Evan Chu stared at Selena in shock, unable to believe those words had just come out of her mouth.
"Heh, surprised, aren't you? Actually, I knew the moment you first brought in the Iceflame Crystal. I was just curious, so I didn't say anything." Selena smiled.
Evan was instantly a bit dazed—Selena was way too sharp. Did she even know his true identity? He started to get suspicious.
"How did you know?" Evan asked.
"Why should I tell you? Even though you didn't give me a straight answer, I already got what I wanted." Selena finished her wine in one gulp, veil and all.
Seeing how pleased she looked, Evan felt annoyed. If she wouldn't say, then he'd make sure to shock her too.
So he grinned and said, "It really is unexpected that you could figure it out. But a woman with the Demonic Yin Constitution is one in a million—have you ever met one?"
That one sentence froze Selena for a long moment. Only after a while did she snap out of it and ask, "What did you just say?"
"Demonic Yin Constitution—how does hearing those four words make you feel? Pretty surprised, right?" Evan laughed. If she wouldn't talk, neither would he; let's see who could keep their cool longer.
Selena gave Evan another thorough once-over. She'd already thought this youth was anything but simple, but now that he knew about the Demonic Yin Constitution, he seemed even more extraordinary.
Only five people in the world knew about her constitution, and all of them were peak Divine Martial Realm experts. Yet this guy, who was at best Heaven Martial Realm, could actually see through her Demonic Yin Constitution—this was just too freakish.
"You know about the Demonic Yin Constitution?" Selena asked, but she didn't directly admit she possessed it herself.
"Since you know about the Pure Yang Constitution, why can't I know about the Demonic Yin Constitution?" Evan grinned, refusing to back down.
"Tell me, how did you find out?" Selena couldn't help but press—this was extremely important to her.
"I'll tell you when you're willing to explain how you found out I'm Pure Yang." Evan put on a shameless look, making Selena want to punch him.
"Enjoy your meal. I'm leaving. Tomorrow's auction will be at Lyric Hall Auctions. I'll send someone to protect you and take you there." Selena finished, preparing to leave.
"You're not coming with me tomorrow?" Evan asked, feigning innocence.
Selena's face darkened instantly, her anger flaring. "What did you just say?"
"Nothing, forget it if you're not coming. Thanks for the wine and the hospitality!" Evan said, then started eating alone, unbothered.
The next morning, as soon as it was light, the same girl who'd brought him in arrived. Evan had just finished his cultivation. "Where's my friend?"
"He's already waiting outside for you, sir. Please follow me," the girl replied respectfully.
"You're the one protecting us on the way to Lyric Hall Auctions?" Evan asked in surprise.
"The auction master instructed me to escort you both. I don't know anything else." The girl was very polite—anyone personally assigned by the auction master was clearly no ordinary person.
"Don't underestimate her, Evan. This girl is at least fifth-layer Heaven Martial Realm. She can protect you just fine," Luna said, her voice teasing.
Evan was shocked again. Damn, even a random girl here was fifth-layer Heaven Martial—was Heaven Martial Realm becoming cheap or what?
All the way to the auction, Evan kept alert, watching for stalkers or spies—but found nothing.
At the entrance to Lyric Hall Auctions, the girl said, "Please go in, sir. I won't be joining you. Today is Lyric Hall's auction, tomorrow is Valorcrest's, and the final day is a joint auction between the two houses."
"Where will the final day's auction be held?" Evan asked. The girl replied respectfully, "This time it's at Valorcrest. Last time was Lyric Hall."
"Then I won't bother going. Let's head back—there's nothing I need in the first two days anyway," Evan said. If he'd known, he would've just focused on cultivation.
The girl didn't say anything else—Evan was a VIP, she couldn't offend him, so she just agreed to take him to Valorcrest.
"Gavin, just eat well and sleep here for the next two days. Don't go anywhere or come looking for me. Once the auction's over, we'll leave," Evan said.
Gavin almost wanted to ask why Evan was coming back again, but swallowed the question before it left his lips.
"Get me a private room. I'll be cultivating for two days. No one is to disturb me except your auction master." Evan instructed the girl, his tone decisive.
Evan was then taken to a beautiful room, filled with a faint cosmetic fragrance—clearly a woman's boudoir.
He was about to ask whose room it was, but the girl had already closed the door and left.
"Who cares whose room it is? As long as it's not hers, it's fine. Cultivation comes first!" Evan shrugged and sat cross-legged on the bed, starting to absorb Stellar Power.
Meanwhile, Selena was speaking with Aunt Ruby, her sharp-tongued middle-aged attendant. The girl who'd escorted Evan came in and said, "Auction master, everything you arranged is done. He's already in your boudoir."
"You may go," Selena said, dismissing the girl.
"Miss, why put him in your boudoir? That could ruin your reputation. I don't understand why you're so nice to him—don't tell me you've taken a liking to the boy?" Aunt Ruby joked.
"Ruby, don't talk nonsense. That kid's got way too many secrets and he's slippery as hell. If you ask him directly, he'll never tell the truth. But if I use soul-searching, his cultivation's too low—he might die before he can answer a thing.
My room is filled with Soul-Bewildering Incense. If he stays in there for a day, he'll obediently tell me the truth. Once I know his real identity and background, he won't be much use to me anymore," Selena said with a sly smile.
"So that's it. I never saw anything special about him—did you notice something?" Aunt Ruby asked, her tone curious.
"He feels like a sleeping lion—once he wakes up, he'll be terrifying. More importantly, he's a naturally born Pure Yang Constitution, but he hides his Pure Yang Qi extremely well. What really surprised me was that he could tell I use charm arts," Selena said, her eyes shining.
Meanwhile, Evan was completely focused on absorbing Stellar Power from the Starstones in his hands, totally unaware of any danger in the room.
His Chaos Qi roared through his meridians, repeatedly compressing inside his Earth Star Pellet. He felt he was close to breaking through to the sixth layer.
Time flew by; after a full day, Evan was still immersed in absorbing Stellar Power when Luna's voice suddenly rang out.
"Evan, stop! There's something wrong with this room. Have you noticed anything?" Luna urged.
Evan slowly calmed his Chaos Qi and asked, "Sister Luna, I don't really feel anything—just that the scent here makes me a little irritable and distracted."
"Exactly, it's the scent. It seems to be an incense made from Bewitching Soul Grass. If you breathe it in too long, you'll start hallucinating, maybe even pass out. The scariest part is, even after you collapse, you can still talk to people—but everything you say will be the absolute truth," Luna explained.
"Damn! I almost fell for her trap—she definitely wants to know my secrets. What do I do?" Evan asked, cursing under his breath.
"There's no real medicine to counter it, but if you go outside and get some fresh air, it should help reduce the symptoms," Luna advised.
Evan was delighted by Luna's advice and instantly had an idea. "So you want my secrets? Watch me talk you to death!" With a grin, he strode out of the boudoir...