He Actually Knelt?

Lu Chen put on a bronze mask he had casually bought by the roadside and arrived at the fabled House of Ten Thousand Beauties.

At that moment, an auction was underway in the main hall of the House of Ten Thousand Beauties.

What the House of Ten Thousand Beauties was auctioning was a batch of Human-Demon Hybrids that had just been delivered, also known as Half-Demons.

Half-Demons were the offspring of the Human Race and the Demon Race, bearing the bloodlines of both.

These mixed-blood children of humans and demons were tolerated by neither the Human Race nor accepted by the Demon Race.

Thus, the fate of Human-Demon Hybrids was invariably miserable. The vast majority of Half-Demons were enslaved.

"Eh, it's already started. Hurry up and buy a few female Half-Demons to take home and have some fun with."

"Haha, watch out for demon qi entering your body and sending you straight to your grave!"

"Tch, as long as you don't use these female Half-Demons as Furnace Tripods, what are you afraid of demonic qi entering your body?"

Several cultivators passed by Lu Chen and entered the House of Ten Thousand Beauties.

Lu Chen pondered for a moment, then followed them inside.

He saw a platform erected in the middle of the main hall.

More than a dozen raggedly dressed female Half-Demons stood on the platform, while a middle-aged woman introduced them to the crowd below.

Behind the middle-aged woman stood two fierce-looking brutes.

The two men held leather whips in their hands, glaring viciously at the dozen or so Half-Demons on the platform.

"Honored gentlemen, this batch of female Half-Demons is of fine quality. Every one of them is graceful and shapely, with fair skin. Whether you buy them home to warm your bed or keep them as female slaves, they are excellent choices!"

The madam paused, then continued, "Female Half-Demons are cheap. The starting bid is only one Low-Grade Spirit Stone, or one thousand taels of silver. Of course, the highest bidder wins. No credit, no returns!"

"I say, Madam Chun, do you think a Low-Grade Spirit Stone isn't money? And you call that cheap? I think one Mixed Spirit Stone per female Half-Demon would be more like it."

A potbellied middle-aged man dressed in brocade robes and wearing a jade belt shouted at the middle-aged woman on the platform.

"Master Lin, are you joking? One Mixed Spirit Stone for a female Half-Demon?"

Madam Chun looked disdainfully at the middle-aged fat man.

"Madam Chun, these female Half-Demons may be pretty, but they are Half-Demons after all. They have demon qi inside them. Can't you make them a little cheaper?"

A burly man in black shouted.

"Exactly! It isn't easy for us Rogue Cultivators to earn Spirit Stones!"

The crowd chimed in one after another.

Even servant disciples of the Joyful Union Sect found it difficult to produce a single Low-Grade Spirit Stone.

After all, one Low-Grade Spirit Stone could be exchanged for a hundred Mixed Spirit Stones, while one Mixed Spirit Stone could be exchanged for ten taels of silver.

Lu Chen himself worked himself to the bone for a month at the Joyful Union Sect and only earned ten Mixed Spirit Stones, yet that bastard Manager Pang would dock two of them.

In other words, he only received eight Mixed Spirit Stones in monthly wages.

That amounted to eighty taels of silver.

The House of Ten Thousand Beauties was the largest brothel in Hehuan Town at the foot of the mountain.

Spending money here was no small matter.

In Lu Chen's storage pouch was the small bag of Low-Grade Spirit Stones Liu Fuyao had casually tossed him that day.

He had counted them earlier. There were thirty-two Low-Grade Spirit Stones.

"Honored gentlemen, high prices have their reasons. These twelve female Half-Demons are all still virgins. They are worth every penny!"

Madam Chun explained.

"What... they're all still virgins?"

A commotion immediately broke out among the crowd below the platform.

These lowly female Half-Demons were actually still virgins.

"How about this? I'll offer twelve Low-Grade Spirit Stones and take all twelve women. What do you say?"

A young master waving a folding fan stepped out from the crowd and looked at the madam on the platform.

Lu Chen noticed that every one of the female Human-Demon Hybrids on the platform bore injuries of varying severity.

Some lowered their heads in fear.

Some stubbornly raised their heads and glared furiously at the crowd below.

Some shed tears, pitiful and delicate.

Yet they all shared one trait: each had something about her that differed from ordinary humans.

For example, the white-haired female Half-Demon on the platform possessed breathtaking beauty, but her ears were pointed.

Then there was a red-haired woman.

Several scales could faintly be seen at the corners of her eyes.

These were all characteristics of female Half-Demons.

"Young Master Yun, don't joke around. If it were one Low-Grade Spirit Stone each, I'd be selling at a loss."

Madam Chun shook her head.

"If you don't have the Spirit Stones, don't come out and make a fool of yourself. I offer two Low-Grade Spirit Stones for each female Half-Demon!"

The middle-aged man stepped forward.

"Lin Shicai, what do you mean by this? You dare compete with this young master for these female Human-Demon Hybrids?"

Young Master Yun looked coldly at the middle-aged fat man.

"Young Master Yun, is this your first time out in the world? This is an auction. The highest bidder wins. Understand?"

The middle-aged fat man said disdainfully.

"You..."

Young Master Yun was furious.

"Fine, fine, fine. Other than that white-haired one, that red-haired one, and that blue-haired female Human-Demon Hybrid, I'll offer three Low-Grade Spirit Stones each for all the others!"

Young Master Yun continued bidding.

"Now there's a good show."

