29. Cake
"Have you seen enough? Is he that attractive?” Ye Shi said with a puffed cheek and a cold tone towards Mu Chen, who was glancing downstairs.
Mu Chen leaned back, glanced at Ye Shi, and said with an apologetic smile, "There is nothing to see. I'm just browsing."
Ye Shi looked down from the window, gave Mu Chen a cold stare, and said, "Zhuang Yu is down there. If you feel sorry for him, you can invite him here."
Mu Chen smiled and said, "I have nothing to worry about him."
Ye Shi snorted softly and said, "Liar."
Ye Shi thought a lot last night over and over again, and finally decided that Mu Chen had bad intentions in giving him the VIP card. However, he was not sure what Mu Chen's purpose was, so Ye Shi decided to go with changes.
Mu Chen looked at Ye Shi and said, "By the way, I have something for you."
"What is it?" Ye Shi squinted at Mu Chen and said.
Mu Chen took out a cake from the space ring, handed it to Ye Shi, and said, "Here you for you."
As soon as the cake was taken out, a sweet fragrance filled the air. Ye Shi looked at the exquisite cake, his eyes sparkling brightly.
"This is a pastry that I accidentally made by studying ancient books. I call it a cake. I made it specially for you." Mu Chen said to Ye Shi.
Ye Shi stared straight at Mu Chen, with a hint of wary and an indescribable gaze in his eyes.
Mu Chen looked at Ye Shi and said, "What's wrong?"
Ye Shi didn't speak, just stared at Mu Chen with wide open eyes.
Mu Chen suddenly realized something, frowned, and said, "Are you worried about me putting poison inside it?"
Ye Shi tilted his head but still didn't speak. When Ye Shi was at home, his father’s concubines always planned to frame him. He grew up in all sorts of frames and traps.
When he was a child, he accidentally ate a bowl of sweet soup that had been poisoned. As a result, he almost died. Since then, Ye Shi has become more and more cautious. That was the reason he manage to live to this day.
The corners of Mu Chen's mouth twitched, and he thought to himself: Am I that untrustworthy?
"I'll have a bite first." Mu Chen scooped out a spoonful of cake and put it into his mouth.
After Mu Chen took a bite, Ye Shi immediately took the spoon and gulped it, "It's delicious. Very tasty..."
Mu Chen, "..."
Ye Shi's cheeks were puffed up with food. He looked like a chipmunk. Mu Chen was surprised by how Ye Shi ate food.
Because Ye Shi didn't believe that Mu Chen would really fall in love with him, he simply did not mind his table manner.
Holding his chin, Mu Chen looked at Ye Shi with great interest. Then he rubbed Ye Shi's back, and said, "Slow down. Don't get yourself choked."
Ye Shi suddenly choked. Mu Chen patted Ye Shi's shoulder and said, "Are you alright?”
Ye Shi lowered his head and thought: If Mu Chen looked at him with contempt, he would stare back fiercely. However, Ye Shi did not know how to cope with Mu Chen's care.
Looking at Ye Shi's blushing face, Mu Chen found it interesting.
Ye Shi shot a hard stare at Mu Chen's half-smiling look.
Mu Chen smiled with a tolerant look on his face, which made Ye Shi feel guilty about staring at Mu Chen.
Knowing that Ye Shi was interested in gourmet food, Mu Chen specially made a 12-inch cake. But it seemed that it was still small for Ye Shi.
"Is it delicious?" Mu Chen asked.
Ye Shi nodded and said, "Yes, it is."
"If you like it, I'll cook it for you next time." Mu Chen said earnestly.
"You really baked it by yourself?" Ye Shi asked in disbelief.
Mu Chen nodded and said, "Yes. I learned how to handle ingredients from the spiritual chef from my family. He praised me because I am a quick learner and I have the talent of a spiritual chef."
"Really?" Ye Shi asked in disbelief.
"Of course." Mu Chen said.
Ye Shi looked at Mu Chen and said, "But, why are you being so nice to me?"
Mu Chen faced Ye Shi with a bright smile and said, "Because I like you!"
Ye Shi's heart trembled, but he didn't dare to believe Mu Chen's words.
30. Bidding
The ordinary seats downstairs were fully taken. As the door of the auction was closed, Mu Chen realized that from this moment on, people were only allowed in and not out.
