A Pawn's Passage

Since Madam Yu specifically asked to pick a suitable maid, the auction house reacted quickly and delivered a roster to her.

The roster recorded the “merchandise” for this session.

The auction house differed from the West Shakya Company. The Heavenly Court preferred quality goods, whereas the West Shakya Company dealt in disposable “consumables.” Thus, the former mainly sold women, while the latter dealt mostly in men.

Star Lord Yuheng did not mind buying a woman. After all, those who had suffered greatly were often the best candidates for recruitment into the Ziguang Society.

That was because most top-tier talents went to the Daoist Order or the Imperial Court. Secret societies competed fiercely for the rest. Unlike the Heavenly Court, which took in anyone, the Ziguang Society preferred women and excluded men, with certain requirements for looks, aptitude, and ability. After all the filtering, their selection pool was small.

Zhang Yuelu did not care about these details. She was not here to bust the underground auction. After all, Qi Xuansu could not wage war against both the Nanyang United Trading Company and the Heavenly Court at the same time. Since the Golden Patriarch had just helped the Daoist Order defeat Chen Shuhua, there were surely conditions attached. Thus, even if Qi Xuansu wanted to crack down, Sage Donghua would not allow it. As someone from the Lingnan Daoist Mansion, Zhang Yuelu had no authority to directly intervene in Nanyang’s affairs.

Right now, Zhang Yuelu was pondering how to use the auction house to uncover clues related to the Nanyang United Trading Company.

Revealing her identity and coercing the auction house was impossible, unless she was Li Changge. But after years of rivalry between the Zhang and Li families, why would the Heavenly Court sacrifice its interests to help her?

Thus, the only option was to act covertly. Nanyang was the Heavenly Court’s home turf, with Lion City as its heart. Their entrenched power here was obvious. This was one of the reasons Zhang Yuelue had to come personally. But even she found this task difficult.

In just a short time, Zhang Yuelu had already detected traces of three formations. This was proof that the place was heavily guarded, so sneaking in silently would be difficult. After all, even a Zaohua-stage Heavenly-Being like Star Lord Yuheng was only a guest here. The auction house’s owners were an Immortal and a Pseudo-Immortal. Their formations would not be low-grade, but it was also not as sophisticated as the Sheji Temple.

Simply put, breaking the formations was not the issue. The real challenge was doing it without alerting the auction house. It was just like how picking a lock was not hard, but doing so unnoticed and in plain sight was the real test.

At that moment, Star Lord Yuheng suddenly asked, “Miss Zhang, would you like to see the auction house’s storage area?”

Zhang Yuelu turned around, not answering the question but asking, “Can you guarantee there’s no eavesdropping here?”

“Rest assured, I’ve already checked. It’s a long-standing habit of the Ziguang Society,” Star Lord Yuheng replied unhurriedly. “Besides, such methods are taboo. If guests discovered them, it would destroy the auction house’s reputation. The Heavenly Court seeks profit, not espionage, so they don’t care what guests do in their private rooms, whether it’s indulging in debauchery or plotting a rebellion. As long as there’s money, nothing is a problem. They won’t offend their guests.”

Zhang Yuelu felt this deeply. “I recall the Holy Xuan once said that there are only two things in governing a nation—where money comes from and where money goes.”

Star Lord Yuheng chuckled. “Elder Xu also said that with money, everyone can pretend to get along—even great grudges can be smoothed over, and the deepest hatred can be set aside. Without money, even the smallest disagreement becomes a fuse for war, leading to total collapse. It’s the same for our societies. Trade is flourishing nowadays, so wealth is abundant. People are no longer content with just getting a full meal. Without money, nothing can run. That’s just how things work in this world, and it’s why I asked you for a small tip.”

Zhang Yuelu did not dwell on that topic. Instead, she asked, “Star Lord, do you have a way to get me to that storage area?”

Star Lord Yuheng set down her wine glass. “The Golden Patriarch rarely steps into Lion City. He spends most of his time at the Heavenly Court’s main headquarters. Liu Gui is negotiating a deal in East Shakya. As long as Wu Guangbi isn’t here, no one can stop me.”

Zhang Yuelu understood. “No wonder you asked earlier whether Wu Guangbi had returned.”

Star Lord Yuheng smiled. “But I can only buy you a very short window. You must plan a proper route in advance. The moment I make my move, you must rush through immediately. Not a moment of hesitation.”

