Listening to the murmurs of the crowd, Liu Chengye cast a smug glance at Shen Qiang, then feigned a gentlemanly smile at Xu Nan, saying, "Miss Xu, I've already secured a win in the bet with Xiduo Bao this time, so after the auction, I'd like to invite Miss Xu for a meal to celebrate. I hope Miss Xu will do me the honor."

Xu Nan smiled, her eyes enchantingly glancing at Shen Qiang before saying, "Sorry, Mr. Liu, I have already arranged to have lunch with Mr. Shen."

Instantly, Liu Chengye was embarrassed. Even though his verbal trick seemed to have gained an upper hand, it only attracted a few more glances from the people at the auction.

Who is Xu Nan?

The only daughter of the Family Head of the top-tier family in the Cultivation World, Wanxin Hesheng!

One of the contenders for the heir of Wanxin Hesheng!

Not only is she stunningly beautiful, with excellent cultivation, capability, and wealth—all first-class.

Even if she doesn't ultimately inherit Wanxin Hesheng, it can't be denied that she is Huaxia's elite "white, rich, and beautiful."

So Liu Chengye's biggest aim in lingering around Wanxin Hesheng recently has been to woo Xu Nan.

Because he himself is a cultivator, he knows very well that if he can secure Xu Nan, his status in the Cultivation World would soar like a rocket.

Furthermore, this Xu Nan has the looks, the body, the money, the power, and her own cultivation is by no means inferior to any of her peers. Whoever marries her must have fulfilled their life's dream, right?

So at this moment, hearing Xu Nan's words, Liu Chengye's face immediately darkened, and he coldly glared at Shen Qiang, saying, "Mr. Shen, why not let's raise the stakes—whoever wins will have the right to dine with Miss Xu."

Upon hearing this, the crowd instantly looked at Shen Qiang with peculiar expressions.

"With whom Xu Nan dines is her freedom, and I have no right to interfere," Shen Qiang smiled and said, "Besides, I like Miss Xu, I care about her, so I would never use her as a wager."

Instantly, Liu Chengye turned pale.

Meanwhile, the surrounding crowd also burst into laughter.

"This young man is really reckless, getting carried away, using poor Manager Xu as a wager, really courting disaster."

"Hmm, maybe he has some strength, but such disrespectful thinking means he can never date Manager Xu."

"Exactly, I don't think anyone would want themselves to be bet upon by others."

Almost simultaneously, Liu Chengye saw Xu Nan looking at him with slightly cold eyes, and he was momentarily stunned, realizing he had misspoken. But clearly, it wasn't time for explanations, and since the problem was already out, he simply braced himself, looking at Shen Qiang coldly and said, "What, the boss of Xiduo Bao doesn't have the guts?"

Shen Qiang laughed.

In fact, whether Dahe Luojianan Fragrance could win against the Spring River Flower Moon Map was no longer important. What mattered was that Xu Nan had already agreed to date Shen Qiang alone.

Thus, Shen Qiang was already the winner.

Now, Liu Chengye's taunt was merely an attempt to drag Shen Qiang down, to damage his image in Xu Nan's heart. Needless to say, even if Dahe Luojianan Fragrance didn't have the certainty of winning, Shen Qiang wouldn't foolishly take that bet.

"You better think about what to do if your Spring River Flower Moon Map loses," Shen Qiang teased.

Liu Chengye was taken aback, then burst out laughing, "Xiduo Bao is really daydreaming, just with your lousy incense, it's impossible to beat me, so you don't dare to bet."

Hearing this, the people present couldn't help but nod in agreement.

"Consumables don't hold their value, they're hard to preserve, and indeed there's no need to invest."

"Yeah, burning incense to worship Buddha, anyone can do that. But how much for a stick of incense? Ten bucks a big box burns just the same. Who would spend a fortune on such incense here."

"No need to guess? Spring River Flower Moon Map definitely wins."

Amidst the crowd's discussions, Xu Nan smiled and said loudly on stage, "Alright, I understand the intentions of both Mr. Shen and Mr. Liu. Wanxin Hesheng will act as a witness to ensure fairness and justice. The auction is now officially beginning."

Having said that, Xu Nan stepped aside.

The auctioneer began the auction.

After giving Shen Qiang a cold glance, Liu Chengye sat back silently.

In the next two hours, the auction hosted by Wanxin Hesheng proceeded smoothly.

Under Shen Qiang's guidance, Boss Ma, whose business has not been doing well recently, bought a few nice trinkets, while the grumpy Sun Kaiping remained inactive.

Soon, the auction reached its final stage.

"Item 1012, Spring River Flower Moon Map, starting price of ten million, any takers? The gentleman bids ten million, eleven million, twelve million... thirteen million..."

As multiple buyers bid, Sun Kaiping continuously raised his bid, each time increasing by a million.

The behavior, typical of a novice at bidding, made Shen Qiang frown, and he unceremoniously said, "Brother Sun, bid normally. Don't worry about me losing. Your Spring River Flower Moon Map needs to be secured before we can settle scores with that guy surnamed Liu."

"Got it." Hearing Shen Qiang's words, Sun Kaiping nodded and then raised his bid.

"Thirty million!"

This bid immediately caused the room to quieten significantly.

Liu Chengye smiled slightly.

Then, someone immediately raised their bid: "Thirty-five million."

As soon as this bid came out, Xu Nan walked to the center of the stage and interrupted: "Invalid bid, because Mr. Li is close friends with Mr. Liu."

As the crowd was stunned, another person bid, "Thirty-five million."

"Invalid bid, for the same reason."

"Thirty-five million."

"Invalid bid."

After four or five people, all their bids were invalid, which made Liu Chengye somewhat exasperated as he stood up: "Manager Xu, are you targeting me?"

Xu Nan smiled: "No, I'm just trying to ensure fairness. If you have objections, I can prove that you are closely associated privately."

Liu Chengye was dumbfounded, then reluctantly sat down.

Finally, the Spring River Flower Moon Map was bought by Sun Kaiping for thirty million.

This made Shen Qiang involuntarily breathe a sigh of relief, after all, fortunately, Xu Nan was there. Otherwise, if Liu Chengye's accomplices had inflated the price, this Spring River Flower Moon Map could easily have skyrocketed to seventy or eighty million.

"The Spring River Flower Moon Map sold for only thirty million, the price is definitely low!" Liu Chengye stood up, arrogantly looking at Shen Qiang, suddenly smiling, "But defeating your lousy incense is just as easy."

Sitting in the chair, Shen Qiang raised an eyebrow and smiled, "That may not be the case."

Liu Chengye stepped forward, seemingly intending to mock.

But just then, as the sound of a match striking was heard, everyone in the hall noticed that Xu Nan, standing in the center of the auction stage, was using her slender, fair hand to light a stick of Dahe Luojianan Fragrance.

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