Human Auction
The auctioneer laid a hand on the wooden chest.
"The first item is a Qian-Kun Chest discovered in a Rank 3 hidden realm."
The auction hall stirred at once.
A Qian-Kun Chest.
It was a sealed box said to have been made in ancient times so people could store their belongings. The materials varied, the sizes varied, and what lay inside varied just as wildly.
Sometimes there was nothing at all. Sometimes all that emerged were rotten odds and ends. But if luck was on your side, they said, it could contain a rare elixir, a pill, or even an unparalleled martial arts manual.
In short, it was a gamble.
Which was exactly why it was so popular.
The auctioneer seemed to enjoy the crowd's reaction as he continued at an unhurried pace.
"This Qian-Kun Chest was found in the ruins of the warehouse belonging to the ancient Clear River Gate. Its provenance is guaranteed by the Evil Way Alliance. The starting bid is 100 nyang. Minimum increment is 5 nyang."
He raised a hand.
"Then let us begin."
The moment he finished speaking, someone shot up a hand.
"120 nyang."
"150 nyang."
"180 nyang."
Bids climbed in an instant.
Lee Kang watched quietly from the back. Honestly, he wasn't entirely uninterested. But most stories about striking it rich from a Qian-Kun Chest were stories about other people.
Lee Kang disliked that kind of gamble. Even so, he didn't sit completely still.
"210 nyang."
He spoke in a low voice.
A few nearby gazes turned toward him. He stood there as if it meant nothing.
It was an act.
He had to look like he was taking part in the auction. If he never bid even once, that would look suspicious too.
"250 nyang!"
"300 nyang."
"350 nyang!"
The price kept rising.
Lee Kang didn't call out again. He waited until, a moment later, the bids from another side began to thin out, then raised his hand once more.
"375 nyang."
The auctioneer glanced toward Lee Kang, then called out again.
"375 nyang! Any higher?"
"400 nyang."
A young man in a purple robe said lazily, looking like someone from the Murong family.
Lee Kang shut his mouth at once. Then, as though checking the man's expression, he gave up on the auction.
"Sold for 400 nyang!"
As the auctioneer clapped, an Evil Way Alliance martial artist carefully lifted the wooden chest and stepped back. The young man in the purple robe merely nodded, as if it were only natural.
The auction continued.
The second item was three old pills. The auctioneer boasted that they were effective for restoring stamina and relieving internal injuries, but to Lee Kang they looked like a questionable lot.
Still, people bid. Lee Kang even raised his hand once in the middle.
"95 nyang."
Of course, he had no intention of actually buying it.
"120 nyang."
The price jumped immediately from another side. Lee Kang closed his mouth without a trace of regret.
The third item was an old longsword. Rust covered the scabbard, but the blade itself was cleaner than expected. The auctioneer loudly claimed it had once been used by some nameless Peak master.
Lee Kang again pretended to bid at the right moment.
"160 nyang."
"180 nyang."
"200 nyang!"
And so the items passed one by one. Torn manuals, bundles of herbs, a Qian-Kun Pouch whose owner was dead, an unidentified talisman, a small dagger, and an elixir of unknown origin.
Lee Kang took part in the auction in fits and starts. His bids always stopped at an ambiguous point. He looked like someone who wasn't unwilling to buy, but not someone prepared to go all the way. He behaved exactly that way.
Cheong Jangmi, seated farther away, did the same. She joined the bidding several times, then quickly withdrew. She had probably understood the situation from Lee Kang's gestures.
Jang Ori was there too, in the left corner, trying to hide his massive body among the crowd.
There was no way he could be hidden.
Lee Kang found Jang Ori's attempt to move stealthily with that frame slightly absurd, but he didn't laugh.
The problem was No Hyeonjin. No Hyeonjin was nowhere to be seen.
No matter how many times Lee Kang scanned the auction hall, he couldn't spot the old man with the cane. He had definitely headed toward the auction, yet he was nowhere in sight.
Where the hell did he go?
Lee Kang kept checking the entrance and the space behind the platform in turn. Had he already slipped into the back? Or had he mixed in with the Evil Way Alliance martial artists? Or was he planning to make his move outside rather than inside the auction hall?
There was no way to know.
What was even more unsettling was that, after quite a bit of time had passed, nothing had happened.
The auction was drawing near its end. Yet no thunderclaps had gone off, and No Hyeonjin still hadn't moved. The modern-day people were still standing there obediently enough.
Lee Kang checked the Gallery from time to time as well.
Title: So when the hell is it blowing up?
I'm at the auction hall right now and nothing's happening
Is this a scam?
ㄴyeah lol: I'm here too. The atmosphere is insanely tense though
ㄴSahaRomantic: Where did the poster go?
ㄴMyRealLifeIsOver: It's getting scary. Can I just leave?
ㄴMudangIsABug: I told you not to go, you idiots
Lee Kang closed the window.
The auctioneer raised both hands in the center of the platform.
"Now, the final item of today's auction."
The air inside the hall changed at once. Even the people who had been standing around as though half here to watch, half here to pass time, fixed their eyes on the platform.
Lee Kang held his breath.
The tent curtain behind the platform was drawn open.
