"All right, we'll be parting here," Huang Qian Jin told me after we left the auction hall. Hui Ying stood to the side, waiting for him, and the kid continued. "We'll have to meet with an old friend."
"An old friend?" I asked.
"Yeah, literally old," Huang Qian Jin said with a chuckle. He jerked his head toward a group of cultivators dressed in flamboyant robes of gold and black. They were masked, but their white hair and wrinkled flesh revealed under sleeves or parts of the face the masks didn't cover betrayed their advanced age. "They are friends of the Huang family, so I have to greet them at least. Otherwise my father will punish me when I return home."
"You are more than welcome to come along," Hui Ying said with a slight bow. "We will introduce you to them. Perhaps you can establish good connections."
"Yeah, but they'll force you to drink with them for an entire night, and I'm not sure if your wife will be happy about that." There was mischief in Huang Qian Jin's voice. I frowned.
"How do you know I have a wife?"
"Uh, we actually know you don't have a wife. But we did hear that you helped the Lan family out a great deal and saved their master." Huang Qian Jin patted my arm. "Good luck, Brother Hei. I know you'll win her heart!"
And with that, the two of them left to speak to the group of old men. I watched them leave, then shook my head. These big families really had a lot of connections, able to find out about the news so quickly. I couldn't help but be impressed.
But they were right. I couldn't afford to spend time away from my beloved Lan Bei Er. I would much rather return to the manor and accompany her for the night. She must be exhausted from entertaining her friends from the other major sects throughout the whole day.
Speaking of Lan Bei Er, I saw that she hadn't left yet. She was lingering near one of the stores, staring at a pendant that a vendor was hawking.
"Ah, you have good eyes, miss," the vendor said with a grin. "This is a Sea Gemstone Pendant. It is a defensive treasure. It has the ability to block a single attack from a Saint Realm cultivator, with a cooldown of one day. It might save your life at the right moment!"
"Ah…" Lan Bei Er swallowed. "How much is it?"
"It normally costs thirty thousand spirit stones, but for you, pretty miss, I'll sell it at twenty-five thousand spirit stones!"
Underneath the mask, Lan Bei Er turned pale. She didn't have twenty-five thousand spirit stones right now because she lent them to Bai Ning Shuang to help her buy the Blue Heart Elixir. The Azure Water Sect had promised to return the money to the Lan family, but that would obviously take a few days at least, if not months.
It also explained where the Azure Water Sect had so much money from. They basically borrowed from all the different sects and families of the sect disciples. If the master of the Azure Water Sect failed to breakthrough to Saint Realm, then they would suffer a big loss and be held accountable for the money they had loaned.
"I'm sorry. Maybe next time…"
"There won't be a next time. Don't you know? The Silver River Pavilion's auction is only for today. We'll be packing up our booths and returning to our stores tomorrow."
"Then I'm very sorry." Lan Bei Er bowed her head. She clasped a hand to her chest, then turned away. Jian Shen was quick to console her.
"Don't worry, once I return to Ten Thousand Sword Pavilion, I'll get you something better. A stupid pendant like that's not worth crying over."
"I'm not crying."
"Yes, yes. Anyway, don't worry about it. My Ten Thousand Sword Pavilion has more precious treasures than that thing."
Jian Shen must be inwardly kicking himself for blowing all his money on the Ghost Iron ore. Otherwise he would have seized this opportunity to buy the Sea Gemstone Pendant for Lan Bei Er and win her heart. It was a pity he gave in to his greed earlier. Not that it really mattered to him, I suspected. He probably knew there would always be other chances.
"Let's go. My family has prepared a feast for you all." Lan Bei Er waved all of her friends toward her direction. Jian Shen was foremost of them, clinging close to her. She ignored him. "Shall we?"
"You guys go ahead," Bai Ning Shuang said, looking around warily. She could feel the stares on her, and she didn't want to drag her friends into danger. She knew she was a massive target because of the Blue Heart Elixir she had in her possession. "I won't be joining you guys."
"Huh? Why not?" Jian Shen asked, unable to read the mood.
"I'll be returning with my master and elders from the Azure Water Sect." Her voice was firm. "They have just completed a mission and are heading over right now. They will be here soon…to escort me and the elixir back to the sect directly. As long as I stay here in the Silver River Pavilion, they shouldn't dare to make a move. You guys will only be a hindrance, so you should leave first."
The junior cultivators exchanged a glance and then nodded.
"Take care and be safe, senior," Lan Bei Er said. Bai Ning Shuang was probably smiling under her mask.
"You too, junior."
The group left. With them gone, I decided to do my own thing and headed toward the stall where the vendor was packing up. he glanced up at me with a smile, halting his hands.
"Oh? Are you here to buy something as well?"
"Yeah. The Sea Gemstone Pendant…do you still have it?"
"Oh, yeah." He pulled it out. "Thirty thousand spirit stones. But…" He studied me. "You look like a nice kid. Buying it for your lover?"
"Yeah, my future wife." I chuckled, already preparing to transfer thirty thousand spirit stones from my spatial pouch. The vendor held up a hand.
"I like you, kid. I'll support your romance – so twenty-five thousand spirit stones. I'll give you a discount and some blessings."
"Deal."
