Chapter 160: This Prince Does Not Fight for Favor (Part Three)

As soon as those words were uttered, no matter how noisy the outside world might be, Yan Shu felt as if the entire universe had fallen into absolute silence.

This was the epitome of social death.

Yan Shu hastily withdrew her hand, chuckled awkwardly twice at the dumbfounded Xiao Jihan, and said, "I was just joking, just joking."

Xiao Jihan looked at her quietly, the corners of his thin lips curling upward: "Since I am the primary husband, when we pass through Zhongzhou, you should have him pour me a cup of tea."

Yan Shu: ......

The Demon King loved to stir up trouble and watch the show. He looked at Xiao Jihan and offered, "Mind if I have an extra cup? If you are willing, this King will make arrangements immediately. Rest assured, this King will not compete for the top spot; as long as I can occasionally stay by her side and bask in a bit of Heavenly Dao fortune, that will be enough."

Yan Shu: ......

This Demon King's brain had a screw loose! Absolutely loose!

"Crown Prince Dongfang Shang of Yunzhou bids twenty-one thousand mid-grade spirit stones!"

The voice of the Myriad Treasures Pavilion manager sounded like music to her ears. Yan Shu hurriedly changed the subject, turning to Xiao Jihan to ask, "Are you still going to bid?"

"Naturally," Xiao Jihan said clearly, "Ten thousand high-grade spirit stones!"

Ten thousand high-grade spirit stones equated to one million mid-grade spirit stones, directly surpassing Dongfang Shang's bid by nearly five times.

As soon as his voice fell, the discussions among the crowd erupted once more.

Seeing that the conversation was about to drag her back into the spotlight, Yan Shu could bear it no longer. She turned her gaze to the Demon King and said, "Your Majesty the Demon King, do you perhaps not wish to purify your spiritual roots anymore?"

Upon hearing this, the Demon King gave her a wronged look, reached out to flick the illuminating pearl on the wall, and the private room instantly quieted down, leaving only the muffled murmur of outside chatter.

Yan Shu let out a long breath of relief.

Just then, the voice transmission talisman on the Demon King rang, and a voice came through: "Pavilion Master, Crown Prince Dongfang Shang of Yunzhou wishes to ask Xiao Han of the Qinglei Sect if he would be willing to part with the pills for twenty thousand high-grade spirit stones. He says these Longevity Pills are intended for his imperial father."

Generally speaking, the Myriad Treasures Pavilion maintained a neutral stance and wished for auction items to sell at the highest possible prices; they would never act as messengers for buyers.

However, Dongfang Shang's identity was special. Having now planted his spiritual roots, he was a cultivator. According to the rules of the Nine Provinces, cultivators were not permitted to reign as monarchs in the mortal world, which meant Yunzhou would inevitably have to select a new crown prince.

Yet rumor had it that the Emperor of Yunzhou was already on his deathbed and completely unable to change the succession.

It was because this concerned the rules and stability of the Nine Provinces that the Myriad Treasures Pavilion was willing to pass on a message for Dongfang Shang.

However, Xiao Jihan did not hesitate for a second, directly refusing: "If he wants them, he can simply bid with spirit stones. If I cannot afford to buy them, naturally I won't continue bidding."

The Demon King frowned upon hearing this: "Are you certain? Shouldn't you consult with the peak masters of the Xuantian Sect?"

Xiao Jihan looked at the image on the spirit mirror, his attitude resolute: "There is no need."

Seeing this, the Demon King looked over at Yan Shu, expecting her to say something at least. Instead, she merely nodded and said, "I'll listen to whatever he decides."

The Demon King was stunned for a moment, then took out his voice transmission talisman and relayed Xiao Jihan's words. Right before sending the message back, he muttered under his breath, "The primary husband is indeed the primary husband, truly well-favored."

Yan Shu: ......

Xiao Jihan: ......

How Dongfang Shang reacted upon hearing the reply, they had no way of knowing.

They only knew that Dongfang Shang indeed raised his bid to twenty thousand high-grade spirit stones. After being defeated by Xiao Jihan's bid of thirty thousand high-grade spirit stones, he never made another offer. Only at the very end, after the manager of the Myriad Treasures Pavilion announced that the four eighth-rank Longevity Pills were sold for thirty thousand high-grade spirit stones, did he speak in a voice audible to the entire hall, sighing with a blend of sentiment and disappointment:

"I had thought the appearance of these four Longevity Pills was Heaven blessing my Dongfang clan, but alas... So be it. Whether as a subject or a prince, Gu has done his utmost. I can only say my imperial father lacks that stroke of fortune."

