As soon as the words left his mouth, a commotion broke out around them.
Twenty percent off.
Items at the Mite'er Auction House were worth at least a thousand gold coins, and sometimes as much as several hundred thousand. A ten-percent discount could mean hundreds, or even tens of thousands, of gold coins!
It was an undeniably generous reward.
Yet once the commotion died down, an eerie silence settled over the crowd.
The people there exchanged glances and shook their heads. None of them were Alchemists, and they couldn't even tell the grades of pills apart. Identifying this one was out of the question!
Behind the counter, the clerk lowered his head and pretended to sort through the ledgers. He'd been in this line of work for years. If he could identify the pill, he would've been promoted and sent to Jia Ma Holy City long ago.
Gu Ni waited several seconds, but no one spoke up.
He sighed inwardly and was about to smooth things over.
"That's an Ice Profound Pill."
A calm voice came from the edge of the crowd.
Gu Ni looked up sharply.
The people exchanged glances and automatically parted, opening a gap.
A youth in a black robe stood there. He was slender and still looked young, around fourteen or fifteen.
His gaze rested on the ice-blue pill, and he spoke in an even tone:
"This is a Third-Rank Pill. When a high-star Da Dou Shi tries to break through a bottleneck, there's a risk of losing control and going mad. Taking an Ice Profound Pill clears the mind and wards off inner demons during the breakthrough."
The moment he finished speaking, the area around the counter fell completely silent.
At the words "Third-Rank Pill," everyone looked at the pill differently.
They all stared at the black-robed youth in disbelief.
Gu Ni remained half-turned, as if someone had cast a spell to freeze him in place.
He was a Second-Rank Alchemist, and he'd just spent all that time trying to identify the pill without success. Yet the youth had only glanced at it from a distance and recognized it?
While examining the pill, he'd sensed that its medicinal power was beyond anything a Second-Rank Pill could possess.
He'd suspected then that it might be a Third-Rank Pill.
But he'd never seen a pill like this before, so he hadn't dared to jump to conclusions.
The youth before him, however, had immediately named the pill, its grade, and its effects.
Gu Ni slowly turned around and studied the youth.
He wore a black robe, and his bearing was straight and dignified. His features were strikingly handsome, and even in a crowd, his exceptional presence was impossible to miss.
It was hard to imagine that someone so young could have greater skill in alchemy than he did. The youth was very likely a Third-Rank Alchemist!
A fine sheen of cold sweat appeared at Gu Ni's temples.
Where had this little monster come from?
Gu Ni quickly straightened his slightly bowed posture, lowered his hands to his sides, and addressed Ye Xiu respectfully:
"Senior..."
Ye Xiu looked up.
He didn't correct him or offer any pleasantries.
Gu Ni drew a deep breath, stepped aside, and gestured toward the stairs:
"It's crowded here, and there are too many prying eyes. Would you please accompany this old man to a private room upstairs, Senior?"
"Fine. Lead the way," Ye Xiu said.
The people around them nearly popped their eyes out.
Master Gu Ni was the most respected Second-Rank Alchemist in Wutan City. And now he was bowing to a fourteen- or fifteen-year-old youth and calling him Senior.
The youth merely gave a faint "Mm," then headed for the stairs.
Gu Ni followed close behind.
The private room was on the third floor, and the faint aroma of tea drifted through it.
Gu Ni poured the tea himself. Standing beside the tea table and bowing slightly, he offered the freshly brewed tea to Ye Xiu with both hands and said respectfully:
"I was blind to your greatness earlier. I was a fool to presume to lecture you about identifying pills. It was truly embarrassing. Please forgive me if I showed you any disrespect."
Ye Xiu picked up the cup and took a sip. "It's fine."
Only then did Gu Ni's tense heart settle.
He stood respectfully to one side, not daring to sit. After thinking for a moment, he asked, "May I ask which elder of the Alchemist Guild you study under, Senior?"
