Watching the crazed behavior of these cultivators, Zhou Che gained a rough understanding of what a demonic sect was like.

The people in the restaurant were dressed gorgeously, appearing elegant and dignified. But beneath the surface, they were nothing but debased beasts indulging their own desires.

Picking up her chopsticks, Zhou Che lifted a small piece of food into her mouth and began eating on her own.

All the clamor around her seemed, in that moment, to have ceased to exist.

By the time she had eaten and drunk her fill, the auction inside the establishment was nearing its end.

On the high platform, six of the seven had been sold, leaving only one person still unsold.

Zhou Che was not surprised by this; one could say that someone being left over was entirely within her expectations.

After all, since what these cultivators prized was the men’s primordial yang, the dark-skinned man who had lost his precious chastity naturally could not compare to the other slaves.

However, when Zhou Che looked carefully, she was startled.

Now on that high platform, the dark-skinned man was nowhere to be seen. Left behind was a thin and frail boy of about ten or so years of age.

For some reason, the moment Zhou Che looked up at the platform, that boy’s gaze also simultaneously turned toward her.

As if destined by fate, this glance made Zhou Che somewhat dazed, as if she saw her own shadow in the other.

“This last one, though thin and small, still has his primordial yang intact. If any fellow Daoists find him unappealing, I can sell him at fifty percent off. How about it?” the cultivator on the platform spoke again.

Yet no one among those present made any further bids.

Just as Zhou Che was wondering why, she heard a woman in a black dress at a neighboring table mockingly say, “Cen Ling, aren’t you being a bit too shameless? This low-grade slave, frail and sickly-looking, you still have the nerve to bring out for sale? Forget fifty percent off, no one would take him even for free! With his frame, before I even start operating my technique, he’d probably be shaken to death by the spiritual power. A filthy thing of this quality, you might as well enjoy him yourself!”

Once one person exposed the truth, the other cultivators also chimed in one after another. For a moment, the scene was in an uncharacteristic state of chaos.

“Quiet, quiet!” The female cultivator called Cen Ling harshly shouted to silence them, restoring calm to the venue.

Zhou Che couldn’t help but look at the woman, wanting to hear what she would say.

Seeing that the crowd had stopped talking, Cen Ling spoke with a hint of apology, “I was thoughtless. But rest assured, everyone, I checked this man when I got him. Although he is already over twenty and his constitution is terribly weak, he is absolutely healthy. As long as all of you control your spiritual power properly during cultivation, this man can still aid your practice!”

Her words were very sincere, yet no one was willing to take her up on the offer.

Zhou Che once again shifted her gaze to the slave, feeling somewhat shocked. The man looked to be barely in his teens, yet it turned out he had the appearance of a child-face; his true age was already over twenty, much older than her own.

And when Zhou Che looked at him, the slave’s eyes once again met hers, as if he had never shifted his gaze from the very start.

“Thirty percent off! How about thirty percent off? Fellow Daoists, even if this man cannot assist in cultivation, you can buy him back as a menial servant to attend to you! Helping you care for spirit pets and handle spirit herbs is also a decent choice, isn’t it?”

Cen Ling spoke again, but still no one responded.

Compared to so-called primordial yang, physical capability was far more important in the eyes of these Hehuan Sect cultivators.

Though thinking carefully, it made sense: spending a large amount of resources just for a single primordial yang was somewhat not worth the cost.

After all, Hehuan Sect cultivators mostly focused on harvesting and supplementation. Only a tool that could be used continuously would truly maximize its utility.

Seeing the crowd silent, Cen Ling’s heart was bleeding, but the fact was undeniable: this man was far too weak. No one was willing to spend precious resources on an uncertain factor.

“Ten percent off! Fellow Daoists, how about ten percent off?”

“Dispose of this kind of trash on your own! If your auction is over, then get off the stage quickly and don’t spoil everyone’s mood,” the black-dressed woman from before spoke again.

Cen Ling hung her head low, her thoughts unreadable. After a moment, she finally turned her gaze toward the man at her side.

But this gaze revealed a hint of ferocity.

Zhou Che witnessed everything that unfolded. The vicious look on Cen Ling’s face made her own heart clench.

She was all too familiar with that kind of look; it was exactly the same as the family that had once tormented her.

Yet that lean man was still looking straight at her without deviation.

Only, a trace of disappointment finally appeared on that dirty face.

Seeing this scene, Zhou Che’s head buzzed instantly.

“Wait a moment!”

She stood up. As for why, Zhou Che herself didn’t quite understand.

