The mysterious man.
Outside, calm, as if unbothered by the gazes that poked his cloak like sharp needles.
Unbothered?
It wasn't exactly the right term to put it.
Or rather, a calm facade over a raging storm inside.
Hey!
Hey!
Don't look too much!
Then...
Seemingly to respond to his outburst just now.
From somewhere deep within him, a voice stirred, tone deep and scrapped, clearly indicating the age.
"If I hadn't stepped in, that person would have seen through you instantly, Boy"
"You're nothing more than a rabbit trying to wear a tiger's skin here"
"One slip, and you'd have been stripped bare in front of everyone."
"And for that, I too will be implicated"
"And I promise you, if not for the lack of my ability to escape, I would've done so"
The voice sounded rough, indifferent even.
But the boy's eyes simply narrowed upon hearing this, peeking around from under his hood, subtle glances.
Especially the monks that sat close to him.
There was a one meter and a half gap from each seat, a relief he must say so.
Dragging his gaze back to the front, the venue still spilling in from the prior's laugh that boomer across the underground auction hall just now.
The boy's lips parted but faltered, his throat dry. "W–well… still…"
His attempt at a response stumbled, coming out uneven.
His fingers twitched against the wooden armrest, nails rasping lightly over the grain.
Then dragging his right hand, waving at the front, strange gesture, but perhaps a way for him to release his anxiousness.
But...
For the monks around him, this gesture that he randomly performed seemed mysterious and profound.
"Hiss, what is that Senior doing?"
"Waving his hand?"
"Is he perhaps gesturing that it's a small matter against the laugh just now?"
"Uhh, brother... I think you read too much into the gesture"
"Then? What do you think the gesture meant?"
"C-could it be!?"
"Yes, you guessed it right"
"It's probably another mysterious secret technique that this Senior is using. What an unpredictable expert! Everything filled with hidden and calculated intentions!"
Alas...
The boy's youthful face under the hood could only smile wryly when he heard these remarks, hurriedly retracting his hand and placing it over the armrest.
He hunched a little, trying to find something casual in his tone though it slipped from his grasp. "How big of a bigshot was he really?"
The cultivator seated close by happened to glance over.
His eyes fell on the boy's trembling hand, and his expression froze.
A shiver coursed through him, shoulders stiffening as if struck by a sudden chill.
'S–such a terrifying aura!' the man's thoughts scattered wildly. 'Could it be… this senior is cultivating in silence right here? What intensity! What presence! What dedication!'
The boy caught the half–muttered words under the man's breath.
His head jerked slightly, eyes widening, and he nearly swallowed his tongue.
Heat prickled over his neck.
Me? Cultivating? If he laughed, it would give him away.
If he stayed silent, it felt even worse.
His body stiffened, trapped between wanting to sink into his seat and wanting to crawl under the table altogether.
The old voice returned, answering the boy's prior question.
"…I cannot gauge his realm."
"And that alone meant the person behind this rising force might be more terrifying that what I anticipated"
The words hung in the air.
The boy's brows pinched tight, breath stilled as he waited.
The pause stretched on, pressing down heavier the longer it lingered.
Finally, the old man's voice came again, lower this time, almost unwilling. "When my divine mind brushed against him, it struck something"
"It seemed to be a vast Divine mind, a scale that I had never seen before in my life"
"I tried making out the figures shuttling the space, but they were simply too huge"
"Boy, be careful not to let your guards down. If possible, stay hidden for awhile after the auction ended, but still within this area"
Hearing that, the boy's anxious eyes couldn't help but turned back to the front, and he asked, "What do you mean by that, Old man? Staying around here with this expert in this city?"
"I do not know what exactly are attracting me here before, but now... I am certain" The old voice came again, this time confident, "The benefits that I sensed before, they definitely originated from this expert here"
"I do not know who he is or where he came from. Potentially from the regions faraway from our place, but his presence here without a doubt would bring us benefits"
"And most obviously, safety"
"Safety" The boy murmured back the old man's words, "Since the benefits that you mentioned are true, then does that also mean?"
"Yes, the red fog calamity this time without a doubt is what I had guessed, and it will come through, exactly... "
"Being here is for our best interest. When the sky falls, I doubted this Senior would just sit around and do nothing"
"The red fog calamity, this one... Is it really that much worse?"
"The calamity aura that I felt around this region, it was as deep as the ocean that surrounded our land. But here, I felt none. It was as if this piece of land had been spared death by the heaven's will"
The boy shifted, his spine stiff against the chair's backrest.
His gaze flicked downward, caught on the faint grain of the wooden floor, though the lines blurred under the tension pulling at his face. He swallowed hard, lips pressing into a thin line.
The voice softened. "Later, when you go to claim the items you won at this bidding, make sure to find a way to stay inside this building until it is truly safe to go outside"
"What? But how am I supposed to find out whether it was safe outside or not, Old man"
"Plus, do you think they would just allow me to linger around more than neccesary inside this place?"
His worries were justifiable, or in a way.... Logical. But instead of proper solution, the old man's voice came again, "and that is for you to figure it out yourself. Don't worry, I am here to protect you. That is unless that Senior suddenly decided that attacking you might be in his best interest, who knows"
The boy tried to rebute, because the old man's request sounded ridiculous
The boy's chest rose and fell unevenly, "But... "
"Don't worry, I felt no malice from the expert. If he wanted to, he would've killed us already, the strong doesn't need to think twice on such a matter"
The old man's voice carried on, every syllable deliberate. "If it wasn't that, then that Senior might have taken an interest in you"
Chuckled the old man, "By that, might as well bow now and place your forehead against the ground. With such an unfathomable Senior backing you, nothing and no one can threaten us in this region"
The boy's breath caught in his throat.
He leaned forward slightly, elbows pressing against his thighs, eyes darting toward the table as if it could shield him from the thought. His voice broke into a hushed rush.
"Old man, don't think too much, I am just an average kid that you found on the side of a street. No way such a person will be interested in me unless his sexual orientation is wrong" His words tangled, spilling faster than he intended. He licked his lips, the dryness still clinging to them. "That shouldn't even be possible, should it?"
The old voice did not answer immediately.
But letting the silence lingered for a brief while, "Maybe... Who knows"