Volume 5, Chapter 287 – I’m Doing This for the Sake of My Sisters

When Qi Huang rushed back to the auction house, the auction was already in full swing. Tonight’s main attraction was naturally the two bottles of cat tears, but before that, some warm-up items were needed to set the mood, and right now, it was precisely that warm-up phase.

As soon as Qi Huang entered, almost everyone she encountered was discussing the cat tears. The atmosphere seemed lively, but there were also some negative comments mixed in.

“Where on earth did the Golden Fortune Auction House get these cat tears? After the Yuxiao Sect incident, nearby immortal sects have all lost their Nine Nether Demon Cats. Who could possibly have any extras to auction off?”

“Not only that, I’ve heard there’s been some terrifying figure recently attacking immortal sects openly, robbing them of their Nine Nether Demon Cats!”

“Then where did the Golden Fortune Auction House get these cat tears? With this much pure liquid, one or two cats wouldn’t be enough to gather so much, right?”

“Are you suggesting the consignor might be the same person robbing the Nine Nether Demon Cats?”

“Not necessarily. The female manager of the Golden Fortune Auction House is the Ninth Young Miss of the Liu family from the capital. Her connections are vast. If she wanted to procure a few bottles of cat tears to boost the reputation of this Yongning branch, that would be perfectly reasonable.”

“Exactly. Two or three bottles of cat tears mean nothing to the first great family of the Western Radiance Dynasty.”

The bidders chattered away, revealing a lot of information.

‘This terrifying figure robbing Nine Nether Demon Cats must be Yaoyao. It seems the cat tears have already drawn a lot of attention.’

Qi Huang analyzed the situation briefly, feeling a faint sense of caution rising in her heart. She had originally intended to have Liu Yingyue auction off those dozens of bottles of cat tears as soon as possible, but given the current circumstances, doing so would likely invite trouble. Thus, she had no choice but to reluctantly “hoard the goods for speculation”.

‘Thankfully, the identity of the Liu family’s young lady provides cover. Otherwise, even two or three bottles of cat tears might cause problems.’

Thinking this, Qi Huang couldn’t help but admire her own foresight.

Disliking the noisy crowd, Qi Huang went straight to a quiet private room on the third floor and patiently waited for the item she needed to appear.

Before long, Liu Yingyue notified her via the Thousand-Mile Communication Tube that the item was about to be auctioned, it was called the “Shadow-Retaining Mirror”.

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“Shadow-Retaining Mirror? Is it a mirror?” Qi Huang asked curiously.

“Yes, it’s a small bronze mirror. As long as a cultivator channels their True Qi into the mirror’s handle, it can immediately record whatever it reflects. Once the True Qi is exhausted, the recording naturally stops. Moreover, this mirror comes with focusing and the capability to see through objects, so within a ten-mile radius, you can look wherever you want.”

Liu Yingyue explained in detail.

“It can do that? That’s incredible! So even if you were to peep at girls bathing, you wouldn’t be discovered?”

Qi Huang blurted out indignantly. After spending so much time as a girl and being influenced by the Spiritual Wisdom Soul, she sometimes instinctively considered things from a female perspective. But to others, her words sounded rather suspicious.

“Uh… this… Young Master, are you buying this thing just to peep at people bathing?”

Liu Yingyue asked calmly, though a faint trace of disdain could be heard in her tone.

“What?! I’m naturally a—”

Qi Huang was about to explain, but the words caught in her throat as she suddenly realized how it might sound. She quickly changed her tune:

“I’m naturally a righteous gentleman! How could I do such a thing? I was just expressing righteous anger! That’s why I must buy this thing, to eliminate a potential hazard for all my sisters.”

“Is that so?”

Liu Yingyue sounded half-convinced.

“Then how do you replay the recorded images?”

Qi Huang swiftly changed the subject.

“The frame of the Shadow-Retaining Mirror is engraved with dates, precise to the quarter-hour. If you want to view a recording from a specific time, just channel your True Qi into that spot.”

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Liu Yingyue answered.

“Does it have audio recording?”

Qi Huang asked again. After all, to bring down a prefectural governor, visuals alone wouldn’t be enough.

“No. If it could record sound as well, this Shadow-Retaining Mirror would have no flaws and would likely be extremely valuable.”

Liu Yingyue sighed.

