Chapter 32: Beyond the Veil

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Having secured the two weapons, they no longer tarry.

They headed toward the grand pavilion. As they did, An Shan kept eyeing the lanes around the main road. Just this morning, he already observed numerous narrow streets around the city. The sights within were similar here and there.

There were homeless people everywhere. With dejected eyes, they were seeking something of any value in the trashes from the shops. Most of them were children, filthy street children who seemed hungry and sick most of the time.

Many shopkeepers treated them as pests, scolding them as ‘street rats’ while driving them away with their brooms as they saw them close. These shopkeepers could be said as heartless, but they could not be blamed. They were protecting their business. Most of these children were eyeing the well-to-do travelers, in hope for some pity….

But for some, opportunities.

At the same time, between these lanes and the main street, there were women with seductive gazes and alluring poses. Prostitutes, baring themselves with provocative clothes, were busy eyeing anyone with even a hint of money and desire. Most were young, some even in their early teens!

As they caught sight of their target, many of them made a move. Some were direct, some made it seem as if… a lovely accident called fate.

It was afternoon, so their presence at this time spoke for the city’s situation.

‘Deplorable.’

An Shan pondered.

Hearing the reports and seeing the city himself, invoked quite a different sentiment. It was just a casual walk through the city for a couple of hours, yet problems already bared themselves out for him. The problems fully matched the reports he received. While he expected this, he could not help but be saddened. The city was indeed a luxurious mega-city, yet…

Behind such look, was a rotten degeneration of society.

However, what concerned him the most now was another problem.

There were people who seemed lifeless, devoid of energy in broad daylight. As if something had sucked them dry, many were lying by the hidden parts of the streets. Their appearance was akin to those living dead, humans possessed by evil demons. This was the most crucial problem gripping this city right now.

“Drug addicts…”

These problems must be addressed.

This was the city his dear friend built, the one he was so proud of. The Wang clan was a loyal ally to his sect. To honor the loyalty of the Wang clan, An Shan would have to deal with these later. Even if the territory was no longer under his sect’s domain, even if the clan itself had been totally destroyed, and even if it’d been two thousand long years…

His friendship with Wang Jie existed. In addition, the clan did not turn away from his sect, even under the most terrible situation. Such friendship and loyalty could not be written off. Even if Wang clan was no longer around, An Shan believed that helping the city, was the right thing to do.

“This place is next to our domain anyway,”

It was troublesome, but he had to address this. With the drug problem remained rampant in this border city, illegal drug flow was a valid concern. Such problems taking roots inside their domain remained a high possibility. From the reports, the border was facing a similar problem. Should the situation not be curbed as soon as possible, it would create many more victims.

The effect of drugs should never be underestimated.

It not only harmed the addicts but also their close families. These drug addicts would slowly lose their sanity and would not be able to work normally. Their family would be left without a provider, crippled. Yet to satisfy their desire for more, the addicts would be willing to do vile things to secure their supply. Committing crimes, selling their spouse or daughter, even doing the bidding of their provider…

The effect was widespread.

Always been.

Parents would be devastated, spouse lost their precious ones, while children cheated of the care from their parents, and their much-needed love. It was the destruction of family structure, the core, and basis of a nation’s strength. Due to this, drugs must be counted as a national-level problem, and drug traffickers must be counted as traitors to the nation and people.

And traitors deserved a heavy punishment.

…

Why labeled them as traitors?

Such a heavy verdict was justified, for their work could create a dire situation for average families, the public, and the authority. To escape persecution by government enforcers, bribes and threats became the norm.

To deliver the threat, the use of thugs and assassins would spur the rate of criminal activity. These drug traffickers had money. With demand, came more offers and deliveries. With money, they could turn hooligans into their men. With money, they could turn officials into their accomplices.

The seed of desire, with money as the fertilizing egg, gave birth to corruption which would then run rampant. This cycle of corruption due to drug abuse was severe, those who did not study it would often be left in wonder why drug trafficking was given such a heavy penalty in Absolute Aegis Sect...

