After the auction ended, Shen Fei and Xiao Ning'er parted outside the Red Moon Auction House, each heading home in a different direction.
Shen Fei followed the main street toward the Sacred Family estate. The afternoon sun had baked the bluestone paving hot. He walked without haste, stopping for a look as he passed the foot of the city wall.
The traces left by yesterday's battle had mostly been cleared away. Only a few scorched marks remained on the wall, not yet washed clean by the rain.
After standing there for a while, he continued on. When he reached the estate, the two guards at the entrance lowered their heads and called him "Patriarch." He nodded and crossed the front courtyard to his own courtyard.
His room was just as he had left it that morning. The servants had wiped the dust from the windowsill, and the teapot on the table had been refilled with fresh water that was still warm.
He closed the door, sat down at the table, and poured himself a cup of water. He drank it slowly, going over the day's events at the auction house in his mind.
The incident with Shen An had left him uneasy. A steward, black gold rank 1-star, whose first instinct when handling matters outside was to throw the family's name around and pressure others-that sort of culture had not taken root in a day or two.
The mess Shen Hong had left behind was even worse than expected. It would take time to put things right, piece by piece.
He rose, went over to the bed, sat cross-legged, and circulated the Dark Prison Reincarnation Art once.
His spiritual power had completely stabilized since his breakthrough to black gold rank 1-star. The power flowing through his meridians was dense and