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"I don't know. The master gathered all the major and minor business leaders of the Chamber of Commerce at the mansion yesterday. I overheard them talking before they left—they said everyone was being asked to help search for something. I have no idea what it could be, but it must be serious to involve so many people." Xiao Ba sighed with a faint smile.
Lu Sheng remained silent, his face darkening slightly. As he stepped through the main gates, he asked again:
"Has anything unusual happened recently?"
"Uh... Sir, even though I'm well-informed, it’s not like strange things happen every day," Xiao Ba said with a helpless shrug. "But that Goldfish Restaurant you often visit? I heard there was a huge fire there last night. It even burned down half the street next to it. We could see the flames from here. Tsk tsk..."
"The fire..." Lu Sheng’s heart sank, and a vague suspicion stirred in his mind. "Do you mean the street where they usually sell gouache?"
"Isn’t it? Right there!" Xiao Ba nodded vigorously. "I heard a lot of people died—entire families, adults and children. It was devastating... I can’t imagine what kind of wicked person would start such a fire!"
The fire...
Lu Sheng said no more. He pushed the thought deep down, locking it away in the back of his mind.
The Black Auction had scheduled the meeting for three nights later, in a cellar outside the city.
During those three days, Lu Sheng ate and rested as usual. He could clearly feel his body growing stronger—as if the modified Black Tiger Saber Technique had not only been enhanced, but was also reshaping his physique in subtle ways.
Three days later, Lu Sheng returned to the street near the Goldfish Restaurant. The area was just as he remembered—charred ruins stretched along the road, and the scent of smoke still lingered faintly in the air. People were busy rebuilding their homes, hammers clanging and voices rising above the debris.
He retraced the path he had taken that day, step by step. Everything was exactly the same. Even the dead-end alley was unchanged.
A thought surfaced in his mind, but he didn’t panic.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKtO449YG9v
Since water ghosts existed in this world, there had to be other strange beings as well.
He had originally planned to use those three days to modify the Jade-Shattering Force Manual he’d recently acquired. But considering the upcoming Black Auction, he decided to wait. If the modification caused him to vomit blood or left him seriously injured, he might miss the opportunity entirely.
Time slipped by quickly.
In the blink of an eye, the agreed-upon night arrived.
Around seven or eight in the evening, Lu Sheng dressed in a plain black outfit and put on a crude tiger mask—just a cheap child’s mask he had picked up from a street vendor.
Outside his residence, the Zheng family’s carriage was already waiting.
He climbed in without delay and found Zheng Xiangui inside, busy gnawing on a pair of braised chicken legs, one in each hand.
Even dressed head to toe in black, Zheng Xiangui’s massive figure made him impossible to mistake. His exaggerated physique alone revealed his identity—the young master of the Zheng family and the host behind the Black Auction.
"There you are! I’ve been waiting. Brother Sheng, get in quickly!"
The two settled into their seats, and the carriage began to roll forward.
All the way there, Zheng Xiangui spoke nonstop, laying out a jumble of do’s and don’ts for what to expect inside.
Lu Sheng listened quietly and committed every word to memory.
Soon, they left the city and turned off the main road, following a narrow path that led deep into the suburbs. After a long ride, the carriage entered a desolate village and came to a stop in front of a stone house at the village’s center.
"This is it," Zheng Xiangui said, hopping down from the carriage.
A man dressed in black, who had been standing guard at the entrance of the stone house, stepped forward and bowed respectfully.
"Is everyone here?" Zheng Xiangui asked.
"Everyone is present. The first item is already on display."
Zheng Xiangui nodded and urged Lu Sheng along.
"Let’s hurry—it's already started."
He pulled Lu Sheng into the stone house, walked to the center of the room, and opened a wooden trapdoor on the floor. Beneath it, a flight of stone steps led down into the underground.
Lu Sheng followed him, along with two silent guards. As they descended, a vast underground space came into view.
The place was surprisingly well-maintained. In the center stood a spacious hall, surrounded by side rooms carved into the stone walls like pouches hanging from a belt. A few people sat scattered across the main chamber, while the side rooms remained unlit, clearly unused.
"This place is quite large," Lu Sheng remarked, glancing around.
"Hehe, we found it by accident," the fat man chuckled, leading him toward the front of the hall.
There were only about a dozen participants in total, all seated in the front rows.
On the small stage stood a tall, thin man wearing a mask. He was speaking loudly, presenting the details of the first item up for auction.
Flanking him were two dwarfs dressed in garish red and green floral clothes. Each held a copper tray, and on one of the trays rested a rusty short sword—its blade dull, but its age unmistakable.
"An ancient dagger from the legendary Jurog Kingdom—likely forged by the famed smith Duan Fengzi! Its blade bears the archaic Jurog script, and even if—Ah! Bidder #4 offers one thousand taels! Do I hear a higher bid? A higher bid, anyone?!" The masked auctioneer’s voice echoed across the stone chamber, full of fervor.
Lu Sheng and Zheng Xiangui sat on the left side of the hall. The seats were carved from pale stone—cold, hard, and utterly uncomfortable.
The fat man leaned close and whispered, "The item you're after is the fifth one—second to last."
Lu Sheng gave a small nod but said nothing.
The dagger on stage didn’t look particularly impressive—it seemed freshly unearthed, probably looted from a grave. Still, the bidding was lively. In no time, the price soared to eighteen hundred taels.
