"Haha, Nie Yun, that move was brilliant! Four carriages, all filled with stones to match the weight, all looking identical, and all fleeing in different directions. None of them actually had any Gold in them. The perfect misdirection! Even if Li Fu catches up to one, it'll be useless. I bet he wants to just die right now!"
In a private room at a restaurant, Yang Yan watched as the men from Fuyun Money Shop scurried about outside, apparently searching for someone. He lowered his voice, laughing excitedly as he looked at the young man before him.
Yang Yan had already washed off his Disguise and changed back into his own clothes. Looking at him now, no one would ever guess that this young man was the same fierce-looking, yet deceptively "simple-minded" Child from before.
Nie Yun sat across from him, having also reverted to his true appearance. He was neither handsome nor flashy, the type of person who wouldn't stand out in a crowd.
"Heh, that kind of Traitor got what he deserved. He's lucky we didn't kill him," Nie Yun chuckled, gently swirling the wine cup in his palm.
"'Traitor'? What's that? Oh, right! I'm really curious. You didn't use the carriages and you weren't carrying it, so where in the world did you put all that Gold? We're talking about more than eight thousand pounds of it!"
Yang Yan looked Nie Yun up and down several times, but he couldn't see any place where the Gold could be hidden. Unable to hold back, he voiced his confusion.
'Back in the courtyard of the Fuyun Money Shop, I thought Nie Yun had gotten the carriages to transport the Gold. But now it's clear that wasn't the plan at all; it was just a Blinding Technique. By the time I got back to the courtyard, over eight thousand pounds of Gold had vanished into thin air. I have no idea where it went!'
"I'll tell you about it later," Nie Yun said with a smile, not explaining further. "We've been at this all afternoon and it's getting dark. Let's grab a quick bite and head to the auction house. Otherwise, even with all this money, we won't be able to buy that battle-ax."
"Alright!" Seeing that he wasn't going to elaborate, Yang Yan didn't press the issue and began digging into the food in front of him.
In truth, it wasn't that Nie Yun didn't want to explain how he'd hidden so much Gold, but that he genuinely didn't know how. The reason was simple: he had placed all of it inside his Dantian!
"Dantian Storage" was a special talent. As the name suggested, it involved opening up one's Dantian to create a space capable of holding anything, and then simply placing items inside!
'My Dantian in my past life possessed this special ability. So yesterday, when my Bloodline Factor manifested and began nurturing my Pill Fire Dantian, it conveniently opened my Storage Dantian as well!'
Some people are born completely Ordinary, while others are born with special talents. For example, some are born with a gift for singing, while others are born with vocal problems. Some have a knack for business and management, while for others, the very thought of it is a headache.
The special talents on the continent were divided into many types. People with such abilities were generally called Masters of their respective fields. For example, Celestial Eye Masters possessed the Celestial Eye Talent, allowing them to see through objects, view things from a great distance, and perceive what Ordinary people could not. Tracking Masters were experts at Tracking; with their Tracking Talent, no one they laid eyes on could ever escape. Earth Masters possessed the Earth Travel talent, enabling them to move freely underground...
The legendary Divine Thief Qianhuan possessed the Divine Thief Talent, which allowed him to steal things with such skill that not even gods or ghosts would notice.
The Storage Dantian was one such special talent. Only those born with this innate ability could open a Storage Dantian and become a so-called Storage Master. Otherwise, it was impossible, no matter how powerful one became.
All of this was far too complicated. Even if he explained it in detail, Yang Yan probably wouldn't understand. So, Nie Yun decided not to say anything more.
After finishing their meal, the two didn't linger and quickly made their way to the Luoshui Auction House.
The Luoshui Auction House stood in the very center of Luoshui City. It was a magnificent building, seventy to eighty meters tall. Even before they drew near, they could see dozens of soldiers in full armor standing at the entrance, inspecting something.
'Looks like we'll need to disguise ourselves and come up with some sort of identity before we go over,' Nie Yun thought, his brow furrowing as he took in the scene.
'In my past life, Yang Yan and I snuck in through the back door. That was fine for just watching the show, but you can't participate in the bidding that way. Now that I have 800,000 taels of silver, I have to go in through the front door if I want to join the auction!'
'But if I go in with my current identity and join the auction, they'll ask where I got so much money. It would be an open confession!'
'Change identities? But to what?'
Nie Yun was in a bind.
"Well, well, if it isn't my dear cousin Nie Yun. What, you want to attend the auction? Heh, sure you can attend... if you have the money. But I imagine that after your branch paid out ten thousand taels of silver, you probably couldn't scrape together another coin even if you wanted to!"
