"Guess what the highlight of tonight's auction is?"
The woman suddenly changed the subject and asked this question.
Nan Xian was slightly taken aback. She stared straight at the woman's face and saw that her expression was inscrutable, and the curve of her lips was tinged with a chilling and eerie smile. A guess suddenly popped into her mind.
Her eyes widened suddenly, and she immediately sat up straight.
It felt like something hard was blocking her throat, and it took her a long time to open her mouth with difficulty.
"The grand finale—is it Ruizhu?"
The woman nodded.
Nan Xian felt as if she had been struck by lightning. She opened her mouth and stared blankly for a moment, trying to process the fact, before slowly leaning back into the sofa.
She frowned and lowered her eyes, deep in thought. The woman didn't disturb her, poured herself a cup of tea, and sipped it leisurely.
A moment later, Nan Xian's thoughts returned, and her gaze shifted from the woman's hand holding the teacup to her face, where it lingered.
This woman had no trace of demonic aura, so Nan Xian was certain that she was a human, just like herself. Upon closer inspection, she also noticed a faint silver light surrounding her that was very similar to that of Situ Ting, indicating that she was also a cultivator.
Naturally, Nan Xian was unaware at this time that, apart from the gods, no one else in the entire Three Realms could see the spiritual energy contained in another person with just the naked eye. She even naively thought that everyone was like that and could see the light emanating from others.
Therefore, she never told anyone about her talent, and even figured out her own method for judging the depth of someone's strength—
Based on Nan Xian's experience, the brighter the light, the stronger the power. Although the woman in front of her had a similar light to Situ Ting, she couldn't compare... She secretly estimated in her mind that if Situ Ting came, she could probably take on five of her at once.
After quietly assessing the other party's superhuman abilities, Nan Xian's eyes darted around, and her mind smoothly switched to a human perspective, thinking to herself—
Although this woman's strength was average, the guards around her were all experts. Any one of them could fight to a draw with the gray wolf demon that she had inexplicably knocked down. Moreover, their attitude towards her was extremely loyal and obedient, unlike the bodyguards who only showed superficial respect to Qi Maojin.
This woman wields real power.
Since she publicly revealed the identity of Mr. Pang on the fourth floor and even snatched the jade screen from him, it implies two possibilities—
First, she knew Mr. Pang, and if they belonged to the same camp, then their status was roughly equal; second, they each stood on one of the two camps, but they did not break off relations, so they maintained a superficial harmony while secretly competing with each other.
Nan Xian was more inclined to believe that the truth was the latter.
Furthermore, the fact that the woman stayed on the third floor instead of the most private room on the fourth floor clearly indicates that she was intentionally trying to mislead people and conceal her true identity.
This information quickly formed a clear and logical diagram in Nan Xian's mind. One clue after another was intertwined like threads, and they eventually converged at one point, pointing to an answer.
"Ding!" Nan Xian's eyes lit up.
"The owner of Shixi Tower wants to use Ruizhu's face, which looks exactly like yours, to threaten you, right?"
The woman paused in her tea-drinking motion, looked up, her eyes widening slightly as if she were looking at Nan Xian with some surprise.
No answer was needed; her expression alone proved that Nan Xian's guess was correct.
Having confirmed her thoughts, Nan Xian immediately relaxed. Her brows unfurrowed, and her tone even carried a hint of lightness.
“You know what the owner of Shixi Tower is planning, so you came here to play along. Just now, you deliberately bid to expose your identity in front of Mr. Pang—because Mr. Pang and the owner have a close relationship. If he asked for Ruizhu, the owner wouldn’t refuse. And you just happen to need someone like that… to be your pawn.”
As Nan Xian uttered these words in a low voice, the woman's expression grew increasingly serious. In an instant, their situations seemed to have been reversed, with the latter becoming the one unable to remain calm.
**
Five hours ago.
First Chief's Office.
Military boots made a rhythmic "tap-tap" sound on the polished marble floor tiles, and a red cloak embroidered with gold patterns fluttered with its owner's movements, casting a scattering of sunlight across the floor.
The First Leader strode into the main hall. She hadn't changed her clothes, and the silver-bone steel whip in her hand was stained with blood, as if it still carried a hot, pungent smell.
The quick-witted servants were already waiting nearby. Upon seeing this, they stepped forward. One quickly removed her cloak and armor, another took the steel whip and carefully retreated while bowing, and the third carried a tray and handed her a still-steaming wet towel.
"Congratulations, sir! Congratulations, sir!" The steward said obsequiously as he deftly poured a cup of tea. "It is said that the Boar Beast is exceptionally ferocious and has a fondness for human flesh. For the past hundred years, it has plagued the borders and is a major scourge of the Dark Zone. Countless warriors have tried to exterminate them in the past, but none have survived; they have all become the Boar Beast's meal. Yet today, you, sir, went into the mountains alone and hunted down an entire Boar Beast, achieving an unprecedented feat. You have truly displayed your prowess!"
The First Leader scoffed dismissively at these words. She glanced at the steward and said coldly, "It's one thing for others to say such things, but you're an old man in this manor. Don't you know—that the boar beast is truly ferocious?"
Her words had a hidden meaning, which the butler naturally understood, and his smile immediately turned awkward.
He had always been the steward of this mansion. When the former chief was still alive, he served him closely every day, so he naturally knew a lot of inside information that others didn't.
Decades ago, an organization called the Special Affairs Management Office suddenly appeared in the human world.
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