CC3 -CH8- (Patreon)

Reaching the auction house Ash went straight for the anonymous entrance. He’d be able to slip in, blend in, and become indiscernible from anyone else.

A woman who looked to be in her twenties was standing not too far off. She was keeping herself directly in the center of what would be the VIP booths.

Likely where Ash would be taken to after he’d deposited his auction house token and some things to sell. He already suspected that they’d likely push back his items for a few day to gather interest.

He could at least participate in the auction today though to see if there was anything interesting to purchase. There was always something to be bought, so long as one had the money.

Money is a deep form of power.

After all, mother Far always said ‘an inch of time is worth an inch of gold, but you can’t buy an inch of time, with an inch of gold’, and I hold that to truth.

“You’re just saying that because you plan on hiring people do all the chores in the house. Like managing the greenery,” accused Locke.

Ash only grinned at that, he didn’t disagree with her.

“I’m going to go put some things up to sell,” Ash said indicating the cubicles. “You’re welcome to wait here for put some things up yourselves. Meet back here in a few?”

There were collective nodding heads to his words.

Ash turned and entered one of the cubicles.

Pulling out his jade token, he dropped it into the tray, then closed it.

He figured that if he introduced himself to whoever was on the other side first, they’d have a chance to prepare for him. Last time it took them a while as if they had to rush off to find someone.

Sorting through what he could sense of the Hall, Ash began to organize what he was allowed to sell. They had to be very careful with what he was putting into the auction house and how much of it.

Yue had sorted out everything that he could sell while he was out here without raising suspicion. In the end she’d given him a lot to work with.

Locke, what do you think? Start big? Start small?

I feel like giving them crumbs to start with is the best personally.

“I’d tend to agree, yes. Start small, give them a little of what you know they want. Maybe… one element, and a couple professions?” Locke suggested.

Mm. I agree completely.

Thank you, Locke Sheng.

“I… of… course. Of course. Yes. Not a problem,” said Locke in a rather excited voice.

Ash flicked through his papers and brought out a single Water Elemental transference paper. It would convey the attribute of water to whatever it was put onto.

Sword, person, or otherwise.

For someone like Jia who was predisposed to Water Qi cultivation and usage, this was an empowerment. It was one of the reasons everyone in his alliance was incredibly strong in their own bailiwick.

Their foundations were built into their elements, their abilities chosen by Ash, everything enhanced by carving directly onto their bodies.

He’d turned them all into living weapons.

I think… wood carving, carpentry, and… singing, will be an amusing thing to watch happen.

As Ash thought about what he was going to do, he pulled out all the appropriate paper bundles. He imagined people wouldn’t be very happy since he wasn’t doing what he did last time, but this was going to be longer term.

Careful and slow.

Standing there, Ash waited, staring at the drawer.

He’d already heard the clatter and rush as whoever it was saw his token. They were most likely scurrying off to find a supervisor just as Ash suspected they would.

Before he knew it, he started to cultivate.

Inspecting the slow flow of time as it wound around him. Where the air slipped in through underneath the door, into the room, and through the small gaps in the drawer.

It was just a bare whisper of movement, but he could feel it as he more or less tasted the momentum of the world. Watching it go by as one would a creek.

There was a disturbance in that flow that came suddenly. From the other side of the partition, in fact.

Ash looked to where the drawer would open before it did. He saw it open, before it did.

His Dao was active and merely letting things happen as they would, rather than projecting it out as it had done previously.

The drawer opened and the jade token was the only thing inside.

Going to pick it up, Ash paused.

It’d changed.

Instead of a jade coin, it was a jade coin with a gold border. It had a number on it that was a two.

Hm. Did they upgrade me or something? Curious.

I’ll have to change my plans a bit, won’t I?

Ash pulled out the papers, took his token back, and dropped them into the box.

Then he took out one of each element, and dropped them inside as well. It wasn’t part of his original plan, but he felt like he couldn’t disappoint them.

Shutting the drawer he waited, wondering how long this time would take.

