Chapter 571: Putting on a Show of Stubbornness and Bargaining

## Chapter 567: A Price War Born of Spite

"It was simply luck; Commander Fan isn't a good swimmer." He Lingchuan could tell from his expression that he was skeptical. After all, Fan Sheng had been famous for a long time, and his fists were hard. The possibility of him losing to a seventeen or eighteen-year-old upstart was minuscule.

The atmosphere in Spirit Void City was boastful, with everyone being a master of exaggeration. Those with a mere two parts of skill often inflated it to ten. Even in the tiny, hole-in-the-wall restaurants by the market, paupers drinking inside would dare to claim they were about to embark on grand businesses worth tens of thousands of taels of silver. So, what was strange about Nian Zanli not believing it?

He Lingchuan didn't explain further, changing the subject to ask Fu Shanyue, "Did you find anything?"

Fu Shanyue shook his head.

"The Sky Rain Pavilion is about to auction off aged Blood-Soaked Vines soon," He Lingchuan said immediately. "Shall we go take a look?"

"What's there to see?" Fu Shanyue replied. He wasn't a rabbit; he had no interest in herbs.

"The scale-shedding disease of the Water Tribe needs to be treated with medicine made from the fruits of aged Blood-Soaked Vines." He Lingchuan was no stranger to Blood-Soaked Vines, having occasionally helped A'Luo gather materials in Coiling Dragon City. Interestingly, while this vine was common on the Chipa Plateau, it couldn't grow in Beijia, not even with artificial transplantation. "Our acquaintance needs it, right?"

"Zhongsun?" Fu Shanyue grinned, revealing a mouthful of white teeth. "Interesting. Let's go take a look."

He Lingchuan smiled at Nian Zanli, bid him farewell, and left the private room with Fu Shanyue.

It wasn't until they had walked out of the corridor that Fu Shanyue asked him, "Why were you talking to a surrendered general?"

He hadn't recalled it when they first met, but it clicked for him later.

He Lingchuan paused, "A surrendered general? From where did he surrender?"

Fu Shanyue remembered that He Lingchuan was a foreigner and unfamiliar with the nuances. "He was originally a general from the Yuang Kingdom. Last year, he rebelled and then defected to us in Beijia. However, the battle within the Yuang Kingdom last summer didn't go well. Although he claimed credit, he lost many of his subordinates. I heard he's always wanted to borrow troops from Beijia to return and seek revenge."

He Lingchuan found it amusing. "He lost even with his own troops; does he think he can win by borrowing more?"

"Exactly," Fu Shanyue scoffed. "Beijia has no shortage of surrendered generals. If he can borrow troops, I'll be impressed."

"Why such a deep obsession with fighting his former country?"

Fu Shanyue chuckled, "A surrendered general needs military achievements for us to hold him in high regard. Didn't I tell you, Beijia is never short of surrendered generals?"

As they spoke, the two had already walked along the winding stone path, ascending all the way to the Sky Rain Pavilion.

Although the pavilion was located at the highest point, it sat directly beneath a massive stone cliff. Water constantly dripped down from above, like rain from the sky, pattering rhythmically on the roof tiles and splashing into a delightful, clear symphony of sounds.

The Sky Rain Pavilion was also three stories high. Due to the high humidity, its walls were covered in vines of all sizes, a sight that reminded He Lingchuan of Coiling Dragon City's South Gate. However, the vines clinging to the Sky Rain Pavilion's exterior were certainly not something unsightly like man-eating vines. These vines bloomed beautifully in shades of red, purple, pink, and yellow, adding a vibrant splash of color to the late autumn.

Inside, the auction was in full swing.

By the time a servant led them into a small hall on the second floor, the auction for the Blood-Soaked Vines had already begun.

At first glance, this item closely resembled a relative of the man-eating vine, with a fearsome appearance and sharp thorns on its surface. However, it didn't feed on humans or animals, and the red liquid oozing from wounds on its vine body was not blood but sap. This vine possessed tenacious vitality but grew very slowly; it bloomed and bore fruit only once every thirty years, and the next time would again require another thirty years of waiting.

