth ten times the price!
The lonely little artist opposite her stomped her foot anxiously: "This pig-headed man! How dare he openly defy Sheng Bao Tang? This, this is terrible!" Her anxious emotions overflowed in her words, and the Ling Meng princess beside her looked at her thoughtfully, with a deeper worry in her eyes.
Jun Mo Xie's vigilance intensified, this person was clearly intentionally guiding him to oppose the two major forces of his family and Sheng Bao Tang. Did Sheng Bao Tang have a feud with his family? Thinking about it, Jun Mo Xie became even more cautious with his words.
"Anyone can talk big, but who actually heard Tang Yuan say five million taels? I only heard the two words 'five hundred'. Besides, Li Zhen bid three million taels of silver, did Sheng Bao Tang think he could afford it or not? If he couldn't afford it, isn't that just raising prices with empty pockets? You ask if my family is opposing Sheng Bao Tang? I'd like to ask instead, was this whole thing a deliberate scheme by Sheng Bao Tang to swindle money?"
As soon as the words came out, the whole audience was shocked! This sentence is equivalent to saying that Sheng Baotang and Li Zhen joined forces to resist Tangyuan's silver! This is a serious blow to Sheng Baotang's reputation! It just so happens that Sheng Baotang has made some mistakes on this point today, and Junmo Xie has caught the flaw! Under Sheng Baotang's obviously unfair intentional difficulty, Junmo Xie boldly jumped out and accused him!
The hall fell silent, and no one dared to question the Sheng Bao Tang like that for hundreds of years. Today, everyone opened their eyes and gained new insights. After a long time, the mysterious figure spoke slowly: "This matter is indeed a mistake, I will investigate it." Although his voice was still calm, he showed great reluctance, but everyone could imagine someone who was furious but still speaking calmly. Jun Mo Xie was stunned again, Sheng Bao Tang had just been making things difficult on purpose, but now seemed to be letting up, what was going on? First, they made things difficult, then they went back on their word, how could such a strange thing happen? There must be some unknown inside story! After a while, the ethereal voice spoke again: "Li Zhen, Li family's young master, can you take out the three million taels of silver you bid?" Li Zhen was watching Jun Mo and Tang Ye's joke, gloating over their misfortune, when he suddenly heard the voice asking him, he quickly reacted and bowed: "I previously didn't mean to intervene in the Sheng Bao Tang auction, but I had to stop Tang Ye from disrupting the order multiple times." The voice spoke again with some impatience: "I'm not asking about your motives! I only asked if you have the three million taels of silver!" Li Zhen felt a bit embarrassed, "I don't currently have three million taels of silver, but I just didn't want Tang Ye to disrupt the auction, not that I could actually afford it."
"Scoundrel!" The voice seemed to be a scolding cry that could no longer hold back, coldly saying: "Since there is not enough silver, what price can you make? Who is causing trouble in the meeting hall? It's clearly you! You are breaking the rules of this hall, how can you do this? Guards, take this person out immediately! The Li family's private room will be cancelled immediately, and the Li family of Tianxiang City will be permanently stripped of their qualifications to enter the Shengbao Hall!" As soon as the words fell, several attendants came up and directly lifted Li Zhen, carrying him out. Li Zhen, who was usually arrogant and used to being a spoiled rich kid, did not resist at all this time, and didn't even say a word of apology or pleading, his face pale white, his whole body limp like a lump of mud. Jun Mo Xie watched coldly from the side, feeling more and more that something was off! This was clearly an angry outburst, why would they do it like this? Li Zhen may have been wrong, but it wasn't to the point where the Li family's qualifications to enter the Shengbao Hall should be revoked! He thought to himself that after dealing with Li Zhen, who had shouted out a random price, it would be his and Tang Yuan's turn next. But he wanted to see how the Shengbao Hall would justify themselves, no matter how many clever plans they had, he wouldn't care! At most, they could revoke his family's qualifications to enter the Shengbao Hall, what was the big deal? Hmph, if it really came to that, once he had achieved his goal of opening up a new world, the first thing he would do would be to burn the Shengbao Hall to ashes. And there was still something fishy about this, Li Zhen's actions were clearly intentional troublemaking, who couldn't see that? The people of the Shengbao Hall weren't stupid either, they naturally understood even more clearly, but after putting themselves in a difficult position, they suddenly changed their attitude and dealt with Li Zhen, clearly taking advantage of the situation to get rid of him!
