Chapter 4829 — The Morning Star Grand Auction

"Steward Chai, today's the grand auction! I hear your Hong Clan Merchant Guild has quite a few fine things prepared. Could you give us old friends a little preview before the fun begins?" The lead middle-aged man spoke with a smile that was not quite a smile.

"Steward Hao, the auction rules plainly forbid divulging any details of the lots before the sale concludes—it's written into the charter of the Morning Star Grand Auction. Though I hear the lots from your Noble Hall have been causing quite the stir lately?" Old Chai answered, neither cowed nor haughty.

"Ha! Noble Hall does not conduct its affairs the way your Hong Clan Merchant Guild does, all cloak and dagger. As the saying goes, a man has nothing to hide from the world. If a thing is bound for auction anyway, what harm is there in letting people know a few days early? At least they can prepare themselves. And the academy has approved it, so crying foul will get you nowhere." Steward Hao laughed with the smug ease of one who had nothing to fear.

"Exactly. Have you forgotten, Steward Chai? To build anticipation for the grand auction, every merchant guild may reveal one or two lots in advance—provided, of course, they are fine enough to show. But we have not heard a whisper from the Hong Clan Merchant Guild, have we?" Another middle-aged man dressed as a steward spoke with ill intent.

"Steward Jin, our friends here are not like us. When they have something good, they wrap it up tight. That is what it means to be the academy's sole supplier—one must keep a little class about one's affairs," Steward Hao needled.

"Heh heh, you are mistaken there, Steward Hao. I say they simply have nothing fine enough to show. The academy's sole supplier—I expect that title will fall to your Noble Hall after today, eh? A set of ten Golden Pills of Infant Convergence is no small gesture, after all. You must look after my Gold Universe Merchant Guild in days to come!" Steward Jin chimed in, playing his part to perfection.

"Think nothing of it, think nothing of it. Though we should ask Steward Chai first—his is the house that closes the grand auction, after all. What if he has some grand gesture tucked away? Steward Chai, why not give us a hint?" Steward Hao eyed Old Chai sidelong.

"Steward Hao, Steward Jin—did you come all this way just for this?" Old Chai looked at the two of them with a smile that was not quite a smile. Before Wei Zhao arrived, his heart had been in his throat; but now? A set of ten Golden Pills of Infant Convergence? To hell with that!

"More or less." Steward Hao and Steward Jin exchanged a smile. They had long since investigated the Hong Clan Merchant Guild down to its foundations; this time the guild had been driven to the edge of a cliff with no chance of turning things around—unless the sun rose in the west.

"Then I am truly sorry. Keeping our wealth out of sight is the abiding principle of the Hong Clan Merchant Guild. Charter or no charter, any lot we provide will never be leaked before the official sale—lest fairness be compromised. So if the two of you are truly curious, I suggest you wait a while longer. The grand auction is about to begin." Old Chai spoke blandly.

"Fairness indeed—most admirable! Steward Chai is plainly bent on whetting everyone's appetite!" Steward Hao pursed his lips with a sour, insinuating air.

"Whet our appetites if he likes. He is the closing house, after all—one must put on airs. I only fear that when the end comes he will have nothing decent to show, and that would set tongues wagging for real! When that happens, the Hong Clan Merchant Guild had best stop propping up its dignity here and shut its doors, and salvage what little face a great guild has left. What say you, Steward Chai?" Steward Jin mocked without the least restraint.

"Heh, Steward Jin jests. The Hong Clan Merchant Guild has never closed a single branch, and it certainly will not begin with me. Though your Gold Universe Merchant Guild does not look so rosy—five branches shuttered in recent days, was it not? I wonder how much longer Steward Jin can hold out?" Old Chai gave him a look.

"You—!" Steward Jin was choked speechless on the spot. The Gold Universe Merchant Guild was no great house; it could not begin to compare with a top-tier guild like the Hong Clan. Five branches closed of late through poor management had already cut it to the bone, and at this rate the whole guild might well collapse.

With no way out, the Gold Universe Merchant Guild had finally resolved to throw in its lot with Noble Hall and ride out the crisis on its coattails. It was precisely for this reason that Steward Jin was working so desperately to flatter Steward Hao—the man might well be his direct superior before long.

"Ha! Steward Chai, you truly are new to these parts and out of touch. With a backer as mighty as Noble Hall, the Gold Universe Merchant Guild could not fall even if it wanted to. If you have spare worry to spend, spend it on yourself." Steward Hao cast Old Chai a look of contempt and swept off with Steward Jin in tow.

"Mind your step. I won't see you out." Old Chai waved a hand, calm and unruffled, still as immovable as a mountain—which made the onlookers regard him anew.

Wei Zhao watched the scene and gave a slight nod. Old Chai had no presence to speak of and always gave the impression of a man easy to push around, but judging by that display of neither cowering nor crowing, the fellow could be propped up on the stage after all.

Of course, that too was thanks to Wei Zhao. Without the seventh-grade pills refined over these past days, Old Chai's heart would have been utterly hollow, and he could never have faced the likes of Steward Hao with such confidence.

"You have come out of seclusion!" Seeing Wei Zhao emerge, Old Chai hurried up to greet him with the utmost deference. The onlookers turned to stare again—who was this young man? Steward Chai had been so composed and proud a moment ago; why did he turn into a lapdog the instant he laid eyes on him?

"The grand auction is about to begin, is it not?" Wei Zhao asked.

"Indeed. Old Cui has already taken the lots over ahead of us. Shall we head over now?" Old Chai inquired.

"Good." Wei Zhao nodded, and the two set off for the grand auction at once. Though every Morning Star Grand Auction was convened by Morning Star Academy, the venue was not within the academy grounds but in a great building in Morning Star City known as the Morning Star First Tower.

Arriving before the gates of the Morning Star First Tower, Wei Zhao looked up and could not help exclaiming, "This building really is enormous."

For all its name, the Morning Star First Tower was not so very startling in height—nothing like the world-class skyscrapers of the mortal realm that rose hundreds of meters at a stroke. It merely stood a notch or two taller than the buildings around it. Its footprint, however, was vast, enclosed on all sides by a wall five zhang high, and Wei Zhao had the vague sense of having wandered into a magnificent bullring!