Xianxia Online

Shortly after the auction concluded, the items were delivered to the rooms of the respective winners. Xuan received his Residual Spirit Vest, just as promised, and yes, it was still invisible. After letting Zhi Ruo touch it, however, she finally believed what he said about having concrete evidence—after all, even though it was invisible, it could still be felt.

After slipping the chest armor on underneath his outer clothes, Xuan stood up from his seat and tried to move his arms around. They didn't feel restrained at all—perhaps that was part of the artifact's features as well. It felt incredibly light, so much so that it was as if it didn't exist at all, and was also made of soft material so that it was comfortable for the wearer.

All in all, a great artifact—especially for the price. Xuan had made a killing this time around just from this piece alone, but… he wasn't quite done yet.

"Let's go, senior sister. There's a show to watch."

"Oh… you're right," Zhi Ruo said, realizing what Xuan was talking about as soon as she glanced out the window inside their private room. "It's already started, huh?"

Xuan gave a nod, then headed out of their room, Zhi Ruo in tow. Little did she know, Xuan wasn't simply going to watch—he was going to steal.

After all, while two dogs fought over a bone, a third would always run away with it.

*****

Outside, all the various attendees of the auction today had gathered, forming a circle around Zhou He and Zhou Hai, who were only trying to leave.

"… What is the meaning of this, everyone?"

"Ah… you see, after some consideration, we believe that the location on the map should be revealed to all of us," the blacksmith, Yuan Huojing, said, arms folded. "Of course, we'll all pay an according price, but as fellow pillars of this city, shouldn't you share the wealth with the rest of us, brother Zhou?"

Fang Chi, the Fang family patriarch, gave a nod. "That's right, Old Zhou. Our families have had a good relationship for many years, and as you know, my Jian'er also studies the way of the sword. What do you say we let the younger generation go in and compete amongst themselves for how much they can obtain from the inheritance?"

"… And if I say no?" Zhou He challenged, narrowing his eyes.

"Then I'm afraid… we will have to do some more convincing."

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"Apologies, Patriarch Zhou…" Bai Zhu muttered with a conflicted expression on his face. "I originally hadn't wanted to do this, but… the way of the sword happens to be the most popular one. My disciple, too, studies it."

"I paid 15 million Spirit Crystals to get my hands on this map… and now you want me to share it? Isn't that somewhat unfair, everyone? This Zhou has maintained a good relationship with all of you over the years, is there any need to go this far?"

"We will all pay you an according amount, like we said," Gong Guanting, leader of the Xianxia Bank's branch in Cloud Catcher City, replied. "Please don't make it seem like we are robbing you, patriarch Zhou."

"Hahaha!" Zhou He laughed. "This is a forced negotiation, is it not? I have no say in the matter. If this isn't robbery, what is? It seems I will have to exchange a few pointers with the lot of you here, then."

Saying this, he narrowed his eyes and prepared to fight, while the other members of the senior generation did the same. The youngsters who came with them naturally backed away for this was not a battle of a scale they could interfere in. Xuan and Zhi Ruo, on the other hand, hid a good distance away, each concealing their presences through different means—Xuan using Ruo Xi's brooch, and Zhi Ruo using a pill—fitting of an alchemist.

The battle began with a flash—Yuan Huojing leaped towards Zhou Hai with a flaming palm martial skill, while Bai Zhu summoned two grand trees beside the Zhou family patriarch to restrain him.

Meanwhile, Xuan had plans of his own, and used one of the Twelve Zodiac Techniques—Mouse Spirit. Instantly, a cute gray mouse made of raw Qi formed in Xuan's hand, looking up at its master for instructions.

"… Go. Wait for the right moment, then snatch Zhou He's Space Ring."

The mouse gave a squeak of understanding before scurrying off, turning invisible in the process as it vanished from sight.

"… Will this really work?" Zhi Ruo asked quietly, glancing in worry at the unfolding fight. "It's eight against one. Zhou He will be defeated quite quickly, will he not?"

