The announcer clapped her hands twice. Another assistant walked forward, holding a tray with something... odd.
On it sat an egg.
A plain-looking, average-sized egg. Beige. Speckled. Not glowing. Not rumbling. Just... an egg.
The assistant didn’t even try to be theatrical—she looked confused.
The announcer cleared her throat. “Ahem... our next item is, uh... an ancient beast egg. Possibly. Maybe. Discovered deep within the Ruins of the Dusk Spring during an excavation.”
The crowd went quiet.
Min Li squinted. “That’s just an egg, right?”
Jin Yu leaned forward. “Maybe it’s a chicken.”
The announcer smiled a little too brightly. “While its origin is… uncertain, the egg emanates a subtle spiritual fluctuation—faint, but definitely there! It could hatch into a rare beast... or maybe a celestial creature!”
“Or breakfast,” someone in the crowd muttered.
“Starting bid... 20,000 spirit stones!”
The hall exploded.
“Twenty thousand?!”
“Has the auction house lost its mind?!”
“That thing hasn’t even cracked in centuries!”
One elder actually stood up. “This is fraud!”
The announcer ignored them with practiced ease. “It may contain a bloodline long forgotten, sealed by ancient means! Or... not. That's the mystery!”
Jin Yu stared at the egg, squinting like he was trying to make it hatch with his thoughts.
Min Li whispered, “Should I test if it’s warm, young master?”
Jin Yu leaned back, thinking hard. “What if I raise it and it turns into a dragon?”
Min Li gasped. “Your vision... it humbles the heavens.”
“Thirty thousand,” Jin Yu declared lazily, sipping his tea.
The hall went silent again.
“Did… did he just—?”
“Who in their right mind—?!”
Ding!
Influence +5,000
Ding!
Influence +4,200
Ding!
Influence +3,800
(Emotion provoked: Rage)
The announcer almost choked in shock. “VIP Room Seven offers thirty thousand spirit stones for the egg. Going once…”
“Still no movement… Going twice…”
A desperate whisper rang out, “It’s just an egg…”
“Sold!”
Min Li stood and bowed low toward the auctioneer’s stage. “Please deliver the young master’s sacred beast egg with care. Preferably in a golden basket.”
The assistant visibly struggled not to laugh.
Jin Yu stared at the egg being carried away and nodded in approval. “If it hatches, I’ll name it Nugget.”
“Young master,” Min Li clutched his heart, “your wisdom surpasses even the ancient sages.”
“Right?”
---
After the egg incident, the crowd grew restless. Murmurs buzzed like flies.
Suddenly, a confident voice rang out from below.
“Hmph! What kind of idiot spends thirty thousand on an unhatched omelette?”
The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
Heads turned. A young noble in green robes stood proudly in his seat, fanning himself with a jade fan. His voice carried arrogance and bitterness in equal parts.
“Allow me to show you what real wealth looks like,” he announced, flashing a cocky smile at the VIP rooms above.
Min Li leaned toward Jin Yu, whispering like a gossipy aunt. “That’s Young Master Duan—second son of the Duan family. New money. Very insecure.”
“I can smell the insecurity from here,” Jin Yu replied with a yawn.
The next item was wheeled out: a small crystal orb, gently pulsing with light.
The announcer raised a brow. “A Lightning Essence Pearl—useful for tempering lightning-type cultivation. Starting bid: 10,000 spirit stones!”
Young Master Duan’s fan snapped shut. “fifteen thousand!”
Gasps echoed around the hall.
“twenty thousand!” someone else tried, already sweating.
Duan scoffed. “Thirty thousand.”
“Forty—”
“Fifty thousand!”
The crowd broke into whispers.
Jin Yu, who’d been casually sipping fruit wine, glanced at the orb. “Oh. That’s a nice glow. Maybe I’ll bid...”
“One hundred thousand spirit stones!” Duan yelled, staring straight up at the VIP rooms.
The room went dead silent.
Only the auctioneer smiled happily, enjoying the show. "Anyone else?…”
Min Li slowly turned to look at Jin Yu. “Should we fight back?”
Jin Yu shrugged. “Nah.”
