Chapter 11
He once headed to the street adjacent to the Goldfish restaurant and discovered that the street was indeed a scene of charred ruins. And many people were busy constructing new dwellings there.
Le Xaan walked along the route that he had once taken until he was greeted with the same dark wall at the end of the alley.
He wasn't in a panic at all.
Given the existence of river spirits in this world, other mysterious and horrifying entities did not seem that astonishing to him.
He originally planned to modify on the Jade Smashing Strength immediately.
But considering the Underground Gathering, he held himself back, afraid that he might be severely injured due to the modification and would therefore miss the chance.
Time passed swiftly.
Three days later, around seven o'clock, Le Xaan was dressed in black and wore a tiger mask. Le Xaan bought the mask at a random vendor on the street. It was crudely made.
Outside the gate of the Le Mansion, Zein Sanki's horse carriage was parked.
Le Xaan got into the carriage and immediately saw Zein Sanki chewing on a braised chicken leg.
Zein Sanki, a rotund man, was also black-clad. But his portly figure made his identity easily recognizable to anyone.
"Finally you come out. I have been waiting for you for so long. Hurry and take a seat."
Then, the carriage was set in motion.
Zein Sanki began to instruct Le Xaan on the rules of the auction and sensible behaviour manners there.
Le Xaan bore in mind all that Zein Sanki told him.
Soon, the horse carriage went out of the city and then made a few detours before emerging on the outskirts.
After traveling in the outskirts for a while, the carriage made its way into an abandoned village and then arrived at a stone-made house.
"We have arrived." Zein Sanki jumped off the carriage. A black-clad man in front of the stony house bowed down to him.
"Is everyone here?"
"Yes. The auction's first lot was on exhibition."
He dragged Le Xaan into the house. In the center of the room, there was a wooden plank on the floor. After opening it, they were met with a ladder leading to somewhere underground.
Le Xaan followed Zein Sanki and his two guards down the stairs before arriving at a spacious cave.
The cave appeared to have been rebuilt and decorated with great effort.
In the middle there was a great hall and on the surrounding walls were built numerous private rooms.
In the great hall many people were seated while the private rooms all around were unlit. Obviously, these private rooms were not occupied now.
"The place seems quite magnificent and grand." Le Xaan remarked.
"Haha, it is by chance that we had discovered this place." Zein Sanki said with a laugh. He led Le Xaan from the rear of the hall to the front part, in the end, sitting down in the first row.
There were only around a dozen participants at the auction, all being seated in the front part.
On the stage now stood a lanky man, introducing the first lot loudly.
On both sides of him were two dwarves dressed in red and green. The two of them were holding a brass plate. On the plate was a heavily rusty short sword.
"An ancient short sword originating from Gevyon Country, with a high likelihood of being crafted by the legendary blacksmith Danfenzy. Upon the sword's body are inscribed words in Ancient Gevyon Language. Furthermore... Well! Guest number one places a bid of one thousand silver coins!
Can we get a higher bid? Any higher bid out there?"
The man on the stage were shouting rather passionately.
Le Xaan and Zein Sanki were seated on the left.
The chairs here were made of white stones and were chilly to the touch.
Zein Sanki, seated beside him, leaned in and whispered in Le Xaan's ear.
"What you want is the fifth one, the second-to-last one."
Le Xaan nodded in acknowledgement without a word.
The short sword in the plate seemed to have been unearthed not too long ago, perhaps loot from tomb raiding.
Soon afterwards, the bid for the sword was raised to one thousand eight hundred silver coins.
Le Xaan's heart was palpitating wildly. The bid was almost twice the amount of his monthly pocket money.
Then, he shifted his attention from the auctioneer on the stage to the clients around him.
Most of them were clad in black and wore all sorts of weapons.
But four people among them were exceptions.
The first one was a red-haired stout middle-aged man in a suit of tight-fitting leather armor, carrying a blade on his back.
The second was a thin-faced, short young man, two leather pouches around his waist full of mysterious things.
The third party was an eye-catching couple, a man and a woman.
The woman donned a tight-fitting skirt resembling a bodycon skirt in modern times instead of the typical long dress in ancient times. The skirt could barely conceal her butts and might well result in exposure anytime when the woman took a great stride.
The form-flattering ensemble served to accentuate her slender waist and enviably long legs. And her ample bosom strained gently against the fabric of her garments, hinting at a contained vitality beneath.
And the man seemed to be her personal guard, attired in a sleek suit of silver-colored combat gear and wearing a sword at his hip. His countenance remained stoically impassive, save for the softening that graced his features whenever his gaze fell upon the woman.
Le Xaan's gaze was fixated on the woman's visage.
Her nose was adorned with a graceful high bridge, her watery, smiling eyes brimming with bewitching charm.
Her long hair draped over her shoulder, appearing smooth and shiny.
"She looks much more stunning than those female online celebrities!"
Le Xaan complimented the woman inwardly.
The woman must be no ordinary person. Beautiful as she was, she didn't even bother to hide her face during the Underground Gathering. She must have considerable faith in her own strength.