A Match of Chess

At the end of the street, that magnificent golden building lay coiled in silence like a crouching golden beast.

Miteer Auction House.

Constructed from some unknown material, the entire structure emitted a pale golden halo under the moonlight—luxurious, majestic, and filled with an indescribable sense of oppression.

At the entrance, two rows of guards clad in silver armor and holding long spears stood as solemn as statues.

The iron-blooded aura radiating from them kept anyone with ill intentions from daring to draw even a step closer.

Su Chen stood in the shadows at the corner of the street, appearing as if he belonged to a different world from that resplendent, golden expanse.

He reached into his robe and gripped the warm jade bottle.

The pure and stable power within the bottle traveled through his fingertips, sending a trace of reassuring warmth into his body.

Su Chen closed his eyes.

When he opened them again, the last trace of hesitation in his gaze had vanished.

He lifted his foot, stepped out of the shadows, and walked, step by step, toward the golden beast that radiated endless majesty and temptation.

"Halt!"

A cold shout rang out like a blade drawn from its sheath.

Two long spears, glinting with cold light, crossed to block Su Chen's path.

The lead guard captain looked the boy up and down with the gaze one might use to appraise merchandise—noting his tattered clothes and the faint, sour smell clinging to his body.

His brow furrowed so deeply a fly could have been crushed in the fold.

"This is Miteer Auction House, not a place for you to beg for food. Get lost!"

Su Chen did not grow angry at the other man's rudeness.

He simply raised his head calmly, met the guard's contemptuous gaze, and spoke.

"I am here to sell something."

His voice was not loud, yet it was exceptionally clear, lacking any of the timidity one would expect at his age.

The guard captain was stunned, then let out a scoff as if he had heard the greatest joke in the world.

"Sell something? You?"

He pointed at Su Chen's faded, worn-out clothes.

"Do you have any idea what the minimum price for an item at our auction is? Even if we sold you, you wouldn't make up a fraction of the cost!"

The surrounding guards also let out low, mocking laughter.

Su Chen did not argue with him.

He simply took the small cyan jade bottle, wrapped in layers of gray cloth, from his robe.

He held the bottle out.

"Give this to your appraiser."

"He will want to see me."

The smile on the guard captain's face froze.

He looked at the boy before him.

Those eyes were unnervingly calm.

There was no fear, no anger, only a sense of confidence that made him feel deeply uncomfortable—as if the boy had everything under his control.

Where would a poor brat get such confidence?

The guard captain felt a surge of suspicion and uncertainty.

The rules of Miteer Auction House dictated that no potential client could be slighted, no matter how much they looked like a beggar.

What if... what if this kid actually had something valuable?

After hesitating for a moment, he ultimately dared not gamble with his livelihood.

"Wait here!"

He threw the words back irritably, snatched the jade bottle from Su Chen's hand, and turned to walk through the gilded doors that ordinary people wouldn't even dare to approach.

Inside the appraisal room.

A unique fragrance, composed of dozens of rare medicinal herbs, permeated the air.

An old man in gray robes with graying hair was using a magnifying glass to carefully examine a deep blue ore.

He was Guni, the chief appraiser stationed at the Miteer Auction House in Wutan City.

A genuine second-grade alchemist.

"Master Guni."

The guard captain respectfully placed the small cyan jade bottle onto the table, which was covered in purple velvet.

"There's a kid outside, says he wants to sell this."

Guni didn't even lift his eyelids, remaining focused on the ore in his hands.

"What's his background?"

"Looks like some poor brat from the slums, wearing rags," the guard captain said, curling his lip in disdain.

"Oh?"

Guni finally set down his magnifying glass, glancing at the inferior jade bottle with a touch of impatience.

He saw hundreds of these types every single day.

Most were just bottom-tier mercenaries bringing in trash they'd scavenged from the outskirts of the Magical Beast Mountain Range, delusional enough to dream of getting rich overnight.

He picked up the jade bottle with a lack of interest and casually pulled out the stopper.

The next moment.

Guni's movements froze abruptly.

His eyes, slightly clouded by age, suddenly constricted into two dangerous pinpricks!

There was no billowing black smoke as he had expected.

Nor was there that characteristic scent of sulfur and violence typical of inferior beast fire.

A flame, only the size of a fist and glowing with a warm, orange-red hue, rose from the mouth of the bottle, burning quietly.

It was too pure.

It was as pure as a piece of top-tier amber set aflame, without a single speck of impurity.

It was too stable.

It was so stable that it didn't seem like a flame at all, but rather a work of art meticulously carved by a master craftsman.

Guni's breathing stalled at that moment.

He had spent his entire life dealing with flames and medicinal herbs.

He didn't even need to use his soul power to perceive it; with his naked eye alone, he could judge the value of this flame!

This... this was absolutely not a natural beast fire!

A natural beast fire could not possibly be this perfect!

This had definitely been purified and refined through some secret technique he couldn't even comprehend!

"Where is he?"

Guni's voice had turned raspy, carrying a trace of imperceptible trembling.

The guard captain was startled by this sudden reaction and hurriedly replied.

"He... he's waiting just outside the door."

"Quick! Invite him in! No, I will go myself!"

Guni stood up abruptly, his movements so swift that he didn't look like a man over sixty at all.

He didn't even care about his status as the chief appraiser; he grabbed the bottle of Rock Fire Seed and strode toward the door.

He knew very well.