“Nah?!”
Jin Yu set down his cup. “I’m suddenly not interested.”
The crowd erupted again.
“You were bidding just now!”
“You can’t just walk away!”
Jin Yu leaned forward, voice mild. “I liked it when it cost fifty thousand. It’s ugly now.”
Ding!
Influence +3,800 (Anger)
Ding!
Influence +9,100 (Killing intent)
Duan’s face went red like a roasted tomato. “Y-You—! You’re scared of real wealth, that’s what it is!”
Jin Yu raised a lazy eyebrow. “No, I just don’t bid with peasants who drive up prices for fun.”
“OHHHHH—!!”
Half the crowd burst into cheers. The other half laughed nervously, trying not to get dragged into this mess.
Min Li looked like he’d just been served spiritual wine from the heavens. “Young master… that was poetic destruction.”
---
As the cheers died down, Duan’s eye twitched. He sat down slowly, grinding his teeth like a villain in the third act of a failed play.
But he wasn’t done yet.
A few more mundane items were auctioned—herbs, weapons, cultivation manuals. Jin Yu yawned through them all, only occasionally throwing out a bid just to raise the blood pressure of the bidders below.
Then came the next item.
The announcer walked out with a dramatic flourish, two servants behind her carrying a tall, golden jar sealed with glowing talismans.
She grinned at the audience, clearly enjoying the tension. “This next item... is a mystery. Found deep in a sealed ruin, sealed within multiple arrays, and radiating faint demonic Qi...”
Someone in the crowd gasped.
“…We present: The Demonic Urn of Wailing!”
The hall fell silent.
“Do you know what’s in it?” someone asked.
The announcer laughed lightly. “Not a clue! It might be cursed, or blessed! It might explode—or hatch. We truly don’t know! That’s the fun of it!”
Jin Yu sat forward, intrigued. “It might explode, huh?”
Min Li’s eyes twitched. “Young master, I beg you, do not bid for a bomb.”
“Starting bid,” the announcer said grandly, “twenty thousand spirit stones!”
Duan jumped up instantly. “Fifty thousand!”
A twitch played at the corner of Jin Yu's mouth .
Min Li choked on his spit. This man is foolish!
The crowd went wild.
“What the hell?!”
“Is that thing even alive?!”
“Could just be an old chamber pot!”
“Eighty thousand!” Duan shouted again, his voice hoarse. “I’ll take this urn and have my clan unravel its secrets!”
Jin Yu casually raised one hand. “Eighty-five thousand.”
Duan snarled. “Ninety!”
Jin Yu: “Ninety-five.”
Duan’s eyes bulged. “One hundred and fifty thousand!”
Jin Yu picked up his tea cup, took a sip… then tilted his head.
“Nah. Too ugly.”
Duan, already halfway out of his seat, staggered forward and knocked over his chair. “WHAT?!”
Ding!
Influence +10,000
Ding!
Influence +12,000
Ding!
“Stop bidding just to quit!!” Duan bellowed.
Jin Yu shrugged. “Stop bidding like you’re in a drama. You’re making me cringe.”
“Pffft!” Min Li burst out laughing, barely managing to stop himself from clapping. “Master, you’re going to make the man cough blood.”
The announcer, clearly delighted, fanned herself dramatically. “Sold! To the brave, slightly unstable young man below!”
The urn was carried off, humming ominously.
Duan sat back on his seat, face twisted with fury.
---
The assistants returned, the announcer continued to smile, clearly pleased with the ongoing madness. She raised a delicate brow and gestured grandly as the velvet curtains at the side of the stage were drawn back, revealing an elegant crystalline case floating in mid-air.
Inside was a silken robe, pearly white with threads of silver and pink Qi dancing across the surface like a living river. It shimmered gently, the runes along its collar pulsing in a soft rhythm.
“This,” the announcer declared, “is the Heavenly Starlight Robe. Tailored for female cultivators at the Human realm and above. Light as mist, strong as steel, and enchanted to protect against spiritual attacks. But more importantly—” she leaned forward a little, voice honey-sweet “—it looks stunning on anyone.”
A wave of awe rippled through the hall.
