Chapter 35
Chapter 35
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 35
Chapter Title: The Full Moon Auction
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The merchant wiped the smile from his face, his expression turning frighteningly blank in an instant.
And in a flat, emotionless tone without a hint of inflection, he said,
"Could you show me your token?"
The gazes of the other merchants around them also turned toward Hyeok Mulin and Cho Sahyeon.
As if they were ready to spring into action at any moment.
But despite the stares pouring in, Hyeok Mulin merely gazed indifferently at Cho Sahyeon.
She then pulled a metal token from near her wrist and held it out to the merchant in front of her.
"......"
The merchant, who had been staring her down piercingly, snatched the token and examined it meticulously.
He paid particular attention to the full moon emblem engraved in the center, and soon his lips twisted up in a grin as he spoke in a welcoming voice.
"Confirmed. I apologize for being somewhat rude when such esteemed guests have graced us with their presence."
He bowed his head, showing a remorseful expression.
"Lately, packs of vultures have been sniffing around, so we've been on high alert. Please forgive our caution."
Hyeok Mulin nodded as if to say he understood, and the nearby stares vanished in an instant.
"That's fine. Just lead the way."
The place they sought was an auction house hosted by the Full Moon Hall, a black path organization.
The Full Moon Hall sent invitations along with Full Moon Tokens only to verified individuals—especially those renowned across the land.
The invitation's message was simple: only the Full Moon Token bearing the full moon emblem proved one worthy of entry.
'Of course, they don't send them to just anyone famous.'
Since the main auction was held in Sin'gang, they avoided sending tokens to enemies of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
Because of that, Hyeok Mulin hadn't received one, but Cho Sahyeon was different.
As the former mistress of the Dark Fragrance, she had naturally received a token, and it allowed one companion, enabling Hyeok Mulin to enter with her.
"This way, please."
The merchant headed toward a back gate at the edge of the village.
Before opening the door, he warned them.
"From here until we reach the auction house, stay at least five paces behind me."
"Understood."
As Hyeok Mulin replied, the merchant turned, gripped the door, and muttered something under his breath before opening it.
To their surprise, an unexpected sight appeared.
Where a mountain path should have been, a stone-walled alley lay straight ahead after passing through the door.
The merchant moved forward, and Hyeok Mulin followed, surveying his surroundings.
'They've layered illusions with dual formations.'
Cho Sahyeon seemed unaware, but the horizon was tilting ever so slightly.
Meaning they were heading downward, underground.
After walking for about an incense stick's time, they arrived at the gate of a manor.
A dozen or so people stood in line there, waiting.
It seemed they were undergoing additional verification before entering the auction house.
However, they waited alone or in pairs—no groups larger than three.
As Hyeok Mulin and Cho Sahyeon took their place at the end of the line, the guiding merchant bowed and turned away.
"May you claim what you desire."
Once the merchant left, they waited, observing their surroundings.
Suddenly, a voice came from ahead.
"Come alone, or in two?"
Cho Sahyeon looked forward to see an old man in a bamboo hat asking them.
He was already short, but with his spine bent like it was folded in half, his eye level matched that of a ten-year-old child.
Cho Sahyeon replied politely to his question.
"Two, yes. Has the elder come alone?"
"Heh heh, living this long means all my friends worth bringing to a place like this are dead."
"Nonsense. With your body and spirit in such fine fettle, you'll make even better connections ahead."
Hyeok Mulin silently observed their exchange.
As expected, Cho Sahyeon's experience in the Dark Fragrance made her quick-witted and adept.
The old man burst into hearty laughter at her smooth, unflustered response.
"Heh heh! Thanks for the kind words! Standing here alone so long made my mouth lonely, so I spoke up."
As the old man's lips curved up in good humor, Cho Sahyeon glanced ahead and asked,
"I didn't expect a line. How long have you been waiting, elder?"
"Not too long, but about this much time. Seeing you say that, are you first-timers here tonight?"
"Yes."
"Hah, that explains it."
"If it's not too rude, could you tell us a bit about the auction?"
Ho.
Subtly revealing they were newcomers while fishing for info.
Not just parrying words, but countering cleverly.
She truly handled things with exceptional poise.
"About the auction, eh..."
The old man glanced at the line ahead, confirming there was time.
Then he turned back to her and said,
"You know where this is, right?"
"Just that it's an auction house. Nothing more."
Though Cho Sahyeon already knew the basics, she feigned ignorance for cross-verification.
The old man nodded and explained.
"This place is called the Full Moon Surface Trading Auction."
The greatest reason black markets across Jungwon hailed Full Moon Valley as the best.
It was the underground auction hosted by the Full Moon Hall, the black path group that practically created the valley.
The Full Moon Surface Trading Auction auctioned truly anything on the surface of the earth.
Be it a rare spirit beast's inner core, a master smith's lifelong treasured sword, or a renowned noble's famed martial art—nothing was off-limits in this secret auction.
Even those from Jungwon would venture into Sin'gang upon receiving an invitation, its fame whispered far and wide.
"It's well-known, but lines like this are rare."
The old man, noting the heavier crowd than usual, glanced at Cho Sahyeon and Hyeok Mulin.
"Likely many first-timers like you tonight. Drawn by the rumors of that."
"You're speaking of the Blood River Chain Divine Art."
"Knew it, eh."
Blood River Chain Divine Art.
From the Blood Cult, now vanished into history's shadows.
Yet once, it had nearly unified Jungwon with its immense influence.
And from that cult's leader, the Blood Fiend.
Rumors spread that one of his ruthless core techniques, the Blood River Chain Divine Art, was up for auction.
Thus, tonight's crowd swelled several times beyond normal.
