I'm invincible once I descend the mountain; the beautiful CEO is forcing me to get our marriage

The eldest daughter of the Jiang family snorted coldly, not loudly, but it instantly silenced the noise in the courtyard.

All eyes turned to them.

The fat face of the shopkeeper, Mr. Hu, turned deathly pale. He practically clung to Master Guan, his lips trembling, and said in an almost inaudible voice:

"Master Guan, those are people from the Jiang family of Shanghai! The Jiang family! Even the richest man in Dongjiang Province isn't worthy to carry their shoes. I heard that when their patriarch goes out, even a vice-provincial level official has to personally greet him!"

Boss Hu's voice carried a deep-seated fear.

As soon as he finished speaking, several wealthy businessmen who were nearby began to whisper among themselves, keeping their voices very low, as if afraid that the tall woman would hear them.

"It was them, Miss Jiang Yu'er, who bought up all the old medicines on the market."

"I heard it's the old man from the Jiang family, he's nearing his end. No matter how high his level of ancient martial arts cultivation is, he can't stop the aging process."

"Modern medicine has no solution. The Jiang family is going crazy, throwing money around and buying medicine everywhere in an attempt to save the old man's life."

Another man in a Tang suit shook his head and sighed, "Buying a life? It's not that easy. When people get old, it's like an oil lamp running out of oil. Even the best medicine can only keep the flame burning for a moment before it goes out with a breath. It's a pity that Old Master Jiang was quite a figure back in the day."

Ye An listened quietly without saying a word.

He knew it in his heart.

For someone at his current late-stage Innate Realm cultivation level, taking one of the Nourishing Essence Pills is like eating a candy bean—it's not very useful.

But for an ordinary person whose lifespan is about to run out, or for a practitioner of ancient martial arts, it's a different story.

That thing could easily be called a divine elixir.

Since we have this opportunity... we might as well take advantage of her!

Ye An's lips twitched almost imperceptibly.

He decided to observe first, to see just how filial this eldest daughter of the Jiang family could be in order to prolong her father's life.

Just then, a host dressed in a long gown walked up to the high platform erected in front of the courtyard and cleared his throat.

The auction has officially begun.

A tray covered with a red cloth was brought out, and the host lifted the cloth, revealing an old ginseng root tied with a red string lying in a brocade box.

"Ladies and gentlemen, a fantastic start! Our first item is a century-old wild ginseng from Changbai Mountain. You can judge for yourselves its condition; it's absolutely top-quality! Starting bid: 500,000!"

A collective gasp filled the courtyard.

I've only ever heard of this kind of thing in novels.

The host had barely finished speaking when he gave no one time to react.

Beside the eldest daughter of the Jiang family, an assistant in a black suit held up a sign with a blank expression and uttered three words.

Three million.

The sound wasn't loud, but everyone in the room could hear it clearly.

The pharmaceutical dealers who had just been itching to bid silently lowered their hands, which were halfway raised.

The courtyard was deathly silent.

No one dared to compete with the Jiang family.

"Three million once! Three million twice! Three million..." The auctioneer's voice trembled with excitement. He glanced at the audience; seeing no further movement, he swiftly brought down the gavel. "Sold!"

The Jiang family won the first item in the auction without shedding a drop of blood.

Master Guan, watching from the side, clicked his tongue in amazement. He leaned closer to Ye An and whispered, "Master, the Jiang family is far too domineering..."

Ye An remained silent, simply watching the stage as if he were watching a play that had nothing to do with him.

Soon, the second item was brought out.

It was a piece of dark wood, looking almost like a fire poker, casually placed on an ordinary wooden tray.

With a slightly embarrassed smile, the host introduced, "This... was discovered in an ancient tomb deep in the mountains. The material is very hard; we tried flooding and burning it, but nothing worked."

"Although this isn't the first time it's been unearthed, no one has yet figured out exactly what it is or what its effects are. The starting bid is 100,000; just consider it something new and interesting."

A chorus of boos erupted from the audience, and many wore expressions of disappointment and mockery.

"What is this thing? You're spending 100,000 yuan on a fire poker?"

"The organizers are so inconsiderate; they even brought out something like this to make up the numbers?"

"Maybe the eldest daughter of the Jiang family will want it? Isn't she rich and willing to take anything?" someone said sarcastically.

However, the moment that piece of wood appeared...

Ye An's eyes flickered.

He was all too familiar with that warm, nourishing aura.

Soul nourishing wood!

It's appeared again!

Ye An's heart churned, but he showed nothing on his face.

"Take it down."

A calm voice reached Master Guan's ears.

Master Guan was stunned for a moment. Although he was full of questions, he didn't dare to ask Ye An a single question. He immediately raised the sign in his hand.

Two hundred thousand.

"Two hundred thousand! This gentleman has bid two hundred thousand! Is there anyone bidding higher? If not..." The auctioneer was eager to sell this hot potato as soon as possible.

Just then, the eldest daughter of the Jiang family, who had been silent all along, suddenly turned her head to her assistant.

The assistant in the black suit immediately raised a sign.

"Five hundred thousand."

The eldest daughter of the Jiang family glanced at Master Guan, a playful smile on her lips: "If even a 'master' like Master Guan is interested in something, it must be something extraordinary. I'd like to see it for myself."

Her voice wasn't loud, but it was loud enough for everyone around her to hear.

