When You're Away, Your Identity Is What You Make It

The An Family Elder scrambled to lead the way, and Li Xingluo did not hesitate, sweeping clean everything the An Family had accumulated over the past several hundred years.

"Senior, I..." Seeing Li Xingluo preparing to leave after the sweep, the An Family Elder, knowing he had been poisoned, begged for the antidote.

Li Xingluo cast a glance at the An Family Elder; this was a man who would betray anyone for profit.

"Did this old man ever say I would give you the antidote?"

As these words fell, the An Family Elder was struck dumb with shock; this was completely beyond his imagination.

He had assumed that as long as he led this god of plague to what he wanted, he would be spared, never expecting this outcome from the god of plague.

"You... you lied to me!"

"That is correct, this old man lied to you. A person like you does not deserve to exist in this world. You have a spineless nature; it is a miracle the An Family wasn't destroyed sooner with an elder like you."

"I'll fight you to the death!" Seeing that Li Xingluo would not spare him, the An Family Elder lunged at him.

Li Xingluo merely raised a foot, landing a strike squarely in the An Family Elder's abdomen. The elder flew backward, slamming into a pillar outside the Treasure Pavilion.

He collapsed to the ground, spat out a mouthful of black blood, and clutched his stomach. His eyes filled with resentment as he pointed at Li Xingluo, muttering unintelligibly before dying from the poison.

Li Xingluo turned and left without a second glance. Xiao Yi Xian looked at the lifeless An Family Elder on the ground, confused as to why Li Xingluo had acted this way.

She chased after him to ask and only then understood Li Xingluo's reasoning: this matter could not be traced back to him by anyone. If the An Family Elder had lived, his cowardly nature would have led Jiamo Lin to quickly realize he had been used, which would have invited unnecessary trouble. Furthermore, An Yun's actions had crossed Li Xingluo's bottom line.

At the An Family's secret base, the battle was nearing its end. Under the joint assault of the Jiamo Family and the Aus Auction House, hundreds of An Family members lay dead across the base, and An Batian was at the end of his rope.

He could not understand how things had come to this. This was clearly the An Family's secret base; how had Jiamo Lin and An Li found it?

Reflecting on the entire affair, An Batian could not figure out where things had gone wrong.

"Old Ghost An, go in peace."

Jiamo Lin would not let such an opportunity slip by. Although the price paid this time was not small, the thought of completely eradicating the An Family made it all worthwhile to him.

An Batian still wanted to resist, but as a spent force, he was no match for his opponents; under the immense pressure, his body could no longer hold out.

A shrill scream pierced the night, and An Batian's life came to an end.

Liu Ya was rescued from the secret chamber by An Li. Haggard and exhausted, she could barely support herself as the two helped her along.

Returning to the Maple Forest City auction house, An Li handed a letter to Liu Ya. After reading it, she felt that the suffering of the past few days had been worth it. Liu Ya stood by the window, her gaze fixed on the distant horizon.

A month later, Li Xingluo and Xiao Yi Xian appeared in the Holy Capital of the Chuyun Empire.

The two headed straight for the Aus Auction House headquarters in the Holy Capital to gather the necessary supplies for their journey to the Nether Poison Swamp as quickly as possible.

Stepping into the headquarters, they surveyed their surroundings; it was countless times more upscale than the auction house in Maple Forest City.

The movements of Li Xingluo and Xiao Yi Xian quickly caught the eye of an observant deacon of the Aus Auction House.

With a beaming smile, he walked quickly toward them, noting their mysterious attire and the aura they exuded, which was far beyond that of ordinary people.

"Are you two looking for someone, or...?"

Li Xingluo looked at the middle-aged man, who appeared somewhat simple and honest, his face full of smiles and a kind demeanor.

"We are looking for someone, and we also wish to purchase some items at your auction house."

Li Xingluo casually revealed the gold card of the Aus Auction House, and the middle-aged deacon's smile widened even further.

This is a big deal, he thought. Not many people can obtain a gold card.

"Honored guests, please follow me!"

Li Xingluo had not expected things to go so smoothly, and he felt a certain fondness for the middle-aged deacon leading the way.

The deacon led them straight toward the second floor, turning back to ask a question from time to time.

"May I ask who the honored guests are looking for? I can make the arrangements."

"Might your auction house have someone by the name of Liu Yuntian?"

Upon hearing this name, the middle-aged deacon froze for a moment, looking thoughtful, before quickly turning back to continue leading them upstairs.

Li Xingluo naturally sensed the issue behind the deacon's subtle change in demeanor. He exchanged a glance with Xiao Yi Xian and nodded.

The deacon did not say another word until he led them to a room on the third floor and pushed the door open.

"May I ask what business you have with Elder Liu?"

Elder Liu? Li Xingluo glanced at Xiao Yi Xian; it seemed Liu Ya had not told them the whole truth.

"Actually, someone entrusted this old man to bring something to him."

"Oh, I see. Honored guests, please wait a moment; I will go and invite Elder Liu."

The deacon's shifting attitude was truly inscrutable. To be safe, Li Xingluo signaled to Xiao Yi Xian.

The two had developed a tacit understanding; Xiao Yi Xian read the meaning in Li Xingluo's eyes and rose to circle the room.

Only after she sat back down and nodded in confirmation did Li Xingluo wait for Liu Yuntian to arrive.

The two had barely finished their preparations when the door to the room was violently burst open.

With a loud "Boom," the door was flung open violently. Li Xingluo merely glanced toward the entrance, making no further move.

A youth with the air of an arrogant second-generation heir burst into the room, closely followed by the middle-aged deacon who had led the way earlier.

Seeing the youth's rudeness, the middle-aged deacon looked quite embarrassed and offered a brief apology to Li Xingluo and his companion.

"Deacon Han, tell me, do you not want to work at the Aus Auction House anymore? Why are you bringing any stray cat or dog into the VIP room?"

The youth acted with extreme arrogance, sprawling carelessly into the chair opposite Li Xingluo.

Yet, the moment he sat down, a faint, imperceptible arc tugged at the corner of Li Xingluo's mouth.

"My sincerest apologies to you both, this is—"

Before Deacon Han could finish introducing this young heir to Li Xingluo and Xiao Yi Xian, the youth clearly grew impatient with being introduced.

He immediately waved his hand to cut Deacon Han off. Seeing the deacon halted by a single gesture from the youth, Li Xingluo knew this boy's status within the Aus Auction House was far from simple.

The youth stood up and first scrutinized Li Xingluo, whose face was obscured by a black robe, before walking over to Xiao Yi Xian to observe her intently.

Although Xiao Yi Xian had used some minor disguises, the aura of a young maiden combined with her curvaceous figure left the youth intoxicated.

The youth cast a cold glance at Li Xingluo, but his gaze ultimately settled back on Xiao Yi Xian, and an unrestrained hand reached out toward her shoulder.

Suddenly, the youth felt his arm go rigid, his face turned sallow, and his body became unable to move.

Only his eyes could move freely within their sockets; the sudden turn of events left Deacon Han stunned on the spot.

"Why can't this young master move?" The youth's tongue felt thick, and his words came out slurred and unclear.