“What a shame. If it only records visuals, it’s somewhat of a gimmick for powerful cultivators. Divine Sense can already do this, and it even includes sound. The only advantage is that this mirror can’t be detected. I wonder which idle person made it.”

Qi Huang made her deduction.

“This Shadow-Retaining Mirror is defective, likely missing a component. That’s why the consignor’s reserve price isn’t high. I doubt there will be many bidders, so Young Master should have no trouble securing it.”

Liu Yingyue analyzed.

“Missing a component?”

Qi Huang was stunned.

“Yes. This mirror originally had a handle, but now it’s gone. No one knows where it was lost.”

Liu Yingyue lamented.

Qi Huang was even more disappointed. If this thing couldn’t record sound, then merely capturing visuals might not be enough to cost a prefectural governor his official hat.

Before long, the Shadow-Retaining Mirror was brought up by a beautiful attendant. The auctioneer, afraid it wouldn’t fetch a good price, introduced it in detail once more.

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Only then did Qi Huang gain a clearer understanding of the mirror. Externally, it looked like an ordinary bronze mirror, but its frame was engraved with three rows of time units—day, hour, and quarter-hour—from the outer to inner edge. This meant its recordings could only be stored for one month.

“One month? More than enough.”

Qi Huang smiled confidently. As an imperial consort candidate with evidence in hand, if she couldn’t deal with Governor Niu within a month, she might as well give up cultivation and go bear the emperor’s children instead.

Just as Liu Yingyue had predicted, the mirror, though remarkable, had flaws and could only be used by cultivators, so there weren’t many bidders.

Qi Huang didn’t have time to waste and directly offered one thousand taels of silver to secure it.

Once she had the mirror, Qi Huang didn’t dawdle. She immediately left the auction house and headed straight for the prefectural government office.

Outside the office, Qi Huang began familiarizing herself with the mirror’s functions. First, she channeled True Qi into the handle, then slid a latch on the back of the mirror. Sure enough, it could focus and see through objects—within a ten-mile radius, she could capture whatever she wanted.

“Isn’t this just a ‘Thousand-Mile Eye’?”

Qi Huang was stunned. Not long ago, she had obtained an “Eavesdropper’s Ear” from the Severed Immortal Sect.

“One can see but not hear, the other can hear but not see. If only these two could be combined…”

Qi Huang mused wistfully, then subconsciously took out the “Eavesdropper’s Ear”.

“Wait!”

Her eyes suddenly lit up as she examined it. Tentatively, she inserted the “Eavesdropper’s Ear” into the mirror’s missing handle slot. With a soft click, the two pieces merged seamlessly into one.

“This… is this a coincidence?”

Qi Huang could hardly believe it. She pointed the mirror at a street a mile away while manipulating the “Eavesdropper’s Ear” to capture sound. Miraculously, the images in the mirror now came with audio, and the volume could even be adjusted via the “Eavesdropper’s Ear”.

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“Heh…”

Qi Huang’s face twisted into a mix of laughter and tears. She didn’t even know how to describe her luck. The “Thousand-Mile Eye” and “Eavesdropper’s Ear” were clearly two components of the “Shadow-Retaining Mirror”, and she had somehow stumbled into reassembling them by sheer accident. It was like stepping in dog crap and finding gold.

Holding the now fully functional mirror—capable of seeing through objects, focusing, and audio recording—Qi Huang was overjoyed. With this, gathering evidence against Governor Niu would be a breeze.

And just then, Immortal Huo and his group arrived. They had no intention of using the main gate, instead scaling walls and vaulting over rooftops to break into the government office.

Qi Huang smirked slightly, raised the mirror, and aimed it at them. Adjusting the focus and audio, she recorded their every move.

Immortal Huo and his men stormed into the office, then coerced an innocent servant into leading them to Governor Niu.

At that moment, Governor Niu was leisurely drinking tea in his room. A maid knelt at his feet, washing them, while another massaged his shoulders from behind, utterly comfortable. Meanwhile, his aged and no-longer-attractive wife could only sit to the side, pretending not to see.

This proved that while finding a wife in the mortal world was difficult, that only applied to ordinary men.

Creak!

Just then, the door was pushed open from the outside.

“No manners at all! Don’t you know to announce yourself before entering?!”

Governor Niu, currently groping the two maids, was interrupted and thus flew into a rage.

“If I had announced myself first, would you have even let me in?”

Immortal Huo’s voice rang out.