Hua Ren’s eyes widened as he took in the sight before him, the kneeling omegas presented like objects with their heads bowed. His heart pounded in his chest, a mix of disbelief and anger rising in him as the man in front of them continued his grand presentation.
"Here before you are the latest group of the finest male omegas." The man announced with pride. "Each one was collected from a unique place, trained from a young age by none other than the prestigious Han family themselves." He gestured grandly toward the helpless figures kneeling with their heads bowed. "These boys are untouched, pure, and completely educated in the art of pleasing their partner. They have been carefully trained, disciplined, and are now ready to serve you in every single way you desire."
Hua Ren’s breath caught in his throat. He turned sharply toward Sheng Fei, eyes wide with shock. "They’re bidding for omegas?" he hissed, barely able to contain the disgust in his voice.
Sheng Fei nodded calmly. "Not just omegas," he said, his voice low as he glared at the presenter below. "They bid on everything here. Wild creatures, unique weapons, Betas... even Alphas."
Hua Ren could barely process the words. He never in his entire life thought there would be places that auctioned humans. He clenched his fists, a surge of anger boiling within him. "I have to tell the Emperor about this," he declared, making a move to stand.
But before he could rise, Sheng Fei’s hand shot out, gripping his arm firmly and pulling him back down into his seat. "Why tell the Emperor what he already knows?"
Hua Ren blinked, stunned by the response then his gaze turned incredibly cold as he said in a grave tone. "Do you realise what you’re saying?"
Sheng Fei didn’t respond immediately. Instead, he gave a subtle gesture with his chin, directing Hua Ren’s attention to a secluded spot high up in the darkened seats.
Hua Ren followed Sheng Fei’s gaze, squinting into the shadows where the seats were obscured by darkness. He could barely make anything out, but his heart pounded louder as the unsettling realization crept in. "Are you saying that the Emperor is watching this right now?"
Sheng Fei’s gaze remained fixed on the spot. "He’s there," he replied, his tone firm and voice deep, as if filled with years of anger. "The bastard is definitely watching."
He shook his head in disbelief, his voice trembling. "That can’t be the Emperor. T-There’s no way. The Emperor would never support this sort of inhumane thing. You’re wrong."
Sheng Fei shrugged lightly. "If you want to check, be my guest," he said. He didn’t really care if Hua Ren believed that the Emperor was there or not. He just wanted Hua Ren to realise the true nature of the people of the Celestial Kingdom he loved so much.
Hua Ren’s eyes flicked back and forth between the darkened seats and Sheng Fei’s face. His heart raced with the urge to stand up, to confirm it with his own eyes, to know the truth. But fear rooted him to the spot. What if it was truly the Emperor? What would he do? Would he be able to confront him?
"The bidding," The auctioneer continued, his eyes gleaming with anticipation as he scanned the crowd, "will start at 50,000 gold coins for each boy. Shall we begin?"
Almost immediately, hands shot up from every direction. Voices echoing through the hall in rapid succession.
The bids climbed higher and higher, the air was thick with tension as each person tried to outdo the other, their eyes greedily fixed on the kneeling omegas as if they were nothing more than objects to be won.
"700,000 gold coins for them all!" a short, fat man with a dark beard roared. He stood up from the front row, his face red with excitement as his voice boomed across the hall.
A collective groan rose from the crowd. The auctioneer, however, was practically glowing. "We have 700,000 gold coins for all six boys!" he exclaimed. "Do we have any other bidder?"
A hush fell over the room. Eyes darted around, but no one raised their hand. As good as the goods from the Han family were, none of them wanted to spend more than what was necessary. They were all saving their money for there were other unique high-grade items to be auctioned.
The auctioneer let the silence linger for a few moments, savoring the victory. "Going once..." he called. "Going twice...?"
"Sold!" The auctioneer slammed the hammer down on the anvil with finality. "To number 8, at 700,000 gold coins!"
The crowd buzzed with quiet murmurs as the chubby man sat back down, a self-satisfied grin spreading across his face.
Hua Ren’s jaw clenched as he fought to keep his rage under control, the bile rising in his throat at the sight of the young men being paraded like livestock. His hand went to the dagger hidden in his robes and he made a move to get up but Sheng Fei quickly held him down again. "Where do you think you’re going?"
"Let me go!" He snarled at Sheng Fei.
"So you can what? Kill everyone here?" Sheng Fei asked.
"I’m not killing everyone." Hua Ren corrected. "I just want to set those boys free."
"Look, I want to set them free just as much as you do." Sheng Fei said. "I want to beat these bastards up so bad that they’d wish they were never born but I can’t make a move right now because it’s too dangerous. All these people are important figures and they have their own guards. The Twin Tigers also have more than a dozen guards stationed in and outside this building. I’m sure those sharp eyes of yours have seen them all and many of them are highly skilled. Even if you manage to succeed, you will not leave here unscathed and you may also free the boys but how will you get them and all the other kidnapped people to safety? Have you even thought about that?"
Hua Ren frowned. That actually hadn’t crossed his mind at all. But then, he looked at Sheng Fei suspiciously. "You’re not here just to show me what they do, are you?" He asked. "You’re actually here to set them free. This was your mission all along. It just happened to coincide with the Emperor’s proposal to me so you decided to come and see me first. You were going to come to the Capital whether the Emperor proposed to me or not."