You Have Been Invited to the Auction House of the Gods - Chapter 93

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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93

 

 

A small city in Fangcheng.

 

Since it was market day, the streets were quite crowded.

 

People’s voices, merchants’ bargaining, and all sorts of miscellaneous noise mixed together to fill the streets with bustling sounds.

 

Pushing through the crowd, I entered a small tea house that was our meeting place.

 

Unlike the bustling outside, the interior of the tea house was quite leisurely.

 

I would have preferred to meet at a franchise coffee shop,

but finding a Starbucks in an unknown small Chinese city wasn’t exactly easy.

 

At least I was fortunate there was a tea house.

 

I took a seat with a good view of the outside scenery through the open window.

 

I liked this sense of openness.

 

For security purposes, a corner seat would have been better, but whatever.

 

There was no one here who would recognize me anyway,

and my clothes already had considerable disguise magic woven into them.

 

Before long, the plum tea I ordered arrived.

 

I picked up the teaspoon to stir the tea once, then put it back down.

 

‘They’ve infiltrated even a place like this.’

 

Well, that’s probably how they know everything from Liu Chen’s movement route to the meeting places.

 

Now I could distinguish them to some extent.

Whether it was a goblin in disguise, or a real spoon…

 

The teaspoon I had put down was a Sadangpae goblin.

 

I gently swirled my teacup and took a sip.

 

I had only looked away from the table for a moment,

but somehow a small message had been placed there.

 

It seemed new information had come in.

 

I checked the contents and immediately burned it with karmic fire.

 

The content wasn’t much.

 

Liu Chen had suddenly changed his route and it would take time for him to reach this place.

 

It seemed I was being stood up today.

 

I rested my chin on my hand and looked out the window.

 

Observing the bustling market scene was quite interesting.

More precisely, it was closer to people-watching.

 

Come to think of it, it had been quite a while since I enjoyed leisure time in a place where no one recognized me.

 

At least in Korea and Japan, it was impossible.

 

The power of media is truly great.

 

My videos were spreading even across those seas.

 

A quiet small city where phones don’t work and only locals would even know its name.

 

…Now that I think about it again, aren’t these perfect conditions for getting kidnapped?

 

Let’s overlook the minor details.

 

While I was wasting time people-watching like that, quite an interesting fellow caught my eye.

 

A boy who appeared to be around ten years old, wearing a shabby Chinese martial arts uniform.

 

He had a fairly solid build, as if he was learning martial arts somewhere.

 

But that wasn’t what sparked my curiosity.

 

‘He’s carrying mana without even being awakened?’

 

Before I knew it, the fire mark in my eyes was glowing.

 

As far as I knew, the only way to gain a Hunter’s power without awakening was the cult’s ghost stone implantation technique.

 

But I didn’t sense any ghostly energy from the boy at all.

Rather, the energy the boy possessed wasn’t negative energy like ghostly energy, but something clear and pure, close to nature.

 

‘Since this is China, did he learn martial arts or something?’

 

I chuckled and shook my head.

If one could become superhuman through martial arts like in martial arts novels,

the world’s number one superpower would be China, not the United States.

 

‘Still, I should investigate.’

 

The boy’s energy was faint, but it definitely existed.

 

That fact alone was enough to make it worth investigating.

 

While I was organizing my thoughts, a commotion broke out in the market.

 

“You thieving bastard!”

 

A rough shout could be heard.

 

“Where did you hide the necklace!”

 

At the center of the commotion was one fuming Merchant and a Boy with a flustered expression.

 

The Boy, whose wrist was roughly grabbed, shook his head with a bewildered expression.

 

“No! I never stole anything.”

 

I knew the Boy’s words were true.

 

I had no particular intention of taking sides.

However, I had been watching the whole time, but I hadn’t seen the Boy steal anything.

 

For the Merchant’s words to be true, the Boy would have had to steal the necklace from that Merchant’s stall while evading my S-rank Hunter eyes.

 

How could that make any sense?

 

“Look at this kid, even lying now?”

 

The Merchant roughly yanked at the old necklace hanging around the Boy’s neck.

 

Even if the Boy had some weak mana, he was still just a child.

Moreover, his energy was quite feeble too.

He had no way to withstand someone with more than twice his build.

 

The Boy lost his balance and fell to the floor.

 

“Look at this! A worn-out kid from the Martial Arts School had this kind of necklace?”

 

When the necklace appeared in the Merchant’s hand, even the skeptical Onlookers began to join in the condemnation one by one.

 

“If this isn’t stolen, then what is it?”

 

‘Hmm, what should I do…’

 

I fell into contemplation about whether to save the Boy or not.

