The morning light entered through the window of the Nine Clouds Inn. The room reeked of splintered wood and sweet sweat. A dense smell still lingered in the air. The massive oak bed was pressed against the wall, the frame cracked down the middle.
On the stone floor, atop a nest of thick blankets, Zhì Yuǎn opened his eyes. His broad chest rose and fell slowly, his body cooling the fire accumulated during the night.
Yù Qíng was sprawled on top of him. Her pale leg locked around her husband's hip. Her face was buried in his neck, her skin absorbing the inexhaustible heat from his body.
With the practicality of someone who needed to go out, Zhì Yuǎn placed his hand on his wife's body and pushed her aside.
The loss of the warm contact awakened the girl's instincts. A hoarse grumble tore from Yù Qíng's throat. Her short nails scratched the man's chest in an automatic, blind spasm, trying to pull the burning shelter back over herself.
Zhì Yuǎn ignored the scratch. He stood up calmly, his broad shoulders steady. His body felt heavy and stable on the stone floor. He put on his pants and gray-charcoal tunic.
The cold wind from the window fully woke Yù Qíng. The young woman sat up. Her white skin displayed purplish marks on her nape and hips. She dressed in her navy-blue silk and tied the dark veil over her face. Her black eyes lingered on the broken bed for a second, with a satisfied expression.
The heavy leather sacks, stuffed with Qi Stones, swayed as Zhì Yuǎn fastened them to his belt. The auction in Qīngshí was about to begin.
When the couple opened the heavy door and stepped into the wooden corridor of the inn, Yù Méi was already there.
The teenager waited leaning against the wall, arms crossed. As soon as the door opened, the youngest's almond-shaped eyes met Zhì Yuǎn's face, but she immediately looked away. The girl's face grew hot. The time alone in the neighboring room had been enough for her to remember the night her sister had stripped her clothes in front of her brother-in-law during the purification.
She swallowed dryly, remaining silent. As the three descended the stairs, Yù Méi kept stealing furtive glances at her brother-in-law's broad back. The shame still burned in her chest, mixed with something hotter and more uncomfortable that she didn't want to name.
The trio crossed the double doors of the inn and stepped onto the street.
Yù Qíng suddenly stopped. She turned to her younger sister, who was walking one step behind. Without saying a word, she pulled a second folded black veil from inside the sleeve of her navy-blue silk and held it out to Yù Méi.
— Use this — she said, her voice low and direct. — Your face draws too much attention now.
Yù Méi hesitated for a second, but took the veil. As she tied the silk over her face, her almond eyes narrowed slightly. For the first time, she did not question her sister's order.
Yù Qíng observed her for a moment, then turned her back and continued walking, as if the matter was settled.
It was a physical blow. The alleys of Qīngshí smelled of oxidized blood, manure, and cheap sandalwood.
Yù Méi gagged on the first step. In the two days they had stayed at the inn, the teenager's body had had uninterrupted time to absorb and cement the purity of her new bone structure. Now, the discrepancy hit with real weight. The millions of newly opened pores sucked in the rotten atmosphere of the metropolis all at once.
The pollution clashed against the girl's pure veins, forged in Primordial Gold. The thick taste of rust flooded the base of Yù Méi's tongue. She coughed, hunching her slender shoulders, digging her nails into her palms to hold back the urge to vomit on the dirty pavement.
For a second, she wanted to throw up.
But then the thought came, cold and sharp:
How do they live like this?
The air felt rotten. Full of the smell of dirty people, old sweat, spoiled food. Suddenly she understood — clearly and painfully — why her sister hated these places filled with mortals so much. It wasn't just disgust. It was the awareness that she was now above it. That her body, forged by her brother-in-law, no longer belonged to this filth.
Yù Méi swallowed the nausea. She straightened her spine and raised her chin.
For the first time, she looked at the crowd with genuine contempt.
Ahead of her, Zhì Yuǎn opened the way.
The heat radiating from the young man repelled the dust millimeters before the filth could touch his gray linen.
Glued to his left flank, Yù Qíng gripped her husband's leather belt. The eldest used the man's frame as an impenetrable shield against the shoves and soot of the street. Their march ignored the chaos of the open market and plunged into a narrow corridor of dark stone, stopping directly at the back door of the Exchange Pavilion.
The massive bronze arch at the back was guarded by four warriors. Their chainmail armor showed the strength of the Fifth Mortal Stage. The sentinels stood straight, evaluating the outsiders with the automatic disdain of guard dogs.
Zhì Yuǎn stopped one meter from the soldiers. Without saying a word, he lowered his shoulder and threw the heavy leather pouch directly at the nearest guard's chest.
The soldier raised his arms with a loose smile, thinking the weight was light.
The pouch struck the steel mesh with a dry thud. The man couldn't withstand it. His knees gave out at the same instant and he dropped to the stone floor, air escaping his lungs in a hoarse gasp. The other three guards stepped back, gripping the hilts of their swords tightly.
Beneath the brim of his straw hat, Zhì Yuǎn's dark eyes stared at the men.
