I Am The Heavenly Demon - Chapter 11 (Patreon)

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“No!”

Xuanyin’s response was a resounding denial. Unfortunately, it was somewhat undercut by her furious blush. She seemed to realize this because she quickly stuffed her face into her hands before turning her head away.

Chunma’s eyebrows shot towards the ceiling.

‘This chick… is a closet lesbian!’

Well, that was probably not entirely the case. She wasn’t indifferent to the charms of men, given how she reacted to his ‘romancing’. However, her attraction towards the princess seemed… more intense.

‘I know an instant crush when I see one—that was definitely it.’

During his past life, he’d underwent similar experiences. Thusly, when he saw her expression, he immediately developed some suspicions Her reaction to his ‘Can’t women be attracted to women?’ question confirmed his guess.

It was then that Chunma decided on a course of action that could only be described as ‘questionable’. Hormones and alcohol never went well together—his current situation was the perfect example of that.

“I thought of the perfect wedding gift for my dear wife: a handmaid! I can personally vouch for her background and education.”

Wrapping his arms around Xuanyin’s waist, he leaned forward and whispered into her ear.

The insanity of his proposition was enough to shock the girl out of her mortified state.

“You’re mad…”

She sounded absolutely horrified by his suggestion. Although she hadn’t considered the potential repercussions as extensively as Chunma, she understood Tang Hye was major bad news. That, combined with the fact that her ‘husband’ couldn’t possibly afford the purchase, made Xuanyin lament her decision to marry him. From her perspective, his 'proposal' was nothing short of absolute stupidity. Wasn’t he going to drag her and the Mu clan down by association?

“I’ve already made up my mind, so you don’t need to say anything else.”

His voice was relaxed, contrasting the girl’s panic. Purchasing the princess could be considered as accomplishing two of his main goals, although he had to admit, the decision was a bit hasty.

Once again, he couldn’t help but direct some of his suspicions towards the alcohol. Could the auction house be trying to lower their clients’ inhibitions? It would certainly be good for business.

Ultimately, it didn’t matter much—he was still going through with his plan. 

‘Doing it this way is risky, but the possible rewards are greater.’

“…bidding for the princess will start at ten-thousand gold taels, increasing in increments of one-hundred gold taels. We encourage you, esteemed guests, not to miss out on this opportunity. You may begin!”

While he and Xuanyin were conversing, the representative’s speech continued in the background. Contrary to expectations, the attendees didn’t immediately start a furious bidding war after she delivered her final statement. The reason was the price—it was too outrageous!

To put things into perspective, an experienced artisan like a mason or a blacksmith earned around a single golden tael per year, before any deductions or expenses. That meant the incremental increase of one-hundred gold taels was already beyond what most clans or sects could afford, never mind the base price of ten-thousand!

Chunma couldn’t help but narrow his eyes.

‘There’s something fishy going on here.’

Even if Jong Hyun liquidated and sold the entire Mount Hua sect, he would at most be able to gather two-thousand gold taels; an extremely generous estimate. If a man like him, who stood at the top of the Hua prefecture couldn’t afford it, then there was zero chance anyone here could!

‘Do they not actually want to sell her?’

That seemed the most reasonable guess, but if that was the case, why even bother? In fact, Chunma could already guess the reason—politics. Most likely, Tang Hye got on the wrong side of whoever was in charge of the royal faction. However, instead of killing her, they pawned her off to the Fluttering Petals pavilion.

While the auction house couldn’t afford to refuse, they also didn’t want to sour their relationship with an imperial princess. For those reasons, they gave her a price tag so enormous she’d never actually be sold.

It was a clever solution. If the royal faction found trouble with them, wouldn’t they be saying, ‘Actually, a person with royal blood isn’t worth that much.’? That would be nothing less than personally undermining the sanctity of their heritage! How could they do that when it was what gave them the right to rule in the first place?

The youth shook his head inwardly. Unfortunately, they’d encountered him. Not to mention ten thousand golden taels, even if it was a hundred thousand, he’d still be able to afford it. Or rather, that which he had to sell was worth… a lot of money.

He decisively raised the polished bronze plaque laying on the table. In the stillness of the building, the sudden movement and the shining, burnished color immediately drew everyone’s attention.

If people were shocked by the princess’ price, the fact that someone was actually able to bid on her was doubly so! After a long moment of collective disbelief, the venue’s silence was replaced by hundreds of uproarious voices.

Xuanyin looked at Chunma’s raised arm with wide, unblinking eyes. Unconsciously, she’d believed his words were nothing more than the boastings of a rich, young master, wanting to impress her with his wealth.

When he actually raised the flat copper plate, she looked on in stupefaction. Her day had gotten progressively more abnormal, to the extent that she no longer knew whether she was awake or dreaming.

“Put that down…!”

Snapping out of her malaise, she frantically grabbed his arm and started pulling on it. When that didn’t work, she reached for the plaque, only to realize she was too short. Not wanting this farce to go on for a moment longer, she leapt to her feat, but Chunma mirrored her movements. With both of them standing, even if she was on her tiptoes, she wouldn’t able to touch it!

“It’s too late. If someone makes an offer, they must honor their bid.”

