Chapter : 52 : The Crowd's Envy :
Location : The Glory City : Central Market Street :
" Come and check it out folks ! the new batch of our excellent quality shields a here . They won't break even if they are hit by a Dou Practitioner . "
" Young Lord you look like a very good person why not take this beautiful enchanted ring for your lady . "
" Only 20 silver coins ! only 20 silver coins ! only 20 silver coins ! come and get anything at our shop at only 20 silver coins . "
" 4 gold coins ! I will give only 2 gold coins for that ring and no more than that . "
The Glory City central market street was the busiest street in the City which was almost always crowded to the limit .
And this crowd get's even bigger in the weekend sales to the point that even extra security forces from the Xiao clan has to comes down to ensure proper maintenance of law and order .
The market had different kinds of shops dealing with various kinds of goods and services that you would not find anywhere else in the kingdom other than the capital city .
From cultivation material to various other items used in normal daily life almost everything can be found here .
And because of this place was crowded by a mix of people ranging from cultivators to normal people and from commoners to noble men all shopping for their various needs .
But more importantly for our story right now this was also the place where hunter's from the nearby region especially those who hunt in the Heng Mao Forest come to sell their gatherings .
And this included the Silver Arrow Party who were currently going towards the tallest building in the area .
Location : Glory City : Central Market Street : Glory City Auction Hall :
The centre of all activities in the city market was the huge building with the name , ' Glory City Auction Hall ' written boldly at the front gate .
This was the second largest building in the city after the Xiao clan estate .
In fact it was even bigger than the residence of the appointed official mayor of the city showing just how much powerful and wealthy the Auction Hall was .
They had their own personal security guard force including from cultivators hired to protect the auction hall members and it's properties .
And don't underestimate these as just a small time security force .
No ! on the contrary the security force alone had multiple cultivators with the rank of Dou Disciple stage something that you wouldn't usually see anywhere else .
Moreover the Auction Hall manager of the glory city auction hall is a 2 star Dou King stage cultivator making the Auction Hall the third strongest force in the Glory City .
However despite all this power the auction hall wasn't a part of the Yu Shan Kingdom .
Infact they weren't part of any kingdom or empire .
The Auction Hall just like many other organisations like the Alchemist Association , Blacksmith Association is actually an international organisation working independently in almost every part of the continent .
They don't come under any Empire or Kingdom and have their own decision making body called the supreme four .
These mysterious group of 4 people are said to be the real decision makers of all the Auction Halls in the Sky Star continent
But strangely almost no one including most members of the Auction Hall knows their real identies .
So aside from their cultivation power Auction Hall's real strength was that they are very rich and resourceful .
The Auction hall obviously just like the name suggests is a place where auctions are held to sell various kinds of items mostly cultivation related materials to the highest bidders .
But other than that they also sell like a normal shop where various items are placed in their showcase and you can go there and buy whatever you want with money .
The difference is that the items which are auctioned are clearly differentiated from the items that are sold normally .
Moreover the price of the items inside the auction hall market is quite higher than the outside shops .
But it also comes with an upside advantage .
The items sold at the auction hall are of genuine quality and there is little to know possibility of you getting a bad deal .
After all if they sell bad quality items at such a high price it will only make them loose reputation .
Powerful forces sometimes care more about their reputation then a little monetary gains .
After all it was the generations of trust in their organisation that they have been able to rise to this level .
" Alright everyone rest here and see if you want anything to buy , while I and Lao Baixing goes to the counter to sell our hunts . " - at the main lobby of the Auction Hall Yutong who was in lead of the group said .
After finishing their hunt and some others stuff in the forest the silver arrow group decided to return to the city and to sell their products in the auction hall .
In fact it was a regular routine for them to bring their products to sell at the Auction Hall as they paid the most for their high quality hunts .
And this time to they brought the magical beast slayed by Xiao Ming and other hunts and medicinal plants they found to sell them .
This part was almost always done by Yutong as she was quite good at this business .
At the same time Lao Baixing also followed her because as the captain of the group any selling would require his permission .
The rest of the group mean while either did not come to the option hall or simply came here to do some shopping .
And this included Xiao Ming .
Before this in fact Xiao Ming made very little visit to the auction hall .
Although he had the money but he did not have the time or any reason to visit the auction hall .
After all most of the items that he needed were either found inside the clan or can be brought from normal shops .
