A Game Within a Game

After searching Li Xingluo's room and finding nothing, the group turned to leave, only for the door to slam shut with a loud "bang."

Startled by this, the group looked at one another in panic, rushing toward the door to force it open and escape, for they could feel a powerful pressure bearing down on them.

"Since you gentlemen have come all this way, why are you in such a hurry to leave?"

No sooner had the words fallen than a figure appeared out of thin air behind them. The group spun around quickly to see a man in black robes standing right before them.

His sharp eyes were filled with a chilling, murderous intent.

"You..."

"Weren't you looking for this old man? What's wrong? Now that I've appeared, are you afraid?"

Li Xingluo's presence was overwhelming, and the aura erupting from his body was suffocating.

The intruders glanced at each other, cold sweat seeping from their pores, their faces drained of all color.

"You..."

Li Xingluo walked slowly toward them, and the closer he got, the more terrified they became.

Summoning their courage, the group launched an attack, but the poison smoke they released had absolutely no effect—a fact that left them utterly bewildered.

In a single exchange, all of them were left rolling on the floor, their expressions twisted in agony.

Hearing the sounds of the struggle, Xiao Yi Xian came over from the next room, and the scene before her left her stunned.

Li Xingluo sat composed on a stool, while the men lay on the floor of his room, clutching their stomachs and writhing in pain.

"Xingluo, what is this?" Xiao Yi Xian was deeply confused, watching the situation as she walked toward Li Xingluo.

"Xiao Yi Xian, you've come at just the right time."

"Huh?" Xiao Yi Xian still didn't understand what was happening.

"If you aren't dead yet, crawl over here, all of you."

At Li Xingluo's sharp command, the men on the floor, suffering intensely, scrambled toward him, not daring to offer the slightest resistance.

They simply could not fathom why Li Xingluo, who should have been poisoned, was completely unaffected.

"Spare us, my lord!"

"I can spare you, but you must tell this old man who you are and who sent you."

"My lord, we just wanted to find you and get some money to spend; no one sent us."

"Is that true?"

"It's true!" The men scrambled to kowtow, insisting that it was the truth.

Li Xingluo slammed a palm onto the nearby stool, and it shattered into splinters that flew in every direction.

The men trembled in fear, lowering their heads and not daring to meet Li Xingluo's gaze.

Li Xingluo connected the dots: Liu Ya had been followed, and now someone had broken in—a situation far too complex to be a mere coincidence.

Li Xingluo was clearly enraged, and a cold chill enveloped the group.

"It seems you have no intention of staying alive. Very well." Li Xingluo turned to Xiao Yi Xian and said, "Xiao Yi Xian, let them taste what real poison arts are."

Seeing that Li Xingluo was not joking, Xiao Yi Xian finally understood why these people were here.

Without a moment's hesitation, she flicked her hand lightly. Immediately, the men on the floor began clutching their throats, their faces contorting in horror.

"Still refusing to speak?"

"No, my lord! I'll speak, I'll speak!"

Once one person compromised, the others scrambled to talk as well, and Li Xingluo finally understood the motive behind this group.

It turned out that the An Family was behind it all, but An Yun had made a reckless decision, defying the strategy laid out by An Batian. As they spilled the entire plan of the An Family, Li Xingluo was truly shocked by the sheer audacity of the clan.

They had acted without authorization, hoping to use poison to control Li Xingluo. He also learned that An Yun had long harbored feelings for Liu Ya, though she had absolutely no interest in him.

This made Li Xingluo realize why An Yun had been working against him at every turn; the man had assumed there was some illicit affair between him and Liu Ya.

"My lord, we've told you everything we know. Please, with your great magnanimity, let us go."

"Let you go?"

Seeing Li Xingluo renege on his promise, they were terrified, kowtowing until their foreheads were nearly raw.

"We beg you, please!"

"It is not impossible to let you go, but you must agree to one thing for this old man."

Seeing Li Xingluo relent, the men felt a glimmer of hope for survival and were naturally overjoyed; as long as he spared them, they would do anything.

Li Xingluo offered a wicked smile as he stated his conditions. To save their lives, the men had no choice but to agree.

"Very well, you may go. Remember, only by completing the task will you receive the antidote. Otherwise, you can wait for death. Let me tell you one thing: do not test this old man's patience, or you will suffer the consequences. Get out!"

As if granted a pardon, the men scrambled out of the room, tripping over themselves in their haste.

"Are you really going to help her?"

"They shouldn't have provoked me. Besides, I have another plan in mind."

Li Xingluo poured out everything on his mind to Xiao Yi Xian, and the more she heard, the more shocked she became.

"You..."

"Hehehe, how about it? As the saying goes, just when you're feeling sleepy, someone brings you a pillow. Isn't this An Family the one bringing the pillow?"

Xiao Yi Xian nodded repeatedly, agreeing with Li Xingluo's plan.

Two days later, in a secret courtyard in the north of the city, inside a hidden chamber, Liu Ya was tied to a pillar, her hair disheveled, looking extremely disheveled.

Her eyes were covered by a black cloth, and when the chamber door creaked open, she heard footsteps.

Though Liu Ya was terrified inside, she forced herself to remain calm on the surface.

"Who are you? To dare kidnap an auctioneer from Aus Auction House—are you not afraid of the trouble Aus Auction House will bring upon you?"

Unable to see the intruder, Liu Ya could only rely on the sound of footsteps to judge how close they were.

The footsteps stopped beside Liu Ya, and a hand stroked her fair cheek; Liu Ya instinctively dodged to the other side.

A wave of grievance welled up in her heart, and tears were on the verge of falling. Seeing the pitiful-looking Liu Ya, the intruder became even more interested.

"Don't touch me..."

Feeling a hand wandering over her body, Liu Ya shouted in protest.

It worked; the large hand actually stopped, eventually settling only to pinch Liu Ya's chin.

A puff of hot breath exhaled from a nose rushed straight toward her face, like a hunter admiring his prey.

"So fragrant. Truly worthy of being the number one beauty in Maple Forest City."

Liu Ya's mind raced, and at these words, her heart skipped a beat.

"An Yun!" Liu Ya called out the name directly. An Yun had not expected that a single sentence would expose his identity.

"As expected of someone from Aus Auction House; you knew who this young master was from just one sentence."

An Yun did not bother to hide it and even untied the black cloth covering Liu Ya's eyes.

Liu Ya saw the person before her clearly, his lecherous eyes roaming over her body.

"An Yun, is your An Family truly not afraid of Aus Auction House?"

"Hahaha, afraid? Of course I'm afraid." An Yun turned around, exuding an air of indifference and the arrogance of someone who could manipulate others at will.

"Then you..."

"Don't be impatient, I haven't finished speaking yet."

Liu Ya's beautiful eyes darkened as she stared at the madman before her.

An Yun circled the pillar, finally revealing a look of triumph and lewdness as he laid out his plan.

The more Liu Ya heard, the more terrified she became, ultimately shocked that this madman before her would actually carry out such an act.

"You..."

"How is it? When the time comes, your Aus Auction House won't just refrain from blaming me; they will be kowtowing in gratitude to my An Family. As for you, I don't think I need to say anything—Aus Auction House will deliver you to me themselves. How about it? Is my plan not excellent?"

Liu Ya felt that the man before her was a lunatic, an absolute lunatic.