— Call the manager — he said, his voice low and cutting.
Hurried footsteps sounded in the stone corridor inside.
The Appraiser from the West Wing appeared. He was sweating and breathing fast, with no time to maintain any elegant posture. The merchant completely ignored the broken soldier on the floor and bowed deeply.
— Senior — his voice came out rushed, bordering on panic. — The owner of our consortium discovered the purity of those three vials of heavenly liquid that you left with us for the auction. He himself leaked the news to profit more and will be present tonight to oversee the sale. The information spread like wildfire. The greatest lords and the old monsters from the Southern sects came flying on their swords. The main hall downstairs has turned into absolute chaos of greed.
Zhì Yuǎn rested his thumb on his belt. His heavy calm absorbed the man's urgency.
— Good — Zhì Yuǎn replied, his rustic voice carrying a drawn-out satisfaction. — With so many rich people here, this 'heavenly liquid' will earn me a nice retirement.
He reached into his tunic pocket, pulled out the thick iron key to the Nine Clouds Inn, and tossed it toward the merchant.
The Appraiser caught the key in the air, nodding quickly and submissively, agreeing with the logic of the man before him.
— You can be sure, Senior! — the manager guaranteed, rubbing his nervous hands. — You will be able to buy everything your wives desire with the wealth that comes out of here today. As for your luggage, I will have my men retrieve everything from the inn and take care of it quickly! Your credit is unlimited. Please, go up to the reinforced private room now, before the ground floor turns into a slaughterhouse.
Behind Zhì Yuǎn, Yù Méi blushed beneath the black veil. The words "your wives" echoed in her head with a strange and uncomfortable weight.
The Appraiser's submission, however, immediately created friction. Upon hearing the word "wives" in the plural, Yù Qíng's deep irises narrowed toward the merchant. The eldest did not say a single word, but the temperature in the alley dropped abruptly under the girl's possessive intent.
Zhì Yuǎn confirmed with a short nod. His broad arm pulled Yù Qíng to his side and the group advanced, leaving the fallen guard and the dampness of the alley behind. They climbed the hidden dark mahogany staircase toward the second floor.
---
They finished climbing the mahogany staircase. The second-floor corridor was wide, with stone pillars and the smell of expensive incense. A few members of the elite were still walking between the antechambers before entering their private rooms.
Yù Méi walked behind them. Her eyes stopped on a nearby antechamber.
A young woman was leaning against the wall. Her hair was completely white, straight, falling over a silver-gray mantle. Her eyes were a cold, strange red.
— That woman with white hair… — Yù Méi murmured, almost to herself. — She's beautiful.
She looked closer. The teenager's newly forged body silently evaluated the stranger. There was no strong energy coming from her. Nothing dense. Nothing dangerous.
— But her energy is weak — Yù Méi added, now with a lower and more certain voice. — She's just a common mortal.
Yù Qíng heard her. A small, satisfied smile appeared beneath the veil. She said nothing, only continued walking glued to her husband, as if the white-haired woman wasn't worth even a second of attention.
Zhì Yuǎn also saw the pair. He recognized the old man from the Ancient Path bookstore talking with the red-eyed girl. But he didn't stop. He had no reason to waste time with an old shopkeeper in the middle of the corridor. He guided the two straight toward the wooden door of Private Room Three.
The lock clicked and they entered, closing the door behind them.
In the corridor, the old man fell silent. His small eyes remained fixed on the door that had just closed.
Mò Yán followed her grandfather's gaze.
— Do you know them? — she asked, her voice low and controlled.
The elder let out a hoarse laugh and stroked his thin beard.
— Three anomalies appear in my shop asking for maps on the same day the consortium announces drops of heavenly liquid in the auction… — he said, his tone dry. — The Dao doesn't make coincidences, Mò Yán. I spent years in that old shop waiting for something like this to happen.
Mò Yán frowned.
— If you found what you were looking for, then come back with me — she said. — There's no point in continuing to hide in a roadside shop.
The old man shook his head.
— Go back for what? — he retorted with tired cynicism. — The Qi of this world is a dry shell. The transcendents have already left and taken the ladder with them. Following the old paths of the sects now is just crawling in the dirt until you die.
He turned his face toward his granddaughter. His wrinkled eyes weighed on her.
— That young man and the two women with him… their strength isn't normal. They will break things wherever they go. If you want to truly rise, keep an eye on them. Your best chance in this life is probably in the wake they're going to leave behind.
Mò Yán remained silent. Her scarlet eyes returned to the door of VIP Room Three.
---
The redwood door closed with a dry thud. At the same moment, the acoustic formation of the private room activated. The thick crystal windows vibrated and the chaotic noise from downstairs was cut off at once. The silence inside the room became dense and absolute.
Yù Qíng raised her hands and untied her veil. She let the dark fabric fall onto the carpet. Her pale face met the clean air of the room. She walked straight to the central armchair and threw herself onto Zhì Yuǎn's lap, lying on her side. She pressed her back against his broad chest, crossed her legs over her husband's thigh, and relaxed. A small, satisfied smile appeared on her lips.