'Of course, it was all known info.'
It matched Hyeok Mulin's prior orders to her: investigate when the Blood River Chain Divine Art would appear at the Full Moon Surface Trading Auction.
And that was tonight.
"It's never empty, but today's noticeably packed."
Tsking at the unexpected line, the old man checked ahead and quickly stepped back.
"Whoops, got carried away talking—it's almost our turn. I'll head in first. Hope you get what you want."
"Thank you for the detailed explanation, elder."
"Please, go ahead."
Leaving their farewells behind, the old man proceeded.
Soon, it was Hyeok Mulin and Cho Sahyeon's turn.
The guard at the door posed the entry question.
"Where does the full moon break?"
Cho Sahyeon answered simply.
"At the Dragon Tendon Lumbar."
"Confirmed. Please wait a moment until the previous guest has entered."
The second checkpoint was a fixed passphrase.
Designed to bar those who picked up or stole a lost token, with dual verification.
Though Cho Sahyeon hadn't planned to attend when receiving the invite, she'd memorized even the passphrase included.
Her rule: never overlook even seemingly useless info.
"Please enter."
The guard opened the door, and Hyeok Mulin stepped calmly inside.
Unlike the manor seen from outside, the interior was an underground cavern.
Still, the passages were wide and ceilings high, posing no inconvenience.
They traversed the winding paths to a vast open chamber at the end.
'Auction houses are the same above or below ground.'
It resembled any ordinary auction venue.
A platform up front for displaying items, with participants scattered in fan-shaped tiers watching.
Hyeok Mulin took a seat at the left end with Cho Sahyeon and scanned the crowd.
Most came with elite escorts, masked with hats, veils, or fabric.
But some didn't bother hiding their auras, allowing Hyeok Mulin to guess their identities.
'Fitting the occasion, quite a few big shots have gathered.'
Not that it changed his plans.
After a brief survey, Hyeok Mulin turned to the front.
How much time passed? As the rear door closed, a man appeared on the platform.
His face fully concealed by a white mask marked with a moon on the forehead, gloved hands revealing no skin.
"Thank you for waiting. I am Moonlight, overseeing tonight's Full Moon Surface Trading Auction!"
"Ooh, finally starting?"
"Take your seats."
Chatter quieted at his voice.
Participants focused forward.
"This vast chamber packed to the brim—first time since its founding! Truly moving!"
Moonlight thanked the attention, gave brief rules, and announced the start.
"No more delay—let's begin! First item is...!"
With that, he swept away the black cloth on the platform.
Revealing a pristine ginseng radiating a crystalline glow.
"Millennium Snow Ginseng!"
"Ooooh!"
Starting strong.
Millennium Snow Ginseng, only found in northern border snowfields, impossible to cultivate.
Even core hunters gave up digging remote drifts for it—yet here it was.
"Starting bid: five hundred gold taels. Raise your hand if bidding."
As Moonlight finished, hands shot up fiercely.
"Five hundred ten!"
"Five hundred twenty!"
"Five hundred fifty!"
Bids soared, and the Millennium Snow Ginseng fetched eight hundred seventy taels to its new owner.
Cho Sahyeon marveled at the final price of the Millennium Snow Ginseng.
Hyeok Mulin smirked at her reaction and turned back to the auction.
Several more treasures followed in succession, all fetching high prices.
Then Moonlight announced the next.
"Next up: the Little Alluring Ancient Zither!"
Crafted by Unsoya, master of weaponless instruments, this was his life's masterpiece, made over thirty years without commissions—a compact zither for easy carry.
But as the Little Alluring Ancient Zither was introduced, the blazing auction atmosphere cooled slightly.
A priceless gem for sound art or music lovers, but less appealing to this crowd.
Moonlight, aware, set a low starting bid.
"Starting at three hundred gold taels!"
"Three ten."
"...Three twenty."
"......Three thirty."
Bids crept up slowly.
Then, for the first time, Hyeok Mulin raised his hand.
"Four hundred."
No further bids came, and he claimed the Little Alluring Ancient Zither with little competition.
Watching, Cho Sahyeon grasped his intent and nodded.
'A gift for visiting the Yagul Clan.'
Unpopular here, but invaluable to them—bound to soften their view, however slightly.
She admired his astute choice as the auction continued.
Treasures gradually gave way to martial manuals surfacing one by one.
The last technique of the Huangshan Sect's lord before its demise: Huangdu Thirty-Two Swords.
The thrust demon art of the infamous old monster, Soul-Stealing Corpse Fiend, nightmare of Jungwon's children.
Even the Huashan Sect's Taeyi Bewildering Palm.
Famed arts of unknown origin paraded on stage.
"Eight hundred fifty! Sold at eight hundred fifty!"
"Kuh! Lost by twenty taels...!"
"Whoever it is, I'm jealous."
"I'll snag the next one for sure!"
Many rued missed manuals, swallowing regrets.
Yet numerous others hadn't bid once, merely watching.
'Waiting for the Blood River Chain Divine Art.'
The Blood Fiend's technique.
Unpredictable final price—saving every coin.
'More than expected.'
Hyeok Mulin roughly counted and nodded.
Moonlight introduced the next.
"Now, the next is...!"
He spread his hand dramatically forward.
"The pinnacle art from distant Northern Ice Palace: Ice Stone Palm!"
Kwaduk.
Hyeok Mulin clenched his fist at the declaration.
Finally.
The true reason he'd come to the Full Moon Surface Trading Auction.
The Ninth Generation Heavenly Demon's signature ultimate technique.
Ice White Soul Seizing Palm.
Hyeok Mulin's eyes gleamed fiercely as he stared at it.