He was surprised when it only took thirty seconds for the drawer to open again.

This time was a single slip of paper and a card.

Picking up both Ash saw that they were once again asking him to please give them time to advertise his items. This time it would be a week before the auction began.

Once more, they’d given him a card filled withe spirit stones.

They gave him what they believed to be ten-percent of what his items would likely sell for, and three percent as a bonus if he gave them time.

Ash flicked the note back into the drawer, closed it, and slipped the card into the Hall.

What are we at money wise?

“Two million spirit stones, give or take. We’d have more but you always tell Yue to reinvest it,” reported Locke. “To be fair, she just puts cards in our home now. You just think you left them out and pick them up and put them away.

Wait, really? Is that why I kept finding cards?

Exiting the cube he walked back out into the hall.

Liu was standing there talking to Chunhua. Biyu wasn’t anywhere that he could see here.

“Ah, she’ll be back in a moment,” Liu said as Ash drifted closer.

He was thankful she wasn’t addressing him by name or doing anything that would bring attention to them. The whole point of coming in the anonymous entrance the way they did was to keep themselves out of the spotlight.

Unfortunately, standing around here wouldn’t be helpful either.

Ash glanced to the woman in the hall, then back to the cubicles. He didn’t want to leave Biyu behind, nor did he wish to remain here.

“May I help you, sir?” asked the woman, giving him a pretty smile. She had looks that would certainly put her above the average line with dark brown hair and black eyes.

Unfortunately for the auction house, and the royal family it was attached to, Ash was now terribly spoiled. He didn’t have much in the way of roaming eyes given the quality of the women he spent his time with.

There would be very little information a woman such as this would be able to coax from him.

He was fortunately far more likely to get information out of her, instead.

He also noticed that she was a low level Spirit Refiner. She was clearly more than just a pretty face.

“Is the royal family currently in the royal city?” Ash asked, catching and holding the woman’s gaze.

The royal family controlled all the citizens and received their due from everyone in the realm.

Where as the Realm Lord was hailed as the chief cultivator of the realm, even though from what Ash knew they were only a high ranked Empowered Mortal.

The two leaders, the King and the Realm Lord, shared joint responsibility of the realm. Both of them reported to the Emperor of the Heavens.

If the royal family was in the royal city, then Ash definitely had nothing to worry about.

“They are currently residing in Xing city, Sir,” said the woman with a calm and very practiced smile.

Ah, I see. We’ll have to make sure we’re very careful then.

“Indeed. Also, Biyu is returning right now. It would be a perfect time to act,” Locke advised.

“I need you to take me to the VIP assignment hall,” Ash said and pointed to the area behind her. “I don’t wish to show you my token, but I can tell you it’s a single digit token.”

Blinking hard the woman looked as if she’d been given a terrible shock. She quickly dipped her head once, then stepped to the side, holding her arm out. She said nothing, admitting them with nothing more than moving to the side.

Which was actually idea. The less attention brought to them the better.

Ash started moving just as Biyu fell in with Liu. The four of them trooped into the hall, the woman stepping back into the middle of the entry and blocking access.

“She was weak,” Biyu murmured quietly.

“Only a Spirit Refiner two. Perhaps three. Yet only the strength of a Mortal eight or nine. She rushed her development,” Liu responded. “Its disappointing to find someone so unsuited for guard detail.”

“To be fair, those two really are growing faster than even I projected. They’re both Mortal Refiner eights, now,” mused Locke.

Eight!? How the hell did they do that!?

“A lot of training, a lot of medicinal items, and a lot of debt to Ying Yue, Mei, Jia, or Na, I imagine. They’re probably in such a great deal of debt that it would be incomprehensible.”

Ash only shook his head slightly as he spotted what he was looking for up ahead.

Another woman was waiting for them. This one a little older, though they had the look of someone who’d been working their position for a long while.

He recognized her as the woman who’d assisted him last time. Offering him anything and everything under the sun, including women.

“Ah, welcome,” she said, bowing her head to him. “May I know what your token is? I’ve been alerted to the fact that we have a great person in the auction house today.”