"Is the auction about to start?" Ye Shi held his chin and muttered curiously, blinking his eyes.
Ye Shi couldn't help being a little excited when he saw such a grand scene for the first time.
Mu Chen nodded and said, "Yes."
"Thank you for coming to this auction. Now I announce that this auction has officially started. Next, allow me to introduce the first item of this auction, a third-grade talisman, Wind Controlling Talisman!"
"This talisman is drawn by a third-level talisman maker. It can increase the speed of cultivators below Martial Art Spirit by twenty times."
"Twenty times faster. I don’t need to emphasize how fast it can be. Alright. The starting price of the third-grade Wind Controlling Talisman is 10,000 elementary stones." The auctioneer on the stage said in a cadenced manner.
Twenty times faster! It meant that it could be an ultimate weapon for surviving after encountering a strong enemy. It meant that it was a must-have weapon for escaping from danger. It meant an extra life!
Mu Chen pondered. There was possibly no third-grade talisman master in City of Mo. Therefore, it was precious to have such a talisman.
Ye Shi opened his mouth wide and said in disbelief, "10,000 elementary stones? And it is even the first item on the auction item."
Mu Chen smiled and said, "This is the first auction item. It is precious, so it is a bit expensive."
Ye Shi pouted and said disapprovingly, "Is this a bit expensive? It's very expensive."
Mu Chen nodded and said, "...Yes, it's very expensive, very expensive."
Mu Yuanfeng was a generous father. Especially after Mu Chen had changed a lot, Mu Yuanfeng was even more generous and support financially Mu Chen to make sure he had enough money to improve cultivation. Even so, Mu Chen only had 5,000 elementary stones.
"Ten thousand."
"Twelve thousand."
"Fifteen thousand."
"Twenty thousand."
……
"Fifty-three."
…………
After a short silence, a series of bidding calls rang out. Soon the price of the Wind Controlling Talisman was increased to more than 50,000. The one who bid came from the Class A box.
Those who sat in the Class A box mostly were big figures from the major families in City of Mo.
Mu Chen found out that someone in the Box No. 3 was bidding. Mu Ke, Mu Yuanfeng, and Mu Yuanhang were in that private room.
Ye Shi said in disgust, "A bunch of cowards! To buy a talisman to run away from danger! They are useless.”
Mu Chen rubbed his nose and agreed, "Yes! You are right. These guys are useless."
Ye Shi gave Mu Chen a cold look, and said, "Can you afford it?"
Mu Chen shook his head and said, "I can't afford it." Even at the starting price, he could only afford half of it.
"If you can't afford it, how can you say that they are useless?" Ye Shi glared at Mu Chen and said.
Mu Chen, "..." Because I said it to please you.
Ye Shi sighed, resting his head on the table full of frustration and said, "I can't even afford meat."
Mu Chen took the opportunity to say, "You can stay at Mu's house. I can’t promise anything else, but I assure you that you can have meat as much as you want.”
Ye Shi looked at Mu Chen with disgust, and sneered, "Why? Are you embarrassed of me because I'm working outside?”
Mu Chen smiled and said, "How could it be? I'm just afraid that you are working too hard, and I feel sorry for you!"
Ye Shi snorted coldly, glared at Mu Chen disapprovingly, and said, "I won't go to your house. I will kill pigs at the restaurant."
Mu Chen rolled his eyes, pondered for a moment, and said, "You kill pigs at the restaurant every day, but you don’t get a taste of pork. If you move in with me, I assure you that you will have pork knuckle every day. What do you think?”
Ye Shi swallowed his saliva and calmed down. He glared at Mu Chen fiercely, and said angrily, "Who do you think I am? Do you think you can buy me with a pig leg?”
Mu Chen raised two fingers and said, "How about two?"
Ye Shi panted and his eyes couldn't stop sparkling, and his heart was pounding. Ye Shi licked his lips and gritted his teeth, "Don't try to tempt me. I won't be tempted by you, you asshole."
Mu Chen looked at Ye Shi without blinking, weighed it for a long time, and said, "Then how about add one more roasted chicken."
Ye Shi stomped on Mu Chen's foot. Mu Chen jumped up, holding his foot, "What are you doing?!"
