Chapter 395: Hosts
Mairis could have offered better environments, as well as the opportunity to engage in more meetings.
However, the longer Liam and Grace spent among people, the more likely their lie could be exposed. Besides, social environments could easily become traps, shackles that grew harder to escape the longer they spent inside them.
Instead, Liam and Grace had to look ethereal, impossible to catch. That would make their every appearance priceless while enshrouding them in an aura of secrecy.
The week before the auction went by in a blink. Liam and Grace mostly cultivated. He only had to deal with his Qi mastery and Grace’s occasional assaults on top of that.
Once the deadline arrived, the two left the underground hall and returned to Mairis, Grace claiming Liam’s hand when they were close, only to realize that their plan might have worked better than they had expected.
Not buying anything privately had been another expression of goodwill, reinforcing the lie. Like that, no one could second-guess Liam and Grace’s intentions anymore, which turned into an eye-catching welcome.
There was nothing truly grandiose. The midday sun shone on a livelier Mairis than the couple had seen before. Tens of cultivators were approaching it from all sides, even from Liam and Grace’s direction, but someone headed for them, too.
Three rooting experts wearing golden, red, and blue robes claimed a lot of attention and polite salutes as they crossed the artificially flattened area to reach the couple. One face was familiar. It belonged to Silas, while the other two were new.
"Daoist Liam, Daoist Grace," Silas greeted, cupping his fist. "We meet again."
Grace was in her temptress persona, so she leaned more on Liam’s arm, smiling arrogantly at the two strangers.
"Were Erika and Duke deemed unworthy of us?" Grace wondered. "Should we feel honored?"
"I’m Kris Crege," The burly man in his thirties with short black hair, a rugged face, and a red robe said, cupping his fist, "First son of the Crege family. The honor is mine."
"I’m Samantha Pitker," The blonde, young woman wearing blue announced, also cupping her fist, "Second daughter of the Pitker family. Thank you for having shown patience toward my little brother."
Liam’s eyes were inevitably cold. Kris and Samantha were all smiles, but their auras resembled Silas’. He felt as if three Maxwells were standing in front of him.
Clearly, the Crege and Pitker families had decided to improve the couple’s escorts, if anything, to match Silas’ standing.
Grace pretended to ignore the introductions, instead focusing on the surrounding cultivators heading for Mairis. With the trio welcoming the couple, all eyes had fallen on them.
’They are mostly rooting experts,’ Liam calculated. His eyes never left the trio, but his senses updated him on that reality. He had long since sensed that the area was highly populated, and was finally seeing proof of that now.
Both the quantity and quality of that small crowd were surprising. If Liam had to guess, most of those experts were lone cultivators, but their level made the environment incomparable to what he had seen in the Pale Moon Sect’s neighborhood.
’What will I find in the Inner Circles?’ Liam wondered. ’Will cultivators at the level of Sect Leaders become common?’
Liam struggled to believe that, but the math looked sound, which added some pressure. Even his peerless Master hadn’t gone beyond that level, but the Dragon probably stood far above.
"Lead the way," Grace eventually ordered, and the trio complied. They headed for Mairis, its streets showing more of its liveliness.
Not all the newcomers were after the auction. Most stopped by the shops, which now had their doors wide open, even placing official shelves in the streets. The cultivators on the ground also had more wares on display.
It seemed the auction had city-wide repercussions that everyone made use of, be it customers or merchants.
Grace and Liam walked by those bustling scenes until the trio led them to a building near the exact center of the settlement, right before the areas occupied by the three mansions.
Liam’s initial evaluation of Mairis turned out to be wrong since an underground area expanded from the building. This one came after a proper staircase rather than a trapdoor, leading to a fancier-looking half-circular hall with a central, lower stage and stands all around.
The valley with the open tournament was a far cry from that place. Liam saw pillows, short tables, and jugs on the stands, creating a comfortable environment capable of hosting a hundred people.
There were also isolated areas atop the stands, which were exactly where the trio led the couple. Soon, the group found themselves in a private room, a transparent curtain hiding the window facing the stage below.
Liam had seen that curtain from outside, which had appeared black. Basically, no one could see what happened inside the room. A black jade also stood under the window, probably meant to interact with the auction.
’If this place expands so much underground,’ Liam calculated, ’It might be worthy of being a city.’
"Please, take your seats," Silas politely suggested, pointing at the pillows around the table at the room’s center. "The auction will begin shortly."
Naturally, Liam and Grace sat side by side, on the edge closer to the curtain and black jade. The trio occupied the pillows in front of them, Samantha pouring the wine.
Liam caught cultivators on the stands throwing curious glances at his room. Everyone had seen the group entering it. Talismans seemed to ensure that no sound would leak out, but there was no secrecy. That had been lost when entering Mairis.
"You have left a great impression on my little brother," Samantha announced once she returned to her seat. "The family leader had half a mind to escort you personally today."
"Our family leader held back an invitation to the Crege mansion to respect your wishes," Kris added. "I hope you can consider it after this auction."