This is no longer a bidding process; it's a direct provocation.

Master Guan's face darkened instantly, and a surge of anger welled up inside him.

But remembering Ye An's orders, he suppressed his anger and shouted in a deep voice, "One million!"

The Jiang family assistant didn't even glance at him, and immediately raised his sign: "Five million!"

"Whoosh—"

The whole courtyard was in an uproar.

Everyone was looking at them like they were crazy.

A piece of broken wood was suddenly valued at five million?

Master Guan is understandable; he's a feng shui master, and maybe this piece of wood can be used to make a peach wood sword or something.

What's gotten into Jiang Yu'er again?

Boss Hu, standing nearby, was so anxious that he kept tugging at Master Guan's sleeve, muttering repeatedly, "Master Guan, forget it, forget it, don't argue with them, it's not worth it..."

Master Guan's forehead was already covered in sweat. He gritted his teeth and glanced back at Ye An.

Ye An remained calm, simply looking at him without saying a word.

Master Guan made up his mind: even if he lost all his savings today, he had to get what Master Ye wanted!

He roared out a number that nearly suffocated everyone: "Ten million!"

The eldest daughter of the Jiang family smiled even more. She looked at Master Guan as if he were a monkey being teased, and then slowly said something to her assistant.

The assistant understood and raised the sign again: "Twenty million."

Master Guan's eyes turned red. He suddenly stood up, pointed at the eldest daughter of the Jiang family, and was about to say something when he remembered Ye An's instructions. In the end, he could only manage to utter a number.

"Thirty million!"

The courtyard fell completely silent.

Thirty million to buy a piece of rotten wood that no one knows what to do with.

Everyone thought Master Guan had gone mad, completely mad.

The smile on the eldest daughter of the Jiang family finally disappeared.

She stared coldly at Master Guan, her eyes like knives, as if trying to see through him and find out who was behind him who dared to challenge the Jiang family like this.

The courtyard was so quiet that you could hear each other breathing.

After a long while, the eldest daughter of the Jiang family finally moved her red lips slightly, and uttered a number in a detached tone that seemed to crush everything:

"Fifty million."

The wealthy businessmen in the room were all stunned.

These three words, like two towering mountains, crashed down with a deafening roar.

Master Guan's face turned deathly pale instantly.

The total amount of cash he carried with him on this trip was only 30 million.

He had already gone all in by asking for 30 million; he had to get this piece of wood for Master Ye.

But to his surprise, the other party didn't even blink and used a number that he could never reach in his lifetime to nail him firmly to the pillar of shame.

Jiang Yu'er looked at Master Guan's distraught appearance and a hint of undisguised contempt curled at the corner of her mouth.

The people around her were ready to pay and take the goods; in her mind, the farce was over.

The host on the platform could also sense the tension. He dared not offend the Jiang family and was about to pick up the gavel to announce the result.

Just then, a calm voice rang out in the courtyard, not loud, but clearly heard by everyone.

"I'll offer 100 million."

The one who spoke was Ye An, who was standing behind Master Guan.

He had been watching quietly from beginning to end, and only spoke for the first time at this moment.

The entire courtyard was deathly silent.

All eyes shifted from Jiang Yuer and Master Guan to this unremarkable young man.

One hundred million?

Buy a fire poker?

The host's hand, holding the hammer, froze in mid-air. He looked at Ye An with a strange expression on his face.

"Young man, this auction is no joke. Are you sure you want to spend a hundred million to buy this piece of wood?"

Jiang Yu'er also dropped her confident expression. She didn't raise the price anymore, but instead looked at Ye An with interest, her eyes filled with scrutiny and mockery.

She wanted to know whether this kid, who seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, actually had any money to offer.

"One hundred million? Has this kid gone mad?"

"He came with Master Guan. Could he be Master Guan's apprentice?"

"Master Guan is already deflated, what's the point of his apprentice showing off?"

The surrounding whispers were kept low, but they still reached Master Guan's ears.

When Master Guan heard the conversation turn to him, he broke out in a cold sweat.

He quickly turned to the side, lowered his voice, and said to Ye An in a volume that only the two of them could hear:

"Master Ye, I didn't bring that much money with me this time. You may not know, but the unspoken rule of these underground auctions is that everything has to be paid in cash, and the money must be settled on the spot."

His furtive actions, when viewed by others, took on a completely different meaning.

So, the master and apprentice didn't even discuss it themselves before letting this kid come out and shout out prices recklessly?

Jiang Yu'er's sneer deepened; her voice wasn't loud, but it was loud enough for everyone in the room to hear:

"Are the organizers just going to stand by and watch? These reckless bids disrupt the auction's order; shouldn't they give an explanation?"

Upon hearing this, the host on the platform changed his expression.

He dared not offend the Jiang family, nor could he break the rules of the auction.

He gave a wink to the audience below the stage, and immediately two burly men in black suits walked over.

"Mr. Ye, and Master Guan, please come inside so we can talk."

The wealthy businessmen outside watched as Ye An and Master Guan were "invited" into the back room, their faces showing expressions of anticipation and excitement.

"This is going to be interesting. Trying to act tough in front of Miss Jiang is going to get you killed, or at least beaten to a pulp."

Mr. Hu was so anxious that he kept stamping his feet on the spot, but he didn't dare to go in, so he could only worry anxiously outside.