The Art of Squandering Wealth
The glare stabbing down at me was fierce. It was nothing more than the petty tantrum of an old codger who had overspent and was now taking his frustration out on me, so I didn't need to pay it any mind.
"Ahem. Cough."
Did he at least know how to save a shred of face? He smacked his lips as if he had something to say, but ultimately remained silent. In a situation like this, no amount of raw power could buy back lost face. Authority was built on strength, but saving face and managing public perception sometimes required wisdom.
"Hmph."
Still, the way he looked down at me with a brief, mocking sneer was incredibly insolent. I could easily guess what kind of nasty scheme he was cooking up in that head of his.
"My, my. That young fellow really didn't know when to hold back."
"Who knows? Maybe he comes from some grand background. If so, he'll probably just get squeezed for some spirit stones by Chilyeon-noin and that'll be the end of it."
Was it because of the nature of these waters, where islands were scattered and one could simply sail away to escape trouble? The people living here seemed to possess the same volatile, violent temperament as the sea itself. Of course, Hayun had completely forgotten that just a few days ago, he had been boiling pirates alive to make seafood soup.
"And with that, the Baekgap-taegwi egg has been sold to the Great Elder of the Chilyeon Sect, Chilyeon-noin!"
"Hmph..."
Chilyeon-noin stroked his beard calmly, though his expression remained displeased. As the grinning auctioneer gestured, the egg vanished, and several gourds were brought up onto the stage.
"From left to right, we have the Clear Water Pill, the White-Form Void Water, and the essence blood of an adult Seven-Armored Beast. All of these possess pure water-attribute spiritual energy, so we will be auctioning them together as a bundle."
Thanks to reading various scriptures, I could recognize their origins. They were items highly effective for those in the Qi Circulation (Ungi) realm rather than the Samgeuk realm. Did any of my people practice water-attribute cultivation methods? A few faces came to mind, but they weren't close to me, nor were they important. The fleeting thoughts quickly passed, and my interest cooled.
"Sold to the cultivator of the Great Sea Clan for two hundred thousand spirit stones!"
Perhaps the Baekgap-taegwi egg shown at the beginning was just a hook to build up excitement, because the items that followed failed to catch my eye. High-grade spiritual tools, beast eggs far inferior to the Nine-Tortoise, and mediocre materials that were too low-grade to be added to Dharma treasures. They weren't niche items; they were simply targeted at average Qi Circulation cultivators.
Glancing over, I saw that the masters of the golden pavilions looked perfectly serene. They possessed the relaxed confidence of those who knew the upcoming items would surely satisfy them. Soon, as the atmosphere in the auction house began to cool down, it was time to stoke the flames again. At the gesture of the white-scaled male auctioneer, a rough, unrefined ore was brought out. However, its texture was far too peculiar to be called ore. Was that... salt?
I've seen that somewhere before. I had a memory of looking at it with interest... Ah.
"This is the legendary Sun-Dried Salt, which can only be formed through sheer coincidence and the passage of vast time in special, spiritual-energy-rich seas! Despite possessing extremely dense water-attribute spiritual energy, it is a top-grade spiritual medicine that blends seamlessly with any material. In particular, if a cultivator practicing an opposing fire-attribute technique consumes it raw, instead of experiencing a violent backlash, they will achieve a perfect harmony of Yin and Yang, allowing them to reach the absolute limit of Qi!"
Sun-Dried Salt! Despite its name sounding like something you could buy at a local grocery store, it was counted as one of the finest spiritual medicines in the Oryong Island sea region. Although it required the user to practice a fire-attribute technique, its ability to harmonize Yin and Yang and help one reach the Samgeuk realm was undeniable. Moreover, because it blended harmoniously with any spiritual medicine, adding it to high-grade spiritual pills would elevate them to the absolute highest tier. It was a spiritual medicine prized above all for its sheer versatility. And right then, a certain person flashed through my mind.
Noona has been stuck at the Universal Circulation (Tong-un) stage for quite a while now, and she's trying to break through to the Samgeuk realm. If she could borrow the power of this Sun-Dried Salt to harmonize Yin and Yang and reach the limit of Qi, nothing could be better. She was managing the Qi Circulation cultivators below the elder rank on my behalf, but as a Qi Circulation cultivator herself, she lacked authority. I was already uneasy about the fact that the elders weren't unconditionally on my side. If my sister, who was completely loyal to me, could reach the Samgeuk realm, she would be able to tighten the family's discipline once and for all.
"Sun-Dried Salt! The starting bid is five hundred thousand spirit stones, with increments of one hundred thousand!"
I had to get this. And I wasn't the only one with that idea.
"Five million."
A woman in one of the golden pavilions made a powerful opening bid right from the start. She was already about to surpass the price of the mutated Baekgap-taegwi egg that had just set the record.
