Sneaking into the Auction House (Second Update)

When they emerged from the alley, the two had changed their appearances again. Judging from their looks alone, probably no one would recognize who they were!

"Why disguise ourselves like this? Without invitations, we can't enter, and without private rooms, we can't take part in the auction!"

Seeing that Nie Yun had disguised them beyond recognition, Yang Yan was rather puzzled.

If they had disguised themselves as prominent figures of Luoshui City, they might have been able to sneak in based on their faces alone. But what was the use of disguising themselves as complete strangers? They had no corresponding private room!

"Can you still remember the auction house's back door? ...Uh, we can enter through the back door!"

After asking whether he remembered the auction house's back door, Nie Yun recalled that he and Yang Yan had entered through it in his previous life. It had not happened in this life yet, so how could Yang Yan possibly know? His face immediately turned awkward, and he hastily changed the subject.

"Enter through the back door? It's still useless without a private room..."

Hearing that Nie Yun had actually come up with such a method, Yang Yan was so exasperated he hurriedly said.

Inside the auction house, every private room corresponded to an identity. Only with that identity could one place bids and participate in the auction. Otherwise, if everyone could simply enter and buy things, this auction house could not be called Luoshui City's finest!

"I have my own way. Just follow me!" Nie Yun did not explain. After walking along the street for a while, he and Yang Yan circled around to the back of the auction hall.

"It's this window. Climb in quietly while no one's around!"

After searching around, Nie Yun's gaze fell upon the window he had used in his previous life.

"I really don't know what you're trying to do..." Though Yang Yan did not understand the youth's purpose, out of trust in him, he still scratched his head, leaped onto the windowsill, and slipped inside.

Behind the window was a corridor leading through the auction venue. Nie Yun had passed through here in his previous life without being discovered. Unexpectedly, his luck was good in this life as well—there was not a single person inside when he jumped in.

"Where do we go now? We can't have swindled more than eighty thousand taels of gold only to stand around here watching the show, unable to participate in the auction!" Standing in the corridor, Yang Yan muttered.

"Who says we can't participate? Follow me!" Seeing his expression, Nie Yun grinned and headed down the corridor. But before they had gone far, they ran into a group of guards.

"Who goes there?" The guards immediately shouted upon seeing them.

"Insolence! We are guests of private room seventeen in the second row. What, you dare stop us? Hmph, are you tired of living?" Ignoring the guards' rebuke, Nie Yun raised his brows.

"My apologies. We are only following orders. Please proceed, gentlemen!" Hearing the two state a private room number, the guards knew they had to be distinguished guests. They no longer questioned them and moved aside.

Those who could attend the auction were all people of considerable standing. Since these two could smoothly state a private room number, they were surely guests. These guards held low positions; if they angered a guest and got beaten for it, they would have no one to blame. Thus, they did not dare harbor too much suspicion.

Nie Yun remained so composed, but Yang Yan could not. They had secretly climbed in through a window, and the sight of the guards had instinctively frightened him. Yet with just one casual sentence from the youth, the guards had been scared into not daring to inspect them. His admiration for Nie Yun once again became total and utter.

After walking along the corridor for a while, Nie Yun found private room seventeen in the second row and casually knocked on the door.

The auction house often auctioned off precious items. To ensure the personal safety of bidders, the private rooms were designed to be extremely secure. Once the doors were shut, no one could enter.

"Who is it?" Nie Yu's wary voice came from within the room.

"We're from the auction house guard squad. We just encountered two people claiming to be your companions, so we came to ask about it!" Since there was no one around, Nie Yun spun the lie freely.

"My companions? Which ones?" Hearing that they were from the guard squad, Nie Yu lowered his guard and opened the door. But when he glanced outside, he discovered that he did not recognize either of the two people before him.

"It's like this..." Nie Yun's aim had been to trick him into opening the door. Seeing that his goal had been achieved, he strode inside with Yang Yan and casually shut the door behind them. "We also received invitations, for this very private room. If you don't believe me, look!"

As he spoke, he reached toward his pocket, seemingly intending to take something out.

"You have this private room too? How is that possible? The auction house shouldn't do something so foolish, should it?" Nie Yu froze. His eyes followed Nie Yun's hand, as though he wanted to see whether the invitation was the same as his own.

"It's right here..." Nie Yun merely wanted to draw his attention. With a chuckle, he suddenly raised his fist and smashed it straight into Nie Yu's eye!

Bang!

Before Nie Yu could react, his eye socket reddened, turning into a panda eye.

"Ah... Who are you people? How dare you ambush me? Don't you know I'm an inner disciple of the Nie Family..." Nie Yu was, after all, at the early Fourth Level Qi Sea. Having been suddenly attacked, he hastily sprang backward and shouted at the top of his lungs.