Ye Xiu shook his head. "I'm not with the Alchemist Guild."
Gu Ni paused, then immediately understood.
If Ye Xiu had never been to the Guild, he hadn't taken an Alchemist-grade exam.
But how could someone who recognized an obscure Third-Rank Pill at a glance not be an Alchemist?
Gu Ni knew better than to ask more. He changed the subject. "May I ask what you're looking to buy at the auction today?"
Ye Xiu looked up.
"Exactly. I'm here to buy a Medicine Cauldron."
Gu Ni's expression shifted, and his tone grew even more respectful. "The Mite'er Auction House doesn't have many Medicine Cauldrons, but we do have a few. Which one do you want, Senior?"
"The Five-Vent Cauldron being auctioned today."
Gu Ni froze.
The Five-Vent Cauldron.
Even in the imperial capital of the Jia Ma Empire, it was a tool that only Alchemists of the Fourth Rank or higher could use.
In a small place like Wutan City, there were hardly any Alchemists in the entire city, and the highest-ranked was only Second-Rank.
Having a Five-Vent Cauldron here was like tying a fine horse up in a donkey shed. It was an excellent item, but no one knew how to use it.
And the young Senior before him wanted precisely that kind of Medicine Cauldron.
Gu Ni set down the teapot and lowered his head.
"As you say, the Five-Vent Cauldron is indeed on today's auction list. However..."
He paused, then continued:
"Since it arrived, no one in Wutan City has been able to use it, so it's failed to sell twice. If it fails to sell again today, the auction house plans to send it back to its headquarters in Jia Ma Holy City."
He raised his head and looked at Ye Xiu cautiously.
"If you want it, I still have some standing at the auction house. I can have it removed from the auction list and sell it to you directly today. The twenty-percent discount I promised you will still apply."
He added:
"The cauldron's original starting price was 120,000 gold coins. Since it failed to sell, we can lower the price. After the discount, I can set it at 90,000."
Ye Xiu fell silent for a moment, then took a Storage Ring from his robes and casually set it on the tea table.
"There are 90,000 in here."
Gu Ni didn't check it. He didn't even touch the Storage Ring. He simply bowed and said:
"I'll go to the storeroom and fetch the cauldron. Please wait a moment."
A quarter of an hour later.
Two burly men carefully carried a blue-gray Medicine Cauldron, half a person's height, into the private room.
The cauldron had three legs and two handles, and its design was simple and ancient. Five openings formed a plum-blossom pattern across its belly. A rich medicinal fragrance still lingered inside.
Ye Xiu stood and walked around the cauldron once.
He reached out and pressed a hand against its body.
Fire Attribute Dou Qi flowed from his palm into the cauldron in a thin stream.
The next moment—
Humm—
A warm, dark red glow suddenly spread across the blue-gray surface, like a beast that had slept for years awakening at the touch of that wisp of fire.
All five openings rang out at once with a clear chime.
Gu Ni took a step back, his eyes wide.
He hadn't expected Ye Xiu to actually be able to use a Medicine Cauldron with five fire vents!
Ye Xiu withdrew his hand and nodded with satisfaction.
"Excellent. I'll take it."
He pushed the Storage Ring toward Gu Ni.
Gu Ni tore his gaze away, collected the gold coins Ye Xiu had given him, and said respectfully:
"Senior, would you like me to send someone to deliver the cauldron to your home?"
Ye Xiu didn't turn around.
"No need."
He stored the Medicine Cauldron in his Storage Ring and headed for the door.
At the threshold, he paused and looked back.
"Don't tell anyone about me."
Gu Ni froze for a moment, then bowed deeply.
"I understand."
Gu Ni watched as the black-robed figure was about to cross the threshold. In the end, he mustered his courage and asked cautiously:
"May I ask your honored name, Senior?"
Ye Xiu stepped out the door.
"Ye Xiu."
Before you continue