"Smooth talker."
Standing so close, Dugu Yan had heard Mo Li loud and clear. She muttered softly, but didn't continue her sharp-tongued remarks.
Feeling the arm around hers tighten, Ye Lingling glanced at Dugu Yan in surprise.
Dugu Yan seemed a little different just then. Her head was bowed slightly, her face hidden in the shadow of her hair, making her expression impossible to read.
But Ye Lingling knew her well enough to guess that Dugu Yan's heart was far from calm.
She had always cared deeply about people bringing up her eyes, yet Mo Li's words today, though apparently unintentional, hadn't made her resentful.
"We're here." Ye Lingling gazed at the building in the distance and spoke softly.
"Little Brother Mo Li, look over there!"
Following Jiang Zhu's gesture, Mo Li saw a domed building shaped like an upside-down bowl. Its imposing grandeur was clearly beyond that of the shops they had passed along the way.
This was the highest-grade auction house in the Heaven Dou Empire: the Heaven Dou Auction House!
Before long, Mo Li and the others arrived at a semicircular entrance. Four tall young women stood in front of it.
When they saw Mo Li and the others approach, one of them stepped forward and bowed slightly. "Is there anything I can help you with?"
"We're here for the auction." Mo Li was about to take out the gold card Liu Erlong had given him.
But Dugu Yan was quicker, presenting a black card. A look of surprise flickered across the young woman's face. She immediately gestured for them to enter and said respectfully,
"Please come in, esteemed guests."
Mo Li glanced curiously at the black card, which bore a distinctive pattern. Dugu Yan noticed and proudly raised it toward him.
Mo Li was only curious; he had no other thoughts about it. He drew back his gaze, smiled at Dugu Yan, and walked past her with Jiang Zhu.
At the entrance, Dugu Yan stamped her foot like a child throwing a little tantrum, then took Ye Lingling by the hand and followed them.
Before entering the auction hall, Mo Li and Jiang Zhu were each given a mask, as usual. Once they had put them on, they entered the second floor without a hitch.
Ye Lingling and Dugu Yan had already gone inside. Clearly, this wasn't their first time at an auction, and they knew their way around.
As Mo Li and Jiang Zhu took their seats, the auction began right on cue.
Mo Li glanced down at the stage, where a poised host was delivering the opening remarks. Then he turned to Ye Lingling beside him and asked,
"Lingling, is there something you and Dugu Yan want at this auction?"
Ye Lingling nodded slightly. "I told you about my Martial Soul before. I imagine Dean Liu must have told you about the flaw in the Nine Heart Begonia."
"Sister Erlong didn't mention it." Mo Li paused. "I looked it up myself."
His gaze shifted to the stage. "They say the Nine Heart Begonia Martial Soul is the finest of all support-type Martial Souls, but it's passed down through a single line. Only one person can inherit it in each generation."
"At any given time, there can only be two Nine Heart Begonia Soul Masters alive. Only when one dies can another appear among their descendants."
"Lingling, is that information correct?"
Ye Lingling didn't look at Mo Li. After hearing him out, her eyes dimmed for a moment.
Seeing this, Dugu Yan gently laid her hand over Ye Lingling's and shot Mo Li a glare, as if blaming him for bringing up the subject.
After a long pause, Ye Lingling finally spoke in a quiet voice. "You're mostly right. But I couldn't find a single thing about your Martial Soul."
Mo Li couldn't help laughing. He hadn't expected Ye Lingling to have looked into his Martial Soul, too.
"Did you lie to me?" Ye Lingling's voice remained cool.
"Then why did you dare to invite me along?" Mo Li asked in return.
Ye Lingling shook her head and looked at him. "I don't know. Maybe it's because you helped me before."
"Or maybe it's because you defeated Yan Yan just now and didn't press your advantage. Your reaction to me showing up was hard to fake, too. I'm willing to trust you. If I've misjudged you, then I'll just be fooling myself."
Ye Lingling's voice had regained its usual, clear lightness.
Only when she mentioned Dugu Yan being defeated by Mo Li did it change a little.
That was because Dugu Yan was lightly pinching her waist with one finger, quietly complaining about how Ye Lingling had brought up her humiliating loss to Mo Li again.
Mo Li looked at Ye Lingling. Her face was hidden behind a black veil, leaving only her starry eyes visible. In the dim light, they glimmered faintly like stars.
Ye Lingling looked only into Mo Li's eyes, but couldn't read his feelings.
Still, if Mo Li really had deceived her, she would surely be deeply hurt.
"Lingling, I didn't lie to you. My Martial Soul is just unusual. You can think of it as some kind of Mutated Martial Soul." Mo Li smiled warmly.
The Nine Nether Sparrow wasn't a Mutated Martial Soul, but it truly didn't exist in the Douluo World. It was only natural that Ye Lingling couldn't find anything about it.
After a moment of silence, Ye Lingling gave a soft "Mm" and turned her gaze toward the stage.
Their conversation had quietly brought them closer once more.
Just then, the host onstage began the auction.
After that, the only item to catch Mo Li's attention was the first one, a storage-type Soul Tool.
He quickly lost interest in the rest of the items. Ye Lingling and Dugu Yan, seated to his right, had hardly reacted at all from beginning to end.
They clearly weren't here for the first time—and had come with a specific purpose in mind.
Jiang Zhu, seated to Mo Li's left, was another matter. She watched the items onstage without blinking, letting out little gasps now and then.
Mo Li smiled at the amazement that kept flashing across Jiang Zhu's face.
As a young girl who rarely went out while at the academy, she could do with an outing like this to broaden her horizons.
As the auction went on, it drew near its end. The host onstage looked mysterious as he held up the microphone and announced,
"Esteemed guests, our final item is up next. It was reportedly discovered in the Far North and is brimming with life force. It's an absolute treasure, whether for cultivation or healing."
The atmosphere in the hall immediately stirred. Even Ye Lingling and Dugu Yan sat up a little straighter when they heard the host's words.
Mo Li noticed that subtle movement. And even if he hadn't, this was the last item of the auction.
It seemed Ye Lingling and Dugu Yan had come today specifically for this treasure.