Transmigrated as the Villain’s Sword - Chapter 28

“800,000 going once!”

“800,000 going twice!”

“Clang!” The auctioneer struck the gavel, exclaiming excitedly, “Congratulations to this honored guest for winning the 5th-rank spiritual tool, the Evergreen Sword!”

Unlike Guan Luowei’s indifferent expression in the VIP room, Mu Yunze’s face below was ashen. However, he quickly regained his composure, thinking to himself that this was likely just an accident.

“Next, we are auctioning the 6th-rank pill, the Youth-Restoring Pill… Starting price is 500,000 spiritual stones! Bids must increase by at least 10,000!”

At the mention of the pill, Mu Yunze’s eyes flickered, and he followed the bid: “550,000!”

Yet, as soon as he spoke, he heard that same woman’s voice again: “560,000.”

Mu Yunze’s expression shifted. He gritted his teeth. “650,000!”

“660,000.”

“…”

During the bidding, two others raised the price, and Mu Yunze nearly ground his teeth to dust. “750,000!”

The voice remained calm, following right behind him: “760,000.”

As if to humiliate him, the woman’s voice always followed immediately, raising the bid by exactly 10,000. Mu Yunze looked hideous. Those who sat above were the VIPs of Lingbao Pavilion; in other words, they were figures who could make the cultivation world tremble with a stomp of their feet. Why would such a great figure trouble a “nobody” like him?

Mu Yunze stopped bidding. Ultimately, the pills were taken by someone else for 780,000 with no further competition. But Mu Yunze’s heart felt even heavier, because he was now certain that person was indeed targeting him.

Thus, in the subsequent auctions, he placed a bid on everything, hoping the woman would realize he was being intentional and back off when he reached an item he actually wanted.

But the woman clearly had no such plan. She took every bid, and her voice remained flat and emotionless without a single tremor.

Consequently, Mu Yunze walked away from the first half of the auction with absolutely nothing. His face was dark, a flash of ruthlessness crossing his eyes.

Finally, the auction passed the halfway mark, reaching the 7th-rank Yin-Yang Flower Guan Luowei needed.

“Next, we have a rare flower: the 7th-rank Yin-Yang Flower… Starting price is five million spiritual stones! Bids must increase by at least 100,000!”

The Yin-Yang Flower is of immense benefit to cultivation but is extremely rare. It only blooms at the exact moment of intersection between Yin and Yang at the extreme North or South. If not harvested and stored properly within fifteen minutes of blooming, it withers.

The moment the name was spoken, many people’s eyes lit up, and the atmosphere reached a peak.

Bidding started immediately: “Six million!”

“Six and a half million!”

“Seven and a half million!”

“…”

Guan Luowei listened quietly without participating. After a while, only two bidders remained. Once one of them quoted the astronomical price of “twelve million,” the last person went silent.

The auctioneer’s face was stiff from smiling. Just as he was about to finalize the deal, a woman’s calm voice drifted from above: “Fifteen million.”

The previous bidder’s eyes went wide. He cursed and sat down in a rage. Even the auctioneer hadn’t expected such a windfall. What he expected even less was that after the woman bid, another man spoke up.

“Fifteen million and ten thousand.”

The bidder was, of course, Mu Yunze. He saw the woman’s determination to win and, remembering the obstacles she had placed for him earlier, his desire for revenge flared up.

If it’s just following a bid, I can do it too.

The woman didn’t even pause: “Twenty million.”

The audience took a collective sharp breath. Where did this tycoon come from? To say “twenty million” as easily as if ordering a glass of water…

In the auction hall, if you win an item but cannot pay, you are blacklisted. Furthermore, you must pay a breach-of-contract fee of 1% of the auction price.

Mu Yunze knew this well. He only had a bit more than twenty million on him, so he planned to bid one last time to make the woman pay through the nose.

He gritted his teeth and said in a voice as calm as possible: “Twenty million and ten thousand.”

Having spoken, he stared fixedly at the stage.

However, even as the auctioneer excitedly struck the gavel to finalize the price, he never heard the woman bid again.

With a “buzz” in his ears, Mu Yunze’s brain crashed. He hadn’t expected the woman to stop. He wanted to stand up and demand an explanation, but this was an auction—never mind the woman’s identity, the guards would be the first to deal with him if he caused a scene.

Mu Yunze had to swallow his anger. Twenty million! How much could he have bought with twenty million? Instead, he bought a “useless” flower that he couldn’t even use yet!

He nearly fainted. He didn’t even know how he managed to walk out and pay that sum.

In the VIP room, Ling Chenyan was also dumbfounded. Mu Yunze just got scammed out of twenty million? Along with that thought came another: How much money does the Big Villain actually have?

[Sys, I suddenly realize I’m a total idiot.]

[How so?]

[The Big Villain is this rich, yet I was so eager to give her all the treasures I found before. She probably thinks I’m a fool in her heart, doesn’t she?]

[You are quite foolish. So I hope you leave a bigger share for me next time.]

Guan Luowei heard every word of Ling Chenyan’s thoughts. She suddenly turned her head. “Yinye, is there anything you want?”

Ling Chenyan snapped out of it, stammering, “I… me? I don’t want anything.”

“Mm,” Guan Luowei nodded. “If there is something you desire, just tell me.”

Hearing this domineering tone, Ling Chenyan was momentarily speechless. She blinked. “Anything?”

“Yes,” Guan Luowei gave her a firm answer.

“Okay! Thanks, Master!” Ling Chenyan grinned. “But I don’t have anything I want right now! If I do, I’ll tell you!”