Uh huh.

Bullshit.

You recognized me and know exactly who I am. You’re trying to play it off though so you don’t seem dangerous to me.

Ash pulled the token from the Hall and held it out in front of himself.

The woman’s eyes focused on the token than widened. Her breath caught and it looked like she wanted to flee from him.

Making the token vanish back into the Hall, Ash stood there, waiting. Staring at the woman as she stared back at him.

“After me kind sir, please allow me to show the esteemed guest to his seat,” said the woman after an awkwardly long pause, with a turn of her body. She began to lead them down the hall.

They kept going past where she’d taken Ash previously and to another door. The woman opened it, stepped inside, and held it open.

“Would the guest and his entourage like anything? May I fetch you anything at all?” asked the woman.

“Breakfast, please,” said Ash, moving into the booth. “Fruits for me. Ask the others for what they want.”

Moving to the front of the booth Ash found he was looking out onto the auction floor. This booth was very similar to the previous one, but it had a better view. There was also a lot more money spent on the decorations and seating arrangements.

Just like last time, if he bid on anything, no one but the auctioneer would be able to see it. Set in the center of the seat was a placard. It had a gold rim around it and had the number two in the middle.

Perfect.

Picking up the placard, Ash sat down, and waited. He was curious to see what would go up for sale today.

It really is like being on vacation.

“It is indeed a nice rest from the evils that were the sect,” agreed Locke. “Though do be on guard. They were only magnified in the sect. They exist here as well, of course.”

***

Biyu and Liu were eating from their plates in a far more dignified way than he’d expected. For some reason, he’d half expected them to be gorging themselves.

Chunhua was seated next to him, daintily nibbling at what looked like some type of scone. It reminded him of a watching a small cute animal.

“What?” asked the sorceress, apparently catching him watching her.

“Nothing,” Ash said, immediately falling back into placid neutrality. Then decided against it. “I was just thinking how cute you looked. That’s all.”

Watching him for a few seconds Chunhua blinked, then slowly let the scone fall away from where she’d been holding it up. She gave him an odd smile and finally looked away, her eyes drifting off to the side.

“They’re not used to you actually pushing a bit. Remember how Tala and Na acted previously?” Locke reminded him. “She’s probably going through every little thing from this morning to now, trying to figure out what she did that brought this change on.”

A chime sounded throughout the room, immediately followed by a woman walking out on the stage in front of everyone. She looked to be the same auctioneer from the last time.

“Good morning everyone. First I’d like to announce that our auction house is honored and delighted to state that we’re in possession of transference papers. Our dearest and most esteemed patron has brought more of us to sell on their behalf.

“We’ve of course authenticated them and will put them on display after this auction closes. We plan on selling them one week from today in a special one off auction,” said the woman in a loud voice. It carried easily, the building interior clearly having been built just for this purpose.

There was an immediate and vocal response from all those who were attending the auction.

It was obvious that they would likely spread the word far and wide before the auction house could even hope for. Word of mouth was always a wonderful way to spread news, after all.

“That’s for another time, however. Let’s begin with this morning’s auction!” said the woman who then gestured off stage. Indicating to someone else off stage to bring up the first item.

There was a slight pause and then a young man came over with a table laden with pill jars. They came in every discernible size and shape.

“Nothing of any actual use there. Our Yue has given you more than that when she was bored in the evenings,” Locke commented dryly.

“Oh, Biyu, we should get those,” Liu said, gesturing at the stage.

“Yes, Mistress Sheng did say to buy them all up and use them,” agreed Biyu.

“Mei wants them to be as powerful as possible, as quickly as possible,” Chunhua offered before Ash could even ask about it. “She and Yue are working together.”

Ah, that would explain their levels. You were right, Locke.

Debt up to their eyeballs to Mei and Yue.

“To be fair, they likely took it on and willingly.”

Ash said nothing though he handed over the placard to Chunhua, who passed it down.

