Chapter 570: Interrogation
In the night of Moncala, within the vast Feilong Theatre, the much-anticipated auction event was being held in an enthusiastic atmosphere. Exhibits were being presented one after another, and bids were being placed at escalating prices. Amidst rounds of thunderous applause, the event reached its peak.
“Congratulations to the guest in Box No. 9 for winning this exquisite Usuo carved bone staff at the high price of 20,000 Lira! May this ancient craftsmanship bring you good fortune! Our lot No. 16 has also been successfully sold tonight!”
As the host’s small hammer fell once again, another item was sold at a high price, and amidst the applause, the elevator on stage slowly descended, bringing the exhibited item back behind the scenes.
“Ladies and gentlemen, the auction is drawing to a close. Before we present the final highlight item, let us first take a look at the next small offering. Now, let us present Lot No. 17 of tonight, the Crystal Bottle from the Palace of Wike in Faraluo!”
With the host’s elevated announcement, the elevator beside him started operating again. Amidst the rumbling machinery, another small platform was raised to the stage, displaying a transparent little crystal bottle.
“The Wike Blue Palace is a famous palace of the Sunshine Flower Dynasty in Faraluo, and this crystal bottle is a prized artifact from it. It is said that the royal family of the Sunshine Flower Dynasty had a refined lifestyle of consuming morning dew. This crystal bottle was designed to collect and preserve the royal morning dew, so if any guests wish to experience the royal life of Faraluo, be sure not to miss it. Starting bid: 4,000 Lira!”
Addressing the audience in front of him, the host spoke loudly, prompting a new round of bidding to begin. The attendees in the audience and boxes started to submit their offers. However, it seemed that the perceived value of this crystal bottle was not particularly high among the spectators, leading to a less fierce competition in the bids. Compared to many earlier high-priced items, the final sale price of the crystal bottle didn’t seem like it would be much either.
As the bidding progressed steadily, in one of the boxes nearby, Edward, dressed in a cotton robe, silently observed the scene before him. After witnessing several dull bids for ordinary mundane items, impatience began to surface in the depths of this powerful Extraordinary Being’s eyes.
Not far from Edward, Tonik was also quietly focused on the ongoing auction. Suddenly, it seemed he sensed something, and his expression sharpened. He raised his right arm to his ear, maintaining the posture for a moment before a glimmer appeared in his eyes.
“Captain, Lord Jianlin has sent word; the time for the transaction has come.”
Lowering his hand, Tonik respectfully spoke to the stoic Edward. Upon hearing Tonik’s words, Edward raised his eyebrows slightly and then responded.
“Let’s hear it… Did Jianlin finish inspecting the goods? How does he plan to deliver them to me?”
“Lord Jianlin has confirmed your outcomes, Captain. The corruption seed on Sister Vania has been planted, and he is prepared to complete this transaction. The crystal bottle being auctioned onstage contains the water of the Fountain of Eternal Youth; all you need to do is win it, and the fountain water will belong to you.”
Bowing slightly to Edward, Tonik smiled as he conveyed this information. Edward paused briefly upon hearing Tonik’s words, then shifted his gaze to the sparkling crystal bottle on the central exhibit stage. After inspecting it, he couldn’t help but snort before speaking.
“Hmph, he really went to great lengths to avoid showing his face in front of me…”
Having said that, Edward turned to his attendant and softly commanded.
“Double the bid and secure it.”
Listening to Edward’s words, the attendant nodded, then took out a larger bidding card from the previously unused ones and walked to the edge of the box, raising it high.
“The Wike Palace Crystal Bottle! The current bid is 9,000 Lira, is there any higher bid? This royal artifact from the Palace of Faraluo has both artistic and practical values, making it a treasure not to be missed.
“9,000 Lira once, 9,000 Lira twice… 9,000… Oh! The guest in Box No. 14 has directly shown a doubled card! Indicating an intention to win this treasure for a high price of 18,000 Lira! It seems this guest is quite determined to have it!”
The host exclaimed loudly, and the audience couldn’t help but turn their attention toward the box that suddenly bid so much. Many knowledgeable attendees knew that the value of the crystal bottle wasn’t high, and they secretly laughed at the unsuspecting “big spender” willing to spend so much extra money.