But this time he heard that there was going to be a big auction coming up so he decided to tag along to get some information about it .
But first he needed to get out of the main group to go on a solo shopping trip or else he might get into trouble .
" Xiao Ming do you want to come and join us in shopping trip . "
Suddenly few of the female members in the group asked Xiao Ming if he would like to go with them on a shopping trip .
Hearing his name being called out like that Xiao Ming froze on the spot and it was clear that this was exactly the trouble he was afraid off .
As the youngest member of the group Xiao Ming was particularly adored by the female members of the group as a cute little brother so they often ask him to tag along with them in their shopping trip .
Before this Xiao Ming had always refused saying that he had to go to the clan or he had some other important matters to attend to .
Why would he refuse their offer you ask ?
Well let's say that he knew that if you went with them he would be put in a classical cross dressing scenario .
Yes ! You heard it absolutely right .
One of the things that Xiao Ming came to notice after spending more time with the group is that apparently his cuteness had a back side disadvantage as well .
While he did get advantage when it came to complaining in front of big sister Yutong and other girls in the group whenever Lao Baixing and other's were talking about his height .
It also came with the disadvantage that he was seen as a cute little brother who many girls in the group liked to dress up in various outfits .
In fact he had once overheard some of the girls in the group talking with each other about how they planned to buy a lot of dresses and have him try them one after another .
And let's just say that imagining that scenario was the perhaps the most embarrassing moment of his life in this new world .
So he made sure not to get dragged into their shopping trip programmes.
" Huh ! Huh ! Haha ! hahahaha ! Well I was thinking about ... "
Unfortunately before he could finish speaking one of the girl's in the group had already put her hand over his shoulder looking at him with a smile that said his efforts to run away this time was futile .
" No need to say anything else Xiao Ming! we will have a fun shopping trip together . "
Just as the first girl finished speaking another girl came over and looked at Xiao Ming with the same smile .
" Exactly ! you won't disappoint your big sisters now would you ! "
As more and more girls surrounded him in desperation Xiao Ming looked towards the boys of the group hoping to get some assistance .
But the moment their eye's meet all of them put there head away as if they did not see him .
In fact he also noticed some of the men were actually secretly laughing at his situation , while others were simply glad that they were not in his position .
' Cowards ! Traitors ! You are all spineless ! Just wait once this is over I will deal with you all . ' - after seeing their reaction Xiao Ming took a mental vow of vengeance against these people in the future .
The reactions in the hall however was not quite the same .
Because when Xiao Ming looked around he saw that apparently many people especially young men wear actually looking at him with envy and jealousy .
" Who is that boy ? The one surrounded by all those beautiful ladies . "
" I don't know ! But I am so jealous right now . "
" Exactly ! I hope that was me in his place . "
" And that's not the most outrageous thing at all ! Look at how he is trying to avoid them as if he is being annoyed . "
" Who the hell does that guy think he is ? If I were in his place I would be jumping in joy . "
" Sish ! Can't you see the clan symbol in his clothes ! He is a member of the Xiao clan . "
" Oh ! You are right I did not notice it before ! Well I guess now the situation makes sense . "
" Still it doesn't matter if you is from the Xiao clan or not ! It's so frustrating to be only a spectetor here . "
Such heated arguments were going on in the room as large number of young men were looking at Xiao Ming as if he was in some kind of a paradise trip .
Some of them were just envious and jealous of Xiao Ming's situation hoping that if only they could be in his shoes , not knowing that the boy in their question was more than willing to exchange his position .
However some other where actually very angry .
Many of these people included many men who have crush on various female members of the Silver Arrow Party who were currently surrounding Xiao Ming .
So obviously after seeing this they could not stay still.
It's just that the other side was a member of the prestigious Xiao clan which prevented many of them from taking any actions .
But this rule did not apply to them all because there were some idiots who would always try their luck .
Slowly and secretly some people in the crowd started to move in a same direction , so that the other members of the silver arrow group doesn't notice the movement .
The one thing that was clear was that it was nothing but trouble .
And Xiao Ming was the trouble magnet here .
But right now Xiao Ming had little to no time think about all this .
It was because at this moment he was being dragged by a group of women who seemed to be hell bent on taking him on a shopping trip with them .
And with that his fate for the day was already sealed not even knowing that a trouble was already coming his way .
To Be Continued .