He knew that the vast majority of the people in his alliance felt incredibly indebted to him. To a point that those closest to him had told him in no uncertain terms that if they were them, they’d feel compelled to offer him their lives or bodies.

Bed’em all, right?

“Fuck no. I only said that because I didn’t think you’d ever do it.”

Are you being serious?!

What the fuck, Locke?

“Yes, I’m being serious. Don’t sleep with any of them. In fact, don’t sleep with Chunhua, Liu, Biyu, or Jia,” grumbled Locke.

Thinking on that, and how well it fit with how weird Locke had been getting, Ash watched as an endless parade of items were brought up, discussed, auctioned, and moved off the platform. Nothing really jumped out to him or called his attention.

Liu, Biyu, and Chunhua likewise didn’t seem interesting in anything else that was brought up

“For the last item of the day, we have a collection,” announced the auctioneer. She walked to one side of hte platform grabbed something just off stage.

Moving back to the center she brought with her what looked to be a large wooden table that was covered in a red cloth. The whole thing was canted at forty-five degrees to that everyone actually see what was on the table.

Laid out across that red cloth were a large number of weapons.

There was even something that caught Ash’s eyes.

In the top left of the table was a large two handed sword. Ash didn’t know the name of it but it looked very European to him rather than belonging to this veil.

He needed to know more but that wasn’t something he could do easily. Locke, on the other hand, would be able to figure out exactly what was going on with those weapons.

All he had to do was butter her up a bit.

Locke Sheng, dearest wife of mine, is that two-handed weapon there suitable for Tala?

“I— that is— uhm— let me check!” Locke said in a stuttering and far too loud voice. “Yes! She’d be able to use it and it would help her, in fact. It’s a much better channel and focus than her current sword. There’s also a sword in there that would do well for Moira.

“Not to mention I’m sure there are others in the alliance that could benefit from those weapons. It wouldn’t harm us at all to get them.”

Thank you!

Ash picked up the placard that was resting in Chunhua’s lap and then held it up. The auctioneer hadn’t even finished talking about the piece when he’d done so.

The woman on stage had noticed him and her smile widened, then gestured to the collection as she continued to speak.

“— of the highest quality. I don’t think there’s anything more to be said. I have an opening bid of two-hundred thousand spirit stones,” she said, glancing up to Ash.

Ash lifted the placard higher and waggled it around.

“I have two-hundred thousand,” she said, pointing up at him. Then her head turned fractionally. “Do I have two-fifty?

“Two-fifty. Three hundred?”

Her hand moved back to Ash now. Apparently another booth had bid on the weapons.

“As a collection they’re probably only worth about four-hundred to five-hundred thousand spirit stones. For our purposes, and that we could easily use every single one of those items in in our alliance, I’d say no more than seven-hundred thousand,” offered Locke in a very helpful tone.

Apparently his buttering up had done wonders for her.

Ash raised his placard, then lowered it. Then raised it again, and once more lowered it. And raised it again.

“I… I have… I have four-hundred thousand,” she said in a bit of an odd tone, her hand gesturing back to the other booth. Do I have four-fifty?

“I have four-fifty. Five hundred?”

Ash raised his placard, put it down, raised, it, put it down, raised it, then put it down once more.

“Six-hundred thousand,” said the auctioneer in a nearly flat tone now, her hand moving back toward the other booth. “Going once… twice… sold.”

“Two-hander goes to Tala,” Ash said and put the placard down against the side of his chair. They were done here now that the auction was over. “There’s another sword that’ll go to Moira. You’re welcome to pick something out from the collection if you want it.”

Ash stood up and brushed out his clothes, then adjusted them. He picked up a slice of a pear, stuffed it into his mouth, and started making his way to the door.

It was time to go.

Before he got there, the door burst open. The female attendant who had been taking care of them was attempting to pull a man that was roughly twenty-years in age backward.

“How dare you!” shouted the man, his dark eyes flashing, even as his black hair threatened to come loose.

“Huh?” Ash said around the mouth-full of pear.

“How dare you bid against me!” shouted the young man again.