Ye Shi glared at Mu Chen in angry. Mu Chen closed his mouth embarrassingly.
Ye Shi angrily grabbed at his clothes. Mu Chen way crossed over the line. How could he resist the temptation?! Ye Shi snorted coldly and looked away.
The auction was going on. The Wind Controlling Talisman was finally auctioned off at the price of 67,000.
…………
After the Wind Controlling Talisman was auctioned off, the second item to be auctioned was much more mundane. It was a delicate talisman pan. The hair of the pan was made from the tail of a blood-tailed deer, and the barrel was made of gold silk wood which was precious. It was auctioned off at the price of fifteen hundred elementary stones.
Next, various weapons, elixirs, and talismans were auctioned one after another. People were crazy about it.
A dagger appeared on the stage. It was about a foot long. As soon as the dagger was taken out, Ye Shi's eyes lit up.
"This dagger, named Dragon Spring, was made by Wuya, the master of craftsmanship. It cuts iron like mud. The starting price is 300 elementary stones." The auctioneer introduced simply.
"Five hundred." As soon as the auctioneer finished speaking, Mu Chen said immediately.
Zhuang Yu, who was sitting in the hall, frowned and said, "He sounded like Mu Chen."
Chen Moran nodded and said, "Yes, it should be him."
Zhuang Yu squinted and said, "Didn't he use a sword? Why is he suddenly interested in a dagger?"
"Have no clue." Chen Moran shook his head and said.
The price was quickly increased to 800, and finally the dagger was bought by Mu Chen at the price of 1,200 elementary stones.
"Mu Chen is rich." Chen Moran said with envy. Before, he asked Mu Chen to borrow elementary stones, but Mu Chen refused. Now Mu Chen spent so many elementary stones to buy a lame dagger.
The staff of the auction house sent the dagger to the private room and delivered it to Mu Chen.
Ye Shi tried his best to pretend he didn't care, but his eyes were still unconsciously fixed on the dagger, and his eyes were full of desire.
"Here you are." Mu Chen handed the dagger to Ye Shi.
Ye Shi looked at Mu Chen and asked bewilderedly, "Give it to me? Why?"
"Don't you like it? It is yours if you like it." Mu Chen said.
"What are you up to?" Ye Shi looked at Mu Chen suspiciously.
Mu Chen smiled, turned his head sideways, and said jokingly, "I'm up to something bad."
Ye Shi glared at Mu Chen, took the dagger from Mu Chen's hand, and said, "You said you gave it to me. I won't pay you anything."
Mu Chen nodded and said, "Don't worry. It's all yours."
Ye Shi put away the dagger with satisfaction.
"Next, it is Ice Lotus Water. This bottle of Ice Lotus Water is made from the most precious Thousand-leaf Lotus. It is of great benefit to the practitioners who practice water element skills.
The base price is 2,000 elementary stones." The auctioneer's voice was loud and clear.
Mu Chen's face sunk. Ye Shi felt weird about Mu Chen’s change.
The fastest places for news to spread were restaurants, except for brothels. Ye Shi worked at a restaurant. He had long known that Zhuang Yu had always wanted Ice Lotus Water, and his admirers had always been looking for it for him.
"Three thousand." As soon as the auctioneer finished speaking, a beautiful voice said.
The bidder was Shui Linglong, a young lady of the Shui family. Shui Linglong practiced the Ice Heart Art. If she got the Ice Lotus Water, it would be of great help.
"Three thousand five hundred." Chen Moran called.
"Four thousand." Shui Linglong frowned and said immediately.
"Four thousand five hundred." Chen Moran called, but he sounded like he was not that confident.
"Five thousand." Shui Linglong said with certainty.
"Five thousand one hundred." Chen Moran gritted his teeth.
The voice of bidding stopped for a while, and then said again, "Five thousand two hundred." Shui Linglong said.
Mu Chen squinted his eye. Shui Linglong sounded like she was about to run out of money. According to the original story, the person who competed with Shui Linglong for Ice Lotus Water would be Mu Chen, and Shui Linglong would hold a grudge against Mu Chen because of this.
Mu Chen looked aside. He was determined not to participate in the competition for the Ice Lotus Water. But after he quitted, would Zhuang Yu still be able to get the Ice Lotus Water?
