Chapter 154 154: Baiting out the truth
“No matter how many times I see this, the night market still looks like a scene out of a movie. I am sure this is how the historians described the ancient civilization to be.”
“I am just amazed to see this palace standing like this without magic or technology. How unique.”
Once the group had reached the night market, they had broken away from their shy nature and taken to exploring the place.
Aurora did not stop them since the day had been hectic for them. And her companions hadn’t gotten any time to explore yesterday since they had been new and tense.
“Be careful to not break anything. Also, be sure to be back in an hour. Damian, you will have to accompany the group who wants to leave the abyss with the resistance so be back on time.”
“Alright. I will be back soon after I’ve looked around some more.”
Aurora bade farewell to her group for the time being before she started to look around for a familiar store.
The stores and the stalls in the night market changed locations every day the market was relocated. It was one of the charms of this place but it was quite annoying right now.
It made Aurora’s search for the shop much more difficult..
“My lady, can you accompany me? I need to have some words with you.”
Aurora felt the beast approaching her from behind. She made sure that his body did not show how tense she was to be approached in such a startling manner.
However, once the man flashed a piece of familiar jewelry on his wrist, Aurora relaxed instantly.
“Of course, I will accompany my benefactor. Kindly lead me to your shop so that we can discuss the prices for your services.”
Aurora instantly turned around to follow after the cloaked man.
Now that she was someone’s client, the interest other sellers showed in her faded away. The rule here stated that once a client was secured, no one was allowed to steal them until their pair service was over.
This was not something Aurora had expected to happen to her when she had made the deal yesterday but she was happy to see the results of her labor nonetheless.
“So, were you able to find the auction house? I am expecting good news from you.”
“Of course, I was able to. I was even able to get you an entry ticket to the auction since you paid way over the price range for my service.”
Aurora stopped short of what she had been about to say.
It was true that she had overpaid the price for the service but she had not done it to get anything extra in return. She had just paid the price because that was the only thing she had on her to exchange.
“Oh? What a fortunate turn of events this turned out to be. I am hoping that you would hand over the ticket to me now.”
Aurora extended her hand to get the ticket. The beast placed three tickets in his hand which was suspicious to Aurora.
?[0)??? “This is more than one ticket.”
“I know. But this was what I was able to acquire. I am giving them to you to foster a good relationship with you in the future. I can tell that you are a resourceful lady and having you on my side will be good for me.”
This was an incredible development. Never in her life had Aurora thought that this was something that would happen.
“Did someone instruct you to do this? Three is a very specific number, right? But I have four people in my current party, right?”
“I had no idea. The person who gave this to me told me that you will only need three of them.”
“The person who gave them to you?”
Aurora was instantly on guard. The only person who could have told this to the man had to be someone from her group or a part of those who were bound by Aurora.
But that should be impossible for anyone to even guess that she would send Damian back.
“Yes. The one who told this to me was human in appearance but his energy was all over the place. I think his name was Huges or something. I did not pay much attention to him so I don’t remember much about it.”
‘Huges? So it was the overlooker who send for us to attend the auction? If it was her then it is possible for this all to make sense.’
“Is something wrong? Did I make a mistake in getting you these tickets?”
The person in front of Aurora looked a little panicked at her lack of response. He had likely taken Aurora’s lack of response for a negative and had panicked a little.
“Don’t worry. You are not in trouble and Huges is someone I know so you don’t need to worry. I was just a little surprised to hear his name, is all.”
The man relaxed as soon as he heard Aurora’s words. She was assuring him that he was not in danger, nor had he broken his deal.
The shopkeepers in the night market, especially the beasts relied on their reputation to do business. To be labeled as ‘faulty’ was the same as being abandoned. But to label one as ‘faulty’ was not easy.
It involved magic and a grave offense against the buyer for the shopkeeper to be labeled as ‘faulty’. It was something everyone wanted to avoid at all costs.
“Don’t worry, you did well. I will look for you when I have other services I need to purchase from you.”
“A-Alright. Thank you for your time and patience. Hope you find what you are looking for soon.”
Aurora just smiled at the beast but her heart was full of twisted thoughts.
She knew the real meaning behind the shopkeeper beasts’ words and it was not good. The beast wanted her to fail and to find him for help again.
But he was unlucky because Aurora could see his intentions and decided to never come back here.
After all, she had just decided to make this deal based on her lack of time. She had many other options available to her.
And the beast must have sensed it as well because his last words were unexpected but also welcomed.
“Next time you come to make a deal, I will tell you a secret no one else knows about the abyss. Until then, take care of yourself.”
The shopkeeper knew what he was doing. He knew that Aurora did not have time if she wanted to attend the auction so he was setting up a trap for her.
And Aurora will fall into it willingly for now.
“Ah, is that so? Then I guess I will have no choice but to return later.”