For the first two days, news took time to spread, so there were not many buyers. Most bargained through long-distance communication formations. By the third day, however, people had already come in person, travel-worn and dust-covered, to negotiate face-to-face. The momentum was promising.
Yet Shen Wan was still dissatisfied. Her goal was not merely to hold a trade fair. She wanted to use the value of the Xuanming True Water, and an indisputable success, to shatter the illusion of the so-called "Donghua Relic," to pull Suixin Pavilion free from its deepening crisis, and to bring the situation, which had already begun to run wild like an unbridled horse, back onto the right track.
Thus, she put even more pressure on herself. She specifically sought out several highly influential figures in the surrounding regions, people renowned for artifact crafting, pill refinement, and related fields, inviting or enticing them to come.
Whether those figures came personally or sent representatives, she treated them with utmost care and catered to their tastes. She did not ask for much. She only hoped that, during the trade convention beginning half a month later and lasting another half month, one or two key figures would attend and help her successfully promote the value of the Xuanming True Water—and, more importantly, the authority of Suixin Pavilion.
At this moment, she was discussing matters with an important figure when a trusted subordinate outside came to report that the true owner of the trade fair had arrived.
Shen Wan froze for a moment, but quickly calmed herself. After giving the attendants a few instructions, she turned back to speak with her guest. Under the guidance of her superb rhetoric, a lengthy talk that could have lasted more than an hour ended in just a quarter of an hour. The guest