Jiang Ning glanced over, then quickly looked away.
Besides, she wasn't here today just to gawk at the commotion. Places like the underground martial arts arena were crowded and full of prying eyes, and since she preferred peace and quiet, she had no love for such chaotic environments.
Seeing that Jiang Ning wasn't all that interested, Shuangyue let out a sigh of relief.
If the master ever found out that she had brought the young lady to the black market—let alone to the underground martial arts arena... the consequences would be simply unthinkable.
"Young Master, we've pretty much gotten everything we need to buy. We should be heading back now." Shuangyue urged eagerly.
Jiang Ning nodded. She had managed to buy all the ore sand she needed, and she was eager to head back as soon as possible to try her hand at crafting black fire beads.
"Let's head back."
Just as the two of them were about to leave, two tall, burly men walked straight toward them from the direction of the underground martial arts arena.
The man standing before them had an upright, imposing posture—noticeably taller and sturdier than the men from the capital. With a hideous demon mask concealing his face, someone like that walking down the street naturally drew everyone's attention.
What caught Jiang Ning's attention and made her look over was that the man had deep, dark-green eyes—a remarkably rare sight in the capital.
"The martial artists of the State of Yan are nothing special after all." the man said coldly.
The guard behind him handed over a wooden token and said, "My Lord, there are items you might be interested in at this upcoming auction. Would you like to check out Myriad Treasures Pavilion? This is their wooden token..."
The man gave a slight nod. "Then let's go take a look."
As the man walked closer and closer step by step, Jiang Ning could vividly feel the oppressive aura radiating from him.
As they brushed past each other, the man gave Jiang Ning a cold glance. Perhaps it was because she was also wearing a mask that he bothered to look at her a second time.
Shuangyue stepped in front of Jiang Ning, watching the two men warily.
The man merely walked past without making any other move.
It wasn't until the figures had faded into the distance that Shuangyue finally relaxed. Those two men had given her an overwhelming sense of danger—especially the guard trailing behind the master, whose depth was completely unfathomable, radiating a chilling, bone-deep aura.
Guided by her instinct as a shadow guard, she could tell that the man was undoubtedly a similarly well-trained secret guard—and one whose martial arts prowess far surpassed her own.
Jiang Ning also withdrew her gaze. She had simply looked at him a second time because of his unusual eyes, and nothing more.
Instead, it was what the man said that actually piqued her interest.
"Myriad Treasures Pavilion—what kind of place is that?"
She had vaguely gathered that it was a venue for auctions. She had never been to an auction house before, and who knew—there just might be something inside that she needed.
Shuangyue let out an inward sigh. She had originally thought her young lady would obediently head back to the estate, but it seemed she had taken a sudden fancy to something else instead.
After offering some explanations, Shuangyue managed to secure a wooden token.
To enter Wanbao Pavilion, you needed a wooden token; random passersby and idlers couldn't just walk in. Getting your hands on one of those tokens required paying a certain price.
All in all, anyone able to step foot inside Wanbao Pavilion was either exceptionally wealthy or of high nobility.
Jiang Ning headed to Wanbao Pavilion, bringing Shuangyue along with her.
No sooner had they stepped inside the pavilion than a scantily clad young woman with a delicate, captivating appearance walked over, greeting them with a radiant smile: "Young master, do you happen to have a wooden token?"
Jiang Ning handed the wooden token over.
The woman took the wooden token, and upon seeing the tiger emblem etched upon it, her expression shifted slightly. She instantly reined in her smile, replacing it with an attitude of utmost respect as she said: "This way, please, Young master."
Swaying gracefully with an alluring posture, the woman walked ahead to lead the way, respectfully escorting Jiang Ning up to a private room on the second floor.
From the vantage point of the private room, one had an unobstructed view of the entire auction hall below.
Clearly, this was an exclusive spot reserved for people of high status and prestige—something that was already glaringly obvious from the maid's deferential attitude.
Jiang Ning cast a glance at Shuangyue, her eyes silently questioning where on earth she had managed to procure that wooden token. Were private room tokens on the second floor really that easy to get?
Shuangyue replied: "This is my Lord's wooden token."
"Has your master been here before?" Jiang Ning asked in surprise.
"Yes, my Lord came here previously while investigating a case."
Jiang Ning gave a calm nod, her face betraying no hint of emotion or surprise.
Before long, the auction began.
The auction featured an eclectic variety of items, none of which had ever been seen on the open market before.
There was a five-hundred-year-old ginseng with well-defined roots and vividly green leaves. To the elderly, it was a supreme tonic capable of prolonging life and promoting longevity.
