Part 3
Yousi was also choked up. My god, one at the beginning and one at the end, both banshouren, yet the price difference is this ridiculous?
It wasn’t even a fraction of the first one!
As the host pulled back the red cloth to reveal the species inside the box, everyone fell silent. Finally, someone laughed in anger. “Are you freaking kidding us?”
The host looked innocent. “This is just the beast form. The human form is quite refined. He’s just too lazy to transform, so we had to carry him up like this.” Since the one they wanted to sell for a high price had already sold, they didn’t care anymore. “Now, for this Jinqian Turtle banshouren… starting price, five million xingbi.”
Someone was beyond furious. “A tortoise is a tortoise! Why are you pretending it’s a ‘Jinqian Turtle’?”
Host: “They are different. Look at the three lines on its back. This truly is a Jinqian Turtle, no deception involved.”
If the Jinqian Turtle had appeared first, someone might have bid. It wasn’t much money. but compared to the initial renyu, this turtle was simply an eyesore. In the end, no one contested it, and Ning Yunyi won it for five million xingbi.
Yousiās mood was even more complex. He had initially prepared fifty million, but the first one cost eighty million. Then he geared up for this one, and it only cost five million?
The host was even more sympathetic toward this generous guest. “So, will the guest be paying the full amount now?”
Ning Yunyi stood up calmly. “I can. However, since I’ve already spent one hundred and thirty million, aren’t you going to give me a discount on this one?”
It was five million xingbi, after all. He had to save where he could.
When he spoke, not only the host but the remaining guests were dumbfounded. [??] You spent over a hundred million, and now you’re haggling here?
Ning Yunyi: “Is there a problem? You won’t lose out on a ‘buy-one-get-one’ deal, will you?”
Meeting Ning Yunyiās sharp gaze, the host felt a bit guilty. It seemed this gentleman had seen through them. But since the buyer wasn’t afraid of being robbed and seemed prepared, the host consulted the boss and actually agreed to the “buy-one-get-one” deal.
The Jinqian Turtle, which had been swimming and flipping in the adjacent tank, was stunned when it heard it was a “free gift.” Although he was small and weak, they didn’t have to be that dismissive, right? He was hauled up at the same time; how could they just waive his price like that?
After Ning Yunyi transferred the funds using an encrypted virtual account, he happened to meet the Jinqian Turtleās resentful little beady eyes. After staring for three seconds, the turtle kneltāfigurativelyāvery quickly. It recognized its new master immediately, flipped over, and performed a fancy turtle roll. It was… quite flamboyant.
Yousi rubbed his chin nearby. “Not bad. We can set him in the living room to perform for the holidays. After all… anything free smells better.”
The Jinqian Turtle, who was performing vigorously: “…” If it weren’t for the fact that you’re the ‘Mistress,’ I’d spit a mouthful of water in your face.
After paying, Ning Yunyi had Yousi hold the box containing the Jinqian Turtle. He used the red cloth from the tank to wrap the blind renyu from head to tail, slung the creature over his shoulder, and said directly, “Let’s go!”
The auction had been going on for a while. If the Crown Princeās men knew, they were likely already on their way. They had to leave before then.
Yousi also knew the gravity of the situation. He dropped his playful attitude, snapped the lid of the turtle box shut, tucked it into his arms out of habit, and followed Ning Yunyi out with large strides.
Jinqian Turtle: [??] Whereāwhere did he just tuck me and my box? Is the male master not going to do anything?
He hadn’t spent nearly a hundred years lying flat in a lake just to become a pet for such an unrefined ‘Mistress’!
Ning Yunyi and Yousi left with the two creatures right on time. Not long after they departed, a squad of high-level jingshenli experts appeared at the club. Unfortunately, they were too late and found nothing. Even after getting the direction of departure and chasing after them, there wasn’t a single trace left.
The team searched for a long time but ultimately found no trail. The leader, his face pale under his mask, could only head to the palace to report.
