Chapter 71- Divine Napkin

He brought himself closer to Yun Ning's ear and whispered, "That scroll…is a used napkin,"

…

Silence ensues as Long Ren deactivated the dome while still laughing by himself. He still couldn't believe what was happening right now, and to be honest, neither can Yun Ning.

There are zero reasons for Long Ren to lie to her, at least not in this situation, meaning that whatever he said to her must be true.

A "divine artifact", fought over by countless high-status cultivators turns out to be a used napkin?!

WHAT?!

"Wha…you're joking right?" She asked, her eyes blinking every so often, trying to make sense of his words.

"Haha, Nope, 100% serious…Oh right, here," When he flipped his palm, a cube appeared, the very same cube Nid had left for him. "Although it's a bit faint, you can feel the same energy right?"

He moved the cube around and forcefully radiate Nid's remaining aura, just enough for the close Yun Ning to sense but not to alarm anyone else.

Yun Ning touched the cube and indeed, the very same aura radiates from the cube! She looked at Long Ren with a surprised gaze. "Where did you get this?"

"Hehe," Long Ren laughed off, He put his index finger against his mouth and whispered, "Secret~, Shh…"

He didn't want to reveal everything about Nid just yet as it still poked a deep fold within his heart; perhaps later.

Yun Ning noticed his smile and realized his hidden meaning, and there was nothing she could do because her friend seems to be hiding a lot of secrets from her.

Although understandable, it still made her feel excluded, so she vented as how she usually does.

*Stare~~*

(A/N: Quick question, can you guys immediately understand what it implies if I replace *Stare~~* with *Jiii~~*, cause I can, but IDK about you guys.)

…

After a while. Yun Ning had stopped her antics and went back to watching the auction unfolding. With the new extra piece of information, watching the auction just made her feel a bit complicated.

The current bid is still held by the Peng Clan young master with a bid of 180 diamonds…for a used napkin.

It made her wonder what the guy's reaction would be had she told him he bid 180 precious diamonds for literal trash. His body might just deform even more out of regret and shame.

"Should we tell master about this?" Yun Ning asked. She believes something of this caliber would make Star Clan's higherups react as well, and she does not want her clan to waste 180 diamonds.

Long Ren shook his head, "Here's the thing," He said, "I got this cube from Star Clan's territories,"

Yun Ning heard him and immediately realized, "So that scroll is given by Star Clan?"

Long Ren nodded, "Yup, unless someone managed to infiltrate into our grounds, then Star Clan must've realized what it is and sold it," He said, laughing a bit nefariously.

He guessed the reason for this specific scroll to have that much of Nid's aura is that Nid used it a lot, or once, but for something major.

She probably left it in the cave after she went up. He couldn't check the cave as he passed out, so Star Clan must've hoarded in everything she had.

They did provide her with the initial unused scrolls for her use, so they noticed the scroll worth nothing except for having a powerhouse's aura within it. A mighty and pricey facade, if you will.

It is but Star Clan's luck that Nid's aura is as unfathomable to the Auction house as it is to them, making their made-up story of a mighty and mysterious scroll to be so believable.

Long Ren guessed that all of Star Clan's higher-ups must be laughing in their pants right now, just as he did. He wondered whether they will announce what it is after getting paid.

A very bad move, mind you, but a fun one regardless.

…

200! 210! 220!...

Moments later, the deformed Peng Clan's young master had dropped out of the war as the started to whales join in.

280! 330!

450!!!

…

The bid now stands at a staggering 450 diamonds! Held by private room 5. The hall was quite as the room made the call, no one seemed to want to contest anymore..

Most of everyone is clueless as to who resides in room 5, but their momentum only kept rising as they effortlessly outbid each bid that everyone else threw out, leading to the current situation.

Most of, if not everyone, would think of the scroll to end up on private room 1's hands as in it resides the royal family, but even they allowed room 5's momentum to happen.

Either room 5 is that mighty and rich, or they poured literally every single ounce they had to acquire the item. Either way, no one wanted to bid anymore.

"450 going once…" Yue'er said, looking around once more, hoping anyone would bid.

"450 going twice," She did the same thing once more, yet alas…She sighed inwardly at the cowardice of everyone in the room, specifically the loud public area as she reluctantly close the bid, "

"SOLD! To Private Room 5 for 450 Diamonds!" She said with a bright smile on her face. Her heart though, not so much.

Regardless, everyone cheered in their hearts as the auction successfully concluded its final bid without any mishaps.

Everyone, barring a few exceptions like Old Man Ale, enjoyed participating and watching the show. Something they can only experience once every ten years and anticipated is bound to be cheerful.

After every big auction, such as this, the house hosted some sort of after-event party where guests can socialize even further, or solve some disputes passive-aggressively, anything goes really.

The stage had dissolved itself completely right after Yue'er took her leave. Now, most of the area is empty as multiple tables filled with foods and beverages appeared one after another.

…

(A/N: Very short…not feeling really well right now Smoge. Hopefully more will come)