What this bottle of fire meant for him, and for the entire Miteer Auction House in Wutan City.

Inside a luxurious and elegant VIP room.

The air was filled with a faint fragrance that calmed the mind.

Su Chen sat on a sofa covered in soft magical beast fur, with exquisite refreshments and steaming tea laid out on the table before him.

Compared to his previous situation, it was a world of difference.

But he didn't touch any of it.

He simply sat quietly, observing the room.

Footsteps sounded.

A fragrant breeze arrived before the person did.

"My apologies for keeping you waiting, little brother."

A voice, soft and seductive enough to make one's bones turn to jelly, echoed from the doorway.

Su Chen looked up.

He saw a woman dressed in a tight red qipao, leaning against the doorframe and watching him with a beaming smile.

The qipao outlined her mature curves to perfection.

Her jet-black hair was casually pinned into a lazy bun, with a few playful strands falling loose, adding to her allure.

Her face was breathtakingly beautiful.

Especially those watery peach-blossom eyes; as they shifted, they seemed capable of snatching away a person's soul.

The chief auctioneer of the Miteer Auction House, Ya Fei.

The goddess of every man's dreams in Wutan City, a true enchantress who combined beauty and wisdom into one.

Ya Fei moved with lotus-like steps, walking over to the sofa opposite Su Chen and sitting down with an elegance that carried a natural, innate allure.

She placed that small green jade bottle gently onto the table.

"Little brother, I wonder which master you learned such a wondrous fire from?"

She spoke with a beaming smile, yet the question was like a poisoned dagger, pointing straight at the core.

She did not believe that a youth of such an age could possess such means.

Behind him, there must stand an unfathomable master alchemist.

And this was what she cared about most.

Su Chen looked at the ravishing beauty before him, his heart remaining without the slightest ripple.

In his past life, living in an era of information bombardment, he had seen countless beautiful celebrities.

Against this level of seduction, he had long since developed sufficient immunity.

"Miss Ya Fei is joking."

Su Chen's tone was calm and distant.

"I am merely a nobody who happened upon some good fortune. Let us talk about this fire instead."

He skillfully sidestepped the question, pulling the topic back to the "commodity" itself.

A trace of imperceptible surprise flashed through Ya Fei's beautiful peach-blossom eyes.

It was the first time she had encountered a youth who could face her so calmly, and even easily neutralize the traps in her words.

Interesting.

The thought flashed through her mind.

The smile on her face became even more charming and moving.

"Very well, then let us talk about this fire."

She extended a slender, jade-like finger, tapping lightly on the jade bottle.

"This one is curious, little brother... just how much of this quality of flame can you provide?"

This was another trap.

If Su Chen stated a specific quantity, he would expose his own hand.

Su Chen picked up the teacup in front of him and took a light sip.

"That depends on how large Miss Ya Fei's appetite is."

He set down the teacup, meeting her gaze with neither servility nor arrogance.

"And it also depends on what kind of price the Miteer Auction House can offer me."

The air seemed to stagnate for a moment.

For the first time, the smile on Ya Fei's face faltered for an instant.

She looked at the youth before her.

Thin, ordinary, and shabbily dressed.

Yet those eyes were as deep as an ancient well, as steady as one would never expect from a fifteen or sixteen-year-old child.

He had not come to seek help.

He had come... to talk business.

From a position of complete equality.

Ya Fei suddenly felt that she had previously underestimated this interesting "little brother."

She was silent for a moment.

When she spoke again, the deliberate, soft allure in her voice had quietly receded, replaced by the true efficiency and decisiveness of a chief auctioneer.

"Your fire is very good."

"Its value far exceeds any first-tier beast fire on the market in Wutan City."

"However, its origins are unknown, and you... are also of unknown origin. For our Miteer Auction House, that is a risk."

Ya Fei's fingertips tapped lightly on the tabletop, producing a crisp sound.

"I need a guarantee."

Su Chen knew that the real negotiation was only just beginning.

"I guarantee that my fire's source is absolutely clean."

"I guarantee that in Wutan City, only I can provide fire of this quality."

"I further guarantee that it will bring the auction house profits far exceeding your imagination."

Su Chen used the word "guarantee" three times in a row, each one landing with a resounding thud.

Ya Fei's peach-blossom eyes narrowed slightly.

What a bold claim.

She stared at Su Chen, seemingly trying to find even the slightest trace of guilt on his face.

But she was disappointed.

That young face held only calmness and confidence.

A long moment passed.

Ya Fei suddenly broke into a smile.

That smile was like a hundred flowers in full bloom, causing the entire room to brighten.

"Very well."

She stood up and extended a hand as white as jade.

"I will trust you this once."

"For this bottle of fire, I will take the liberty of setting a starting price of fifty gold coins. We have a small auction in three days, and I will feature it as one of the finale items to gauge the market's reaction."

"As for you..."

Ya Fei walked over to Su Chen's side, leaned down, and brought her red lips close to his ear, her breath sweet as orchids.

"You will stay here for these three days. We will arrange the best guest room for you, and I guarantee that no short-sighted fool will come to disturb our honored guest."

"Little brother, what do you think... of that?"

The warm, fragrant breeze brushed against his ear.

Su Chen's heartbeat skipped a beat.

But he knew this was not seduction.

This was protection.

And also... a form of surveillance in disguise.

He looked into Ya Fei's smiling peach-blossom eyes and slowly nodded.

"Pleasure doing business with you."