Chapter 60: Who Snatched My Jade Pendant
Chapter 60: Who Snatched My Jade Pendant
Chapter 60: Chapter 60: Who Snatched My Jade Pendant
Right now, Feng Si’s attention was completely fixed on buying back the Jade Pendant. She hadn’t even considered trying to deduce its owner’s identity, her only thought being that her cub absolutely had to hatch with both parents "present"!
...
「In another private room.」
Ying Kong had stayed in Cang City for months searching for that red-haired female. Now, at the mysterious invitation of the Black Snake City Lord, he had come to the third floor of the Jade Tower Scripture.
He looked down at the display stage below, and the more he looked, the more familiar it seemed.
’No way! Isn’t that our Jie’s...’
At that moment, Ying Kong’s eyes widened. He excitedly took two large strides to the edge of the balcony, whipping aside the beaded curtain with the back of his hand to get a clearer view.
From his high vantage point, now with an unobstructed view, a glint flashed in Ying Kong’s eyes.
’It’s unmistakable!’
’I’ve finally found it!’
This was the Beast King’s personal Identity Jade Pendant—the very one he had searched for across nearly the entire South Desolate Continent without success!
It was the Jade Pendant that Young Master Jie had always worn close to his body, carved with the coiled beast-form of the Royal Family. And what’s more, it was the very same pendant the Beast King had given him—the one worn by the female who was the target of his mission.
On the display stage, surrounded by eight Beastman guards, a Chi seemed to swim within the translucent green jade. It was like a leviathan lurking in a deep pool, its beauty capturing everyone’s attention.
They stared entranced at the beautiful jade, listening as the sub-female host introduced the magnificent piece.
Up on the third floor, Ying Kong was utterly stunned.
’The Jade Pendant the Beast King gave away! S-She actually brought it to an auction to sell it?!’
Watching the series of agitated movements from Lord Ying Kong, Black Snake sat securely on the sofa behind him, his face filled with pride.
Ever since his subordinate managing the Jade Tower Scripture had brought this jade to him, he had a plan: he absolutely had to bring Lord Ying Kong here to see it.
’Let him see! This "worthless" Cang City of his has peerless treasures too!’
’His family were subjects from Young Master Jie’s domain. Now that Young Master Jie has become the Beast King, his own title of Seventh-level City Lord... might have a chance for a promotion.’
’I’m not qualified to speak with the Beast King alone, so I have to be clever. For instance, if I use this Jade Pendant from the Imperial Palace as a little gift... he would surely accept, wouldn’t he?’
’The key is Lord Ying Kong, the man at the Beast King’s side—’
’When the time comes, I’ll bid in front of Lord Ying Kong, win the Jade Pendant at a high price, and present it to him.’
’Why do it in front of him? Well, when you spend a fortune on something, you naturally want people to know about it.’
Black Snake gave a cunning smile. Full of confidence, he rose and swaggered toward Lord Ying Kong.
’It’s my time to shine.’
"CRACK!"
The sudden sound of the stone railing cracking made Black Snake, who had just reached the balcony, shrink back. He cautiously slanted his eyes toward Lord Ying Kong.
Ying Kong was furious.
His head was bowed as he stared down, but on either side of his high, slightly hooked nose, his eyes blazed like erupting volcanoes, seeming to burn the very air in the room dry. A low sound, suppressed by extreme rage, escaped him, like a knife being sharpened in the dead of night.
"Do you have any idea whose Jade Pendant that is?"
Black Snake’s mind went blank with panic.
’I’m supposed to know, right? It was just sold by some noble female whose family had fallen on hard times. The shopkeeper sent it over, and when I realized its other value, I placed it in the Jade Tower Scripture to wait for me to buy it at auction.’
’That’s how it is, right?’
’But why is Lord Ying Kong so angry?’
Just looking at Lord Ying Kong was like seeing the spectral image of a great eagle, a tyrant of the skies. Black Snake felt that if this furious behemoth were to slash downwards with its sharp talons, the entire display stage would instantly shatter into dust.
Black Snake trembled with a growing unease. He didn’t dare refuse to answer, so he carefully chose his words. "It... it was a female who brought it in to sell." ’It has nothing to do with me!’
Ying Kong: "..."
’I fucking guessed it!’
An intense feeling of speechlessness welled up in his chest. Gazing at the Jade Pendant on the auction stage, Ying Kong narrowed his eyes. His knife-sharp gaze landed on the timid Black Snake’s face as he gave a cold order, "You, go..."
...
"205,000,000 coins." Just then, someone in the main hall made a bid.
"210,000,000 coins."
As the bidding began, calls echoed one after another from the main hall, instantly driving the price to 220 million. Someone in a private room upstairs seemed to grow impatient and jumped in directly: "310,000,000 coins."
The people in the first-floor hall heard the voice and looked up toward the bidding room. Hearing the outrageous jump in price, they let out a collective "Whoa!" and no one from the floor made another bid.
Now the battle was between the private rooms upstairs. The bidding for the Jade Pendant continued to skyrocket, with more than a dozen bidders still in the running.
Feng Si thought, ’It’s still too early to bid.’
She would place her bid toward the end of the auction.
In high spirits, Feng Si leaned on the balcony railing and looked down.
Then, just as she sat back down on the sofa and was about to press the bidding bell, Feng Si heard an urgent voice from the display stage calling for a halt.
A hurried-looking Beastman had walked onto the stage. With his back to the hall, he directed the staff to carefully remove the Jade Pendant.
"Our apologies, this was our oversight. This Jade Pendant is not for sale."
As the Beastman spoke and the Jade Pendant was carried away, the crowd below recognized the newcomer as the Black Snake City Lord’s steward.
The entire building fell dead silent; not a single person dared to make a sound.
Feng Si blinked, her mind struggling to process what just happened.
’Wait—’
’Does "not for sale" mean I can’t bid on it anymore?’
’Not even if I have the coins...?’
’The Jade Pendant... could it have been snatched up by some powerful figure?’
She could practically hear the CRUNCH of her own heart breaking. Before coming here, she had so confidently told her baby that she was going to get him a gift from his father.
But now—
She couldn’t buy it back even with all the money in the world!
The Jade Pendant was truly gone, and even if she was willing to spend her entire fortune, the chance was lost!
"HSSS—!"
Feng Si’s chest felt tight with frustration.
The corners of the female’s eyes grew red with indignation. It was as if they’d been rubbed too hard, her once bright, dark eyes now dimming as her vision blurred.
"Who in the world snatched my Jade Pendant away!"
The more Feng Si thought about it, the more resentful she became.
She had sold the Jade Pendant for a little over ten million coins to handle an emergency, fully prepared to buy it back at a high price.
Later, she hoped for a chance to return it to that guy, to act as if that night had never happened. It would be best if they owed each other nothing.
But after she had his egg, she wanted to buy it back to leave to their baby. Both then and now, she had worked tirelessly to earn money, all for the sake of buying back this Jade Pendant.
She hadn’t been in a rush because the more she learned about the local standard of living, the more she realized that almost no one in Cang City or the surrounding areas could afford a Jade Pendant—which the sub-female clerk had quoted at 600 million—without batting an eye.
To be safe, she had even overestimated the sub-female clerk’s 600 million price tag by another 400 million, only rushing back to buy the Jade Pendant once she had saved up a billion coins.