A Rowdy Night (4)

After the incident, the auction was postponed until further notice and the guests were escorted out. Iris stayed behind to negotiate, so she ended up taking away the scythe artifact for 100 high-quality spirit gems, making her one of the few winners of the night.

The organizers tried to find the thieves among the guests, but their efforts were fruitless. Even with a Master present, there was a limit to how much they could ask the guests to comply with the search, so they couldn't even be sure that the thief was truly gone. Still, whether fortunately or unfortunately, the culprits were long gone.

Shui had already escaped with Soul Synchronisation, while the fox assassin used her own special methods to escape the Master's detection. Shui briefly considered leaving afterwards, but he didn't want to betray his partner so they met up at the location that was previously agreed upon.

They changed their faces and figures once more and strolled through the busy streets of the red-light district. Shui was now a tall, rough-looking man with a puffy beard, while the fox assassin had the appearance of a pretty boy. The two blended into the crowd as they made their way to a specific large brothel. While the fox assassin spoke with mature woman in thick makeup, Shui stood behind him.

"I guess you'll be coming here later," said Alia.

Shui ignored her, but this establishment was indeed a step above the rest, even in Paraj. There was a decline in customers for this industry as people became fearful of being captured in the wiles of a member of the Pink Devils, but this shop seemed to have escaped unscathed. This was not only because of the large variety, but also because of the trust that the shop had built up. Customers were assured that all products had been properly screened and were safe for use. As even some important members of the city's administration would visit this shop, the residents were fine with coming here despite the high costs.

After the fox assassin worked things out with a staff member, the two were led up to one of the highest floors. The room that they were then shown to was even more luxurious than any of Shui's rooms at the Myriad Flower Pavilion, with two large beds, couches and a long table laden with a bountiful feast. The two stayed in their disguises and sat next to each other on the couch. Once the woman who led them left, Shui silently took out the ring.

"Shall we inspect the loot?" Shui asked.

"Of course."

The two sent their spiritual senses into the ring and smiles instantly appeared on their faces. While there were only a few spirit gems in the ring, the other items within it were much more valuable. In addition to evil arts, forbidden medicines and cursed artifacts, there were also rare poisons and materials from poisonous evolved beasts. Although it didn't have any relics or anything on that level, basically every item that you would expect to be on the black market was in there. Well, except for one kind of good.

"Looks like slaves were up for auction."

"I guess so."

Among the items in the ring were collars specially designed with inscriptions and arrays that could enforce orders onto the wearer. It only required a drop of blood from the master, so there was no need for them to imprint a mark on the slave's soul and risk leaving a trace of their identity. This would allow even a weakling who hadn't reached the Soul Realm to gain a slave with a cultivation in the Sky Realm. Furthermore, it could also be used to punish or eliminate any unruly slave.

While Shui couldn't openly call it a good thing, it was definitely useful.

Once they were done looking over the items, the two looked each other straight in the eye. It was time to decide their shares. Since he came here with him, it was obvious that Shui didn't want to take everything for himself, but he decided that his stance would change the moment the fox assassin asked for more than half. However, reality was the exact opposite of his fears.

"How about 60:40, in your favour and you get first pick?" the fox assassin proposed.

"Really?" Shui asked in surprise.

Although he trusted her to an extent, Shui didn't expect her to give him the larger share because she didn't seem like that sort of person.

"Of course. Back in the amphitheatre, you saved my life, so I can afford to do this much as thanks."

It certainly sounded like a nice reason, but the flaws were too easy to spot.

"So your life is worth ten percent of the loot?"

"Well, I do try to be humble."

"Is that so? Do you really think I don't know your plan?"

"Hmm? What do you mean?" she asked with an innocent expression, but Shui wouldn't fall for it.

"You plan on following me to the inheritance, don't you?"

For the first time, the smile on the fox assassin's handsome face froze. She kept that face for a few more seconds before sighing in resignation.

"How did you find out?"

"You're not going to deny it?"

"Would you believe me if I did?"

"...Fair enough. I knew from the start. Even if you couldn't use it yourself, it's obvious that this would sell for a lot of resources, so the only reason why you would keep it was if you still wanted more out of it. Therefore, I was sure you wouldn't simply forget about the inheritance after you gave me the map. Speaking of which,"

With his reasoning explained, Shui then stretched out his hand. The fox assassin looked at him, and then his outstretched hand with a frustrated look before reaching into her sleeve and pulling out a roll of parchment.

"This is the rest of the map. I'll still give it to you, but could you bring me along when you're ready to look for it?"

Shui stared at the fox assassin as well as the parchment. He could probably steal it from her, but he did have some appreciation for her skills. Furthermore, if she had tried to find the treasure then she could help him deduce its location quicker. However, it wouldn't be right to just say yes.

"Hmm, I guess I can consider it, but I'll need a passenger fee," said Shui as he glanced at the ring with a devious smile.

Understanding the implication behind the glance, the fox assassin grimaced, but still gave in.

"70:30."

"..."

"75."

"..."

"7,78."

"..."

"80, that's as far as I'm willing to go!"

"Hmm, I guess that'll do."

Shui was actually fine with 70:30, but he wanted to see what her bottom line was. If she had been willing to give him everything then he would have suspected that she planned on stealing it back, but seeing how desperate she was allowed him to have more faith in her. After the fox assassin passed Shui the other portion of the map, he looked it over before they began splitting the loot. While Shui was in the midst of choosing what items he wanted, the fox assassin asked when he was planning on leaving.

"I'm not sure, but I should be free once the new Array Master Minor Ranking is decided."

"I see, do you have any other plans."

"Hmm, not really, besides watching a concert."

"Hoho, the one for Amaryllis?"

"Yeah."

Although he had only seen it once, that was enough for Shui to memorise the details that were on the advertisement, including the name of the idol performing. Shui didn't plan on revealing too much, but he thought that this amount of small talk was fine. Furthermore, he was given a pleasant surprise for his trust.

"In that case, do you want to go together? I already have tickets."

"Really?"

Once the fox assassin nodded in reply, Shui showed a bright smile and expressed his gratitude.

"That's great. Thanks, um..."

"You can call me Maha."

"Shin."

Despite how happy he felt, Shui knew that he couldn't fully trust Maha, so he used his worker name, especially because he knew that she was using an alias as well.

"Now then, how about we celebrate?"