Chapter 851: Black and White Auction (2/2, Requesting Subscription)

Jingcheng is the gathering place of all the prominent figures in Qing Guo.

In other small cities, a fortune of a million might already make one superior to others.

But in Jingcheng, such wealth is far from impressive.

Among each other, everyone holds high rank and power—so how can one distinguish greater status differences?

On this matter of distinction, Jingcheng has refined it to the extreme.

Even a mere token from Juan Niao Lou is enough to generate countless layers of meaning.

After extracting information from Hai Guanjia, Fang Yue confirmed that the Shuang Sheng Token was a high-tier admission pass, a symbol of status.

He couldn't help but sigh inwardly—was it that these rich people were too idle, or that they were truly over-competitive to the extreme, turning even the most trivial things into battlegrounds?

This kind of thing, surely, would be utterly incomprehensible to ordinary commoners.

After all, the conditions to enter Juan Niao Lou were already so strict—only the powerful and influential could enter—yet they still insisted on further subdivision, ranking them by hierarchy.

But Fang Yue understood: the closer one approached Xian, the more clearly rights and status had to be delineated, or else chaos in relationships would bring disaster.

After calming You Sisi for a long while and personally escorting her back to the You Family, under You Sisi's frequent glances over her shoulder, Fang Yue boarded the carriage and returned to Qi Huang Fu with Hai Guanjia.

He had wanted to accompany You Sisi to the You Family as a guest, but after the morning court incident, visiting the You Family now would only add fuel to the fire—utterly unnecessary.

Back at Qi Huang Fu, Fang Yue borrowed a sharp sword and began cultivation.

He consolidated the Frozen Heart Method, the Frozen Step Technique, and the Empty Ice Sword Art—these three core methods—to enhance his strength in preparation for tomorrow's visit to Juan Niao Lou.

On the training ground, cold energy radiated outward from Fang Yue, freezing the ground.

Fang Yue glided across the frost-covered surface, his movements alternating between swift and slow, his sword technique elusive and invisible—leaving Hai Guanjia, watching from afar, utterly stunned.

"Lord Ye, such formidable power!"

Though he had long heard of it from Tian Ruichi and prepared himself mentally,

seeing Lord Ye's actual martial practice still shocked Hai Guanjia.

This… could this really be a Human-Level cultivator?

Such power… if it could be brought under the Seventh Prince's command, he would gain another fierce general!

Since he has already abandoned You Sisi and the You Family, why not recruit this young man? What is the Seventh Prince thinking? Don't let romantic feelings cause him to miss such a formidable asset…

Hai Guanjia fretted inwardly and paced away.

He thought—he must persuade the Seventh Prince.

After Hai Guanjia left, Fang Yue, still training, glanced toward the direction Hai Guanjia had departed, then altered his aura!

The already extraordinary frozen ground expanded further, freezing the courtyard pond and the stone-paved ground beyond.

Sword qi coiled around the blade, the movements grew wide and sweeping, the aura wild and violent.

That night, the temperature throughout Qi Huang Fu plummeted sharply; many servants caught colds in their sleep from the sudden chill.

The instigator, however, sheathed his sword as the morning sun rose, stepped out of Qi Huang Fu, and told the coachman waiting at the gate: "Set off. Head to Heavenly Pride Mansion."

"Yes!"

Jingcheng was vast; even traveling to the Hong District's Heavenly Pride Mansion took considerable time.

When Fang Yue lifted the carriage curtain, he immediately saw Ming, elaborately dressed and waiting at the entrance for a long while.

Seeing Fang Yue, Ming smiled brightly.

"Captain Ye, I knew you'd come."

"... Enough talk. Get in. We're going to Juan Niao Lou."

Ming smiled sweetly: "Alright."

The roads of Jingcheng were smooth and level.

The coachman's skill was excellent—speed neither too fast nor too slow.

Thus, the carriage never jolted.

The two sat in quiet "eye contact" for a while, when Ming, with her eyes closed, suddenly laughed.

"Captain Ye, you needn't treat me with any particular attitude. Since you came, it means you need me—we are partners."

"If not for concerns over certain matters, I could have waited two days and still obtained a token to enter Juan Niao Lou."

"Oh?"

Ming blinked slightly, seemingly surprised: "Lord Ye, you don't know about that matter? Otherwise, how could you say you'd wait two days?"

Fang Yue froze, realizing this woman had information he didn't—his voice turned grave: "What do you mean?"

"It seems Captain Ye truly doesn't know. Very well, I'll tell you kindly—the Black Bird Auction at Juan Niao Lou is being held today, and among the auctioned items… is your friend."

Auction?!!

Will Jing Yan and the others be auctioned off?

Fang Yue froze, then his expression darkened: "Explain."

Sensing the shift in Fang Yue's tone, Ming covered her mouth and laughed.

"I'll gladly tell you the details—but in return, once inside Juan Niao Lou, you must protect me. Without a Master Token, a Shuang Sheng Token is useless in Juan Niao Lou. Also, before I left, I told my husband: if I die in Juan Niao Lou, he's to strike the You Family and kill You Sisi in revenge. That man is utterly obsessed with me—he might do anything, I can't predict."

Fang Yue stared coldly at her—this woman was indeed devious.

But whether to protect her inside Juan Niao Lou was entirely up to Fang Yue.

Seeing Fang Yue's silence, Ming didn't mind.

As long as she revealed this information, the man would make his own judgment.

She began explaining to Fang Yue what the Black Bird Auction was.

Where there is light, there is shadow; where there is black, there is white.

Juan Niao Lou is a vast institution established by the four princes—not merely a brothel.

It encompasses nearly all forms of entertainment, a paradise of indulgence.

In Fang Yue's words, it was a large-scale comprehensive club, a one-stop massage service, with food, drink, whoring, and gambling all available—everything you should enjoy and shouldn't enjoy, all arranged for you. It just depends on whether you have enough money in your pocket to pay.

The so-called White Bird Auction is an open auction held within Juan Niao Lou, where the auction items are mostly various rare things like strange objects, pills, materials, and minerals.

The Black Bird Auction, on the other hand, auctions off items prohibited by law, such as human medicines, stolen goods, living strange beings, and living humans!

According to Ming's intelligence, Jing Yan and Qingchen and the others will be sold as slaves at today's auction!

"Beneath the heavens, trafficking in people? Is there no law anymore!"

Fang Yue's face darkened like water.

He roughly understood what was going on.

Qingchen is fine, nothing unusual, but after Jing Yan was struck by the strange curse, he became a thoroughgoing fish-scale person, with fish gills on his face. Being auctioned off at a high price as a rare specimen is not impossible.

And Tian Ruichi, a half Sword Spirit... if not for being backed by a powerful background, this kind of rare human should have been the target of this kind of dark auction to begin with!

Juan Niao Lou... the Juan Niao Lou established under the First Prince's leadership is actually engaged in such dark dealings!

(End of chapter)