“Starting bid: 10,000 spirit stones!”
Several noble ladies sat up straighter. One of them—a graceful young woman with a fan—immediately called out, “16,000!”
Another followed with “17,000!”
Then from the second-floor VIP room to the left came a calm, proud voice. “20,000 spirit stones.”
Jin Yu wasn't paying much attention—until he heard a voice from one of the side VIP rooms.
“30,000,” Kang Li said. Her tone was calm, .
His eyes twitched. That voice…
He turned his head slightly, a lazy smirk playing on his lips. “Kang Li?”
He looked up, eyes narrowing with mild interest.
Min Li whispered, “That’s the girl from the hall, right? The fierce one with a face that says ‘I’ll stab you and walk away smiling’?”
“She wants that robe?” Jin Yu asked softly.
“I suppose so.”
"32,000”
"35,000”
"40,000” Kang Li's calm voice rang out again
As bidding war raged below. A few noble women seemed particularly aggressive. One stood and pointed at Kang Li’s VIP room. “She won’t even wear it properly. She lacks the temperament!”
“She lacks a chest,” another chimed in, earning scandalized gasps.
“41,000!”
“42,000!”
Kang Li didn’t respond—at least not with words. "45,000!"
This time, there was hesitation. Her voice had lost a bit of that sharp chill—it was still steady, but thinner somehow.
The crowd quieted… until a woman stood up confidently, her voice oozing pride. “50,000.”
Kang Li didn’t respond this time
“She’s done,” Min Li murmured. “Can’t keep up.”
Jin Yu tilted his head and asked, “She doesn't have the money?”
Min Li shrugged. “Not everyone carries entire auction houses in their pockets, young master.”
The robe floated slowly toward the announcer.
“50,000 spirit stones! Any challengers?” she called, glancing upward. “None? Then—”
“70,000,” Jin Yu said, voice relaxed as ever, like he was commenting on the weather.
Gasps.
The noble women below looked like they’d just seen a ghost commit a fashion crime.
All eyes turned to a his VIP room. Jin Yu had lifted a finger, as if idly ordering tea. He didn’t even look toward the stage.
Min Li nearly fell off his chair. “Young master?”
Jin Yu sipped his drink with a straight face. “Huh? Did I bid? Must’ve been a reflex.”
The room exploded in chatter. Mostly women, cursing angrily
“A man is bidding for a women’s robe?!”
“Disgusting! He probably wants to wear it himself!”
"You’re embarrassing all cultivators!” someone cried.
“Maybe he has... tastes.”
Ding!
Influence +800
Ding!
Influence +1,100
Ding!
Influence +900
(Emotion provoked: Disdain)
The announcer wasn't surprised and went with it. “70,000 from the… mysterious gentleman upstairs.”
Kang Li’s gaze was unreadable from behind her screen, but she didn’t say another word.
Min Li, biting back laughter, whispered, “Young master… that was for her, wasn’t it?”
Jin Yu stared down at the stage and said nothing.
“You sly romantic.”
“I’m just buying what I like,” Jin Yu said lightly. “It just so happens someone else liked it too.”
Min Li nodded, with a smile. “I see. Young master's generosity knows no bounds. Even ice queens can thaw under golden sunshine.”
“Don’t talk like a bad poet.”
“Of course, young master.”
Kang Li didn’t raise her voice again.
The announcer smiled brightly. “Seventy thousand spirit stones! Going once, going twice… SOLD!”
As the robe floated away in its crystal case toward the backstage, a dozen noble women burned with righteous fury. Some fanned themselves aggressively. One bit her handkerchief in outrage.
Meanwhile, Jin Yu leaned back with a lazy grin.
Ding!
Influence +2,000
Ding!
Influence +2,000
Ding!
Min Li beamed with a smug grin. “The robe will never know how lucky it is to be worn by her, young master.”
Jin Yu raised a brow. “What makes you think I’m giving it to her?”
“…You’re not?”
He didn’t answer.
But deep in her VIP room, Kang Li’s fingers slowly relaxed. Her gaze flicked upward, not with suspicion—but with something far quieter.
She mouthed only two words into the silence:
“…Thank you.”