A few minutes later, I left Silver River Pavilion with the Sea Gemstone Pendant in my spatial pouch. On my way to the exit, I caught sight of Bai Ning Shuang. She was still waiting for her Azure Water Sect elders to arrive. While she stood by a wall, a waiter came to her with drinks. She accepted a glass and drank from it.
"Heh…"
The waiter smirked. I found that odd. Unlike the clients and customers, the staff and merchants – with the exception of the host in the auction hall – wore no masks or disguises. Their expressions were clear on their faces.
Well, it wasn't my business, so I didn't care. Before I could leave, however, I caught sight of Huang Qian Jin waving me over.
"Brother Hei! Over here!"
"Huh? Oh, okay." I went over, only for Huang Qian Jin to introduce me to one of the old men he was supposed to greet.
"This is Elder Can."
"Forgive me for keeping my face concealed under a mask. We're still in the Silver River Pavilion, after all."
"Not at all." I shook my head. "I'm doing the same thing."
The old man was wearing red and black robes, and was wearing a tengu mask…a red mask with a long nose. He nodded, observing me for a moment. He then glanced at Hui Ying.
"You're also a disciple of the Black Shadow Sect?"
"Um, sort of," I said, scratching my head. "Though I'm probably considered an external disciple at best. I didn't receive any proper training."
"I taught him, so yes, he is a disciple of the Black Shadow Sect," Hui Ying interrupted. He then lowered his head. "Sad to say, though, the Black Shadow Sect no longer exists."
Elder Can placed a hand on Hui Ying's shoulder. "With talented individuals such as yourselves, you will definitely be able to revive the Black Shadow Sect." He then turned to me. "I hope I can count on you to help."
"No," Hui Ying said, shaking his head. "Sir Hei Ye's destiny lies beyond the Black Shadow Sect. He has greater things awaiting him over the horizon. I have no intention of limiting him to the Black Shadow Sect. Besides, I'm already training several of the Huang family servants in the arts of Black Shadow. We'll be forming a Black Shadow Squadron in the Huang family and protect them from the shadows."
"Excellent." Elder Can then turned to me. "And good luck to you too, young man."
"Thank you very much, Elder Can." I bowed my head and cupped my hands.
"Well then, shall we go? The others are waiting for us."
"Yes. We won't go home until we're drunk!" Huang Qian Jin cheered, earning a silent glare from Hui Ying. The steward would probably ensure that his ward didn't do anything stupid and get drunk. He turned and bowed toward me.
"Sorry for taking up your time, Sir Hei."
"Not at all."
"We'll be in touch," Elder Can said, placing his hands on my shoulder and Hui Ying's shoulder. "Whether you're part of the Black Shadow Sect or not, we're all related now. I'll definitely help you when you're in trouble."
"Thank you," I said, even though I wasn't sure what exactly this old guy was supposed to help me with. I guess I would never know. The future usually held a lot of mysteries for us.
Watching them leave, I then exited the Silver River Pavilion. As I did so, I noticed that Bai Ning Shuang was no longer by the wall where I last saw her. Not that I cared. I stepped out into the moonlight and got ready to remove my mask.
That was when I caught sight of a flurry of movement.
A familiar figure was sprinting, hunted down by a group of people. When I squinted into the distance, I recognized the fleeing figure.
Bai Ning Shuang.
She had taken off her mask and her face was flushed red. She was breathing heavily, her movements erratic. She collapsed all of a sudden, stumbling and tripping over her feet. One of her pursuers appeared next to her, and she reacted by lashing out. He ducked and kicked, hurling her into a shadowy alleyway.
Oh?
Unable to suppress my curiosity, I melted into the shadows and transported myself across the distance, emerging in the alleyway. Bai Ning Shuang was currently surrounded, coughing out blood and kneeling on the ground helplessly.
"Give up, Bai Ning Shuang," one of the assailants said. "You've been poisoned. You can't use your qi. If you continue to resist, you'll really die."
"If you hand over the Blue Heart Elixir, we'll give you the antidote," another said. Bai Ning Shuang's lip curled.
"Over my dead body."
"Refusing a toast only to drink a forfeit!" One of the assassins sneered and drew his sword. "Since you want to die that badly, we'll indulge you!"
Fuck, I just knew they would use one of those stupid cliché lines…
Bai Ning Shuang gritted her teeth and mastered her qi. However, like her assailants said, she had been poisoned. She couldn't conjure any qi at all. Her body had no strength and she wasn't even able to stand, never mind fight back. Resigned, she clutched her spatial pouch to her chest and squeezed her eyes shut, as if in prayer.
"Ha ha! Even the gods can't save you now!" the killer crowed.
Before the sword could reach Bai Ning Shuang, however, an onyx sword erupted from the shadows and knocked it aside, its black blade gleaming. Shadow Sword Strike blasted out and sent the assassin hurtling against the wall, blood trickling from his lips.
"Who is it?!" One of his companions yelled, all of them going onto alert and drawing their weapons. Their qi bristled aggressively about them, forming hideously shaped auras that lit up the dark alleyway.
"A bunch of men ganging up on a single young girl," I said, rising from the shadows and shaking my head in disapproval. "Just how pathetic can you get?"