“18,000 Lira once, 18,000 Lira twice, 18,000 Lira, sold! Congratulations to the guest in Box No. 14 for winning the item they desired! Let’s give them a round of applause!”
On the central stage, the host cheered after seeing the new bid, and the audience generously applauded again. Meanwhile, inside Box No. 14, upon hearing that the item was successfully auctioned, Edward slowly rose from his seat.
“Get the item and head back to Junhai Fortress immediately; I need to inspect the goods…”
“Yes.”
As he stood up, Edward spoke to his subordinate. His attendants promptly surrounded him, taking Tonik along as they left the box.
With their gains in hand, Edward departed the scene early, embarking on the journey back to his base. Meanwhile, this grand auction was gradually reaching its conclusion, though it only appeared so on the surface.
In another box, a pale-faced man with deep dark circles under his eyes sat motionlessly in a chair, expressionless as he observed the noisy scene. He murmured slowly.
“Soon…”
After the sale of the crystal bottle, the final highlight item was presented on stage. Under the guidance of the host, round after round of high bids were placed, and finally, the crowning artifact of the Northern Ufeiga civilization was auctioned off at the highest price of 31,000 Lira, breaking the auction record for the night.
Ultimately, after the host delivered the closing remarks, this auction finally came to an end. Amidst the melodious music, the host stepped onto the elevator, slowly descending from the stage as the audience began to rise and leave. The entire auction was now gradually dispersing.
However, not all attendees chose to leave immediately during this process of dispersal. Some in the audience and a considerable number in the boxes remained unmoving, still sitting in their places, patiently waiting, and no staff attempted to drive them away.
Finally, after a while of dispersing, the originally bustling venue suddenly became very empty and cold. Only a sparse thirty or so spectators remained seated in the vast audience area, many of whom wore oversized clothing and hats that obscured their identities. All present sat quietly, silently and patiently waiting for something. There were many others like them still inside the boxes.
After the band also departed, there were no other individuals left in the venue aside from the lingering spectators. At this moment, the originally bright lights in the venue gradually dimmed. Around the venue, a circle of black-clad guards appeared silently, standing in a circle and solemnly watching the few remaining individuals.
Then, without any accompanying music, the elevator in the center of the stage emitted a series of dull and continuous sounds. As the noises continued, the elevator rose again, bringing up a mature woman dressed in a black formal dress and wearing a half mask.
After stepping onto the stage, the woman surveyed the cold surroundings and gave a slight bow before slowly speaking.
“To those esteemed guests who are aware of the hidden aspects of this world, gathered from all shadows, welcome to the latter half of this auction, where true treasures beyond the mundane will be displayed for your selection. May you all acquire the items you desire tonight.”
The new auction host launched into a new introduction for the scant audience in the venue. She then reached toward the elevator beside her, and amidst the continued mechanical sounds, a new item was slowly being brought to the stage.
“Without further ado, I present to you tonight’s Lot No. 19, the first Extraordinary item, the Face Tree Bark of the Orlu!”
As the host’s words concluded, the new auction item rose fully onto the stage. Displayed before the remaining audience was a piece of aged bark hanging on a platform, sculpted with a human-like face, appearing to breathe evenly as though it were truly alive.
“It is said that the Orlu, nearly extinct, possessed a secret burial rite. After d*ath, the Orlu would voluntarily allow trees in their habitat to consume their bodies, allowing their faces to grow upon the trees, forming human-face trees. Faces that appeared on these trees could possess powerful extraordinary powers, becoming guardians for the Orlu. Moreover, the facial bark of the human-face tree has numerous extraordinary effects, serving as pivotal materials in many ‘Cup’ rituals and for crafting living wood and disguise masks.
“A piece of human-face tree facial bark, starting bid at 40,000 Lira, let the bidding begin.”
Facing the cold scene before her, the masked female host made the announcement in a tone devoid of much emotion, and the new intense bidding commenced.
Meanwhile, the pale man with dark circles around his eyes remained seated in his position, awaiting something, showing no inclination to compete for the item being auctioned.
As for the man wearing the serpent ring, he had long since disappeared with his servant from his box, showing little interest in the latter half of the auction.
…
Just as the auction at Feilong Theatre progressed into the latter half, a furious fire was dangerously raging inside the solid Junhai Fortress of Moncala.
“Ah!!”