The Blood-Soaked Vines displayed on the stand had already produced light red berries. Only when the fruits turned deep purple would they be considered fully ripe and ready for medicinal use.

He Lingchuan had read the auction item description. This plant was originally most abundant on the Chipa Plateau of the Coiling Dragon Wilderness, but over a hundred years ago, when the wilderness turned into a desert, the plant also disappeared, becoming extremely precious.

This particular lot was transported from the eastern continent, timed carefully to its fruiting cycle, which was no easy feat.

He Lingchuan understood "no easy feat" to mean "the price would be exorbitant."

Oddly enough, Blood-Soaked Vines grew on land and barely needed watering throughout the year, yet their fruits could treat the Water Tribe's scale-shedding disease.

For weakened Water Tribe members, once their scales fell off, they would not regrow, and prolonged exposure of their skin to air or water made them susceptible to illness. Even if merfolk could come ashore, their descaled skin would often crack and bleed, making even water-retaining formations ineffective, causing immense suffering.

Thus, the hall was filled mostly with Water Tribe members or their representatives—after all, not all Water Tribe members could walk on land.

As Fu Shanyue entered the hall, his eyes scanned the room and lit up. Pointing to someone in the front row, he said, "The main person is here."

He Lingchuan looked and saw another blue-skinned Merman. His profile bore a slight resemblance to Zhongsun Mou.

"Another Zhongsun family member?" What good luck.

Fu Shanyue sneered, "That's Zhongsun Ce, Zhongsun Mou's eldest brother. He's the only one left of the Zhongsun family in their generation."

Zhongsun Ce's third brother died at Fu Shanyue's hands, and his second brother died due to He Lingchuan's scheme. What a twisted fate!

Currently, seven or eight parties on the floor were raising their paddles, fiercely bidding for ownership of the Blood-Soaked Vines.

Zhongsun Ce was one of the bidders.

He was still young and didn't need the Blood-Soaked Vines himself. He Lingchuan surmised he was bidding for his great-grandfather, Zhongsun Chi. After all, that merman was so old that he relied on elixirs of immortality to prolong his life, and his scales likely fell out, or didn't, entirely at their own whim, much like a centenarian's teeth.

This was important family business, and Zhongsun Ce had to attend to it, even while enduring the pain of losing his brothers.

After several rounds, only three bidders remained.

The unsuccessful bidders left the hall one after another, and the seat next to Zhongsun Ce became empty.

He Lingchuan pursed his lips towards the empty seat, and Fu Shanyue understood. He sauntered over and plopped down.

The moment Zhongsun Ce saw him, his face changed color. "What are you doing here?"

"I got tired from walking, so I came to watch the excitement." Fu Shanyue beckoned, and a young servant immediately came over with tea. "How is Old Master Zhongsun?"

Zhongsun Ce remained silent.

Zhongsun Mou's death had caused a huge uproar in the family, and then Envoy Duyun arrived to investigate the elixir of immortality case.

Neither of these matters could be kept secret. The rumor now circulating in Spirit Void City's upper circles was that the Zhongsun family was headed for great misfortune.

Old Master Zhongsun hadn't been able to eat or sleep well for several days, and his scale-shedding disease had flared up even worse, causing him constant itching and pain.

The family doctor had stated that numbing and anti-itch medications couldn't be taken long-term, which was why the Zhongsun family had set their sights on the Blood-Soaked Vines being sold at Dunyuan.

More than half of his family's current predicament was thanks to the very Crown Prince of Chiyan sitting before him, and now this fellow had the nerve to sit beside him and sicken him. Zhongsun Ce felt that not leaping up to strike him was a testament to his greatly improved self-restraint in recent years.

Fu Shanyue glanced at him, not bothering to take offense at his rudeness.

If he hadn't now been promoted to Crown Prince of Chiyan, Zhongsun Ce would likely have already started cursing.

