by Tinalynge
Yam Chi-Keung closed his eyes momentarily before he regained his composure and at once brought up a sleeve to wipe away the sweat on his forehead. No matter how hard he tried he was sure he’d never be able to see through this strange expert.
The bright sunshine shining through the front entrance had left a cone of light inside the Black Market Auction House, and while it usually would have taken Hui Yue a short while to adjust his sight to the dimmed lights inside, everything was now crystal clear in front of his eyes, as if nothing had changed.
What Hui Yue saw was a big hall where there were smaller stalls. Some of these stalls were buying ordinary items such as beast cores, magical gems, memory stones and so on from mercenaries, so that they could auction them off later. Other stalls were displaying the different meticulously planned out auctions, selling tickets to whoever wished to participate.
Hui Yue allowed his eyes to quickly pass those ordinary stalls, and instead he focused on a few doors further away with a sign spelled: ‘appraisals’. Hui Yue moved straight towards the appraisal-room, and as he moved through the large hall, everyone would back away and do their best to not obstruct his path.
Although Hui Yue seemed as if he was far beyond these commoners, he could not help but snicker slightly inside, and his snicker was accompanied by Lan Feng’s roaring laughter.
‘It has been too long since people feared me like this!’ Lan Feng exclaimed loudly, ‘I remember how I used to walk through towns just to scare people when I was bored back in the days.’
Hearing the Phoenix gloat like this caused Hui Yue to once again doubt the mental age of this ancient bird boy. His mentality had certainly not passed the age of thirteen.
By the time Hui Yue and Lan Feng had ended their conversation about relishing in the terror-stricken and respectful gazes following them, they had reached the queue of varying individuals waiting to get their items appraised.
The ones waiting for appraisal were a few noble servants, mercenaries and merchants who had gained treasures from trips to the magical forest or traded their way to unknown jewels from naïve sellers.
These men were all cultivators, and they were all of a cultivation base much stronger than Hui Yue, but due to the Saint ranked aura, and as soon as they had sensed Hui Yue moving their way, they all stepped aside to let him skip the queue.
This had been somewhat within Hui Yue’s expectations, however, as he reached the door, he saw a person hurrying in their direction.
“Excuse me, err” he said somewhat breathlessly as he had crossed the large hall as quickly as possible. However, as he was about to say sir, the attendant suddenly halted his speech. The mysterious and masked person in front of him was simply too ambiguous.
“Please follow me. Our manager has invited you to his office to appraise your item personally.” The attendant quickly relayed the invitation, hoping that this expert would not notice the mistake and therefore gain a bad impression of their established Auction House.
Hui Yue gave a slight nod to the attendant and followed him without looking back at the people that had previously given space for him. Although he was mildly grateful for the respect they showed him, he was perfectly aware that this respect was due to his suffocating strength; if they knew his real cultivation base, they would have treated him much differently.
The attendant was walking through the large hall, towards the stairs at the end, which led to the second floor. The second floor had two large rooms, both of which were the heart of the auctions, and although Hui Yue was curious, he knew that it would be unlike his character if he started to express interest in the elaborate doors, the picturesque auction podium and beautifully carved cabins with seats reserved for the upper-ranked nobility during the auctions.
Although no profound attention was granted to these astonishing sights, Hui Yue still managed to commit to memory the general idea of the layout and the format of everything they passed on their way. This he owed to his augmented senses brought about with the influx of power from Lan Feng’s and his merged aura.
‘Don’t fall in love with my aura,’ Lan Feng said smugly while observing everything around them, ‘I’ll not allow it to seep out too often, it will put the both of us in even more risk than we already are. Still, it is quite refreshing to see that a Saint ranked expert still gains this much respect.’
What Lan Feng had said was correct, and even if Hui Yue found himself in love with the sudden strength that had gushed forth from within the depths of his body; he was, after all, perfectly aware that this was not his own strength. This was something he had borrowed, and although it was incredibly useful for now, it was not something he sought to rely on in the future. Although Lan Feng assisted him, Hui Yue needed to grow strong by himself. To be an actual force to be reckoned with and not just have an outstanding aura; neither was the aura’s attention-magnet effect always a boon.
Step by step and room by room, the attendant brought Hui Yue further and further away, to the end of the second floor where a much more modest set of stairs lead to the third floor. The third floor was not adorned with gold and gemstones everywhere but was very practical. Every material was in perfect condition and gave off an impression of high quality and purity; Hui Yue felt that this was the most important part of the entire auction house. The atmosphere had shift in paradigm once they had reached this floor.
Attendants, errand boys and office workers scampered about within the new scene, however, as soon as they saw Hui Yue and the attendant, they, as if by routine, swiftly changed their dispositions and retreated to the walls and made a polite bow to the unknown expert.
