Chapter 87: Dragon [PART 1]
"How much did you say this was worth again?" Yu Tian asked with a sweet smile.
The man looked around nervously. This newbie was making him uneasy. Could it be that he really wasn't a newbie?
"A thousand coins," he stammered.
"A thousand coins? For just a mask with an eighth grade rune?" Yu Tian asked, raising his voice.
People at other stalls began turning in their direction.
"Dammit, if people hear him, it'll be bad for business," the man thought.
"Ahem, Fellow Daoist, no need to be so worked up," he said. "How about I sell them to you for five hundred each?" he said in a low voice. He hadn't expected this kid to know his stuff.
"Two hundred," Yu Tian said.
The man froze. "Two hundred coins?" he questioned.
Yu Tian shook his head. "Low grade spirit stones," he said.
The man's expression became fierce. "You want to pay two hundred low grade spirit stones for each?" he asked angrily, not caring anymore about the crowd that was beginning to gather around them.
Yu Tian shook his head once again. "Two hundred low grade spirit stones for both."
"You—" the man cursed angrily, his aura beginning to flare up.
But before he could do anything, Xueling, who had been standing silently beside Yu Tian this whole time, reached for her sword. She didn't draw it, but her immense killing intent spread out.
"No way," the man thought as he stumbled back. "This aura... a peak Golden Core," he realized.
"You were saying?" Yu Tian asked.
The man's scared expression instantly transformed into a sweet smile. "I was saying: such a good deal! I'll wrap it for you right away," the man said as he got up.
This guy was really an experienced businessman, changing expressions that quickly.
"No need..." Yu Tian said, taking two masks from the stall and placing two hundred low grade spirit stones down before turning around and leaving along with Xueling.
The man and the crowd watched them leave and began murmuring after the two were far enough away.
"Why did you let him go after he tried to scam us?" Xueling asked.
"This is not our home turf," Yu Tian said.
Xueling looked around. "~Are we being watched?" she asked.
Yu Tian smiled. "Yeah. But they can't hear what we're saying, so no need for that," he said. "It's more accurate to say that they're watching over the entire city to prevent people from causing a commotion."
He wondered if there were some important guests coming here.
[100%]
No wonder this place looked so good for a black market. They even had people watching over the city. Usually, the black market was a lawless place where power was above all and there were always people trying to get things by force.
But for it to be this chill, there had to be something going on.
"Anyway, why did you buy these if they're that bad?" Xueling asked, pointing at the masks. There was a dragon mask and a rabbit mask.
"Did you forget who I am?" Yu Tian asked with a smile.
"You want to draw runes on them?" she asked.
"That's right," he responded.
Although these just had an eighth grade rune, he could upgrade it to a seventh grade rune.
He would have preferred a sixth grade one, but alas, this was just a magical treasure and couldn't withstand a sixth grade rune. Well, it should be at least fine for hiding their appearance.
For presence concealment, he could just use his skills.
…
"It's done," Yu Tian said, rising from his position.
"Here," he said, handing Xueling the dragon mask.
She took the mask and observed it. "I thought you would wear the dragon one," she said.
"Why?" Yu Tian asked.
"In the empire, the dragon is considered much more masculine. That's why the emperor sits on a dragon throne and the empress on the phoenix throne," she explained.
"Is that so?" Yu Tian spoke in an uninterested voice.
"As expected of you. You don't care about this sort of thing," she replied.
Yu Tian looked at the rabbit mask he held. He had chosen it since it made him appear weak and unremarkable.
At that moment, they heard the sound of a bell. The two walked over to the window. They had rented this room to wait for the auction to begin. The sound of the bell meant that the time had come.
"Let's go," Yu Tian said.
The two put on their masks and jumped through the window.
A few minutes later, the two sat in a large auction house brimming with people. Yu Tian estimated there to be at least two hundred people here.
There were also the VIPs. He looked up at the private cabins where the VIPs sat. There were quite a few of them. It seemed something huge was really happening here.
As he was looking around, his eyes met with one of the VIPs. It was a young girl, looking around Xueling's age. She was also equally as beautiful. Yu Tian sensed danger and quickly averted his gaze.
At the VIP cabin, a girl wore a knowing smile. An elder woman came into the cabin and noticed the girl's gaze, also turning around to look. She had a shocked expression. "Princess, this is..."
"You sensed it too? It's that same beast from before," the girl responded.
"Is this a coincidence, or could he also be..." she began, but the princess interrupted.
"Don't jump to conclusions. It's probably just a coincidence," the princess said.
"I'll keep an eye on him just in case," the elder woman said. She then sighed. "Anyway, don't forget what's most important."
"I know, I know. The mission, right?" she spoke dismissively.
"No," the elder spoke with a serious expression. "It's you." She stared directly at the princess. "You are the hope of our clan. Don't make hasty decisions. If you make a single mistake, I will not hesitate to carry you back to the clan with my full power."
"Alright, I get it. You can relax now," the princess said.
The elder woman wondered if this girl really understood what was at stake here. She sighed. She had let her come here because of her insistence, but now she was beginning to regret it. Her expression turned serious. She should take advantage of any sudden changes to take back the princess.
…
Author's Corner
I just now noticed that I introduced her as princess back in chapter 20 instead of saintess. Well, ig its fine.