A piercing scream echoed throughout the vast audience hall of Junhai Fortress, where Tonik, the Extraordinary Being, lay bloodied on the floor, convulsing. His body was riddled with dozens of various-sized bl**d holes, and fresh bl**d poured from them, creating a mess of bl**d on his terrified and bewildered face.
“Ah… Edward, what’s happening… why…”
Lying on the ground, Tonik gazed at the elderly man seated in the main chair of the audience hall, struggling to cry out. Meanwhile, Edward sat composed on his throne, shaking the small crystal bottle in his hand coldly as he replied.
“What’s happening? That’s what I want to ask you… Is this the Fountain of Eternal Youth that Jianlin promised me? How can the essence be so thin in this? Is this how something that can grant fifty years of life looks? Do you really think I can be fooled so easily?”
“The essence is thin… No, this should be the correct crystal bottle… It has to be the Fountain of Eternal Youth…” Tonik murmured in a daze, enduring the excruciating pain in his body. Edward responded sternly.
“Shut up! There’s no room for talk here—have Jianlin speak to me directly!”
Edward shouted angrily at Tonik. Upon hearing Edward’s furious roar, Tonik paused briefly, then trembled as he raised his arm, pulling back the sleeve to reveal a tightly shut face.
Next, Tonik brought the face on his arm close to his mouth and whispered something before tremblingly raising it toward Edward. The eyes and mouth slowly opened, and a male voice looked at Edward from the arm.
“What’s going on? Edward, you should have received your reward by now; the Fountain of Eternal Youth can grant you fifty years of life.”
“The Fountain of Eternal Youth… You call this thing the Fountain of Eternal Youth?! With essence so thin, the main component is just ordinary water! Do you think you can use this to fool me, Jianlin?!”
Seeing the moving features on Tonik’s arm, Edward could no longer contain his fury, slamming his hand against the armrest, shattering the entire chair into pieces.
“Thin essence… water… No, Edward, I truly gave you the real Fountain of Eternal Youth! Did you make a mistake somewhere? Or are you not satisfied with what you received… and trying to extort more from me?”
After hearing Edward’s words, Jianlin’s voice spoke cautiously from the other side of the facial bark altar after a brief pause. Clearly, Jianlin found Edward’s words untrustworthy as Edward’s angered retort followed.
“Bullshit! Your fountain is definitely problematic! You want to bite back at me? This stuff is from that crystal bottle you concealed the essence in; I bid on it as you instructed! You come here and see for yourself if these few drops can grant fifty years! If you don’t come, I will come ask you myself…”
With a threatening tone, Edward yelled at Jianlin. Listening to Edward’s words, Jianlin’s end fell into silence momentarily, before continuing.
“Hmph… Although I don’t know what trick you’re trying to pull, I must say that you won’t find me right now, so don’t waste your efforts trying to seize me. However, if the Fountain of Eternal Youth you received truly has issues, I advise you to look for other reasons; don’t keep targeting me. I’ve already given the real Fountain of Eternal Youth to your auction house…”
“The auction house…”
Hearing Jianlin’s words, Edward suddenly paused slightly, then furrowed his brow, as if deep in thought. At this moment, hurried footsteps could be heard outside the audience hall door. Edward turned his gaze and saw his son Roland hurrying into the audience hall.
“Father! There’s been some special situation at the auction house.” Kneeling on one knee on the carpet in the audience hall, Roland respectfully reported after glancing at the bloodied Tonik beside him, while Edward immediately responded.
“What’s the situation? Tell me…”
“It was the auction house staff. The staff responsible for the first half suddenly fainted during the handover, and it took quite a while to wake them up…
“However… after they woke up, they were eager to go back to work! They completely forgot the memory of working tonight and didn’t realize their shift had ended. They said they seemed to be very tired when they came to work and inexplicably fell asleep until just now! Father, there’s likely some extraordinary force involved; the second half of the auction might have problems.”
Roland reported the strange incident he had been handling along with his speculations to Edward. Hearing Roland’s words, Edward couldn’t help but widen his eyes in shock, standing there momentarily before slowly murmuring.
“Hypnosis… Sleepwalking…”
As he spoke, Edward’s tone turned grim, his expression fearful. He gritted his teeth and spat out a word through clenched jaws.
“Black Dream…”