"I wondered who was throwing around such wealth, and it turns out to be none other than Buddhist Nun Bipa of the Ail Sect."
"Does Old Man Pyeonghae wish to compete?"
"Of course. I bid five million five hundred thousand spirit stones."
"Five million six hundred thousand."
"Five million seven hundred thousand."
"Five million eight hundred thousand."
The two old-timers bickered, raising the price in tiny increments. But soon, someone threw a massive wrench into this boring competition.
"I must apologize to my two seniors, but this young girl wishes to bid seven million spirit stones."
It was a refreshing voice, completely different from the raspy tones of the old folks bickering in the golden pavilions. Unlike the elders whose vocal cords were clogged with the grease of age, this clear, sharp voice surprisingly came from the floor below the golden pavilions, not from within them.
"Haha, I didn't expect two juniors to butt into the seniors' competition today."
Beside me, a hairy crustacean-humanoid stroked his beard with amusement. When I shot him a glare, the guy—who looked like a pirate through and through—giggled and craned his neck. As if in a scene straight out of a comic book, everyone's heads turned toward a single spot. If she was famous, some gossip-loving busybody would surely start making a fuss soon.
"That's...! Isn't she the youngest daughter whom the leader of the Merchant Coalition dotes on the most?"
"The one who reached the Universal Circulation stage at the age of thirty and possesses a dense concentration of Divine Dragon blood, despite not being from Oryong Island?"
"A busy person like her crossed all the way from the safe Blue Dragon Sea to the lawless Dongheo Sea."
It made me think of the deceased Yeo Su-gu. Realizing she wasn't someone to be easily trifled with even from the golden pavilions, a faint trace of respect seeped into the cold eyes of the two old-timers. It wasn't quite treating her as an equal, but more of a 'let's hear what she has to say' attitude.
"Why has Cheong Ya-hui traveled all the way to this distant Taegwi Island? While Sun-Dried Salt is indeed rare, surely your father, the leader of the Merchant Coalition, must have one or two in his possession."
"My, Senior, you flatter us too much. But one can never have too many treasures, and just because it's in our warehouse doesn't mean it belongs to me."
"Hmm. Very well. An auction ultimately belongs to the highest bidder. I recall the last winning bid for Sun-Dried Salt was seven million spirit stones. I bid seven million one hundred thousand. If you go higher than this, I shall yield."
Cheong Ya-hui bowed politely, lightly covering her mouth with her sleeve. I didn't know if it was her title or her name, but I felt a spark. I felt a twitch in my dick. If it were up to me, I would have dragged her to some dark corner and ravished her on the spot, but the current situation wasn't ideal.
She had long, deep blue hair and glowing yellow reptilian eyes with slit pupils. Aside from the deer horns on her head and scales where her fingernails should be, she was an absolute beauty. Her skin was pale and supple, and a tail peeked out from the slit of her skirt. She was even closer to human than Baek Ryeom, the mermaid I had previously bedded—just the perfect ratio of beast-kin traits. At this level, it wasn't even furry; it was just an exotic charm. As I licked my lips looking at her, the auctioneer smiled brightly and raised his hand.
"Are there no other bids? A spiritual medicine as versatile and universally beloved as Sun-Dried Salt is hard to come by! Just holding onto it makes it an incredibly useful bartering chip in any situation!"
"Eight million."
Of course, pretty was pretty, but business was business.
"Eight million! We have eight million!"
The gazes stabbing in my direction were stinging. If before they looked at me as some eccentric who didn't value his life, now they looked at me as some bizarre anomaly beyond comprehension.
"Hey, does anyone know who that cultivator is?"
"No idea. Never seen him before. His perceived realm is only Qi Circulation, though."
Several cultivators in the golden pavilions tried to peer through me with their spiritual eyes. But without direct contact, merely looking was not enough to pierce through my identity or true cultivation realm. Unless they used specialized detection tools or spells... but doing that was practically an open declaration of war.
"Eight million one hundred thousand."
Those yellow slit eyes glared at me with annoyance. Exceeding eight million must have been an unexpected expense for her, as her bidding had become rather hesitant. Granted, it was a burdensome amount for me as well... but what was my profession? The inheritance left by Dae-akgwi was still intact, and if I ever ran low on cash, I could just raid a decent island and fill my pockets in no time. Did they think the entire fortune of a great pirate who had reached the Samgeuk realm was some joke? The allowance of a Samsung chairman's daughter couldn't even begin to compare.
"Ten million spirit stones."
Since I had already drawn attention, I might as well go all out. Terrible cost-efficiency? Like I gave a shit. I wanted to buy it. That was reason enough.
"Sold for ten million spirit stones to that cultivator over there!"
