The city walls of Wu Tan loomed like the ribs of a giant.
Xiao Chen dragged himself through the gates with the shuffle of a beggar. Raksha Rebirth had mended his broken body, but the cost had hollowed him out. His limbs felt heavy, his breaths shallow, his Dou Qi nearly gone.
He had nothing. No home, no coin, no clan.
But he knew what he needed: pills.
The auction hall stood at the heart of the merchant district, a grand building of polished stone and lacquered wood. Golden lanterns illuminated the night outside, and guards in black uniforms patrolled the entrance.
He lingered in the shadows, watching them.
Their stances were disciplined, their auras sharp — trained, but not strong. A small auction, he realized. No high-level guards.
His lips curled faintly.
He didn't need to fight them.
Greed. Hatred. Calamity.
Xiao Chen crouched low, closing his eyes as he gathered the dregs of his Dou Qi. It felt like pulling blood from a stone, but it answered.
A golden fog seeped from his pores, faint at first, then spreading wider, clinging to the air.
It crawled across the ground like smoke, slipping between the guards' boots, creeping into their mouths and ears.
The first guard blinked rapidly, rubbing his temples. Another scowled, his breath growing heavy as anger swelled in his chest.
Within moments, confusion, paranoia, and greed bloomed like poison flowers.
"Why are you standing so close to me?" one barked.
"You think I don't see you eyeing my coin pouch?" another snarled.
The argument grew sharp, then louder. In seconds, they shoved each other, fists flying.
Xiao Chen slipped past silently, swallowed by the chaos.
---
Inside, the air was different — perfumed, heavy with the musk of wealth. Gilded pillars lined the hall. Velvet curtains hid private viewing rooms where merchants and minor nobles lounged.
On the auction floor, the host stood on a raised platform, his voice projecting over the small crowd.
"Next, we have a set of mid-grade Dou Qi replenishment pills. Starting bid, fifty gold!"
Xiao Chen's gaze fixed on a table near the stage where smaller treasures lay ready for display — jars of pills, their seals faintly glowing.
His exhaustion screamed at him, but his hands worked quickly, sweeping as many jars as his sleeves could hide.
His heart thudded as he turned toward the exit. He had what he came for.
And then he froze.
The auctioneer clapped his hands, and attendants rolled out a new chest, setting it carefully on the stage.
"Now, our special item of the evening — a rare Earth Vein Rejuvenation Pill!"
Murmurs erupted in the hall.
Even Xiao Chen's tired body stirred at the words.
He'd read of such pills. A single one could restore a crippled Dou Qi foundation. For him, drained and barely functional, it could mean life or death.
The bidding started at one hundred gold. Voices barked out numbers. The crowd grew restless.
He couldn't walk away.
Not now.
Xiao Chen ducked into a shadowed corner, his hands trembling as he pulled a jar from his sleeve and popped the seal with his teeth. Three pills slid onto his palm.
He swallowed them dry.
Heat exploded in his veins. It wasn't pleasant — it was like swallowing molten metal. But his empty meridians drank it greedily, his Dou Qi surging back just enough for what he was about to do.
He stepped back into the open, Dou Qi coiling inside him.
Greed. Hatred. Calamity.
The words echoed again as he released everything he had.
The golden fog erupted, thicker and heavier than before, flooding the hall in seconds.
The bidders stiffened, their faces twisting with sudden emotions. One merchant's eyes narrowed at his neighbor, convinced he was being mocked. Another lunged for the chest, yelling that the pill belonged to him.
Within moments, the room dissolved into chaos — shouts, shoves, fists.
Guards rushed in, but the fog took them too. Confused, paranoid, they turned on each other instead of restoring order.
Xiao Chen moved through the frenzy like a phantom, his steps measured, his body hidden by the roiling gold mist.
He reached the stage, snatched the chest with the pill, and slipped back into the smoke.
By the time the first man cleared his head, Xiao Chen was gone, swallowed by the night.