Chapter 69
Pearl State was the most prosperous place on all of Junk Star. It gathered together the richest people on the planet, and to many aliens visiting Junk Star, it was the only place truly worth seeing. Because of that, Pearl State also had a nickname: Rich Folks State. It still couldn’t compare to the prosperity of Snar Star’s main city, but in Yomi’s eyes, it already had the scale of a small city. A place like an auction house probably only existed here on the whole of Junk Star.
If they were auctioning off other precious goods, Yomi wouldn’t have found it strange at all. But auctioning off human belongings… it felt like one of those doomsday movies, where the person who thinks they’re the last human alive in the world suddenly receives a phone call. Along with shock came even more excitement.
Even though he knew they were only objects, and there couldn’t possibly be any other living humans here, just seeing objects that had belonged to his own kind was enough to bring comfort to his heart.
Anxius also cared deeply about this auction.
Every human item belonged to Yomi!
After parking the car, Anxius took Yomi and Karl to the auction.
Karl still didn’t know Yomi was human. He simply thought the Crown Prince wanted to buy Yomi some gifts. After all, Yomi’s size was close to that of a human, so human items would suit him well.
This auction wasn’t especially formal. As long as you paid a certain amount of Junk Star currency, you could enter. In order to attract aliens, they didn’t even require identification.
If anyone tried anything, the giant monsters responsible for security inside were enough to make them pay the price.
Compared to the shabby outside, the interior was surprisingly luxurious. Even the stairways were gold and glittering, and the main hall looked like an opera house. Yomi looked around curiously with his head tilted up. Anxius carried him to a soft seat nearby. While waiting, Yomi suddenly spotted a ticket at hand. Leaning closer, he saw that the admission time printed on it was yesterday, and the address said xx Opera House.
Anxius glanced at it and understood at once. “They borrowed the opera house for the venue.”
Yomi: “…”
Soon, Karl came back too. He handed Yomi the bidder’s paddle he had collected. “I just asked the staff. The theme of this auction is human belongings. You should be able to use those things. If you see something you like, just raise the paddle and bid.”
Anxius nodded. “Though the paddle is a little big.”
“It’s okay, I can hold it up.” Yomi stroked the paddle with both hooves. It was his first time attending an auction, and it felt rather novel.
There were a lot of people here. Some were local rich people, and some had simply come out of curiosity about human belongings, just to take a look.
After the auctioneer came out to warm up the room, he began showing the lots. The very first item was the mini piggy bank written on the signboard.
Yomi had assumed it would be some rare and expensive niche piggy bank. So when he saw the huge auctioneer pointing at a little pig bank not even as big as a monster’s hand, cold sweat nearly broke out on him.
“Ladies and gentlemen, this is a gold piggy bank once used by humans. As you can see, it is very small and adorable. Despite having slept underground for hundreds of millions of years, it remains in excellent condition. It is an unmissable treasure for today’s auction. The starting bid is five million star coins…”
Yomi’s mouth fell open at once. Even if the piggy bank was pure gold, there was no way it could be worth that much!
But everyone else seemed to think the starting price wasn’t high at all. In fact, quite a few people immediately raised their paddles and began bidding the moment they heard it.
Yomi hesitated. Human belongings were antiques to them, but to him, they weren’t nearly that precious. He didn’t want to spend that much money.
Seeing that he hadn’t raised his paddle, Anxius lightly poked his arm beside him.
Yomi shook his head and whispered, “Too expensive.”
Anxius froze.
By then, the piggy bank had already climbed to seven million.
“We have money,” Anxius said, taking the paddle from Yomi’s hands and raising it. “Ten million.”
Yomi’s little sheep eyes nearly bulged into giant grapes.
Before long, Anxius successfully won the little piggy bank for thirty million star coins.
Yomi was a bit dumbfounded, but then he thought of it again—Anxius had once been the Crown Prince of Snar Star. Since he had already bought a place in Evil Ghost State in advance, it was only natural that he would also have found a way to transfer part of his wealth.
Once he thought of it that way, he stopped worrying about them going bankrupt. When Anxius soothed him by holding him in his arms, he settled down obediently too.
The next few human items were mostly skeletons and armor, all discovered during the earthquake.
Neither Anxius nor Yomi bid on those, until at last a pair of emerald rings appeared.
This time, Yomi raised his paddle on his own initiative.
He felt that the rings would fit both his and Anxius’s human forms.