As soon as these words were said, the outside grew noisy once more. Without listening, Yan Shu knew what those sour and jealous cultivators would be saying.

She secretly made up her decision: the alias Yan Tong of the Qinglei Sect must never be used again.

Otherwise, whenever she went out in the future, she would undoubtedly be spat to death by people's saliva.

The four top-grade Longevity Pills returned to Xiao Jihan's hands, and the Pavilion Master of the Myriad Treasures Pavilion began the auction for the eighth-rank Foundation Establishment Pills.

Xiao Jihan did not put all six Foundation Establishment Pills up for auction, choosing to sell only two. In the end, they were acquired by Dongfang Shang at the price of ten thousand high-grade spirit stones per pill.

With the auction concluded, the day's events were officially declared over.

Unwilling to give up, the Demon King still wanted to pour a cup of tea for Xiao Jihan, and even shamelessly addressed him, "Eldest Brother!"

This single "Eldest Brother" almost sent both Yan Shu and Xiao Jihan packing away their souls. Xiao Jihan said with a dark face, "You can forget about that completely."

The Demon King was extremely unconvinced: "Why is Murong Che allowed, but this King is not? This King is wealthier than him, higher in cultivation than him, and moreover, I'm not fighting for favor, I just want a title to scrape together a bit of fortune! I've even humbled myself to rank third, why won't it work?"

Watching Xiao Jihan's livid expression, Yan Shu could not help but snicker.

Knowing full well it was a misunderstanding, he hadn't helped clear her name, and instead had stirred up chaos, bickering over primary and secondary husbands.

Served you right!

That's what you get for being mischievous!

In the end, Xiao Jihan used the Heavenly Absolute Pill as leverage to force the Demon King to abandon his thoughts of vying for the third-husband spot.

After exchanging Xuanying Mirrors and agreeing to meet again once the materials for the Heavenly Absolute Pill were gathered, Xiao Jihan and Yan Shu collected their twenty thousand high-grade spirit stones and left the Myriad Treasures Pavilion.

Watching their figures disappear, the Demon King returned to the private room, took out his Xuanying Mirror, and contacted a certain individual.

Soon, the image of Murong Che appeared in the Xuanying Mirror: "Your Majesty the Demon King."

The Demon King looked at his face and clicked his tongue: "For the sake of our many years of cooperation, I'm going to ask you a question, and you must answer honestly."

Murong Che did not know why he was being so abrupt, but he still nodded and said, "I shall tell you everything I know."

The Demon King asked with a deadpan expression of utmost seriousness: "How on earth did you get Xiao Jihan to nod and agree to let you be the secondary husband?"

Murong Che: ？？？

After teleporting out of the black market, Xiao Jihan and Yan Shu concealed their whereabouts and returned to the inn.

The twenty thousand high-grade spirit stones had been converted into two hundred top-grade spirit stones. Xiao Jihan kept not a single one, handing all of them directly to Yan Shu.

Looking at the sparkling top-grade spirit stones glowing with a purple luster, Yan Shu's hands trembled slightly: "Are these all for me?"

Xiao Jihan nodded: "Mn, all for you, to solidify my status as the primary husband."

Yan Shu: ......

It seemed this joke was never going to pass.

She put away the spirit stones and pouted, "It's one thing that the Demon King has a low IQ, but you knew the situation and still joined in the chaos, talking about primary and secondary husbands as if I were running a harem."

Hearing this, Xiao Jihan glanced at her: "You could try."

His gaze was extremely calm, but the undertone of threat was heavy.

Yan Shu pouted and let out a soft hmph.

Fine, for the sake of the spirit stones, she decided not to argue with him. Besides, he was going to ascend in a few decades anyway; by then, she could do whatever she pleased!

Just at that moment, a commotion suddenly arose outside.

Xiao Jihan and Yan Shu immediately furrowed their brows and looked toward the entrance.

They saw a group of people approaching their courtyard. Among them, a man wearing a python robe stepped forward, cupped his fists, and said, "Dongfang Shang has come to pay a visit to the two fellow daoists."