The boy casually explained what both of them already knew. The Fluttering Petals pavilion wasn’t somewhere for people to make jokes. Their influence extended across the country, with both soft and hard power to match. It almost never happened, but when someone did make a false offer, the consequences would be… unpleasant.

Given her clan’s mercantile background, how could Xuanyin be unfamiliar with such things? In her heart, when she saw Chunma raising that plate, she knew it was already too late.

The girl’s face turned ashen and her eyes became like that of a dead fish.

Chunma couldn’t help but smile.

“Your concern is appreciated, but unnecessary.”

If she was in her normal state of mind, the girl would undoubtedly have refuted along the lines of ‘Who’s concerned about you? Think of how your stupidity affects others!’, but now she could only stand there like a statue.

It wasn’t only her, the female representative as well as princess Tang Hye, both standing on the stage below, wore dumbfounded expressions. Who could possibly have that amount of wealth?

The speaker in particular seemed utterly distraught, like she didn’t have a clue what she was supposed to do. She quickly looked over her shoulder, seemingly hoping another staff member was coming to give her advice, but it was in vain. She was on her own.

Her reaction was subtle, but many of the attendees were cultivators, so they were able to confirm some of their guesses.

‘There’s really something going on here!’

Chunma wasn’t the only one who’d noticed something was off. In fact, when the price was mentioned, most of the guests suspected the princess wasn’t really being sold. Those who advocated for her release earlier heaved sighs of relief, while those lusting after her could only stew in their frustration.

However, Chunma's bid had attracted both groups’ ire. The former resented him for threatening the princess’ dignity and freedom and the latter for ‘stealing’ her away.

“…young master Jong Chunma, the scion of the Mount Hua sect, has offered to pay ten thousand gold talents for princess Tang Hye!”

Having no other choice, the representative could only announce his offer. While she couldn’t possibly know the names of all those present, the VIP booths were another matter entirely.

When the attendees heard his identity, they couldn’t help but suck in breaths of cold air. Most of them didn’t even have the qualifications to speak to someone like him! 

However, while his background was enough to shut most people up, those with a similar status were left unconvinced. They knew just how much ten thousand taels was. It wasn’t something he should be able to afford.

‘This idiot is dragging the name of the Mount Hua sect through the mud!’

Many of those esteemed identities had such thoughts. To them, he appeared to be nothing more than a coddled young master who didn’t know the value of money. Most likely, he’d never managed his own finances, so he just assumed his father would be able to foot the bill.

Outwardly, they clicked their tongues and shook their heads, but inwardly, they couldn’t wait to see him make a fool of himself. After the last fellow had been sold into slavery alongside his entire family, idiots making a fuss inside the Fluttering Petals pavilion became a rare sight.

While the auction house was in a state of turmoil, Chunma was thinking his own thoughts.

‘If anyone tries to jerk me around, I’ll immediately back out.’

He understood he’d likely ruffled some feathers, so an opportunist or two might decide to make it difficult for him. Unfortunately for them, if they started mean-spiritedly raising the price, they’d be in for a nasty surprise.

However, who would be so stupid as to risk pulling a ten-thousand gold tael debt down on their own heads just to mess with him? That wouldn’t be anything less than ‘playing stupid games and winning stupid prizes.’!

Sure, there were a few who nursed such thoughts, but reality quickly dissuaded them of such notions. The Jong clan’s young master was going to ruin himself anyway—why did they need to interfere?

Meanwhile, on the sofa, Xuanyin was sitting with her head in her hands. The tiny bit of goodwill she’d accumulated towards Chunma, because of his consideration for her feelings regarding the marriage, had vanished into thin air. The only thing she could think about was returning to her parents as soon as possible to definitively cancel their engagement.

“…ten-thousand gold talents for princess Tang Hye, the third imperial daughter of the late emperor. Going once, going twice—sold, to young master Chunma!”

The representative was so befuddled that she didn’t even realize she’d given up the goose. The emperor’s death, which was meant to be a secret, was unknowingly revealed by her!

Not a single attendee let out so much as a peep during her countdown for worry of being considered a bidder. However, the moment the name ‘Chunma’ was spoken, a massive uproar broke out among the guests. When they’d shown up today, they’d hoped for an exciting auction, but this was far more than they bargained for!

‘The emperor of the Tang dynasty has died! Not only that, today his daughter, third princess Tang Hye, was auctioned off to the young master of the Jong clan!’

The moment everyone here departed, such news was bound to spread throughout Plum Blossom City like a wildfire.

As for Tang Hye, being the center of today’s events, everyone was naturally wondering how she would react. Given the stage’s excellent lighting, her face could clearly be seen by all. Her exquisite features were drawn into a frown and stormy clouds seemed to be brewing on her face. She was understandably upset.

However, Chunma didn’t pay much attention to her. Among the three ‘prizes’ he’d won today, she could only be considered as the third most valuable.

Without wasting time, he directly opened the door of their booth. Outside it, the female attendant was lurking, looking uncertain. One of her hands was raised, like she was just about to knock. When she met Chunma’s eyes, many complicated emotions flashed across her face.

“I’m sure your boss is eager to see me.”

Chunma gave her an easy smile, looking like today’s mess had nothing to do with him.

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