Auction!

Chuan Jia was very pleased by Zhang Qing's arrival.

After learning about the Ghoul Blood Flower, he excitedly recorded it in the notebook he always kept at hand.

If Zhang Qing had leaned in a little closer, he would have seen that the notebook was filled with densely packed names of Spirit Medicines.

Even the corners contained pill formulas Chuan Jia had written himself.

Sure enough.

He had gotten some wool from the Chuan Family.

Zhang Qing received two spiritual pills and 2 gold coins.

After leaving Chuan Prefecture, he took them immediately.

He gained another 6 attribute points.

His spare attributes reached 22 points.

Tsk tsk...

It felt great to reap the benefits of a good thing.

He would head back to Razor's place at noon. There were still spiritual pills and gold coins to collect there.

Yang Man really was a treasure trove.

If things kept going like this,

Zhang Qing would soar to the heavens sooner or later!

As for the Ghoul Blood Flower...

The Chuan Family would look for it.

They seemed to covet something in Yang Man's possession, so they would probably do their best to satisfy her demands.

After arriving on the street,

Zhang Qing looked around for Specters and the like.

You could never have too many attributes.

Moreover, when fighting Specters, he might even get a chance to pick up a health pack.

But his luck was not very good today.

He did not find any Specter health bars.

Were they hiding?

Or perhaps...

Zhang Qing thought about it. Could it be that the Pagoda Tree Ghoul's appearance yesterday had caused all the Specters in Zi City to hide today?

Just as he was thinking,

a commotion suddenly erupted ahead.

It turned out that the Tie Family's merchant caravan had returned from its travels.

As one of Zi City's major powers,

they were naturally extremely overbearing.

The caravan cleared the streets directly, arrogant to the extreme.

Standing to one side, Zhang Qing swept his gaze over them;

Tie Tang; 433/453!

Tie Wan; 532/544!

Tie Qi; 462/477!

Tie Qi; 1412/1422!

Tie Futu; /!

Hm?

Hm!!!

Tie Futu!

32,000 health?

A martial artist?

Absolutely impossible. Only a player could possibly have that much health. Native martial artists absolutely could not.

But currently, there was only one player in the entire Dark Realm: himself.

It was definitely a Specter!

And its health was exactly the same as the Pagoda Tree Ghoul from last night!

That could not be a coincidence. Identical health values were rarely seen; even Specters rarely had the same health.

Therefore,

this guy was definitely the Pagoda Tree Ghoul.

Holy shit.

It had infiltrated the Tie Family?

And furthermore,

judging by the looks of it, its status seemed quite high.

"Hey, Zhang Qing!"

Someone suddenly called out.

Zhang Qing looked over and saw Tie Du running toward him.

"Brother Tie Du!" Zhang Qing greeted him with cupped fists.

"Haha, I thought I was seeing things. I didn't expect it to really be you!" Tie Du wore a smile, and even seemed a little excited.

"See? My Tie Family isn't bad, right?"

"Come visit sometime!"

"Haha..."

Zhang Qing gave an awkward laugh, then said,

"The important figures of the Tie Family are all so imposing!"

Tie Du picked up the thread and said,

"Of course. Those who travel with the caravans are basically the family's elite."

"Look!"

Tie Du pointed at Tie Futu and said,

"That's Lord Futu of my Tie Family, an expert of the Starflash Realm."

"Normally, Lord Futu is the one in charge of the merchant caravans!"

"The Starflash Realm is truly powerful!" Zhang Qing went along with Tie Du's words.

However,

Tie Du had nothing else that interested Zhang Qing.

Watching Tie Futu's departing back,

Zhang Qing had the urge to incite the Chuan Family's old ancestor to go after it.

But after thinking it over,

he decided to suppress the idea.

The Pagoda Tree Ghoul should be important to Yang Man.

He would keep its whereabouts secret for now.

That way, the storyline would develop more slowly.