However, the private room's soundproofing was excellent. Though he shouted loudly, not a sound could be heard outside.

"Hehe, it's precisely because we know you're an inner disciple of the Nie Family that we're beating you!" Yang Yan could now see through Nie Yun's purpose. With a grin, just as Nie Yu leaped back, he felt a gust of wind howl toward the back of his head. Smack! He fell flat on the ground!

"Knock him out first!" The two attacked at once. Nie Yun darted up to Nie Yu in two strides and unleashed a flurry of punches and kicks!

Yang Yan possessed the strength of the Mid Fourth Level Qi Sea, and in terms of combat power, he far surpassed Nie Yu. Though Nie Yun's cultivation was the same as Nie Yu's, having lived two lives, defeating him in a one-on-one fight would have been effortless!

With the two attacking together and having the advantage of a sneak attack, how could Nie Yu possibly be their match? In less than the time it took to drink a cup of tea, the youngster who had been so arrogant outside was beaten into a pig-headed mess. He lay flat on the floor, unable even to open his eyes!

"You... who... are you!"

Struggling to shout once more, Nie Yu heavily passed out.

Even in his dreams, he would never have imagined that he would encounter two such lunatics upon coming to the auction. Before losing consciousness, he still had no idea what they wanted...

"Good. Since he came to attend the auction, he must have brought quite a bit of money. We'll use his first!" Seeing Nie Yu unconscious, Nie Yun searched him over. Before long, he pulled out a stack of banknotes.

"Not bad. As expected of the family's inner branch. Our branch can't even scrape together ten thousand taels of silver, yet he's carrying a full seventy thousand in his pocket!"

Looking at the banknotes in his hand, Nie Yun's eyes lit up.

The family's outer branch was far inferior to the inner branch in both wealth and cultivation resources. Take the wealthiest outer branch, the Nie Long Branch, for example. Even after he had thoroughly searched Nie Liu, he had only obtained fifteen thousand taels. Yet he had casually found seventy thousand taels on an inner disciple. Such was the gap between the inner and outer branches.

Of course, Nie Yun did not know that Nie Yu had already brought all the money from his branch in order to purchase medicinal ingredients.

"Alright, hide Nie Yun in the corner. Don't let anyone discover him. The auction is about to begin. After we buy the items, we'll still need to settle things with them, so don't let anyone spot any flaws!" Once Nie Yun saw that things had been taken care of, he gave the instruction.

"Mm!" Yang Yan now admired the youth before him immensely and obeyed his every word. With one hand, he grabbed the unconscious Nie Yu, folded him in half, and stuffed him beneath the room's only table.

"..." Nie Yun was speechless at the sight. Fortunately, Nie Yu was a cultivator. Otherwise, that single folding motion would probably have crippled him, if not worse!

Just as they finished preparing, the auction below began.

At the front of the room was a special window. They could see the items being auctioned outside, but those outside could not see what was happening within.

After the auction began, buyers could view the items outside through the window, then add their prices on the Bidding Jade Token atop the table!

The Bidding Jade Token functioned much like a Communication Jade Token. So long as one imprinted the price they wished to offer onto it, the giant jade stone at the center of the auction house would display their room number and bid!

This allowed items to be auctioned according to the highest price, keeping the process both confidential and fair.

"...The auction has officially begun. The first item is a Shuttle Golden Armor, a high-grade mortal-tier suit of armor capable of withstanding attacks from True Qi Realm experts. The starting price is five hundred taels of silver!"

After a lengthy and tedious introduction, the auctioneer revealed the first item.

"Shuttle Golden Armor? This kind of mortal-tier armor is acceptable for ordinary people, but it's truly too poor for Qi Sea cultivators!" Naturally, Nie Yun had no interest in such goods. He shook his head and did not join the bidding.

Perhaps everyone who had come to bid thought the same way. In the end, this Shuttle Golden Armor sold for only seven hundred taels of silver, purchased by a guest in room nine of the third row.

The following dozen or so items were equally unremarkable. The best among them was a He Ying Flower, which Nie Yun ultimately bought for one thousand taels of silver.

"A supreme medicine for healing injuries—the thousand-year Di Lian Flower! Starting price: thirty thousand taels of silver!" Just as Nie Yun was growing unenthused by his purchases, the auctioneer suddenly called out.

"What? A thousand-year Di Lian Flower? An exceptional ingredient for preparing the most effective medicinal liquid for the Spirit Rhinoceros Body Refining Technique! How could it be here?"

Hearing this announcement, Nie Yun's eyes widened at once, and he rose directly from his seat.

PS: The third chapter will be updated punctually at midnight. Please vote with recommendation tickets, thank you!