Vol.3-Chapter 104 – A Glance After Three Years

This young man was surrounded by five people.

To his left was a silent, middle-aged man who was very calm. He occasionally looked around to check if anything was happening. The middle-aged man had a well-balanced body and a sword on his back. He was wearing simple, black clothes without any decorations and gave off a very reliable feeling.

To his right was an old man with white hair. The old man looked rather thin, and his eyes had no light. He looked like he was very tired, with his eyes half-closed. He had an ordinary, black cane in his hand, and it looked like he wouldn't be able to walk without it.

The old man was wearing white linen clothes. Those lacking power would think that this was a dying old man, but a powerful person would be able to feel the vast spirit force within his body that gave off a very dangerous feeling.

These two looked ordinary and didn’t give off any spirit fluctuations, but they were both guards for the young master. The middle-aged man was called Li Changxuan, who was a rogue cultivator that had joined the Bai family. He had been assigned as the guard for the eldest son. The old man was called Bai Yang, and he was also a guard for the young man. Since they were guards assigned to protect the eldest son of the Bai family, their strength was not ordinary.

As for the other three people behind them, they were all wearing white and had Foundation Realm cultivation. They were all soldiers from the Bai family, and they had a certain symbol drawn on their cuffs. This pattern was different from the one the man in black guarding the auction had.

Seeing the young man stare ahead in a daze, one of the guards in the back couldn’t help but ask, “Young Master, what’s wrong?”

They were the escorts of the Bai family’s eldest son, so they had to ensure his safety. The two people beside the young master were very weird. One could go for days without saying a word, and the other seemed to never wake up. It was a dream to expect them to say anything. They generally didn’t do anything unless they absolutely had to.

“It’s nothing, I thought that person looked like someone I knew back at the sect. However, how could he be here? Perhaps I was mistaken.”

The young master who had spoken was a fellow outer sect disciple who had cultivated with Zhao Jiuge, Bai Zimo! However, he had matured a lot more and had hidden his arrogance well. He was even more handsome, and now he had the aura of a gentleman.

Bai Zimo thought about that familiar figure and couldn’t help but laugh at himself. How could there be such a coincidence in the world? Was the hatred in his heart so deep? Perhaps he really was mistaken. He shook his head and no longer thought about it.

Bai Zimo looked at the leading guard and casually asked, “Why don’t I see Old Li today?”

The auction took place once a month, and the four families took turns managing each auction. Today, it was the Li family’s turn, and he was very familiar with Old Li. As someone who was well versed in the family’s affairs, he was also familiar with the process of the auction.

The leading guard bowed slightly and respectfully said, “Young Master Bai, Old Li just led a few distinguished guests to the vip rooms upstairs. How about I guide you up there today?”

This young man was worthy of his respect as he was the eldest son of the Bai family. If nothing major happened, he would become the family head of the Bai family someday.

“No need, I’ll go up by myself.”

Bai Zimo rejected the man’s good intentions. He was not lacking people who wanted to get on his good side, so he no longer cared about them. Although he was not as arrogance as he was before, his attitude wasn’t much better.

The auction house was divided into two floors. The second floor would look down and see the entire auction, while the first floor was crowded with people. The second floor consisted of nothing but individual rooms, making it much better than the first floor.

Some people were afraid of their identities being revealed when they made a bid during the auction. They feared people holding a grudge or just wanting to steal the treasure they had just brought. As a result, the rooms on the second floor were created, but only those with special identities could be on the second floor. In general, the most precious items were sold to the customers on the second floor.

The Bai family was one of the four families, so they naturally had a room just for the Bai family. Bai Zimo quickly arrived at the familiar room for the Bai family on the second floor. He had ?come to the auction today for the main item of the night. He had reached the late stage of the Spirit Core Realm and needed a powerful treasure. Today, there was going to be a high-quality material for auction.

Due to the checks and balances between the four families, there was a very clear rule. The four families were prohibited from privately buying any item and had to use their financial resources to fight for it. They only had access to the information of what items were for sale in advance. The four families looked united against outsiders, but they still fought in secret against each other. Normally, Bai Zimo would not bother with a small matter like an auction and would’ve just sent someone. However, he had been in closed door cultivation for a few months and wanted to take this chance to get some fresh air.