A snide, sarcastic voice suddenly came from behind him. Nie Yun turned his head, and a grin spread across his heart. 'Just as I was worrying about how to get an identity, someone shows up to make things easy for me!'
The person behind him was none other than Nie Chao's older brother, Nie Yu.
Nie Yu was an Inner Sect Disciple of the family and carried himself with a natural air of superiority. When his younger brother had beaten Nie Yun half to death, Nie Yu hadn't just stood by; he had cheered and gloated over his cousin's misfortune. In Nie Yun's mind, the guy was already marked for the "disabled" list.
"Cousin Nie Yu, I don't believe I've done anything to offend you. Spreading such sarcastic remarks won't do you any good if it gets back to the family, will it?"
Though he was inwardly ecstatic, his tone was firm and righteous.
"No good for me? You think far too highly of yourself. What do you amount to, that you could possibly harm me? Hmph, you're just a piece of trash from a fallen branch! I'm telling you, if I find out that your branch had anything to do with my brother Nie Chao's injuries, you'll see how I deal with you!"
Nie Yu snorted, his face filled with contempt as he glared at Nie Yun.
"Nie Chao is injured? What do you mean? Cousin Nie Yu, are you mocking me for the beating I took?" Although Nie Yun knew perfectly well he was the one who had injured Nie Chao, he would never admit it. His expression changed, a flash of anger on his face.
"Hmph. It's best if it wasn't you." Seeing that the young man's act didn't seem fake, Nie Yu's expression softened slightly, though he was still puzzled.
'My brother went to the Nie Tian Branch to collect the fine. Who would have thought that instead of getting the money, he'd be sent back in a vegetative state? My brother can't speak, but Nie Chaoxing, who went with him, confessed to everything. He admitted that he was the one who beat up my brother during a fight over the money!'
'A Law Enforcement Descendant beating an Inner Sect Disciple into a vegetative state... The incident caused quite a stir in the Inner Sect yesterday. It was only because Nie Chaoxing's confession was so absolute, and he willingly accepted punishment, that the matter was suppressed before it could cause a major uproar.'
'Nie Chaoxing confessed and the matter was quickly hushed up. But as Nie Chao's own brother, I can't shake the feeling that something is off. Weren't Nie Chaoxing and my brother on good terms? Why would he suddenly turn so vicious over a mere ten thousand taels of silver? Could someone from the Nie Tian Branch be involved?'
This string of doubts was precisely why he had just provoked Nie Yun.
'But from the looks of it, Nie Yun doesn't seem to know that my brother Nie Chao is in a vegetative state.'
'Am I overthinking this? Whatever. Now isn't the time to dwell on it. The main reason I'm here today is because I heard a Healing Holy Medicine is up for auction. The branch gave me all of its savings and ordered me to buy it at all costs, so we can treat my brother Nie Chao.'
'It's not that my brother is so important to the branch. It's that the higher-ups also think this whole affair is bizarre and insist on waking Nie Chao to get to the bottom of it. Otherwise, how could a dignified Inner Sect branch hold its head high?'
"How ridiculous!"
Nie Yun, being the one who had done the deed, knew Nie Chao's condition perfectly well. Barring a miracle, the chances of him ever waking up were slim. Seeing that his opponent's suspicion had lessened, he snorted deliberately.
"Ridiculous or not, you'd better hope I don't find anything. Otherwise, your entire branch will face the family's punishment! Hmph, get lost! Stop putting on airs when you don't have any money. You're an embarrassment to the family!"
With another cold snort, Nie Yu shot Nie Yun one last disdainful look and strode toward the auction house. When he reached the guards, he made a show of arrogantly flicking out an invitation card. "Private Room 17, Second Row!"
After announcing this, he shot Nie Yun another triumphant glare, then held his head high and walked into the auction house.
The Luoshui Auction House was the largest in Luoshui City. Whenever a particularly valuable item was to be auctioned, they would send special invitations to the Four Great Families and arrange private rooms for them. Having an invitation and a private room was a symbol of status. Nie Yu had deliberately brandished his invitation to flaunt it in Nie Yun's face, as if to say, 'Does your branch have one of these?'
"Damn it, Nie Yun! Why didn't you let me beat that punk up?" Yang Yan fumed, unable to hold back his anger as soon as Nie Yu was inside.
He had wanted to jump the guy the moment he saw Nie Yu's arrogant face, but Nie Yun had stopped him before he could move. He really couldn't understand it. His friend had been so brilliant when dealing with Li Fu, yet now he was willing to just stand here and take the insults!
"Heh, don't worry. You'll get your chance," Nie Yun chuckled when he saw how furious Yang Yan was. "Come on, follow me. Let's get disguised again."
With that, he led the way into a secluded alley.