Zhang Yuelu thought for a moment. “Very well.”

With that, Zhang Yuelu put her hood back on, left the private room, and headed straight for the first-floor hall.

This private room belonged exclusively to Star Lord Yuheng. It even housed her personal wine cabinet that was stocked with fine wines from Sardinia. She opened a 30-year vintage, poured herself a glass, and then stood before the floor-to-ceiling window, looking down at the main hall below.

Zhang Yuelu entered the main hall downstairs, standing in an inconspicuous corner to quietly survey the environment.

Once the auction began, all windows were shut and covered, making the hall as dark as night. All lights would shine upon the auction stage by the north wall, illuminating it brilliantly for displaying items.

Meanwhile, the seats to the east, south, and west were in the shadows, with private boxes on the second floor. Unlike the Daoist Order’s open bidding, many buyers here had no desire to show their faces. This setup suited their need for privacy.

On the north wall was a door of the passageway leading to the storage area, where auction staff would transport the auction items through.

But from where Zhang Yuelu stood to that door, there were many obstacles—the visible guards and at least four invisible formations.

The first formation sat in the aisle between the guest area and the auction stage, resembling an oversized egg that was invisible to common eyes. This was likely meant to prevent anyone from rushing onto the stage.

The second formation surrounded the stage and was meant to trigger alerts.

Another small formation about the size of a tabletop hung above the stage, likely for protecting particularly valuable auction items.

The last formation was situated at the gateway, blocking intrusion and preventing the slaves inside from escaping.

Zhang Yuelu shifted her stance slightly, aligning herself so that she had the shortest route to the gateway. Then, she quietly activated the Six Void Tribulations, a technique inherited from Elder Xu, renowned for being able to dissolve all things, including formations.

For Zhang Yuelu, breaking formations was never the problem.

Then Zhang Yuelu looked up at the private box where Star Lord Yuheng sat. Since it was a one-way glass, those inside the room could see out, while those outside could not see in. She did not use her Immortal Eye of Providence to peer through it, but she was certain that Star Lord Yuheng saw her. After all, darkness was not a restriction to a Heavenly Being.

The next moment, Zhang Yuelu raised her hand.

Star Lord Yuheng, who was sipping her wine leisurely by the window, saw the raised hand. She then released her grip on the wine glass, allowing it to fall.

The fragile stem glass shattered into countless pieces, scattering with the wine.

In that instant, the transparent shards and crimson wine lost all color, turning into black-and-white. Everything froze mid-splash, turning motionless, as if time itself had stopped.

The black-and-white ripples spread outward like a wave, washing over the second-floor private boxes and the first-floor hall, turning everything monochrome. Only Star Lord Yuheng above and Zhang Yuelu below remained in full vibrant color.

Zhang Yuelu moved instantly. In the blink of an eye, she reached the first formation. Her fingertip brushed the formation, parting it just enough for her to pass straight through. She could have destroyed the entire formation, but there was no need.

The second formation did not cover the entire area of the stage, only several key trigger points, so that the staff on stage would not accidentally activate alarms and disrupt the auction. Thus, those triggers were easy enough to avoid. Guards stood watch between these gaps, creating a normally flawless defense. But at this moment, Zhang Yuelu had ample space and time to slip past the guards.

She ignored the third formation entirely, as she did not intend to steal anything.

At last, Zhang Yuelu reached the gateway. She repeated the same technique with the Six Void Tribulations and slipped smoothly through the final formation barrier.

Almost at the exact moment Zhang Yuelu slipped through the gateway, the suspended wine and shattered glass regained their vivid color, splashing chaotically in all directions. Some droplets even landed on Star Lord Yuheng’s tall boots.

The monochrome scenery faded away, and all formations resumed operation instantly, swiftly sealing the holes that Zhang Yuelu had created. This was precisely why she had chosen not to destroy the formations completely.

Star Lord Yuheng’s face was slightly pale. Clearly, the consumption of energy had been significant. Fortunately, no one here matched her cultivation level, and there were only a few Heavenly Beings present. Freezing an ordinary person and freezing a Heavenly Being were vastly different in terms of energy expenditure.

Zhang Yuelu slipped smoothly into the warehouse zone. There were still guards and formations here, but without the scrutiny of a crowded hall, none of them posed any real difficulty.