The Golden Carp Guild's Auction House wasn't a mere building; it was a temple. A temple erected to power and money, a cathedral of ambition where fortunes and destinies were bought and sold with the strike of a gavel. Its black marble columns, polished like mirrors, supported a ceiling so high it seemed to have stolen a piece of the night sky. The air didn't smell of crowds or street food, but of the delicate, exorbitant aroma of Jade Frost Tea and the sandalwood of its paneled walls—a perfume that clung to the soul and reminded you that you weren't rich enough.
In the reception hall, a hive of powerful figures, Young Master Lian Ren of the Silent Echo Valley drummed his fingers on the ebony table with an impatience that was almost an insult to the serene atmosphere of the place. He was a man whose beauty seemed to have been sculpted by the gods themselves, but whose current expression was that of a spoiled child who had been promised a sweet and given a lesson in economics instead.
"This is a waste of time, Xue Li," he complained, his voice an irritated melody. "You pull me from my seclusion, interrupting a crucial moment in my cultivation, with promises of an 'unforgettable spectacle.' And for what? To watch a bunch of old merchants compare the size of their moneybags. I've seen more exciting auctions for a prize-winning hog in my home province."
Across from him, Xue Li, the scheming envoy of the Alchemist's Guild, maintained a smile as serene and false as a Buddha statue. He held his wine glass with predatory elegance, his serpentine eyes scanning the crowd.
"Patience, my dear Lian Ren," he said, his voice a perfectly courteous oil. "The best hunt requires the patience of a hawk, not the haste of a wolf. Fine wine, beautiful women, rare treasures... all good things require a prelude."
"I've had enough preludes," Lian Ren retorted, leaning back in his chair with studied nonchalance. "The daughter of the Clan of the Dancing Flame's Patriarch, the head disciple of the Celestial Frost Palace, the so-called 'Pearl of the Western Desert'... They all fell in less than a week. They've become predictable. Boring. They are hawks who think they're eagles, but they're nothing more than pigeons with pretty feathers."
Xue Li smiled to himself. His plan was simple, almost poetic in its cruelty. He knew that Lian Ren, the most legendary skirt-chaser of his generation, couldn't resist the challenge of a new, untouchable beauty. His idea was to use him to destabilize the recently ascended Xiao Yue.
"Ah, but I haven't brought you to see a pigeon," Xue Li said, lowering his voice, creating an aura of confidentiality. "I've brought you to see a Phoenix. I've heard that the little, forgotten princess of the Silver Cloud Clan, that Xiao Yue, has decided to come out of her shell. They say her beauty now rivals that of the fae."
Lian Ren scoffed. "A girl? That's your grand surprise? Xue Li, your taste is becoming vulgar. Girls are easy: a little flattery, an expensive jewel, and they fall like blossoms in autumn."
"Perhaps. Or perhaps this flower is made of spiritual steel. Think about it, Lian Ren: a woman who has lived in the shadows and suddenly becomes the center of the entire city's attention. She's either a lucky fool or a mistress of deceit. Which of those two options do you find more entertaining?"
The mention of possible deception, of a hidden intellect, finally captured Lian Ren's interest. The idea of a cunning mind behind a beautiful face was a challenge he hadn't encountered in a long time.
It was then that the murmur in the reception hall died.
It wasn't a gradual descent. It was as if an invisible hand had strangled the sound, leaving an absolute, expectant void. All eyes were fixed on the entrance.
The "Clouded Phoenix" carriage, a masterpiece of black sandalwood and spiritual silver, stopped before the main stairs. Its mere presence was a declaration. The crowd parted like water before a ship's keel.
They saw a young man descend first. He wore the silks of a personal attendant, a sober charcoal color but of an impeccable cut. His back was straight, his face a mask of neutral efficiency.
Kenji positioned himself by the open carriage door, not as a lackey, but as the herald of a main event. And then, she appeared.
The world stopped. She wore a crimson silk gown that seemed woven from liquid flames, so intense it made every other color in the hall pale in comparison. Her hair, a torrent of the deepest red, framed a face of perfect features. But it was her eyes that stole one's breath: two pools of molten gold that observed the world with an ancient, powerful calm.
Xue Li felt the wine glass slip from his fingers. It shattered against the marble floor with a sharp sound that no one seemed to hear. He, who considered himself a connoisseur of exotic beauty, realized his catastrophic mistake. This woman wasn't just pretty; she was a lethal work of art. For a frozen instant, he regretted bringing Lian Ren.
Lian Ren, for his part, had forgotten how to breathe. His exasperation had evaporated, replaced by a fascination so absolute it was almost painful. His normally bored eyes now shone with the light of a predator that has found the only prey worthy of his hunt. Every woman he had known before had just become a pale imitation.
Regaining his composure, Lian Ren moved. His universe had shrunk to the figure of the woman in red. He deployed his entire arsenal: his flawless appearance, his gallant stride, the perfectly calibrated smile. He approached Xiao Yue just as she finished descending.
"A Phoenix has descended among mortals," he said, his voice a melodious silver. "I am Lian Ren, of the Silent Echo Valley. And I must say, not even all the legends I have heard could do justice to the reality of your beauty, my lady."
He gave a perfect bow. He expected the usual reaction: a blushing surprise, an incipient interest.
Xiao Yue turned to look at him. Her golden eyes scanned him from top to bottom, not with interest, but with the cold indifference of an executive reviewing a trivial budget line item.
"Thank you," she said.
