Chapter 136: A Fine Jade Covered in Dust

Among the martial artists present, very few could claim to be masters of medicine. However, in the life of a wanderer, who doesn't carry a few life-saving pills?

As soon as the gray-clad elder finished speaking, someone responded immediately, and soon an attendant led the individual away. Ning Xiu stood beneath the stage, his eyes narrowing slightly. He still had plenty of healing and detoxifying pills on his person, and having mastered the "Divine Canon of the Medicine King," his own medical skills were far from weak.

Just as he prepared to step forward, the gray-clad elder reappeared on the auction stage. He looked at the crowd and declared in a booming voice, "This auction is now concluded!"

"What?!"
"It's over already?"

The crowd below erupted in an uproar. Beneath their bamboo hats and masks were faces filled with confusion and shock. Truly, life is like a game of chess; who could have predicted that the game would end just as it began?

Yet, this did not mean everything was over. The true battlefield was only just beginning. While most were still immersed in their bewilderment, unable to regain their composure, a few had already quietly slipped out of the venue. Since the person who left earlier had not returned, it meant he had departed. There was only one road leading in and out of Chunshui City; if they guarded that spot, they would surely catch him. The logic was simple, but it depended on who was faster.

Ning Xiu slowly stood up, took a deep look at the door deep within the venue, and turned to leave.

***

Beneath a sky as dark as ink, in Chunshui City, within the City Lord's Mansion, a man stood on a high tower overlooking the vast, desolate earth below. In the distance, several faint lights flickered, and the sounds of shouting and killing drifted to his ears on the wind. He looked up at the night sky, a subtle, indiscernible curve touching his lips, and whispered, "Dawn is coming."

Yet, the deepest part of the night is always the darkness before the dawn.

Ning Xiu remained hidden in the shadows, guarding the entrance to the trading market. He watched the dense stream of people entering and leaving the venue until everyone had dispersed. Only then did he rise slowly and walk toward the outskirts of the city.

The battle outside the city had already reached a white-hot intensity. The lucky soul who had obtained the treasure map had, in the end, perished because of that very "luck." By the time Ning Xiu arrived, the scene had dissolved into chaotic, frantic fighting.

Ning Xiu stood on a high ridge, looking down with narrowed eyes. At that moment, a vigorous figure burst forth from the dense crowd, sprinting desperately toward where Ning Xiu was standing.

"Senior Brother! The map is yours! Meet at our usual spot!"

The man leaped high into the air, pulled a yellowed piece of parchment from his robes, and flung it violently toward a swordsman in white.

*Senior Brother?*

Caught off guard by the flying treasure map, the white-clad swordsman instinctively reached out and grabbed it. He was bewildered at first, but then his face flooded with ecstasy. He had no time to ponder when he had gained a junior brother; the map was firmly in his hands. Seeing the vast swarm of people charging toward him, he shivered, turned, and bolted.

But those behind him had already been driven into a killing frenzy; how could they watch the treasure map fly away right before their eyes? They pounced like mad dogs. The swordsman in white barely had time to perform a single sword flourish before he was torn to shreds.

Blood splattered the ground. The treasure map fell alongside him.

The scene froze for a second. Then, an even more intense battle erupted—blades drew blood, and fists struck flesh. Most of those who haunted the Sea of Death were desperate men; to them, killing was as routine as eating or drinking. Within moments, more than half of the people in the clearing were dead.

The most ferocious among them were the triplets. All three brothers were masters of a high-level Eagle Claw technique; almost every strike either snapped a neck or tore out a heart. With their telepathic coordination and a set of synchronized combo maneuvers, they were invincible for a time.

The treasure map fell into the hands of the three brothers. Each of them possessed strength approaching the Grandmaster realm, and relying on their unique combo, even an average Grandmaster could not handle them. For a while, the crowd could do nothing but surround them, intending to grind them down slowly.

"Li brothers, hand over the map, and we shall spare your lives!" the one-armed swordsman stared coldly at the trio.

"Pah!" The eldest of the brothers didn't give the one-armed man an ounce of respect. "Since when do we three brothers need a cripple to spare us? If you have the guts, come and take it!"

"If you dare to take another step, believe it or not, we will destroy this map right now. At worst, we all perish together!" The second brother held the map tight, issuing a threat. With their level of cultivation, a slight burst of internal energy would be enough to reduce the parchment to dust.

Sure enough, hearing this, the crowd dared not act rashly, fearing the brothers might do something extreme.

The three Li brothers breathed a sigh of relief. The eldest glanced at the map in his brother’s hand, his expression suddenly changing violently. He snatched it away, took one look, and slammed the parchment onto the ground.

"Big Brother!" The second and third brothers were caught off guard, wondering why their eldest had suddenly gone mad.

"It's fake! This treasure map is fake!" the eldest roared in frustration.

A breeze blew, and the parchment on the ground slowly unfurled. Only then did the crowd see clearly that the scroll was nothing but a blank sheet of white paper! There was absolutely nothing on it!

"Dammit! We've been tricked!" The one-armed swordsman suddenly realized something and scanned the surroundings, as if looking for someone. His face turned increasingly ugly, and finally, settling on a direction, he hurried away.

More and more people realized the truth.

"Damn it! Did anyone notice where that guy went?"
"The one who yelled 'Senior Brother' and threw the map!"
"It's been so long, he's probably long gone. Searching for him in this vast desert is impossible. I never thought that after a lifetime in the underworld, I'd be played for a fool by a kid."

One by one, the martial artists began to leave, heading off in the directions they guessed he had taken. A few who refused to give up stepped forward to pick up the map, took one glance, spat on it, and threw it back down. Even the Li brothers were no exception.

When the last of the scavengers had departed, the desert, once so lively, became desolate and quiet again.

It was empty.

Aside from the corpses littering the ground, Ning Xiu was the only living soul left. He walked forward slowly, bent down to pick up the parchment, brushed the dust off it, and whispered, "A piece of fine jade, truly covered in dust..."