After the commotion died down, everyone silently entered the auction. It would be best for them to ignore the dead body behind them and never speak of this incident again. For people trying to curry the favor of the Young Master, their horrified looks quickly turned into looks of admiration and reverence. Even a crime like this, punishable only by death or lifelong imprisonment, was swept under the rug like it was a misdemeanor. Oh how they longed to become a part of his entourage.
A large hall opened up inside, with displays systematically placed all over the floor. There were items encased in glass cases for all to see and admire, giving the buyers a sneak peak on what they would want to buy this evening.
Everyone separated and inspected the items, which varied from simple jewelry and ornaments designed for common folk, to something only a cultivator could appreciate like weapons and armors. Each item had descriptions tagged below that described the item in detail and its history, but there wasn't any price added to it.
These expensive sets of items sent more buzz and commotion to the buyers who were already bragging and taking dibs on what they wanted to buy. This was the intention of the auction. They wanted to let word of mouth advertise the items for them and make the competition in the auction more fierce, which leads to more money coming their way.
"This is a bracelet carved from the metals of the universe that crashed into this planet. How exciting. I must have this."
The person who uttered those words was a successful businessman who owned a large portion of the tobacco industry in this town. Everyone knew his name, and everyone could see his wealth. He was one of the VIPs of the night and one of the goals for social climbers.
"Oh, he wants it? Then I must have it as well."
Of course, he also had enemies who wanted to one-up him. The best way to do that was to buy the things he wanted to buy and exert dominance over him using financial power. This competition would send the item's price over the moon.
There were a lot more influential wealthy entrepreneurs that participated in this competition, but none of the businessmen could compete with the Young Master himself. Even with one look from him, people would swarm over the item and struggle over each other to get the item later.
In contrast, the items that an insignificant teen looked at were ignored. He didn't have an exclusively tailored suit nor did he have the bearings of a wealthy noble or businessman. His social standing was deep in the negative so nobody wanted to get close to him for fear of their peers thinking that they were associated with this bum.
Zoran didn't pay much attention to the people and the items in this auction. It was all subpar in quality and would not help him in his cultivation—especially the weapons and armors; his tyrannical arms were enough.
He knew that these were not the best items of the night. Those were hidden only to be revealed at the very last part of the auction. This exclusive list of objects were fit only for priceless items like the rare Freezing Bloomed Orchid, or the Thousand-Tonne Morningstar, or even the Silver Bleeding Diamond.
"Hey, did you hear what the final item of the night will be?"
"Yeah. I heard it will be the Silver Bleeding Diamond."
"I don't believe it. How could they find such a precious gem? I thought it was only a myth!"
"It doesn't even matter. Every top dog will be bidding for that item. I could only imagine the price it will reach."
"I think the Young Master will get it. He's the only one who can outbid the people here."
As the two of them talked and conversed, they passed by Zoran and completely ignored them. It was not even worth for them to waste brain space on him because they didn't think that he would even be able to bid on the cheapest item here.
What they didn't know was that the Silver Bleeding Diamond that they praised was sitting in the comfortable pockets of the one they deemed to be a rustic country bumpkin.
Meanwhile, in one of the four walls of the auction, one turned out to be a one-way glass for the organizers to observe how the buyers perceived the items that were going to be sold. In this room, two people were currently observing the crowd.
But they were not looking at the brimming enthusiasm of the Mayor to buy a certain antique table, nor were they looking at the fierce competition between two rival bankers to see who could bid for the gold bars. They weren't even looking at the Young Master who seemed to be bored at the insufficient quality of the items that were being sold. No, they were looking at a young teen who stood out like a sore thumb.
This young teen who looked to be a peasant who got lost in a world full of aristocrats was ignorantly walking around the items and observing it with an unenthusiastic face. He looked to be alive and well without even a scratch on his body, as if the person who was staring at him didn't send four professional assassins to get rid of him.
That person was Eddie, and beside him was the owner of Heaven's Auction House, Bettor. Eddie was perplexed as to how Zoran survived this long. Could his shadows have slacked off? No, the Hidden Moon Dynasty rewards death to those who become negligent.
"I thought you would kill him?" Bettor asked.
"I thought so too. But my shadows haven't returned yet and the guards you sent can't find them."
"The Young Master is here. I don't want any screw ups, especially since we promised that the Silver Bleeding Diamond will appear tonight."
Eddie bit his lips and glared at Zoran. He had already evaded capture from the shadows and now he dared show himself in his domain? He underestimated how stupid Zoran was. But nonetheless, Eddie was grateful that he hand delivered the Silver Bleeding Diamond right into his lap.
Just as he thought that, four shadows appeared behind him.
"Where were you?" Eddie asked.
The leader hesitated for a second and replied, "we ran into some business. Fear not, now that he's here no trickery will save him from his gruesome fate."
Eddie smiled and nodded. "Good. Don't ruin his face too much. I want to see the look of despair in his eyes as I bash in his face with an iron ore."
Meanwhile, Zoran simply looked at a certain wall in the auction, smiled, shook his head, and continued with his business.