Chapter 75: Chapter 286: Do You Suspect Me?
“Unfortunately, based on subsequent developments, there were likely more than just those few inside.” Liu Yingyue smiled helplessly, her delicate face showing clear signs of fatigue.
“What do you mean?” Qi Huang quickly pressed.
“Young master should know that while our auction house holds regular auctions every evening, valuable items like Cat’s Eye Tears require pre-heating to fetch a good price. The longer the better. So, five to six days after you left last time, we held another auction for Cat’s Eye Tears. Two bottles were sold in total, each fetching nearly thirty thousand taels of silver.” Liu Yingyue explained in detail.
“Why were only two bottles sold at an auction house?” Qi Huang was astonished, not expecting her estimate of three to four bottles to be too high.
“Young master may not know, but the reason Cat’s Eye Tears are valuable is because they are extremely scarce. The dozens of bottles you provided are enough for all the Immortal Sects in Yongning Prefecture to use for several months. If too many are auctioned at once, the market will be flooded. Therefore, they must be released slowly. This is the saying ‘rarity breeds value.'” Liu Yingyue patiently explained, though she omitted one reason: the longer the auction period, the more beneficial it would be for Juyin Auction House in Yongning Prefecture to build its reputation.
“Ah? Sorry, I’m too foolish.” Qi Huang felt incredibly embarrassed.
“Young master is not in this line of business, so it’s natural not to understand the market conditions,” Liu Yingyue said understandingly, her expression then quickly darkening. “To sell at a good price, I initially planned to hoard them. But fate has its own plans. Since that day, our auction house’s clients have been murdered at intervals. Not only can we not hold auctions for Cat’s Eye Tears, but even regular auctions are difficult to conduct on time. Every time the Civil Officials come, they investigate for days. This time, they’re even planning to seal our auction house.”
“It seems the inside informants haven’t been completely eliminated.” Qi Huang nodded thoughtfully, then a question arose in her mind, and she asked, “No, why would the Yamen seal your place? What does it have to do with Juyin Auction House?”
“I don’t know either. Perhaps, as Constable Peng said, because the victims have always been clients of Juyin Auction House, we are highly suspected.” Liu Yingyue said with a low mood.
“But this doesn’t fit the Yamen’s behavior? It’s said they colluded with your Manager Fu before, embezzling the belongings of the deceased. Why are they so serious now? They’re letting go of valuables and looking for trouble with you.” Qi Huang found something illogical.
“I think it’s because you helped me get rid of the insider, Manager Fu, so those corrupt officials were scared and decided to mend their ways,” Liu Yingyue speculated.
“Is that so?” Qi Huang smiled noncommittally. She always felt this idea was too naive, but she couldn’t prove it, so she complained with displeasure, “Manager Liu, forgive me for being blunt. Since such incidents have happened repeatedly, you should have done a better job of keeping secrets. I can’t always arrive in time.”
“Young master, you may not know, but since clients were murdered at Juyin Auction House, I’ve done all the security measures I could. Especially after the last incident, I dismissed all the clerks responsible for registration and personally received all guests in this private room. Except for occasionally having Xia Wei assist, no one knows who the clients are and who the bidders are,” Liu Yingyue tried her best to explain, a look of helplessness on her face.
“Xia Wei?” Qi Huang mused over the name.
“You can rest assured about Xia Wei. She’s an orphan adopted by my father, and we’ve been like sisters since childhood. She couldn’t possibly be an inside informant,” Liu Yingyue quickly explained.
“Then could someone have secretly looked at your registration book?” Qi Huang speculated.
“Young master, don’t laugh at me. Since the incident at our auction house, none of the clients who came here dared to leave their real information. They all used false names, so even if someone saw the registration book, it would be useless,” Liu Yingyue said with a self-deprecating smile.
“Then it’s strange. Since the registration information is false, and it’s useless if others see it, how did the inside informant know who the clients were?” Qi Huang was quite speechless.
“Yes, I’ve been racking my brain too. I even hired people to renovate this room meticulously. Not only is the soundproofing excellent, but there are no gaps or anything, so it’s impossible to see what’s happening inside from the outside,” Liu Yingyue added.
“See?” Qi Huang muttered to herself, then her eyes lit up. “Could it be…”
“Did young master think of something?” Liu Yingyue quickly asked.