But as the bidding continued, Yomi’s expression grew more and more strained. Good heavens, it had already reached seventy million… He really didn’t want to keep bidding anymore.
A moment later, his two little sheep hooves, which had started shrinking back downward, were firmly clasped by his boyfriend. Anxius helped him raise the paddle again and continued bidding.
After a while, they won.
Yomi had acquired a pair of sky-high-priced emerald rings.
When the auction ended, Yomi still felt uneasy. He was afraid Anxius might not actually have that much money. Sensing his concern, Anxius immediately pulled several Junk Star credit slips from inside his coat.
These had all been withdrawn in Pearl State, under another stranger’s identity.
Only after seeing that her boyfriend truly had money did Yomi’s expression ease.
Once they paid, Yomi held the little piggy bank and the emerald rings, Anxius held him, and Karl carried Anxius’s suitcase. The three of them walked out of the grand building in just that manner, all in very good spirits.
Once inside the car, Anxius drove straight for the interstellar airport.
In the car, Yomi first tucked the piggy bank into his backpack, then kept holding the ring box and turning it over in his hands. He muttered, “That was so much money.”
Anxius, however, only felt he had wronged him. Pressing his lips together, he said, “I’ll buy you something better in the future.”
This was already wonderful enough. Yomi only felt like a tiny little rich boy now.
When the car stopped in the underground parking lot, he hooked one of the rings up with his hoof and handed it to Anxius. “Dear, let’s each take one.”
Anxius’s hand, which had been undoing Yomi’s seatbelt, froze. He stared at the little sheep for a moment, then immediately took out a string, threaded the emerald ring onto it, and put it around his neck.
His current body was too large, so this was the only way he could keep the ring on him. Right after that, he found a silver chain, threaded the other emerald ring onto it, and gently placed it around the little sheep’s neck.
Yomi looked down at the emerald hanging at his neck, then at the emerald hanging from his boyfriend’s neck. The ears he held upright turned a little red. He reached out with a sheep hoof and patted his boyfriend, but the hoof was immediately caught.
Anxius pulled him into his arms and hugged him hard for a long while, but still wasn’t satisfied. If he hadn’t been afraid that Yomi might run into danger by following him, he would have wanted nothing more than to stuff the little sheep straight into his clothes and carry him onto the starship.
The moment of parting always came in the end. After getting out of the car, Yomi and Karl escorted Anxius to the entrance of the interstellar airport.
At the busy entrance, Anxius—black-haired, red-eyed, his claws faintly giving away his identity—looked exactly like an ordinary alien traveler. He set down his suitcase, picked up the little sheep who had been about to wave a hoof, and kissed him on the eyes, full of love.
The tiny Yomi was held in his arms. Embarrassed, he tilted his head aside, then immediately puckered his lips and kissed Anxius on the cheek.
That sheepy little pout utterly melted the nearby passersby.
Anxius steadied himself and stared at him. “I’ll be back soon.”
Yomi nodded. “Be careful. Have a safe trip.”
Anxius nodded in return, then looked over at Karl, who was smiling kindly nearby.
Karl smiled. “Please rest assured.” Even without Anxius reminding him, he would absolutely protect Yomi well.
Once Anxius had entered the interstellar airport, Karl took Yomi to the underground parking lot.
He drove smoothly all the way out of the city. But once they reached the highway near the outskirts, the car suddenly stalled in the middle of the road!
Karl got out to inspect it and found himself helpless. The car had broken down.
He didn’t know how to fix cars. The only good thing was that this was an RV. If they ran into trouble and couldn’t find a place to stay, it was still barely livable.
But it wasn’t dark yet, and Yomi still felt it would be safer to get the car fixed if possible. He suggested, “Karl, why don’t we look around nearby and see if there’s anyone who can fix cars?”
Karl naturally agreed. He picked up Yomi’s little backpack and hooked it over his arm. Inside was Yomi’s little piggy bank, which counted as a valuable object, so it was safer to carry it with them. Besides that, hidden in his clothes was the special weapon Anxius had given him back on the farm. A body as small as Yomi’s couldn’t operate that weapon, but Karl could use it just fine. It was meant for emergencies.
With that layer of protection, they weren’t especially worried about running into bad people.
There were no houses nearby, though there were some fields. As they kept looking, Yomi could only hope they might run into someone working outside. Yet after walking a long way, they still didn’t encounter a single person.
