~~~

For eight days, Liu Jin and Lei Kong travel to Five Bats City.

For eight days, Liu Jin makes repeated use of Ground Contraction. Annoyingly but not unexpectedly, Lei Kong keeps pace with him, not showing any strain whatsoever. A few violent Spirit Beasts cross their path, but they are all dealt with rather quickly. Throughout this, nary a word is exchanged between Liu Jin and Lei Kong.

On the ninth day, Five Bats City appears on the horizon.

The city is surrounded by tall, sturdy walls made of white stone. It is an impressive sight to behold, and the way the walls gleam under the sun only makes it more so. However, Liu Jin cannot help but think impressive to behold is all there is to those walls.

After all, if a powerful enough cultivator wished to destroy them, would they not fall?

Liu Jin frowns.

No, he is being too negative. Just because people with the power to destroy the walls exist does not mean the walls are pointless. The walls might not be a protection against everything, but that doesn’t mean they are not a protection against anything.

The walls obviously make it harder for Spirit Beasts and roaming bands of bandits to attack. They likely also help regulate the flow of people going in and out of Five Bats City. Even from this distance, Liu Jin can see some of the gates are larger than others. He’s willing to bet those are used for the transport of goods.

The Dragon Veins in the area do not possess the same quality as those in Eastern Port City. This is something Liu Jin recognizes right away. Despite that, Five Bats City is perhaps a tad larger than Liu Jin’s former home, though that is only to be expected. Many popular trading routes intersect in Five Bats City. Caravans of merchants pass through it on their way to various parts of the Crimson Cloud Empire and beyond.

This constant traffic of goods is what makes the Five Blessings Auction House so popular.

“Lei Kong,” Liu Jin says, pronouncing the name for the first time. They are still a few miles away from the city gates.

“Yes, my lord.”

“Take off your armor.”

“My lord?”

“Surely, you do not expect to enter the city dressed like that?” Liu Jin asks, arms crossed and eyebrow raised. “I’ll admit it is unlikely for news of the attack on Eastern Port City to have made it all the way here already.”

Although, deep down, Liu Jin cannot help but wish to be wrong on this.

After all, if news of the attack have made their way here, it means people other than him have survived.

“However, that armor still marks you as a soldier of the Storm Dragon Empire. I’d rather us not call any undue attention to ourselves.”

“Of course, my lord. I understand, and I obey.”

Annoyance manages to break through the haze of detachment surrounding Liu Jin, causing him to roll his eyes. Is it because Lei Kong annoys him that much or because the emotion is relatively harmless?

Either way, it is certainly something to keep an eye on if he wishes to better understand his condition.

Lei Kong removes his armor, revealing plain robes of muted green and brown. Liu Jin quickly stores it inside his spatial pouch.

“Shall I remove my arm as well?”

“No.”

“Are you su—”

“I am entirely sure,” Liu Jin replies sharply. “If I asked you to remove your arm, I’d be doing it to be petty and nothing else. I refuse to be petty in my anger. That’d be a disservice to it. Understood?”

“Of course, my lord.”

“Good.” Liu Jin takes a deep breath. “Let’s go.”

~~~

A story about being attacked by bandits on their way to the city is all it takes to get them through the gates. Apparently, it is not a rare occurrence. Their clothes, dirty from the fighting and traveling, help sell the illusion.

Almost as soon as he's through the gates, Liu Jin realizes that despite being of similar size, Five Bats City is far more populous than Eastern Port City. The streets are completely packed to the point it's impossible to walk without constantly bumping into others.

Some streets are strictly for the transport of goods. They are wider than regular streets so that large carts can pass through. However, they are so full it makes no difference. In fact, the traffic there might be the worst in the city. Liu Jin and Lei Kong do their best to steer clear of them.

The Five Blessings Auction House is a three-story building made of ebony-colored wood located in one of the main streets near the center of the city. Finding it poses no trouble as apparently everyone in the city knows where it is. The auction house has no windows and only one front door, though Liu Jin suspects there is bound to be a back entrance through which goods are brought in. It is not as impressive as Liu Jin was expecting. Yet, there is no denying the building possesses a certain dignified aura.

The line in front of it is long.

About five blocks long, in fact.

Liu Jin and Lei Kong trade a long look and resign themselves to their fate. The wait is long and tedious. Even though Liu Jin is capable of spending an entire day meditating, waiting in line still ends up being somewhat annoying.

“You dare deny me entry!”

Liu Jin closes his eyes and counts to ten.

Of course.

“Have you buffoons no idea who I am?” A man yells at the guards. He is in the late stages of the Nascent Realm, so he is probably nothing special. Certainly, not compared to the guards who look far from impressed at his tantrum.

“The current auction is only for those with an invitation. Turn away now,” one of the guards replies, his eyes looking straight ahead. The yelling man is not even worth putting in his eyes.

“How dare you! I am Pan Du of the Black Lotus School!”

The yelling man suddenly pales as one of the guards finally deems him worth glaring. That and a slight flare of the guard’s Qi are all it takes for the man to quickly depart with his metaphorical tail tucked between his legs.

