Fu Ran's brows furrowed, but his feet moved to follow. As soon as they entered the building, Fu Ran was immediately hit by a wave of intense incense fragrance, filling his nostrils with a strong, burnt wooden scent. Although it reminded him of Tian Han, it lacked the subtle sweetness of honey. This fragrance was far from pleasant, as the overpowering aroma was so strong that it almost felt like a thick haze. He yearned for the coverage that his long sleeves could have provided to shield his face from the oppressive smoke.
The endless golden, ornamental pillars stretching down the long hallways left Fu Ran feeling a sense of disorientation. He couldn't help but think that this complex layout was worse than even the labyrinthine corridors of his own dreams. With multiple possible paths branching out in every direction, the palace seemed deliberately designed to confuse and bewilder. With each turn he took, Fu Ran's headache only grew stronger, and he felt a growing sense of frustration at the maze-like structure before him.
The more he walked, the more his brain wracked, It was just a place to purchase wares, no? For what reason is all of this necessary? Fu Ran only grew more and more puzzled.
The white-clad guard, who had escorted them this far, bowed and spoke with formality, "Esteemed guests, please feel free to have a look inside." With that, the guard departed, leaving them to explore the grand hall on their own.
Fu Ran cupped his hands against his lips, and leaned closer to Tian Han to whisper, "And what was that all about?"
Tian Han still didn't answer him!
“Tian Han! Do you hate me suddenly? Why will you not answer me?” Fu Ran crossed his arms in annoyance.
Immediately the tyrant wore a face of shock, and a hand moved to rest on Fu Ran’s shoulder. “No! No… Shizun, it isn’t like that. I just… It’s hard to explain things right now. I don’t know who is listening.”
Not believing his words, Fu Ran turned his gaze to the ground. It makes sense that he doesn’t trust me, as I don’t much trust him either, but surely he has some reason to believe Wan Yu to be here.
The door opened and revealed that the room was near black, only faint light appearing in the center, and hiding the population of wealth that sat along the edges. It was clear that if one did not come with a partner or a group, that it was common sense to not sit close to another person. The scene somehow felt occult.
A few steps inside showed Fu Ran that Tian Han had already moved towards a chosen seat. With each step it was like a wall of eyes were watching as they chose their path.
Small whispers were muttered, but the words couldn’t be made out. These people had perfected the skill of silent conversation. They all partook in the gossip, masking their words with fans in front of their faces. Fu Ran’s gaze scanned the seats as they walked by landing on women and men alike. Women wore bright colors on their lips, while men wore gold on both their robes and on the trinkets they carried.
The cultivator was seeing tastes far nestled away from the quiet and modest culture of An Xian Yun Peak, and truthfully, the sight frightened him. Tian Han led the way into the room, and they stopped at the first row of seats.
The Tyrant is too bold, even in his seating choices… Everyone is looking at us!
Fu Ran’s gaze darted around the room, a thick layer of sweat building onto the back of his neck as dark eyes sized him up. Occasional glances, along with mindless gossiping chatter threatened to completely devour him. His heart began to thump in his chest, and his throat, threatening suffocation.
There’s too many people.
A touch of gentle fingers to his hip startled him further and he went rigid. Tian Han looked at him with a look of worried pity, mouthing the words, “sit down.”
Fu Ran felt he didn’t have much choice as he was already drawing attention just by standing in place. Pretending to fit in seemed impossible.
The nightlife in Jinan was just so different from his own. Some evenings he would go outside to sit beneath his tree, and if he was feeling extravagant: He would add in a few drops of honey into his drink for a sweeter taste.
Fu Ran believed that to be a night of riveting excitement.
Before his mind could cause more panic to strike, he felt Tian Han’s arm cross the back of his seat. It laid against the top of the chair, a touch uncomfortable if Fu Ran wanted to lean back. However, it did seem to build a wall, or a barrier from prying eyes, making him settle in with ease.
Tian Han watched his reaction, pensive, until Fu Ran relaxed.
***
When the lights on stage flicked on, it took both of them by surprise. The faint illumination of one light turned into the brightness of ten, and suddenly a lovely view of an overly designed platform was visible.
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Decorated similarly to Twin Summit’s bedroom aesthetic, a large curtain was drawn to the left side, heavy and of red hue. It was tied off with golden tassels that hung down to the hardwood floors.
A single figure clad completely in white, like the guards, stood in the center.
“Welcome dear guests,” the voice of the man spoke out over the crowd, signifying the demand for silence in the room. The volume of the words sounded enhanced by some sort of item, it carried the power of liquid to fill the space.
“The Treasures of Life is the one place where you can always be assured that you will receive a tremendous experience. I am sure you are waiting now, with bated breath, to hear what is on the Auctions House’s special menu tonight.
“Treats of all sorts will be made available to our cherished guests. Feel free to examine them to your satisfaction.”
Fu Ran shimmied in his seat out of nervousness. The stage was suddenly lit just as brightly as the outside of Jinan. Being so close almost made him want to squint his eyes shut. There stood a man on stage now.
