Before auction
From Master Xia Tao's perspective:
After Mei woke me up in the morning and we had breakfast, we found ourselves in the garden, sipping tea. Mei sat near me, marveling at the fish in the pond alongside me as we enjoyed our tea.
"Ah, Mei, it's such a beautiful morning. I could spend my entire life like this, watching the fish in the pond with you by my side. When we establish ourselves in Whispering Gale Sect, we should create a garden and a pond there as well, so we can enjoy peaceful mornings" I remarked, relishing the tranquility of the moment.
"Yes, absolutely, Young Master. We will definitely have a pond in our sect where we can savor tea in such a serene atmosphere" Mei replied with agreement.
A thought crossed my mind. If there's an auction happening, the protagonist is likely to be there. I could imagine him either acquiring something extravagant or getting into a dispute with someone. Oh, I have an idea.
"Mei, I know you have some interesting individuals under your supervision" I said, observing Mei's reaction.
"What do you mean, Master? I am the head of your maids, and I have maids for various household tasks" Mei replied, seemingly unfazed by the topic of discussion.
"No, Mei, what I mean is that I need someone who can discreetly monitor a person cultivating at the Strengthening of Foundation 9th level, possibly even beginning Purification of Essence. And if necessary, they should be able to neutralize or remove any unnecessary obstacles. Do you have such individuals under your command, or should I approach someone else?" I asked, sipping my tea, oddly finding that both Mei and I had expressions on our faces as if we were discussing the weather.
"Well, I can't say that I have such a person, but if I did, what would you like them to do?" Mei inquired.
"I want this person to accompany us to the auction today and be there so that I can give them instructions. If I'm not mistaken, there will be someone there today who is destined to lose something important. Of course only if you do have someone with the necessary skill set, they should also be capable of tracking a person's movements, and they should anticipate that it won't be easy," I explained, intrigued by Mei's proposal.
"Hmm, I believe we can find a solution, Master. May I take a guess?" Mei asked.
"Be my guest" I said, intrigued.
"Do you not think that Ye Chen will be at the auction to make a purchase? After all, he's being sought by half the city. Even if they don't harm him inside, they will surely try to track him down afterward. A hundred thousand spirit stones is quite a sum for accurate information about someone at the early stages of their cultivation path" Mei suggested, tilting her head slightly.
I was impressed by Mei's insight.
"I'm impressed, Mei. How did you come up with that?"
"Just intuition" she replied with a smile. "But why are you so sure he'll come to the auction? He's being hunted by half the city"
"Oh, I'm almost certain he'll come" I said with a mystical smile
****
As the Protagonist:
Finally, it's the day of the auction. I've been working tirelessly since the mission, searching, eliminating, and selling Spirit Beast cores. It was dangerous, but I managed to accumulate 25,732 spirit stones. It should be enough for the vase to get my future Dual Cultivation technique. Ahaha! Plus, I saved Master Lin Zhi. He turned out to be a young master of the clan that owns the auction house. Not only did he grant me VIP access, but he also offered to lend me some stones if needed and arrange a secret passage for my escape afterward. He knows about the whole misunderstanding and how the entire city is searching for me. Ahaha! Being the protagonist is so exciting. I wouldn't trade it for anything.
The universe itself seems to help with solving my tasks and problems. It's a shame, though, that the wife of that man cut all ties with me. So what if her husband promised to send her to her mother? I wonder what kind of mother she has that she fears her to such an extent. Hmmm, maybe I should seduce her mother for the pleasure of both of them. Mmm, yes, it sounds good. If the opportunity presents itself, definitely! Ahaha! The universe will help me out, won't it?
"Oh, universe, arrange a threesome with Xu Mei and her mother for me" I jokingly prayed to the universe. But, of course, it doesn't work like that, right, right?
After breakfast, we headed to the auction house in the Lin family's carriage, accompanied by Lin Zhi. Carriages were gradually arriving, and people were stepping out. As we approached the entrance, I accidentally bumped into someone. Oh, what a funny guy. What is he doing here?
"Oh, sorry, kid. You're so small, I didn't notice you. Hmm, have we met before? Well, never mind, don't run around here. It's a serious event today, ahaha!"
I spoke a bit roughly. Oops, I should try to be more considerate. But hey, I'm the protagonist, right? Everything will be fine!
I was already anticipating how he would start bragging about how cool he is, who his uncle, aunt, or mother is, and how he would kill my entire family or wipe out the entire clan, blah blah blah.
Anyway, I'll be leaving this city today. The trial for joining the sect will take place in a neighboring town, which is not big either, but once a year, they hold sect entrance trials there. To my surprise, when the guy looked at my face, he initially looked shocked but then broke into such big smile that it made me uneasy.
"Ahaha, no worries, brother. It happens to everyone! Ahaha, good luck at the auction. I hope you find what you're looking for!"
"Ahaha, for sure, brother! Don't worry, I'll find it!"
He seemed like a good guy. I should remember him. It's always good to be friends with polite people. We exchanged satisfied nods and went into the building together.