Hui Yue kept moving forward, paying no attention to what was happening around him, and finally the attendant stopped in front of a cast iron door.
The attendant knocked on the door, and it opened on its own, allowing Hui Yue to see the manager within. He was sitting at a wooden desk, which was filled with scrolls of paper and memory stones.
“Please do come in,” he said in his most polite voice while standing up from his seat and quickly breaking into a light jog towards Hui Yue. The manager was so close that it was impossible for him to not notice the strong aura that encapsulated around and rolled off this expert’s frame like ripples on the surface of a still lake. The manager was a high ranked elder from within the Ma family, and he was a nine-star Duke ranked expert, only a step away from unlocking his higher dantian and stepping into the King rank.
This man, although only Duke ranked, was someone whom even the King ranked City Lord would treat with great care and respect, and he had met all the high ranked experts within Riluo City before, however, none of them could come close to this person when it came to sheer dominance by aura alone.
The manager was instantly aware that this was one person who they could not afford to offend. At first he had assumed it would be another King ranked expert, much like the highest ranked experts within Riluo City, but now it was obvious that he was at least an Emperor, if not even a Saint.
“I deeply apologize for not personally welcoming you earlier,” the manager said while clasping his hands together and making a welcoming bow towards the newcomer, causing the attendant to stare with big eyes.
This attendant was the manager’s personal aide, and he had worked for the manager the past few years. He was currently a youngster of seventeen. He had been following the manager since the day he had failed the admission test to the Royal Academy. The attendant was from the Ma family, and he understood all too well what position and influence the manager had, not only within their family, but also within Riluo City. To see the manager show such utmost respect towards the mysterious stranger caused the attendant’s heart to squeeze in worry.
Hui Yue did not wish to answer anything while the attendant was present, so he waved his hand to accept the apology. At first he would have replied with a slight bow of his own, however, Lan Feng had stopped him at the final moment, informing him that Saint ranked experts did not bow to anyone. Instea
d he should show a token of acceptance and Hui Yue did just that. A relieved expression flooded in on the manager’s face.
“Xiao Wai, please visit the family head and tell him that I will be delayed for our meeting.” As soon as the attendant heard those words, he made a deep bow towards the manager and another deep bow towards the expert before backing out the door, sealing it shut behind him.
The manager smiled gently towards the expert, while his eyes scanned everything in front of him, causing him to furrow his brow with confusion.
The person in front of him made no sense. The clothes were obviously the sort of clothes one would wear underneath a ceremonial robe, but this expert wore them as though they were meant to be the used on their own. Usually experts would grow as their cultivation grew stronger, and they would mature with it, however, the figure in front of him was still incredibly petite and skinny. The waist was narrow, causing the manager to assume that it was a woman, however, at the same time, this person had no breasts! This caused the manager great confusion.
The hands visible underneath the sleeves had jade-like skin, which was smooth and white, and although the fingers were long, they had a childish appearance to them.
The face itself was hidden underneath the conical hat, and although the manager was incredibly curious as to what was hidden beneath, he was not so dumb as to ask this expert to remove his hat. If the expert felt like removing it, then he would do so, if not, the manager did not wish to cause any friction between the two.
“Ahem,” the manager cleared his throat, “I am grateful to welcome an extreme expert such as yourself to our humble auction house, however may I be of service?” he asked in his humblest voice.
Hui Yue hesitated slightly, but after a few seconds, he withdrew the two memory stones from within his pocket and placed them upon the top of the table. The two memory stones were still as black as before, with a polished and shining surface as if it had been polished before. Within this black gem swirled white mist visibly as it floated around, mesmerising anyone who gazed upon it.
The manager was quiet for a long time. If the memory stone had contained a skill created by a lower dantian ranked expert, then it would be filled with black mist which was almost impossible to see. If it contained a skill created by a middle dantian ranked expert, the mist would be grey, and if it was a higher dantian ranked expert, the mist would be white.
This mist was as white as the purest snow, and the manager could feel how he almost started salivating.
“This… this is?” He asked stuttering while slowly taking one of them into his hands.
“One Martial Art Skill and one Spiritual Art Skill,” Hui Yue said with his soft voice. Hui Yue was only ten years old and his voice had still not matured, so while speaking, he sounded exactly like a woman, causing the manager to assume that this was in fact a female cultivator.
“Milady, these two skills, do you wish for me to auction them off?” he asked gently, while looking at the two stones, almost unable to part with them. Hui Yue laughed slightly, the laughter was not mocking but gentle. Although the manager thought that he was laughing at the longing that the manager felt towards the two memory stones, Hui Yue did in fact laugh at being called ‘milady’.
“Yes, I do wish to have these two skills auctioned off. They are contained within low grade memory stones, and I will not auction off any other of these skills.” Hui Yue said slowly, allowing the manager to let every word sink in.
