Yunxi sat on the meditation cushion, stroking Li Li's fur. After hearing Yan Meng's report, she asked,"What did he do?"
Xiao Meng showed no attempt to hide the contempt in his eyes. "He is Mo Jiu's favored junior, but he is also the person Mo Jiu prepared in advance to harvest luck from."
Yunxi's gaze shifted. "You mean Mo Jiu used the Fortune Pearl to raise Mo Liang's luck, treating Mo Liang as his reserve luck source. When the time was right, he would snatch all of Mo Liang's luck in one stroke. And Mo Liang knew about this, yet still followed Mo Jiu?"
Xiao Meng nodded. "Zūnshàng is exactly right, though Mo Liang did not know at first. He pieced it together from many clues. To avoid becoming Mo Jiu's wedding robe, he was already planning how to expose him.
At the Chong'an Auction House this time, he intended to expose Mo Jiu in public and dump the evil cultivator's chamber pot on his head."
"Tsk tsk. As expected of the same clan. Ruthless, both of them."
Yunxi sighed softly.
Xiao Meng pressed her lips together. "Zūnshàng, have you recovered my sister's heart?"
"Half of it."
She tossed the half Fortune Pearl to Xiao Meng.
One glance confirmed it was indeed her sister's Stone Heart. Xiao Meng's face brightened with a smile before she asked, "Why only half?"
"The other half is at the Chong'an Auction House." Yunxi answered plainly.
"He is vicious. He split my sister's heart in two."
Xiao Meng's eyes reddened. She clenched the pale-golden crystal in her hand.
"Do not worry," Yunxi said evenly. "I have the auction voucher he consigned it with. Tomorrow we will go to the Chong'an Auction House and see if we can take that half back directly."
Xiao Meng's eyes lit up. Then she said, "I have troubled Zūnshàng. It is a pity we let Mo Jiu escape. Who knows when we will catch him again."
Though unwilling, Xiao Meng knew recovering her sister's heart mattered most.
"This Lord did let him go and promised not to hunt him down. I never said I would spare his life. Wait and see." Yunxi's smile held a hint of mystery.
When she released Mo Jiu, the "Soulmourne" toxin had already seeped into his soul. She had also not lifted the seal she placed on his dantian. She only said it would disperse on its own in two hours. He likely would not last that long.
At last, relief showed on Xiao Meng's face. She bowed in thanks to Yunxi. With her permission, she put away the half Stone Heart, then turned back into an ornamental mark that rested against Yunxi's brow.
At daybreak, Yunxi took Li Li in her arms and went to the Chong'an Auction House.
The same Golden Core female cultivator received her. "Senior, what would you like to view today?"
Yunxi patted Li Li's head and smiled. "This Lord wishes to see your shopkeeper. Someone made a deal with me, but it involves a lot that your esteemed house is about to auction."
Hearing that, the female cultivator respectfully invited Yunxi to the back hall and went to pass the word.
Moments later, a portly male cultivator entered. His plumpness was uniform, with a round face, round eyes, and a round, double chin. He wore a black robe patterned with golden lines, a gold-inlaid jade defensive treasure at his waist, a sycee-shaped coronet on his head, and held a folding fan with black umbrella ribs. Ten fingers were laden with storage rings. He radiated the aura of someone with deep pockets.
The Void Refinement cultivator did not mind Yunxi's appraisal. Smiling, he cupped his hands. "I am Liu Botang, shopkeeper of the Chong'an Auction House. What business brings the honored guest to me?"
"Shopkeeper Liu, no need to be so formal. Yesterday I consigned a batch of enhancement potions with your house. Are you aware of that?"
Liu Botang took a seat with a smile. "I am. Daoyou hoped to launch your concoctions through our auction. Has some change occurred?"
"No accident, but there has been a development. Yesterday I met Mo Jiu Daoyou, who had with him his most promising junior clansman, Mo Liang.
After we chatted, they purchased a vial of enhancement potion to help the junior improve his aptitude. To build a name for my potion, and to make a friend, I made an exception and gave them one vial.
To witness the effect, we guarded Mo Liang together. The potion worked very well. He broke through one minor realm on the spot, reaching early Void Refinement.
Thus Mo Jiu Daoyou wished to buy the formula and insisted that I not sell it to anyone else. What he offered in exchange was also satisfactory to me, namely the Fortune Pearl he intended to auction. We reached an agreement.
He was supposed to accompany me to the auction house today. Then a clan message arrived, something had happened and he had to return immediately. He gave me the consignment token and left through the teleportation array before dawn."
Liu Botang understood, and the smile on his face slowly faded. He had already spread word of the Fortune Pearl. Many buyers had come for that alone. Now this female cultivator wanted to withdraw the lot with a few words. How was the auction house supposed to make money?
When Liu Botang's smile turned perfunctory, Yunxi knew exactly how unwilling he was. That had nothing to do with her. She had explained clearly and held the voucher. One way or another, the Chong'an Auction House would have to give her a satisfactory answer.
Liu Botang flicked open his fan and wafted himself twice to calm down before speaking. "Daoyou, this is not very proper. You would smash our signboard. I already spread the news. If we pull the item now, how am I supposed to explain it to everyone?
Besides, Mo Jiu Daoyou has left. Who can prove the voucher in your hand was willingly given to you by him? This…"
Yunxi's proud brows lowered slightly as she stroked the Li Li in her arms. "Shopkeeper Liu, I came to discuss things nicely, yet you meet me with suspicion. That seems inappropriate. Are you planning to use this excuse to pocket the Fortune Pearl?"
As she spoke, pressure of the Unity stage slammed into Liu Botang. The gold-inlaid jade at his waist shattered the next instant, followed by the sycee coronet on his head. The crisp sound of defensive treasures breaking rang out clearly in the room.
Liu Botang's face went pale. He tried to send a signal, but his body would not move.
Yunxi's gaze drifted to the storage rings on his fingers.
When the first ring cracked, Liu Botang's vision went dark, and the contents of the storage bangle burst out, piling up across half the room.
Among the jumble, Yunxi spotted the enhancement potions she had consigned. A faint smile curved her lips as her gaze shifted to the second storage ring on his hand.
She had not expected Shopkeeper Liu to be this amusing, carrying lots on his person. It saved her a great deal of trouble.
Yunxi was pleased. Liu Botang, however, was ready to weep. Every time a storage ring was forcibly broken, the divine sense imprint was erased, and his divine sense took damage. He cried out at once, "Daoyou, please stop!"