Early the next morning, Wei Jie arrived at Jiang Chen's lodgings in high spirits.
"Brother Zhen, my father was so delighted to hear that you've agreed to serve as our Wei family's Guest Elder that he couldn't sleep the whole night through. He's already decided that on the day Taiyuan Pavilion opens, we'll have a double celebration — announce the wonderful news of your joining the Wei family to all circles in the Glazed King City, and hold a proper ceremony."
Wei Jie was practically beaming, clearly in excellent spirits.
Jiang Chen smiled. "The ceremony is secondary. What matters more is making sure Taiyuan Pavilion's grand opening goes off without a hitch. I'm afraid some people won't give up that easily and will come to cause trouble."
"My father has already thought of that and will make the necessary preparations. Brother Zhen, the auction is about to start. Here's one million Saint Spirit Stones — the Wei family's first gesture of sincerity. This money might come in handy at today's auction. My father says that if you need to bid on anything and the amount is under five million Saint Spirit Stones, you can count on me to cover it!"
Five million Saint Spirit Stones — equivalent to fifty million ordinary Spirit Stones — was no small sum.
Jiang Chen could genuinely feel Wei Tianxiao's sincerity through this generous offer. It was clear that his performance in the battle against Wei Tiantong had truly won over the Wei family.
From this lavish spending alone, he could sense the family's trust in him — and it had moved well beyond simple recruitment into something closer to courtship.
Jiang Chen felt he deserved every bit of it. After everything he'd done for the Wei family, accepting a million Saint Spirit Stones in good faith money gave him no pause whatsoever.
He smiled faintly and took the payment. "Young Jie, please pass along my deepest gratitude to your father when you return."
Wei Jie chuckled. "What's there to thank him for? You've earned it. The auction starts early, so let's get moving!"
The two stepped out and headed on their way.
The Lianshan Auction House — also known as Lianshan Studio — was the undisputed leader of the auction trade in the Glazed King City. Its location sat on Shennong Street, the most bustling commercial thoroughfare in the entire city.
When they arrived at Shennong Street, they noticed it was even more lively than usual.
The auction had clearly drawn quite a crowd. Not everyone was qualified to attend the grand auction, but that did nothing to dampen the public's enthusiasm.
Even if you couldn't get in, soaking up the atmosphere at the entrance was good enough. And if you managed to pick up some exclusive intelligence along the way, the trip was more than worthwhile.
Along the way, Wei Jie ran into a few acquaintances. But Jiang Chen subtly noticed that while these people greeted Wei Jie politely enough, they all — consciously or not — kept a certain distance from him.
It was obvious that the Wei family's current situation made these people somewhat wary. Getting too close to the Wei family might drag them into the fire.
Wei Jie, for his part, seemed entirely used to this.
Before long, the two arrived at the entrance to Lianshan Studio. They presented their invitation, and the doorkeepers turned out to be quite professional — they didn't give the Wei family representatives any trouble. Instead, they welcomed them in politely and with impeccable courtesy.
Seeing this, Jiang Chen's opinion of Lianshan Studio rose a notch.
Now this was the kind of bearing befitting the top auction house in the Glazed King City. If Lianshan Studio's staff had looked down their noses at them, Jiang Chen would have seriously questioned how much substance the place really had.
Passing through the front gate, they found themselves in a spacious courtyard plaza. Many auction attendees were gathered here in small groups of twos and threes.
Clearly, before the auction began, no one was allowed into the main auction hall.
This was Lianshan Studio's rule, and no one could really argue with it. Besides, the courtyard plaza wasn't just for sitting around doing nothing.
The amenities were thorough — snacks, drinks, wines, all freely available. Seating was provided everywhere for guests to rest. The layout was thoughtfully arranged without feeling at all obtrusive.
"Let's find a spot and wait — the auction probably won't start for a little while yet." Wei Jie surveyed the area and picked out a relatively open spot, gesturing for Jiang Chen to sit down.
As Wei Jie approached the chair and was about to take a seat, a figure suddenly stumbled past. A cup of wine in the person's hand seemed to have eyes of its own, splashing directly toward Wei Jie.
Wei Jie reacted quickly, flickering aside to dodge. He managed to avoid the worst of it, though a few drops spattered on the toes of his shoes. The rest of the wine drenched the chair he'd been about to sit in.
"My apologies, my apologies!" The man kept apologizing, then suddenly curled his lips into a smirk, feigning surprise. "Well, well — isn't this Young Master Wei of the Wei family?"
The speaker was a young man who looked slightly younger than Wei Jie, with a baby face. But the lazy, careless smile that flickered across his features told Jiang Chen that this person was nothing like the affable appearance he presented.
Wei Jie's brow furrowed. "Brother Tong, your Tong family is at least a Ninth-Rank clan — did they not feed you properly or something? Can you even walk straight?"
This young man was none other than Tong Kun, son of the Tong family patriarch.
Tong Kun had been all smiles a moment ago, but his expression darkened in an instant — his face changed with astonishing speed. "Young Master Wei, did you forget to brush your teeth this morning? Your mouth reeks."
Wei Jie knew perfectly well that Tong Kun had come looking for a fight on purpose.