Ghosts watched the hairpin with greedy eyes.

Out of everyone present, Hua Cheng understood the most about the emotions running in every ghost. The ghosts had their eyes bloodshot, as they were unable to take their eyes off of the phoenix feather.

"1,001 yuan!"

"2,000 yuan!"

"5,000 yuan!"

Screams piled in the auction house, while the three couples stood in the back, watching all the choruses and bidding play out.

"Shizun," Luo Binghe wrapped an arm around his lover's waist, "If Shizun wants the hairpin, this disciple will gladly bid for it."

Shen Qingqiu smacked his lover on the head with his fan.

"Idiot. I don't need any hair accessories." He fumed. Besides, they were saving money to bid for the Strongest Sword! Nobody has time to pay attention to the other goods!

In the end, the Phoenix hairpin was sold to a ghost, at the price of 10,000 yuan. The money was given, and thus, the bidding continued.

The ghost host walked around. Her yellow cheongsam dress swayed to her hips.

"The second goods is this priceless mirror!" On the table was a mirror. Although it looked ordinary at first sight, in closer inspection, the design of the framing was exquisite. The frame was carved with curvature lines, untamed, and yet rolling along like roots digging in soil.

The ghosts seemed uninterested in this mirror.

"This mirror may not look like anything special," the ghost host smiled, "But it is actually one of a kind. By staring into it long enough, the user's appearance will change accordingly to what they imagine."

"Thus, this mirror is named the Body-Changing Mirror."

Hearing that, the ghosts' interests were piqued. They began the bidding, and many prices came up. The bidding price increased exponentially.

In the back, Bo Fan nudged Yi Ran, "Hey, aren't you afraid you might look ugly? Want to give it a go?"

Yi Ran glared back. "Fuck off." She turned to Nu Wang, "Tie him back up for me."

Without hesitance, the female ghost did as she was told.

Turning back to the bidding process, the Body-Changing Mirror was sold to a businessman ghost, at the price of 25,000 yuan. The money was given, and the bidding continued.

As many goods were sold to many ghosts, there were only a few goods left...

And one of the few...

"Let us see the final goods." The ghost host smiled. Everyone rose in anticipation. This was the ancient artifact that attracted everyone across the globe...

The ghost host's face suddenly changed. "Assistants! Carry up the final goods!"

All of a sudden, a large noise clamoured in the backstage. There were messy footsteps, resounding throughout the wooden stage. Heavy boots clambered, with the sound echoing within the stadium. After some time, the audience saw a bunch of ghosts. This group of ghosts were carrying something large altogether, covered in a black carpet.

Once they set the the large object covered in carpet on the stage, a loud BOOM crashed.

"It's heavy..." Jiang Cheng's eyes flickered.

The ghost assistants ran back offstage, but their eyes never left the final goods. It was clear that they also had greedy intentions.

"I shall uncover the final goods." The ghost host smiled.

She took ahold of the black carpet, then swiftly removed it. In an instant, the entire dark stadium seemed to brighten with prosperity. A golden light illuminated the darkness, as if the sun rose from underneath the horizon, bringing morning to the night.

Underneath the black carpet was rubble. It was a block of pure stone, as if ripped directly from the rocky mountains. Lodged within the stone, something was sticking out. There was a handle, dark like the congealed night sky. Attached to the handle was a blade, sharper than all of the blades out there. Its edges were glistened with a sharp glow, seeming to embody the grace of swordsmanship.

This sword... was the Strongest Sword!

Lodged in the rubble, all of the ghosts' eyes were attracted to this piece of treasure.

"This sword has slain over thousands of citizens. In the end, its user had lodged this sword into stone and nobody could ever pull it out again. It is said that only the strongest can pull out this sword. Once this sword is pulled out, it will grant them unparalleled power."

The ghost host introduced. "Thus, this sword is named the Strongest Sword. The bidding begins at 150,000 yuan!"

"150,001 yuan!"

"150,300 yuan!"

"150,600 yuan!"

Wei Wuxian's eyes thinned, "150,601!"

Another ghost heard that and quickly added, "150,700!"

Wei Wuxian was relentless. "150,701!"

That ghost gritted their teeth and added, "150,800!"

Wei Wuxian didn't let him go. "150,8o1!"

At that point, the ghost was in a break down. This man didn't let him off even once! He keeps adding only one yuan to my original bid! How annoying!

"180,000 yuan!" He decided to go big.

