Wu Jian was beginning to wonder about his luck with women. He had never really thought about it until now, but he often found himself surrounded by beautiful women on a near daily basis. Even without Hou Jingshu and Zhou Lihua present, he was pressed on all sides by prettiness. Mei Xilan sat on his left, Huǒ Yulie on his right, and Hua Xue across from them, eying the group with something that he thought might have been exasperation. It was hard to tell since her face was so emotionless most of the time.

Youmei had hidden back inside of his shadow to avoid causing a disturbance.

“You’ve certainly found yourself in an unusual predicament,” Hua Xue said with a dry smile.

“It’s not like I did this on purpose,” Wu Jian muttered under his breath.

“I know. I like to think I understand your character pretty well after getting to know you all this time. None of this is ever really your fault. That’s just how it happens.” Hua Xue paused long enough to eye Mei Xilan and Huǒ Yulie as they glared daggers at each other. Her lips quirked in what he thought might have been resignation. “That doesn’t change the fact that you get yourself into quite a lot of trouble--with women, I mean.”

“Well, you’re not wrong…”

It was only a little later in the afternoon, and they were down in the dining hall. Huǒ Yulie already had her hood pulled back up. Wu Jian understood now that she wore the hood to hide her hair. The Huǒ Clan’s hair was distinctive to just them. Nobody else had that molten color reminiscent of ardent flames. Though now that he understood who she was and what she had been doing, he wondered what they should do about her.

“Huǒ Yulie?” he began.

“Thee doth not needeth to ref'r to me so f'rmally. Prithee, calleth me Yulie.”

“Then… Yulie, you had the Phoenix teleport you out of your sanctuary, but what are you planning to do?”

“Planning? I am not planning aught. I m'rely did want to enjoyeth a moment of freedom.”

“I think we should get rid of her,” Mei Xilan stated with certainty. “Her presence will only cause problems for us.”

“How malapert! Doth thee bethink me a problem?!”

“If the shoe fits.”

Wu Jian didn’t know why these two didn’t get along, but he felt very uncomfortable as they glared at each other. Didn’t they realize he was sitting between them? He wished they would take their bickering elsewhere.

“Stop it, both of you,” he said with a sigh.

Huǒ Yulie turned her head. “Hmph. I am not doing aught wrong. This cankered wench with the expressionless visage is the one causing problems.”

“A cankered wench, am I? Big talk coming from a little girl who looks like she still feeds from her mother’s breast.”

“Art thee making excit'ment of mine own height?!”

Huǒ Yulie stood up and slammed her hands on the table. Heat waves emitted from her body, causing all those nearby to begin sweating. The temperature rose quickly. Wu Jian grimaced as sweat formed on his face. He would have loved to wipe it, but his mask was in the way. He glanced at Hua Xue, who looked perfectly content in this heat, and sighed. This was the first time he wished he had ice powers like her.

“Yulie, I assume you intend to return home at some point?” Wu Jian asked.

“Oh. Hmm. Yes, I shall returneth eventually--once I've hadst mine own filleth,” Huǒ Yulie admitted, though her voice was strained.

Wu Jian nodded. “Then you can hang around with us until you decide to head back.”

“Truly?!” shouted Yulie.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” asked Hua Xue.

Wu Jian shrugged. “I don’t know if it’s a good idea or not, but Huǒ Shuchang is one of my friends and it would be remiss of me not to look after his sister.”

“Hee hee. Thou art just as mine own brother did describe.”

“Your brother talked about me?” asked Wu Jian.

“Indeed. After returning home, that gent spake of thee many times. I hath heard stories about thy travels whenever I did sneak out of the sanctuary to visiteth that gent.”

It sounded like Huǒ Shuchang had been talking him up. That was… concerning. His friend had a bad habit of exaggerating his stories, and the last thing he wanted was someone to have an inflated opinion of him that did not match reality.

“Though thou art somewhat different from how that gent did describe. That gent hath said thee were very uptight, but thou art a lot more relaxed than he saideth.”

“Ah. Well, that’s probably because I reconnected with some people I knew from a long time ago,” Wu Jian said.

If he was more relaxed now, then it was definitely Hou Jingshu’s and Zhou Lihua’s influence. When Wu Jian first met Huǒ Shuchang, he had just lost his family. It had felt like his entire world had come to an end. He was filled with nothing but thoughts of getting stronger. That was also when Mao Yuhan had attacked and defeated him, which only furthered his desires to get stronger and take revenge. Even after defeating Mao Yuhan, Wu Jian had still been consumed with the need to grow in power, so he’d probably been more cantankerous than he needed to be.

“I see. So you met with old friends. That sounds… nice.”

“Hmm?”

He glanced at Huǒ Yulie but couldn’t see under her hood. However, she hadn’t spoken in her usual strange dialect, which made her sound younger… and lonelier. Given that she had mentioned how her father locked her up in the sanctuary and the only person she could speak with was a giant bird that spent most of its time sleeping, she probably was a very lonely person.

“Well, since it’s been decided that Huǒ Yulie will be staying with you, I hope you will take responsibility for her,” Hua Xue said.

Wu Jian shrugged. “I wouldn’t have said that if I wasn’t prepared to take responsibility. Anyway, do we need to register for the tournament?”

“Yes, but we can do that tomorrow,” said Hua Xue.

“What should we do in the meantime?” asked Mei Xilan.

“If it beeth entertainment that you seek, then I canst help thee. However, if it be true thee wisheth to discover rare treasures, then I knoweth a lodging thee can visiteth,” said Huǒ Yulie, and while Wu Jian couldn’t see her face, he somehow felt like she was smiling smugly underneath her hood.