Suddenly, Jun Mo Xie's mind rose with a sense of enlightenment: could it be that someone was interfering? That's why Sheng Bao Tang changed his original intention! But who is this person? Who has such great power? Just as he was thinking about it, he heard the mysterious and ethereal voice say: "Jun Mo Xie, although Li Zhen is still meddling in this matter, you once insulted me, Sheng Bao Tang. You must give me an explanation!" The voice was quite stern, clearly still angry. Jun Mo Xie had a sudden realization earlier, so he was calm and knew that the other party just wanted to save face. So, you've found the right person! This young master is not yet powerful enough, of course, I will let you save face. But when my cultivation is complete, the first thing I'll do is come and kill the one who spoke just now! Jun Mo Xie burst out laughing: "When did I insult Sheng Bao Tang? Ah, Li Zhen was maliciously causing trouble, and this young master was deceived by him. Sheng Bao Tang has a discerning eye, and with his wisdom, he finally rescued the one who was harming the group and dealt with him. He is not afraid of power, and his integrity is unwavering. Sheng Bao Tang is indeed worthy of being Sheng Bao Tang! This young master admires him deeply!" With a sudden turn, Jun Mo Xie loudly said: "Can everyone see? Sheng Bao Tang's auction house is truly the most impartial place in the world! The prices are fair, and there is no deception. Such a business is indeed worthy of admiration! This young master is proud to have such a reputable business in Tianxiang City!" After finishing speaking, Jun Mo Xie, with a sincere expression of admiration and reverence, took the lead in applauding, saying: "Why aren't you all clapping? Do you have any opinions about Sheng Bao Tang? If so, this young master will be the first to stand up for Sheng Bao Tang!"
The entire audience erupted in applause! Everyone was clapping, while secretly cursing: Shameless! Truly shameless! This Jun Moxie's shamelessness, the thickness of his skin, makes us feel inferior, and we can't even match his audacity! Only Lonely Little Art was excited, with a smile like a flower, clapping her small hands, finally putting her mind at ease. The mysterious voice also fell silent, no longer making a sound.
In the elegant opinion room of Sheng Bao Hall, two middle-aged men in white robes sat facing each other. One of them gritted his teeth, with a gloomy face, and slammed his palm on the table in front of him, shattering it to pieces. He said in a low voice: "Jun Moxie! You cunning little thief! I won't forgive you!" The other white-robed man closed his eyes, showing disapproval, and frowned: "This matter was your fault from the start! How can you blame that kid?" The first white-robed man snorted, dissatisfied: "But this Burning Scripture Pavilion... might not be intentional on Jun Moxie's part..." He stopped speaking abruptly.
"Jun Moxie's intention?" The other white-robed man stood up suddenly: "What do you mean?" The first white-robed man snorted again, closed his eyes, and refused to speak. The second white-robed man stared at him for a while, then said coldly: "I don't care about your past grudges with Jun Moxie, but he's already crippled, equivalent to being ruined for life! If you still want to deal with him, I'll kill you!" This statement was resolute and merciless, showing determination.
The first white-robed man let out a cold snort, turned his head away, and refused to speak. The second white-robed man gazed at him coldly, then suddenly asked: "This auction originally didn't have the Burning Scripture Pavilion! Yet it suddenly appeared with an astronomical price... what was the reason behind this? Who gave you the Burning Scripture Pavilion? Why did you specifically bring it to Tianxiang City for auction?"
The white-robed man who had spoken earlier raised an eyebrow and said, "If you want to know, go back and ask the extremely old elder. Don't give me that inquiring look! Do you think I'm afraid of you?" "Is it...?" The other white-robed man's face turned even colder: "Is it...? She... let you specially deliver it to Jun Wuyi?" "Why else would the nine elders come together this time?" The first white-robed man's body shook, and he shouted, "What nonsense are you spouting?! A mere Jun Wuyi, is he worth us sacrificing half of the nine elders' power?!" "I didn't say the nine elders had to sacrifice anything! What do you mean by saying that?" The other white-robed man's face revealed a murderous intent: "Are you playing tricks behind our backs?" "What if I am? Jun's family spent 300,000 silver coins to buy it back, and it still ended up in Jun Wuyi's hands!" The first white-robed man snorted. "Bullshit! What use is the Burning Scripture? Without the guidance of a master like Shen Xiang, under the intense poison of the Burning Scripture, Jun Wuyi would only die faster!" The other white-robed man trembled with rage, his eyes gleaming fiercely: "You despicable scoundrel! I'll kill you!" "Enough!" A voice that seemed to come from afar, yet was stern and ancient, echoed through the air: "That's enough, both of you! Stop talking!" The two white-robed men looked at each other for a moment, their eyes locked in a fierce stare, like two sharp swords clashing in mid-air. Finally, they both snorted and sat down back-to-back, ignoring each other.