Guan Luowei nodded. After a long pause, she said something seemingly out of nowhere: “You are very clever. I… like that.”

Having spoken those last words, Guan Luowei seemed to have used up all her strength. She looked away quickly, no longer looking at the sword. Ling Chenyan, seeing the suspicious red on Guan Luowei’s earlobes, was also stunned.

[Sys, did you hear what she just said?]

[That you’re clever?]

[No! She said—she said she likes me?! I like her so much too! Does this count as mutual affection?]

The System, hearing her tone, knew exactly what kind of “lovestruck fool” she looked like right now. It shook its head helplessly, thinking to itself that the sword’s personality was indeed quite likable. But the System was an exception—at most, it just didn’t dislike her. Yes, that’s it!

[Sys!]

[Yeah? What now?]

[Am I being ‘kept’ (as a sugar baby)? This is so exciting!]

[Where there’s one, there’s a second. Be careful she doesn’t find a mistress later.]

[The Big Villain wouldn’t do that, okay? And even if she did, I’d be the primary one.]

[…Whatever makes you happy.]

Guan Luowei, hearing the phrase “mutual affection” in Ling Chenyan’s heart, curled her lips slightly. She found it a bit funny—mutual affection with a sword?

But moments later, the silver sword’s focus had shifted from “liking” to “mistresses.” Guan Luowei ground her molars, thinking to herself that once Yinye had a human body, she must make her read more books.

What kind of nonsense is she filling her head with?

On the other side, Mu Yunze sat holding his spatial bag with a numb face and dull eyes, his heart aching so much he could barely breathe. He was filled with regret. He didn’t understand what had happened to him. Competing with an unknown VIP was one thing, but he actually tried to trap them?

He didn’t realize that when Guan Luowei first bid, she had used a Demonic Voice to disturb his mind, surrounding him with anger and causing him to act irrationally. What he thought was a moment of impulsiveness was actually her careful design.

After leaving the auction, Ling Chenyan finally recovered. “Master, we didn’t get the Yin-Yang Flower. Where are we going to find one? Are we going to wait at the extreme North or South?”

Hearing this, Guan Luowei gave her a side glance, a strange smile curling on her lips. “No need. We’ll just ‘borrow’ it.”

“Borrow?”

[Borrow?]

Ling Chenyan and the System shivered simultaneously. They understood instantly: she was going to commit a robbery!

Late at night, while Mu Yunze was cultivating, he suddenly felt the surroundings grow terrifyingly quiet. His sharp instincts from his past life told him he was in trouble.

Snapping his eyes open, he saw a woman in a moon-colored dress and a bamboo hat slowly enter his room.

Mu Yunze prepared a lethal move, warning, “Who are you?”

Under his gaze, the woman walked toward him with light steps. With every step, the unfathomable pressure she emitted made his muscles tense. Just as he was about to strike first, the woman stopped three meters away.

“Hand over the Yin-Yang Flower.”

The moment she spoke, Mu Yunze’s pupils shrank, and he looked at her in a rage. “It’s you?!”

He recognized the voice—it was the woman from the auction!

Guan Luowei didn’t deny it. Mu Yunze gritted his teeth, a ruthless look in his eyes. He flicked his wrist, and the box containing the flower appeared. “Fine. Running into you today, I’ll take the loss. But does Your Excellency dare to remove your hat—”

Before he could finish, Guan Luowei struck. Mu Yunze didn’t have time to dodge; he was hit in the chest and sent flying.

Guan Luowei caught the flower, opened the box to confirm it, and turned to leave. She left behind a single sentence that nearly made Mu Yunze spit blood:

“Too much nonsense.”

From arrival to departure, it had taken less than a minute.

Ling Chenyan swallowed hard. [The Big Villain seems to understand the logic of ‘Villains die because they talk too much’.]

[Or maybe she just doesn’t want to waste words on Mu Yunze.]

Mu Yunze lay on the floor for a long time before he could catch his breath. His eyes were murderous. This trip had yielded nothing he needed, and even the flower he spent all his stones on was stolen. Thinking of the recent run of bad luck, Mu Yunze’s vision went dark. He spat another mouthful of blood and fainted.

The next day, before seeing Zen Master Guixu, Guan Luowei was invited to Lingbao Pavilion by Qingtan, who begged her to see her sister. The invitation was urgent, as if something major had happened to Qinghan.

Guan Luowei wanted to know what could happen to someone who had lost one of their three souls and seven po, so she followed the servant.

Upon arrival, the servant led her into the room and bowed out.

Qingtan was sitting by the bed, her beautiful face filled with anxiety, devoid of her usual composure. Seeing Guan Luowei, she looked as if she’d found a savior. “Miss Guan, please look at my sister. She has been like this since last night.”

Qingtan moved aside. Guan Luowei lifted the curtain to find Qinghan’s face full of agony, covered in tear tracks, as if she were being tortured.

Guan Luowei’s expression didn’t change. She reached out, her demonic energy gathering to probe the girl’s body.

After a long while, she withdrew her hand. The expression on the girl’s face returned to normal, and the crying stopped.

Qingtan was both happy and worried. “Miss Guan, what happened to Hanhan?”

“It’s both good news and bad news,” Guan Luowei said flatly. “The fact that she has expressions means her missing soul is nearby. But the fact that her expression is so painful suggests that her missing soul is being tortured. There might even be a risk of it being extinguished.”

Qingtan was delighted by the first part, but the second part hit her like a thunderbolt.

Before she could speak, Guan Luowei looked at her and curled her lips into a mocking smile: “Does Miss Qingtan truly not know where that soul is?”