Chapter 233: I Choose Her
“I’m not joking! No matter how far away you are, she will protect you for one day if you are not home for a day. If you are not home for a year, she will protect you for a year. If your home is too far away, then she is your person.”
Liu Yingyue reiterated firmly.
“My person? Don’t you intend to ask for her opinion?”
Qi Huang glanced at Xia Wei’s seductive figure beneath her fitted attire and swallowed hard.
“Don’t worry, Ninth Miss, I guarantee the mission will be completed!”
Xia Wei immediately stood at attention and accepted the order.
“Guarantee what nonsense! Can’t you see she’s trying to sell you off?”
Qi Huang exclaimed agitatedly, reminding her. She definitely liked beautiful women, but she cherished her life even more!
“Is there a problem? I am already Ninth Miss’s person!”
Xia Wei calmly retorted.
“Alright! But…”
Qi Huang opened her mouth, then tilted her head to stare intently at the plaque above, trying to confirm if she had come to the wrong place.
“What are you looking at, Young Master?”
Liu Yingyue asked ambiguously.
“I want to see if I’ve come to the wrong place. This says Auction House, right? Not some Juyin Security Agency?”
Qi Huang asked uncertainly.
“It’s an auction house, but it’s about to become a security agency.”
Liu Yingyue gave a self-deprecating smile, a trace of loneliness appearing on her beautiful face.
“What the heck?”
Qi Huang tilted her head, her doubts multiplying.
“Xia Wei, you also know that escort missions are full of dangers. Be careful with everything.”
Liu Yingyue urged with concern.
“Ninth Miss, don’t worry. Even if I die, I will die before her.”
Xia Wei made a firm promise.
“Who’s going to die! Don’t curse me!”
The more Qi Huang listened, the more speechless she became. She was just going home, why was it like going through a sea of fire.
Of course, despite her complaints, she admired this girl named Xia Wei for her integrity.
“Young Master, to be honest…”
Liu Yingyue hesitated before speaking, “In recent years, our Yongning Prefecture’s Juyin Auction House has been targeted. Anyone who comes here to entrust items for auction encounters danger as soon as they leave the entrance, which is why I sent Xia Wei to protect you.”
“So that’s how it is!”
Qi Huang suddenly understood. After a moment of thought, she asked doubtfully, “Who is doing this? Why are they doing it? Do you have any clues?”
“The motive for harming clients is none other than to cut off our source of goods. Therefore, I think this matter is mostly the work of our competitors. As for who exactly it is, I have no evidence, so I don’t dare to speculate rashly.”
Liu Yingyue was quite honest and did not hide anything.
Qi Huang nodded secretly, realizing that such malicious competition was common in any industry.
“Young Master, do you know that if my Juyin Auction House still had the prosperity of ten years ago, your Cat’s Eye Tears tonight could have sold for at least ten thousand more taels of silver?”
Liu Yingyue said sentimentally.
“Shopkeeper Liu, what do you mean by that? Does the client’s accident affect your business? Isn’t the price of auction items determined by the bidders? And the source issue shouldn’t be difficult to solve, right? If others dare not entrust, can’t you just buy them directly?”
Qi Huang asked doubtfully.
“Young Master, you’re thinking too simply. Firstly, about the source issue you mentioned, our Juyin Auction House auctions items, and at least half of our clients are like you. If they want to sell, why wouldn’t they go to a pawnshop directly?”
Liu Yingyue reminded, then patiently explained, “As for the second point, the client’s accident not only affects our business, but it is also very fatal. Although our auction house advertises a few days in advance for each auction to build momentum, what’s the use of having many bidders? Once the client has an accident on that day, the auctioned item will become a relic and be taken over by the government or family, and the auction will naturally be canceled. It’s fine if it happens once or twice, but once it happens many times, the auction house will lose its credibility. Who would come here? After all, no matter how good your item is, it needs to be sellable! So, the number of bidders in our nightly auctions is decreasing, and with fewer bidders, your Cat’s Eye Tears naturally won’t fetch a good price.”
