"Two hundred and eighty thousand taels!"

"Three hundred thousand taels!"

Bids rang out from every corner of the auction house, the competition fierce.

Xie Zhang was well pleased with the response, and he swept the crowd with a smile.

"Eight hundred thousand taels of silver!" Once that figure was called, the momentum at last began to settle.

"Eight hundred and ten thousand!" The Qian Family ground their teeth as they named the number, seemingly already at their limit.

"One million taels of silver!" an old man of the Wu Family declared in a booming voice.

One million taels!

At that bid, many in the hall sighed. Just as expected, treasures of true worth only ever fell into the hands of the strong.

"The Qin Family bids one million and fifty thousand." At the head of the Qin Family's seats sat their foremost prodigy, Qin He.

The Liu Family had sent people too, and their strength as a whole outmatched both the Wu and Qin Families. But earlier the Liu Family had leaned on their deep coffers and swept up a great many items at once, and now their purse was stretched thin.

By the rules of the Heavenly Treasure Auction House, payment and goods had to be settled on the spot. They had no strength left to fight for more.

"One million and sixty thousand!"

The other three great families had always pressed against the Tang Family, but that did not make the three of them friends. Faced now with a fine martial skill, the Wu Family could not keep from joining the contest.

"One million and eighty thousand!" Qin He followed without a moment's pause, every inch of him set on claiming it.

The Wu Family conferred among themselves, and after a while their voices fell silent.

"One million and eighty thousand, going once!" Xie Zhang was content enough with the price, and meant to bring the bidding to a close.

"One million and eighty thousand, going-"

Before he could finish, a lazy voice cut across him. "One million, eighty-one thousand."

Xie Zhang turned toward the sound, and his expression grew all the more colorful. Tang Yan, that wastrel, had started meddling again.

At Tang Yan's words, Qin He's gaze flashed like lightning, cold as he fixed it on him. "One million, one hundred thousand!"

"One million, one hundred and one thousand," Tang Yan went on.

Undercut by a mere thousand taels again, Qin He now looked ready to devour a man whole.

A ripple of excitement ran through the crowd. There was a fine show to watch now.

"The rules of the Heavenly Treasure Auction House are surely known to Young Master Tang as well. Silver in one hand, goods in the other. If when the moment comes Young Master Tang cannot lay out so much coin, then he is deliberately making a fool of Heavenly Treasure." Having delivered his cold warning, Qin He continued, "One million, one hundred and two thousand."

A thread of mockery crossed Tang Yan's face. "If you've got the silver, then bid. If you don't, quit running your mouth. Since when did Heavenly Treasure's rules need the Qin Family to remind anyone? One million, one hundred and three thousand!"

Toward the Qin Family, Tang Yan offered no courtesy.

They were one of the four great families too, and the Qin Family had long eyed the Tang Family's holdings with greed. These past two years they had laid no small number of obstacles in the Tang Family's path.

Qin He's face was thunderous. Forcing his fury down, he said, "One million, one hundred and fifty thousand!"

Xie Zhang, who had once taken Tang Yan for a spendthrift good-for-nothing, now found the young man wonderfully pleasing to behold. Thanks to this brat's meddling, the final price had leapt by tens of thousands of taels.

"One million, one hundred and fifty-one thousand," Tang Yan followed without hesitation.

"Master Xie, I ask that your house verify whether the Tang Family has brought enough silver! The good order of this auction cannot be spoiled by a single worm in the wood!" Qin He rose, anger threading his voice. Were his composure any weaker, he would have leapt up and cursed aloud by now.

At that, hesitation showed on Xie Zhang's face. Tang Yan's first bid had been bold enough, true, but well over a million taels was no trifle even for the whole Tang Family. Would the clan really hand the young man so much silver?

Before Xie Zhang could speak, Tang Yan bristled at once. "What, are you teaching the Heavenly Treasure Auction House its own business? Even if I'm bidding wild and can't put up the silver later, the martial skill still goes to you. What are you shouting about?"

Xie Zhang found himself thoroughly in agreement. What was the mere Qin Family, to order Heavenly Treasure to go counting the Tang Family's coin?

With the air of a man strictly minding his duty, he said, "If Young Master Tang in the end cannot lay out this silver, my Heavenly Treasure Auction House will most certainly demand an accounting, and the martial skill will still pass to the Qin Family."

"One million, two hundred thousand!"

"Another thousand," Tang Yan drawled.

"One million, three hundred thousand!"

"And a thousand more. Save your breath, Qin He. Even the Liu Family can't go toe to toe with the Tang Family. What in the world does your Qin Family amount to?"

Looking at the jeering grin all over Tang Yan's face, Qin He felt a knot lodge in his chest that would not loosen, his rage roaring up. He slammed the table. "Two million taels! I don't believe you'd dare keep up!"

"Two million taels!" When that figure left Qin He's mouth, an uproar swept the whole hall. Such a sum equaled half a year's full income for an entire great family.

That so grand a stroke should appear at this auction left the crowd thrilled to the bone.

Tang Yan was in no hurry to follow.

The hall fell quiet along with him.

An Alchemist needed keen insight and powerful Perception. During the work of refinement, the slightest carelessness would ruin a pill.

With the soul of a ninth-rank Alchemist within him, Tang Yan read the finest details all the more sharply.

This was no small sum, and he wished to know whether Qin He could truly produce it.

If he could, Tang Yan would follow. If not, then not.

His silence did indeed press down on Qin He like a great weight.

A flicker of unease passed through Qin He's eyes, and unluckily for him, it did not slip past Tang Yan's gaze.

With a faint smile, Tang Yan said, "Since the Qin Family is so mighty, then the martial skill is yours. Pay up."

Seeing Tang Yan yield so cheerfully, Qin He froze. This fellow had simply stopped raising the price? In that instant he was so choked with frustration he nearly spat blood.

The crowd was dumbstruck all at once. This man bowed out the moment he pleased?

"I only had three thousand taels on me to begin with. You nearly scared me to death just now-lucky you raised the bid. My thanks, Young Master Qin." The young master of the Tang clan feigned the picture of courtesy.

"Pfft-" Half the hall nearly choked. This Young Master Tang was sly to the bone, and in one stroke he had made the Qin Family spend a great deal more silver.

Could the Qin Family even put up that much?

"Young Master Qin, pay up." A smile sat on Xie Zhang's face.

For a long moment Qin He sat without the smallest movement.

Those who had been murmuring under their breath could hold back no longer and burst into laughter. It seemed the Qin Family was short of coin; this time Qin He had been wretchedly played by Tang Yan.

"Pfft-" Qin He could bear it no longer. A mouthful of blood surged straight up his throat, and he clenched his teeth until they nearly cracked, forcing it back down before he spoke. "Master Xie, my Qin Family cannot produce this silver for the moment. But the Tang Family had no coin either and drove the price up on purpose, maliciously trampling the rules of the auction. The bid cannot be allowed to stand."

"An auction goes to the highest bidder. We first see whether the last to bid can lay out the silver. If you cannot, then you owe my house an accounting!" Xie Zhang's tone had turned hard.

"In truth I did not bring enough silver. Might I beg a single day's grace?" Qin He asked, steeling himself.

"No credit, under any circumstances. If you cannot produce it, then leave five hundred thousand taels behind as compensation," Xie Zhang said flatly.