Chapter 135: Trading Lives

As time passed, more people continued to enter the venue. Suddenly, a stir rippled through the crowd. Ning Xiu lifted his eyes slightly to see the throng of people parting to form a path, from which a figure slowly emerged.

"It is finally beginning," Ning Xiu whispered to himself.

Under the gaze of everyone present, an old man dressed in grey robes slowly ascended the auction stage. The atmosphere in the hall immediately ignited. To be honest, this was Ning Xiu’s first time attending such an auction, and he felt a measure of anticipation; he hoped that beyond the treasure map of the Loulan Kingdom, there might be other unexpected treasures to be found.

"I am Lin Yan. I believe you are all familiar with me. I represent our City Lord in welcoming you all, and I hope you will all be satisfied with your acquisitions today," the grey-robed man said in a resonant voice from the high platform.

So, this underground trading venue was backed by the entire Springwater City; no wonder they possessed such confidence. The old man swept his gaze over the crowd and, wasting no time, went straight to the point.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the first item we are auctioning today is a fish-scale dagger, crafted by the renowned master Mo Fuzi of the Great Qian. This blade can slice through iron like mud, rendering all armor useless before it. Even the protective internal energy of a martial arts master would find it difficult to defend against."

As he finished speaking, a maid holding a copper tray stepped forward. Resting on the tray was a short blade, its surface shimmering with a cyan light. At a glance, it rippled like a small fish swimming in deep water. It was no wonder it was called a fish-scale dagger.

Ning Xiu glanced at it and lost interest; he was not lacking in weapons of that caliber. If it had been a saber, he might have considered it. However, just because Ning Xiu didn’t value it didn't mean others felt the same. Almost the moment the old man finished speaking, bidding erupted from the floor.

"I bid three hundred taels of gold!"

"This guest offers three hundred taels of gold. Is there anyone with a higher bid?" the old man asked.

In such a setting, silver was simply not enough. Three hundred taels of gold was equivalent to thirty thousand taels of silver; no one would go through the trouble of dragging a mountain of silver into the Great Desert. Gold was far more convenient. But as the saying went, gold is easy to come by, but a fine blade is hard to find. Even after the price reached three hundred taels of gold, many continued to compete for it. Watching the price soar, Ning Xiu, despite his lack of interest, was still slightly astonished.

No wonder Peng Wanli had called Springwater City a "gold-draining pit" along the way. In the end, the fish-scale dagger sold for twelve hundred taels of gold. After offering congratulations to the winner, the old man did not linger and moved directly to the next item.

The second item was a martial arts manual. It was the signature saber technique of the Qing-Shuang Sect, one of the four major factions of Lingnan: The Eighteen Slashes of Clear Frost. It was likely that after the Qing-Shuang Sect was wiped out by the Nether Alliance, their manuals had drifted into the underworld and eventually found their way here. This served as a reminder to Ning Xiu that Lingnan was not far from him, and danger was ever-present. Since the Tyrant Saber had attained the Grandmaster realm using this technique, it was clear that this martial art was not weak. Yet, for Ning Xiu, even if he obtained it, it would be little more than "adding flowers to a brocade." He pondered for a moment and decided not to join the bidding, choosing instead to focus his attention on the other people in the venue. The person who had consigned this manual might well be from Lingnan, just like him.

Most people in the venue, like Ning Xiu, wore conical hats or masks, making it impossible to discern their faces. Some were even draped in heavy black cloaks that enveloped their entire bodies. There were exceptions, however; five people in the hall made no effort to hide, showing their faces openly. One had no need to hide—a man nearly three meters tall, both massive and powerfully built, his skin a bronze hue, suggesting he practiced a top-tier body-tempering art. A second was a one-armed swordsman with long, unkempt hair falling over his shoulders and a weathered face, looking remarkably like the "Brother Sharp" Ning Xiu had seen in his previous life. The remaining three were clearly a group; they looked identical, evidently triplets.

Beyond these, Ning Xiu detected a few obscure auras in the corners that were certainly no weaker than the others. He scanned the room once more, found no one else worth noting, and turned his eyes back to the stage.

The item being auctioned was an ancient book, not a martial arts manual, but something akin to a local gazetteer, recording customs, folklore, and anecdotes of the era. This piqued Ning Xiu’s interest. While there were people competing for such books, they were few, and they were rarely willing to pay a high price. In the end, it fell into Ning Xiu’s hands quite easily.

The auctions continued round after round, with some consignors making special requests. For instance, the owner of a spirit ginseng demanded to trade it for a second-grade Yang-attribute technique, among others. After watching for a while, Ning Xiu finally lost the sense of novelty he had felt at the start. No matter how this auction unfolded, it remained tethered to the worldly realm—a domain where his true strength already surpassed the current stage.

He leaned back in his chair, lowered his conical hat, and closed his eyes to rest, quietly waiting for the final, concluding treasure map to appear. The atmosphere in the hall did not wane; instead, it grew more intense, with bids echoing one after another. After a while, the noise gradually subsided.

"Now, we come to the final item of this auction. I believe you all already know what it is," the old man paused before continuing. "Indeed, it is the treasure map of the Loulan Kingdom."

Ning Xiu’s eyes snapped open, fixed upon the brocade box on the stage. It was no exaggeration to say that ninety percent of the people in the hall tonight had come for this very map. Hot, hungry gazes shot toward the stage.

The old man, having anticipated this reaction, looked out at the crowd and said in a grave voice, "At the request of the owner, whoever can heal the injuries afflicting him shall take possession of this map."

"Healing?"

As the words left the old man’s lips, an uproar broke out in the hall, and Ning Xiu frowned. None of those present had expected such a requirement. Killing was no problem for them, but healing? That was completely outside their expertise. Of course, one could look at it another way: the owner didn't require them to be healers themselves, only that they possess the necessary medicine.

In other words, this map was being traded for a life. This, to some extent, explained why the owner of such a legendary map would choose to part with it.

"If anyone wishes to attempt a cure, I can have someone lead you to him directly," the old man said slowly.