In the mercantile city of Latnos, in a certain shop in the redlight district, there was a crowd of women gathering.
"Do I hear a 20! 20 going once! 30! Do I hear a 40 from the girl in the ponytail! 40 going once! Going Twice! *bang* Sold for 40 low-grade magic stones to the girl in the ponytail! Congratulations! You are the new owner of this limited-edition playboy crystal ball image!" The girl in a fish mask said, as she banged her gavel.
The reason why the women were gathering was due to a rumor spread around the city that a certain shop owned by two fish faced kids were selling off sexy images of the dark lord.
After the word was spread, the duo decided to hold an auction for the new product they had acquired. Thay had passed around fliers all over town to advertise the event, while paying off most of the officials to make them look the other way. The shelves and products that usually filled the store had been moved to the back to make room for the big event. The only thing that was left was a small podium for the little girl to stand on as her brother presented the product. The girl had for some reason put on a black robe and gray wig while wielding a gavel, meanwhile her brother was wearing a bunny girl outfit and fish mask as he presented the products they were auctioning to the masses of horny women.
"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?! MOVE ASIDE YOU BLASPHEMER!" An elderly man screamed as he pushed his way through the crowd of women to get to the front.
It was Chen Jing. The fanatical follower of the Dark Lord. He had apparently caught word of this event and moved to interfere.
"Sir, if you are here to participate, then please lower your voice as you are disturbing the other participants." The tired bunny fish hybrid said as the elderly man was getting up on stage.
"I CANNOT ABIDE THIS! YOU ARE SULLYING THE GOOD NAME OF MY LORD WITH THESE COUNTERFEITS! I DEMAND YOU SHUT DOWN THIS AUCTION AT ONCE AND REVEAL THE SOURCE OF THESE WICKED ITEMS!"
Soon after he said that a group of black armored soldiers surrounded the building.
"THIS IS A COMMAND FROM THE DARK PALACE! ALL ITEMS SOLD HERE TODAY ARE ILLEGAL CONTRABAND AND ARE TO BE CONFISCATED AT ONCE! ANY WHO REFUSE TO SURRENDER ILLICIT ITEMS WILL BE BRANDED A CRIMINAL BY IMPERIAL LAW!" A soldier yelled.
Just then the bunny boy approached Chen Jing holding a piece of paper with something drawn on it.
"Excuse me! You are Mr. Chen, right?"
"Young child! please tell me who put you up to this?"
"I don't know, but she said that if you ever came by to cause trouble, I should give you this." The young fish bunny boy hybrid said, as he handed over a half-finished drawing.
"She said, that if our shop was still around next time she visited, she would give us the finished product."
Just as the soldiers were searching through the belongings of the participants, Chen Jing tucked the paper into his sleeve as he walked up to the guards.
"Excuse me! It seems we got the wrong address! Please hand these innocent lambs back their belongings!"
"But Sir!"
"We were fed false information! Is that clear?" Chen Jing said as he gave his subordinate a glare.
"Yes Sir!" The soldier said, as he backed down.
After he sent the soldiers away, Chen Jing stayed behind to participate in the auction. He bought every item on sale, whether it was by outbidding the other participants or by using the status of the dark empire to pressure the ladies into giving up.
After the auction, Chen Jing approached the two kids again and asked to speak in private. The two agreed and Yang invited him to the back of the shop, while Yin began closing the shop for the day.
It was rather cramped in the back because they had to make room in the store for the auction earlier. Hence, there were only enough room for Chen Jing and the little boy Yang who had taken of his bunny ears. They had sat down on opposite ends of a small table they had lying around back there.
"So? What did you want to chat about?" Yang asked him as he sat down
"Isn't it obvious?" Chen Jing replied as he took a long breath before continuing.
