Chapter 027: The Inevitable Auction

“Wuuu…” Someone walked behind Liang Yin, covering the fresh bump on their head, eyes brimming with tears. After temporarily slipping into a darkened mood to extinguish Someone’s excitement, Liang Yin had quickly returned to her charming, playful self, skipping along the street, glancing this way and that, not at all like someone searching for something.

“So, you already knew where to look, didn’t you…” Someone suddenly realized, watching Liang Yin’s seemingly random but purposeful route.

“I never said I didn’t know, did I? You’re the one who made a big fuss, drawing a huge crowd and practically broadcasting to all of Icassia that there are two silly little mages running around hunting for the Heart of Eternity. What, have things been too peaceful lately and you’re itching for a beating?” Liang Yin, provoked, nearly slipped back into her dark mood.

“No, no, my mistake! Please forgive me, great lady, you’re so magnanimous—surely you wouldn’t stoop to my level, haha…” Someone quickly nodded and bowed, rescuing Liang Yin from the brink of another outburst.

“Don’t fall behind!” Liang Yin resumed her usual self, a sweet smile blooming as she skipped ahead.

They wound their way through twisting alleys until they reached a derelict district. Carefully skirting the patrolling soldiers, Someone expertly cloaked them both in water magic to mask their presence. They climbed over a rooftop, and Liang Yin, placing her hand on a beam of an abandoned house, tapped it gently. The beam seemed hollow, with a small bell installed inside.

“Ding-a-ling.” The sound rang out.

Liang Yin, as if enlightened, moved on to the next deserted house and knocked again.

“Ding-a-ling, ding-a-ling,” this time two chimes.

And so they went, knocking and listening to the gentle ringing, the sound so faint that unless one was very close, it would be impossible to hear—eliminating the risk of discovery. Yet the incessant ringing began to make Someone dizzy, as if a camel were trailing behind.

“Ding-dang!” At last, a different sound rang out. Liang Yin smiled faintly and tapped the beam three times in a deliberate rhythm. Suddenly, a sliver of light shone from the rusty iron door. A gentle beam swept up and down Liang Yin and Someone as if in inspection; then, reassured, the light receded. Liang Yin pulled out a money-laden card, generously supplied by Jun Yan. The light scanned the card, seemed satisfied, and vanished, the facade returning to rusty anonymity.

With a creak, the door opened.

Liang Yin led Someone inside. Though outwardly abandoned, the interior was opulent, outshining even her beautiful younger sister’s banquets. Gold decorations were scattered unobtrusively, rare metals inlaid into the walls forming a dreamlike panorama of the starlit sky. Attendants in elegant uniforms, each more beautiful than the last, approached in perfect formation, their hair neatly coiffed, postures impeccable: “Honored guests, the auction will begin in one hour. May we assist you with anything?”

Liang Yin waved her hand grandly: “A private box, if you please.”

The attendants, well-trained, showed them to a spacious private suite—likely built underground. The room was large and airy, with bookshelves, game sets, and all the popular amusements, even a bed with fine linens. The wall facing the stage was made of a special material—opaque from the outside but offering a full view from within. A sumptuous sofa, big enough for ten burly men, dominated the room.

Someone, curiosity piqued, began exploring the amenities, not forgetting to ask Liang Yin, “You’re really generous—this place must be expensive, right?”

Liang Yin reclined on the sofa. “I have no intention of parading the Heart of Eternity through the streets—I’d like to live a few more years, thank you! Besides, it’s not so pricey—only a hundred gold an hour.”

“Pfft!” Someone, in the middle of a sip, spat water everywhere. “That’s daylight robbery! Monopoly, thievery, extortion—this is insane!”

“Relax,” Liang Yin replied serenely. “There’s a reason for the price.”

Someone was clearly unrelaxed. Clutching a deck of cards, she sat on the big bed and challenged Liang Yin: “Come on, let’s win our money’s worth back!”

They passed the time sampling every entertainment the suite had to offer. At last, the auction began.

Beautiful attendants, dressed in revealing outfits, sauntered onto the stage with the first item: a chunk of silvery metal under a glass dome, solid and gleaming like an ancient ingot. The auctioneer, beaming with pride, made his introduction: “Ladies and gentlemen, feast your eyes on this opening lot—not just any piece of metal, but a rare ore that has lain buried for millennia: True Diamond Mother Ore! You’ve all heard the legend—a fragment of this ore, alloyed with common metals, forges blades that can slice through the most expensive swords with ease. I’ll say it outright: Diamond Mother Ore is the finest material for weapon forging in this world. Its reserves are vanishingly rare—no longer for sale on the market, only found in museums.”

The eyes of the assembled bidders widened in longing; this unassuming lump was every warrior’s dream.

Pleased by their reaction, the auctioneer continued, “I won’t belabor how hard it was to acquire this rare mother ore. I’ll start with a generous low price—one million gold! Those who know its value won’t let it slip away. Let the bidding begin!”

“One-point-five million!” “Two million!” “Three million!”

Amidst the heated bidding, only Someone and Liang Yin sat calmly in their suite, sipping tea. Liang Yin, bored, set down her cup, sprawled on the vast sofa, and nudged Someone with her foot, mumbling, “Wake me when the Heart of Eternity comes up—I’m going to nap.”

“Sleep well. Even if the sun rises twice, I won’t call you,” Someone replied with a smile.

“Tsundere,” Liang Yin muttered, almost inaudible, and promptly drifted off as if launched into orbit.

No one knew how long the auction dragged on. Someone’s head began to bob from exhaustion. Though the lots were varied, most were warrior gear—flashy and exorbitant, but either unaffordable or useless to her. She forced herself through a few more rounds, eyelids drooping.

Then, like thunder on a clear day, the auctioneer finally uttered the keyword echoing in Someone’s mind: “Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to present the first magical item of tonight’s auction!”

A magical item?! Someone snapped awake and shook Liang Yin from her slumber.

Liang Yin sat up in a hurry. “Where? Where?”

Someone pointed, “There, there!”

Liang Yin followed her finger. In the glass dome below lay a snow-white magic stone, small and exquisite yet seemingly forged by nature itself. Its rounded surface was shrouded in a fine mist from an excess of water magic, swirling within the dome as if beckoning someone. Liang Yin’s eyes glazed over in awe.

By the time Someone noticed the pink hearts swirling beside her, the bidding had already soared past three million gold—only kept low because most attendees were warriors. A sharp elbow to the ribs jolted Liang Yin back to her senses, and she shouted out a powerful bid: “Five million!”

The suite must have had some voice-modifying enchantment, for her words rang out—neither male nor female, but clear as day.

“Are you insane? Does Jun Yan’s card even have that much?” Someone hissed, lowering her voice.

Liang Yin dismissed her concern. “All my wages, tips, and bonuses from all these years are in there, plus what Jun Yan gave me. Five million is covered.”

A rich woman… Someone’s heart ached. Five million! If they stacked that many gold coins in this room, it would make a mountain—she could roll around in it for fun. Now, all for a single stone—it was gone?

“Besides, jumping the bid like this will intimidate those hoping to raise the price slowly, cutting off any trouble before it starts.” Liang Yin sounded utterly confident.

No sooner had she finished speaking than a familiar male voice called out from the seats below, “Five and a half million!”

Stardust Chronicle 027_027: The long-anticipated auction update—complete!