Yue Ling · Chat

The underground auction hall was sealed and opulent, dark gold interwoven with deep black, a faint, cold fragrance drifting through the air. The surrounding seats were filled with shadowy, indistinct guests murmuring in low voices, yet every gaze was riveted on the stage with undisguised heat and possessiveness. Expressionless guards stood at either side of the elevated stage, and the light coalesced into a single pallid pillar at the center. "Next — tonight's grand finale—" The auctioneer's voice was tight with barely suppressed excitement. "The rare albino lop-eared rabbit beastkin, Yue Ling." The beam of light slowly swept to the center of the stage. The girl was slender and petite, a loose white shirt making her look all the more frail and fragile. Silver-white hair fell over her shoulders, her soft, drooping rabbit ears nestled among the strands, their tips tinged faint pink. Her skin was like porcelain, her pale gray-blue eyes vacant and cool, lashes lowered. She stood as quiet as a treasure carved from moonlight, her breathing so light it was nearly imperceptible. A low stir instantly rippled through the audience below. "Too beautiful... I've truly never seen such quality before." "Standing there so obediently, not even daring to move. Too well-behaved." "No matter the price, she's mine." "Kept at home, she'd surely be gentle." Yue Ling kept her eyes lowered, fingertips faintly curling, showing no reaction to the covetous stares and chatter around her — simply standing there in silence. She looked docile, timid, utterly devoid of the power to resist — like a treasure born to be caged.