Sandalwood Palace Auction House, Yan Nishang

Not long after.

A shrewd, capable middle-aged shopkeeper with a mustache walked out.

After taking just one look at Lu Yuan, he invited him into the back hall.

"Young brother, that fish head of yours is quite enormous!"

"It truly is rare to see a fish this large. How about this? I'll give you one coin per pound. This fish head weighs three hundred pounds, so I'll count it as three hundred coins. What do you say?"

The shopkeeper's name was Tian Hui. He circled the fish head once, a gleam flashing through his eyes.

The bigger the fish, the easier it was to use as a selling point.

And Lu Yuan clearly did not look like an old hand.

When one encountered such a greenhorn, how could one not slaughter him properly?

If this had merely been an ordinary fish head, Lu Yuan could not be bothered haggling.

But this was the head of an Azure Fish Demon.

Even an Entry Realm martial artist might not necessarily be able to kill one.

Such a tiny sum was truly an insult to this Azure Fish Demon's head.

Lu Yuan shook his head and stared at Tian Hui. "Shopkeeper, take a good look. This... isn't an ordinary fish. It's a wild demonic beast."

Lu Yuan laid it bare.

Those words made Tian Hui drop onto the ground on his backside.

He had truly been frightened.

"A... a demonic beast?"

Tian Hui's face went deathly pale.

Heavenly Fragrance Tower had prepared dishes made from demonic beasts before, but those had all been domesticated demonic beasts.

Yet even so, they were considered exceedingly scarce.

Now, Lu Yuan had brought in the head of a wild demonic beast.

How could Tian Hui not feel a chill of fear?

The Great Harvest Dynasty was far from peaceful these days, and the common folk had heard of demonic beasts.

But those were all outside the city. Demonic beasts rarely appeared within the city itself.

"You... you aren't deceiving me?"

After calming down, Tian Hui grew somewhat suspicious.

He sized Lu Yuan up and down.

Though this young man had a well-proportioned build,

he seemed rather thin and frail.

No matter how he looked at him, Lu Yuan did not resemble a martial arts expert capable of slaying demonic beasts.

The waiter at the side also chimed in, "Shopkeeper, don't listen to his nonsense! This is clearly just an ordinary large fish from Jadewater Lake. He says it's a demonic beast only because he wants to swindle us for a high price!"

The waiter looked at Lu Yuan and sneered inwardly.

Their Heavenly Fragrance Tower had encountered plenty of people who passed off ordinary wild beast meat as demonic beast meat.

After all, demonic beast meat contained vital blood energy. Martial artists absorbed it extremely quickly after eating it, and it was several times better than ordinary wild beast meat.

Thus, its price was also ten times that of ordinary wild beast meat.

"You brat, you really dare to pass off fish eyes for pearls!"

Tian Hui stroked his chin and pondered for a while.

He also felt something was wrong.

If the other party truly was a martial artist and had the ability to kill a demonic beast,

why would he not keep the meat and eat it himself to strengthen his body?

Why sell it instead?

"You..."

Just as Tian Hui was about to speak

and tell Lu Yuan to either accept the price of an ordinary fish head or get lost,

a clear jingling of pendants came from behind the screen in the back hall.

A fragrant breeze drifted past.

A woman emerged slowly, her lotus steps light and graceful.

Her dark purple flowing immortal gown outlined her exquisite figure.

Especially those breathtaking curves.

They made it impossible for one's gaze to pull away.

Her peach blossom eyes carried an innate, soul-hooking allure as her gaze shifted.

Yet the air of authority that came from long dwelling in a high position made people afraid to look at her too closely.

"This is indeed demonic beast meat, and it is the head of a First-Order High-Grade Azure-Scaled Fish Demon."

The woman's voice was soft and melodious.

With a single glance, she identified the origin of Lu Yuan's fish head.

Upon seeing the woman,

Tian Hui and the waiter immediately restrained their expressions and bowed respectfully. "Mr. Yan!"

Lu Yuan's eyelids twitched.

In the Great Harvest Dynasty, for a woman to be respectfully addressed as "Mr.", her status and learning had to be far from ordinary.

Yan Nishang nodded slightly, her gaze settling on Lu Yuan. Her red lips parted as she said, "Heavenly Fragrance Tower will take this fish head. Three thousand coins. What does young brother think?"