The two were all smiles, but there was a certain dishonesty to it. As for Silas, he didn’t make a similar offer, instead addressing an issue politely.
"Fellow Daoists, I wish nothing more than to respect your desire for privacy," Silas declared, "But could we arrange methods of communication once the auction is over? If you find the auction satisfactory."
The Suron family’s unique position inside Mairis allowed Silas to be pushier, and there were multiple reasons behind his request.
For once, having a means of communication would enable the three families to prepare for Grace’s proposals. It would improve the type of channel that came to be.
That better channel would also grant stability, pushing Mairis to actively rely on the couple’s force rather than seeing it as a once-in-a-while opportunity.
Moreover, the ability to contact the couple would enable private offers, which was what each family truly desired.
"We don’t plan on being strangers," Grace casually mentioned. "We’ll see what happens after this auction."
Silas put the matter aside for now, and a few rounds of drinking went by, with Grace seemingly forgetting the hosts to flirt silently with Liam.
"I must say you have my envy, Daoist Grace," Samantha commented. "Loyal men are a rarity. For you to have found an impressive Dao partner at such a young age, it must have been fate."
"Fate," Grace chuckled, looking up at Liam while rubbing his thigh, "And a large amount of womanly charms."
"Oh my," Samantha giggled. "Was it you who pursued him?"
"Pursue is a strong word," Grace rejected, leaning deeper on Liam’s arm. "He was mine the moment I laid eyes on him. It didn’t take him long to understand that."
"It sounds like you left Brother Liam no choice," Kris laughed, already changing his way of addressing Liam. "My Father was always adamant about women being distractions, but I can’t help but disagree after meeting you."
Despite the dishonesty, there was greater friendliness, allowed by the new hosts’ higher standing.
As for Liam, he didn’t really know how to join those casual conversations with strangers, but Grace ended up involving him.
"My dear," Grace teased. "Am I a distraction?"
"I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for you," Liam honestly replied, making Grace’s mask slip for a second, her expression going deadpan.
"Gracious hosts, do you see what I have to deal with?" Grace sighed, throwing a scolding look at Liam. "Any more of that, and I’ll have to ask for us to be alone."
A round of chuckles resounded around the table. Even Silas showed a rare smile, but a voice from below distracted the group from the friendly banter.
"A great welcome to all our Esteemed Guests," A tall, handsome rooting expert wearing a golden robe walked on the stage, his voice reaching every corner of the underground area. "We thank you for having attended another of Mairis’ auctions. Your generosity is what makes all of this possible."
The rooting expert then pointed at the room where Liam’s group was staying.
"Of course, our gratitude also goes to Mairis’ ruling families," The cultivator continued. "We are honored they graced us with their presence today."
The cultivators on the stages raised their cups to the private room. Some cheers also resounded, and they felt quite genuine to Liam.
’They must earn a lot of goodwill through these events,’ Liam concluded. ’It is a great opportunity for lone cultivators.’
Services were what lone cultivators lacked the most. They usually couldn’t earn or use their wealth outside the Kingdom’s righteous channels, which mostly suppressed them.
Mairis was an alternative even bigger than the open tournament, and with no Guilds involved. It was for lone cultivators by lone cultivators, creating a valuable system outside the established ones.
"Let’s get into the auction, shall we?" The auctioneer exclaimed. "Our first item consists of twenty-one flasks of rank 1 Plague Fruit without a single mass to speak of."
A foundation expert, a woman wearing an alluring yellow robe, pushed a cart with twenty-one black flasks on the stage, bowing politely at the audience before waiting at the auctioneer’s side.
"The starting bid will be one hundred spirit stones," The auctioneer declared.
’That’s cheap,’ Liam calculated. Rank 1 ingredients weren’t expensive. The most precious ones could go for twenty spirit stones, but for each batch.
The Plague Fruit was relatively common, but there were twenty-one batches of it, so its market price had to be around two hundred spirit stones.
Nevertheless, Liam soon saw the strategy behind that event. The cultivators on the stands lifted their hands or cups one by one, calling higher and higher prices, the trend stopping once the number "two hundred and ninety" was mentioned.
The lower initial price had been a trick to push more people to bid, eventually surpassing the market’s rates.
’I see,’ Liam understood. ’They are hard to find in such quantities unless bigger forces are involved. The auction brings up the prices on its own, but the families are also using the ingredients’ scarcity to their advantage.’
The higher price basically accounted for the ability to buy in bulk. It was an additional service that deserved its share.
Sadly, all of Liam’s understanding seemed to crumble when Grace seized the black jade.
"Five hundred spirit stones," Grace said, her voice spreading through the half-circular hall.
Gasps resounded throughout the stands, glances shooting at the private room. Even the three hosts focused on Grace, inquiring looks replacing the previous friendliness.
Liam managed to avoid falling prey to the same confusion because his feral glare went to the trio, and the threat behind his gesture intensified when Grace added something else.
"Fellow Daoists, allow me to apologize in advance," Grace spoke through the black jade. "I know you have taken your precious time to come here, but we will buy every single item."
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