"I'm auctioning off the purple sand stone, not the box. Why would I use a precious box to hold it?" Ye Lanshan knew purple sand stones were scarce on this continent, but she hadn't expected the old man to get so worked up.
"You, you, you—fine, I won't argue with you. Fill out this form, and oh, take this card too. The money will be automatically transferred to it after the auction." The old man finally regained his composure, pulling out a form and a card, motioning for Ye Lanshan to come over and fill it out.
Ye Lanshan deftly took the card, imprinting her spiritual mark on it with her consciousness—what they called mental energy here.
"What did you just go auction off?" Mu Ziming was curious about what she was selling.
"Oh, nothing much, just a purple sand stone." Ye Lanshan didn't think it was anything shocking and answered casually.
"A p-purple sand stone? Something so precious, and you're auctioning it off? Are you out of your mind?" Mu Ziming, known for his gentle and refined demeanor, was so startled he even cursed.
"It's just a purple sand stone. I have more here. If you want one, I can give you a twenty percent discount off the auction price later." Ye Lanshan thought for a moment—she still had a pile in her space, so giving away another one wouldn't hurt.
"Where did you get this purple sand stone? As far as I know, only five purple sand stones have ever appeared in the entire Yue Kingdom. Two were forged into divine artifacts by the renowned artifact master Tao Yang, two are in the royal treasury, and one is missing. Yours couldn't be stolen from the palace, could it?"
It wasn't surprising Mu Ziming was suspicious, given how rare purple sand stones were. But it wasn't just their scarcity—they were essential for forging divine artifacts. Even if not used for that, they could produce high-grade spiritual tools. Combined with the principle of rarity driving value, purple sand stones had become the most sought-after forging material in the world, bar none.
"It's just a purple sand stone. Why would I bother stealing it?" Ye Lanshan was speechless. She'd picked up this stone in her past life while exorcising demons, thinking it looked nice, and casually stored it in her space. Later, hearing it was rare here, she decided to auction it off. But even if it were rare, why would she steal it? And even if she wanted to, she'd need to know where to find one.
As Ye Lanshan grumbled internally, Mu Ziming spoke up to explain: "Sorry, that was rash of me. It's just that I recall among the three purple sand stones in Yue Kingdom, two are in the royal treasury, and one is missing. I initially thought the one you showed was the missing one, but when you said you had more, I suspected you'd stolen from the treasury."
"I have more than two here, but that's beside the point. Your doubt about my character is truly disheartening." Ye Lanshan's expression was flat, impossible to read.
"So, what compensation would Young Master Shan like?" Mu Ziming reverted to his polished, gentle demeanor.
"What relation is Mu Xinlian to you?"
"Huh?" The question caught him off guard, and he didn't respond right away.
"I asked, what relation is Mu Xinlian to you?" She repeated patiently.
"Mu Xinlian is my great-great-grandfather's grandaunt. How do you know her name?" Mu Ziming was stunned. How could Ye Lanshan know about Mu Xinlian? That incident happened centuries ago. Could she be suspicious?
Indeed, the Li family's disappearance was orchestrated by the Mu family, with the Yue family's help, to avenge Mu Xinlian. This time, stopping the Sun family's rebellion wasn't just about treasure—it was also gratitude for the Yue family's past support. When he later discovered the Ling Sect's involvement, he couldn't help but think of the Li family's surviving remnant. That's why he had to get involved.
If the Li family was prepared this time, then Ye Lanshan had to be brought to his side. That was why he'd urged her to stop the Sun family's rebellion earlier.
"Oh, nothing. Just asking casually." Ye Lanshan hadn't thought as deeply as Mu Ziming. She'd simply recalled the ghost's name and asked out of curiosity.
"Oh." Mu Ziming breathed a sigh of relief, though he wasn't sure why he was tense. Even if Ye Lanshan found out, so what? She had her own agenda anyway.
With that distraction, Mu Ziming successfully forgot about the purple sand stone issue.
That was Ye Lanshan's real goal. After all, innocence doesn't protect against guilt by possession. Seeing how shocked Mu Ziming was by the purple sand stone, and given he was a merchant, she regretted letting him know. So she used something else to divert his attention and make him forget.
"Judging by everyone's eager expressions, it seems you've been looking forward to our auction. Alright, no more chit-chat—let's begin the bidding." A beauty on stage gave a concise opening and quickly brought out the first item.
"This is a high-grade spiritual tool forged by Master Xuanyuan Shen of Dragon Scenery Forging City. Starting bid is one hundred mystic stones." She floated a flame-shaped spear in her hand, displaying it to the crowd.
"I bid one hundred fifty mystic stones." Someone from below called out.
"Two hundred mystic stones."
In no time, the high-grade spiritual tool's price reached five hundred mystic stones, and no one bid higher.
"Forging really is a lucrative business." Ye Lanshan hadn't expected a single weapon to be worth five hundred mystic stones.
"Of course. Forgers and alchemists have always been the most sought-after professions." Mu Ziming said this with pride, as he was a forger himself—otherwise, he wouldn't have gotten so excited hearing about Ye Lanshan's purple sand stone.
"Next, we're auctioning a five-hundred-year-old Floating Life Herb. Starting bid is two hundred mystic stones."
Ye Lanshan had lost interest in the items, but hearing about the Floating Life Herb made her eyes light up. She immediately threw out a bid of five hundred mystic stones.
"Five hundred ten mystic stones." An aged voice rang out from across the room.
"Six hundred mystic stones." Ye Lanshan raised the bid without hesitation.
"Six hundred ten mystic stones." The voice countered again.
So, it's a deliberate price hike. Interesting. If you want to play, I'll play along.
"Seven hundred mystic stones." She said it effortlessly.
"Seven hundred ten mystic stones."
"Since you, senior, like this Floating Life Herb so much, I'll graciously step aside. It's yours." As soon as the aged voice finished, Ye Lanshan's light tone followed.
"You—if you need this herb too, how can you give up so easily?" The other side grew anxious.