Heaven Dou Auction

The Black Market Auction was not underground.

It was tucked behind the busiest street in Heaven Dou City, inside a brightly lit Old Theater. A theater troupe's sign hung at the front Gate, but three ranks of Soul Masters guarded the back. On that rainy night, guests arrived in masks, their carriages stopping far apart, as though they feared anyone remembering where they had come from.

Bai Jin wore no mask.

Dressed in Spirit Hall's long white coat, Silver Hair falling over one shoulder and a black blindfold pushed up onto his forehead, he strolled in through the back Gate. Lu Heng followed with a team of Deacons, while Xue Qinghe entered through the front as Crown Prince.

One stood in the open.

The other stood even more openly.

That was Bai Jin's way.

He had never liked creeping along gutters. If he could turn on the lights, he did. Those hiding in the dark could crawl back into their holes if they knew what was good for them; if they didn't, they would save him the trouble of digging them out one by one.

Xue Qinghe seemed gentle, but his cooperation was unwavering. He neither stole Bai Jin's thunder nor let the men from the Crown Prince's Mansion appear timid. With the Crown Prince's Mansion at the front Gate and Spirit Hall at the back Gate, the entire Old Theater became a box snapped shut.

The man checking invitations at the Gate saw Bai Jin. His hand shook, and he nearly tore the register.

"G-guest, tonight is a Private Gathering..."

Bai Jin set the Black Invitation on the table. "I'm very private."

The man went pale.

Bai Jin added, "Private enough to want every one of you arrested."

The back Gate fell silent.

Xue Qinghe's voice drifted from the front hall, gentle as a spring breeze. "There's no need for alarm, everyone. The Crown Prince's Mansion merely heard of transactions in the city that might be against the rules, so we came to take a look. If nothing illegal has taken place, naturally we won't trouble anyone."

Ning Fengzhi had come as well.

He sat in a private box on the second floor, Chen Xin standing beside him. Ning Rongrong felt a little guilty when she saw her father, but he only nodded to her, his expression warm. Chen Xin glanced at Bai Jin, amusement in his eyes.

"That brat's as flashy as ever," Chen Xin murmured.

Ning Fengzhi smiled. "If he weren't, he wouldn't be himself."

The auctioneer's gavel fell.

The host onstage plastered on an exceedingly stiff smile and forced himself to continue. The first few lots were ordinary enough: broken Soul Tool parts, medicinal herbs, and several fragments of Soul Bones that were not particularly old. Few people in the audience were truly watching the lots, though. Every gaze kept shifting between Bai Jin, Xue Qinghe, and the private box upstairs.

Places like this feared the light most of all.

The guests had worn masks to hide among the crowd. But with Spirit Hall, the Crown Prince's Mansion, and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect appearing together, those masks looked more like evidence of guilt pasted to their faces. Some wanted to leave, some wanted to send word, and others kept wiping away sweat. Not one dared move first.

Bai Jin sat beneath the lights as though he had come to watch a play.

Tang San stood in the shadow of a side Gate, Blue Silver Grass creeping along the floor.

Xiao Wu leaned against him. "I don't feel comfortable here," she whispered.

"I know," Tang San said. "There's a lingering scent of Blood-Pattern Incense."

Ning Rongrong stayed beside Zhu Zhuqing, unusually quiet. Oscar and Ma Hongjun guarded the back Gate. Ma Hongjun had just become a three-ring Soul Elder and was practically bursting with excitement, but one glance from Bai Jin brought him right back into line.

When they reached the third featured lot, the host's hand visibly trembled.

The black cloth was lifted.

An ink-black token lay on the tray.

A blurred pattern of city Gates was carved into its face. On the back ran a dark red line, like a blade or a road. The moment it appeared, the temperature throughout the theater seemed to drop.

The host's throat was dry. "The Nameless Entry Token grants passage to a place that asks neither where you came from nor whether you live or die. Starting bid: fifty thousand Gold Soul Coins."

Someone in the audience began breathing harder.

Bai Jin raised his hand.

"One hundred thousand."

The host froze. "This guest bids one hundred thousand..."

"Not Gold Soul Coins." Bai Jin smiled. "One hundred thousand prison meal tickets. I'm buying everyone here tonight."

The theater went deathly still.

The next instant, several Soul Masters rose at once and tried to retreat toward the back Gate. Lu Heng and his men sealed the exit, while guards from the Crown Prince's Mansion formed ranks at the front Gate. Xue Qinghe stood beneath the lights. His smile remained, but his voice cooled.

"Everyone, sit down."

One man refused to heed the warning. Soul Rings flared beneath his feet.

Bai Jin looked up.

Limitless spread outward.

The Soul Master had barely charged two steps when he seemed to plunge into invisible deep water. He slowed and slowed, until he hung motionless in midair, frozen in a running pose. Bai Jin did not even rise. He merely peeled the wrapper off a piece of candy and popped it into his mouth.

"I said, sit down."

His voice was not loud, yet it struck harder than the auctioneer's gavel.

So everyone sat down.

Standing in the shadows, Tang San saw for the first time just how much weight Bai Jin carried in Heaven Dou City.

This was not the joking around at the academy, nor the irreverent pressure Bai Jin exerted during training. Seated here were sect operatives, noble brokers, Soul Master mercenaries, and merchants who could not bear the light of day. Every one of them had someone behind them. Yet at a single word from Bai Jin, even their breathing grew faint.

Before absolute power, status could sometimes be as thin as paper.

Ning Fengzhi sighed softly on the second floor. "No wonder Uncle Jian always says he isn't suited to working in the shadows."

Chen Xin smiled. "He never intended to."

The token was eventually brought to Bai Jin.

He glanced at it and casually slipped it into his sleeve. Tang San was just about to breathe a sigh of relief when Zhu Zhuqing's gaze suddenly sharpened.

Someone moved.

It was not one of the frightened Soul Masters below, but the young attendant carrying the tray. With a flick of his cuff, gray powder scattered onto the floor. He seemed to vanish into the rainy mist as he swept past Bai Jin, his fingers darting toward the token.

Zhu Zhuqing gave chase at once.

Bai Jin did not stop him.

The attendant snatched the token, crashed through a back window, and disappeared into the rainy night.

Lu Heng's face changed. "Mr. Bai!"

Xue Qinghe looked at Bai Jin too, a flicker of confusion in his eyes.

Bai Jin rose unhurriedly and brushed off his sleeve. It was empty, save for a little gray powder.

Tang San caught on first. "You did that on purpose?"

"Of course." Bai Jin smiled. "The fish has taken the hook. Why not let it swim for a while?"

Ning Rongrong muttered, "But the fish stole the bait."

Bai Jin looked back at her. "Little one, the bait was fake."

Ning Rongrong blinked.

Suddenly, she understood why Bai Jin always managed to infuriate her.

It was not that he was unreliable. He was simply too accustomed to treating danger as something he could toy with at his fingertips. He smiled as he let someone steal from him, smiled as he let someone run, as though the rain falling across the entire city would point him in the right direction whenever he wished.

And the maddening thing was that he really could do it.

He opened his other hand.

The real token rested quietly in his palm, black as ink.

For a moment, no one had anything to say.

Zhu Zhuqing's voice came from outside, cool and steady. "I've picked up the trail. It's heading toward the Old City District."

Bai Jin handed the token to Lu Heng and walked toward the shattered back window.

The rainy night was deep, and moisture blurred Heaven Dou City's lights into a wash of gold.

"Let's go."

He smiled.

"Let's see which cook this fish leads us to."