The manager, thinking he had found the Grand Priest’s weak spot, smiled triumphantly.
Nangong Yi’s expression darkened as he looked at the manager, ready to say something, but he saw the Grand Priest raise his hand.
Seeing this, Nangong Yi said no more.
The Grand Priest spoke calmly, “You can try.”
The manager’s smile froze. “You’re not concerned at all?”
“I am concerned,” the Grand Priest said coldly. “I care about him, but that doesn’t mean you can use him to threaten me.”
“Nor does it mean you can threaten the Crown Prince.”
“Before today, no one had ever thought of harming Nangong Mian or targeting him. After today, if anything happens to Nangong Mian, I will take all of you to the grave with him.”
“All of you,” the Grand Priest said icily. “Everyone.”
“Including your families.”
The manager trembled, clearly not expecting him to say something like that.
“Spare the innocent”—everyone knew that saying. But if someone dear is really killed by another, how could there not be anger?
If there were no anger, how would entire families be wiped out?
The Grand Priest looked at him, his gaze as deep as a starless night.
“Don’t think you can hide,” the Grand Priest warned. “You understand what foresight means, don’t you?”
“I can not only foresee the events of the heavens, but also those of people. And I can use that ability to find someone,” the Grand Priest said. “You can’t escape.”
With that, the Grand Priest said no more and left.
Nangong Yi followed a step behind the Grand Priest, looking at the manager as he left. “Cloud Auction House may have powerful forces backing it, but they may not be willing to protect you. And besides…”
“The incident at the Northern Snow Plains—wasn’t Cloud Auction House involved in that?” Nangong Yi said indifferently. “I’ve heard that the Palace Master of Mirror Snow Palace has joined forces with the Crown Prince of the Xuanling Empire to retaliate against Cloud Auction House.”
The steward’s expression flickered, but he said nothing.
The people from Cloud Auction House had caused trouble when they entered the academy, which provoked retaliation from Mirror Snow Palace. That was why the Dragon Spirit Fruit wasn’t auctioned in the Xuanling Empire’s auction house but was instead sent to the Tianqi Empire.
He hadn’t expected trouble to arise in the Tianqi Empire as well.
Nangong Yi sneered and said nothing further.
Watching the two of them walk away, the steward’s face twisted in anger. Once they were completely out of sight, he slammed his hand on the table, shattering it.
“Manager…”
A servant, seeing this, asked, “Should we still capture them?”
The steward looked at him coldly. “Capture them? Did you not hear what they just said? Or do you have a death wish?”
Naturally, the servant didn’t want to die, but if they didn’t capture someone, how could they negotiate with Crown Prince Diqin to make him back down?
Capturing someone was clearly not an option.
If they did, no matter where they fled, the Grand Priest would never let them go!
“All of you, leave me alone,” the steward ordered. “I need to think about how to handle this.”
The servants immediately withdrew.
Sitting alone in the now-empty guest hall, the steward’s expression was grim.
He had thought he was dealing with a weak opponent, only to find out that the “soft” target was anything but.
The scandal surrounding the Dragon Spirit Fruit had already damaged the auction house’s reputation. While this was harmful, as long as they weren’t officially shut down, they could still argue it was a misunderstanding.
But once they were shut down, they would have no way to explain themselves.
Not only that, but being shut down for three months would cause enormous financial losses to the auction house!
Admitting fault?
That was out of the question.
He had concealed the truth with the hope that if she died, it wouldn’t matter. But admitting guilt? Diqin and the others might not accept that—they might even become angrier…
367
The steward, faced with formidable opposition and powerful adversaries, struggled for a long time without coming up with any viable solutions.
Just as he was at his wit’s end, his communication stone began to flicker. Seeing the word “Master” appear within, the steward was startled and immediately infused his power into it to activate the connection.
“Master…”
Before the steward could say more, a deep, raspy voice came through from the other side. “What have you done?”
The steward asked cautiously, “Master, why are you asking this?”
A cold chuckle came from the other end. “That devil, Fóxīn, suddenly issued me a warning, saying the cause stems from the Tianqi Empire’s auction house. Do you still want to ask why I’m asking?”
Upon hearing this, the steward was utterly shocked.
How had this incident ended up involving Fóxīn?
If the rumors painted Crown Prince Diqin as cold and ruthless, then Fóxīn was a far more terrifying reality—a living embodiment of those rumors, amplified several times over.
Fóxīn’s heart was likely darker than black!
While ordinary people in small countries of the empire may not know the truth about Fóxīn, most believed that all monks were protectors, guardians of the continent.
But in reality…
Fóxīn was worse than a devil!
He killed without blinking an eye, and even a mountain of corpses and rivers of blood wouldn’t move him in the slightest!
For someone like that to contact the Master directly and issue a warning—what could have happened?
“You’d better tell me exactly what happened,” the man on the other side demanded, barely suppressing his anger. “If you don’t, it won’t be long before your head ends up in Fóxīn’s hands.”
The steward was shocked. Hastily, he recounted everything that had happened in detail, not daring to lie or embellish a single word.
“Idiot!”
After hearing the steward’s explanation, the man fumed, “Do you think I don’t keep tabs on you all? Do you really believe you can do whatever you want?”
“Jingxue Palace, the Tianqi Empire’s royal family, the First Family, Fóxīn, and even the Imperial Academy—you’ve offended all of them while I was in seclusion?”
“The reason Cloud Auction House is able to acquire such rare items for auction is twofold. First, we guarantee they’ll sell for high prices. Second, we maintain connections.”
“Having connections makes it easier to gather what you want. But now, you’ve foolishly offended so many people! Absurd!”
“I had thought I could entrust Cloud Auction House to him, but now I see he’s just a fool!” The “him” being referred to was the young master of Cloud Auction House.
It was with his approval that they provoked Jingxue Palace.
“You will personally go and apologize to this person named Huang Quan,” the man ordered. “Diqin, due to his health issues, lived in Fódū for some time, and Fóxīn became close to him. That’s why Fóxīn is stepping in on his behalf. But Diqin is doing all this for that woman. As long as she is willing to forgive you, I can then negotiate with Fóxīn, and this matter will be resolved.”
The steward quickly responded, “Understood.”
“Don’t disappoint me,” the man warned. “If you fail, you won’t be able to save your own head.”
The steward quickly assured him, “I will succeed.”
“You’d better.” With that, the glow of the communication stone faded.
The steward clenched his teeth, then headed out.
He was going to apologize.
And since it was an apology, he had to prepare something—something that would show more sincerity!
…
At the academy.
Huang Quan had just finished bathing when she received a message from Diqin.
After hearing what he had to say, Huang Quan replied, “So, he’s coming to apologize to me?”
“Yes,” Diqin said. “He will definitely come.”
“An apology isn’t necessary,” Huang Quan said. “Qin Qin, I’m afraid I will have to let down your kind intentions.”