A single word. Cold. Curt. There was no disdain, which would have been a challenge. There was something worse: an absolute, total indifference.
The indifference threw him completely. It was a first. He recovered instantly. Interesting. She's playing the ice maiden.
Xiao Yue ignored him as if he were a decorative pillar and addressed the receptionist.
"A private box," she said, her tone that of someone accustomed to giving orders. She dropped a small silk pouch on the counter that chimed with the weight of gold. "For two. Have the house's best dishes and your oldest wine served to us. And I don't want anyone to bother us. No one."
Lian Ren arched an eyebrow. A box for two? After my introduction? It's an invitation! A subtle way of telling me she wants to get to know me better. Cunning. She rejects me in public, invites me in private. A game I can respect.
He approached her with a triumphant smile, believing he had deciphered her strategy.
"An excellent choice, my lady. This crowd can be... exhausting. I assure you, my conversation is as exquisite as the wine you've ordered. You will not regret my company."
Xiao Yue turned slowly, and this time she looked directly at him, as if she had just noticed an insect buzzing near her ear.
"Excuse me," she said, her voice frigid. "I believe there has been a misunderstanding. The box is for two, yes, but the seats are already taken. I already have company."
Lian Ren blinked, confused. He looked around. He saw only the guards, the receptionist, and... the ordinary-looking attendant who had stepped out of the carriage. The man was waiting patiently a few steps away, observing with an analytical neutrality that was almost insulting.
The miscalculation was instantaneous and catastrophic. Lian Ren interpreted the situation through the only filter he knew: that of arrogance and hierarchy. Ah, I see. She's embarrassed to be seen with a servant, but her kindness prevents her from dismissing him. How noble. What better way to win her favor than to show that I understand her dilemma, that I belong to her world.
Thinking he was about to execute a masterstroke, he turned to Kenji with a condescending smile.
"It is laudable for a lady of your status to care for the help," he began, his tone a mixture of flattery for her and contempt for him. "But you mustn't worry. I will see to it that this... person does not bother you again."
He addressed Kenji directly. "What's your name, boy?"
Kenji looked at him, his expression not changing one iota. "Kenji."
"Right, Kenji. Your lady needs space. Here are a couple of gold coins." Lian Ren tossed them into the air with disdain, and they landed on the floor with a pitiful clink. "Go to the kitchens, buy yourself something warm. The lady and I have private matters to discuss. Your presence taints the air."
Xiao Yue did not blush from embarrassment. She flushed with a fury so white-hot and pure that for an instant the air around her seemed to vibrate. But Lian Ren, blind in his own vanity, misinterpreted it again: he saw the blush and thought it was gratitude.
He continued his chivalrous monologue: "Do not worry, my lady. I understand the complexities of nobility. Sometimes, one must deal with the mud, but one doesn't have to seat it at one's table. Allow me to escort you to your box, where we can enjoy a conversation worthy of our—"
When Lian Ren finished his speech, he met the gaze of a dead man. Xiao Yue's face was a mask of marble, her golden eyes two pits of icy fury.
"First," she said, her voice a frigid whisper that cut through the air, "he is not a servant. He is my partner. Second, his name is Kenji. And third... Don't you ever speak to him like that again."
And then, without giving him time to process, she moved.
CRACK!
The sound wasn't the whistle of Qi; it was the dry, fleshy, brutal crack of bone on bone. Her hand, moving with a speed that defied physics, struck Lian Ren's cheek with the force of a war hammer. She didn't use a single shred of her spiritual power; she didn't need to. The pure physical strength granted to her by the Jade Phoenix Balance Pill was more than enough.
Lian Ren, a cultivator at the peak of the third stage, staggered backward. The world spun. A supernova of pain exploded in his jaw, and the taste of copper and humiliation filled his mouth. The shock was absolute, not just from the pain, but from the heresy of the act: a woman, without using Qi, had injured him. Had humiliated him. Her physical power was incomprehensible.
The slap echoed in the absolute silence of the reception. The mark of five fingers, red and furious, bloomed on the young master's perfect cheek.
Xiao Yue didn't spare him a second glance. She shook her hand as if she had touched something filthy. With her mask of cold indifference back in place, she simply turned.
"Kenji, let's go," she said, her tone returning to that of an executive addressing her partner.
She took an impassive Kenji by the arm—a deliberate, possessive gesture—and strode firmly toward the VIP box area, leaving behind a trail of slackened jaws, a Lian Ren in a state of absolute shock, and a petrified Xue Li, whose smile had frozen into a mask of pure terror.
Lian Ren touched his cheek, which burned like a red-hot iron. His fingers trembled. He wasn't furious; fury was too simple an emotion for what he felt. He was... fascinated. Electrified. The idea of conquest had now mingled with a new, thrilling layer of fear and challenge. This woman was an enigma, a monster of power and beauty wrapped in crimson silk. And he, for the first time in his life, didn't just want to conquer her. He needed to. He needed to unravel her every secret, to understand the source of that impossible strength and that iron will.
Xue Li, for his part, watched the scene with a blood-chilling terror. His plans, his intrigues... everything had become exponentially more complicated. Xiao Yue was no lucky fool. She was a predator who had deceived the entire city. He realized his stupidity: he hadn't put a hawk in a canary's cage to be hunted; he had locked an arrogant wolf in with a dragon disguised as a sheep.
The door to the VIP box closed with a soft, definitive click, isolating Xiao Yue and Kenji in their new, exclusive world.
The game had changed. And Xiao Yue had just announced, with the sound of a slap, the market price of disrespect.