When they reached the lower level of the auction hall, Li XinWen saw the young man whom he bid against for the cauldron. For some reason, he suddenly had a bad feeling about the situation he was witnessing. Beside the young man was an auction staff and the two were in a heated discussion, or maybe an argument would be a more precise description of the unfolding scene. It looked as if the young man was pressing against the poor staff.
"Can't you just tell me who it was that bid ten million?! I really have to get that cauldron! It is something my great grandfather left for our family before some bastard stole it from us!" he begged the staff who only showed an irritated look.
"Look, sir. This is an auction! We cannot simply disclose the information you want... Especially when the customer is from the VIP room..."
"But I really need to have it!! You guys don't know what that thing can do! My family has been Taoist for generations, so I would know how to use that cauldron better!"
"Sir, regardless whether the bidder knows what to do with the cauldron or not is no longer a concern of yours. Let me remind you once again that this is an auction, the items will belong to the individual who bids the highest. Now, if you'll excuse me," the auction staff responded annoyed.
The man could not refute what the auction staff said, it was an auction and the cauldron was won by the highest bidder. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes as if trying to calm himself down but after a while, he let out an angry roar as he swung his fists.
"Damn it!" he cursed as he banged the wall with his fist, causing a small web-like crack on the wall, startling the auction staff who stood just inches from where the man's fist landed. After venting his frustration out on the wall, he once again closed his eyes and took a deep breath as if in resignation.
"You're Taoist?" Li XinWen was astonished when he heard this. His eyes narrowed at the man, trying to sense whether or not he possessed spiritual energy. Sure enough, though faint, this man did have spiritual energy in him. 'So it wasn't just my imagination. That punch earlier did contain a bit of spiritual energy,' Li XinWen thought as he looked over at the wall that was damaged. 'A bit more and that wall would've been completely destroyed…'
'That voice!' the man thought in realization. He turned to face the direction where the voice came from and saw two men standing side by side. To say that they looked like models fresh out of a magazine would have been an understatement.
"You're the bastard who tried to outbid me for the cauldron!" the man declared, pointing at Li XinWen. Eyes narrowing, fists clenched, he approached Li XinWen as if ready to start a fight.
Xue Rui noticed the man's behavior and quickly stepped in front of Li XinWen before the man came to an arm's length. "What do you think you're trying to do?" Xue Rui asked in a very imposing tone. The young man's eyes widened, and at first, Li XinWen thought it was because the young man was afraid of Xue Rui. But the next sentence that came out of the young man's lips proved him wrong.
"You're that bastard who bid ten million!!"
Li XinWen was now genuinely surprised when the young man recognized his voice. He assumed it was because he had spoken three times before, so his voice was much more memorable but Xue Rui only spoke once. 'So how is it that he can remember?' Li XinWen thought to himself and did not notice that the young man started to pace back and forth in the auction hall in anger. It was apparent that the man was agitated, probably because he realized that he could not beat that bid of ten million.
"This guest! Please behave yourself or I will call the security to kick you out! There are so many people with a similar voice! How can you be sure Young Master Xue was the one who bid that ten million?!" the staff's patience was now running thin.
"Of course, I am sure that he's the one! The pitch of his voice when he speaks is exactly the same!!"
Li XinWen was confused, to say the least. He did not understand what the young man meant when he said the pitch of Xue Rui's voice was the same. 'Do mortals have ways to recognize someone based on their voice? Similar to how cultivators identify other cultivators by their spiritual energy?' Li XinWen wondered. In Long Xing, each cultivator had a different type of spiritual root, spiritual energy, and a different type of cultivation method. So, no two cultivators were the same, like a fingerprint, but cultivators refer to it as spiritual signature.
Xue Rui on the other hand, just frowned before he took Li XinWen away. He had a feeling that dealing with this young man will be very troublesome. In addition, they did not have time to waste or else, Li XinWen will feel dejected for missing dinner with Madam Li.
"Where do you think you're going?! We're not done here yet!" the young man shouted in Xue Rui's direction. "That cauldron, please sell it to me! I'll pay by installments and..." the young man said, pleading his voice filled with a sense of desperation.
'How unbecoming!' Xue Rui thought upon hearing the man shout from the other end of the hall. He turned to face the man and glanced at the man with cold eyes, his annoyance now replaced with extreme displeasure. "No. I have already planned to give it to someone else. Even if you offer ten times the price, I will not sell it to you!" Xue Rui then walked away with Li XinWen who glanced behind him to see the young man rooted in place. The young man's face showed traces of unwillingness and Li XinWen knew that the young man was not going to give up on the cauldron that easily.
'This feeling is so familiar… the same thing also happened back in Long Xing…' Li XinWen couldn't help but let out a small chuckle at that thought, which did not go unnoticed.
Xue Rui's forehead creased with curiosity at Li XinWen's demeanor. "What are you chuckling for? Did you find something funny?" Xue Rui asked in spite of his heartache. The encounter with the man earlier had somehow lessened the pain in his heart. He decided that he was willing to patiently wait for Li XinWen to realize that he was sincere in his feelings for him.
'He might not feel any affection for me right now but being with him is enough…I deserve his utter disregard for how I feel when he treats me cold-heartedly and I will accept that until he comes to love me… his happiness is enough for me… to see him smile is enough salve for my aching heart,' Xue Rui thought to himself, determined to win Li XinWen and his love when the time comes.
"Hm? It's nothing Rui-ge," Li XinWen answered. "I was just reminded of something from the past. Anyway, that person won't give up, judging from his behavior earlier. So let's just get out items and go straight home. If he tries to stop us later--"
"If he tries to, I will deal with him," Xue Rui did not let Li XinWen finish. His face full of determination as he said those words to Li XinWen.
'I won't allow any harm to come to Li XinWen…'
"Then I will just leave it all to you Rui-ge," Li XinWen said, a smirk adorning his face.