Fu Ran opened his mouth and turned his head to speak to Tian Han before he noticed a single finger pressed to the man’s lips. His lips smiled beneath that touch reassuringly, and he kept his eyes gentle. There was a painfully loud noise on stage that assaulted the ears as sounds of creaking and squeaking spread.
Large boxes were moved around the wooden floors and they were mostly concealed in the areas that lacked brightness, so their contents couldn’t be seen.
Considering some looked to be large cages, Fu Ran wondered if they were auctioning off some exotic species of animal, and if that were even allowed. Fu Ran heard muffled sounds from beneath those faint candle lights. He leaned forward to try and steal a glance, but the shadows behind the auctioneer were much too thick.
With a welcoming arch of his arm, more like a street performer would do, the auctioneer had fully stepped into frame. More details other than vague colors could be made out, but the most noticeable thing that caught Fu Ran’s attention was that he wore a sword at his hip.
This indicated ability to fight, and knowledge of how to use a blade.
He wore a mask like everyone else present, albeit his was more like the one seen worn on the stationed guard. It was covering his face fully, and solid white. The robes flowed with his overacted movements, the pure white colors were eye-catching against the black shadowy background.
“Let us start with the first item for sale today,” the auctioneer said.
With a slow motion of his hand, he led the attention to the right side of the stage, where there waited those shrouded boxes and cages. When the lights came on, there was not an animal in sight, nor any fancy spiritual weapon that would have needed barring.
Within the cage there was a terrified young girl, with her hair tied up in teal ribbons. Fu Ran’s breath hitched and in his shock he stood to his feet. This simple action of pure disbelief, caused eyes all over the room to lock onto him once more.
The auctioneer chuckled. “How excited, how excited! Is that a bidding? Well, well you didn’t even hear the starting price. 500 silver, to the young man in the front!”
“500 silver?” Fu Ran almost choked on nothing but a gasp, and he could barely get the words to come out. His face had quickly grown white like the robes of the man on stage, as that amount of money could feed his entire sect on rice for at least a year.
The young teen girl made small whimpers when she heard the price, and curled in on herself. Her hands tangled into her hair and she wailed, clearly frightened.
Fu Ran was livid. He was stunned in shock, but every inch of his body was screaming at him to run onto that stage and… and what? What would he do even if he did? It wasn’t like he could easily go around causing troubles in The Faceless City.
His choices would have an impact on An Xian Yun Peak.
A hand quickly grasped his wrist, just firm enough to pull him from his stupor, and Tian Han urged him to sit down with a gentleness.
It was not like Fu Ran had never heard of people selling off their daughters, or sons, for some amounts of money. Back a decade ago, the old Peak Elder used to buy up young kids being sold for cheap and use them for labor.
Fu Ran wasn't that sheltered, so he knew that the world held some horrors. But that did not make it right or acceptable.
Of course a Tyrant Emperor would know about a place like this. His gaze almost turned to see Tian Han’s expression, he wanted to know what he was thinking, but as usual, it was near impossible to read him.
A clap brought his attention back to the stage, and it was followed by a resounding, “sold!” The chanting sounded ecstatic.
Fu Ran could feel the sweat starting to appear on his forehead and neck. That kind of money is… absurd! He panicked. Half tempted to reach for Shi Wei Ji, he grit his teeth and lowered his hand to his side. But hearing Tian Han’s voice stopped him.
Tian Han said coldly, “Continue. We will pay after. We might be interested in more wares.” Tian Han’s hand had moved preemptively to rest on the hilt of Shi Wei Ji, and this simple action blocked Fu Ran’s hand.
Frustrated, he sunk deeper into his seat. Saying that he was out of his element was a steep understatement. The chatter of high-class people made him feel a creeping shame.
The auction continued, and with each wave of the auctioneer’s hand, a child was shown. Fu Ran’s jaw ached with an annoyed tightness that did not vanish for hours. The event continued, for far too long. Worse yet, there were no signs of Wan Yu.
Fu Ran kept stealing glances at his companion, thinking, What made you think of an auction! Clearly you have a reason, so please explain, Tyrant.
Because as the time set in on Fu Ran’s body, he only grew mentally worse off. It was one thing to take in, or adopt a child because you choose it, but to buy a child? When money was involved, they became property worth some value, and these children would be forced to earn that value somehow.
Tian Han’s bodily actions were enough to prove how impatient he had become, the tapping of his boot against the covered floors was incessant.
“--And here we have the next, and final sale for the night. Some of you might have seen this one before,” the voice of the auctioneer had become meager background noise. However, he heard, “final sale,” and he tiredly perked up.
The auctioneer held his hands up higher than his head, before throwing a gesture to the side of the stage. “Hopefully, you saved some budget! This one is unique, and has some lovely features!” He played up his introduction as always.
When the next child was brought out, there was no need for cages, as he seemed no longer awake. Truthfully, he barely looked alive, with the visible injuries staining his blue sect robes.
Wan Yu.