The clamor faded as the figures dispersed, leaving the surroundings cavernous and the grand hall a wreck. Not only had countless seats been smashed by the Spirit Masters who attended the auction as outlets for their frustrations, but several of the surrounding private boxes were also blasted into splintered ruins.

Sheya stood stunned upon the circular platform, utterly alone; even the auctioneer had quietly slipped away. His eyes were fixed rigidly on the ball of crimson powder in his palm. Sheya’s eyes were bloodshot, his expression savage, the shame and fury he could barely conceal threatening to completely extinguish his reason.

"Who!"

After an indeterminate time, Sheya roared out a hoarse cry like a wounded beast. His handsome face seemed flattened, and two sharp fangs extended from his mouth. In his rage, signs of his head beginning to turn inward manifested, and a chilling aura radiated from his body, sending shivers down the spine.

"Crown Prince!"

She Ming suddenly appeared on the platform and sighed softly, gently clapping Sheya’s shoulder. He had entered the moment that 'Dragon Blood Soul-Bewitching Pill' turned to dust, but he had held back from showing himself. While the powerful figures at the auction might hesitate to assault a mere youth, his appearance complicated matters significantly.

Sheya jolted, his mind snapping back into a semblance of clarity. He glared fiercely at She Ming, his breathing ragged, "Uncle Ming, why is this happening? Did the Dragon Spirit Clan give us a dud medicine?"

"Impossible. After receiving the 'Dragon Blood Soul-Bewitching Pill,' we specifically had it inspected by a Seventh-Grade Spirit Apothecary. There can be no mistake," She Ming replied with a bitter smile.

"Then Gu Changgong, Yan Du, and Yuan Xunyu tampered with it?"

Sheya’s eyes were red. Before She Ming could speak, he shook his head himself, "Also impossible. Those three never touched the spirit medicine from beginning to end... Since none of those possibilities hold, how did the excellent 'Dragon Blood Soul-Bewitching Pill' suddenly become useless? Uncle Ming, what exactly is going on?"

Sheya gripped his head, howling hysterically. A perfectly organized auction, right at the moment of successful acquisition, had spiraled into disaster, turning him into a massive laughingstock without him even understanding why! How many people in Spirit Imperial City must be mocking him now!

Especially that adulterous pair, Nie Kong and Long Xuechan!

Thinking of them, Sheya felt his entire heart being shredded by a venomous snake. Then, his eyes flickered: "Nie Kong? Could it be him?"

"Him? He’s merely a mere Pill Spirit Master."

She Ming scoffed dismissively. "I was watching him closely when he accepted the spirit medicine the day before yesterday. Under my very nose, what could he possibly have done?"

"Then who else? Did the Dragon Spirit Clan secretly swap the medicine?"

"..."

She Ming fell silent. This possibility was infinitesimal. He himself was a Heaven Spirit expert, and the spirit medicine had been on his person right up until the auction. If the Dragon Spirit Clan had truly dispatched a Heaven Spirit Master to steal the medicine, his strength would surely have detected it.

After a pause, She Ming said helplessly, "Crown Prince, the deed is done. Fretting now is useless. We need to figure out how to explain this to the Serpent Lord."

Sheya was suddenly struck with a chilling realization, and his mind cleared instantly. Yes, even if he uncovered the reason now, it wouldn't restore the pile of powder back into the spirit medicine. If he couldn't devise a suitable countermeasure, he would certainly face severe consequences upon returning to the Serpent Spirit Clan!

She Ming reminded him, "Crown Prince, isn't there Nie Kong? He is a disciple of Spirit Imperial City's inner sector, and it is rumored he has a very good relationship with Gu Changgong. If he was worried that Long Xuechan might fail, perhaps he asked Gu Changgong to cause trouble at today's auction? Do you think Gu Changgong would agree?"

Sheya frowned, "Gu Changgong never touched the spirit medicine!"

She Ming chuckled darkly, "But he is a Seventh-Grade Spirit Apothecary. Perhaps he possesses some secret technique capable of ruining the spirit medicine. Moreover, whether he touched it or not is irrelevant; it only matters if the Serpent Lord believes it!"

"Yes! Yes!"

