Realms In The Firmament

“Yes you are.” The girl in white agreed, “Although you are at the higher level than him in cultivation, you touched the ground first… So, you lost.”

Hei-San showed angry blush, “But… I… No one says that the one that touches the ground loses!”

The girl stopped speaking and remained silent.

Her silence was eerie and actually made the men in black feel stressed and terrified.

Hei-San’s face suddenly turned pale and he stepped forward in terror, “I am so sorry my lady. I was wrong.”

The girl glanced at him and said nothing.

Hei-San was sweating a lot and finally kneeled at the girl’s feet after some thinking. He laid his forehead on the ground and spoke in a low voice, “My lady. I was wrong! I beg your forgiveness!”

The girl looked at him and sighed, “When you lost, you lost; it is no big deal. If you kept such attitude all the time, you can only be a boor. The world of the martial arts would never accept you! Think about it… If it was not me whom you were talking to; instead, if it was… Do you think you would still be alive after talking like that?”

Hei-San was shivering; he was too terrified.

“Get up.” The girl in white spoke with a charming voice.

Hei-San stood up to and returned to the left side of the girl, keeping his head lowered. He dared not to say anything now. The other man in black looked at him with a look which said ‘thank god, you are so lucky’.

The men in black felt relieved.

The girl looked at Ye Xiao and spoke cheerfully, “Well fought. May I have your name please?”

Ye Xiao kept his hands on his back and stood naturally, like an expert cultivator. He answered casually, “Feng.”

“Master Feng.” The girl immediately turned distant, “You are a good cultivator with spectacular skills. However, you insulted my man. That is quite an offence… Now as the auction is about to begin, it’s better that we don’t spend too much time talking. What do you say that you accompany me after the auction, if you have guts?”

Ye Xiao laughed, “A challenge? Do you think I, as a man, would fear you, a girl? Ok. See you after the auction.”

“ A promise is a promise.” The girl added.

“A promise is a promise!” Ye Xiao nodded seriously.

What happened before was nothing important; what mattered the most was the agreement which they had made at the end.

The girl nodded lightly and looked at Ye Xiao. And then she left with the two men in black.

“Wait.” Ye Xiao smiled and threw over a small bottle. The bottle dropped into Hei-San’s arms.

“My golden hands were poisonous.” Ye Xiao spoke calmly.

Hei-San was shocked and looked at Ye Xiao.

The girl frowned and said to Hei-San, “Take it.” And then she smiled to Ye Xiao, “Thanks Master Feng.”

Ye Xiao smiled, “No problems. It wouldn’t be good for anybody if someone died.”

Then they both laughed.

The girl in white went on walking away with the two men in black.

They became more cautious and confused, “Golden Hand? Poisonous? Got poisoned imperceptibly? What is that skill?”

They felt that this Master Feng deserved their respect.

They didn’t know that the ‘Golden Hand’ was like Feng Zhi-Ling’s face – a disguise.

When the two men in black walked past him, Ye Xiao felt uneasiness in his mind.

The men in black had brought Ye Xiao a sense of familiarity.

He seemed to know them.

Moreover, when he was fighting against one of them, Ye Xiao had a felt something peculiar- a feeling of bloodlust, originating from a blademaster.

He knew that only expert bladesmasters could produce such a feeling.

Ye Xiao had noticed that the man had many calluses on the edge of his palm.

The calluses were special.

“They were not the calluses that were caused by casually playing with swords. He was a blademaster.” He thought, “Blades. Blademasters. It feels familiar…”

Ye Xiao suddenly recollected the figures that had flown away from his house the other night. He looked at the direction where the girl had gone, but they had vanished into thin air.

“It was you.”

…

Ye Xiao had successfully gained vital information from the contact with the girl’s bodyguard. He turned around and entered the salesroom. When he had just stepped inside the salesroom and the door was about to close, two new groups of people arrived at the scene.

These two groups did not utter a single word and casually walked into the salesroom.

…

– Dong! –

The bell rang. The salesroom turned silent.

Guan Wan-Shan stood on the stage wearing a red robe. He was presiding the auction all by himself this time. His old face was filled with pride and delight.