Death!

This was because if it was not controlled, such activity would weaken the state, soon leaving it open for degeneration and invasion.

“…Soon,”

Consoling himself that now was not the time, he walked into the massive palace-like auction house. Behind him, Mu-er and Xiao Mei followed suit…

The entrance to the auction house was not for everyone.

With the announcement of a special kind of auction being done this time around, it attracted so many interested parties. However, one required a special token to enter. This was done to filter troublemakers and bystanders without any purchasing power. In order to get the token, the Blood Warriors instructed the intelligence department to get it through their proxy.

With Mu-er showing the token, an attendant respectfully greeted them, escorting them into a room upstairs on the second floor. A red flashy VIP room, it was shielded with formations from within, barring spirit search from intruding. Even Heavenly-Stars stage experts could not use spirit search on the room without alarming these formations.

With a full view of the stage, the room was veiled with thin cotton-like material. From the outside, people could not peek into the room, but those inside could see the outside well. The veils were quite magical and precious, but any auction house of high prestige would always prepare them for their VIPs.

The auction hall was large, capable of accommodating more than two thousand people at once. It was similar to a theatre. The ground floor held the most people, eighty percent of them. The two upper floors had rooms similar to An Shan’s. Each of these rooms was for VIPs, people with high connections who preferred either privacy or staying hidden.

As An Shan was looking around the place, he took note of those who attended.

Most of them were local powers, with some proxies of foreign sects. Those on the ground floor were rich people, politicians, and famous people. On the second floor along with him, there were eleven more rooms. Mu-er, still playing his role as his son, informed him;

“Father, some of these rooms were reserved for the sellers, in consideration for their products. Many offers provided today were rare in Wang Nan city’s standard. As for the rest of the rooms, four were reserved for the four Drug Lords… The so-called Kings of Wang Nan city.”

“Kings? Hm,”

After the fall of Wang clan, these four factions thrived under the watchful eyes of the White Tiger Imperial clan. These four factions were responsible for over 80% of drug trafficking, as well as various other heavy crimes in the city. Often falling at odds with each other, these factions were bitter rivals.

While the imperial clan cared not for their petty squabbles, all of them knew not to try their patience. The mere existence of the clan’s proxy in the city kept the four factions from falling into an all-out war. As long as they paid the tribute to the White Tiger clan, the clan would leave them be.

An Shan sighed. The Imperial clan had fallen into such corruption. Even turning a blind eye towards drug traffickers? You disrespected your ancestor, what a disgrace.

Perhaps they thought these four drug lords were the lesser evils. If the White Tigers preferred having these people than those they could not control, then they were truly deluding themselves. As for why the imperial clan tolerated these four factions, there were several reasons.

The main one was clear.

These four factions colluded with them to destroy the Wang clan during the war. By his side, Mu-er briefed him about their respective roles during the last days of the war fifty years ago. Through their treachery, the White Tigers managed to crack Wang Clan’s defensive formation. Five of the six Ancestors of Wang Clan perished to stop the ten Ancestors from White Tigers. Soon after, the clan head and his wife fell in battle…

“…There was no survivor. The White Tiger had slain everyone, including nine babies, sixteen toddlers, and eighty-one children. All members were accounted for, most men slain in battle. The remaining servants were sent to become slave laborers in mines. Many perished due to harsh conditions and old age… End of report,”

When Mu-er finished his briefing, An Shan stood up. The briefing was just a reminder to him, he already knew pretty much all of it.

“The whereabouts of the servants?”

“Apologies, Ancestor. We’re still working on it, but we believe we’ve traced half of those still alive,”

“Plan well, free them. Make sure none are left behind. If they already left this world, I want their remains. At least, we’ll pay them some respect,”

“Yes!”

At least, he should prepare a proper resting place for them.

Any servants who remained till the end meant one thing – they were prepared to go through the same punishment as their masters.

To leave behind such people in slave labors for fifty years? When he first knew of this, he had An Hong face some hardship himself. Hmph, to leave behind such loyal people? How pitiful can you be?!

