He sat on an adjacent sofa and listened to the music for a moment. He was waiting for his boss to ask him first before he spoke. For one thing, he did not want to disturb him at the moment, who knew if the man would go into a fit of rage.

However, unexpectedly, that boss of his did not finish his business before he asked eagerly: "Well, don't keep me waiting. Did you give him the invitation?"

The butler was surprised by such an excited reaction but did not show it on his face. He simply nodded and stated: "I did it myself, as you requested, Sir"

The man laughed, his body moving slightly up and down as he did so, nearly choking the poor woman. He did not seem to care as he asked something else: "How was he?"

The butler pondered for a moment before he answered: "He reacted coldly and calmly. One might even say that he was unfazed about it"

The man laughed again. Then, he said to no one: "As expected of such a man!"

The butler, sensing that his boss was in a good mood, asked: "But why have me deliver this invitation personally, Sir, if I may?"

The man paused before replying with a question of his own: "Have you noticed his ring?"

The butler nodded but remained clueless. And so, the man explained: "We crossed paths today and that is when I noticed his ring. Quite a fortunate event, it was... Anyways, the ring, it is quite something, you know. I only ever met one other man with a similar ring. And he told me that this was not just a ring. What do you think it is?"

The butler understood that his boss was in a playful mood and could only go on and entertain him. He gave it a guess: "A heritage of sorts?"

The man laughed and shook his head sideways. Then, he stated: "It is a proof"

The butler frowned as he asked: "A proof?"

The man added: "This ring, if I'm not wrong, is a token given solely to the royal bloodline from the Sun Empire"

The butler was now deeply frowning. They ran a black market. It was an illegal place. What was his boss thinking by inviting such a man there? Was he trying to retire early? He was not even a thousand years old!

The boss noticed the expression of his subordinate and elaborated: "Relax. There are only two reasons a royal from a different continent would come this far. He's either on a diplomatic duty or travelling incognito. In our case, it is likely the second since he wasn't welcomed by anyone...Where did you find him?"

The butler answered: "In a random tavern, Sir"

The boss nodded and stated: "Clearly the second option then. And that means that he is not here as a representative of 'royalty' or 'nobility'. That makes him a wealthy customer. Much wealthier than any other!"

The butler nodded in appreciation as he praised his boss. Of course, within his own mind, he cursed him. What if he was on a secret diplomatic mission? He was the one that would have to reinforce the security. Even worse, if something happened to the royal because of them... There would not be a place within this world for them to hide in!

He spoke a few more pleasantries before taking his leave. He had to urgently rework the security details of the auction...

...

Jin waited. And at midnight, something happened. It was not a bunch of murderous cultivators bursting into his room, no, it was something else. The paper placed on the bedside cabinet began to light up. The formations on it had been activated! Jin stood on guard as he got ready to protect himself... But nothing dangerous happened.

Instead, the image of a handsome masked cultivator appeared on top of the paper. The image was made of blue light. It was just like one of those holograms he heard about in his previous life. He marveled at the sight. To think that cultivators could make something like that that technology back in his previous life could not.

While he was appreciative of this thing, he kept his guard up. This could be bait.

The handsome masked man bowed and began to speak. Unfortunately, there weren't any sounds transmitted but as a cultivator, Jin could see the smallest of details of the image. It was enough for him to read the lips of the hologram thingy.

"Dear Madam, Sir, you are hereby granted the honor of attending our prized annual Mirhanwen black auction! It will take place tomorrow night and every paper will serve as both a guide to the location as well as your proof of invitation. With every invitation, two guests may come in and join us for, we hope, will be the most fruitful night of the year! Do take note to bring your own masks if you wish to hide your identities. Random city teleportation will be granted to every attendee for free after the auction. We hope to see you there!"

The holographic image bowed once more before disappearing.

Jin stood guard. Was it real? Was it bait? He was not certain and could not easily trust what he saw. The best way would be to ask others but was there anyone trustworthy around? To the him right now? No.

He decided to spend the remainder of the night keeping watch as he was in case it had been bait. If it was not...He would think about it at that time. For now, he needed to remain focused and ready for anything to happen.

...And nothing happened until the first rays of sunlight spread over the room from outside his window.