He had previously been merely an unfavored prince in Spirit Void City; everyone knew the throne of the Chiyan Demon King would not be his, and the Zhongsun youths had not held back their taunts and sneers. Now, returning to Spirit Void City with the title of Crown Prince, he was here to savor the satisfaction of a glorious homecoming.

In the past few days, Spirit Void City's nobles and influential figures had all greeted him with smiles. Today at Dunyuan, anyone who saw him approached respectfully to address him as "Your Highness."

The feeling of triumph, tsk!

The greater the humiliation he had endured back then, the greater his current satisfaction.

During this time, two more rounds of bidding passed, and now only two competitors remained in the hall.

Of course, Zhongsun Ce was one of them.

After three more rounds, the other party also gave up. After all, eight thousand taels of silver for ten Blood-Soaked Vines was already an outrageous price. Although the scale-shedding disease was painful, its direct mortality rate was not high. Compared to eight million coins, most Water Tribe members felt they could endure a little longer.

With such a high price being reached, the auctioneer's voice had become magnetic: "Ten sixty-year-old Blood-Soaked Vines for eight thousand taels! Any higher bids?"

"Going once!"

"Going twice... Oh, a bid has appeared! Eight thousand five hundred taels!"

Someone actually bid again?

Zhongsun Ce turned his head and was astonished to find that the bidder was none other than Fu Shanyue!

He snapped, "Fu Shanyue, what are you doing!"

"Buying something, of course," Fu Shanyue said, picking at his ear. "Keep your voice down."

The auctioneer continued to announce the price and count down, so Zhongsun Ce had no choice but to raise his paddle, bringing the price to nine thousand taels.

Fu Shanyue raised his paddle without hesitation: "Ten thousand taels."

A small stir rippled through the hall.

Everyone knew that five thousand taels for these ten Blood-Soaked Vines was already an inflated price; no one expected it to double.

"What do you need Blood-Soaked Vines for?" Zhongsun Ce asked, suppressing his anger. "You don't even have scales on your body!"

"I recently took in a few fish demons as pets, and I keep them in the large lake at the royal palace," Fu Shanyue said with a smile. "The biggest one, that old fellow, has been shedding scales terribly lately. It keeps rubbing itself against the lake rocks all day, just like a dog rubbing against a tree root. I need to get it some treatment."

"You!" Enraged by the veiled insult, Zhongsun Ce was overcome with fury and punched him in the nose.

Fu Shanyue slapped his hand, grabbing Zhongsun Ce's wrist. He smiled a chilling, sinister smile, his four fangs glinting coldly. "Are you fighting me on dry land?"

His five sharp claws elongated and pierced Zhongsun Ce's wrist, causing blood to gush out instantly.

Zhongsun Ce formed a hand seal with his left hand, about to unleash a blast of ice at his face. Fortunately, several guards nearby immediately rushed forward, shouting loudly:

"Fighting is strictly forbidden in Dunyuan! Release each other!"

This was, after all, the City of Demons, where brawls were common, and the guards were particularly experienced in handling them.

Fu Shanyue flung Zhongsun Ce's arm away and licked the blood from his claws, then spat, "Ugh, it stinks of fish!"

Zhongsun Ce clutched his wrist, his jaws clenched tightly, clearly gritting his teeth.

As a guard tended to his wound, he stared unblinkingly at Fu Shanyue, saying coldly, "Are you determined to oppose me today?"

"I need this item too, so how can you say I'm opposing you?" Fu Shanyue replied, unhurriedly. "If you outbid me, the Blood-Soaked Vines are naturally yours."

Zhongsun Ce's face was ashen, but he raised his paddle again.

The auction, which had been interrupted by the sudden incident, was now able to resume.

After several rounds of back-and-forth bidding, the price had risen to fifteen thousand taels. Guests from adjacent halls heard the commotion and gradually gathered to watch the spectacle.

Bidding wars fueled by spite were always the best attractions at auctions.