Chapter 47 - Annual Pinchu Auction (1)

Her fresh scent brushed past my nose, her hairs tingled my hairy cheeks and her right arm repeatedly touched my chest. From time to time, she would pull me closer in this crowd while trailing all the other guests with her wary eyes.

"Look straight ahead," I said, elbowing at her waist. We were inside the auction hall, dressed like rich youngsters.

"Do you really think this will work? Aren't we too high key?"

"Well, no. Pay attention to people's dresses as well. Everyone is in their best possible form, we would actually stick out if we didn't look like this."

With linked arms, we calmly proceeded to climb up the stairs while talking in low voices. Ling'er wasn't her usual self today. Her face had makeup so thick that she looked like some other girl instead.

She was wearing expensive shoes and her clothes very much added charm to her otherwise neglected beauty. She wore a tight white one piece whose skirt only covered half of her shapely thighs. Over it, she wore a long green robe knitted with sheer fabric.

It was a dress of my choice which took hours of talking bullshit to make her wear. I learned that she preferred dressing conservatively.

"It's a diversion tactic," I had said, "They won't look at your face but your legs."

"Hoho, you are one fine-" Two fierce glares shut the man's mouth. There were many of such fools sitting on the first balcony.

I calmly held Lingling's waist as we climbed another set of stairs. She slapped my opportunistic hand and looked at me. I didn't speak at all and kept walking. She struggled a few times and as some people looked over, she relaxed and walked with me.

Today was the day of the auction. Ling Cheng had given us a silver patterned token. We were item providers so we had a separate booth at the second balcony.

VIP customers occupied the third balcony and it was there that the elders, family heads and young masters of the prominent families stayed at. Lin family of course didn't participate and there was no Gang family now. So, only Chae and Dou families remained.

This auction was below young master Tong's status so he wouldn't even be here. Though, his men might still occupy one of the VIP booths. So, there were three known groups of rich bidding competitors. I didn't know how many other wealthy merchants were this town. Lin family might've even invited a few to make the competition more fierce.

As we stepped on the second balcony, we saw various booths here. The bidders inside paid attention to the large podium on the ground floor. The guards didn't let anyone near that place. There were no seats at the bottom.

Most of the people there were just for entertainment. Anyone who could afford the items that would be auctioned off today would buy a token from the Lin family and sit on the first balcony.

The auction was about to start so we hurried to our booth. Side sweeping a transparent curtain, we saw a small area inside. The wooden walls covered a large chair from three sides.

I unlocked our arms and sat on the chair. For those who chose to stay anonymous, their tokens were numbered. Outside our booth, the number "8" was written on the wooden wall. This way, the auctioneer would be able to see who was bidding.

"If you do that again, I'll..."

"You will what?" I laughed.

There was an agreement between us. She helped me in selling the items to the Lin family, so I had to help her escape from this town. She didn't want to come to this auction but I had to attend.

"Nothing..." she said and looked at the podium. The auction hall was quietening down.

'By now, Chunu and Feng Yi should be with the young masters in the VIP booth. If things go south, they will be in danger.' I really hoped Chunu wouldn't mess this up. Her job was to Poison Chae Lee. She also had to throw something down during the last item's bidding.

Dou Peng was shrewd, so I'd sent Feng Yi to deal with him. His reputation wasn't that good and many considered him to be proud and ostentatious. With Feng Yi there, he would pull no stops on displaying his family's wealth.

Chae Lee, though a good man, was still a youth. He would be challenged in front of a beautiful girl. If everything went as planned, that will lead to an unhealthy and unnecessarily heated competition.

The elders and the family heads were more experienced and level-headed. For the family's face, they usually let the younger generation bid on the smaller items.

However, once the heirs went out of control, they would stop these foolish youngsters but by then, the dark scroll should have already appeared on stage...

"Welcome! Welcome, to this year's annual Pinchu auction. In presence of the respected family heads and elders; merchants and guests who have been specially invited; our item providers of this year, and practitioners from near and far places - I, Lin Siyun, humbly announce the auction's start."

Cheers erupted from the ground floor and the balconies as the auctioneer bowed towards different sides. Of course, she was a beautiful lady who immediately attracted everyone's attention the moment she appeared. She made a small professional speech while waiting for the servants to bring the first item.

"Where do I sit?" Ling'er asked. I had already sat on the only chair.

"Sit on my lap," I joked. I knew some servant would bring another chair in a while. It was very ungentlemanly of me to say that, but I wasn't and never had been a gentleman.

Through the transparent curtain, I saw two muscle men bring a spear. They panted and sweat carrying something way smaller than them. As they put the white spear on the metallic table, it made a loud noise, shocking the people sitting or standing all around.

The men's gazes migrated from the auctioneer's assets to that weapon while the women put on bored faces. Just another weapon, it was going to be a boring start.

I was only slightly intrigued as there seemed to be no inscriptions on the spear.

'It's a heavily tempered metal at best...' As I was thinking that, I heard murmurs starting to fill the second balcony.

"Without further ado, let us look at the first item..." The auctioneer's voice pulled other people's attention but not mine. Ling'er suddenly stepped back and came near me.

"They are..."

"Shhh..." I said. I had already sensed those Viscera Purifying pracitioners with my spirit sense. They were checking every booth from both ends.

Worry dominated Lingling's look. She meant to say something but stopped. Standing beside me, she absently touched her makeup.

'This girl...' I sighed and pulled her hand. Her butt softly landed on my lap as she let out a surprised yelp. She put her palms on my chest and pushed, trying to get up.

I firmly held her waist and whispered, "Cross your legs and just stay still for a moment."

I met her frown with a calm look. She pulled on my black robes and looked the other way. Still, she did as I told. The ends of her outer robe touched the chair's legs in that position.

"What?" She asked, seeing me smile.

"They just checked the booth beside us," I said. I had sensed them. It seemed they only looked from the outside.

"Want to try something? That way, they won't see our faces."

She didn't have the time to say yes or no as I jerked my left hand and Silverite slipped down to my palm. With my right hand, I held Lingling's chin.

Just then, one of the old practitioners peered through the transparent curtain. He saw us, a young man and a young woman - our faces hidden by an unfolded fan, behind which something intimate was going on.

His eyes caught the my aggressive hold on Lingling's thighs, while his ears picked up her frequently interrupted gasps.

"Hah, young people these days have no shame.." He shook his head and walked away.