Lu Yuan was even more shocked upon hearing her words. Three thousand coins were equivalent to three taels of silver.

One had to know that when the hunting party from Green Mountain Village had gone into the mountains before and people had died,

each household had received only one thousand coins in compensation.

With one move, this woman had offered the equivalent of three human lives.

Originally, Lu Yuan had thought that since it was his first time selling demonic beast meat, he could accept a price below market value—one tael of silver.

Who could have expected the other party to purchase it at a premium?

"Mr. Yan's price is very fair." Lu Yuan nodded, then asked, "But aren't you afraid that this demonic beast has an unclear origin and may bring trouble?"

Yan Nishang gently shook her head. "No need. In our line of work, we recognize only the goods and do not ask where they came from. If you have more demonic beast meat in the future, you may continue bringing it to me. At the very least, I can offer you the market price."

As she spoke, Yan Nishang took a smooth white jade token from her sleeve and held it out to Lu Yuan.

The two ancient seal-script characters "Sandalwood Palace" were engraved upon the jade token.

Those words

startled Lu Yuan.

Even though he was merely a lowly constable, he had heard the great name of the Sandalwood Palace Auction House. It was a top-tier power that ranked among the Great Harvest Dynasty's finest, with branches spread across the Nine Provinces and a background unfathomably deep.

"Just who is Yan Nishang?"

Lu Yuan was puzzled for a moment.

But why bother thinking so much about it? He was penniless right now.

What was there for her to covet?

Then Lu Yuan reached out, preparing to take the jade token.

At that moment, Yan Nishang suddenly stepped half a pace forward.

A faint yet intensely invasive fragrance instantly enveloped Lu Yuan.

Yan Nishang assumed a slightly suggestive posture.

She leaned close to Lu Yuan's ear, her red lips parting as fragrant breath brushed against him. "I only want to know... did you kill this demonic beast yourself?"

Her voice carried a touch of laziness, a touch of probing, and an indescribable charm.

Lu Yuan steadied his mind, turned his head, and met Yan Nishang's peach blossom eyes, which seemed capable of seeing through people's hearts. He nodded calmly. "I killed it."

A trace of surprise flashed through Yan Nishang's eyes. Then, she gently placed the jade token in Lu Yuan's hand.

"You may be young, but you are quite capable."

Yan Nishang withdrew, then had Tian Hui prepare three taels of loose silver.

Lu Yuan put away the jade token and loose silver. After thinking it over, he still spoke up. "Mr. Yan, I want to find a martial arts school and take a master to temper my body. Is there one in town you would recommend?"

"Oh! You have never taken a master before?" Those words made Yan Nishang look at Lu Yuan once more.

She said softly, "At the end of West Street, there is a boxing school called Withered Wood."

"Thank you!"

After clasping his hands in thanks,

Lu Yuan quickly left Heavenly Fragrance Tower.

Inside the back hall.

Watching Lu Yuan's departing back, shopkeeper Tian Hui could not help asking, "Mr. Yan, the origin of that demonic beast meat is unclear. What if it brings trouble... And why did you offer him such a high price?"

Tian Hui was still deeply puzzled. If Lu Yuan truly was a martial artist who had personally slain the demonic beast,

he could not possibly be unaware of the value of demonic beasts.

Would it not be a pity to sell it like this? It would be better to use the demonic beast meat to nourish his own body.

But how could the shopkeeper know

that in Lu Yuan's eyes, this fish head was all bones and could produce at most ten-odd pounds of meat?

If converted into ordinary wild beast meat, it would probably amount to over a hundred pounds of meat.

It would be enough for Lu Yuan to eat for several days.

After all, he was desperately short of money now, not short of time. There was no rush to digest it slowly.

He was not the kind of martial artist who had money and was eager to improve.

Only those who wanted their bodies to absorb energy faster

and break through their realm

would choose demonic beast meat.

Yan Nishang put away her seductive demeanor and regained her cool, noble bearing.

She gave Tian Hui a faint glance and said softly, "That little fellow carries an unusual aura. He has killed demons—and more than one."

Yan Nishang had sensed the Demon Core hidden on Lu Yuan.

Swept by Yan Nishang's cold gaze, Tian Hui felt a chill run down his back. He immediately lowered his head and did not dare say another word.