Perhaps she was a merchant at heart, because her glare was sharp and full of lingering regret. At the same time, as I opened my storage ring to show the staff member who came to verify my funds, a shiver of pure pleasure ran down my spine.
"Now this is what I call throwing money around."
It felt even better because it wasn't my money to begin with. I slipped the Sun-Dried Salt left by the staff into my pocket and rested my chin on my hand. Since I had already made a massive scene, I might as well get my money's worth.
"A bottle containing ten Qi Circulation Pills! The starting bid is eighty thousand spirit stones."
"Five hundred thousand."
"Excuse me?"
I had been feeling annoyed that some of my crew members were still mere Core Condensation (Yeondan) weaklings. I would only feel at peace once I got every single one of them to the Qi Circulation realm. Besides, due to our nature as the Night Goblins, recruiting new crew members was practically impossible. Unlike human pirates who could just scoop up any random survivor to replace the dead, our human resources were incredibly precious.
"Three pairs of Self-Circulation (A-un) stage puppets, the first stage of Qi Circulation! Starting at two hundred thousand spirit stones..."
"One million."
It wasn't like spirit stones accumulated interest by sitting in a vault. If it wasn't some incredibly rare material or spiritual medicine, it was better to spend them all, bolster our strength, and then pull off a massive heist. That was the pirate way, after all.
"Iron-Steel Fluid, which makes the body as tough and durable as a demonic beast when applied all over! Starting at fifty thousand spirit stones..."
"Five hundred thousand."
I had already refined and swallowed all the spiritual medicines and materials I plundered from Dae-akgwi, not to mention the ones I brought from my family. Why? Because we were in a crisis where the entire family could go down the drain. Why the hell would I save anything? Of course, I wasn't bidding blindly.
"The Twin Flood-Dragon Swords! Though of lower quality, they are strictly classified as Dharma treasures, a peerless treasure indeed!"
I passed on that. I had too many Dharma treasures as it was. Since they could be used semi-permanently, I was actually wondering if I should sell some of mine off. On the other hand, I swept up every single spiritual medicine and item that could immediately boost our combat power. By the time the auction neared its end, I did my best to ignore the burning stares from around me. What could they even do if they stared? The masters of the golden pavilions, whom I actually had to be wary of, seemed to have half-guessed my true realm and refrained from picking unnecessary fights. Why stop an equal cultivator from throwing his money around? Doing it yourself was fun, but watching someone else do it had its own charm.
"The final item of today's auction, the feather of the Golden Crow, has also been claimed by our suspiciously wealthy guest! It is these unexpected twists that make auctions so thrilling, isn't it? From this moment on, we will host a private trading session. Please note that our sect merely provides the venue and bears no responsibility for any liabilities or disputes arising from these transactions."
This meant we should barter items that were too precious to be traded for mere spirit stones. Since I had quite a few rare items, I decided to dispose of everything I didn't immediately need. Afterward, several unfamiliar artifacts and treasures were brought out, and Hayun traded for five of them. The reason I traded for five highly coveted items? What else but to show off my wealth? It was fine. Once I pulled off a massive heist, I would recover all of this. ...My actions and mindset felt a bit like a degenerate gambler who lived by the 'win-it-back-and-pay-it-off' creed, but it was the truth. Unlike them, I possessed a guaranteed business model (physical force).
"What I desire is any artifact or spiritual medicine that can help one reach the limit of Essence, Qi, or Spirit. I have listed the items available for trade here, and I will compensate you handsomely."
It was just as I had emptied most of my surplus wealth.
"You said you would accept anything that assists in reaching the limit of Essence, Qi, or Spirit? And that you would pay even more handsomely for something that touches the limit of Spirit?"
"Ah. Should I call you Cheong Ya-hui?"
"Such formal address is far too generous coming from a senior who has already reached the limit twice. Please, speak comfortably."
"So, what does the daughter of the greatest merchant in the Oryong Island sea region have to say to me?"
She smiled with her eyes, extending a fair, slender hand from her sleeve. It was a truly alluring, feminine hand. At the same time, a familiar yet nostalgic sensation washed over me. The way those colorful eyes gazed deeply at me... It felt as if my body was instinctively reacting to the scent of an ex-girlfriend's perfume that I could never quite forget.
"I happen to know the whereabouts of a spiritual medicine that can help one reach the limit of Spirit. So, would it be possible for me to purchase some of your time, Senior?"
"......."
No, seriously, this wasn't just a metaphor—this feeling was genuinely familiar. It was the nostalgic flirting I had experienced back when I was a mere brat in the Core Condensation realm. I pressed a hand to my forehead as I stared at the woman whose eyes held that familiar yet ominous hue—eyes I could never forget even if I tried.
Ryeo-ah. I didn't know whether to say it had been a long time or if this was our first meeting. This was the moment I encountered the second fragment of her soul.