But Xuan shook his head. "It is clear that all of them our holding back their real strengths. After all, they still want to maintain a decent relationship with the Zhou family even after this kerfuffle… not to mention each of them also have their own selfish goals in mind, even though it may seem like they've reached a consensus on the surface."

"You mean… once someone gets ahold of the map, they'll instantly bolt with it?"

"Yes. They can only leave by going to the place we spawned in at and destroying the jade slip there, no?"

Zhi Ruo nodded. "You seem… quite experienced with Soul dimensions. Have you been to one before?"

Xuan shook his head, wanting to change the topic. "Incidentally, there is one thing I'm curious about…"

"What is it?"

"… Won't the City Lord be alerted of the fighting that happens in here?"

Surprisingly, however, Zhi Ruo only laughed. "No, no. Of course not. This isn't the first time something like this has happened, you see. Everyone here knows how to hold back, and the City Lord currently has his hands full with the hunting party happening later. As long as no one dies or gets gravely injured, this incident will not reach his ears."

"I see…"

In that case, Xuan was safe—no one would be able to track down his Mouse Spirit after the fact except for the owner of the Soul dimension, which—in this case—was undoubtedly the City Lord Yun Liao.

While the various powerhouses fought, Xuan's Mouse Spirit snuck by all of them, crawling on the ground and making use of its small frame. Not only was it invisible, it was also weightless since it was made of raw Qi. Despite that, however, it actually had quite a bit of intelligence, as seen from how it sneakily crawled onto Zhou He's robes and began making its way up.

Normal mice would not be able to do this. Their bodies were far too heavy for them to climb a smooth surface like this vertically. However, since this Mouse Spirit was weightless, it easily made its way up Zhou He's clothes, to his shoulders, arms, and finally, his wrist.

Things weren't going to go so smoothly, however, as Zhou He suddenly moved his arm to block an attack, and the mouse spirit was nearly thrown off. It clung on for dear life until things stabilized again, then went for the prize.

With a great leap, the rat jumped from Zhou He's robe sleeve to his finger, and using its momentum, pulled off the ring in one smooth motion. Zhou He, immediately realizing something was wrong, turned to look at his hand—and found nothing where his Space Ring should've been.

"You… bastards!"

Thinking it was the work of someone amongst the powerhouses he was fighting, Zhou He narrowed his eyes in anger and began channeling an incredibly amount of Qi.

"I never thought you would resort to such underhanded methods, everyone… but if that is the case, I need to step it up as well, don't I?"

With a loud bellow, Zhou He activated his armor artifact. He was taking this battle seriously now.

"What? What are you talking about?"

"Patriarch Zhou, this is a bit too far-"

The other powerhouses, confused at what was happening, all readied themselves for a more intense fight.

"Prepare yourselves!"

All the while, Xuan's mouse spirit scurried back to its owner, its mission accomplished.

*****

"Good job." Xuan smiled upon seeing his temporary pet return, taking it up into his hand and patting its head softly. The mouse spirit snuggled up to him cutely before dropping the Space Ring into his hand from its mouth. Since it was made of pure Qi, there wasn't even any saliva coating it—perfect.

'The Space Ring of the Zhou family patriarch… heh. There's bound to be plenty of treasures in here, no?'

Standing back up straight, Xuan began making his way over to the entrance point of the Soul dimension, with Zhi Ruo following behind.

"You know… you're strangely caring towards animals," she noted. "For how emotionless you are towards most people, anyway."

"Animals are far easier to understand than people, are they not?" Xuan replied, wearing a gentle smile as the mouse spirit faded away to nothingness in his hand.

"Hm… you really are strange. I kind of understand it, though~"

With a happy smile, Zhi Ruo turned away from Xuan and looked ahead, while the latter fell into thought. In his past life, he'd been a Ninth-Order Beast Tamer, with countless Magic Beasts under his command. That was why he was warm towards animals—the human companions and friends he lacked, he made up for with beasts.

'Xiao Yan, Xiao Hua, Shi'er, and everyone else… I wonder how you're all doing?' Xuan thought, remembering his old companions as he and Zhi Ruo cracked the jade slips in their hands, exiting the Soul dimension.

The plan had succeeded, and Xuan had gotten away scot-free.