Curious Ya Fei

As she spoke, she summoned the middle-aged man who had recorded the list of Medicinal Herbs and instructed, "Put this list away and prepare the materials to the highest standard. Especially the rare Medicinal Herbs—if the warehouse stock is insufficient, immediately send people to procure them from nearby towns. Make sure everything is ready before the start of next month."

The middle-aged man bowed in acknowledgment, took the list, and quickly withdrew.

Ya Fei smiled at Xiao Peng and said, "We've talked for so long that I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Ya Fei. Little brother, what is your name?"

Xiao Peng raised his eyes and glanced at Ya Fei before slowly answering, "Xiao Peng."

Xiao Peng's voice remained calm, devoid of any extra emotion, yet Ya Fei silently remembered his name.

Ya Fei instinctively thought of the Xiao Family, one of Wu Tan City's three great clans.

But she quickly dismissed the idea. The chance that Xiao Peng was related to the Xiao Family was most likely just a coincidence.

If Xiao Peng truly belonged to the Xiao Family, they would have long treated him as a treasure.

However...

Ya Fei vaguely felt that she had heard the name Xiao Peng before, though the impression was not particularly deep.

After Xiao Peng left, she would ask around. She truly did not know who Xiao Peng was.

Ya Fei suppressed her doubts, and her tone grew even gentler. "Little Brother Xiao Peng, the procedures should be nearly complete. This is our auction house's VIP token. In the future, when you come to the auction house, you can use this to come directly to me without waiting in line."

As she spoke, she slipped a small token off her wrist.

The token was engraved with intricate patterns, with a tiny emerald set in its center, exuding a low-key elegance.

Xiao Peng accepted the token. It felt slightly cool in his hand as his fingertips traced the patterns upon it. "Thank you."

Seeing Xiao Peng accept it so readily, Ya Fei's smile deepened. "We should be the ones thanking you. It is the honor of the Miter Auction House to cooperate with an alchemist as talented as Little Brother Xiao Peng."

As they spoke, the middle-aged man from before hurried inside, holding a Storage Ring in his hand.

The middle-aged man respectfully presented the Storage Ring with both hands and bowed. "Lady Ya Fei, the payment for the Clear Wind Pills has been deposited into this Storage Ring. Also, as you instructed, we prepared a small gift for Young Friend Xiao Peng and placed it inside as well."

Ya Fei nodded for the middle-aged man to hand the Storage Ring to Xiao Peng, smiling. "It is merely a small token of our appreciation."

Xiao Peng glanced inside and saw some Gold Coins and the Medicinal Herbs he needed.

"You have my thanks." Xiao Peng put away the Storage Ring.

Seeing this, Ya Fei knew their relationship had been tentatively secured. She rose with a smile. "Now that the procedures are complete, I won't keep you any longer, Little Brother Xiao Peng. If you need anything in the future, feel free to come find me."

Xiao Peng gave a slight nod and left the Treasure Appraisal Room, heading outside the auction house.

Once he stepped out of the Miter Auction House, the slanting sunlight fell across Xiao Peng's shoulders, stretching his shadow long behind him.

Xiao Peng raised his hand and looked at the VIP token in his palm. The emerald refracted specks of light beneath the sun.

"She's quite shrewd." Xiao Peng chuckled softly and stored the token in his Storage Ring.

At this moment, in the Treasure Appraisal Room.

"Do you know Xiao Peng?" Ya Fei took a sip of tea and asked the middle-aged man beside her.

The middle-aged man froze for a moment, his brows furrowing as he clearly tried hard to recall the name.

The middle-aged man paused, his brows knit together as though he were trying to remember.

After a while, the middle-aged man remembered.

He recalled that the Xiao Family had two famously useless youths. One was Xiao Yan, and the other was Xiao Peng.

The middle-aged man slapped his forehead and said in realization, "I remember now! Lady Ya Fei, this Xiao Peng really is connected to the Xiao Family. Moreover... he is considered a well-known figure in the Xiao Family."

"Oh?" Ya Fei raised a brow, signaling for him to continue.

"The Xiao Family's younger generation originally had two geniuses: Xiao Peng and Xiao Yan. For some unknown reason, both became useless. Xiao Peng became unable to cultivate, while Xiao Yan remained stuck at the third stage of Dou Qi." The middle-aged man spoke as he recalled the details.

Ya Fei's hand holding the teacup paused in midair, and a trace of surprise flashed through her eyes. "Two geniuses becoming useless? That is indeed strange."

Very quickly, a possibility came to mind.

Someone in the Xiao Family had drugged the two of them. Other than that, she truly could not think of any other explanation.

After all, no one became useless for no reason.

But how could a youth rumored to be trash suddenly become a Second-grade Alchemist?

Moreover, judging by his pill refinement today, it was certainly not something he could have mastered overnight. There had to be an expert guiding him behind the scenes.

Then there was one possibility: Xiao Peng had never become useless at all. He had been pretending!

Ya Fei's fingertips suddenly stopped against the rim of her cup. Tea dripped onto her brocade robe, spreading into a small dark stain, yet she did not notice at all.

Once that thought surfaced, it grew wildly like vines, connecting every point of suspicion.

A youth incapable of cultivation, yet able to precisely control the temperature of flames. His methods of purifying Medicinal Herbs were so practiced that he did not resemble a novice at all.

He remained composed in the face of her probing, and his indifference when mentioning his master's teachings was not the bearing a true failure could possess.

"Pretending..." Ya Fei murmured those words. A sharp gleam flashed through her eyes before being replaced by intense interest. "If he truly was pretending, then Xiao Peng's temperament and scheming are far too frightening."

Others could barely wait to hide from ridicule, yet he had willingly borne the label of trash, silently honing his alchemy for years.

With such endurance combined with the talent he had now revealed, his future achievements would likely be immeasurable.

The middle-aged man listened from the side, so shocked that his mouth fell open. "Pretending to be useless? Then what was he after? Being mocked by all of Wu Tan City, even looked down upon by his own family..."

"What was he after?" Ya Fei turned and walked to the window, a meaningful smile curling across her lips. "Perhaps he was after the element of surprise at this very moment."

She felt it was highly likely that Xiao Peng had met his master back then, and his master had set this as a test for him.

Such a thing was quite possible. After all, many alchemists had eccentric temperaments.

"Interesting. Far too interesting." Excitement glimmered in Ya Fei's eyes, as though she had seen a grand show about to unfold. "Of the Xiao Family's two useless youths, one has hidden his alchemy. As for the other... who knows what he might be hiding?"

Her intuition told her that Xiao Yan would surely bring her an unexpected surprise in the future.

The middle-aged man cautiously asked Ya Fei, "My lady, should we investigate Xiao Peng further?"

Ya Fei turned around, her fingers lightly brushing the carvings on the window frame. Her tone carried a trace of amusement. "There is no need to investigate him deliberately."

A shrewd glint flashed in her eyes. "Since he wishes to hide, we shall pretend not to know. Forcibly uncovering someone's hidden cards will only make him wary and damage the foundation of our cooperation."

Ya Fei felt that Xiao Peng had no intention of hiding himself; he simply did not wish to reveal his master's identity.