Sea Peak Merchant Association
The next day, Shen Ge had slept splendidly and had only just crawled out of bed.
Yesterday, he had handed over more than a thousand taels in silver notes at Spring Breeze Garden. Although Shen Ge did not care much for gold and silver, he had spent a thousand taels in just two hours. Even he had to marvel that it truly was a gold-gobbling den.
Still, those thousand-odd taels had been well spent. He had listened to music, watched dances, and even gathered the information he wanted. All in all, he certainly had not come out behind.
As for where the money had come from, Shen Ge had his own methods.
All right, he had actually dug up a silver mine and a gold mine, then sold the mining sites to a wealthy merchant. He still had hundreds of thousands of taels in silver notes on him.
After getting up and washing briefly, Shen Ge headed for the Sea Peak Merchant Association he had heard about earlier.
About half an incense stick later, Shen Ge arrived outside the Sea Peak Merchant Association. He had to admit, the association looked quite grand. The building at its headquarters was only half the size of Spring Breeze Garden.
"Young master, are you here for the auction? Do you have a token?" a guard asked, stepping forward.
Looking at the guard's well-built muscles and the calluses on his hands, Shen Ge knew the man was no weakling in martial arts. If they came to close quarters, anyone below the fifth layer of Qi Refining would definitely suffer a great loss.
Shen Ge took out the token he had obtained at Spring Breeze Garden and handed it over. The guard examined it carefully, then returned it and made an inviting gesture. "Young master, please come in."
As soon as he entered, a gracefully poised young woman in splendid clothes came forward to greet him. "Young master, please follow me."
Seeing several hundred women in matching outfits standing nearby, Shen Ge was struck by the extravagance of the wealthy. They kept such a large group of beauties just to welcome guests. With such lavish means, it was no wonder the Sea Peak Merchant Association had few rivals in Linhai City.
The maid led him to a private room, then picked up the auction list from the table and handed it to Shen Ge.
"Young master, this is the auction list. It contains an introduction to every item. Please see if anything interests you, and I can arrange for you to inspect the actual items."
Shen Ge took it and had a look. Good heavens, dozens of pages were packed with writing, listing more than a thousand auction items.
After a few glances, Shen Ge closed the list. "Where do you keep the items? Give me the time it takes an incense stick to burn, and I'll go have a look. I've never seen most of these thousand-odd items, after all. What if I miss something because the descriptions aren't comprehensive enough?"
The young woman looked troubled, as this was against the rules.
Shen Ge saw her misgivings and gave her a warm smile. "Don't put yourself in a difficult position. Go ask your supervisor. It's fine whether he agrees or not."
Seeing how understanding he was, the young woman hesitated no longer. She bowed and said, "Young master, please wait a moment. I'll ask for you."
With that, she turned and left the room.
Shen Ge did not sit idle. He picked up the auction list and started reading. He still did not know whether his request would be granted, after all. If it was not, he could mark the items that interested him and make it easier to inspect them later.
About the time it took to drink a cup of tea later, the young woman returned and said apologetically, "Young master, I'm very sorry, but we can't break the rules. There are too many auction items, and most are exceptionally valuable. To avoid unnecessary trouble, we can't give you access to all of them."
"However, young master, you may look at the items stored together with those that interest you. There are no restrictions on those."
Shen Ge nodded. Though he had not gotten his wish, he was not angry. He was not the protagonist, after all, so how could everything go his way?
He handed the marked auction list to the young woman and thanked her. "Many thanks."
The young woman glanced at the list and saw that he had marked two or three hundred items altogether. She immediately gave Shen Ge a strange look.
Some of the items he had marked were in every storage room, which meant he could still enter all of them.
Shen Ge met her gaze with a smile. "I'm interested in all these things. Take me to see them. If they meet my expectations, I'll be happy to pay for them."
Shen Ge had calculated it all beforehand. He had selected these items according to a plan, precisely so he could see whether anything here was what he needed.
The young woman composed herself and smiled. "Young master, please follow me."
She led him to the first storage room. Ten burly men armed with sabers and swords stood at the entrance, their fierce, murderous faces making it seem as though their blades would be upon anyone who dared cause trouble the very next moment.
Once inside, the young woman said, "Some rare medicinal herbs are stored here. They are all at least fifty years old, and the best among them is a three-hundred-year-old mountain ginseng."
Ignoring her introduction, Shen Ge circulated spiritual power to cover his eyes and searched using the simplest, most direct method.
After making a circuit, Shen Ge shook his head in disappointment. "These herbs are somewhat lacking. Only that mountain ginseng is passable."
"Young master, would you like to place a bid?" the young woman asked.
"The starting price for this mountain ginseng is five hundred taels. It's really not worth it. I'd be better off digging one up myself in the deep mountains and old forests." Shen Ge waved a hand. "None of these catch my eye. Take me to the next room."
A flicker of disappointment crossed the young woman's eyes, but she quickly rallied and led Shen Ge to the next storage room.
This room held all kinds of forged weapons. The young woman explained, "Young master, these weapons were all made by masters. Though we wouldn't dare claim they are unmatched under heaven, they are all sharp weapons that can slice through iron like mud."
That piqued Shen Ge's interest. These weapons had already been forged, so their materials were not so easy to identify.
Using the same method as before, Shen Ge covered his eyes with Spiritual Qi and examined them carefully. His gaze passed over one weapon after another. Only after looking through more than half of them did he spot a very faint trace of Spiritual Qi on a sword.
The sword was three feet long and exquisitely made. The cold light flashing along its blade was proof enough of its sharpness.
He glanced at the listed price: three hundred taels. That was reasonable enough.
Shen Ge beckoned the young woman over. "This sword has caught my eye. Put me down for eight hundred taels, and remember to notify me if someone bids higher before the auction ends."
The young woman nodded with delight. "Please wait a moment, young master. I'll record your bid right away."
She stepped forward and wrote beneath the sword's tag: Number 130, bid of eight hundred taels of silver.
After a quick look around, Shen Ge saw nothing else worthwhile and went to other storage rooms. But after inspecting four or five of them, he looked thoroughly disappointed. They were all mundane trinkets, of no value to him at all.
Even so, Shen Ge placed a few bids, neither high nor low, to give the merchant association a reason that would leave no room for criticism.
Soon, only the very last storage room remained unseen.
He pushed open the door and walked in. There were only two things inside: the bead he had heard about earlier, and a broken sword tip, a very short piece about the size of a little finger.
This time, Shen Ge did not activate his spirit eyes, because there was no need at all. The Spiritual Qi washing over him made his spirits stir.