Stranger Danger

Chapter 365: Confrontation

“W-What? Six thousand?”

The student never thought that anyone would spend this much money. He wasn’t able to say a word for a time.

“Hahaha... we have six thousand yin gold, people! Is there anyone who’s willing to challenge this bid? If not, then this Duckweed Flower will go to our honored customer over there!” Fire Skull declared with clear delight in his voice. He thought for sure that the Duckweed Flower was going to be undersold, but the situation suddenly took a drastic turn.

After the student recovered his wits, he wrinkled his brows and called out, “Seven thousand yin gold.”

But as soon as he finished talking, Greenlake called out, “Fourteen thousand yin gold.”

“Four... Fourteen thousand?! Are you ill?” The student burst out in shock and anger. Most people bid for their item bit by bit, but this woman[1] doubled the existing bid every time. If they weren’t crazy, then who was?

“I’m not ill, but I am rich,” Greenlake replied matter-of-factly.

“You... very good! I wonder how much money you really have?” The student’s cute face flushed red. “Fifteen thousand yin gold!”

“Twenty thousand yin gold,” Greenlake replied indifferently.

“Twenty one thousand yin gold...” The student uttered through gritted teeth.

“Thirty thousand yin gold,” Greenlake said in the exact same tone.

“You... You’re one-upping me on purpose, aren’t you?” The student flew into a rage. This is absolutely bullshit!

“I don’t understand what you mean. I’m rich, and I’m willing to pay any price to obtain what I want. That’s all,” Greenlake responded. “If you’re done, then this Duckweed Flower will be going to my husband.”

“You... How dare you! Do you know who my teacher is? You’ll give him the Duckweed Flower if you know what’s good for you!” The student yelled.

“So sorry, but I don’t know who your teacher is,” Greenlake replied.

“Yeah! Who is your teacher? Does he have a big face? Or does she have a big ass?”

“Yeah! Why don’t you bring your teacher out for a walk? I want to know if he or she has three heads and six arms!”

“I can tell you’re a kid, kid. You haven’t weaned off your momma’s tits, have you? This is the Ghost Tower, not your house. If you’re gonna throw a tantrum, then go back to your momma. We don’t need to hear your whines.”

“Hmph! Bid if you have the money, get lost if you don’t. Stop wasting my time, brat.”

In just an instant, the student had become the subject of everyone’s ridicule. His expression ugly, he slapped the table and shot to his feet. “Who the fuck do you people think you are? How dare you insult my teacher!”

The student abruptly turned in Greenlake and Ye Qing’s direction and pointed a finger at Greenlake. “It’s all your fault! Not only are you taking my teacher’s item, you’re even shaming him in public! You must die to make up for your sin!”

A storm of sword qi manifested into existence and swept toward the duo, but neither Ye Qing nor Greenlake reacted to the attack. It was because Fire Skull let out an angry roar, “How dare you attack another in the Ghost Tower!”

Pitch black flames transformed into a giant palm and crushed the sword qi threatening the student. Countless ghosts could be seen wailing and roaring within those flames.

“The Soul Devouring Yin Fire!” The student’s face turned deathly pale in an instant.

The Soul Devouring Yin Fire was a kind of flame that consumed the soul. If a soul was consumed by it, they would become a part of the flame and suffer the agony of being burned alive for eternity.

“Teacher, save me!”

“The sage says that a person of honor and uprightness shall be impervious to all evils,” said a gentle voice at a critical moment. The Soul Devouring Yin Fire flooding toward the student immediately melted like snow and vanished into nothing.

For the first time, the young man looked up from his book and said slowly, “It is true that my rude student has broken a rule of the Ghost Tower, but he is so very young. Can you forgive him on account of his youth, auctioneer?”

“Youth is no excuse,” Fire Skull uttered in a dark tone. “I said from the beginning that fighting is strictly forbidden once the auction begins. Did you think it was empty talk? Those who break our rule must be punished.”

“Without rules, nothing can be done,” The young man said amiably. “So, how would you like to punish my student?”

Fire Skull answered, “I will destroy his body and leave him in the Dark Volcano. He will burn in its Yin Fire for a hundred years before he is released.”

The student turned as pale as a sheet. “No! Teacher, I, I don’t want to be burned by the YIn Fire! Save me!”

“I told you many times that you must be calm and patient in all circumstances, or you may harm others and yourself, but you just wouldn’t listen.” The young man looked at his student with a disappointed expression. “Still, I won’t let you suffer the Yin Fire. Deserved it may be, I don’t think you’ll be able to endure it.”

The student thought his teacher was going to save him and burst out in delight, “Thank you, teacher! Thank you!”

“However, nothing can be done without rules. The rules must be protected at all costs,” The young man declared expressionlessly. “Since you have broken a rule, you must be punished.”

As soon as he said this, the student’s body began disintegrating like sand. In just the blink of an eye, all that was left of him was his soul.

“Are you satisfied now, auctioneer?” The young man looked at Fire Skull inquiringly.

Fire Skull remained unmoved. “I said I’m going to leave his soul in the Dark Volcano. You may have destroyed his body, but you haven’t given me his soul yet. Do that, and I will be satisfied.”

As soon as it was done speaking, its flames turned into a massive hand and reached out toward the student’s soul.

The young man waved his hand like he was waving off some dust. The next moment, the fiery hand was destroyed in an instant.

“You dare stop me? Will you make an enemy out of the Ghost Tower?” Fire Skull raged. On the inside though, it was shocked by how easy the young man had dispelled his attack. It hadn’t even seen how he did it.

It didn’t back off though. One, the rules of the Ghost Tower must be obeyed, and two, the student’s soul looked as beautiful as refined jade, pure and translucent. Master would be very happy if it gave it to him.