Sheya suddenly understood, "And that dog couple, we must..." As he spoke, Sheya paused, glancing toward the main entrance of the auction house, where Long Yi was striding in. Seeing his figure, Sheya was immediately reminded of his kinswoman, Long Xuechan, and his expression turned instantly cold.

Long Yi stated calmly, "Brother She, it is time for us to depart!"

"Depart? Depart for what?" Sheya sneered.

Long Yi’s face darkened, "Brother She, the wager between you and Xuechan can conclude now. Do you intend to violate the agreement we have with the Dragon Spirit Clan?"

"..."

Sheya instantly choked on his words. He desperately wanted to say: Let that transaction go to hell!

Unfortunately, he was merely the Crown Prince of the Serpent Spirit Clan, not the Serpent Lord, and he lacked the strength to be defiant. The matters concerning Long Xuechan and Long Meixian had pushed the Dragon Spirit Clan's tolerance to its absolute limit. If he continued to cling to the issue after the wager concluded, the Dragon Spirit Clan would certainly cease being polite.

He could gauge this simply by looking at Long Yi’s current expression!

"Very well, Brother Long, we shall depart immediately."

Sheya took a deep breath, nodding reluctantly through gritted teeth. Then he turned to She Ming, instructing him with significant meaning, "Uncle Ming, you stay behind. Depart after you have finalized the cleanup at the Blood Pressure Auction House in a few days. Remember, you must take excellent care of our friends."

"The Crown Prince need not worry; I will certainly take great care of them!"

...

"Take care?"

In the top-floor pavilion of the Red Mansion tavern, Long Xuechan’s beautiful eyes widened. "Little Brother Nie Kong, is 'taking care' what you call completely draining all the vitality from that 'Dragon Blood Soul-Bewitching Pill'?"

Upon returning, Long Xuechan could no longer restrain herself and urgently questioned Nie Kong about the reason the spirit medicine had suddenly turned to powder. As for the "moment of explosive contact" at Sheya's auction house, the two tacitly agreed to ignore it, though their glances when meeting carried an unavoidable strangeness.

"Not all of it, but the vast majority."

Nie Kong chuckled slyly. The day before yesterday, Nie Kong had feigned evaluating the 'Dragon Blood Soul-Bewitching Pill' specifically to absorb the vitality contained within the medicine while simultaneously injecting a thread of death energy into it. After two days, that thread of death energy would completely squeeze out the remaining life force of the spirit medicine. Then, once the stopper was removed, the medicine, unable to withstand the stimulus of massive elemental spiritual energy from heaven and earth, would naturally decompose into a useless pile of powder.

"Little Brother Nie Kong, you are truly wicked, but big sister likes it." Recalling Sheya’s look of incredulous madness at the time, Long Xuechan felt that all the grievances and anger from the past month had completely vanished, replaced by an indescribable sense of elation. Then, her delicate face sobered, and she said earnestly, "Now that I know the reason, big sister can finally rest easy. Um, Little Brother Nie Kong, I still have some matters to attend to, so I won't keep you."

"Alright, Sister Chan, I shall take my leave first."

Nie Kong stood up with a grin. Before his form merged into the void, his eyes deliberately glanced towards Long Xuechan’s gently shifting hips on the chair.

Long Xuechan's plump, high posterior instantly froze, and her cheeks involuntarily grew warm. Since returning from the auction house, she hadn't had time to change her clothes, and the damp sensation was quite uncomfortable. She hadn't expected that a slight movement would be noticed by the sharp-eyed Nie Kong, and she shot a fierce glare at the spot where Nie Kong had vanished.

"Little scoundrel!"

With a charming little curse, Long Xuechan gracefully rose and walked behind the curtain. After a rustling sound, a faint, petulant moan drifted out from within: "Little scoundrel, you used so much force, you bruised and swelled sister's intimate spot! Next time, sister will definitely get revenge!"

A while later, Long Xuechan emerged from behind the curtain. Her green dress had been replaced by a loose black robe, and a delicate flush, as if rouged, adorned her fair cheeks. As she settled back onto the recliner, Long Xuechan let out a soft "Ah," pulling out a spirit scroll from her bosom. A spiritual thought dissolved into it, and immediately, the corners of Long Xuechan’s lips curved upward into an intoxicating, subtly charming smile, "I can finally bring Little Scoundrel back to Dragon Island!"

...

...RO