Chapter 61

Chapter 61: Plotting Against Ye Chu Xue

The Black Market master sat with an almost aggrieved expression, as if someone had wronged her.

Song Wan Ning ignored the performance. She took out the storage ring and set it on the table.

“A storage ring?” The Black Market master frowned, a flicker of confusion crossing her eyes.

Plenty of people came to sell goods, but it was rare to see someone selling the ring itself.

Ordinary cultivators used storage pouches, with varying capacity. Rarer still were storage bracelets and storage rings.

Anyone carrying a storage ring usually had an unusual background.

No wonder it was being sold through the Black Market.

“The owner of this ring has quite the background,” the Black Market master said slowly, already calculating.

[There could be a lot of good things inside.]

Song Wan Ning lazily rolled the ring between her fingers. “Foundation Establishment Stage. But not ordinary. A favored child of the Heavenly Dao—ridiculous luck.”

Her tone was casual, but it landed like a hook.

“Boss,” she said lightly, “you understand what I mean.”

[A favored child of the Heavenly Dao. How could there not be treasures?]

“Heh.” The Black Market master didn’t let her temptation show. “Whether they’re truly favored isn’t something we can confirm just because Fellow Daoist says so.”

They circled each other for a long time—testing, retreating, pressing again—until the price finally settled.

Song Wan Ning gave a little. Then she leaned back, eyes cold beneath her hood.

“I’m not short on money. But I don’t want this person to have an easy life.” Her voice lowered. “So I want to add a condition. If you agree, I’ll cut another twenty percent off.”

She didn’t care about the spirit stones. If she could make Ye Chu Xue suffer, all the better.

“There’s a deal this good?” The Black Market master’s eyes brightened. She leaned forward at once. “True Lord, you’re decisive.”

Song Wan Ning leaned in and whispered a few words.

The Black Market master’s smile slowly spread, mirrored by Song Wan Ning’s.

“Don’t worry.” The Black Market master’s voice turned silky. “Leave it to me. Next time you have something good, don’t forget me.”

She couldn’t resist placing her hand over Song Wan Ning’s again, adding a flirtatious wink for good measure.

“Heh.”

Song Wan Ning’s patience snapped. She sneered and shoved the woman’s hand away.

Once the spirit stones were in hand, she gathered her things and left without another glance, heading back toward the Shen Xing Auction House.

“Master,” someone murmured at the Black Market master’s side after Song Wan Ning disappeared, “should I send people to investigate her identity?”

“No need.” The Black Market master’s eyes turned cold. “You can’t afford to provoke that person. Don’t bring me trouble.”

Her gaze dropped to the talisman in her hand.

[Using this as the medium… only that woman would do something like that.]

Still, she was happy to cooperate.

Dirty work was what she did best.

—

“What’s going on? Why is it so lively?”

“Hah, you don’t know? I heard the auction house was hiding a demonic cultivator. Someone suffered huge losses—not only were the consignor’s pills stolen, they nearly lost their life!”

“What? That bold? They dared shelter a demonic cultivator? Do they want to shut down?”

“Exactly. We’re sworn enemies with demonic cultivators—like fire and water. What are they trying to do?”

The cultivators gathered at the entrance seethed. The moment the words “sheltering a demonic cultivator” spread, anger flared like kindling catching flame.

Inside the auction house, the Sect Master of the Heaven-Questioning Sect arrived with his men and aggressively surrounded the staff.

The shopkeeper stood in the center with several attendants, face tight with baffled anger.

“Sect Master He,” he said, voice controlled, “our auction house may not be as powerful as the Heaven-Questioning Sect, but we wouldn’t stoop to sheltering a demonic cultivator. Without evidence, your sect can’t just slander us.”

He held the Sect Master’s gaze. Even under the pressure that made his legs tremble, he didn’t flinch.

“It was your auction house,” Ye Chu Xue rasped, clutching her chest, face livid, “that hid a demonic cultivator and leaked your customers’ information. That’s why he could track me down and steal my storage ring and pills!”

“And now you’re pretending nothing happened?” Her voice shook with fury. “That’s outrageous!”

“Sect Master, they’re making excuses!” An Ze jumped in, incensed. “It’s not that we have no evidence—the evidence is your auction host!”

“So many people saw him back then. You can’t deny it just because you want to!”

“If you’re not guilty, hand him over right now. Whether he’s a demonic cultivator—we’ll know the moment we test him!”

No matter how carefully a demonic cultivator concealed their aura, once demonic qi was used, it could be detected.

That was why Mo Yuan had endured humiliation for years, letting others bully him without daring to fight back.

It had also given Ye Chu Xue, in her previous life, a chance to help him.

“Yes! Hand him over!” An Ze pointed at the shopkeeper, practically spitting with rage. “You’re acting so sneaky and still claiming he’s not a demonic cultivator?”

The shopkeeper stared at him, then rolled his eyes in sheer disbelief.

[And this thing used to be Master’s disciple?]

[Was Master blinded by lard back then?]

[Good thing he was kicked out. Just looking at him is annoying.]

The Sect Master kept a polite smile, but his words carried steel.

“Shopkeeper, this isn’t the Heaven-Questioning Sect being overbearing. A small grievance for our disciples is nothing, but discovering a demonic cultivator is a serious matter.”

He tilted his head, smile tightening. “I’m sure your establishment didn’t mean to shelter one. You must have been deceived.”

“If you hand the demonic cultivator over, this can still be resolved.” His gaze sharpened. “But if you can’t catch him, your suspicion won’t be cleared. When everyone turns on you, it’ll be hard for your auction house to keep operating.”

“Wouldn’t you agree?”

The shopkeeper’s face sank.

So they were threatening him.

He was about to respond when a figure walked in from the doorway.

Song Wan Ning.

She’d been watching the commotion for a while.

The moment she appeared, expressions shifted. Several people frowned at the same time, clear displeasure written across their faces.

Only Bai Yang looked relieved, a flicker of joy crossing him.

“Junior Sister Song,” he said quickly, “why are you here?”

The Sect Master’s tone turned unpleasant the instant he spoke. The sight of Song Wan Ning made his irritation spike.

Song Wan Ning’s answer was cool and even. “This auction house is under the Song Family. I heard someone accused it of sheltering a demonic cultivator. That’s a serious matter, so of course I came to see for myself.”

Her words landed like a stone dropped into still water.

Everyone present froze.

[The Shen Xing Auction House is actually Song Family property?]