The Ghost Dragon Wings and a Ring of Shame

“A starting bid of one million is certainly worth the price!” Bailuan shook his head. As this figure was announced, he could distinctly feel the fervent gazes throughout the hall diminish considerably.

“Heh, that price isn’t steep,” Su Han added from the side. “After all, considering who crafted it, it’s virtually one-of-a-kind in this entire world.”

Yet, Su Han herself remained largely unmoved. Once her rank reached the necessary level, she could simply unlock the ability directly, instantly becoming a legendary Sword Saint, with flight and similar feats becoming trivial. For others, however, it was a different story. The highest-ranked individual in the entire private box section was merely a Grand Magus—though this only referred to those openly participating in the auction. It was entirely possible that knights or Grand Magi exceeding Heaven-tier strength were also present within the auction house, their identities concealed.

No sooner had Su Weier’s voice faded than a shout echoed from the front rows of the first-floor hall: “One million eight hundred thousand!” An immediate jump of eight hundred thousand. It seemed this individual intended to declare one thing to everyone present: ‘This item, I will have!’

Yet, this audacious bid did little to dampen the fervor of those consumed by envy. What was a mere one million eight hundred thousand green crystals? ‘With this item, I could simply rob millions, and even if I couldn’t overpower them, I could still escape; you wouldn’t be able to catch me!’ Of course, if a fool were to provoke an Archmage, they would be beyond saving.

A laugh, seductive to the bone, resonated through the hall. “Clan Leader Leira truly has a generous hand~ But our ‘Dragon-Marked Family’ is also quite interested in these Ghost Dragon Wings~ Would you be so kind as to indulge this humble maiden just this once~?”

Hearing that utterly captivating, tingling voice, Leira found his ‘tent’ involuntarily rising, standing tall. Without needing further explanation, Leira knew it could only be that little hussy from the Dragon-Marked Clan, acting provocative again.

Moli of the Dragon-Marked Family possessed a fiery, slender figure, her two fair, beautiful legs exposed to the air. Dressed in a white floral qipao, her long, elegant hair was styled into two small buns.

“Damn it, don’t be so arrogant! Sooner or later, I’ll pin you down on a bed and make you cry!” Leira swore, barely managing to suppress the surging heat within him.

“Does Clan Leader Leira truly desire this humble maiden so much?” Moli smiled suggestively, her lithe, ‘water-snake’ waist swaying in harmony with her alluring physique, igniting a wicked fire in the hearts of many men in the auction hall. Her willow-like body seemed to be made of water; if pressed beneath one, the soft, winding moans that escaped her rosy lips would surely drive a man to utter madness.

“Damn your ass, shut up!” Leira’s suppressed wicked fire surged once more. It seemed he would have to find a way to vent his frustrations after the auction. Who knew how many innocent young women would suffer because of this?

“Dragon-Marked Clan?” Hearing that name, Su Han couldn’t help but pause.

“The Dragon-Marked Clan is entirely composed of women, and all of them are exceptionally beautiful—it’s essentially a clan of beauties,” Akareya explained from the side. “Membership requires one to be a virgin, and if a member loses their virginity after joining, they are immediately expelled.”

“What, are you interested in them?” Bailuan asked. “They’re like roses with thorns; while each one is as beautiful as a flower, they’re no mere vases. Every single one of them is incredibly powerful! An ordinary person truly can’t afford to provoke them!”

Watching Bailuan try to intimidate her, Su Han couldn’t resist a moment of amusement. With a mischievous smile playing on her lips, she looked at Bailuan and said, “Then, as a prince of a nation, I refuse to believe you haven’t ‘played’ with them!”

“You…” Bailuan pointed a trembling finger at Su Han, too enraged to speak.

‘Lest we forget, Bailuan was a woman before transmigrating.’

“Brother Akarod is a very upright person!” Akareya interjected, defending him.

“Then this humble maiden shall place her bid! Two million one hundred thousand!”

“Two million three hundred thousand!” Leira took a deep breath, a flush of red appearing on his pale face. He glared venomously at Moli, clearly seething with anger.

“Clan Leader Leira is truly wealthy~! Two million three hundred thousand, this humble maiden certainly can’t afford that~ I just hope you have enough funds left in the end~”

“b*tch!” Leira roared at Su Weier. “What are you staring at? Bid, quickly!”

“Wait!” A voice called out from a private room on the second floor. “I bid two million seven hundred and fifty thousand!”

“Damn it!” Leira was practically spitting blood from anger. His entire fortune amounted to only two million four hundred thousand; he truly couldn’t afford to bid any higher now.

“Three million!” announced a black-robed youth from the furthest corner of the first-floor hall.

“Three million five hundred thousand!” A voice, indistinguishable as male or female, echoed from a private room on the third floor. Su Han knew this was a specially processed voice, designed to conceal the identity of the VIP bidder.

“Four million!” Another voice came from the second-floor private rooms.

“Eight million!” A commanding, undeniable voice boomed from private room 301.

“You win!”

“Heh heh! I accept your concession.”

Eight million! While not the highest record ever, it was certainly one of the highest prices fetched in recent years! Su Weier was overjoyed; her performance bonus for this auction was going to be substantial!

“Eight million! Does any other esteemed guest wish to bid higher?” Su Weier asked with a smile. “Since there are no further bids, then these ‘Ghost Dragon Wings’ belong to the guest in private room 301!”

Although the Ghost Dragon Wings were immensely valuable, the towering wall of eight million effectively deterred all other bidders.