"JUST WHO MADE THIS MASTERPIECE? I HAVE TO KNOW! SUCH DETAIL! SUCH MAJESTY! I CAN'T IMAGINE HIS MAJESTY POSING FOR SUCH A PORTRAIT! YOU SAID IT WAS A WOMAN, RIGHT?! WHEN WILL SHE BE BACK?! NO, RATHER, WHERE CAN I FIND HER?! SHE MUST HAVE EXCELENT SKILLS IF SHE CAN DRAW ALL THIS JUST FROM HER IMAGINATION! SHE CAPTURED HIS FEATURES PERFECTLY! SUCH EXCELENT ARTISTIC TALENT NEEDS TO BE RECRUITED TO THE DARK PALACE!" The old man ranted as his face became flushed.
"Calm down. I can't answer you if you throw all the questions at once." Yang said.
"HERE IS YOUR CUP OF TEA! IT SHOULD HELP YOU TO CALM DOWN! HERE IS YOURS TO YANG! DO YOU WANT SOME SNACKS TO?! I THINK WE HAVE SOME LEFT-OVER COOKIES FROM YESTARDAY IF YOU DON'T MIND! BUT IF YOU WANT, I COULD RUN TO SEE IF THE BAKERY IS STILL OPEN! IF NOT, I COULD TRY AND-!"
"See what I mean? Hey Yin! We don't need cookies, so go clean the store!" Yang said as he interrupted his sister.
"OKAY!!!" She yelled before she energetically skipped out of the room with a broom in hand.
"What a lively young lady! Is she your sister?"
"Yeah! But let's get back to the point. You were saying?" Yang said as he sipped his tea.
"Ah! Yes! I wanted to know more about where you got this from." Chen Jing said, as he pulled out the paper Yang had handed him earlier.
It was a drawing of a bare-chested dark lord, holding up a giant globe twice his size. However, only the left side of the drawing was finished and the other was completely blank. Chen Jing was rumored to be a Dark Lord fanatic, which is what Yang had bet on when he handed him the drawing as a bribe. He was hoping the more artistic products they had acquired would be enough to pique the man's interest in hopes of dissuading him from shutting down their shop. And it worked like a charm.
"It came from the same person who handed me those crystal images! As for who it was! I don't know!"
"What!? How can you not know? Did you not see who you bought it from?" Chen Jing said after he took a sip of the strangely calming tea.
"She wore a mask. The only thing she told me was that she wanted as many people as possible to see these images."
"WHAT?! HOW DARE SHE?! TO MAKE SUCH YOUNG CHILDREN SPREAD HER PROFANITY! SUCH EVIL CANNOT BE LEFT UNPUNISHED!" Chen Jing yelled as he recalled what those images depicted.
"Calm down, or you'll have a heart attack! Hey Yin! We spilled some tea! Could you bring some tissues and some more tea?" Yang yelled as he looked at the cup of tea his guest had spilled in his outrage.
"RIGHT AWAY!" Yin yelled, as the sound of running footsteps and slamming cabinets could be heard in the background.
"Ah! I apologize young man! It seems I may have gotten a bit too carried away again! Now, if you wouldn't mind. Could you describe exactly what this masked figure looked like?"
"Sure! She had blue eyes, silver hair, and a white mask with some splashes of color here and there! Oh! And she had a flat chest!"
"Young child, is this the woman you saw?" Chen Jing said as he pulled out a drawing of Nox with the words 'wanted dead or alive' on it.
"Yep! That's her! So, she was a criminal?"
"Child, this person is a force of evil that cannot be left alone. If you ever see her again, then you need to inform me right away! Can you do that for me?" Chen Jing said as he grabbed the boy by his shoulders.
"I still have a business to run here, and she sold me the most lucrative product to ever leave this store!"
"Hm? Child, you are still young so you might not understand, but-!"
"I understand she is an enemy of yours that you'd pay money for! And that's all I need to know. This place isn't cheap! With the purple palace breathing down our necks along with the numerous factional disputes happening around the city, it's a miracle we are still in business. So, here is my question. What do I get out of selling you the info on the person who supplied us with our most sought-after product?"
"Well, I uh?" Not expecting the young boy to be so materialistic, Chen Jing was caught a little off guard.