He could talk after he had reaped enough benefits.

"Brother Zhang, I heard that a few days ago, your woman turned into a Specter," Tie Du suddenly said.

"Cough cough... Don't mind it, okay? A lot of people know about it."

"You suddenly entered the Ghoul Blood Hall, which drew quite a bit of attention."

"This time, when my Tie Family's caravan returned, we brought back quite a few human women. Why don't you go take a look?"

"There'll be an auction at Jubao Restaurant later."

Zhang Qing pursed his lips.

His information was practically public.

He was used to it.

Zi City had as many spies and informants as hairs on a cow.

There were even secret shops dedicated to selling information.

He had begun to stand out, so it was normal for everyone to know about him.

As for women,

Zhang Qing wanted to refuse.

But he had to maintain the Chuan Family persona.

Besides, he had nothing to do, so he might as well go take a look.

"Alright!" Zhang Qing replied.

Then he went to Jubao Restaurant with Tie Du.

Industries such as restaurants in cities like this were basically controlled by major families.

Jubao Restaurant was a Tie Family business.

It was called a restaurant, but it also served the function of a brothel.

This was Zhang Qing's first time entering it.

Before long,

the two found a table in the main hall.

The private rooms in the upper pavilion were out of the question.

Little fry of the Glimmering Realm were not qualified.

The madam brought over several women.

They were Rabbitfolk and Sheepfolk respectively, highly humanoid in appearance.

Only a few racial features were exposed.

Such as their ears or little tails.

They looked like beast-eared girls.

Their skin was fair, and their figures graceful.

Upon seeing Zhang Qing and Tie Du, they immediately leaned over.

In an instant, a faint fragrance entered his nose.

Zhang Qing first checked their health bars;

He Sisi; 23/25! Rabbitfolk.

Qing Qiqi; 21/24! Sheepfolk.

Fine, they were normal.

As long as they were not Specters.

"Brother Zhang, wait a moment. The auction will begin soon!" Tie Du said.

The moment the two women heard the word auction, they became even more enthusiastic.

He Sisi practically pressed her entire body against Zhang Qing.

Soft, fragrant warmth filled his arms.

From time to time, she served Zhang Qing food and poured him wine.

If Zhang Qing had not refused, even imported wine would have been served.

Tsk tsk...

Listening to music in a pleasure house truly was comfortable.

Unfortunately, he was a player. He had to remain cautious at all times and guard against disaster.

Before long,

a display platform began to be set up in the middle of the hall.

The Tie Family's auction was about to begin.

Zhang Qing's eyes wandered about. Pulling his gaze away from the pale expanses before him,

he looked around and identified quite a few important figures;

Yu Cheng; 1870/1870!

A Candlelight Realm expert of the Yu Family.

Chuan Fu; 1860/1860!

A Candlelight Realm expert of the Chuan Family.

Shui Meng; 1954/1954!

Shui?

Zi City's fourth family?

The Shui Family was very low-profile. It was usually difficult to even see their core members.

He had not expected the Shui Family to attend this auction as well.

A moment later,

the platform was complete.

A member of the Tie Family began to speak;

"Everyone, everyone!"

"Welcome to the Tie Family auction!"

"On this trading journey... haha, if I may say so myself, the Tie Family made quite a haul."

"But good things should be shared by all, shouldn't they?"

"As long as you can afford the price, the Tie Family dares to sell!"

"Enough talk. Let the auction begin!"

After saying that.

The Tie Family member on the platform immediately brought out a porcelain bottle.

At a glance, this porcelain bottle was clearly different from those used for spirit pills—far more exquisite!

"Everyone, please look!"

"This is today's first auction item. It is..."

After a pause, he continued;

"Ten drops of Pagoda Tree Ghoul Heart Blood!"

What?

Damn!

Zhang Qing's eyes flew wide open.

Plans could never keep up with change!

This world didn't follow logic!