Following the conclusion of the Ghost Dragon Wings auction—which had, until now, commanded the highest price—the second of the grand finale treasures made its appearance!

The next item to be auctioned was rather peculiar: a heart-shaped ring.

“Even we haven’t quite figured out its true purpose,” Su Weier began, carefully lifting the brocade cloth from a silver tray. The ring, shimmering with a silvery light, was revealed to everyone. “However, judging by its material, it appears to be crafted from Abyssal Demonic Iron fused with Profound Sky Cement! But that’s not the critical point. The crucial aspect is the inscription of characters we’ve never seen before—even rarer than ancient dragon script!”

“Therefore, I shall use a high-magnification magnifying glass to display the inscription for all of you to examine!”

“Hush~” After a momentary silence in the auction hall, a wave of murmurs and whispers swept through the crowd.

Su Han’s gaze fell upon the inscription, and her heart sank. ‘This is bad! That’s my engagement ring from the closed beta of the game!’

Back when she had first become a Grand Magus, she’d met a maiden who was at the pinnacle of a Magus. The two had conversed easily, finding much in common, and so they had spent some time together. Later, she proposed to the maiden, and after she agreed, they were married within the game world.

Su Han had, at the time, poured her entire fortune into crafting two rings: one for herself and one for the maiden. On her ring, she had engraved the characters for ‘till seas run dry and rocks decay,’ and on her own, ‘till the end of time and earth.’ Each wore one, forming a pair, symbolizing eternal love. Yet, on the very next day after their wedding, the maiden had proposed a divorce, much to Su Han’s immense displeasure~! When she asked why, the maiden had calmly revealed that her true identity was actually a thirty-something-year-old uncle. And then Su Han…

‘Damn it!’ Su Han buried her head in Akareya’s chest, rubbing against her incessantly in a ‘face wash’. Akareya let out a soft groan, but seeing Su Han’s utterly dejected expression, she didn’t say much. Su Han’s inner thoughts, however, were a tumultuous mess: ‘I proposed to a thirty-something-year-old uncle, married him, even got together with him, and gave him a ring!! Damn it, I don’t want to live anymore!’

From that day forward, Su Han had never touched the closed beta of ‘The Other Shore’ again, only recovering somewhat when the open beta was finally released. Now, all seventy-three closed beta players had transmigrated. She desperately wondered if that uncle had also arrived! ‘Please, please don’t let him be here!’ Su Han felt utterly nauseated just at the thought.

‘Madness! It’s one thing if the people of this world don’t recognize it, as these are twenty-first-century characters, vastly different from the magical script of this continent. But there are seventy-three transmigrated players in this world; if they see this, they’ll laugh me to death! Wait! Transmigrated players?? Isn’t there one right next to me?!’

Panicked, Su Han leaped from her chair and clamped her hands over Bailuan’s eyes. This was her dark past, absolutely not something she could let ‘him’ see, lest ‘he’ mock her relentlessly!!!

“Hey! What are you doing? It’s just ‘till seas run dry and rocks decay’ engraved on it, isn’t it? What does that have to do with you?” Bailuan demanded, prying Su Han’s hands away with a huff.

‘Oh, right,’ Su Han mused. Aside from that cross-dressing uncle posing as a loli, no one else would truly understand the inscription’s meaning. With that realization, Su Han finally felt a sense of relief!

“Brother Akarod and Sister Izaloth truly have such a good relationship! Even I, his biological sister, feel a pang of jealousy!” Akareya then turned her attention to the ring. “But, do both of you recognize the characters on it? Why don’t I recognize them~? I’ve never seen them before!”

“No, no, no, actually, we don’t recognize them either. We were just guessing!” Su Han bluffed.

“Oh, I thought so~”

“What do you all think? I’m sure none of you have ever seen the inscription on this ring before!” Su Weier declared with exaggerated flair. “Perhaps it’s some ancient demon language! If you take it back and research it, it might even help you advance a rank!”

Most people, however, scoffed at her words. If they couldn’t even understand the characters, how could it possibly lead to an increase in rank?

Of course, not everyone shared that sentiment.

With a sweet smile, Su Weier announced, “According to our appraisal, the starting bid for this ring is eight hundred and fifty thousand green crystals. Now, let the auction begin!”

Immediately, someone raised the bid. “One million three hundred thousand! If I buy it and manage to research something from it, it won’t be a loss!”

Hearing this, Su Han regarded the bidder with a look she usually reserved for imbeciles, then chuckled to herself. ‘Not a loss? I don’t care if you research something or not; it has no value whatsoever. If you buy it, you’re definitely losing money. And you say ‘not a loss’? I think you’ve lost so much that you’ve become an idiot! This ring, at most, contains one gram of Abyssal Demonic Iron and two grams of Profound Sky Cement, making its actual value only around four hundred thousand!’

Led by this ‘idiot’ who raised the bid, the enormous auction hall instantly buzzed with excitement. If one could truly uncover some profound secret for a few million gold coins, it wouldn’t be a loss at all! And so, more and more ‘idiots’ willing to ‘take a loss’ joined in, raising the bids higher and higher~

Ultimately, this ‘broken’ ring was purchased by the occupant of private room 203 for a price of three million. Su Han couldn’t help but mutter, ‘What an idiot! I only spent four hundred seventy thousand to make that thing back then. But just by engraving four characters, they managed to fleece that big spender out of three million~ Truly an idiot, and certainly not a loss for me!’

Su Han suddenly remembered something, slapping her forehead. “But… the money from this auction doesn’t go to me, does it?”