Chapter 12: Auction 1

Led by Chen Li, Qing Mei entered the Baoyi Pavilion through a small side door. The first thing that caught her eye was a large, circular stage in the center, with all the surrounding seats facing toward it. The ground floor was an open area, now packed with people. A ring of iron railings surrounded the stage, with four burly men standing guard at the north, south, east, and west positions. The second floor consisted of three rows of seats, which were already two-thirds full. The third floor was comprised of individual rooms, each featuring a large window facing the arena.

Chen Li led Qing Mei to the third floor and brought her into the room with the best view. "Miss Qing, please rest here for a moment. The auction will begin shortly. If you need anything, feel free to call for Old Chen." Qing Mei nodded and stepped inside. Behind her, Old Chen carefully closed the door. "Serve the person inside well. If there is any mishap, you won't be able to bear the responsibility," he instructed the two maids at the door. "Yes, Manager." Since His Highness was willing to give this young lady even a black crystal card, it wasn't hard to guess that her status must be significant; they could not afford to be negligent. Qing Mei sat on a chair by the window, where the situation on the circular stage and the floor below was perfectly clear. She was quite curious about the window; when she was downstairs, she couldn't see into the rooms at all, yet from inside, she could see the outside clearly. The material didn't look like modern glass or anything similar; it was quite magical.

Qing Mei was lost in thought while eating the refreshments provided in the room when, suddenly, a male voice with a professional broadcasting tone rang out: "Please be quiet, everyone. Today's auction is about to begin. Please prepare yourselves and do not cause any trouble in the venue." In an instant, the previously noisy auction hall fell into dead silence. A moment later, a light from an unknown source shone onto the stage, and an enchanting woman, appearing to be around twenty-five years old, walked out. She wore a purple, floral-patterned silk dress, and a white silk ribbon tied around her slender waist accentuated her graceful figure. The woman walked to the center of the stage, brushed back her thick, dark hair, and began, "Greetings, guests. Welcome to the Baoyi Pavilion's auction today. I am your host, Xiao Yun."

Next, two burly men walked up carrying a large table covered with a red cloth. "Without further ado, let us begin with the first item: a High-Grade Recovery Pill," Xiao Yun said, whipping the red cloth away. "It can treat external and internal injuries in a short period of time. Starting price: 100 gold coins." As soon as Xiao Yun finished speaking, a wave of gasps rippled through the crowd. "This is a High-Grade Recovery Pill! It's so rare." "No wonder Baoyi Pavilion said they were selling many treasures today. If the first item is a high-grade pill, one can only imagine that the treasures to follow will be even better." "Indeed, indeed. It's a pity, though; this isn't something we can afford. A single pill costs 100 gold coins." The people on the first floor whispered among themselves. "200!" Soon, competitive bids began from the second floor. "300!" "500!"... After several rounds of bidding, it was finally sold to someone on the second floor for 1,000 gold coins.

Qing Mei noticed that the people on the third floor remained silent; they likely looked down on it. A single pill going for 1,000 gold coins—that was quite profitable. A thought crossed Qing Mei's mind. Didn't she have many pills in her space? And they were all Super-Grade or higher. If she put them up for auction... she should be able to make a lot of money. With a flicker of her figure, Qing Mei entered her space. Seeing that fellow Yan Lie sleeping in his mimicked form on the grass, she ignored him. She went to a room and selected a bottle of Super-Grade Peiyuan Pills, a bottle of Super-Grade Yuanshen Pills, and a bottle of Supreme-Grade Life-Reversal Pills. It wouldn't be good to bring out too many; it would just be too cheap for those people.

Qing Mei called the two maids at the door and asked them to fetch Chen Li. Before long, Chen Li came over at a trot. "Is there something you need, Miss Qing?" Chen Li asked politely. "I want to sell some pills." Qing Mei placed the three bottles on the table. "One bottle of Super-Grade Yuanshen Pills, one bottle of Super-Grade Peiyuan Pills, and one bottle of Supreme-Grade Life-Reversal Pills." Chen Li froze when he heard they were Super-Grade pills, and a whole bottle at that. There was even a Supreme-Grade pill. In disbelief, Chen Li went over and opened them one by one to smell them; the fragrance of the Super-Grade pills could not be mistaken, and they were of the highest quality. Chen Li was uncontrollably excited; this was his first time seeing a Supreme-Grade pill in his life—it was incredibly rare. However, being a manager, he calmed his excitement after a moment and examined the three bottles. "The Yuanshen Pills and Peiyuan Pills are 10,000 gold coins per bottle, and the Supreme-Grade Life-Reversal Pill... 30,000 gold coins per bottle. As the finale items for today, is Miss Qing satisfied with these prices?" How could Qing Mei not be satisfied? The starting prices already exceeded her expectations; she hadn't expected these pills to be so valuable.