"This price is enough for you to buy a mountain of useful things. Speaking frankly, why would you choose this over anything else? Look around—aside from you and guest number six, is anyone else even bidding?"
Jiang Qiao gave a meaningful smile, then lowered his voice. "Now that I've placed my bid, you should tell me the secret I want to know."
Li Wentian lowered his voice until it was barely a whisper:
"Fine, I'll tell you the truth. Mu Qinggan is a monster. Every disciple she has ever taken a liking to ends up missing—because she kills them all and preserves their beautiful faces in her so-called collection vault."
"Where is that place?"
"I don't reme... ah, no, I actually don't know."
Jiang Qiao continued, "Then how did you find out about this?"
Li Wentian drew a sharp breath. "My dear brother was once her Dao companion. He discovered it and came to me for help, but I... I won't go into the details. If I had managed to find the location of that vault back then, she wouldn't still be roaming the sect so freely."
"Pardon me for asking, but what was your brother's name?"
"Feng Cheng."
...
Meanwhile, the situation on guest number six, Mu Chenyuan’s side, was becoming thorny.
Her oval face, hidden beneath a mask, was beaded with sweat from tension. The Duanhong Sword was something she thought she had in the bag, but she hadn't expected someone to keep competing with her until now.
The problem was that she only had 600 Spirit Stones left. If she kept bidding like this, she wouldn't be able to pay the remaining costs, while her opponent—guest number thirty-two—seemed completely at ease, as if playing a game, throwing money around as if it had fallen from the sky. The sudden, massive jumps in the bid price were placing immense pressure on her.
But Mu Chenyuan swore that she had to win this sword. She had no idea what kind of exorbitant price it would actually take to secure the Duanhong Sword.
If she won the bid but failed to pay, she would be blacklisted by the auction house, and the Black Market passwords would be closed to her forever.
Mu Chenyuan found every bid agonizing. Though she had intended for her last raise to be the final word, when she went to strike the gavel, her hand wasn't as firm as in the previous rounds. She had begun to waver.
The price had reached 705 Spirit Stones. Mu Chenyuan’s heart was still swinging back and forth. The Black Market was a crucial base for her future, and she had to be able to return.
"..."
"One thousand Spirit Stones, first time! One thousand Spirit Stones, second time! One thousand Spirit Stones, third time! Let us congratulate guest number thirty-two for successfully winning the Duanhong Sword!"
Truth be told, the host was already losing patience. The auction of a broken sword had dragged on for so long; they were relieved to finally be rid of it. Once the news of a sword being sold for such a value-incongruent price leaked, the entire Black Market would surely laugh their heads off. It would become the standing joke of the market.
"Let’s go, let’s go. It’s been bought, time to head back." For a moment, Li Wentian even considered keeping his distance from Jiang Qiao so that others wouldn't lump them together.
No sooner had the two stepped out of the auction house than someone blocked their path.
"Excuse me, fellow Daoist, would you mind a quick word?" A gentle, clear voice, like morning dew resting on a flower, fell softly upon the heart, sending ripples through it.
"What is it?"
Although Jiang Qiao found the voice pleasant, his recent experience of being hunted made him instinctively pull Li Wentian back a few steps upon seeing a stranger approach.
"Fellow Daoist, you are guest number thirty-two, who just won the Duanhong Sword, right?"
Mu Chenyuan’s voice trembled slightly.
"I am." Jiang Qiao paused, seeming to realize something. "Are you guest number six, the one I was bidding against?"
"I am number six. I apologize for taking your time. I am willing to buy the Duanhong Sword from you for double what you paid. However, I... I don't have that much money at the moment. Would it be acceptable if I paid you in installments?"
"I am not short on money." To Jiang Qiao, as long as he had secured it at his expected price, a treasure this good was something he intended to keep for himself; he wouldn't dream of passing it on to others.
However, the person before him might very well be that world-renowned swordswoman. He decided to fish for information first, as he couldn't be certain.
According to Li Wentian, most people at Black Market auctions were there to buy treasures at low prices and resell them for a profit, hoping to catch a bargain.
"Then what are you short of?"
"I'm short on my life." Jiang Qiao only wanted to survive until the Demon Sect Sect Master came out of seclusion.
But in Mu Chenyuan’s interpretation, this bidder number thirty-two was threatening her life right now. This was a naked provocation!
"If you want to fight, it would be better to do it outside the Black Market. I don't really want to cause a scene here."
Mu Chenyuan thought that if she could get the Duanhong Sword by beating him up, that wouldn't be a bad choice. After all, her other conditions were decent enough; she was just broke.
"You've misunderstood. I'm not looking for a fight." Jiang Qiao stared at the eyes behind the mask, feeling a touch of helplessness.
Mu Chenyuan analyzed the situation again. She glanced at Li Wentian, who was standing to the side—surely he was the lackey of number thirty-two. She wasn't qualified to fight number thirty-two, so would she have to go through the little lackey first?
Just as Mu Chenyuan stood there in a daze, Jiang Qiao spoke: "In any case, I am not selling this sword, no matter the price."
"Wait a moment. Can you tell me which sect or faction you belong to? If you change your mind later, I can come find you." Mu Chenyuan knew a good sword when she saw one; she couldn't give up any opportunity.
"But here in the Black Market, exposing one's identity is a major taboo. You understand that, right?"
"Is the Duanhong Sword you bought for cultivation?"
Jiang Qiao nodded.
"Then you must know about its mechanism for acknowledging a master. The Duanhong Sword only recognizes its fated person. If this sword truly refuses to acknowledge you as its master, you might consider my proposal. If you no longer need the sword, I will buy it from you for 2,000 Spirit Stones."
Mu Chenyuan was actually a bit strapped for cash. Since this guest thirty-two was so obsessed with the Duanhong Sword, she might as well let him take it back to play with for a few days—the sword wouldn't recognize him anyway. During that time, she could scrape together the money to buy it back. Robbery would be her absolute last resort.
Jiang Qiao said, "Very well. If it won't acknowledge me, keeping it would just be a waste."
At the same time, the question of his sect still made him hesitate. Exposing his identity in the Black Market was a cardinal sin, and he had covered himself so thoroughly precisely to remain hidden. Telling his background to a complete stranger... Jiang Qiao remained hesitant. He still didn't know if this person was a friend or a foe.
"Number thirty-two, it's fine if you don't want to say. Next week at the same time, we will meet at this spot. I will still be sitting in the seat for number six, and I will bring the 2,000 Spirit Stones to wait for you."
"What if I succeed in making it acknowledge me?"
"That's impossible."
"Then how about this: if the acknowledgement fails, I will do my best to sit in the seat for number thirty-two next week. If I arrive, I will wave at you, number six."