Chapter Twenty-Two: Sky-Piercing Moon

"Our auction items will be presented from lower to higher grades. The first item today is a halberd named 'Sky-Piercing Moon,' a low-grade spirit weapon, starting at 100 gold coins, with each increase no less than ten gold coins."

As soon as Su Xue'er heard the name "Sky-Piercing Moon," her head suddenly ached, and she faintly heard a voice in her mind, urging her to bid on this weapon.

The audience began to murmur, most thinking the halberd wasn't worth the price or that there was something wrong with it. However, an old man in a light blue noble robe, holding a scepter inlaid with a jade-white pearl, exuded a vigor that belied his age, suggesting he had an extraordinary background.

"500 gold coins."

"500 gold coins once, 500 gold coins twice, 500..."

"1000."

All eyes turned towards the source of the voice, which was Su Xue'er.

The old man glanced over and seemed about to bid but then refrained, saying, "Forget it, I should let go of such desires."

"Congratulations to this young lady for winning the bid."

"Next up..."

In the corner, Shen Zixuan asked with concern, "Mother, are you alright? You don't look well."

Su Xue'er took a deep breath, "I'm fine, let's continue watching to see if there's a weapon suitable for you."

"The next item is a spear with shadow attributes called 'Moon Ripple,' classified as a top-grade sacred weapon, starting at 100,000 gold coins, with each increase no less than 10,000."

"110,000."

"120,000."

"130,000."

...

Su Xue'er was about to bid but was stopped by Shen Zixuan. "Mother, this is too expensive. We can't afford it."

Seeing his distressed expression, Su Xue'er comforted him, "Don't worry, I'll manage to get it today."

"200,000."

The audience gasped at the handsome young man who made the bid. Some recognized him as Yun Chuxinheng, the eldest son of the lord of the world's foremost sect, Yun Chu Palace. The old man was beside him.

"300,000."

Again, the crowd's attention shifted. Yun Chuxinheng looked angrily in the direction of the bid, but when he saw Su Xue'er in her mask, his anger dissipated. "Why does this person seem so familiar?" he wondered.

The old man said, "You already have a weapon with such attributes. Why bid for another? As the eldest son of your sect, are you worried about not having weapons in the future? Haha."

"Don't tease me, Elder," Yun Chuxinheng replied, smiling proudly and not pursuing the matter further.

Su Xue'er successfully won the bid for Moon Ripple. After settling the payment at the back, she was about to leave when someone called after her.

"Young lady, please wait."

Su Xue'er turned to see the handsome young man. "I recognize you. You were bidding against me for Moon Ripple at the auction."

Yun Chuxinheng smiled, "I am Yun Chuxinheng. May I know your name? I feel like we've met before."

Su Xue'er smiled, "I am Su Xue'er."

Yun Chuxinheng apologized, "I must have mistaken you for someone else. Sorry to trouble you."

Hotel Second Floor

As the moonlight fell, Shen Zixuan was sound asleep in bed. Moonlight streamed through the window, caressing Su Xue'er's face as she carefully examined the patterns on the handle of the Sky-Piercing Moon halberd.

"The patterns on this handle are like flowers in a mirror," she said, glancing at the single crescent blade at the head of the halberd. She then touched the tail end of the weapon. "It seems 'Sky-Piercing' refers to the single crescent blade at the head, and 'Moon' refers to the tail."

"Alas," Su Xue'er sighed softly, "It's just a beautifully designed piece, but it's still a low-grade spirit weapon."

The next morning, Su Xue'er was awakened by noise outside. She got up and opened the window to look outside, shocked by the scene before her.

Shen Zixuan was arguing with a shopkeeper.

"I have money, it's upstairs. I just forgot to bring it down," Shen Zixuan argued vehemently.

The shopkeeper was adamant. "No, if you can't pay today, you can't leave."

"Alright, alright, what do you want then?"

"Money."

Shen Zixuan was exasperated. "Money, money, money! I told you it's upstairs. I'm not lying to you," Shen Zixuan said, pointing to the second floor of the hotel.

"What's going on?" a familiar voice came from behind Shen Zixuan. He turned around and saw, "Mom."

"Are you causing trouble again?" Su Xue'er asked.

Shen Zixuan grinned sheepishly. "I just wanted to buy you some breakfast, but I didn't have any money."

Su Xue'er asked the shopkeeper, "How much?"

"He ate two baskets of buns, 2 silver coins."

Su Xue'er handed him a gold coin. "Is this enough?"

"More than enough!" the shopkeeper replied with a grin.

After settling the matter, Su Xue'er led Shen Zixuan towards the city gate.

Shen Zixuan asked, "Mom, aren't you mad at me?"

"Why would I be mad? You just came to the human world, so naturally, you don't understand everything yet."

Shen Zixuan smiled sheepishly.

Outside the City

A carriage was moving slowly, with a brightly dressed young lady and two attendants inside. Following closely behind were several men in black.

Suddenly, a flying sword pierced through the coachman's body, and he fell slowly, causing the carriage to go out of control.

The people inside the carriage immediately rushed out, with the young lady tightly clutching a black box.

"Who are you, and why are you attacking us?" one of the attendants shouted into the forest.

"Why? Because you have something you shouldn't have."

In an instant, more than a dozen men in black emerged from the forest. The leader shouted, "Hand over the fragment, and you will live."

Meanwhile, Su Xue'er and Shen Zixuan were riding a carriage along the forest path and heard the sounds of fighting nearby.

"Mom, what's going on?" Shen Zixuan grew alert.

"Let's go check it out."

Elsewhere, the young lady was already seriously injured, still tightly clutching the black box, clearly refusing to let go.

"Tang Ruoyu, if you hand over the fragment, I can spare your life."

"Bah, since you know my surname is Tang, do you know the consequences of killing me?" Tang Ruoyu's voice was weak, but she tried to sound strong.

The man in black laughed, "If you die here, no one will know it was me. If you don't comply, don't blame me for being ruthless." He then signaled his subordinate.

As the subordinate was about to strike Tang Ruoyu, Su Xue'er and Shen Zixuan arrived.

"Stop," Su Xue'er shouted.

But the subordinate ignored her and swung his sword without hesitation. As the blade was about to reach Tang Ruoyu, who thought she was about to die, several dark chains suddenly wrapped tightly around the subordinate.

"Spirit Technique, Shadow Chains, Death."

In an instant, the subordinate turned to ashes.

Tang Ruoyu looked at Su Xue'er and Shen Zixuan in shock. The man in black wasn't surprised by Shen Zixuan and ordered his subordinates, "Kill them all, leave no one alive."