There was also a freshly harvested Tianshan snow lotus preserved inside a block of ice. Managing to keep a block of ice that large frozen in the capital was no small feat in itself.
Jiang Ning felt tempted more than once. If she could use these ingredients to practice medicine, she could undoubtedly brew top-tier elixirs. However... upon hearing the exorbitant bids shouted out by others, she could only shake her head with a sigh.
Money is always lamented as being too scarce when the time comes to spend it. Even if she completely emptied her treasury, she still wouldn't have enough to buy them all.
After the auction had been underway for a short while, the atmosphere inside the hall was running at a fever pitch.
Right at that moment, the proprietor of Wanbao Pavilion had a weighty object wheeled up onto the stage.
The object was draped under a red cloth, making it impossible to tell what was hidden underneath.
Everyone looked over with eager curiosity. What rare treasure was it this time?
The proprietor raised a hand to wipe the sweat from his brow, then gave the red cloth a sharp tug with one hand, exposing the object beneath.
It was a dark, unassuming rock. No matter what angle one looked at it from, it simply looked like an ordinary piece of stone.
"What is this?"
"Isn't that just a rock?"
"Spot on! Exactly!" The crowd broke into an uproar. They had assumed it was some kind of precious treasure, only for a mere rock to be wheeled up instead.
The proprietor motioned for everyone to calm down. "Quiet, quiet... While this may look like a common rock, it's actually nothing of the sort! This is an exotic, wondrous stone!"
"Someone, bring it over here!" the proprietor shouted.
Promptly, an attendant stepped forward carrying an oil lamp.
"Please, everyone, take a look." The proprietor picked up the oil lamp and shone it against the black rock. The pitch-black stone suddenly began to glow red, as if it had been heated over a blazing fire.
Jiang Ning had only been casting a casual glance in that direction, but upon seeing this sight, her eyes instantly lit up.
That's... Fire Sandstone!
Fire Sandstone looks just like an ordinary black rock—the kind that could roll into a roadside ditch without drawing a second glance. Yet the moment a flame is shone upon it, its extraordinary nature is revealed, as it allows the firelight to shine straight through.
Just like right now, the pitch-black rock was illuminated a brilliant, glowing red.
What made Jiang Ning's heart skip a beat was that Fire Sandstone happened to be a key ingredient in the formula for the Black Fire Bead.
She had scoured the entire black market without finding a single piece of Fire Sandstone, never expecting she would run into it here inside the Myriad Treasures Pavilion.
She has to buy it!
Seeing the rock turn a brilliant, glowing red, the crowd was filled with astonishment.
"Wh-what kind of rock is this? How on earth does it turn red just from having an oil lamp shone on it?"
"Well, that's fascinating... Could it be some kind of rare, precious gemstone?"
The proprietor of the Myriad Treasures Pavilion removed the oil lamp. Almost immediately, the fiery scarlet glow of the Fire Sandstone faded away, turning it back into an ordinary-looking black rock.
Someone asked curiously, "Boss, what on earth is this thing?"
"That's right! You've got to tell us what it is before we can decide whether to buy it or not!"
"Well..." The proprietor of the Myriad Treasures Pavilion looked a little awkward. Truth be told, he had no idea what the object actually was either. Seeing how rare it looked, he had bought it off a farmer, but after studying it for a few days after bringing it back, he still couldn't figure out what it was.
"Well... I don't know either..."
"I only know that when exposed to firelight, it glows red all the way through—it's definitely no ordinary rock!"
Hearing that, much of the crowd's enthusiasm instantly fizzled out.
Sure, a rock that turns red is rare, but at the end of the day, it's still just a rock!
What good is a mere rock?
🐇♡🐇♡🐇♡🐇
Runa: “Jiang Ning, you went to the black market for ingredients and somehow ended up at an auction. What caught your eye?”
Jiang Ning: “Fire Sandstone. It's a key ingredient for the Black Fire Bead.”
Runa: “The crowd thought it was just an ordinary rock.”
Jiang Ning: “Their loss. I know exactly what it's worth.”
Shuangyue: “Young Miss, please don't tell me you're planning to spend all your money again.”
Jiang Ning: “I haven't even placed a bid yet.”
Shuangyue: “That's what worries me.”
Runa: “And the mysterious masked man?”
Jiang Ning: “Unusual eyes. Interesting aura. Nothing important.”
Shuangyue: “Meanwhile, I'm still wondering how we're going to explain this auction trip to the master.”
Jiang Ning: “Tell him we went shopping.”
Shuangyue: “For rocks?”
Jiang Ning: “Very expensive rocks.”
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