Chapter 53

Chapter 53: Forcibly Stealing an Opportunity

If you asked who was the richest in the sect, the answer was always the same: Song Wan Ning.

Her father was the Patriarch of the Song Family. Her mother came from a great clan as well. Their wealth was staggering.

Song Wan Ning herself was a Nascent Soul True Lord. The sect issued her a monthly stipend, and as an alchemy grandmaster, she drew spirit stones in like water poured into a basin.

It made people sick with jealousy.

As Song Wan Ning’s eldest disciple, Bai Yang had benefited immensely. Pills never ran short. Spirit stones always seemed to be there. Countless people envied him.

Ye Chu Xue’s life, even as a true disciple, was much harder. Her Master had no background. He had relied on himself to reach his level.

She couldn’t profit from him.

Everything depended on her.

In that instant, Ye Chu Xue couldn’t stop the suspicion that rose like a thorn: Bai Yang didn’t want to lend her spirit stones. He was making excuses.

Bai Yang stiffened when he saw the doubt in her eyes.

He hadn’t expected Junior Sister Ye to look at him like that.

And what she’d said… it startled him more than he wanted to admit.

Without realizing it, Junior Sister Ye seemed to have changed.

She no longer felt as pure and kind as before.

“Master hasn’t given me spirit stones for over half a year,” Bai Yang said quietly. “These are all saved up by me.”

In the past six months, aside from following Ye Chu Xue to the Medicine King Sect, he hadn’t gone out even once. Where else would spirit stones come from?

This was his old savings.

“How could that be?” Ye Chu Xue’s heart jolted.

She thought of how Song Wan Ning had recently expelled An Ze from her tutelage, and a chill crawled through her.

“I always feel like Martial Uncle Song has been off lately,” she whispered. “She’s changed too much—too suddenly.”

In the past, every time Ye Chu Xue clashed with Song Wan Ning, Song Wan Ning would explode, again and again disappointing everyone.

But now she seemed smarter. Calmer. Not only could she control her emotions—she could turn theirs against them, make them furious instead.

It was like…

It was like she had been possessed.

Ye Chu Xue’s eyes darkened. Could it be that Song Wan Ning had been taken over by some transmigrator too?

“It was because I stole the pill last time and disappointed Master,” Bai Yang began, voice tight, “and because Martial Uncle Gu—”

He also felt Master had changed. But he could understand it.

He had done wrong and shattered Master’s trust. And Martial Uncle Gu had fallen in love with a disciple and broken off his engagement with Master.

Anyone would change after that.

“Is that so?” Ye Chu Xue still wasn’t convinced, but now wasn’t the time to dig deeper.

The Spirit Bead mattered.

And in the short time they’d spoken, its price had shot up again—four hundred ten thousand mid-grade spirit stones.

Ye Chu Xue sank into her chair as if her bones had been pulled out. Her eyes reddened. Her nails dug into her palm until it hurt.

The Spirit Bead was clearly meant to be hers, but now…

It was all Song Wan Ning’s fault.

If it weren’t for Song Wan Ning, she wouldn’t have drained all her spirit stones bidding for the Heaven-Origin Heart-Nourishing Pill. She would still have the money to fight for the Spirit Bead.

While Ye Chu Xue burned with helpless fury, Song Wan Ning pressed the bidding light in her own private room.

“Five hundred thousand.”

The private rooms fell quiet one by one. People hesitated.

The Spirit Bead looked extraordinary, but its true value was still only a guess.

If you bought it and couldn’t use it, you would lose badly.

Beside Song Wan Ning, the shopkeeper snorted. “I even went to the master consigning this Spirit Bead and tried to buy it directly, but that master was slippery. He insisted on auctioning it.”

Song Wan Ning smiled faintly. “An auction brings more profit. Even after paying a twenty percent fee, it’s still better than selling directly. Of course that master wouldn’t agree.”

That was the surface reason.

The real reason was that this Spirit Bead had been prepared for Ye Chu Xue. It had to appear here, at this auction, so Ye Chu Xue could buy it.

What a pity.

This time, she wouldn’t be able to take it home.

“Hah. In the end, we still have to waste extra money,” the shopkeeper muttered, then fell silent.

“Five hundred thousand, once.”

Seeing no one else bid, Mo Yuan raised the hammer and began announcing the result.

Inside the private room, Ye Chu Xue paced in tight circles, frantic and helpless.

“Senior Brother Bai,” she said hoarsely, “I really feel like this Spirit Bead should be mine.”

She bit her lower lip, tears shining at the corners of her eyes.

The feeling of something being forcibly torn away—something that belonged to her—was maddening.

Bai Yang’s frown deepened. He wanted to comfort her, but his mouth felt heavy.

“If the Spirit Bead is truly destined for you,” he said finally, “then even if someone buys it, it will return to you. Maybe you’ll even save a huge amount of spirit stones.”

Junior Sister Ye always had good luck.

This time should be the same.

“Will it?” Ye Chu Xue murmured, staring at the bead as if she could summon it back with her gaze alone.

Maybe Bai Yang was right.

So what if someone bought it?

The Spirit Bead would definitely come back to her.

“Five hundred thousand, three times.”

“Sold!”

With the final hammer, the Spirit Bead’s ownership was decided.

An attendant carried the tray up to the highest floor.

Mo Yuan’s gaze flicked toward that top private room. If the auction house master was willing to spend five hundred thousand spirit stones on a Spirit Bead like this, then it had to be a supreme treasure.

It was a pity he was trapped here now.

Otherwise… he would have stolen it, no matter the cost.

The remaining items went by quickly. Aside from one spirit weapon that failed to sell midway through, everything else traded successfully.

The auction house made a fortune. Song Wan Ning also achieved her goal, and the smile on her lips deepened.

“Open the teleportation array for departure,” she ordered.

Once the teleportation array opened, bidders scattered one after another, stepping into it and vanishing.

The auction ending was only the true beginning.

—

“Come on.” Ye Chu Xue clenched the storage ring on her finger as if she could crush guilt into dust. “Let’s return to the Heaven-Questioning Sect first. With this pill, Master will definitely wake up right away.”

Her voice trembled. “If you hadn’t been badly hurt saving me before, Master wouldn’t have lost to Martial Uncle Song. He wouldn’t have been poisoned and unconscious.”

Master was ten thousand times better than Song Wan Ning.

Only someone as despicable as Song Wan Ning would take advantage of a crisis and strike hard at Master.

“Mm,” Bai Yang said, but his eyes were scanning the surroundings. “Something feels off.”

The moment they stepped out of the teleportation array, unease had settled on him like a cold hand.

“Those people from Yun Xiang City don’t look like they’ll let this go.”

“Do you think they set an ambush on the road back?” Ye Chu Xue’s heart seized.

She straightened, instantly on guard.

“Better safe than sorry.” Bai Yang gripped his sword. “We have to hurry back to the Heaven-Questioning Sect. Come on—I know a small path. We’ll take the shortcut.”

“Okay!”

They hurried down the narrow path, pushing for speed.

At the junction ahead, several figures waited as if they’d been standing there for an eternity.