The adjutantās face was also unsightly when he heard the news, realizing the implications with a sense of dread. He glared at the leader. “You… pray for your own luck.”
If it were any other banshouren, the Prince might have spared him. But if it was that one… the Prince wouldn’t let the man before him live.
When the leader followed the adjutant inside, the Crown Prince was sitting in a wheelchair, feeding the fish in the palace pond. But the fish were too large, with fat heads and tails, making the Prince feel rather bored.
After hearing the leader’s words, the Princeās hand, which had been feeding the fish, slowly stopped.
He tossed all the bait into the water, turned around, and stood up from the wheelchair. He walked directly to the leader, his voice surprisingly gentle and smiling. “You’re saying you let that silver-haired renyu go? And someone took him?”
The leaderās forehead was pressed against the ground. Hearing that the Princeās tone seemed okay, he breathed a sigh of relief. “Your Highness, please forgive me. It was this club that had its own schemes. They feared that if they delayed, someone would snatch such a rare renyu, so they hid the news and invited people to an early auction. I… received the news too late. The couple who won the renyu took him and vanished immediately, leaving no trace… I suspect that couple might be from the Banshouren Alliance.”
If he hadn’t mentioned the Alliance, it might have been okay, but at those words, the Prince suddenly laughed. Yet the sound was eerie and sinister.
“I told you to find the renyu, not to report to me after the fact. So he’s still alive… Then you should have either brought him back or… killed him. Instead, you let him escape. Haha. Tell me, since you’ve made me so angry, how should I punish you?” The Prince’s voice rang out above him. He was clearly smiling, but the meaning behind his words made the manās entire body go cold.
What did the Prince mean? He hadn’t wanted the renyu for his pond; he wanted it dead?
Could it be that the Prince knew this silver-haired renyu? Or from the very beginning, his order to find it wasn’t about capturing it, but confirming if it was still alive?
Unfortunately, the man wouldn’t get a chance to know the truth. He suddenly felt a hand placed on his palm. Before long, he felt his entire jingshenli being drained away. In the moment he collapsed, he felt regret. Had he known, he wouldn’t have reported immediately; he should have looked for them. Perhaps then he could have made up for his failure and wouldn’t have had to die.
The adjutant also dropped to his knees, not daring to utter a single word for fear of being caught in the crossfire.
The Prince slowly wiped his hands, not looking back. “Dispose of all the exotic fish in this pond. I don’t want to see anything related to fish for a while. Also, immediately put out a warrant for this renyu. I want him alive or dead. And… do not let his face be exposed to outsiders. If necessary, even if you can’t kill him, destroy his face.”
He had let him escape once; he wouldn’t let him escape a second time.
The adjutantās voice shook as he struggled to respond, “…Yes.”
On the other side, Ning Yunyi and Yousi brought the renyu and the Jinqian Turtle to a secret base of the Banshouren Alliance. However, they bypassed others to get there; only Rui Hu knew.
When they arrived at Rui Huās private residence, his injuries had mostly healed, though his jingshenli hadn’t fully recovered. Seeing the two of them carrying something in, he jumped in fright. “Who is this?”
Ning Yunyi set the renyu down. Because of the lack of water, its skin was becoming parched. Even so, it still hadn’t reverted to human form. Ning Yunyi frowned and squatted down, poking the creature’s shoulder through the red cloth. “You’ll die of dehydration like this. Change back to human form.”
As long as they changed to human form, the issue could usually be resolved, though they couldn’t maintain it for long, as banshouren without jingshenli were rare.
But this was the only renyu they had ever seen; the specifics were unknown.
As Ning Yunyiās voice fell, the creature reached out and pulled the red cloth from its face, revealing a face beautiful beyond words. Because they were unfocused, the pupils looked like they were staring at people yet not. The youth stared blankly ahead. “Change to human form? What is changing to human form?”
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thank you for the chapter!