Chapter 576

If there weren't big shots occasionally erupting, how boring would a harmonious auction be?

He Lingchuan had long since sat down beside Fushan Yue, and at this moment, he reminded him in a low voice: "Zhongsun Ce is about to give up." Zhongsun Ce's eyes were wandering, and his bidding had also begun to hesitate, not as firm as before.

He had thought about letting the Blood-Irrigation Vine fall into Fushan Yue's hands; whoever bought this thing for fifteen thousand and took it home would have a big head.

Fushan Yue grinned at Zhongsun Ce, revealing a stack of treasure notes in his hand: "This is the money your brother paid to the Special Envoy on the day he went missing, a full fifty thousand taels. I'll use it to buy the Blood-Irrigation Vine."

When Zhongsun Ce saw the treasure notes, his eyes turned slightly red, and he said in a deep voice: "Sixteen thousand taels!"

That's right, Fushan Yue smiled.

Not a single note of the treasure money He Lingchuan earned himself would be given to him. Fortunately, Zhongsun Ce was so provoked that he was dizzy and hot-headed, and had no mind to distinguish.

This round of bidding continued until nineteen thousand taels, and the whole hall was silent.

The auctioneer on the stage called out twice, while Zhongsun Ce stared viciously at Fushan Yue, wishing he could eat him alive.

Fushan Yue sighed: "Give it to him."

The small wooden gavel tapped a few times, sold!

When Zhongsun Ce took the Blood-Irrigation Vine, his eyes were also red as blood.

When paying the money, he sobered up, knowing that the price of his hot-headedness was nineteen thousand taels.

But at this moment, he couldn't say anything. Facing Fushan Yue, he threw down the words, "From now on, you'd better not fall into our hands," and strode away from the scene.

For this essential line of a villain leaving the scene, Fushan Yue didn't take it to heart at all. He stretched and stood up to walk out, saying to He Lingchuan: "Refreshing, truly refreshing!"

He Lingchuan said: "I see the Zhongsun family is in a bad mood; I'm afraid they will retaliate against you."

"Let them come." Fushan Yue didn't care at all, "The old man of the Zhongsun family still has some tricks up his sleeve, but at a time like this, he's too busy to take care of himself; how would he dare to come and find trouble with me?"

Cen Boqing insisted that Zhongsun Chi used longevity medicine privately; this was a hidden mine. The Zhongsun family was now glaring at the Cen Mansion and the Grand Minister of Agriculture, nothing more than to insist on their innocence.

At a time like this, offending Fushan Yue again would be truly unwise.

Chiyan was the victim in the longevity medicine case, and the Chiyan Crown Prince himself had made contributions in the investigation; no smart person should choose this time to offend him.

Just as they walked out of the entrance, someone greeted them, clapping lightly:

"Wonderful, I didn't expect a few herbs to attract such a fierce struggle."

The voice was somewhat familiar.

Fushan Yue didn't feel anything, but when He Lingchuan saw this person, his pupils suddenly shrank, and his scalp went numb.

Tall, with sharp features and a heroic spirit.

Another old acquaintance.

He Lingchuan never expected to run into him here.

This damn unexpected encounter!

Fushan Yue also recognized this person and said in surprise: "General Hong, when did you return to Lingxu City?"

"Last month." This person's gaze was scorching, staring fixedly at He Lingchuan, as if he wanted to burn a hole in him. When he entered the hall just now, he thought he had seen wrong, and only after rubbing his eyes repeatedly did he confirm it.

Seeing this, Fushan Yue asked: "Do you know each other?"

He Lingchuan didn't make a sound, his fists clenched in his sleeves, his back stiffened due to the unexpected crisis. This person, however, said: "Don't know him, won't you introduce us?"

"He Xiao, this is General Qingwu Hong Chenglue, a famous general of our Beijia."

"General Hong, this is my case-handling Special Envoy He Xiao."

At this very moment, He Lingchuan's mind raced, flashing through countless thoughts.

Hong Chenglue knew his background! Hong Chenglue also had a blood feud with him! What to do now, turn and run or draw his sword and kill him?

Should he sit still? Hong Chenglue could never be as blind as Nian Zanli; how would he treat him?

"Handling a case?" Hong Chenglue seemed to be steadying his breath too, "What case?"

"The longevity medicine case, have you heard of it?"

Hong Chenglue nodded slowly: "So it was handled by He Xiao! Young and promising, where did Your Highness find such talent?"

He emphasized the two words "He Xiao."

"He is from the Fu Nation."

Hong Chenglue gave a long "Oh": "Fu Nation."

It was late autumn, and He Lingchuan only felt that everything he inhaled into his lungs was cold air, yet he forced a smile at Hong Chenglue: "General Hong, why are you visiting Dunyuan?"

Hong Chenglue saw him first, and the initial excitement had calmed down: "I heard that this Dunyuan auction has Boundless Gold; even if I can't buy it, I want to come and watch the fun."

Fushan Yue also remembered this treasure: "That's right, the auction of Boundless Gold is worth seeing. Has it started yet?"

"Starting immediately, in Hanxiang Hall." Hong Chenglue was actually able to smile, "Shall we go take a look together?"

No one else had any objections, so they walked down the steps and headed toward Hanxiang Hall.

Along the way, Hong Chenglue asked about the longevity medicine case.

This was Fushan Yue's proud work, and he answered every question.

After all, having been through life and death several times in reality and the Soul Village, He Lingchuan also quickly freed himself from the state of being caught off guard and nervous, even chiming in a few words when Fushan Yue introduced him.

Hong Chenglue didn't immediately call out his identity or draw his weapon, so there was room for maneuver.