Wei Wuxian hesitated. He looked over at Lan Zhan. I don't want to abuse my hubby's wallet though... Seeing those pair of "pure" and "innocent" eyes, Lan Zhan understood.

He nudged his shameless wifey, "Go all the way."

Wei Wuxian's eyes widened. He then nodded, "200,000 yuan!"

Upon hearing that, the ghost had fallen out of his seat. His face was entirely blackened with dismay. EVEN HIGHER!?! Are you insane, dude!?!

"250,000 yuan!" Abruptly, a yell came out from the corner.

The ghosts were amazed that a person could have so much money. Looking at that direction, it was actually Bo Fan who announced it!

Wei Wuxian gritted his teeth. He didn't think he'd have to face this demon at this circumstance.

"250,000 going once!" The ghost host declared, seeing that nobody followed up.

"250,000 going twice!"

"250,000 going-"

"300,000 yuan!" Abruptly, a loud scream echoed through the stadium. It was all from a young and arrogant young boy—Jin Ling.

Jiang Cheng's eyes were full of dismay. What is this brat doing!?!

Lan Xichen soothed him, "It's fine. Lanling Jin does have a lot of money at hand."

The ghost host was also astonished. She didn't think that someone would dare to put so much money on the stake. Her route lips froze in shock, and that expression didn't thaw until she realized the silence in the stadium. The ghost host laughed nervously.

She gripped on her yellow cheongsam dress. Her white knuckles seemed to pale.

"300,000, going once!"

Nobody interrupted her. However, frantic emotions ran through every ghosts' faces. They were all greedy for the Strongest Sword! If that ancient sword is given to a kid from who knows where... that'd be such a waste!

"300,000, going twice!" The ghost host announced.

Messy whispers clouded the stadium. The ghosts seemed to panic. Seeing everyone's anxiety, Bo Fan smirked. He opened his mouth, planning to give a higher price, but then—

BAM!!!

Out of nowhere, the auction house's doors had slammed open. Dust riled up in the stadium, flooding the entire building in a state of misery, looking more like a sandy dessert than an auction house.

"TRESPASSERS! ARE THERE ANY TRESPASSERS IN HERE!?!"

Ghost soldiers had rioted the auction house. They brandished their swords, and ran past rows of seats with vigour. Their blades were pointed threateningly at the ghost audience.

Rooted in fear, ghosts had shrieked.

"I'M A GHOST! DON'T POINT YOUR SWORD AT ME!"

"PROVE IT!"

"I came here for a fucking auction. Not to be inspected!"

"GET OUT OF HERE!"

All of a sudden, Yi Ran stiffened. She felt a malicious stare directed at herself. Turning her head rigidly, she was met with the ferocious sight of a ghost soldier. This ghost soldier had bloodshot eyes, looking unpleasant from top to bottom.

His sword was pointed at her, seeming like it could plunge in her heart at any moment.

"You..." He growled.

At that point, Yi Ran knew she was doomed. She wasn't a ghost! She was a flipping demonic cultivator! If they knew she was lurking in Ghost Nation, there was no way she'd be able to escape!

All of a sudden, a cold but reassuring hand patted her on the shoulder.

Turning around, Yi Ran saw Nu Wang.

The female ghost removed the shackles around her neck. The cuffs and heavy chains had fallen to the ground with a start.

Hearing the loud sound, the ghost soldier turned to look at her.

Nu Wang's dark eyes contained no emotions, making them as still as the night. Her entire body was cold and white, pale like the moon, gently casting moonlight down onto the lands of void. Nu Wang arched backwards, so that her pale neck could be exposed—revealing a hideous wound ripped right across the middle.

The slice on her neck was chilling to the bones. There was still some leftover blood, smeared from the wound. "Here."

Nu Wang spoke with a monochromatic tone. "I'm dead. This is enough proof, right?"

The ghost soldier looked at her with an expression, as if saying, Seriously? You didn't have to go that far.

"Yes." Nevertheless, he nodded.

Nu Wang quickly enveloped both Yi Ran and Bo Fan on the shoulders. The latter two were surprised by the female ghost's initiative. "These two are with me. They are my ghost friends. There is no problem with that, right?"

The ghost soldier didn't see anything wrong with that.

"Yes. Understood." He went on to the next row.

Yi Ran's tense figure had relaxed. She watched concernedly, as Nu Wang wore her shackles once again, hiding that hideous scar from view.

