By the time the sky was being tainted by a shade of red, Coin Storm Auction House was getting ready for a big event. The atmosphere around the auction house was something the residents were familiar with, so all those with enough money in their pockets were excited for tonight's auction. Furthermore, news of a certain item being auctioned was spread throughout Cyrus.
"The final masterpiece, huh? Do you think the person behind it died?" one man said to his friend while looking at the bustling auction house.
"Probably not. If the guy behind it did die, they would probably spread it to boost the excitement," his friend replied.
"True. I wonder why it's called the 'final' masterpiece then."
"So am I, but it's not like we'll have the chance to own it or anything."
"Seeing it would be hard enough."
Conversations like these reached Shui's ears several times as he walked towards the auction house. To this day, only a small number of people knew that he was the one who made the harmony series, and he planned on keeping it that way to the end.
He would bring a conclusion to the harmony series, not just because he wanted to move on, but also because the artifacts he would make going forward wouldn't be on the same level as what he had done in the past.
When Shui entered Coin Storm, every employee of the auction house, glanced at him and nodded. It was so swift and simple that no one noticed it, but it was very difficult to imagine that a junior would be capable of garnering this much respect. Even as the maker of the harmony series, Shui wouldn't be able to gain so much respect from them. However his close relationship with Alice, made him a very, very important person.
Shui was planning on heading straight to his VIP room before the auction started, but he walked into someone he recognized.
"Hey Cleia."
"! Oh, Shui."
Unlike what he expected, Cleia answered with an obvious lack of energy in her tone and couldn't even look him in the eye. It didn't take a genius to know that something was wrong, but even Shui couldn't guess what happened to her.
"Um, are you okay?"
"Yes, yes, I'm fine. How about you?"
The forced smile on her face didn't help abate his worries but he didn't try to prod further since that would be rude.
"Fine. Thanks for sending Jade to warn me. You really helped me out there."
"No, it's just what friends do."
Shui didn't notice that Cleia's expression went a shade darker before he continued.
"Yeah, but I still want to show my gratitude. Why don't we watch the auction together and I'll buy anything that catches your eye?"
"Huh? No, it's okay."
"Come on, you can bring Jade too. Please."
As Shui took her hand to help get rid of her hesitation, Cleia felt a great conflict in her heart. His hand used to feel so warm to her, but thanks to her rapid heart beat she couldn't even perceive his touch with her skin. Only her eyes told her that he was holding onto her.
"I...I..."
"Cleia."
While Shui was waiting for Cleia to give in and go back to normal, Jade walked up to them alongside an old lady who called Cleia's name. Once she saw this old lady, Cleia hastily dragged her hand away and turned to her while Shui squinted his eyebrows. The old lady looked fragile enough to tumble over at any moment, but any cultivator could tell that she didn't need any pity. The aura he sensed from this old lady was more intimidating than the man from Silver City, but she didn't boldly throw it around like he did.
"Elder!"
Cleia took a step towards this old lady but Shui grabbed her hand again and stopped her.
"Shui?" Cleia asked with a confused expression as Shui stepped in front of her.
"My apologies, but would you mind if I borrow her for the duration of the auction?"
"You shameless jerk! Take your hands off-"
Right as Jade pointed at Shui and shouted at him with her words backed by intense fury, the old lady raised her hand to stop her. Jade was obviously reluctant to stop but she couldn't go against her. After all, not only was this old lady an important elder of their sect, she was also her grandmother.
"Why?" asked the old lady.
"Oh, I want to thank her for sending a warning to-"
"Then there's no reason to. I'm sure your gratitude was enough."
"No, I don't think I've-"
"Hmph, what a rude one. Daring to talk back to me. Did none of your elders teach you manners?"
Shui tried being polite since he didn't want to cause a commotion, but the old lady's tongue quickly made him change his mind.
"I don't think it's your place to question my manners, granny?"
"You damn brat!" The old lady shouted.
As the tension between the two of them gradually got worse, Cleia made her decisive move. She once again dragged her hand away from Shui.
"Sorry, but I have to decline." Cleia then meekly walked to the old lady's side before he could grab her again.
Shui stood there looking at them with a grave expression, but he soon turned his back and headed further into the auction house. As the old lady looked at Cleia who was longingly staring at his back, she shook her head.
"Stupid girl."
Cleia flinched and held down her head while Jade tried to comfort her. All of them knew that Cleia was so decisive because she didn't want Shui to get into any trouble, but what she didn't know was that the old lady never planned on being the one to make the first move. They didn't know it, but the news that the people from Silver City all died had been noticed by the elders from the other cities. Only one person in the city had witnessed the fight, but all of them gathered enough information to realise that Shui was linked to it.
Considering that the boys who tagged along with Trin were also killed, those from the same forces as them were definitely watching Shui's every move so that they could prepare their revenge.
Shui had also noticed several eyes on him, but none of these people were dangerous enough to make him wary. What he learnt from the incident with Lily was that if he let his enemies off too easily, then they might come back to harm him and those he care about. And so, he wouldn't attack these watchers, but the moment he was able to force them into the open he would crush them without reservation.
"I'll have to repay her another day. Now then, I hope it sells for a good price. It would be a little embarrassing if I can't reach for the top spot with the final piece."