For now, he could only take it one step at a time.

The conversation between these three was eerily harmonious.

Fushan Yue asked again: "The war on the eastern front is tense, what are General Hong's plans recently?"

"Not yet." Hong Chenglue's smile was a bit stiff, "I haven't been back long; such a good job as going out to fight a war might not be my turn yet."

Just as Fushan Yue said earlier, Beijia had many famous generals but had been at peace for a long time. There were few opportunities to earn military merit; who wouldn't want to go to the east to lead troops in battle? He Lingchuan listened, his thoughts turning rapidly.

Hanxiang Hall was crowded with celebrities.

He Lingchuan looked up; the previous batch of auction items had been removed, and new items were placed on the stage. It seemed that a few people had said a few words to the auctioneer on the stage, and the auctioneer nodded repeatedly.

Before everyone was seated, the auctioneer raised his voice:

"Auction item number 1111, an unknown curiosity shaped like a bull's horn, is now starting to be auctioned!"

He Lingchuan was startled.

Wasn't this the thing that the Divine Bone Necklace had taken a fancy to earlier? Didn't the attendant by the display cabinet say it would be auctioned at Tianyu Tower? Why did it change to Hanxiang Hall?

However, it was perfectly normal for auction items to have their exhibition halls and order changed temporarily, so he didn't think much of it.

At this time, two of Fushan Yue's old friends greeted him, arm in arm.

Without Fushan Yue as a middleman, Hong Chenglue's gaze turned to He Lingchuan for the first time: "Shall we talk?" After saying that, he glanced at the corner.

The main hall of Hanxiang Hall was very large. Because the auction had already begun, everyone was gathered in the middle, and only attendants and guards stood in the corners of the hall.

He Lingchuan took a light breath and walked over with him.

It was noisy at the display stand, and he had no mind to listen anymore.

With no one around, Hong Chenglue said: "You spy, you have a lot of guts."

"Foreigners traveling in Beijia come from all over the world; are they all spies?" By this time, He Lingchuan had already calmed down. There was a bottle of fine wine beside him, but he didn't want to do anything to provoke Hong Chenglue.

"After the Hanhe Battle, I was always annoyed that I didn't give He Chunhua two more stabs." Hong Chenglue thought he had killed his enemy, but he hadn't, "Returning to Beijia, I heard that He Chunhua was still alive. Heaven has mercy, sending you to me!"

"Kill you, send your head to He Chunhua; in a few days, I'll send him on his way with you!" The resentment in his eyes was about to burst out, and the energy around his body surged, almost like a thunderbolt in the next second.

He Lingchuan immediately raised his true qi, and the Floating Life Blade was also about to emerge. He had fought Hong Chenglue before and knew how terrifying his full-force blow was.

Even if this wasn't in the middle of ten thousand troops.

In this instant, endless thoughts flashed through He Lingchuan's mind. If Hong Chenglue truly disregarded everything and forced an attack in Dunyuan, how would he take it?

The difficulty of this battle was higher than fighting Fan Sheng in Baishajue.

Even if he could fight Hong Chenglue, how would he deal with the endless trouble that followed?

The attendants around felt the tension and murderous aura between the two, and all subconsciously stepped back two paces, not even thinking of coming up to mediate.

Who knew that at this moment, a small thing suddenly flew between the two, speaking in human language:

"Guests, good! Would you like tea, or wine?"

This was clearly a small person half an arm high, its wings on its back vibrating like a hummingbird, holding a tray in its hand with tea cups and wine glasses on it.

If his full attention hadn't been on guarding against Hong Chenglue in front of him, He Lingchuan would probably have been very surprised, thinking he had gone to the wrong set, as even little elves appeared here.

He had heard that there was a type of tree spirit in the Giant Wood Forest in the west, which was born in human form with four wings on its back, and could speak human language after training.

But in reality, this little person's face was dull, its eyes had no light, and its movements were somewhat stiff, clearly not a living thing.

In fact, it wasn't just it; there were seven or eight other little people flying around, delivering tea and wine to guests, and some even delivering chewing tobacco and snacks.

But the unexpected appearance of this little thing suddenly interrupted the intertwined energy between Hong Chenglue and He Lingchuan.

That sense of crisis that was on the verge of breaking out suddenly dissipated.

The two stared at each other, not saying a word.

Both had calmed down.

Funnily enough, the little tree spirit also stopped between the two, motionless.

After a long time, He Lingchuan reached out and took a glass of wine.

This action meant he intended to call a truce.

He said seriously: "A Jin's death has nothing to do with me."

Hong Chenglue sneered: "Zhao Pan and Nian Zanli fighting a war has nothing to do with my wife A Jin! Why did He Chunhua want to kill her?"

He Lingchuan sighed: "The poison she swallowed was not given by us."

A Jin swallowing poison was something no one could have predicted.

The murderous aura in Hong Chenglue's eyes did not fade: "I know, so Wu Qing is already dead."

Wu Qing was the contact person Beijia assigned to him, and also the one who gave the Cold Dove Powder to A Jin. Hong Chenglue endured in the Yuan Nation until he returned to Beijia and was restored to his official position before killing Wu Qing.

When official position and power returned together, killing this person was as easy as slaughtering a dog.

"If it weren't for this person's deliberate intent, A Jin wouldn't have been able to get the real poison at all. So—" He Lingchuan said in a low voice, "—the one who killed A Jin was the Beijia behind you."

When he was by He Chunhua's side, he was still young and hadn't thought of this layer.

After having experience and looking back on the past, it was not difficult to find the truth.

(End of chapter)