“I understand.”
Qi Huang nodded deeply, feeling as if hearing a wise person speak was better than ten years of study.
“That’s not right. You don’t even know the information about the clients, so why do those competitors know them?”
Qi Huang became even more confused.
“…Who knows?”
Liu Yingyue gave a vague smile, her meaning all too obvious.
Qi Huang fell completely silent. She hadn’t expected that even the largest auction house in the Xihui Dynasty would have such troubles. The key was that she would definitely cooperate with this Juyin Auction House in the long term in the future. If the problem wasn’t resolved, her Cat’s Eye Tears would never sell for a good price.
“So for your safety, please let Xia Wei accompany you. I don’t want those Cat’s Eye Tears to fall into the hands of the government like those items before.”
Liu Yingyue persuaded her earnestly.
“Young Master, please rest assured. Although I am not a cultivator, I am a warrior with great strength. I will definitely protect you.”
Xia Wei stated her commitment with a firm expression.
Qi Huang looked at the two beauties with completely different temperaments, and her determination to refuse began to waver.
“Ninth Miss!”
Just as Qi Huang was hesitating, an old man’s voice was heard.
Qi Huang looked in the direction of the voice and saw a tall and thin old man walking in. His gloomy expression contrasted sharply with his well-groomed appearance, as if he were being fed and housed by others for free every day.
“Uncle Duan!”
Liu Yingyue responded politely.
“I heard that a distinguished guest has entrusted us to auction dozens of bottles of pure Nine Nether Demonic Cat tears. This should be this Young Master, right?”
The old man named Duan looked directly at Qi Huang.
“…”
Qi Huang was speechless. She hadn’t expected that in such a short time, more and more people knew she was selling Cat’s Eye Tears.
Liu Yingyue also seemed caught off guard. She looked around, trying to find out who had leaked the news, but gave up after a moment. “Yes, Uncle Duan is truly well-informed.”
“It’s good that I’m well-informed. Otherwise, Fifth Miss, did you really plan to hide such a big matter from me?”
The old man named Duan reprimanded in an aged tone.
“Uncle Duan is joking.”
Liu Yingyue’s smile gradually froze on her face.
“Hello, Young Master. I am Duan Feng, the deputy shopkeeper of this Yongning Prefecture Juyin Auction House.”
The old man named Duan introduced himself.
“Hello, Shopkeeper Duan.”
Qi Huang replied perfunctorily, thinking how there were even deputy shopkeepers here. As expected of Juyin Auction House, it was a large and prosperous enterprise. However, why did this deputy shopkeeper seem to have a higher status than the shopkeeper?
“Young Master, it’s like this. The times are turbulent recently, so I want to send someone to escort you back.”
Duan Feng stated his intention.
“You want to escort me again?”
Qi Huang asked incredulously.
“Uncle Duan, you don’t need to worry about it. I’ve already sent Xia Wei to escort her just now.”
Liu Yingyue quickly interjected to explain.
“Send who? It’s a wonder you could think of that! This Young Master is our major client. How can you send such a young girl with only dog-like skills?”
Duan Feng glanced disdainfully at Xia Wei.
“…”
Xia Wei’s expression changed, and she seemed about to speak, but ultimately did not retort.
“Young Master, it’s better to let my guard accompany you. He can fight ten of that girl. I believe you have good judgment on who to choose!”
Duan Feng introduced his burly guard.
Xia Wei wanted to say something but stopped, finally deflating. After all, her strength was indeed inferior, and this was something that couldn’t be changed.
Although she thought so, Xia Wei subconsciously held onto a sliver of hope. Thus, she stared at Qi Huang with her clear black and white beautiful eyes, like a begging big cat. However, due to her pride, she didn’t want to reveal it too obviously. The contrast was simply too amusing.
The burly man, on the other hand, raised his head proudly, a look of confidence on his face.
“Indeed, my judgment has always been good, so I choose her to protect me!”
Qi Huang pointed at Xia Wei without any hesitation.
