The Auction House Part 1

Another week has gone by, and Zhihui and Mors now stand in front of a large wooden and brick staircase. This staircase leads to a building made of marble and stone, standing at the top of a small hill. Zhihui is wearing a long luxurious purple color dress. She has adorned herself with countless pieces of gold and gem jewelry, makeup done by Han easily making her even more beautiful.

Mors on the other hand is wearing a traditional Chinese male dress. Purple in color, not wearing that much jewelry, because he does not own a lot and does not like wearing excessive amounts of jewelry. The couple followed by their servants climb the stairs.

Today they will see the fruits of Mor's labor back on the spirit crystal mine. Today it's the auction that Zhihui talk about, the couple is excited to buy useful items from this place with their spirit crystals. This is their long deserve a break after two weeks of training, also counting as their first date.

But they are not alone in walking these stairs, as other people are doing the same, their goal the same as the couple. They reach the top of the stairs and are greeted by large wooden doors. From on top of this hill, they can see a large portion of the capital city Jian.

When they approach the wooden doors, a pair of cultivator guards look at them as they hand them a piece of paper with a number and letter. There was no entry fee for joining the audition, only cultivators will have enough money to even enter this place and there is no item here that is beneficial to mortals.

They enter the building, and they are greeted with a room that splits into three different hallways. Each hallway is labeled with a letter. They went to the hallway with the same letter that can be found in the paper. They walk past other cultivators, beautifully crafted marble statues, and paintings that capture the true essence of the world.

Soon they arrive at their assigned room and Huan goes forward to open the door. Lowering her head as she lets her masters enter the room. Their room is overlooking the auditorium where the auctioning will take place.

The auditorium is in the shape of a circle, with countless comfortable seats separated into rows and columns. The seats are facing a half-circle wooden stage, that has a curtain behind it. Their room gives them a side look at the stage. This room was made with the intention of holding cultivators, as such is well-made and has beautiful hand-crafted furniture.

There are three couches, one long one, and two small single-seaters. All surrounding a wooden table. A tea set and plates were placed on the table for them to use. Not like Huan will use them, as she has a much better tea set for her masters to use. The couple sits down on the long leather couch, as Huan goes and does her thing.

She pushes the old tea set away as she makes a soft blue tablecloth appear. She places it on top of the wooden table before making a tea set appear. The tea set is made from ceramics, using a special technique of mixing ceramics with monster bone dust.

This allows the item to be more resistant and show a more natural white color. Huan takes out her special tea kettle and started to boil some tea for her masters. Uses her fire mythical element skill to speed up the process.

Fen on the other hand stands guard close to the door, making sure to keep a close eye on the perimeter. As the couple wait for their tea to be ready they started to talk.

"So other than the wand you talk about, anything else you are looking forward to?"

"If I remember correctly there should be material here for air skills and some equipment."

"That sounds great, I will upgrade my sword skill before our match just you wait"

"Hehe sure thing, we already know you will lose"

Zhihui said with a soft giggle as she punches Mor's left shoulder. It did not take long for their tea to be done as Huan pours the hot tea into their cups. White steam comes out of the teacups but drinking teas without snacks is a crime. As Huan makes a metal pastry stand appear from thin air, the stand holds cookies, cupcakes, and other small snacks she knows her lady would love.

Mors grabs his cup by the handle, bringing it toward his nose as he takes in its aroma. The scent being that of apples, he takes a sip of the hot tea. Letting the liquid cover his red tongue, enjoying it as he ignores the heat.

"Um~ great tea Huan. You should make something like this for the girl you like. "

"Really?"

"Yea, maybe a tea made from flowers might pique her interest"

Huan hearing that could not help but sigh, sad that she could not come up with such an idea by herself. Zhihui giggles as she grabs a chocolate cookie, eating it as they wait for the show to finally start. After 30 more minutes of waiting, all the seats were full.

The noise of people talking to each other bounces off the walls, creating an amalgamation of sounds. But as someone walks into the stage, the noise dies down, no one wanted to lose what the male announcer had to say. With all eyes placed on him, the announcer spreads his arms and started to talk in a booming loud voice.

" Good morning ladies, gentlemen, and those that are neither. I will be today's host for the Jian City auction, sponsored by the Green Dragon Company!"

"Hu, that company again"

"I am sure you all the rules of events like this so let's skip the boring talk and get right to the meat and potatoes! For today the Green Dragon Company has supplied for us today artifacts and treasures of the finniest quality"

"For today's first item, we will be presenting a nicely crafted gray steel long sword! This sword has been enchanted to be extra sharp and durable, nothing will be in one piece after you are done. Starting price is 1000 gold coins"

"1100!"

"1300!"

"That sword is as good as mine, 1500!"

"2000!"

"2500!"

This is how most items went by, people shouting numbers before it got high enough no one else wanted it. The first items are all things Mors and Zhihui don't need, as they speed the rest of the time talking to each other while enjoying some teatime.

Till something finally of value was shown, the announcer showed off a clear crystal bottle. The bottle is full to the brim with white color ash. Everyone in the room knew what that is without the announcer having to announce it

"This is a rare bottle full of Ashes of Wind! The starting price is-"

"100,000 Gold coins!"

From the very back, a female voice rang, the woman in question is a cultivator from the Elemental Weapon Sect. If Zhihui's memory serves her right, this woman has a talent for the Wind element. Not that important for the future, but Zhihui was for sure not going to let that woman get one of the items she needs. As she spoke with a loud voice.

"200,000 gold coins"

"500,000 gold coins"

The sudden increase in prizes shook every, as their eyes focus on a room above the auditorium. Zhihui could recognize that voice from a mile away, it was no other than her dear cousin. She could understand what her cousin is doing, she wants to get in Zhihui's way of upgrading her skills. Ashes of Wind is a good material to use when upgrading wind element skills.

Zhihui looks hard, she was really fighting tooth and nail for this treasure. She won't let herself be trampled by her cousin again!