novelraw Chapter 1044 - 570: Juan Niang’s Probing (2)
Chapter 1044 - 570: Juan Niang’s Probing (2)
At the same time, each guest will receive a bracelet with a numbered tag. The auction venue offers both hall seats and private boxes, with bracelets in red and gold colors. Ning Xiaoxian, for convenience, booked a private box early, thus she received a gold bracelet marked with "Number 732."
She only brought Jiu Mo and Faceless inside. Jiu Mo is in the Early Stage Tribulation Crossing, has lived for many years, and naturally has broad knowledge, whereas Faceless has a demand for metals here. It’s not that she didn’t want to bring more people, but Heavenly Residence rules specify that except for invited guests who can enter freely with invitations, bringing each additional person requires paying a security deposit of 150,000 Spirit Stones. This effectively controls the number and order of people; although this deposit is refunded when guests plan to leave the Heavenly Residence shop, those coming here are intent on buying items, so bringing fewer people means having 150,000 more Spirit Stones to allocate, thus most guests do not bring more than three attendants inside.
Including the box fee of 50,000 Spirit Stones, she hadn’t yet entered the auction venue but had already spent 350,000 Spirit Stones.
Just like last time, she entered Bai Yujing through the Little Thousand Mirror, where a servant was already waiting on one side. Seeing the VIPs enter, they immediately stepped forward to greet them and checked the bracelet number tags.
"Box Number 732. Guest, please follow me!" The servant before Ning Xiaoxian bowed slightly, then led her briskly to the most magnificent building within Bai Yujing—the Star-picking Tower.
The closer she got, the more she felt the grandeur and majesty of this building. Light rain dripped onto the eaves and tiles of different floors of the Star-picking Tower, producing crisp sounds of varying depths, as beautiful as music. Seeing her listen attentively to the sound of rainwater, the servant sensibly slowed his pace and said in a low voice, "These are music-playing green tiles, capable of creating different musical melodies on rainy days, and showing colorful glaze under clear skies."
Ning Xiaoxian smiled and said, "It’s nice to hear."
The Star-picking Tower has a total of seventeen floors, and her box is on the ninth floor, with the main auction category being Divine weapons. As she ascended, holding the white jade stairs, she discovered that each floor’s design resembled either a Roman amphitheater or a stadium from another world—enclosed and circular, with a spacious, flat central area paved with marble bricks. Hard couches and long tables were arranged for guest seating, and a small platform rose in the auction area to display items, where ceiling lamps were cleverly set to ensure focused lighting on items on the platform.
Beside it are the separated private boxes. Each box covers an area of around thirty square meters, with its entire wall facing the central venue sealed with glaze, allowing VIPs to clearly observe the central situation while ensuring that outsiders see only darkness inside. The glaze wall is embedded with a light board powered by a small Array, where guests can instruct their attendants to write prices. From the auctioneer’s point of view, the light board outside participating boxes will flash twice, and then display the bid in striking red letters.
Behind the servant is a wall with sixteen Water Moon Mirrors, reflecting the scenes of auctions on other floors, allowing the first-hand grasp of other venue conditions with the servant’s explanations.
The other three walls of the box are soundproofed with Secret Techniques, preventing others from eavesdropping and allowing guests to openly discuss matters. Jiu Mo tried, but she couldn’t use Divine Thought to perceive even a whisper from the adjacent box.
The box decor is not luxurious but extremely comfortable; guests can recline half-lying on their soft couch and participate in bidding. Each box comes with exquisite snacks and fruits, to occupy the prestigious guests’ time. Ning Xiaoxian glanced around; although the fruits here are not rare to Hidden Stream Demons, it is deep winter now, and the cherries, grapes, and tree tomatoes on the table still had tiny droplets on them, looking fresh and appealing. Being summer fruits, it shows the Chamber of Commerce took great care in details.
Notably, this year, guests entering Bai Yujing can enjoy Spiritual Tea for free, including mortal tycoons attending the auction. VIP treatment in the boxes is even better, with unlimited supply of Spiritual Tea. Ning Xiaoxian realized that quite a portion of Spiritual Tea purchased by Heavenly Residence was intended to be consumed here. Yet, compared to the huge benefits gained, what is this free tea? Instead, it wins good impressions from the customers.
She had just sat down when there was a gentle knocking at the door.
The servant, upon her signal, went to open the door, where stood a woman in black, thin, tall, with high cheekbones.
Ning Xiaoxian immediately recognized her as Juan Niang, whom she had briefly seen at the slave display area a few days prior. Their eyes met in the air; Ning Xiaoxian blinked, while Juan Niang flashed a slight smile and stepped inside to bow politely, saying, "Elder Ning, I am Juan Niang, the First-class Steward in charge of Box Number 732. If there are any questions regarding the auctions, you may ask me directly."
Is this a show of power? A confrontation? Indeed, here in Bai Yujing, within Heavenly Residence’s territory, Juan Niang might be here to probe if she knows who took the Spiritual Tea. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please visit qidian.com to vote for recommendation or monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please go to m.qidian.com to read.)