He bowed and quickly left. Long Di opened the door and entered the private box. Everyone apart from Yaomu Shou entered. She looked in the direction that Yang Fuyou left in for a while longer before entering the box with everyone else.

****

The inside of the private box was extremely luxurious and plush. The walls were covered with a soft, red velvet-like material that gave the room a comfortable feel.

At this time, Shen Ling, Feng Yu, Jia Yan, Tie Lang, all removed their hooded cloaks.

“Hey, that’s better,” remarked Yaomu Shou. “It’s much better to actually see you guys. If you’re all worried about the Zhen family, then don’t be. They’re nothing in front of me… Yi!”

Yaomu Shou was patting her chest when she spotted Shen Ling, “You’re getting a bit too beautiful aren’t you!?”

Ever since Shen Ling started to cultivate the Abyss Scripture, it was like she was returning to her roots. The demeanor, grace, and bearing she possessed deep down all became quite apparent.

There were small changes in her appearance as well that made her seem like an immortal fairy. Even a great beauty like Yaomu Shou and Zi Yu (yes she’s here) felt threatened by her. Shen Ling was too bewitching!

Shen Ling didn’t respond to this, she didn’t really know what to say, but Feng Yu did.

“My junior sister is beautiful, isn’t she? Yep, she’s capable of making the bent, straight, and the straight bent from both sides!”

“Senior sister!” Shen Ling still blushed in the face of such teasing from Feng Yu.

“Huh? Who’s this?” Yaomu Shou noticed that one person in particular still wore a hooded cloak.

Naturally, this was the nymph, Xiannu Liang. She didn’t know Yaomu Shou, and as far as she was concerned, it would be better if she kept as much of a low profile as possible.

“She’s shy,” Shen Ling advised. After her own shy nature had lessened due to the effects of her cultivation technique, she, in turn, took on a role similar to that which Feng Yu adopted around her, and would ‘protect’ Xiannu Liang from feeling too uncomfortable.

Feng Yu herself could see this and felt both proud and rueful at the same time. She was proud because Shen Ling was starting to stand up for herself, and was even protecting others, but rueful because she could no longer act motherly around Shen Ling.

Ah, they grow up so fast.

“It takes a while for the auction to start, doesn’t it?” Long Di’s voice drifted over and they could see where he was sitting down on a couch before a blank screen.

Before the couch was a wooden table laden with fresh fruits, some that Long Di had never even seen before.

“Yeah, it’s a lot more efficient in cities that are a bit more cultivator-centric,” Yaomu Shou advised, walking over and taking the spot next to long Di. “They should be starting soon.”

Shen Ling made her way over and took the other spot next to Long Di sandwiching him in the middle.

Everyone just sat on the outer reaches of the couch. It was pretty sizeable, so there was no trouble fitting everyone.

“Oh, so we have a bit of time,” he replied. “Then on that note…” he looked down the line on the couch where Zi Yu sat.

“You advised that you wanted me to be your fiancé. May I ask why?”

A cold silence perfused the room when this question was asked.

Click!

Shu, shu, shu…

The door to the private box was opened to reveal a tumbleweed that rolled right on in. It circled the couch once, drawing the eyes of only Long Di, a feat that he believed would push him further into madness one day (not that we think it’s possible). It then left the room, closing the door behind it on the way.

“Well, at least it has manners,” he mumbled to himself.

He then focused his eyes back on Zi Yu as he awaited her answer. Everyone else’s eyes were glued to her as well. Their eyes never left her either. With this realization, Long Di thought that maybe this could be a possible reason as to why they never even spared the tumbleweed a passing glance, which was a shame.

Zi Yu mumbled as she fiddled with her fingers while looking down. A heavy blush coloured her face as myriad thoughts raced through her head. According to what she knew of Long Di, his only acquaintances should have been the disciples of that small, out-of-the-way village.

With her family background, she thought that Long Di would have been hard-pressed to refuse her request. So what if he’s a human? After all, his use would have ended at the fiancé junction. It wouldn’t have gone beyond that.

But what was happening here? He appeared to be extremely close to Yaomu Shou! This meant that he was way above her station from the get-go!

“Uhm, I-I, w-well, you a-and…” It was no use she was tripping over all her words, unable to form a coherent sentence.

“Oi,” Yaomu Shou spoke. “Don’t lie, why did you ask my friend if he wanted to be your fiancé?”

Yaomu Shou knew she was planning to lie. After all, if you’re going to ask someone something as important as marriage, then there must be a concrete reason behind it, especially when it’s the girl popping the question.

With that being said, if she was really thinking that Long Di being friends with Yaomu Shou placed him way above her, then the natural response should have been ‘it’s a joke Mr. Long Di, don’t take what I said to heart.’ It might have been embarrassing, but playing it off would have been the best choice in this situation. However, she was tripping all over her words, meaning that she wanted to say something to save it but not have it appear disrespectful to Yaomu Shou at the same time. She was planning to lie so that she could salvage the situation later.

When Zi Yu heard Yaomu Shou’s comment, her stammering stopped. Apparently, the latter hit the nail on the head.

Yaomu Shou was extremely smart. Her family upbringing left no room for bargaining when it came to dealing with people, so this was expected.

“Tell him the truth.”

Yaomu Shou’s command visibly shook Zi Yu. Her aura didn’t leave the latter any chance to resist, and so she spoke about what was really going on.

“In truth, I don’t want to marry the young master of the Zhen family. I don’t like him and was only planning to use you and your status as my beloved fiancé to drive a permanent wedge between him and me. My father supports my choice to remain free, but the elders… they keep saying that this is something that will elevate both the standing and the power of our family. Two serpents coming together to create a dragon.”

“So you wanted to use me,” Long Di said with his eyes closed.

“I-I wouldn’t have had you do it for free, I would have given you a slot to enter the Ghostfire Forest!”

Bam!

Yaomu Shou’s fist slammed into the table before them, “What made it possible for a mere Zi family to get their hands on a slot for the Ghostfire Forest!?”

Yaomu Shou wasn’t angry. Instead, she was shocked beyond all reason!

“What’s Ghostfire Forest?” Long Di’s curiosity was piqued somewhat.

Yaomu Shou’s expression was one of confusion as she stared at Zi Yu, but she still answered Long DI’s question, “It’s a magical place that can help with the reforging and upgrading of the cauldrons even when the stage for it has passed.”

“Wait, what!?” Feng Yu was blown away by this information!

Hong!

Suddenly, the originally blank screen before them came to life as a light above a stage came on revealing a figure that wore an enchanting smile.

It was at this point that everyone in the room now realized that it was only a one-way glass screen. It simply appeared blank before because the other side was completely dark before.

Now that it was illuminated, Long Di and the others could tell that the private box they were in was suspended above the seats of everyone else and located more so in the middle of the auction house.

“Sorry Feng Yu, we’ll talk later, after the auction. After all, there are many things that need to be discussed,” even though Yaomu Shou was answering Feng Yu’s question, her eyes never left Zi Yu, causing the latter to sink into the couch.

An enchanting voice drifted over that instantly stole everyone’s attention.

“Hello everyone, thank you for attending the auction today. We hope that our humble wares will interest you greatly.”