A few steps away, Yù Méi swallowed dryly.
Her body was still warm after the purification. Instinct pulled the teenager toward the heat coming from her brother-in-law. Zhì Yuǎn's left thigh was free. For a second, she almost took a step forward.
But then she felt it.
The air around her changed. It grew cold. Yù Qíng didn't say anything, but her black eyes were locked on her. The intent was clear and heavy — if Yù Méi took another step, her sister wouldn't hesitate to hurt her for real.
Yù Méi's blood ran cold. Her heart pounded with fear. She quickly stepped back, almost tripping, and shrank into the farthest chair in the room, in the right corner. She fixed her eyes on the window glass, trying to pretend she hadn't felt anything.
Yù Qíng observed for another second, then rested her head on her husband's shoulder, satisfied.
Zhì Yuǎn didn't react. He remained seated like a statue, his thumb slowly brushing against his wife's waist. His dark eyes were focused on the floor below, through the thick glass.
Downstairs, the red-robed auction master stepped onto the granite altar.
The oak gavel struck the stone hard. The first item rose onto the jade altar: a long saber with a dark blade.
— Blade tempered in the Northern Ash Basin! — the auctioneer announced, his hoarse voice echoing through the dome. — Forged in Shadow Steel, resilient and sharp. Starting bid: five hundred Inferior Grade Qi Stones!
The ground floor exploded. Mercenaries and cultivators from smaller clans raised bamboo plaques, shouting bids over each other. The smell of sweat and excitement rose to the ceiling.
In the VIP Three, the silence was heavy.
Yù Qíng was lying on Zhì Yuǎn's lap. She closed her eyes for a few seconds, feeling the vibration of the saber downstairs through the crystal. Then she opened her eyes and murmured with disdain:
— Polished trash. I can feel the cracks from up here. The core will crumble on the third impact against something hard.
The second item was brought up shortly after. It was a thick, wrinkled root of a dark red color.
— Blood Ginseng! — the auctioneer shouted, trying to energize the crowd. — Rare longevity root! Strengthens the body and renews the blood! Starting bid: four hundred Inferior Grade Qi Stones!
Yù Méi adjusted herself in the chair. She looked at the root and tried to imitate her sister, concentrating her perception. After a few moments, she spoke, trying to sound confident:
— The smell is dense, brother-in-law. The root is very full inside. It will be useful for our furnace.
The air in the room dropped several degrees at once.
Yù Qíng slowly turned her face and stared at her sister.
— Dense? — she asked, her voice low and cutting. — Then tell me where the sap is flowing inside this root. Quantify it.
Yù Méi froze. She forced her vision against the glass, but couldn't sense anything beyond the dark color of the root.
— The… the crown seems heavier… — she stammered.
Yù Qíng let out a short, cruel laugh.
— Dead root — she said, without any pity. — The ginseng leaked all its moisture into the ground before being harvested. You're trying to judge the inside by the appearance on the outside.
Zhì Yuǎn tilted his face slightly toward his sister-in-law.
— You were standing on the veranda when I explained the difference between a living root and a hollow root — he said, his drawn-out voice. — You weren't paying attention. If you want to truly learn, stop trying to copy your sister and start paying attention when I speak.
Yù Méi shrank her shoulders and immediately shut her mouth, her face burning with shame.
The two bad items sold quickly. Shortly after, three iron chests were dragged to the altar. When the lids fell, dozens of gray ingots of Deep Silver Ore appeared, along with ebony poles for formation banners.
— Deep Silver Ore! — the auctioneer announced. — High-quality shielding for carriages and dangerous routes in the Far South. Starting bid: five hundred Inferior Grade Qi Stones!
The ground floor exploded. A guild master raised his plaque first:
— Six hundred!
Another man, from a rival gang, shouted right after:
— Seven hundred!
— Eight hundred!
— One thousand!
The bids rose quickly. Clan chiefs and guild leaders shouted over each other, competing for the ore to protect their caravans on the way South. In less than a minute, the price had already passed twelve hundred stones.
In Room Three, Zhì Yuǎn tensed his back. He needed that ore to reinforce the carriage he planned to buy before heading South. But he wasn't going to waste time negotiating penny by penny with the mercenaries downstairs.
He raised his hand and touched the copper funnel on the side of the glass. Instead of shouting, he injected Qi directly into the metal.
— Five thousand.
His voice fell from the room like an anvil dropping into still water.
The silence was immediate.
No one on the ground floor expected someone to throw five thousand stones on an initial lot of raw ore. The men who had been fighting over twelve hundred stones seconds earlier now looked at each other in shock. The auctioneer blinked, surprised, and struck the gavel quickly.
— Sold to VIP Room Three!
Yù Méi held her breath. The amount her father took years sweating in the mine to gather had been spent in a single second, without her brother-in-law changing his expression.
Yù Qíng rested her head against Zhì Yuǎn's chest and lightly rubbed her face against his tunic, clearly satisfied.