"Thank you!"
"Many thanks, Protector Ming!"
The two fierce-looking men clasped their hands and said.
If Xu Jingliang were present at this moment, he would have recognized the two fierce-looking men as the ones who had stolen his Lingzhi.
Moreover, these two were no ordinary individuals; they were members of the Myriad Treasures Pavilion, named Xiang Zuo and Xiang You, respectively.
As for the stern-faced man, he was Ming Xuanyuan, the Third Protector of the Myriad Treasures Pavilion.
Ming Xuanyuan watched as a square platform was rapidly constructed under the workers' operations. He glanced at the watch on his wrist and said, "It's past eight o'clock. Our guests should be arriving soon!"
Xiang Zuo's pupils gleamed with anticipation. "A thousand-year-old Lingzhi, I wonder how high the price will be in the end!!!"
Xiang You immediately glared at him. "Don't speak carelessly. This isn't just a thousand-year-old Lingzhi; it's five thousand years old!"
Upon hearing this, Xiang Zuo reacted and quickly corrected himself, "Right, right, it's five thousand years old, not one thousand!"
Xiang You turned and looked in one direction. "This Lingzhi was snatched from a household in Heyuan Town! We're holding the auction near Heyuan Town now. What if he finds out and comes looking for us later..."
"Heh heh!"
Before he could finish, Xiang Zuo let out a disdainful laugh and spat, "Xiang You, since when did you become so timid? A mere ordinary person, are you afraid of him?"
"If he doesn't come looking for us, it's fine. If he dares to come looking for us again, I'll kill him!"
Ming Xuanyuan said nonchalantly, "He's just an ordinary person. There's no need to pay attention to him. If he's ungrateful, just kill him!"
Hearing their words, Xiang You nodded, finding them reasonable, and said no more.
An hour passed, and a square platform was completed on the open ground. The workers left, and Ming Xuanyuan ordered over a dozen martial artists from the Myriad Treasures Pavilion to guard the platform.
The area was temporarily sealed off, preventing ordinary people from approaching.
As it neared ten o'clock, vehicles began to arrive one after another.
These arrivals were all martial artists, not ordinary people.
Qin Yi waited at the intersection of Heyuan Town. At ten o'clock, a small car stopped in front of him.
The car door opened, and Luo Dexuan quickly got out, apologizing profusely. "I'm sorry, Mr. Qin, for making you wait so long!"
Qin Yi waved his hand, unbothered. "It takes time for you to drive over from home. It's not your fault!"
"Mr. Qin, the auction starts at twelve. Shall we head over now?" Luo Dexuan asked.
"Let's go!" Qin Yi said.
If they didn't go now, they had nothing else to do!
Thus, Qin Yi got into the car with Luo Dexuan.
This time, Luo Dexuan was driving alone, without anyone else.
Although the platform Ming Xuanyuan and the others had erected was near Heyuan Town, it was still several kilometers away from the town center.
Luo Dexuan drove Qin Yi for over ten minutes before arriving at the auction site.
In the car, as Luo Dexuan explained, the Myriad Treasures Pavilion was a rather peculiar organization. They often held auctions for their business dealings but had no fixed auction venue.
The location of the Myriad Treasures Pavilion's auctions was always uncertain. They would inform various forces in the martial arts world of the location a day or a few days before the auction.
For example, Luo Dexuan had received news from Ming Xuanyuan last night stating that they had discovered a five-thousand-year-old Lingzhi and would be holding an auction near Heyuan Town at twelve o'clock today!
Furthermore, the Myriad Treasures Pavilion never rented venues; they either borrowed from others or set up temporary sites themselves...
Through Luo Dexuan's explanation, Qin Yi gained a more detailed understanding of the Myriad Treasures Pavilion.
In addition, he learned that the entire Shenzhou martial arts world was divided into Northern, Southern, Western, and Eastern martial arts worlds based on regions.
The martial arts world of Nan Province, where they were, belonged to the Southern martial arts world.
The Myriad Treasures Pavilion, originating from the northeastern region and with its headquarters closer to the eastern area, belonged to the Eastern martial arts world.
Moreover, according to Luo Dexuan, the Northern martial arts world was the strongest among the various regions, while their Southern martial arts world was the weakest.
Qin Yi listened, finding it strange.
No wonder Wu Yao had looked disappointed when she heard he was from Hai City on their previous trip to Taiwan!
It turned out that he belonged to the Southern martial arts world, which was the weakest in the entire martial arts world!
As they chatted, Luo Dexuan stopped the car.
A martial artist from the Myriad Treasures Pavilion immediately approached them and asked, "Who are you?"
Luo Dexuan stated his name, "Iron Wire Fist Hall, Luo Dexuan!"
Upon hearing this, the Myriad Treasures Pavilion martial artist's gaze shifted to Qin Yi, and he asked, "And him?"
"He's my friend!" Luo Dexuan replied.
The Myriad Treasures Pavilion martial artist scrutinized Qin Yi again. Qin Yi responded with a slight smile. The other party then said, "You may enter!"
Then, at Luo Dexuan's signal, Qin Yi got out of the car, and they walked past several Myriad Treasures Pavilion martial artists to reach the platform they had specially constructed.
At this moment, around the platform, besides Ming Xuanyuan, Xiang Zuo, and Xiang You, there were others.
Among these people, Qin Yi even recognized a few familiar faces—people he had seen before from the Nan Province martial arts world.
"Mr. Qin, that is Ming Xuanyuan, the Third Protector of the Myriad Treasures Pavilion!"
Luo Dexuan pointed at Ming Xuanyuan and introduced, "Apart from the Pavilion Master, the Protectors hold the greatest authority in the Myriad Treasures Pavilion. Ming Xuanyuan is the Third Protector, making him the fourth most important figure in the Myriad Treasures Pavilion."
Hearing this, Qin Yi looked at Ming Xuanyuan, curiously observing him.
He noticed that the man's aura was indeed different from the others around him. Although Ming Xuanyuan was just standing there without doing anything, he exuded an invisible pressure.
Qin Yi was still about ten meters away from him but could clearly feel it!
Of course, this pressure had no effect on Qin Yi whatsoever!
After a moment, Qin Yi's gaze shifted from Ming Xuanyuan to Xiang Zuo and Xiang You.
When he saw their fierce faces and fierce brows, he couldn't help but recall Xu Jingliang's words.
The two who had stolen his thousand-year-old Lingzhi yesterday had looked fierce!
"Could it really be them?" Qin Yi murmured to himself.
Luo Dexuan, standing beside him, didn't hear what he had muttered clearly and instinctively asked, "Mr. Qin, what did you say???"
"Nothing!"
Qin Yi did not tell him his thoughts immediately.
He hadn't confirmed anything yet. If it wasn't them, and the five-thousand-year-old Lingzhi being auctioned by the Myriad Treasures Pavilion had nothing to do with Xu Jingliang's theft, wouldn't he be wrongly accusing someone if he told Luo Dexuan now?