Through the thin veil in the room, he locked his eyes on the four rooms on the same floor… The rooms of the so-called Kings of Wang Nan.

‘Clan of traitors, all in one place… good, good,’

An Shan wondered if he should just massacre them right here and then.

…Immediately, he decided against it. If they were destroyed by force, the White Tiger Imperial Clan would not leave the incident be. It was a blatant challenge to their authority, so they would never tolerate such action. Tolerating it would be a sign of weakness, prompting other dissatisfied factions to grow bold.

On the light side, An Shan also realized, should these drug lords fall into problem and be destroyed by legal means, the White Tiger would not care. The relationship they had was pretty much like that of illegal sons they had from prostitutes. While they were not inclined to destroy them, they would not sacrifice their reputation for these unclaimed sons. Even if everyone knew of their back dealings, as long as their face could be kept good to the public, the clan would be more than glad to sever their relationship.

‘Legal means… I can’t do it myself, connection… local,’

Soon, the whole hall was dimmed. An elder, accompanied by two scantily-clad beauties in a qipao, took on the center stage. With purple cloud embroidery on his robe, this elder was surprisingly a Heavenly-Stars cultivator. With such cultivation, though still in the primary stage, he could very well be the leader of a medium-sized sect.

“Welcome, esteemed guests. This lowly one, Li Mo, will be your host for today. As the auction today might be a little lengthy compared to the usual, I ask our honored guests to make themselves comfortable. Feel free to move around, but make it least disturbing to others, if you could. As for the rules…”

He proceeded to explain the rules.

The host would open an item or group of items one by one. The highest bidder would win the item. However, for several special items of the day, they required the sellers’ final consent. If everything offered failed to satisfy the sellers, then they reserved the right to cancel the bidding.

While this new rule might go against the convention of an auction, it was acceptable since the items offered were rare. Today, there were five types of items regarded as special. They were Star Fusion pills, two Heaven-ranked Spirit weapons, the three rare herbs, a rare Heavenly-Star beast, and finally, bones of a flood dragon.

An Shan, a bit surprised, turned his eyes to Mu-er;

“…Bones of a flood dragon, did you mention this before?”

“Err, yes Father. I believe I did… No, I’m confident I did,”

“Oh, my mistake then...”

Thinking about it, he must have fallen asleep while listening again.

The bones of a flood dragon… An Shan found it hard to believe, for this auction house to dare selling it. It was not just for its value, but because the auction house risked gaining the ire of the Flood Dragon Imperial Clan. While the clan was situated far in the east, once it got the news, no doubt it would send an envoy to investigate the origin of the bones.

As its name suggested, this clan had an intimate relationship with Flood Dragon. Their cultivation relied heavily on their communication and time spent with this rare and holy beast. A direct disciple of the clan would be raised along with a flood dragon as his or her lifetime companion, training and growing up together. Meanwhile, other lesser disciples would tend to a flood dragon, often gaining a relation of trust or friendship with the great beast.

With this kind of close relation, it was no wonder the clan positioned itself as the trustee of all flood dragons on the continent. Most flood dragons lived in the easternmost part of the continent. However, there were still others which strayed away from the rest of the group, ending up in the hands of humans. While the items being auctioned were just bones and not living ones, Flood Dragon Imperial Clan had the inclination, or according to them, responsibility to get down on the matter.

Was it hunted, or died naturally?

If it died naturally, the imperial clan would often acquire it by legal means. If it was hunted and killed, then there would be no mercy. Even if it meant offending large clans or sects, the clan would administer their justice!

“For this establishment to host the auction of the bones… What backing did they have?”