Zhao Jiuge’s group quickly arrived at their room, so Old Li left to greet other people. The auction would begin at night, and the sun was setting, so he was starting to get busy.

The room was gorgeous, and the window allowed those inside to see the auction below. The remaining walls were painted with a fluorescent paint, and the elegant map hanging on the wall was a magic treasure. Some of the furniture was made of Yew Wood!

They were a bit curious about how an auction house in a second-rate city like this could be so luxurious. Old Li explained that the four innermost rooms belonged to the four families and that they usually sent representatives. The other rooms were almost always full from people who received an invitation. Today, no one from the Li family was coming to this auction, so it was empty and was given to Zhao Jiuge’s group.

Shortly after Old Li left, a tall, sweet-looking woman wearing a blue dress entered with a plate of pastries and a pot of hot tea. From her appearance, she seemed to be someone from the Li family, and she was responsible for serving the VIPs at the auction.

There was green bean cake and red bean cake, San Wu’s favorite. As for the tea, Zhao Jiuge didn’t know what it was, but just smelling it made him feel calm.

San Wu’s eyes locked on to the food. He had been talking about food since they entered the city. Both Zhao Jiuge and Pei Su Su ignored him, so he was happy to enjoy it himself.

Looking down at the auction, Zhao Jiuge was a bit excited. This was the first time he had experienced such treatment and the second time he was at an auction. The first time was back at Dong Yang City when Mo Longjie took him.

Seeing Zhao Jiuge’s excited expression, Pei Su Su looked very proud and said, “You can buy whatever you want. This aunty here is in a good mood, so it’s my treat!”

She had never lacked anything. Even if she wanted an immortal treasure, her father would find a way to get her one. As for small things like spirit stones, she had hundreds of thousands just in her storage ring.

Zhao Jiuge didn’t immediately agree or reject it. He pondered a bit and said, “There is no need unless a Chilling Fire Flower appears.”

He was not lacking treasures or spells, and they were all very high-quality. His biggest wish was to reach the Nascent Soul Realm so his strength would increase greatly. Unlike now, where he had to look everywhere for the Chilling Fire Flower for just a small gain in strength.

“Hmph.”

Pei Su Su only let out cold snort after hearing this. She knew that Zhao Jiuge’s greatest desire was to reach the Nascent Soul Realm, but he couldn’t bring himself to ask her for help. She understood this, so she decided to buy anything that could be useful to him. She didn’t believe he would be able to refuse afterwards.

The first had become noisy, and the sound from below would occasionally travel upstairs. Most of the seats below were filled, and more people were still coming in. The sun was setting, so even most of the second floor was filled. The remaining people would likely arrive before the auction began.

Bai Zimo was in the room beside Zhao Jiuge’s. He had his legs crossed and his arms stretched against the back of his chair. He looked very comfortable, and he was leisurely looking at the scene below. He was looking at every person below, but none of them was that figure he had seen earlier.

For some reason, the moment Bai Zimo thought about that figure from the Mysterious Heaven Sword Sect that he hated so much, he couldn’t calm down. He thought that if that person was really Zhao Jiuge, then Zhao Jiuge was finished. He could get revenge for the shame he had suffered back then, and killing Zhao Jiuge here wouldn’t be such a big deal!

Thinking about this, Bai Zimo’s eyes suddenly burned with passion. He continued to look at the figures below and only gave up after scanning the crowd three times. He was certain now that he was just mistaken. He thought that Zhao Jiuge might be on the second floor, but then he remembered that a certain status was required to be up here. He didn’t believe Zhao Jiuge had reached the Nascent Soul Realm in just three years. He himself had only reached the late stage of the Spirit Core Realm by relying on his family’s resources.

Only now did Bai Zimo finally calm down a bit, but he wouldn’t forget his hatred. Even if the world was big, he believed he would have the chance to encounter Zhao Jiuge again and get his revenge.