Chapter 45

"Misunderstanding?" Huang Xiaolong sneered, "Are you now certain that the cultivation technique lost at your auction is not the Black Moon Art?" In fact, Huang Xiaolong also knew that the other party's claim of a memory lapse and the so-called lost cultivation technique at the auction was just a fabrication.

There was no such thing!

Lin Yuan forced a smile, which was more painful than crying, "Certain, certain it was a mistake on my part!"

At that moment, a voice suddenly rang out from outside, "Who has the nerve to cause trouble at my Dufeng Auction House?!" Then, a series of footsteps approached, indicating that quite a few people had arrived.

Lin Yuan's face lit up with joy.

Then, a middle-aged man with a full beard and extremely thick eyebrows led dozens of people into the inner hall.

The inner hall was quite large, and the dozens of people entering did not make it feel crowded.

After entering, the middle-aged man's expression darkened when he saw the dozen or so guards lying on the ground, groaning.

"President!" Lin Yuan, seeing the middle-aged man enter, hurriedly rushed to him, "President, save me!"

This middle-aged man was none other than the president of the Dufeng Auction House, Du Baize.

"What happened?" Du Baize's eyes turned cold as he asked.

Lin Yuan hesitated for a moment, then pointed at Huang Xiaolong and the others, saying, "President, when you were away a few days ago, our auction lost a high-grade Xuan-grade cultivation technique, and these people stole it!"

High-grade Xuan-grade cultivation technique? Upon hearing this, Du Baize suddenly turned his head and slapped Lin Yuan, sending him flying.

Lin Yuan let out a惨叫 and crashed into the corner of the inner hall.

The room fell silent, and Huang Xiaolong, Fei Hou, and the others were taken aback.

Lin Yuan shakily got up from the ground, his mouth full of blood, holding his left cheek, and looked at the president in disbelief, "P, President."

"Do you think they stole our cultivation technique and then brought it to our auction to sell?" Du Baize looked coldly at the struggling Lin Yuan.

Only a fool would believe Lin Yuan's utterly flawed lie.

Lin Yuan's face turned red, "P, President, I, I."

"Do you think I don't know about the recent incidents of forced buying and selling that you've been hiding from me?" Du Baize's eyes were icy, and Lin Yuan's body trembled, his face turning pale, "P, President, this, this."

"Enough, don't say anything more. If it weren't for your sister, I would have crippled you long ago. Wait, I'll settle accounts with you later! Get out!" Du Baize waved his hand, and someone took Lin Yuan away.

At this moment, Du Baize turned to Huang Xiaolong and Fei Hou, "I am Du Baize. I apologize for the poor management that led to this incident."

"It's fine," Huang Xiaolong said, "Since everything is clear now, that's all right."

"What cultivation technique are you planning to auction?" Du Baize asked, waving his hand to have the guards who had rushed in leave.

With the misunderstanding cleared, Huang Xiaolong didn't stand on ceremony and sat back down, taking out the Black Moon Art.

"High-grade Xuan-grade cultivation technique, Black Moon Art." Du Baize looked at the Black Moon Art Huang Xiaolong had taken out, just as surprised as Lin Yuan had been.

"That's right," Huang Xiaolong said, "I need money now, so I won't auction it. I'll sell it directly. How much can President Du offer?"

Du Baize pondered for a moment and said, "350,000. What do you think of this price?"

350,000!

Huang Xiaolong was somewhat surprised.

If it were auctioned, the Black Moon Art might fetch 350,000, but since he was selling it directly, Du Baize was offering such a high price!

However, Huang Xiaolong quickly understood Du Baize's intentions. The high price was to establish a good relationship with him.

Without further ado, Huang Xiaolong sold the Black Moon Art to Du Baize for 350,000.

A while later, Du Baize personally escorted Huang Xiaolong and the others out of the auction house.

"President, although the Black Moon Art is a high-grade Xuan-grade cultivation technique, wasn't 350,000 a bit too high?" An elder behind Du Baize cautiously said, "Moreover, they severely injured our guards."

Du Baize looked at the retreating figures of Huang Xiaolong and the others, his eyes deep, and shook his head, "You don't understand." He naturally saw that Huang Xiaolong and the others were not ordinary. If he could establish a good relationship with Huang Xiaolong, he had a feeling that the auction house would benefit greatly in the future.

After leaving the auction house, Huang Xiaolong and the others went directly to the real estate market. After some selection, Huang Xiaolong finally bought a mansion called Tianxuan for 250,000 gold coins.

This Tianxuan Mansion was not far from the Marshal's Residence, just three streets away, and it took about half an hour to walk from the Marshal's Residence to the Tianxuan Mansion.

The Tianxuan Mansion was quite large, covering nearly a thousand square meters, which was a crucial reason for Huang Xiaolong's purchase. He planned to start training and cultivating his own forces, and only a sufficiently large mansion would do.

Although he was now the leader of the Asura Gate, the Asura Gate was not a force he had established himself.

After buying the Tianxuan Mansion, Huang Xiaolong took Fei Hou and the others to the slave market. Since he now had his own mansion, he needed to buy some slaves to manage it.

A while later, Huang Xiaolong and the others left the slave market, having bought sixteen slaves. Among the sixteen, four were beastmen, two were elves, two were mountain dwarves, and the remaining eight were humans. Seeing that Huang Xiaolong had bought two dwarves, Fei Hou was somewhat puzzled, as most people did not buy dwarves as slaves. However, since Huang Xiaolong was the leader, Fei Hou did not ask.

Huang Xiaolong and the others took the sixteen slaves directly to the Tianxuan Mansion without returning to the Marshal's Residence first.

Upon arriving at the Tianxuan Mansion, Huang Xiaolong toured the place. The mansion had over a dozen large rooms and several courtyards, and there was a large square at the back. Overall, he was satisfied, but since the mansion had been abandoned for some time, there was quite a bit of grass growing in the corners and courtyards.

Huang Xiaolong selected a beastman named Bolie from the sixteen slaves and had him arrange for everyone to clean and tidy up the Tianxuan Mansion.

After doing all this, Huang Xiaolong took Fei Hou and the others back to the Marshal's Residence.

However, just as Huang Xiaolong was halfway back, he suddenly heard a familiar, joyful voice behind him, "Xiaolong!"

Huang Xiaolong was taken aback and turned around to see a graceful figure rushing towards him—it was Li Lu!

Wasn't Li Lu in Canglan County? How did she come to the capital?

"Xiaolong, it really is you!" Li Lu rushed over, her face beaming with joy, and then she hugged Huang Xiaolong.

A fragrant scent filled the air.

Huang Xiaolong smiled bitterly, not expecting to run into Li Lu in the capital.

"Xiaolong, why are you in the capital too?" Before Huang Xiaolong could speak, Li Lu asked happily.

Why are you in the capital too? Huang Xiaolong was momentarily at a loss for words.

"Are you here to apply to the Starry Sky Academy too?" Just as Huang Xiaolong was unsure how to respond, Li Lu asked.