***

The place where Huǒ Yulie suggested they visit was called the Phoenix Auction. While the Zhou Family did have some holdings and own a couple of businesses in the Xia Dynasty, they were not allowed to monopilize businesses here like they were elsewhere. According to Huǒ Yulie, the Huǒ Clan did not want any other clan or sect to have a foothold in their country. That was also why there were no sects in the Xia Dynasty aside from their own. The Phoenix Sect was the only sect despite this country being the largest in the Xaio Continent.

The Phoenix Auction was an auction house that belonged to the Phoenix Sect, though it technically belonged to the Huǒ Clan since they were the ones who controlled the sect. Huǒ Yulie did not know where the auction house was located. She had never been in the city before. However, it wasn’t that hard to find. In fact, it was quite easy.

The Phoenix Auction house was one of the largest buildings in the city. It looked like a multi-layered cake. Walkways connected it to several other buildings, which also allowed traffic to flow more smoothly. There were several different entrances. It wasn’t just a massive building either, but one that was magnificently decorated with phoenix statues. Every entrance had at least two standing on either side of the door as though to protect it from intruders. There were also guards at each entrance, checking tickets, which you apparently needed to buy to attend this auction.

They’re all at the Human Limit Realm…

What shocked Wu Jian the most was not the decoration but the cultivation level of the guards. They were nothing but simple guards for the auction, and yet, every single one of them was a peak Human Limit Realm cultivator. Was this the kind of power wielded by the Phoenix Sect? He could only imagine how strong they must be if simple guards were this powerful.

“Cometh. Alloweth us joineth the auction,” Huǒ Yulie said.

Wu Jian, Mei Xilan, and Hua Xue followed Huǒ Yulie as she led them to one of the entrances. They waited in line for what felt like several hours. When it was their turn, one of the guards held out his hand toward them.

“Ticket please.”

Wu Jian didn’t know what to do since they didn’t have a ticket, but Huǒ Yulie held out her hand and summoned something from a shiny gold ring on her finger. What appeared was a medallion. It was about the size of her palm. On the upside was the depiction of a phoenix spreading its wings. The moment the guards saw that medallion, their faces went pale like they were staring at a ghost.

“Y-you… you are a member of the Huǒ Clan?!” asked one of them.

All the other attendee hopefuls paused when they heard the guard shouting. Wu Jian knew he wasn’t the subject of these stares, but he still felt uncomfortable with so many people looking at them.

“Indeed. And the people behind me art mine own guests. Wouldst thee beest so kind as to alloweth us through?”

“O-of course! Please… enter. I’ll have someone show you the way to a private booth.” The guard looked so nervous as he gestured for them to enter.

A young woman dressed in a red hanfu ruqun met up with them not long after they entered and show them to their private booth. Wu Jian remembered the last private booth he had been in. That had been nice, but this one blew the previous booth out of the water. Luxurious carpet underneath his feet made him feel like he was walking on clouds. The tasteful decore had the same phoenix theme as the rest of the building--not that he expected less. A group of cushioned seats were situated near a window that spanned an entire wall. It offered a clear view of both the stage and general seating.

Huǒ Yulie walked forward and pressed her hands against the glass. “This is mine own first timeth taking parteth in an auction.” She turned around. “I am quite excited.”

“You act like a little kid,” Mei Xilan said as she walked gracefully to her seat and sat down.

“And thee act liketh a frigid wench,” Huǒ Yulie snapped.

“If you two start fighting, I’m going to leave,” said Wu Jian.

The two quieted down, though they continued to glare at each other. Hua Xue walked silently over to a seat and lowered herself. Since they were in a private booth, Wu Jian let Youmei come out. Huǒ Yulie also lowered her hood since there was nobody around but them.

It was perhaps natural that he would find himself between Huǒ Yulie and Mei Xilan again. He hoped they wouldn’t argue anymore. He didn’t think he could deal with that. Youmei had taken to laying by his feet. She curled her tail around his leg and dozed off. Huǒ Yulie stared at the giant panther with something akin to wonder.

“Have you never seen a magical beast before?” asked Wu Jian.

“I has't not. This is the first timeth i has't seen a magical beast. What sort of beast is the lady?”

“Youmei is a black yāomó panther.”

“Oh! I has't hath heard of those folk. Those gents art quite rare, art they not?”

“So I’ve been told.”

Wu Jian found it surprisingly easy to speak with Huǒ Yulie despite her strange dialect. He thought it was because she was related to Huǒ Schuchang, but that didn’t really make sense. If that was all that was required, then he would have been able to speak with his friend’s older brother as well, but that man had been a complete ass. He didn’t think he would ever get along with someone like that.

While he and Huǒ Yulie spoke, Mei Xilan reached over and grabbed his arm. He ganced over only to find the woman pouting at him.

“Why is it that you only speak with this girl?”

“Uh…”

He didn’t know how to answer that, but he thought Mei Xilan was acting way more petulant than normal. Of course, all of his notions about this woman being a calm, collected beauty had been blown clear out of the water after they competed in the tournament. He knew she was a lot more emotional than her facial expressions suggested. Even so, she was still acting far more childish than he was used to.

“No reason. She’s just… easy to talk to,” he said.

“And I am not?”

“That’s right,” Wu Jian said.

“So I see.”

It was hard to tell what Mei Xilan was feeling since her expression didn’t change much, but the way she let go and stopped talking made her seem upset. He had considered putting his words more tactfully. However, he was better at being honest. All the etiquette lessons he used to take when his family still lived were things he had long forgotten. Sugar-coating his thoughts also wouldn’t help. It was better to be upfront about your feelings than it was to hide them away, and the fact was, Mei Xilan’s constant advances made it hard to get a long with her.

“It looks like the auction is starting,” Hua Xue said as the lights down below dimmed.