The two of them crossed hills and ridges, walked for quite a while more, and still saw no houses and no people. Just when Yomi was gradually losing hope and preparing to turn back, Karl—whose line of sight stood higher than Yomi’s—suddenly changed expression and said, “There seem to be people behind the hill ahead…”
Yomi instantly went up on tiptoe and craned his neck. Sure enough, he saw human figures!
On the slope in the distance, there were two huge figures. They seemed to be hunting: one was carrying prey, and the other had a bow and arrows on his back…
Yomi was overjoyed at the sight. “It really is people! Let’s hurry and ask!”
…
An hour earlier.
Pearl State’s lord, Satan, had been hunting in the nearby forest with his strategist, Cold Crow.
For other Junk Star people, hunting was a means of survival. But for Satan, it was merely a hobby.
He had been in a bad mood lately because of all the rumors surrounding that rising star, Sheep Asura.
This hunting trip was really just an excuse to discuss with Cold Crow the matter of attacking Evil Ghost State and killing Sheep Asura.
Cold Crow understood his superior’s temperament well. Satan’s original form was fierce, and since becoming lord he had never met an opponent, which had nurtured in him an arrogant, overbearing character. Naturally, he could not tolerate a newly risen lord with such momentum—especially when that lord’s title was actually Asura. It felt like a direct challenge, as if the man were riding on Satan’s head and shouting at him.
But this was truly not the right time to attack Evil Ghost State. Cold Crow lowered his voice and advised him, “My lord, you recently sent almost all your capable generals away… and Evil Ghost State is not what it used to be. If you want to attack, at the very least, you should wait until those men come back.”
At that, Satan snorted. “Are you saying that without those people, I can’t beat Sheep Asura?”
Cold Crow quickly shook his head. “That is certainly not what I mean!”
“Hmph, you’ve followed me for nearly a hundred years. Of course I know exactly what you mean!” Satan sneered. “But all those men said they were going to Birdman Planet to find me a suitable heir. If I have to wait for them to return, it’ll be at least a month or two. How am I supposed to endure that?”
“…”
Cold Crow knew very well that Satan’s urgency in attacking Evil Ghost State right now stemmed from having been unsettled by Sheep Asura’s reputation. If he truly didn’t care, he naturally wouldn’t be so impatient. Besides, recent rumors said Sheep Asura had undergone a major surgery and was still recovering. In Satan’s eyes, this was exactly the perfect moment to strike someone when they were down!
But yes, Sheep Asura had undergone surgery… and yet your own capable generals aren’t here either!
The more Cold Crow thought of it, the angrier he became inside. If you hadn’t spent the last few years obsessively trying to adopt a son, constantly sending all those generals out to search for suitable candidates and then nitpicking through hundreds upon hundreds of pictures, would they have gotten so fed up they all ran off to “clear their heads”? Nowadays, every last one of them thinks you’re just looking for excuses to get rid of people. Going out to find you an heir? It’s all an excuse! They’re really just avoiding trouble and taking a break!
He raged inwardly, but on the outside could only keep smiling. “My lord, please endure just a little longer. This matter truly should wait until those generals return.”
At that moment, Satan really did have a headache.
For one thing, Sheep Asura’s growing reputation had already become a threat to him. On top of that, those small, previously insignificant powers near Evil Ghost State had gradually begun to bind themselves to him as well. A single chopstick is useless, but a whole bundle has force… add to that Sheep Asura’s own frightening presence, and his strength could no longer be underestimated. If he were allowed to keep developing unchecked, Satan’s own position would sooner or later be at risk.
Cold Crow’s advice was not without sense. But the chance to strike while Sheep Asura was still recovering—once missed, it might never come again. By the time those men returned, Sheep Asura would probably already have recovered too!
Satan’s face was gloomy, his brows deeply furrowed.
Seeing that he was wavering a little, Cold Crow continued to persuade him kindly as he faced the four-meter-tall white-haired monster before him. “That Sheep Asura is truly despicable. Not only does he have some sort of seductive power, I suspect his original form is at least twice your size. Even if he can’t fight while recovering, he still has so many fierce guards around him—especially that Godzilla-like one, incredibly savage. Even if we go, we might not even be able to get close. And if the first battle goes badly, even if we return safely, people will still think our Pearl State lord is inferior to Evil Ghost State’s lord…”
“What nonsense!” Satan immediately flew into a rage. “That so-called Sheep Asura isn’t worth one of my toes!”
“Yes, yes, yes!” Cold Crow laughed awkwardly. “…Who could possibly compare to your greatness? You are the only being with Snar Star Rain Dragon blood. As long as you do not act rashly, you are the future ruler of Junk Star. We absolutely must not be impulsive!”
