After the night raid performed by the Imperial Guard, the next few days leading up to general auction at the Treasury went by without much problem. We even don't have to worry about the mess that was made during the fight. With Yue's help, we escaped from having to pay any damages as she told the owner of the Shang Yueting that noise and damage were because the Imperial Guard had been in the process of apprehending a criminal. This is technically the truth, as we are considered criminals by them, Yue followed this up as she claimed that the criminals had escaped and that there was no need to worry about anything else happening at the inn. With bits of lies and truths, Yue had convinced the owner of the Shang Yueting to drop the issue and send the bill to the Imperial Guards.
With the issues at the inn having been settled, I spent most of my time over the past few days getting ready for the auction. Making more guns than before and even more, ammunition to go with them. And this time I chose to make not only revolvers but rifles as well, both standard muskets and even I single sniper. Although the blueprints I had for these are outdated at this point, it's not like anyone here is going to know that.
While I spent my time making weapons, Lia and Aurelia had begun to work together to make more clothes from the textiles they previously bought. Due to my toxic scales, Lia has always been involved with making our clothes as she has the method of turning them into corrosion resistant clothing. As for Aurelia, she's the one who makes and designs them, as her skills in this aspect exceed Lia's.
Wanjing, on the other hand, spent most of her time with me, both because she was curious about the guns and because I wanted to finish the conversation from before the Imperial Guard arrived. According to her, the other ways to find a cultivation technique was to join a sect, join the military, find an independent teacher, or try my luck at the special auction. But Wanjing recommended that I should ignore the first two options for very obvious reasons. The sects are restrictive as is the military, not to mention the part where we are still considered criminals by the Imperial Guard. Having a teacher is the best path in terms of efficiency as I can ask them about any problems that crop up, but this is all ignoring the difficulty in finding a teacher who is willing to follow us around. Apparently, there are some common techniques the show up in the general auction every now and then, but they aren't much better than what Wanjing could possibly teach me.
Speaking of the general auction, I made some big money this time. The power of the guns had been proven by the people who bought them previously, resulting in more people being willing to bid for them. Coupled with the large amount I produced this time, I ended up becoming quite wealthy as the auction ended with me making some serious bank. According to Wanjing and Dai Jiang, I have enough money to live a moderate life for the next fifty years, but when have I ever lived in moderation, I'm sure I'll be needing more within a year at most.
But today, the day after the general auction, Yue came to find us, saying, "I've sent a report claiming that you've escape pursuit, so the Imperial Guard probably won't send anyone more else to Shiping to specifically look for you all."
"So we're all set then?"Wanjing asks.
"That's not all there is to it, right?" Lia asks.
"That's right. While they won't be sending anyone to look for you specifically, I received notice that there will still be a few people coming here regardless for the sake of security. At least, that's what is claimed, but the people they are sending aren't your run of the mill soldiers like you fought a few days ago, three Vice-Generals, and one logistics officer. Although they can't compare to me, they are much stronger than the squad captain you fought with."
"When will they arrive?" I ask.
"In roughly two days. Since you intend to stay for the special auction, I suggest you lay low and find a place to hide. I was told to leave for my next city inspection upon their arrival, although I don't intend to follow these orders and leave at the same time as you instead. So I want to know what you're planning to do and stay with you all once I'm officially supposed to leave."
"What should we do then? I have an idea, but does anyone else have suggestions... I wasn't counting on you to have anything decent, Cordelia, but really, leaving the city and coming back for the auction, that can't be the best you've got," Lia says, clearly having peeked into my head, "at least Lia and Wanjing have the same idea as me, let's go and ask Dai Jiang.