The entire Ghost Tower burst into cold, dark flames as if responding to Fire Skull’s fury. The walls began seeping blood, ugly faces began surfacing from the blood, and a terrifying, twisted and evil presence enveloped the entire building.

The young man couldn’t seem to feel the presence, however. Calmly, he flicked a finger and erased his student’s soul from existence.

“Are you satisfied now, auctioneer?”

What a ruthless man, everyone on the floor thought with a frown. The young man hadn’t just killed his own student, he had given him true death. There was no such thing as reincarnation when even the soul was erased from existence.

What confused them was why the young man didn’t just give Fire Skull the soul. He already went so far as to kill his student, he might as well surrender his soul to the Ghost Tower and appease their anger. Why did he purposely wipe out his student’s soul and antagonize the Ghost Tower?

“You wiped out his soul?” Fire Skull exclaimed in disbelief after a few seconds of stunned silence.

“That’s right.” The young man said indifferently, “Are you satisfied now, auctioneer?”

“He broke our rule, so he should be ours to punish. What is the meaning of this?!” Fire Skull was seriously angry this time. Its goal was to capture the student’s soul so it could present it to its master. Its claim that it would burn it in the Dark Volcano for a hundred years was just an excuse. However, the young man had ruined its plan and provoked the Ghost Tower at one stroke. How could it not be furious?

Seemingly picking up on Fire Skull’s anger, a terrifying silhouette abruptly appeared behind its back. It carried seemingly enough power to turn this whole place into rubble with the snap of a finger.

“That must be the master of the Ghost Tower!” Ye Qing blanched a little. Obviously, the silhouette wasn’t the real thing. He was just a wisp of the master’s spirit. Even so, he felt that the silhouette was impossible to defeat.

“He is my student and my subordinate first before he transgressed against the Ghost Tower. Even if he broke your rule, I’m the one who gets to punish him first. Only then is it your turn to punish him. Such is the natural order of things.”

The young man remained unperturbed despite the silhouette’s power, however. “Not only that, I had dealt him a punishment that is objectively worse than what you had planned for him. I’ve also apologized to you on his behalf. What else are you dissatisfied about?”

“The sage says that those in the right cannot be defied.”

The silhouette of a scholar wearing a Confucian’s ceremonial robe and carrying a book manifested behind the young man. As soon as it appeared, sounds of recitation resounded throughout the Ghost Tower, and countless essays and poems transformed into the wind and rain. It swept away the evil, twisted presence of the tower in an instant.

“The Dharma of the Wise Sage?! He has the potential to enter the Sage Realm...”

Several people in the Ghost Tower began leaking filthy, black qi as the wind and rain continued. They felt like they were dying just being in the presence of the young man.

“Hmph! Who on earth is this guy? I cannot believe he’s grasped the essence of Confucianism and cultivated the Dharma of the Wise Sage. He is most likely going to become a Confucian sage in the future.”

A man covered from head to toe in black rubbed the back of his hand and accidentally stripped off an entire chunk of flesh. He muttered, “This man must die, or he will become a major obstacle in the Dark Ways in the future.”

Fire Skull was stunned by the silhouette standing behind the young man as well. It was because he could sense a hint of fear and wariness from his master’s spirit.

“Are you satisfied now, auctioneer?[2]” The young man asked indifferently. He was completely unperturbed by the commotion and damage he had caused.

Fire Skull was starting to question the young man’s background, and it didn’t want to blow up the matter and cancel the auction prematurely. In the end, it had no choice but to concede and say, “Fine, but there are no second chances. If this happens again, then we will take action.”

“Good,” The young man replied as the silhouette slowly returned to his body. Then, he sat down and began reading his book once more.

After the young man sat down, Fire Skull also dispelled his silhouette and returned his attention to the audience. “Apologies for the disruption, everyone. Now that the matter is resolved, let us continue the auction.”

“So, what we’ve shown you just now is just the appetizer. The main dish is coming up right now. The main theme of today’s auction is natural treasures, godly martial arts, and arts that should’ve been extinct. Are you interested?”

“Cut the bullcrap and get on with it already!” Someone said impatiently.

“Hahaha, don’t worry, customer. The auction will resume, now!”

Fire Skull clapped its hands, and a female ghost carrying a wooden box floated up the stage. Fire Skull opened the wooden box to reveal a few paper pages.

“This is a martial art. It is called the Earthfire Mirror,” it declared.

“The Earthfire Mirror? Is it the Earthfire Mirror belonging to the Mountain of Mind and Heart?” Someone exclaimed in shock.

“You are quite knowledgeable, customer! That’s right! It is none other than the Earthfire Mirror belonging to the Mountain of Mind and Heart!” Fire Skull confirmed.

“Impossible! The Earthfire Mirror was lost over a century ago! How can it be here?” Another voice exclaimed.

Ye Qing was quite shocked himself. “The Earthfire Mirror? The Mountain of Mind and Heart had two godly martial arts, and they are the Skyfire Mirror and the Earthfire Mirror. Could it really be the genuine article?”

“Perhaps!” Greenlake replied.

The Skyfire could burn the sky, and the Earthfire could boil the land. Together, they form the foundation of one of the greatest sects in the world. Unfortunately, the Mountain of Mind and Heart lost the Earthfire Mirror over a hundred years ago, and they had declined into a second-rate sect as a result.”

Ye Qing recalled the files regarding the Mountain of Mind and Heart he read in the Pacification Bureau and smirked. “If this is the genuine article, the Mountain of Mind and Heart is going to go crazy. I wonder if one of them is sitting in this room right now?”

If they were, this was going to be a very interesting auction.

1. Why he can identify her voice will be explained in the next chapter. ?

2. Yes, he asked the same question four times. Guy’s a boss. ?

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