Chapter Forty-Three: The Celestial Source Auction House

The Tianyuan Auction House had royal backing, with its main branch in the capital and eighteen branches scattered nationwide. The branch in Jiangning Prefecture was among the largest. When the two entered the auction hall, the ground floor was already packed, not a seat left vacant. The auction had yet to begin; the woman presiding over the event had just ascended the stage to prepare. She was not stunningly beautiful, but her smiling eyes and subtle allure held a captivating charm.

Seeing her, Ning Mofei’s mood suddenly plummeted. “That’s Lanmei, Yu’er’s younger sister,” he murmured. It took a moment for Fish Youwei to recall that Yu’er was the maid by Ning Mofei’s side—the last girl his mother had ordered beaten to death. Fish Youwei had no desire to comment on that, so she changed the subject: “Let’s find somewhere to sit.”

A young attendant in blue hurried down the stairs leading to the VIP rooms on the second floor. Before he reached them, Ning Mofei’s face lit up with joy and he laughed, “Changsheng, my father’s here too!” He grabbed Fish Youwei and dashed up the crimson-carpeted steps.

“The fool from the Ning family showed up, and that’s his wife, isn’t it?”
“Ah, another tender cabbage trampled by a pig.”

Two mocking voices drifted from behind. The Ning family’s attendant, Changsheng, spun around and shouted angrily, “Who are you talking about!”

Fish Youwei, uninterested in such petty squabbles, said coolly, “Changsheng, they’re just two stray dogs barking. Why waste your breath? Mofei, come on, your father’s waiting.”

But Ning Mofei refused to budge, pointing furiously at the pair of slick, pampered youths in the crowd. “I know they’re insulting me!”

Fish Youwei took his hand, smiling gently. “Yes, of course. They’re jealous of how handsome you are, Mofei.”

The crowd was rife with mischief, and mocking whistles arose. The two instigators burst into exaggerated laughter.

Seeing Ning Mofei’s face turn purple with anger, Fish Youwei’s heart softened. She nestled closer to him, raised her sleeve, and asked in a coquettish voice, “Mofei, do you think there’s any woman here more beautiful than me?”

“None. Youwei is the most beautiful,” Ning Mofei declared firmly.

The auction hall fell silent; no one dared to whistle now.

Fish Youwei chuckled softly, her voice syrupy. “Others may not agree, though.”

“I say Youwei is the most beautiful, and so she is.” Sweeping away his earlier vulnerability, Ning Mofei declared with boldness, his long phoenix eyes flashing with spirit. In that instant, his presence was reminiscent of his third brother’s icy composure.

“That’s right! As long as I think Mofei is the most handsome and formidable, who cares what those stray dogs call him?” Fish Youwei’s snowy-white grace flashed with a heroic confidence, radiating a wild yet seductive charm. Even those cultivators in the VIP rooms upstairs, whose minds were tempered, couldn’t help but be moved.

“Mm, let’s ignore the stray dogs. Come, let’s find Father.” The simple-hearted Ning Mofei joyfully pulled Fish Youwei upstairs. As he pushed open the door, someone inside remarked, “Mofei ended up with that wife—who knows if it’s a blessing or a curse?” Instantly enraged, Ning Mofei shouted, “Which stray dog is barking?”

All seven people in the room turned to look.

Seated beside his father, Ning Guodong, was a burly old man with a thick beard, a scar slashing across his face deep enough to reveal bone, exuding a fierce aura. Having been insulted, he only laughed. “This lad is quite spirited.”

Ning Guodong suppressed a smile and scolded, “Mofei, apologize to your Uncle Chen Feng, or you won’t get your meeting gift.” The first part sounded like a proper father’s admonition, but the latter half was so amusing the whole room burst into laughter—except Ning Mofei, who still held a grudge.

Turning away, Ning Mofei said coolly, “I don’t care for this stray dog’s gift. Youwei, let’s leave.”

The bearded Chen Feng wasn’t offended, laughing heartily. “This stubborn brat!”

Ning Guodong smiled in silence.

Fish Youwei tugged lightly at Ning Mofei’s sleeve, whispering, “Don’t refuse a free gift—let’s see what it is first.”

Ning Mofei turned to Chen Feng with a look that said, “Let’s see the gift; if it’s not good, I won’t take it.” The entire room laughed again.

Bearded Chen Feng tossed him a pair of jade bracelets. As Ning Mofei reached out, they hovered before him, encircled by swirling rings of shimmering colors, shaped like a phoenix.

“What beautiful bracelets!” With a childlike mind and temperament, Ning Mofei’s mood shifted as quickly as turning a page—his gloom vanished, replaced by radiant delight.

“This gift, surely it’s worth a greeting to Uncle Chen?” Chen Feng prompted with a smile.

“Hello, Uncle Chen,” Ning Mofei responded politely, clutching the bracelets and bowing.

“Is this child teachable?” Chen Feng teased Ning Mofei, then turned to Fish Youwei. In his gaze flashed a trace of age and sorrow. “Has Brother Tianming’s posthumous daughter grown so much already?”

Fish Youwei’s expression changed, her smile vanishing. Her father was a wound she would bear forever—in her past life, and now. Even with the strength to protect herself, deep down she still longed for paternal affection.

Ning Guodong’s face grew somber. “The Fish family never disclosed Tianming had a posthumous daughter. I only learned of Youwei when I went to propose marriage and discovered she’d been raised outside the family.”

“Tianming did so much for the Fish family, and they didn’t dare care for his daughter?” Chen Feng roared in anger, his beard and hair bristling, seeming fierce and imposing.

“It wasn’t the Fish family, but his wife. You know her father is Master Ying of the Sword Sect.” Ning Guodong explained, steering the conversation to tales of the brothers’ travels in their younger days.

Yet Fish Youwei’s heart was stirred: so her stepmother was the Sword Sect master’s daughter. To curry favor with her, the Fish elders let her live fourteen years branded as an illegitimate child, and because the stepmother refused to marry her daughter to the Ning family’s fool, Youwei had to reclaim her status as a Fish daughter to wed into the Ning family. Damn, that was sheer bullying!

“Youwei, are you upset?” Ning Mofei asked gently, leaning close.

“No, I was just wondering who these people are.” Fish Youwei gestured casually at the five seated on either side, but her heart skipped a beat: all five had deep, dark purple eyes—were they beasts?

Chen Feng explained, “These are friends I made in the Sea of Divine Burial, the Purple-Eyed Ape Clan: Big Meng, Second Meng, Third Meng, Fourth Meng, Fifth Meng.”

“What is the Sea of Divine Burial?” Fish Youwei asked, puzzled. It wasn’t marked on the eastern continent’s maps. Had Uncle Chen traveled beyond the East?

“The Sea of Divine Burial lies in the triangle between the eastern, southern, and central continents. The Purple-Eyed Ape Clan are descended from ancient divine apes, also called demi-gods.” Chen Feng finished, then smiled. “Next time, Uncle will take you out to sea.”

“Wonderful!”

Before Fish Youwei could reply, the simple-minded Ning Mofei had already leapt up in delight.

[Author’s note]: Thank you for your support