Though annoying, the slight altercation has the benefit of scaring away many of the people in line. Not one of them wants to be embarrassed like that man just was.

Neither Liu Jin nor Lei Kong cut the most impressive figure. Their clothes are dirty and, in Liu Jin’s case, bloody. Additionally, neither one bothers to make his Qi known. As such, they attract quite a few dismissive looks as they make their way to the gate. Liu Jin catches a few mocking whispers and giggles but pays them no mind.

As soon as he and Lei Kong are in front of the guards, Liu Jin produces the card Song Daiyu gave him during the Eastern Port City Tournament and shows it to them.

“I was told if I was ever in need of something, I just needed to show this card.”

That is what Liu Jin tries to say. He is not even halfway through the sentence when the guards bow their heads and open the doors.

“Honored guest! Please, come in! We’ll have a room and bath prepared right away!!

“Servants! Come here at once! Tend to our guests!”

Even through the haze of detachment that has been surrounding him since waking up, Liu Jin manages to feel a small amount of satisfaction from the slack-jawed looks of those around him.

~~~

The servants guide them all the way to a set of very spacious, very luxurious baths. It is not their first hint that the auction house might be bigger on the inside. That would be the rather long halls.

Liu Jin enjoys the chance of ridding himself of the dried blood and grime on his skin. Upon finishing bathing, he finds new clothes have been prepared for him, a robe of varying shades of grey with a red sash. Liu Jin cannot say he cares for all the gray, but the cloth’s quality cannot be denied. It is impossibly soft and comfortable.

Once he is done dressing, Liu Jin is guided to a lavishly furnished room along with Lei Kong. An old man wearing robes marked by the emblem of the Five Blessings Group waits for them inside.

“Honored guest,” He says, inclining his head to him. “It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I am Branch Manager Bianfu. Please, take a seat. Tell me how I might be of service to you this fine day.”

The two sit. Or rather, Liu Jin sits, and Lei Kong stands behind him, ready and alert. Branch Manager Bianfu’s gaze quickly flicks between the two, likely coming up with quite a few ideas as to the nature of their relationship.

“Greetings, Branch Manager,” Liu Jin says. “I do apologize for imposing upon you in such a manner. Circumstances did not allow me to send a messenger ahead of time.”

“Nonsense, we are the Five Blessings Group. If we did anything less than our best for a black card holder such as yourself, we wouldn’t be able to show our face to anyone.”

Liu Jin keeps his face expressionless, though deep inside, he is more than a little surprised. Song Daiyu had not exaggerated how useful the card would be. If anything, she had understated things severely.

“I am relieved to hear that, although I must admit some surprise. I thought for sure Song Daiyu would be the one to greet me. It has been a long time since I last saw her.”

“Lady Song?” The branch manager looks surprised. Whether it is at the fact that he mentioned her name or at the casual way he did so, Liu Jin does not know and does not care. “I see. Of course, you are an associate of Lady Song.”

Liu Jin says nothing, neither confirming nor denying the man’s words.

“I regret to inform you Lady Song is not here at the moment. Lady Song was with us for a few months but has since left.”

“For business reasons, I assume.”

A fond smile appears on the branch manager’s face.

“Naturally,” he says, looking much like a proud grandfather. At that, Liu Jin’s smile becomes a little more genuine. “If our honored guest wishes, I could have a message sent to her, although it may take some time for it to reach her.”

“It is not a bad idea, but let us put that matter aside for now. Pleasing as meeting Lady Song would have been, it is not the reason I am here. That would be this.”

As he speaks, Liu Jin takes out a flask from his spatial pouch. Branch Manager Bianfu gasps in surprise.

“That is-”

“An Earth Realm Dragon Core,” Liu Jin finishes for him, placing it on the table and pushing the flask towards him.

With his hands almost trembling in reverence, the branch manager grabs the flask and looks over it closely.

“My word, it is perfectly preserved.”

“As expected of the Five Blessings Group, you can discern its quality. While I am sure I’d have no trouble finding a buyer on my own, I feel there is no better way to sell it than through this auction house. The reputation of the Five Blessings Group speaks for itself.”

“Naturally. Naturally!” The branch manager says, still looking at the core.

This is not the first Earth Realm Core the man has seen. Of that, Liu Jin is sure of. However, the core of a dragon-type Spirit Beast is undeniably more valuable than most, and this one has been perfectly harvested and preserved.

After all, it is the core his master procured with his own hands back when he first taught him how to harvest Spirit Beasts. Its quality cannot be denied.

From the beginning, Liu Jin planned on selling it through the auction house. From here on, he’ll doubtlessly need funds. That is the first and most obvious reason. The second reason is to make a strong impression. Liu Jin came here to ask for the help and services of the Five Blessings Group. It would not do for them to look down on him. The Earth Realm Dragon Core identifies him as a person of value.

Although considering how effective the black card ended up being, perhaps this might be going overboard.

Liu Jin decides he is fine with that.

“We are having a special auction in two days. Many esteemed guests are expected to come. I assure you this will fetch a good price.”

“I expect nothing less,” Liu Jin says. His smile is polite and nothing else. “Now, there are a few other things I wish to discuss with you.”

~~~