Only then did Satan smile in satisfaction. But hearing mention of Rain Dragon blood made him feel melancholy again.
Yes. Satan’s original form was a Rain Dragon of Snar Star.
A hundred years ago, Satan had gone to Rhea Continent during a torrential storm. At that time, he had still only been a muddleheaded Rain Dragon. Unfortunately, he was struck by lightning and, by sheer accident, received the stimulation needed to develop a human form. During the slow process of transforming, because he could not withstand the power of that human form, he fell into a long sleep. In the end, he was mistaken for a Rain Dragon corpse and dumped onto Junk Star together with the garbage…
Later, when he finally woke in the forests of Junk Star, he already had a huge human form…
Possessing a human form, Satan did not think much of Snar Star. To him, life was life no matter where you lived, and here the technology was much lower than on Snar Star, which meant less threat to him.
After twenty years of struggle, Satan had eventually used his powerful original form to build his own faction and gradually become the lord of Pearl State.
Once he had been lord long enough and had fooled himself into thinking he had reached the peak of power, Satan began seeking the meaning of life.
Because his original form was a Rain Dragon and he had only transformed halfway through life, he always believed in his bones that Rain Dragons should only be with Rain Dragons. But in truth, there would never again be a second Rain Dragon in this world with a human form, which meant Satan could never have a child of his own.
Though somewhat regretful, this regret was not entirely beyond remedy. In the years before Sheep Asura had appeared, Satan—bored out of his mind—began looking to adopt a child. It was in a Rain Dragon’s nature to raise the next generation. Even young Rain Dragons without children of their own would help raise the children of the clan.
Though Satan had acquired a human form, at heart he was still a very traditional Rain Dragon.
He had to raise a child of his own, no matter what!
But now the matter of Sheep Asura was urgent, so the child issue could only be put aside for the moment.
As he thought about all this, Satan raised his bow and shot down a running wild boar with one arrow!
Cold Crow immediately burst into applause and seized the chance to flatter him. “I didn’t even see it clearly, and Your Lordship had already struck true!” Saying this, he went forward to pick up the boar.
Watching Cold Crow drag the boar back, Satan suddenly found himself wondering: was that Sheep Asura even better at hunting than he was?
The more he thought about it, the more he felt this man would be difficult to deal with. His expression darkened as he watched the distant sunset for a moment. Just as he was about to speak, his ear twitched. He instantly sensed someone approaching and barked sharply, “Who goes there?!”
The murderous monster turned around—and froze.
On the grassy slope beyond, a tiny white lamb came trotting over on clattering little hooves. He seemed to have been frightened by the stern shout just now, and looked up with a rather strained smile. “S-sorry for disturbing you… Excuse me, do you know if there’s anywhere nearby that repairs cars? Or anyone who’s good at fixing them? Our car broke down.”
Yomi was deeply frightened—not just because of the white-haired monster’s voice. The man himself was pretty scary too. He stood over four meters tall, with a sharp horn on his forehead. His fierce expression looked positively ghostly… even his fangs were showing.
Satan nearly bent over instinctively—almost a full hundred and eighty degrees! He stared at the suddenly appeared little white sheep from up close, and the expression on his face grew more and more stunned.
Seeing the lord react like that, and then looking at the pretty, adorable little sheep, Cold Crow began to feel a dreadful foreboding rise in his heart…
Sure enough, a few seconds later, Satan’s back and hands started trembling. His originally coarse, hoarse voice instantly became ridiculously soft and affected. “Ah, don’t be afraid. You’re not disturbing us at all… Your car broke down? I happen to have someone at home who knows how to repair cars.”
Cold Crow: “…” Revolting!
At that moment, Karl, who had caught up, was also startled. Before he could even react, Yomi’s face lit up in surprise. “Really? That’s wonderful! Thank you, grandpa, our car broke down and we’d like to ask someone to repair it!”
“…Grandpa?” Satan, who considered himself still in the prime of life, yanked hard at one of his own white hairs and immediately stopped using the softened voice. “This hair is dyed white. I’m only a little over a hundred years old. Little one, you can call me uncle.”
Yomi: …But over a hundred years old is a grandpa.
Still, manners were important, so Yomi obediently called him uncle.
Satan smiled. This was exactly the kind of child he had dreamed of.
Karl immediately gathered the little sheep into his arms, full of alarm: …Your Highness, there seems to be a creepy uncle here!!!