Two Evil Way Alliance martial artists dragged out an incomparable beauty.
White hair.
Black eyes.
And dead eyes.
The woman wore a thin white robe. Iron chains bound her wrists, and shackles locked her ankles.
Her body was thin, but in a way that made her stand out all the more. She had presence. In an instant, every gaze in the auction hall converged on her.
The auctioneer pointed at her with exaggerated flair.
"The final item of today. A special slave everyone has been waiting for."
The hall burst into murmur.
"This woman was secured during the annihilation of the Mount Tian Shan Sect, which had stood against our Evil Way Alliance. Her origin is certain. Her bloodline is certain. And most importantly, her constitution is special. The famed Nine Yin Severed Meridian!"
The murmur grew louder.
"A curse for ordinary people. But for those who practice the right techniques, it is a heaven-sent opportunity. If you've mastered yin-based heart methods, dual-cultivation demonic arts, or special methods from the heretical path, you can raise your martial power dramatically through this woman."
The auctioneer forcibly tilted the woman's chin upward. She did not resist. She only stared into space with those dead eyes.
"What's more, her aptitude is far from ordinary. Even the slave appraisers of the Evil Way Alliance all acknowledged it. A piece like this doesn't come up easily, even at the Wangwon Market auction."
Lee Kang muttered quietly, "Status window."
Translucent letters floated above the woman's head.
[Person Information]
Name: Unknown
Aptitude: Transcendent Peak
Lee Kang's eyes wavered ever so slightly.
Transcendent Peak.
It was absurd.
Even First-class talent was something a proper sect would keep an eye on. Peak meant someone you could call the future of a sect. Transcendent Peak was beyond that. He understood immediately why this woman had been chosen as the marquee item of the auction.
But Lee Kang wasn't especially shocked. In fact, behind the mask, he smiled faintly.
Right. So this is the kind of chaos a Transcendent Peak woman causes.
Mount Tian Shan background.
Nine Yin Severed Meridian.
Transcendent Peak aptitude.
Such a woman had been brought out as the final item of the auction. People held their breath, rich bastards' eyes gleamed, and the Evil Way Alliance hyped her up like treasure.
But the real treasure was somewhere else.
In a corner of the slave market.
A girl crouched there like trash, covered in black mud.
[Aptitude: Transcendence / Realm of Transformation]
In that moment, Lee Kang felt certain of it again.
He absolutely had to get that girl.
No matter how valuable the Mount Tian Shan slave might be, she was still beneath that girl. If Transcendent Peak talent was already this monstrous, then just how impossible was a talent in the Realm of Transformation?
No matter what it takes. That girl with the Realm of Transformation talent is mine.
On the platform, the auctioneer was still talking up the value of the Nine Yin Severed Meridian. The people in the hall listened as though enchanted.
Only Lee Kang was different.
He wasn't thinking about the woman on the platform. He was thinking about the corner of the slave market outside the auction hall.
"Then the starting bid will be 2,000 nyang! Minimum increment is 500 nyang!"
At the auctioneer's shout, the hall stirred violently.
"2,000 nyang!"
"2,500 nyang!"
"3,000 nyang!"
The price began climbing like mad.
Lee Kang watched for a moment, then made up his mind.
Let's leave right now.
It was an absurdly expensive slave. The moment such an item came up, it wouldn't be strange for someone short on money to give up and go home.
In fact, that would be natural. It was a little hasty, but that Realm of Transformation girl mattered too much to Lee Kang.
He slowly turned.
Inside, he was more frantic than anyone, but he didn't let it show at all.
He looked disappointed.
He looked like he'd lost interest.
He looked like someone who had judged this wasn't his game.
Then he moved.
Most of the surrounding gazes were fixed on the platform.
"3,500 nyang!"
"4,000 nyang!"
"4,500 nyang!"
As the price rose, the heat in the auction hall grew hotter and hotter. Lee Kang used the opening to quietly slip through the crowd.
One step. Then another.
The entrance drew nearer.
Good. If I get out like this, I'll head straight for the slave district where that Realm of Transformation girl is.
Then it happened.
BANG!
An enormous explosion shook the auction hall.
The tent heaved violently, and several red lanterns went out at once. Screams followed.
"What the hell!"
"It's an explosion!"
"They're attacking the Evil Way Alliance!"
"Run!"
The crowd all moved at once.
Smoke and dust surged up from the platform. Someone fell, someone cursed, and someone else charged straight for the entrance.
Lee Kang turned his head as if startled.
"What the...!"
After muttering briefly, he glanced around as though assessing the situation.
The important thing was now. Lee Kang moved at once.
If he bolted alone right now, he'd stand out. So he blended himself into the people fleeing. He hunched his shoulders like a frightened man, letting himself be shoved, letting himself stagger, and was swept toward the entrance along with the rest of them.
Even then, he kept glancing back from time to time.
The Evil Way Alliance martial artists were rushing toward the platform.
Even the men guarding the entrance had turned their heads. Some tried to stop the crowd, but when another blast rang out, they immediately ran back into the auction hall.
"Hold them!"
"Protect the goods!"
"Check the rear!"
Shouts erupted.
Lee Kang curled the corner of his mouth beneath the mask.
Very good.