Early the next morning, the group quickly reviewed the information they had gathered the previous day.
By the end of breakfast, they had reached a unanimous decision: they absolutely had to attend the auction hosted by the House of Red.
With that settled, Moen quickly organized the relevant information and sent it back to the Leaf-Cutter Squad via her bird, hoping it would be of use to them.
The auction was scheduled for the evening three days from then. In the meantime, Starlight and the others split into two groups as usual to see if they could stumble upon anything interesting within the vast Crimson City-State.
Po Kong and Xia Duo headed back to the outskirts of the Crimson Smoke Merchant Group. They wanted to see if there were any openings they could exploit, or perhaps find the owner of that mysterious aura.
Meanwhile, Starlight and Moen headed toward the bustling market district.
They brought Little Gold along for this trip. At first, the drowsy Little Gold was a bit reluctant, but as soon as he heard there would be good food, he immediately tagged along.
Out of caution, the two of them remained in disguise. Moen wore a wide-brimmed hat that effectively hid her long ears and half of her face. Starlight had Xia Duo help him apply a small fake mustache and darkened his complexion.
He now looked significantly older, appearing as a middle-aged man. Although Po Kong found it somewhat comical, he looked perfectly ordinary in the city streets, blending into the environment almost seamlessly.
The two humans and the dragon wandered aimlessly through the prosperous and noisy urban district. From an outsider's perspective, they truly looked like a family of three who had just arrived, filled with curiosity and leisure.
The streets were lined with shops, and the cries of vendors rose and fell. The air was thick with the aromas of various foods: the scent of grilled skewers wafting from stalls, the sweet fragrance of pastries, and the fresh sweetness of fruit, all intermingling to whet the appetite.
Perhaps because of the upcoming auction, there were far more pedestrians and vendors on the streets than usual.
Having never seen such a scene before, Little Gold's eyes lit up. He looked around eagerly, occasionally tugging on Starlight’s sleeve and pointing at a stall with a face full of expectation.
“Fine, fine, I’ll buy it for you later,” Starlight said with a helpless smile, patting Little Gold on the head.
Starlight was well aware of Little Gold’s appetite. Although he currently looked like a boy of seven or eight, he could easily devour several pounds of food without blinking if he wanted to.
Therefore, they didn’t dare buy too much at once to avoid raising suspicion. Instead, they moved from shop to shop, buying only a small amount at each stop.
As they finished at the seventh stall, Moen suddenly leaned in and whispered into Starlight’s ear, “Don’t you think Little Gold seems to have grown a bit taller?”
Starlight blinked and carefully studied Little Gold, who was currently drawn toward the scent of roasted meat. He shook his head. “Has he? I didn’t really notice.”
Prompted by Moen’s observation, Starlight realized that the clothes Xia Duo had tailored for Little Gold did indeed look a bit different. Although the change was very subtle, there was definitely a discrepancy.
Normally, the growth process of the Dragon Race should be incredibly slow. They had only known Little Gold for a few days, so how could there be such a visible change?
While the two were discussing this in low voices, Little Gold suddenly seemed to sense something. He shivered and straightened his back.
“What’s wrong?” Moen noticed Little Gold’s strange behavior and quickly stepped forward to ask in a whisper.
Little Gold didn’t answer. He simply narrowed his eyes, his sharp gaze sweeping toward the other end of the street. His nose twitched slightly as if he were catching a specific scent.
“There’s... a strange smell,” Little Gold said, his voice very low and laced with unease.
“A strange smell?” Moen frowned and followed Little Gold’s gaze, but she saw only the bustling crowds and lively stalls. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
“Is it the aura of the Dragon Race?” Starlight asked quietly.
Little Gold shook his head. “No, not the Dragon Race... but it’s familiar, and a bit dangerous.”
Starlight and Moen exchanged a look, both feeling a surge of vigilance. Although Little Gold usually seemed innocent and even a bit airheaded, his instincts and perception far surpassed those of ordinary people.
“Should we go take a look?” Moen suggested softly.
Starlight nodded. “Be careful. Don’t alert them.”
The three of them acted as if nothing were wrong, slowly following the direction Little Gold indicated.
When they left the shopping street and reached the main road, they found that the entire thoroughfare ahead had been cordoned off. A procession was passing through.
To clear the way for the procession, a large number of guards held hands, cordoning off every intersection. The crossroads were completely congested, packed with people gathered to watch the spectacle.
Seeing the dense crowd before them, Starlight pulled Moen and Little Gold along, pushing through the throngs to a fruit stall by the roadside. Pretending to buy fruit, they struck up a conversation with the owner.
From the conversation, Starlight learned that those passing by were royalty and nobility from various city-states. Over the past two days, one or two such groups had passed through every morning, so the local merchants were already used to it.
The House of Red was indeed a great family built on commerce; they were exceptionally skilled at these eye-catching displays.
Arranging for those nobles to pass through the city-state during the morning market allowed the visitors to witness the prosperity of the territory, while the homage paid by the commoners greatly satisfied the nobles' vanity.
“Little Star, lass, there are experts nearby! Be careful not to expose yourselves!” Suddenly, Noah used the soul link on his own initiative to warn them.
Starlight and Moen instinctively put down the fruit in their hands and looked around warily. Under Noah’s guidance, they spotted several figures flickering through the vicinity.
Those figures moved rapidly through the crowd alongside the advancing procession, yet they didn’t make a single sound. Ordinary citizens didn't even notice these people passing right by them.
“That feeling... it’s the assassins from that day!” Starlight reacted immediately upon seeing those figures and secretly prepared himself for action.
However, the task of these assassins seemed to be limited to protecting the procession from the shadows. They didn't notice the group leaning against the wall. After scanning the crowd on the main road, they moved on to the next section.
Before Starlight could breathe a sigh of relief, Little Gold suddenly grabbed his wrist. The grip was so strong it caused a surge of sharp pain.
“Look at that person!” Little Gold growled in a low voice.
The two of them hurried to look through the gaps in the crowd. By now, the procession had mostly passed through the intersection. At the very back of the line, Starlight saw a peculiar individual.
A figure estimated to be over two meters tall was sitting on an oversized open-top carriage, swaying slowly as the vehicle moved forward.
Most striking was his terrifyingly obese body, which, combined with his bright green robe, made him look like a giant watermelon.
A massive amount of exquisite food was piled beside him. As the fat man’s large hands moved continuously, the mountain of food disappeared at a staggering speed.
Beyond the immense, spherical body and the incredible appetite, Starlight sensed a strange aura about him. It wasn’t so much a smell as it was a temperament completely different from that of a human. To Starlight, that fat man felt more like a giant beast in human skin.
While the three were still observing him, the fat man on the carriage suddenly shifted his massive bulk. His great weight caused the entire carriage to sway violently.
“Go!”
At Noah’s alarm-like warning, Starlight and Moen’s tension reached its peak. They grabbed Little Gold and quickly vanished into the crowd behind them.
At that moment, the fat man on the carriage happened to turn his head. He looked toward the intersection where the three had just disappeared with a look of confusion. After mumbling something incoherently, he turned back around.
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