The fact that it was a low grade memory stone meant that it could only be used a few times. Together with that, this unknown expert said that she had no intention of auctioning off other memory stones containing the same skills again, causing it to be even rarer.
“We will be making some tests to see which kind of skills they are, and then we will auction it off. Do you wish to reside within our Ma family’s compound until we can hold the auction?” the manager asked, hoping that he could establish a great relationship with this unknown expert, but Hui Yue shook his head slightly.
“I have things that I need to attend to. I would like the auction to be held a week from now. I will appear at the auction, but I will need to leave the same day.”
The manager felt slightly depressed upon hearing this, however, he quickly regained his composure and nodded his head,
“In that case, we will ensure that the auction takes place a week from now. We will reserve a balcony for you to observe the auction. Would you mind giving me your name?” he asked again, trying his best to wrist some information from this mysterious woman, and Hui Yue smiled gently before answering.
“My name is Li Fen,” he said as he rose to his feet. “I have a dinner appointment which I need to honour, so please excuse me for leaving already.”
The manager rose to his feet quickly and opened the cast iron door in front, noticing how a lot of office workers were loitering within the hallway, however, as soon as they saw their manager and Hui Yue, they quickly went on their way while the manager personally escorted Hui Yue down the stairs and out of the Black Market Auction House.
Chapter 19 - The Great Sin
* * *
Chapter 19: The Great Sin
After leaving the Black Market Auction House, the amount of people trailing him had increased by a noticeable amount. Although these people were following Hui Yue, it was obvious they tried to be secretive yet they so blatantly followed his trail.
These stealthily pursuing spies fully knew and were aware that despite seeking to stalk their target, it would be impossible for them to go unnoticed, and even more considering the expert’s tremendously high rank, it did not seem as if he had any intent to act upon their affront.
Just as before, Hui Yue returned to his recent lodgings, the inn, where he hastily redressed himself into his commoner’s garments and casually made his escape through the backdoor like any other errand boy.
A satisfied smile appeared on the small boy’s face as he glanced at the motley crew of people lying in wait outside the inn. Disregarding the congregation, Hui Yue turned around and started trotting towards the City Lord’s mansion.
The sun was creeping right above the edge of the city walls by the time Hui Yue had made it to the City Lord’s mansion. Earlier, Hui Yue had been invited to eat dinner together with the Rong twins, and he had accepted the invitation; however, on the way to the mansion, a sudden epiphany abruptly struck Hui Yue’s currently mildly bewildered mind.
Hui Yue, more so in the garbs of a commoner, was merely a nameless child. Entering the City Lord’s mansion was no easy task to accomplish, and how was he supposed to enter just like that? Fortunately, Rong Xing had thought of this beforehand and given the guard orders to allow entry to a Hui Yue, as long as the boy seemed to be around the age of ten, had big blue eyes and white hair.
The dinner later on had gone without complications as neither Lord Rong Liang nor Bu Huang had been present, and the three children spoke about the gossip they had come across throughout the day.
“I heard dad talk about something really awesome!” Rong Ming said with glistening eyes as he finished swallowing his mouthful of stew.
“An expert has appeared in town!” Rong Ming paused dramatically while looking at Hui Yue and Rong Xing, expecting a shocked reaction. “This guy is even stronger than our esteemed father, and he is apparently selling something at the Black Market Auction House next week! Dad was so excited when he spoke with Bu Huang about it that they forgot to close the door.”
Rong Xing chuckled while looking at her excited brother, meanwhile Hui Yue put on an act, gasping in wide-eyed shock. The rest of the evening was spent with Hui Yue asking a few questions about this expert and how Lord Rong Liang could have gotten the information this quickly.
Turned out that one of the first messengers to notice Hui Yue back at the market place where he bought the memory stones had belonged to the Rong family.
Evening turned into night, and the final rays of sunlight painted the sky purple. The three ch
ildren were all gathering together as they moved back to the Royal Academy, none of them noticing the dark shadow which lurked behind the carriage the entire way.
As soon as they had arrived at the foot of the mountain, the carriage had to turn around as only students, or those who possessed a Royal Academy Emblem of some kind could enter the mountain range. Meanwhile, the elusive shadow blending in with the dead of night shadowed their trail and deftly bypassed the protective mechanism.
As the three reached the residential area, Hui Yue and the Rong twins went each their ways, as they lived on separate mountain tops, leaving the younger boy to walk the final distance on his own. A feeling of satisfaction and confidence was growing within the soul shared by both boy and bird.
Today had gone beyond all expectation. They had managed to purchase two memory stones and would be able to sell their skills at a high price. Furthermore, they had strolled around town in order to attract attention, causing the interest to soar with enticement, in the end managing to safely return without blowing their cover. Today was definitely a day where both Hui Yue and Lan Feng were satisfied with their achievements.