Seeing everything play out, Shen Qingqiu was sweating buckets. Although they had Hua Cheng; a prominent Ghost King, who could defend them... it didn't really matter. After all, their appearances were already heavily marked down in the ghost soldiers' memory. The ghost soldiers would recognize them at first glance!

He snapped his fan shut as quietly as possible.

Shen Qingqiu tried to reduce his presence. His lover and the other two couples did the same. They shrunk in their seats, trying not to be discovered...

All of a sudden, another loud BAM rang across the stadium.

It turned out, a seat was flipped over. Some sections of wooden floorboards were ripped out from the ground, revealing dirty mud and stone from underneath.

"SOMEONE ESCAPED!" A ghost soldier blared.

Wei Wuxian was surprised. Who would do such a stupid thing during-

His eyes widened. It turned out that the ones who fled were Jiang Cheng, Lan Xichen, and the junior disciples!

Could it be... they're acting as decoy? To distract the ghost soldiers so that they won't find us...

Immediately, the ghost soldiers had all left the auction house. "GET THEM!" They went to chase after the fleeing cultivators. The auction house was emptied of the ghost soldiers.

Wei Wuxian bowed his head. For some reason, seeing Jiang Cheng putting himself at risk in order to stop himself from being captured... this scenario was really nostalgic.

"Ahem." The ghost host coughed. "Now that the disturbances are gone, let us resume our auction."

She straightened her yellow cheongsam dress, then continued. "Our latest bidder had left the auction house, so we can only dismiss their bidding. Let us start back from the second last bid... which is the price at 250,000 yuan."

Mutters rang across the stadium. The ghosts contemplated on whether or not they want the Strongest Sword, or still want enough money for a living.

"250,000 going once." The ghost host declared.

"251,000!" A wealthy ghost declared.

"251,001!" Another rich ghost had piped up.

As these hollers of prices continued popping all over the stadium, Xie Lian began to ponder to himself. What if we're unable to get the Strongest Sword? No... that shouldn't be possible. After all, I still have an entire palace worth of money. Perhaps, I can bid on all of my fortunes?

His eyes gleamed with hope.

He turned to look at his companions, "Hey, guys. How about I just go all in?"

Instead of gaining praises or agreements, he was greeted with the faces of absolute shock. Shen Qingqiu fanned himself hysterically, with wind blowing past his slick black hair. "No way..."

Luo Binghe added, "That's too much... we wouldn't want the Crown Prince to waste his own private property on a mere mission..."

Lan Zhan agreed. "There's no need to involve the money of His Royal Highness."

Xie Lian was exasperated at their reactions. Are his properties that important? He could just sell a few ancient artifacts...

All of a sudden, a dry cough resounded through the stadium. It wasn't loud, but the power behind it caused the sound to radiate off of the walls and into the dirt ground. Hua Cheng extended out two hands. One plopped on top of his lover's head, reassuring him.

The other hand had gestured outwards.

Hua Cheng impatiently remarked, "This is too boring."

In an instant, the auction house went silent. All of the ghosts contemplated on what those words meant. Well... those words were obviously said by a bigshot! Otherwise, who else would say such a thing?

"Ahem." The ghost host gently coughed. "What do you... mean?"

Hua Cheng's eye thinned. "I think that the progression going so far is boring. So boring that sleeping in a coffin sounds like a better deal." His statement had enraged some ghosts, who couldn't understand his intentions at all.

"Thus," Hua Cheng spoke dryly, "Instead of actually paying you money, I can give something more expensive."

His one eye seemed to glow a heaven-defying energy. It illuminated crimson red, as if it was a demon thirsting for blood, "Right now, I can kill everyone single one of you in this room, and keep all of your souls in a jar. Simple, right? The collection of five hundred and thirty-two souls, reaped from ghosts of Ghost Nation... that would be much more expensive than 250,000 yuan, wouldn't it?"

Hua Cheng: I can kill everyone in here, collect their souls, and give it as the bidding. That would be much more expensive than 250,000 yuan, wouldn't it?

Also Hua Cheng: I am so smart. Praise me, Gege ❤️

The ghost host: (╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻ If you can kill everyone in this room, why don't you just directly kill me, walk over my dead ghost body, and steal the Strongest Sword then? HUH!?!

Hua Cheng: I am a civilized Ghost King. Gege wouldn't like it if I don't listen to the rules ❤️

Xie Lian: Good job, San Lang ❤️

The ghost host: ...so killing every ghost in the room, harvesting their souls in a jar... and using that as bidding... doesn't count as not listening to the rules?

Xie Lian: Yup ❤️