Perhaps she couldn’t bear it? Or perhaps she felt empathy?

In any case, she stood up.

The gazes of everyone present all turned to her.

“This slave is only ten taels of silver, does that count?” Zhou Che looked at Cen Ling and asked.

Hearing this, expressions of surprise surfaced on all the cultivators’ faces.

They were all astonished by this woman’s beauty and were even more puzzled as to why she would make a move to buy this servant.

Because her temperament and appearance undoubtedly exuded an extraordinary air.

In their view, she was very likely a young lady from some great family, or perhaps the personal disciple of some elder, so there should be no reason for her to practice harvesting and supplementation techniques.

Yet just as everyone was stunned, Cen Ling on the platform had already come to her senses and quickly responded, “It counts! It counts!”

Seeing this, Zhou Che swiftly took out ten taels of silver and tossed them onto the high platform.

With spiritual power flowing within her, Cen Ling caught the silver in her hand in the next instant.

She weighed it, then retrieved a jade slip from her storage pouch and pressed it into the man’s hand.

Afterward, she pulled the man along and came before Zhou Che.

“This is his slave slip. Inside is the soul mark that controls him; with this object, you can enslave him. Once your cultivation reaches the Minor Attainment Realm, you can use spiritual power to refine it, thereby achieving true control over him.”

Cen Ling said, personally handing the jade slip to Zhou Che.

Zhou Che took the jade slip but did not give the woman a friendly look. Her tone was rather cold.

“Mm, I understand.”

Seeing that Zhou Che’s attitude was not friendly, Cen Ling naturally wouldn’t invite further humiliation. Since the business was done, there was nothing left for her here.

“Farewell!”

Cen Ling replied with a smile, then turned and left the restaurant.

After she left, those who had been watching the excitement returned to their own affairs.

After all, Zhou Che was a stranger to them, and her identity was unclear. Since she was willing to be the fool, others naturally had no reason to stop her.

The empty spot on the high platform was soon occupied by another group of scantily clad Registered Disciples.

The scene returned to how it was at the very beginning.

Zhou Che glanced at the somewhat nervous man beside her, then went downstairs to pay for the meal and led him out toward her abode.

“What is your name? Where are you from? Why were you sold to the Hehuan Sect?”

Zhou Che asked as she walked toward her abode.

The night moonlight shone through the bamboo grove, making her, dressed in white, appear even more flawless.

The man stole a sidelong glance at that peerlessly beautiful face and couldn’t help but swallow.

He looked at the woman before him and stammered in reply, “Rep... replying to Mistress, this small one is named Wang Er, from Sang Town in Liang City. Some days ago, the family head, to curry favor with that Fairy, gifted her twelve servants, including me. But the Fairy found the other eleven’s aptitudes too poor and fed them all to a Dharma artifact, leaving only me to live a miserable life. If not for Mistress purchasing me today, I fear I would never have seen tomorrow’s morning sun again.”

Zhou Che frowned upon hearing this and turned her head to look at the man who called himself Wang Er.

‘Fairy? Trafficking people, casually hunting and killing ordinary mortals—such a merciless demon is also worthy of the title Fairy?’

Looking at the man’s somewhat frightened face, a surge of anger rose in Zhou Che’s heart.

If she hadn’t bought him today, he would have ended up like the other eleven, cruelly killed and fed to that so-called Dharma artifact.

Yet the person before her, far from feeling resentment, even respectfully addressed that demoness as ‘Fairy.’ It truly opened her eyes.

Zhou Che couldn’t quite understand it. Just as she was about to question him further, something suddenly occurred to her, and she instantly understood the reason for Wang Er’s attitude.

After all, this place was the Hehuan Sect, and coupled with the behavior of those female cultivators in the restaurant earlier, in Wang Er’s eyes, Zhou Che was probably the same kind of person as them.

Thus, Wang Er dared not reveal his true thoughts.

Because he was afraid, afraid that Zhou Che was just like that demoness. If he said the wrong thing, what awaited him would be endless torment and suffering.

After all, that demoness could control his life and death at will, raising him and trading him like livestock. He had suffered so much along the way. Who, having been mistreated so, could truly not hate?

Wang Er was somewhat timid and at a loss.

He looked at the woman before him, trembling, his entire mental state in a state of extreme tension.

He didn’t quite understand. Why was it that the person before him, who had just traded with that demoness to buy him, would now turn around and become angry because he had respectfully called the other ‘Fairy’?

Could it be that the relationship between those two was not as amicable as it had seemed in the restaurant?