"Yeah. The Yun Household and the Lin Household have been openly and secretly fighting in Hehuan Town for years, each winning and losing in turn. Now Young Master Yun and Master Liu are at each other's throats again."

"Let's just watch the show!"

Lu Chen listened to the people beside him whispering.

From their words, he learned that the two men were descendants of the Yun Household and Lin Household, the town's two cultivation Lineages.

Both the Yun Household and the Lin Household had members who had joined the Joyful Union Sect.

These two cultivation Lineages frequently clashed without end over cultivation resources.

"I offer four Low-Grade Spirit Stones. I want all these female Human-Demon Hybrids."

Lin Shicai said coldly.

"I offer five Low-Grade Spirit Stones."

Young Master Yun glared furiously at Lin Shicai.

Lu Chen secretly shook his head at the sight.

This Young Master Yun was still too young.

He had actually failed to see that Fat Lin was deliberately driving up the price and provoking him.

"This..."

Fat Lin hesitated.

"Master Lin, are you raising the bid or not?"

Madam Chun was beside herself with excitement.

The price for each female Half-Demon had already been called up to five Low-Grade Spirit Stones, far beyond her expectations.

"Haha... Lin Shicai, you fat bastard, competing with me in Spirit Stones, are you? Go on, bid again! In terms of wealth, your Lin Household is miles behind!"

Young Master Yun laughed loudly.

"Damn it, I'll fight you to the end! I offer six Low-Grade Spirit Stones!"

Putting on an enraged act, Fat Lin gritted his teeth and directly called out a price of six Low-Grade Spirit Stones.

The entire hall fell silent.

Everyone was utterly stunned.

Six Low-Grade Spirit Stones.

A female Half-Demon was not worth six Low-Grade Spirit Stones at all. Even if she was a virgin, her price should have been between two and three Low-Grade Spirit Stones.

This was no longer something an ordinary cultivator could afford.

Most importantly, no matter how good the constitutions of these female Half-Demons were, they could not be used as Furnace Tripods or for Dual Cultivation.

After all, these were Low-Grade Spirit Stones. Converted into ordinary silver, that was an enormous sum.

"Fine, fine, fine. Master Lin has offered six Low-Grade Spirit Stones. Young Master Yun, what do you say...?"

Madam Chun looked toward Young Master Yun.

Everyone looked toward Young Master Yun.

Lu Chen watched coldly from the sidelines. This Young Master Yun was about to take the bait.

Sure enough, Lin Shicai's provocation completely enraged Young Master Yun.

Without even thinking, he shouted, "I offer seven Low-Grade Spirit Stones."

He looked smugly at Lin Shicai.

"Haha..."

Lin Shicai looked at Young Master Yun and suddenly could not help bursting into laughter.

"What are you laughing at?"

Young Master Yun froze at the sight.

"Haha... I'm laughing at how stupid you are. You idiot, seven Low-Grade Spirit Stones each to buy nine Half-Demons with Demon Race blood in their veins, who can't be used as Furnace Tripods—if you're not a fool, then who is?"

Lin Shicai laughed until tears came out.

"You..."

Young Master Yun was shocked, furious, and ashamed.

Only then did he realize that he had fallen for Lin Shicai's trap.

The other man had deliberately raised the price and deliberately provoked him!

At that thought, Young Master Yun's eyes immediately reddened with anger as he glared viciously at Lin Shicai.

"The Yun Household is rich and powerful. What's wrong with Young Master Yun being lavish? Hmm, seven Low-Grade Spirit Stones each, nine of them—you'll have to pay the House of Ten Thousand Beauties sixty-three Low-Grade Spirit Stones!"

"To Young Master Yun, that's just a sprinkle of water! Haha..."

Lin Shicai was thoroughly delighted.

Lu Chen shook his head. This Young Master Yun was ultimately still young and hot-blooded.

However, this Lin Shicai was quite the cunning fellow.

"..."

Young Master Yun was so angry he nearly spat blood.

Sixty-three Low-Grade Spirit Stones.

He could only receive ten Low-Grade Spirit Stones from his Lineage each month. He would have to throw away half a year's worth of Low-Grade Spirit Stones all at once.

"Please pay up, Yun Ao, Young Master Yun!"

Lin Shicai looked at Yun Ao with a smug expression.

Yun Ao clenched his fists tightly. He truly wanted to smash one punch into that fellow's face.

But this was the House of Ten Thousand Beauties.

He could not afford to offend the power backing the House of Ten Thousand Beauties.

Mixed in among the crowd, Lu Chen watched the scene coldly.

"Young Master Yun, the House of Ten Thousand Beauties does not extend credit!"

Madam Chun looked coldly at Yun Ao.

"What, no Spirit Stones? If you have no Spirit Stones, why are you putting on airs? How about I pay those sixty-three Low-Grade Spirit Stones for you?"

Lin Shicai mocked.

"You'd be so kind?"

Yun Ao glared at Lin Shicai through gritted teeth.

"Of course, I won't lend you Spirit Stones for nothing. How about this? If you kneel down and bark like a dog three times, I'll pay those sixty-three Low-Grade Spirit Stones for you!"

Lin Shicai's fat face bloomed as brilliantly as a chrysanthemum.

"You... you've gone too far..."

Yun Ao was furious.

"I am bullying you. So what?"

Lin Shicai looked extremely pleased with himself.

In his view, the proud Yun Ao would never kneel in public, much less bark like a dog in public.

Lu Chen also believed Yun Ao could not possibly kneel.

However, in the next moment.

Bang!

Yun Ao dropped straight to his knees. "Woof, woof, woof..."