Whatever

Heaven Dou Empire's largest auction house could auction off all manner of goods. Its first rule was that no one could inquire about a seller's identity, nor could they reveal any information about the auction items to the outside world. The auction house operated around the clock, twenty-four hours a day without pause.

The nightly auctions were the most important. Only buyers with deposits exceeding one million Gold Soul Coins could attend. At other times, anyone could participate in the bidding. This nonstop auction system brought the auction house immense profits. A ten percent commission was charged on every valuable item. It might not seem like much, but accumulated over time, it became a vast fortune, even exceeding the income of a large Soul Arena.

Wriothesley made no judgment about the girls they had encountered on the way. Much like when he had been a prison warden, when it came to prisoners, he could only adhere to his own principles. He could not truly empathize with their plight, though deep down he hated evil people. It was merely that, for now, they had not harmed him or anyone else.

Moreover, this was a choice those girls had made themselves. Wriothesley had no right to interfere.

If they encountered a problem they could not resolve, they could seek his help. But they needed sufficient reason, and it could not involve innocent people or violate his principles.

His personal abilities were actually quite limited. He had only one pair of eyes and one pair of ears; it was impossible for him to look after everyone. Sometimes, nothing happened even when he was not at the clinic. Was that not because the people here showed him respect?

The auction house was an important source of income for the Heaven Dou Royal Family. The starting salary for a staff member here was one hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins.

Note that this referred to staff members. Strictly speaking, these girls were not staff members.

The profits from these operations funded the Empire's annual military expenditures, as well as the expenses of its officials and royal family. All of that required financial support.

The auction house provided most of the funds for those expenses. If these operations were canceled, the Empire's revenue would be affected.

Xue Qinghe wanted to do something about it too, but she was only the Crown Prince now. Xue Ye still held power!

Led by the welcoming attendant, Wriothesley, Xue Qinghe, and Sigewinne passed through the exquisite corridors as though embarking on an unknown journey, eventually arriving at a private room.

The door slowly opened, revealing an elegant arrangement, as though time had frozen within.

Xue Qinghe raised a hand slightly and gracefully gestured for the welcoming attendant to leave. The atmosphere in the private room grew increasingly solemn, as though an invisible authority filled the air. Reluctance appeared on the attendant's face. She knew this opportunity was hard to come by, and her heart was filled with anticipation and nervousness.

Yet faced with Your Highness, the Crown Prince's command, she could only withdraw. Though unwilling, she ultimately had no choice but to submit to the arrangements of power and quietly leave.

They were in a black private room. In truth, many high-end establishments across Douluo Continent classified their ranks according to the colors of soul rings: white, yellow, purple, black, and red. Red was the highest, while white was the lowest.

However, no one had ever seen a million-year golden soul ring, so red was considered the highest rank.

There was only one private room in the auction house's red section. No one knew for whom it had been prepared.

There were nearly ten private rooms in the black section, and they had entered Private Room Number One of the black section.

The purple section had more private rooms than the black section, while the yellow and white sections had no exclusive private rooms, only seats that distinguished status. Even if one had money, without strength and a noble title, a purple private room was the highest level available.

Even if they were assigned a black private room, they would not dare enter it. That was the gap between social classes. As the Crown Prince, her private room was Black Room Number One.

Although the place had been cleared in advance, there were still one or two attendants in the private room.

Compared to the girl who had led them here earlier, the outfits of the attendants here were enough to make even Xue Qinghe blush.

If she had not been in disguise right now, she would definitely have called them "shameless"!

The white dresses looked entirely different on the auction center's attendants. All of them were women, around the same height as the girl who had led the way earlier, but with fuller figures.

Their dresses were sleeveless and cut very low in the front. Their short skirts came right up to the waist, revealing their smooth thighs, and paired with white high heels, they looked even more alluring.

The curves beneath their dresses made people unable to resist looking twice.

Still, it was nothing. One simply got used to it.

These people were no different from slaves to begin with.

Although the Heaven Dou Empire had enacted laws banning the slave trade, those laws existed in name only and could not change reality. Slavery still ran rampant throughout this vast empire, becoming a dark industry.

What was infuriating was the behavior of the Slave Hunting Groups. What they hunted were not soul beasts, but innocent people—especially commoners who were attractive and had potential. These Slave Hunting Groups were like beasts, using underhanded means to capture them before openly pricing them at auction houses for the powerful and wealthy to choose from.

Could she not see that Wriothesley still looked completely calm?

Xue Qinghe knew he was no ordinary person. In truth, she had always been curious about what sort of place Wriothesley had lived in before.

"Duke, if there's anything you like, just say so. I'll cover all your expenses today," Xue Qinghe said to Wriothesley, smiling warmly.

The Heaven Dou Auction House was part of the royal family's holdings to begin with. Even if she emptied the entire place today, it would not matter. The only reason she did this was to curry favor with Wriothesley.

Besides, she only came to this auction house a few times a year. No matter how much she spent, it was merely a string of numbers to her.

Naturally, the auction house also had attendants like those in restaurants. They moved about the premises, guiding auction items into the various rooms.

By then, they had already poured tea for everyone.

Before long, someone came to deliver something.

This time, however, it was not food or anything of the sort, merely a list.

It was the auction list for the day.

Every auction item came with an introduction.

Of course, some hidden items would not be presented at this time.

Some of those hidden items were things that could not see the light of day. Even if they were discovered afterward, as long as they were not on the list, who could prove that they had come from the Heaven Dou Auction House?

It was nothing more than deceiving oneself.

And not every auction would feature an "unexpected encounter."

Xue Qinghe leafed through the auction items without examining them closely. After casually glancing over a few, she handed the list to Wriothesley beside her.

"Duke, is there anything that catches your eye?"

She asked as though it were only natural.

After all, this was the first time she had invited him out. She could not let him feel neglected.

The auction list was also the perfect excuse. Otherwise, given Wriothesley's status and personality, he would never have accepted her invitation.

He did not like lively places.

And this list really did put Wriothesley in a much better mood.

There happened to be some things he wanted.