Shen Hao’s eyes widened as he said in a deep voice, "Think carefully before you speak. Why do you suspect it’s a plague?"

Plague is a major matter in any world, and even mentioning the word lightly can bring serious consequences. The accusation of spreading rumors is enough to doom most people.

Wang Wu, although submissive and timid, was not particularly afraid. He said, "I saw what a plague looked like when I was a child. It looks the same."

"You’re not from Jingxi?" As far as Shen Hao knew, there hadn’t been a plague in Jingxi for many years.

"Mm. I grew up in Jingzhong. Back then, a plague broke out there—that’s why we fled here, so I remember it very clearly."

A man who had witnessed a plague—these words carried some credibility. But Shen Hao showed no reaction, only motioned for the Guard to give Wang Wu some broken silver, then boarded his carriage and returned home. However, the word "plague" continued to echo anxiously in his mind.

The next morning at daybreak, Shen Hao arrived early at the Public Office. But as he was about to send an urgent Order to Pingshun City to inquire about the calamity, he remembered he’d already killed everyone in the Black Banner Battalion there as a warning—they now had no one left to command for the time being.

Fortunately, for now, Flying Dragon and his people held Pingshun City as their stronghold, so it was still possible to investigate certain matters.

He took out a golden Small Sword from a drawer, infused it with True Qi, attached a message to it, and then pinched out a Seal Technique, sending it off. In the blink of an eye, the golden Small Sword turned into a streak of invisible golden light and vanished.

This was a Thousand-Mile Sound, something Flying Dragon had recently acquired from the Black Market, especially for sending urgent and important messages. Usually, their current base of operations was the Zhang Family Wuliangye Shop in Hao City.

Although the message had been sent, a reply might take several days. Shen Hao had no choice but to temporarily set aside his worry about a "plague," and settle down to continue planning the second step, which had to be advanced early.

"Dong dong dong."

"Come in."

Wang Yiming walked in with a smile and said, "Master, there’s news from the auction. The seller of that Storage Bag agreed not to put it up for auction for now, and has set a fixed price."

"How much?"

"Ninety Low-grade Pills, or eight Mid-grade Pills. Or fifty Lower-grade Spirit Stones."

Shen Hao raised his eyebrows at this. He’d known Storage Bag Magical Artifacts weren’t cheap, and, as expected, fifty Spirit Stones was already the same price as that Middle-Grade Soft Armor he’d seen at a previous auction.

"When can the transaction be made?" Though expensive, for a newly rich man like Shen Hao, it wasn’t out of reach. He was even more eager to get it soon—how could he feel at ease with so many valuables at home and no way to carry them safely?

"If you’re available, it can be done today."

"Then let’s do it at noon."

"Alright, Master, I’ll inform the auction house right away."

After setting the time, Shen Hao returned home, selected eight Mid-grade Supportive Elixirs from a chest, and put them into a Jade Box to take along.

At noon, Wang Yiming led Shen Hao to the Fengri City Auction House. This was the only large-scale auction in Fengri City, usually holding an ordinary auction every month and a special auction every three months. The auctioned items ranged from ordinary antiques and rare treasures to all kinds of cultivation resources and even scarce slaves—everything imaginable.

Legend had it that the auction house’s Master was the Third Prince—a formidable backer.

Wang Yiming accompanied Shen Hao inside, where a slightly plump middle-aged man greeted them warmly with a smile.

"Forgive me for not coming out to meet you earlier, Lord Shen! I am He Huan, Shopkeeper of the Fengri City Auction House. I look forward to your guidance in the future!"

Shen Hao cupped his hands in return and exchanged a few polite words. Then He Huan led Shen Hao and Wang Yiming into a private room, where an ordinary-looking, short man was already waiting.

"This is the owner of the item for sale, surname Zhou. And this is the buyer, surname Shen. You two can speak directly." If the buyer hadn’t been Shen Hao, He Huan wouldn’t have introduced them personally—as it was, he wanted to build ties with this newly empowered member of the Xuanqing Guard in Fengri City.

"You know the price I want, right? Did you bring it?"

"I brought it. The Storage Bag?" Shen Hao appreciated this no-nonsense deal. He took out the prepared Jade Box and handed it to He Huan.

He Huan opened the Jade Box on the spot. Inside, eight Middle-grade Elixirs were neatly arranged. He examined each pill carefully before closing the box, then nodded to the seller, Zhou, indicating the Elixirs were genuine.

"Then let’s trade. My item is here." The man also took out a palm-sized black cloth bag and handed it to He Huan for inspection.

After equally careful examination, He Huan nodded to Shen Hao, confirming all was in order.

"Let’s trade, then."

After both sides checked the goods, they agreed to the deal. He Huan passed the Jade Box to Zhou and the black cloth bag to Shen Hao.

Zhou took the Jade Box and left without another word. Shen Hao, for his part, immediately imprinted his True Qi aura on the Storage Bag. This worked as a lock—the bag could only be opened with Shen Hao’s particular True Qi resonance. Since every person’s True Qi was unique like a fingerprint, it provided extremely high security.

Next, Shen Hao activated the Storage Bag. Miraculously, in an instant, he formed a link in his Sea of Consciousness, connecting to the Storage Bag’s interior space—he couldn’t see it, but he could feel the space inside.

It was a square space, five feet on each side, empty and bare.

Instinctively, Shen Hao picked up the teacup at hand. With a thought, the teacup vanished from his hand and appeared in a corner of the Storage Bag’s space, sitting quietly. With another thought, the teacup disappeared from the internal space and reappeared in Shen Hao’s hand.

It was truly miraculous!

"Lord Shen, is there any problem with the item?" He Huan greeted Shen Hao with a smile as he saw him return to himself.

"No, there’s no problem. Many thanks to Shopkeeper He for your help this time."

"Hehe, it’s as it should be. For Lord Shen to find a suitable item in our auction house is the greatest recognition of our business. If you need anything in the future, just let us know. Even if it’s not available in Fengri City, we can help you source it from elsewhere—and guarantee fair and timely pricing."

"Of course. If I need anything in future, I’ll trouble you again, Shopkeeper He. Then, I’ll take my leave."

"Certainly, Lord Shen. This way, please."

...

After leaving the auction house, Shen Hao sent Wang Yiming off on his own, returned home, and moved the locked chest from his study directly into the newly purchased Storage Bag. Now there was no need to worry about thieves coveting his treasures.

Afterward, Shen Hao tested the Storage Bag repeatedly, and found that as long as it was an inanimate object and smaller than the remaining capacity of the bag, he could store it. Living things wouldn’t work. When he tried putting in the fish from the home water jar, it couldn’t pass through the Storage Bag’s spatial barrier at all.