Playing along

"My friend, I don't believe we've met..." Yun Congxin did not immediately agree to Elder Qing's request to walk together. He spoke with a smile.

"Hehe, your aura feels so familiar to me, Mr. Jia Xing, as though we were old friends from our very first meeting. That made me a little presumptuous. Please don't take offense."

Unlike the Eight Gates, which had already openly begun courting him, Elder Qing's restrained opening concealed a sharp edge that put Yun Congxin on alert.

He hurriedly searched Yun Shan's memories again, confirming that the old fellow had no old flame in the Heavenly Snake Mansion.

Yun Shan was the Misty Cloud Sect's number-one blockhead, a man who'd kept away from women his entire life. Where did this familiar aura business come from? She must be bluffing!

Yun Congxin's expression remained unruffled as he said, "Then perhaps this is a bond forged in a previous life. May I ask your name?"

"I am Qing Jingwan, an elder of the Heavenly Snake Mansion," Elder Qing said with a smile. "You may simply call me Jingwan, Mr. Jia Xing."

"Elder Jingwan, after you." Hearing the name Heavenly Snake Mansion, Yun Congxin immediately understood the situation. He extended a hand, inviting the Dou Huang expert to walk with him.

"I have met most of the experts on the Northwest Continent at least once, but you alone are an unfamiliar face. Where might you be from?" Elder Qing probed again.

As expected of a Dou Huang expert from the Heavenly Snake Mansion, she was truly cautious. Although she could not conveniently use soul power to probe Yun Congxin's true strength directly, standing beside him, her snake-sharp senses kept warning her that this fellow was anything but an ordinary Dou Wang.

He can make me sense danger with the strength of a Dou Wang. No wonder he could befriend a Fifth-Rank Alchemist, Elder Qing marveled inwardly. It never crossed her mind that the black-robed man beside her might be a Dou Zong expert.

"From the Central Plains. I'm merely wandering the continent," Yun Congxin lied with practiced ease. "Both of us are."

"Oh? I thought you two had come specifically for this auction." To show her goodwill, Elder Qing volunteered, "Well, since the auction begins tomorrow anyway, shall I tell you a secret, Mr. Jia Xing?"

"I'm all ears."

"This auction is unlike the previous ones. Its final item is quite extraordinary." Elder Qing leaned mysteriously toward Yun Congxin's ear, cautiously transmitting her voice through dou qi. "It's a seventh-grade pill..."

Elder Qing parted her crimson lips, intending to shake Yun Congxin with this news and stir his emotions, paving the way for her next overture. Yet she had not expected his expression to remain unchanged, cold and indifferent, as though it had nothing to do with him.

"A seventh-grade pill! Aren't you tempted, Mr. Jia Xing?" Elder Qing blinked, sounding somewhat surprised.

Excited, my ass. I knew about this before you did.

Yun Congxin put on a helpless expression and shrugged. "Tempted, yes. But your presence here means all the major factions are interested in it. We're merely independent cultivators. What could we possibly do?"

Nothing more than be the oriole waiting behind the mantis, ready to fish in troubled waters.

"You truly are a remarkable man, Mr. Jia Xing. A mountain could collapse before you without changing your expression—you have the bearing of the great generals of old!" Elder Qing lavished praise on him. "Since you aren't interested in the final item, could you be here to auction something? Considering that I've shared such important news with you, might you reveal a little to me?"

"There's nothing to hide. We came to expand our collections." Yun Congxin spread his hands and repeated the lie he had told the elder from the Eight Gates. "Rare curiosities, incomplete scrolls, ancient texts, Mysterious Tier Dou Techniques—we're interested in all of them."

It all sounds like junk.

Elder Qing could not help laughing. "Then let me wish you a bountiful haul in advance..."

"May your kind words come true, Elder Qing," Yun Congxin said with a smile.

As they spoke, the two arrived at the hotel where Yun Congxin was staying. Seeing that their walk had reached its end, Elder Qing cast a sidelong glance at the Blood Sect members hiding nearby and extended an olive branch to Yun Congxin right in front of them. "Thank you for escorting me back, Mr. Jia Xing. If an opportunity arises, I would like to invite you to visit the Heavenly Snake Mansion. Ancient texts and curiosities often appear at our auctions as well."

"When the time comes, I will personally accompany you."

"Certainly." Yun Congxin smiled and cupped his hands.

"Then I'll take my leave." After bidding Yun Congxin farewell, she gave the Blood Sect's young sect master a provocative sidelong glance before leaving.

"That damned woman! Once the auction is over, I'll have Father cripple her dou qi!" The Blood Sect's young sect master could hardly be called good-tempered. He sneered as he spoke.

Yun Congxin had long since noticed him secretly watching, but still pretended to be entirely unaware. He calmly entered the hotel and headed straight for his little courtyard.

"Mr. Jia Xing, I've long admired your reputation," the Blood Sect's young sect master called out. "I am Fan Ling, son of the Blood Sect's sect master."

I know, I know. You're the only person in all of Black Seal City who looks like a vampire. I recognized you ages ago.

Yun Congxin paused and feigned surprise, cupping his hands. "I am Jia Xingshan. Greetings, Young Sect Master."

"Not at all. You're too courteous, sir." Fan Ling was clearly less perceptive than Elder Qing. He detected none of the strangeness or danger about Yun Congxin and regarded him as an ordinary Dou Wang.

"I've prepared a modest banquet and would like to invite you and your friend. Might you have time to honor me with your presence?" Fan Ling asked.

A banquet? What could this vampire possibly serve? Spicy blood curd stew?

Yun Congxin said, "Since you've invited me, Young Sect Master, how could I refuse? However, my friend has just finished refining pills and is utterly exhausted. He even needs me to attend the auction in his stead. I'm afraid he won't be able to join us."

"I see..." Fan Ling sounded a little disappointed. "No matter. There will be other opportunities. Today, let me first welcome you and wash away the dust of your journey!"

After three rounds of drinks, Fan Ling feigned drunkenness. "Mr. Jia Xing, you and I are like old friends already. I have a top-secret piece of information I'd like to offer you."

What's wrong with all of you? Are you really so reluctant to spend anything on recruiting someone? Every one of you treats news of a Yin-Yang Profound Dragon Pill like some priceless treasure. If I really were a Dou Wang, what could I do even if I knew? Could I possibly go toe to toe with major factions like yours?

Yun Congxin feigned surprise and drained a cup, then filled it again. "Then let me congratulate the Blood Sect in advance on obtaining this treasure!"

Fan Ling laughed heartily. After sharing another drink with Yun Congxin, he asked with a smile, "I can see your ambitions lie elsewhere, sir. Might you tell me what treasure brought you here? When the time comes, I will certainly show you due consideration."

"The two of us came only to add to our collections. Rare curiosities, incomplete cultivation-method scrolls, Mysterious Tier Dou Techniques..."