 

In a normal situation, helping the Boy would be the right thing to do, but…

 

The problem was that my current situation wasn’t exactly normal.

 

In a situation where I had illegally entered without a visa, stepping forward to save the Boy might put me in considerable trouble.

 

“It’s a keepsake I received from my Mother. Please give it back!”

 

The Boy grabbed the Merchant’s wrist.

 

When the Merchant tried to pull his wrist away but it wouldn’t budge, he became flustered instead.

 

And that bewilderment led to action.

 

“This brat is still at it!”

 

With those words, the Merchant’s hand rose up.

 

‘Sigh…’

 

I sighed inwardly and got up from my seat.

 

Before the Merchant’s hand could reach the Boy’s cheek, I extended my hand.

 

“That’s enough.”

 

The Merchant slowly turned his head.

 

“…Who are you?”

 

Perhaps mistaking me for Public Security, there was wariness mixed in The Man’s tone.

 

“Just a passerby.”

 

But once he confirmed I was an outsider, rough words poured from The Man’s mouth.

 

“Then why don’t you keep passing by instead of butting in and causing trouble?”

 

Exactly, I want to just pass by too, but you keep crossing the line.

 

“Do you have proof that this Boy stole the necklace?”

 

“Good grief. Don’t you see the necklace in my hand?”

 

Oh, I can see it very well.

 

“So what?”

 

“Since you’re an outsider, you probably don’t know, but that Martial Arts School brat is an orphan who couldn’t afford a necklace like this even if he worked his whole life.”

 

“So is that item from your store?”

 

“Of course…”

 

I instantly snatched the necklace from the man’s hand.

 

When I opened the center ornament, inside was a photo of a young woman.

 

“Do you sell other people’s mothers’ photos in your shop too?”

 

“…”

 

At my words, the merchant closed his mouth.

 

That settled the matter.

 

But the atmosphere was cold.

 

Even though the truth had been revealed, people were still glaring at the boy.

 

I grabbed the boy by the scruff of his neck, set him upright, and left that place.

 

“You seem unfamiliar since you’re an outsider, but if you meddle carelessly, you’ll get hurt badly.”

I lightly ignored the merchant’s words.

 

‘Tch, finding a place to sleep in this village is hopeless.’

 

***

 

I set the boy down at the village outskirts.

 

“…Thank you.”

 

The boy bowed his head in gratitude, took the necklace, and turned around.

 

This was as far as I could help.

 

I had already crossed the line anyway.

 

Whatever wrong the boy had done, or whatever related to the boy had done wrong—

now that was none of my business.

 

Having entered illegally, if I stuck my nose in any further, real trouble could arise.

 

I also needed to find another city and secure accommodation before it got dark.

 

“…”

 

That’s what I should have done.

 

I silently watched the back of the boy limping away on one ankle.

 

“Damn it…”

 

I strode over, grabbed the boy by the scruff of his neck, and hoisted him onto my back.

 

“Wh, what?!”

 

“What do you mean ‘what.’ Where do I need to go?”

 

“You don’t have to do this.”

 

“Forget it. I’ll take you there. And let me stay one night. It seems like it’ll be hard to find accommodation in that village.”

 

The boy looked at me with bewildered eyes, then finally nodded.

 

“…Over there.”

 

***

 

I kept walking following where the boy pointed.

 

Houses decreased one by one, and before I knew it, I was climbing a mountain path.

 

A mountain path so rough that I wondered if there could really be a martial arts school in such a place.

 

Suddenly a thought of ‘what if?’ crossed my mind.

 

All sorts of criminal scenarios came to mind.

 

Illegal activities using people with low psychological barriers like women, children, and the elderly flashed quickly through my head.

 

And that connected to the reason why the village people hated the boy.

 

A criminal organization disguised as a martial arts school.

Begging and criminal activities using children.

 

For a child who knew nothing yet to receive that level of hatred, there wasn’t really anything else it could be.

 

Moreover, I happened to be an outsider.

Someone who couldn’t be found even if I disappeared here.

 

But I soon shook off the useless thoughts.

 

There was no reason to harm me, who had saved him.

Even if my delusion were true, so what.

 

How many people in this country could pose a threat to me.

 

With such confidence, I pushed through the bushes and finally arrived in front of an old estate.

 

The gate was half open.

And through the gap, a huge shadow stretched long.

 

This was more unexpected than anything I had anticipated.

 

And for good reason, since the giant figure in front of that gate was someone I knew all too well.

 

“Zhang Qingye…?”

 

China’s former S-rank Hunter.

The one who had been called Paseongcha stood there.

 

***

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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