Lu Sheng’s heart tightened just hearing the number. That was nearly double his monthly allowance.
He stopped paying attention to the bidding and instead turned his gaze to the crowd around him.
Most of the attendees were armed—some with short blades, others with long weapons strapped to their backs. A majority wore black, keeping a low profile, though not everyone bothered with concealment.
Among the dozen or so bidders, three stood out clearly.
The first was a red-haired man clad in snug yellow leather armor, a massive broadsword slung across his back.
The second was a wiry youth with sharp features and a monkey-like face. He was short—noticeably so—and had two bulging black leather pouches tied to his waist. No one knew what was inside them.
The third was the most striking by far. Or rather, it was a pair of them—a man and a woman.
The man appeared to be a bodyguard. He wore a silver tunic, a longsword at his waist, and carried an air of cold detachment. Only when he glanced at the woman beside him did his expression soften ever so slightly.
The woman, in stark contrast to the austere surroundings, wore a black skirt unlike anything from traditional dress. It resembled a tight-fitting hip skirt, the kind one might see on Earth.
Her outfit was minimal—just the tight dress clinging to her curves, the hem barely covering her hips. With the slightest lift of her leg, the area between her thighs would be plainly visible.
Despite the daring outfit, her figure was what truly drew the eye—long legs, a narrow waist, and a voluptuous chest that strained against the tight fabric. It looked as though the material might rip at any moment.
Lu Sheng’s gaze inevitably drifted to her face.
Her features were delicate and striking—high nose, soft eyes that shimmered like water, and a faint, almost teasing smile resting naturally on her lips. Her long black hair cascaded smoothly over her shoulders, silky and gleaming in the torchlight.
"This beats any photoshopped face I've ever seen," Lu Sheng thought to himself, quietly impressed.
It was clear this woman came from a powerful background. To appear at a secret auction so openly, dressed like that, she had to be incredibly confident in her own strength—or that of her protector.
Zheng Xiangui leaned in when he noticed Lu Sheng staring.
"That one’s Duanmu Wan," the fat man whispered. "But I wouldn’t recommend chasing after her. That woman’s dangerous."
"Dangerous? How dangerous?" Lu Sheng asked, mildly intrigued. He hadn’t meant to stare—she was just far too eye-catching to ignore.
The fat man chuckled, shifting his gaze to the second auction item now being presented on stage.
"Duanmu Wan came to Jiulian City two months ago. Word is, she arrived with a trade caravan under the Chamber of Commerce."10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9FfSTRsiSf
"A master and servant making such a long journey alone, joining the Chamber without any backer—that's not ordinary."
"It’s definitely not simple," Lu Sheng agreed with a nod.
"And she's not just strong—she’s stunning," the fat man continued. "When she first arrived in Jiulian City, she started charming one handsome young man after another. Got them wrapped around her finger. Guess what happened next?" He shook his head with a sigh.
"What happened?" Lu Sheng asked, curiosity piqued.
"They turned on each other. All those lovestruck fools ended up fighting—bitterly. Some were seriously injured, and a few even died," Zheng Xiangui said, tone heavy. "But here’s the scary part: even those who were crippled still adored her. Meanwhile, she’d already moved on like they never existed."
Lu Sheng’s eyes narrowed slightly, a chill creeping down his spine. He had heard vague rumors of such an incident, but never imagined Duanmu Wan was the cause.
To make men fall so hard they'd maim or kill for her—and still worship her afterward—that wasn’t just beauty. That was danger.
Silently, Lu Sheng marked her in his heart: a woman to avoid.
Anyone who could manipulate others so effortlessly had either frightening charm or some kind of secret method—and either way, it was best to stay far away.
Lu Sheng turned his attention back to the stage, where the fourth item of the night was being presented.
It was a half-body leather armor, brass in color, with a rugged but well-crafted appearance.
"This piece, known as the Ice Wolf Armor, is crafted from the hides of nineteen white wolves hunted from the White Grass Ice Field!" the masked host announced with enthusiasm. "Each hide has been meticulously tanned and pressed into nineteen overlapping layers, now no thicker than a copper coin."
"Its resistance to blunt force and edged weapons far exceeds that of typical leather armor—comparable to wearing an additional chain mail beneath your clothes!"
With that, the host gave a signal, and one of the dwarfs stepped forward, holding the armor up while the other drew a short sword and jabbed it hard against the edge of the piece.
Clang!
There was a dull thud as the sword skidded off, leaving only a faint scratch.
"Starting bid—two hundred taels!"
At first, the room was silent.
Then—
"Three hundred taels!"
"Four hundred!"
"Six hundred!"
The bids began to rise quickly. Lu Sheng found himself tempted. The armor was lightweight, clearly flexible, and didn’t restrict movement like metal would. If it truly offered protection on par with chain mail, it was an excellent piece of equipment.
But as the price neared a thousand taels, he forced himself to withdraw. It’s not what I came for, he reminded himself. His true goal was still to come: the internal technique manual.
Better to stay focused than lose sight of the important for the tempting.
In the end, the Ice Wolf Armor was won by the red-haired man with the massive broadsword strapped to his back.
Then came the penultimate item—the one Lu Sheng had been waiting for.
An internal cultivation manual.
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