156 The Grand Auction (1)

"This is the Golden Mane Lion from the Willow woods." a hint of pride can be detected in the auctioneer's voice as he pointed towards the roaring beast inside the cage. It did not betray it's name for it's mane was shinier than gold and it seemed thick too.

" Heh, it is said that no one returns alive from that place once they enter. How did these guys catch a lion?" the sarcasm in her voice was clearly evident.

" But they can't stop animals which leave the forest, can they?" He Chun spoke faintly with his eyes still locked on the auction stage.

' Ah! So, that's the case.' Xia Lian nodded silently in understanding.

" Where did Bao Su go? It seems that I should give you a more responsible guard." Xuan Li Wei gritted his teeth. What was that fellow doing? If he was doing his work properly the little girl would not have been surrounded by all these pests. He was seriously considering to fire that irresponsible fellow.

" I sent him on a mission. He will not be back anytime soon." Xuan Li Wei's mood did not improve even after hearing her explanation.

Xia Lian started to praise Bao Su completely oblivious to the gloomy prince's dissatisfaction. " Li Wei, your shadow guard is truly reliable. He trained me in qing qong and in the art of sword fighting. The most attractive thing about him is his vast amount of knowledge on various things. No matter what I ask, he always has an answer."

Bao Su is attractive? It was he who trained all his shadow guards. Why is that he is the one who is getting beaten and his shadow guard was the one who is getting praised?

It was unfair!

" I was the one who trained him." his voice came out almost like an inaudible whisper, but Xia Lian who was seated beside him heard his complaining voice clearly.

" Only a well trained and excellent general can produce such good saplings." Xia Lian tried hard to maintain a straight face while praising the man before her.

Was he a kid sulking on such trivial matters? On seeing the smug smile of victory on his face after she praised him, she glared at him " So, don't even think of taking Bao Su away from me!" Xuan Li Wei could only nod, how could he reject her words.

One can say that many are fond of this Golden Mane Lion as the price reached 50,000 gold coins.

" 60,000" A man dressed in blue silk robes shouted.

Not willing to back down, a plump man in green robes proudly announced "70,000"

" 90,000" A slim and tall man with beard covering most of his face, yawned in a lazy voice. The audience seemed to be riled up as the prices began to soar up again.

"100,000"

"150,000"

The bidding went on as it stopped at 400,000. The auctioneer glanced around the room only to find pin drop silence after the man in beard bid at 400,000 gold. It was a huge sum for a lion.

" Then 400,000 it is." saying that he rang the bell for the first time. There was no response from the crowd and he proceeded to ring the bell for the second time.

" 800,000"

Just as the auctioneer was about to ring the bell for the third time, a seductive voice which seemed to draw everyone like a magnet echoed throughout the room. Everyone started to whisper as the women in the room started to fawn over the voice of this unknown man.

Out of all the women in the room, only Xia Lian had a different reaction. She felt that this man was quite good at making others mad and it seemed that he was very rich like the modern day CEOs who were described in the novels, arrogant and narcissist.

That poor man bid at 400,000. If he wanted the lion so badly, could he not bid at 500,000 and leave that man a bit of face. Instead, he bid at 800,000 twice the original amount showing off his money and humiliating the man. She had to say that man valued his face a lot and he was a shrewd. She found something to play with.

Xia Lian's lips curved up into a smile as she stared at the auctioneer to speak.

" The new bid is 800,000." He rang the bell for the first time.

" 900,000." The voice of a middle aged man startled everyone. Everyone glanced at the room on the third floor from where the voice came.

In the private room, Xia Lian had a lazy smirk on her face accompanied by the mischievous glint in her eyes, making her look extremely attractive under the hazy light of the lanterns. All the men in the room froze as she shouted 900,000 in a foreign voice startling them.

They did not understand her sudden interest in the lion, but before they were able to ask her they were awestruck by her side profile under the light.

Whoosh!

It was not known how but a large cloth landed on her face, making everyone come back to reality as they awkwardly shifted their gazes.

Lu Wen stared at Xuan Li Wei who was covering Xia Lian with a large cloth with an expressionless face. This gesture made Lu Wen to have a 0.001% change in his opinion on Xuan Li Wei. If he thought of Xuan Li Wei as the biggest fly earlier, he now promoted him to the post of good biggest fly. No matter how good he was, he was still coveting the little girl who was now his, Lu Wen's sister. So, he will always remain as a fly in Lu Wen's eyes.

" How did this land on my face?" Xia Lian asked while removing the cloth from her face.

" I thought of dumping it in the bin, who knew that it would land on your face. Even the cloth knows that you are a waste bin." Lu Wen spoke up as he did not want to put Xuan Li Wei in an awkward position.

Xuan Li Wei was pleasantly surprised whereas Xia Lian spat out each word while gritting her teeth while glaring at her big brother venomously " Let's settle our debts later. Don't provoke me now."

Lu Wen nodded his head obediently making the girl go mad.

Just as she was about to retort, she heard the seductive voice shout out loud, if she was not mistaken she found traces of annoyance in his voice.

"1,800,000."