“If there is a cultivator among the inside informants whose strength has reached Guiyi Realm or above, then these four walls are indeed as good as nothing, as they cannot block Spiritual Sense.” Qi Huang stated her guess and then briefly explained the ability of Guiyi Realm cultivators to project their Spiritual Sense.
“Then what should we do? I don’t know how to guard against a cultivator’s Spiritual Sense,” Liu Yingyue suddenly became flustered.
“Just guarding against it is useless, as you can’t defend forever. Taking the initiative to strike and uproot the enemy is the most secure method,” Qi Huang proposed her opinion.
“Uh…” Liu Yingyue’s face became more awkward. She nervously fiddled with the hem of her skirt with her jade hands, and after a long time, she said, “It’s just… I don’t know where to start investigating, and even if I did, my subordinates might not be able to deal with cultivators in the Guiyi Realm.”
“Don’t worry, I can help you solve this matter,” Qi Huang immediately volunteered.
“Really? That’s great!” Liu Yingyue’s face bloomed like a flower, and the dark clouds vanished.
“However, you have to help me with something too.” Qi Huang seized the opportunity to state her request. Although she liked beautiful women, she wasn’t desperate enough to be a lapdog. After all, without hormones, her lower body could no longer influence her reason.
“Please, young master. As long as Yingyue can do it, I will do my utmost,” Liu Yingyue responded eagerly.
“Heh heh, Manager Liu is quite straightforward. You didn’t even consider it carefully before answering. Aren’t you afraid I’ll take advantage of your situation and make demands like wanting to experience your charm?” Qi Huang said playfully.
“Uh… I believe in young master’s character,” Liu Yingyue blushed deeply and said in a voice as faint as a mosquito.
“I want Manager Liu to help me inquire about some rare medicinal ingredients and information about that large spatial Magic Treasure. It would be best if you could obtain them, of course, and I will pay for it,” Qi Huang managed to suppress her racing thoughts.
“No problem. Although I was forced to come to Yongning Prefecture, my connections in the Imperial Capital are still intact. I’m sure I can help young master,” Liu Yingyue assured confidently.
“That’s good.” Qi Huang also felt relieved, then listed the three medicinal ingredients she needed.
“Heavenly Red Earth White, Ten-Thousand-Year Blood Vine, and Red Rimmed Great Luo Umbrella.” Liu Yingyue repeated them, her expression becoming somewhat serious. “I’ve studied some medicine before. These three medicinal ingredients are indeed very rare, but as long as they are still available on the market in the Xihui Dynasty, I will definitely find them for you, though it might take some time.”
“It’s alright, Manager Liu, just do your best,” Qi Huang said very permissively. If her Main Body couldn’t make it, she would break into the top twenty of the Immortal Seed Ranking herself. She didn’t believe anyone among her peers could be her match.
Since they had agreed to help, Qi Huang naturally had to fulfill her promise and help find the inside informant.
After a moment of thought, Qi Huang’s eyes lit up. “Manager Liu, isn’t there something you find very strange?”
“Please, young master, enlighten me,” Liu Yingyue said respectfully.
“Your security work is so good, and even few people in Juyin Auction House knew about the clients. So who is this so-called ‘informed person’ that Constable Peng mentioned? Why would he know that the person who died in the inn was the owner of the ‘Prosperous Dynasty Post’?” Qi Huang voiced her confusion.
“Did Constable Peng say that?” Liu Yingyue seemed uncertain.
“Of course, he did. He said it to you directly in this room. Otherwise, why would he come to you directly for trouble?” Qi Huang reminded her.
“Indeed, my security work wasn’t good before, and there were many inside informants in the auction house. Manager Fu sent people to the Yamen to falsely accuse others; that’s understandable. But now, only Xia Wei and I have the information. So, who is this so-called informed person?” Liu Yingyue said thoughtfully.
“There’s no need to hesitate. This so-called informed person must be the murderer,” Qi Huang concluded without hesitation.
“That’s right,” Liu Yingyue also agreed.
“I didn’t expect to have found him so quickly,” Qi Huang said with a triumphant smile.
At that moment, Liu Yingyue’s expression changed, and she looked at Qi Huang with a vigilant gaze. “No, why do you know what Constable Peng said to me before? If I remember correctly, you didn’t even enter the main door back then, did you?”
“Ah?” Qi Huang froze on the spot. After a long moment, she realized what was wrong and asked foolishly, “Do you suspect me?”