"I understand you have an interest in this product yourself! Isn't that right?
"Yes! I mean no! I merely can't let these filthy images corrupt the people!"
"That so? Well, tell you what! How about I skip the auction next time and deal with you directly! That way you can dispose of her corruption yourself before anyone else can lay their eyes on it! How does that sound?"
"Well, I. Ehm! I suppose that would be the right thing to do! I would appreciate it if you could keep this a secret from others! I wouldn't want anyone misunderstanding my intent?"
"Sure, sure! Whatever you say!"
"Well, I would still like to know-!"
"HERE IS YOUR TEA!"
Before Chen Jing could ask any more questions, Yin had slammed open the door holding tea and cookies.
"Well, it's getting late! I think that will be all for today Mr. Chen! I'll contact you should anything come up. Now, Yin would you please escort our guest out?"
"Wait, I still haven't! Ugh! What?"
Before Chen Jing could finish his words, Yin had lifted Chen Jing off the ground and sprinted out the door. She had accidentally banged his head onto the side of the door, as she was carrying him sideways. She had then thrown him out on the street before slamming the door shut and locking it.
"What strength that girl has! She looks to be around 7, but she has the physical strength to lift a man over twice her own size and weight like it's nothing. And her brother seems to be rather down to earth for a child his age. Maybe I should recruit them to serve his majesty. I wonder who I should recommend them to? The boy might do well as a branch of the yellow palace, while the girl shows potential as a warrior, so maybe I should recommend that she be sent to train at the 'Red Palace'." Chen Jing muttered to himself before his thoughts turned to his loot and he skipped down the road in joy.
…
Back in the shop.
"Is he gone?" Yang asked his sister.
"YEP!"
*Sigh*
Yang let out a sigh of relief as he spoke.
"Good! He took the bait!" Yang said, before deflating into his seat and pulling out another drawing.
The city of Latnos is a city independent from any single nation or superpower. It acts as a trading hub for 4 different major countries on this continent, and its management is divided between 5 different people, one of which was Chen Jing.
When Yang had first acquired these products his first thought was to use them as a way to establish a connection with one of the city's big shots, which was why he ordered at least one of everything she had, along with some of her failed or incomplete works. The auction was more of an afterthought after seeing the local's reactions to the more sexualized images.
The truth is. Yang actually possessed the finished drawing of what he handed Chen Jing. The reason he didn't just give him the completed version was because he wanted to give him some expectations for future dealings. Otherwise, he could have just told his soldiers to search the building and cease it all by force.
"SO ARE WE-!"
"Inside voice please!" Yang interrupted his sister.
"Oops! Sorry! So, can we sell off all this stuff soon? I can barely fit all the herbs and medicine in my old room! It is so inconvenient to have to run up and down the stairs to restock every time I run out of something down here! Plus, the purple palace is raising the business tax for our shop every day!"
"Sorry! As much as I don't like sharing a room with you, its best if we sell it in small doses since we want him to stay hooked while we wait for our next shipment!"
If only Chen Jing had been a little bit more alert, he might have been able to use his heightened senses as a nascent soul to pick up on the treasure trove he had just left behind. When Nox had dropped by, Yang had bought everything she had for his plan to make a fortune off of Chen Jing's obsession with the dark lord. Sculptures, ceramics, paintings, recordings, pictures and drawings, all featuring a lightly dressed or naked dark lord, and they had all been hidden inside the wooden crates taking up most of the storage space in the room they had been talking in only moments ago. If Chen Jing had noticed, there is no doubt he wouldn't have left the shop until he had acquired every piece of dark lord inspired material they had, even if he had to take it by force.
"What! You don't like our sleepovers? But you always seemed so happy making blanket forts! *sniffle* And you always ask me to play hide and seek even though you never find me. *Sob* And, and you always ask me for bedtime stories and ideas and how my day was and, and, and!" Yin continued as she tried her best not to cry at her brother's words.
And so, Yang spent the rest of the night having to listen to his sisters sobbing.