“Father, links were suggesting… The one backing them was the White Tiger,”

“…I see,”

Since Mu-er said suggesting, it was clear even the Blood Warriors were not so sure. Whoever it was backing them, they had enough confidence to deal with the wrath of the Flood Dragon Imperial Clan. Then again, how foolish of them. If they desire money, then all they had to do was to deliver the bones and explain in detail how they acquire them…

That was, unless, they did not acquire it through legal means. Almost all nations respected and agreed to a particular demand of the Flood Dragon Imperial Clan, that the hunt of flood dragons would not be permitted and legalized. While there were many legends of its aggression, a flood dragon was shy in nature. It would disturb ships only on rare occasions. If such occasions were to occur, any nation or authority could ask the clan for help, without any charges. The clan would send a few of their elders to deal with the matter in the best possible way.

Thus there was almost no need to kill it, unless one had an ulterior motive.

As An Shan was left pondering, the auction had started.

Since it started with less precious items first, An Shan excused himself. As he was about to take out the turtle shell, he remembered Ru-er was inside. The VIP room was quite big, so the shell could be further expanded. While the space of the shell was wide and could fit more than two people, he thought of the consequence of getting in together with a lady…

It might not be good news to others.

Well, maybe it could turn into good news, but…

“Nevermind. Mu-er, wake me up… No, Mi-er, wake me up when the special auction starts,”

Xiao Mei, now called Xiao Mi, lit up when she heard her ancestor depended on her to wake him up.

“Eh, em! Leave to me!”

Time passed. The host finally moved to weapon auctions. Xiao Mei thought that it was the proper time, so she did her work;

“Dad, wake up,”

“Hmm, has it started?”

“Em, the weapons…”

“Meh, weapons?”

When he heard weapons, a tinge of disappointment surged. Opening his eyes, he laid witness to the Heaven-rank Spirit Weapon, a Trident Spear. Seeing the shining blue weapon, discussion buzzed. It seemed as if someone presented a true Masterpiece to them. In fact, three evaluators from different clans came up. After some time, with an amused expression and eager voice, they claimed;

“P-peak Heaven-rank, supreme quality! I stake my name on it!”

“This raging spirit… It’s second only to Soul Armament! For this kind of spirit weapon to be auctioned off… this, this… ah, my heart—”

“No doubt about it, this spirit weapon… Even among its class, it would triumph 99 out of 100! A weapon fit for an emperor!”

Hearing the evaluations, the prospective buyers turned into a frenzy. A weapon second only to Soul Armament? The leaders of different factions gulped and wet their lips. Should they attain it, how much would their prestige soar? Imagining how imposing they would look with it in front of their peers, excitement shook their bodies. A person took on the bid, opening the bidding with a hefty 19 million price tag. Following him, more and more people took part in the bidding war.

…

Supreme Quality?

Raging Spirit?

A weapon fit for an emperor?

…

Emperor of what, chicken retails?

Hearing such evaluations, An Shan made a sleepy face. This kind of weapon would shatter at once when clashed with any one of his lesser Soul Armaments. Even his failed product was better than this, nope, even his chicken knife was better. Its fault not only with the inferior Spirit Infusion, but also with the base. Even if this weapon was still in its Qi Weapon form, An Shan would not give it much thought.

It was not so bad per say, but it had only half one percent chance of being awakened, even if he himself used it for a year. This weapon would fit a disciple, but for these leaders from large sects and clans to fall into a frenzy for it…

Heavens— these youngsters need to check their sight!

Rolling his eyes, he fell back to sleep.

“27 Million! Huhu, this must be mine!”

“Only 27? Hmph, 30 Million!”

“Damn, don’t raise the price so much, 30.1 Million!”

“The heck, you’re not even a spear user! 32 Mi…”

“You!”

…An Shan yawned, the sound of bidding did not hinder him at all. While these esteemed elders from large sects and clans were busy in a frenzy, this ancestor stepped into the deep state of tranquility…

…

Calm…

Calm, blue ocean…

Gentle breeze, caressing my hair…

Ah, is that you, third sister?

Your smile, is so…

…

Hm, so peace—

“Dad, wake up! There’s a second weapon!”

“…”

Before he could settle the corruption in Wang Nan city, he realized there was another problem he should settle, quickly.

Someone was loudly abusing her authority, so it seemed.

=== Chapter 32 End ===