Who's the real frog at the bottom of the well? - 11.3

Hearing Fan Zhu Xia respond arrogantly, Ning Yan Mei felt deeply aggrieved. Since when had she; a favored daughter of heaven who was revered by every person she had ever encountered before, suffer such loss?

To Ning Yan Mei, this was absolutely unacceptable!

Despite of her unwillingness to step down, Ning Yan Mei could only bite her tongue painfully just to prevent herself from lashing out insults and this was all due to that annoying excuse of a servant of hers!

How could this unknown girl have a servant more skilled and powerful than hers? It was simply infuriating!

As if knowing her thoughts, Fan Zhu Xia maddeningly smiled and despite of her veil covering half helr face, her eyes still showed utter amusement as she looked at Ning Yan Mei's embarassed face.

This caused Ning Yan Mei to almost spit blood in anger yet due to her pride, she resolutely bit her tongue until it was numb before she tasted a coppery sweetness fill her mouth which she immediately swallowed down.

Having watched enough, Fan Zhu Xia turned to the silently watching Ho You and smiled brightly as she said, "Brother Ho, I'm a bit tired from all this noise, I think it would be best if I go to the auction now. You mentioned that there were private rooms available right?"

Hearing her questions, it was quite obvious that this was Fan Zhu Xia's first time coming to the Thousand Treasures Pavillion, showing her lack of knowledge with how things work, especially with how the Thousand Treasures Pavillion operates when they hold auctions. After all, during the auctions, not everyone was qualified to get a private room and even if one was able to get a room, there are still requirements on what kind of room they are allowed to get.

This made Ning Yan Mei's eyes flash with sinister intent and she loudly laughed, disdain filling her face as Fan Zhu Xia looked at her with a raised eyebrow before sarcastically asking, "Is there anything else this young miss can help you with?"

Feeling smug, Ning Yan Mei ignored her sarcastic tone and haughtily retorted, "You? How can you possibly help me when you don't even how the Thousand Treasures Pavillion's room works?"

With a smug look on her face, Ning Yan Mei scoffed before speaking in a belittling manner.

"If you want to reserve a private room for your use, you need qualifications! Unlike an ignorant fool such as yourself, this princess actually has the right to a private room of her own!"

Sneering at Fan Zhu Xia, Ning Yan Mei couldn't help but have a gloating look on her face and with a flick of her hand, a crystal blue card appeared held between her slender white fingers. The appearance of this card actually made people's eyes widen slightly in surprise but when they thought of Ning Yan Mei's background, they quickly calmed down.

Seeing Fan Zhu Xia quietly at her, this made Ning Yan Mei mistake Fan Zhu Xia's pensive look to shock which made her feel even smugger.

With a gloating laugh, Ning Yan Mei asked, "Now do you see that you are just a lowly frog at the bottom of a stinky well, not knowing that you are in front of someone greater that you shouldn't even dream of offending!"

Despite of Ning Yan Mei's words, Fan Zhu Xia still remained calm and only asked Ho You what the card was for which Ho You quickly explained.

The crystal blue card was actually one of the four types of crystal cards given by the Thousand Treasures Pavillion as a token for the owners of the card to receive preferential treatment and the qualifications to use their private rooms during auction events held by the various branches of the Thousand Treasures Pavillion and this cards actually made with special materials, the higher ranked they are, the rarer it is both in quality and the likelihood that they are given out while each card also has different benefits and uses as well.

The crystal blue card was more commonly known as the Flowing Mirror Card and this actually ranks third among this four cards!

The fourth-ranked card, was the green-colored card, or more commonly referred to as the Translucent Jade Card which wa made from rare light-colored jade that was extremely durable but was cut very thinly, to the point that it is almost translucent, hence the name.

This card, although it ranks the lowest, already qualifies the owner to reserve one of the smaller rooms during auctions, has a benefit of a ten percent discount when doing transactions with the Thousand Treasure Pavillion and the card also serves as a way to hold one's money since it has a special inscription like the other cards that allows it to act like a spatial ring with only the storage limit as the difference among the cards but this card only allows money to be stored inside it. The owners of this type of card are usually rich merchants or some of the children of nobility who was able to get this through connections or bought it straight from the Thousand Treasure Pavillion since this is the only card that can actually be gained by buying it, unlike the others which is why it is more commonly seen.

The crystal blue card, known as the Flowing Mirror Card which is the one that is in Ning Yan Mei's posession was made from a seldomly seen type of stone that is usually found in frigid waters in the shallower parts at riverside rapids or the rocks jutting out in the middle of the river where they actually shimmer slightly and reflect the sunlight which can cause them to blend in with the raging waters of the rapids that can cause someone to accidentally hit it if they are going towards its direction.

This type of card is much more rarer than the Translucent Jade Card and has the benefit of a larger capacity to hold the owner's money as well as bringing with it the benefit of a twenty percent discount when doing transactions with the Thousand Treasures Pavillion and entitles the owner to be able to reserve a slightly larger and more luxurious room than the owners of the Translucent Jade Card.

The Flowing Mirror Card can only be given by one of the branch managers to patrons that they deem are worth forging good relations, this of course includes clan leaders, elders and even future heirs to high positions among other figures which made the owners of the card feel extremely flattered to be placed in such high esteem.

The next one, which ranks second is a purple-colored card that is extremely rare to see but is also known as the Essence Spirit Card!

This card is made out of high grade essence crystals that were mined in the Spirit Forest and has a beautiful, ever-changing shade of purple that was crafted carefully and inscribed to hold a much larger space to keep money than the two other cards combined. This card, due to the material that was used to make it is also very special since it can attract trace amounts of spirit energy when out in the air which is extremely conducive to the owner's cultivation since essence crystals has always been useful in cultivating.

Aside from that, this card is only given to people who had earned the respect of the Thousand Treasures Pavillion's branch leaders which is someone with the highest authority in the branch. People who receive this card is usually very powerful and influential people, this even includes the various leaders of the different powers and rulers of a kingdom or country.

The Essence Spirit Card also has the benefit of having a thirty percent discount and the benefit to use one of the more larger an luxurious rooms during events like the auction for free and there is always only five rooms like this in the Thousand Treasures Pavillion.

The last type of card is a card that is extremely rare to see, before it was rumored that only a select few people were able to possess it and this included the former Patriarch of the Cong Clan. This card is called the Mythic Midnight Card which is completely black in color and made out of a special type of ore that can only be mined at Mystic Terra Mountain. This was also probably the reason that most who speculated and came to a conclusion as to why the former patriarch of the Cong Clan had this type of card.

It was said that people who has this type of card are extremely powerful and people who you would be either extremely stupid of crazy brave to offend. The ones who actually has this card in possession was rumored to number as many as the fingers in one's hand since the only way to get this type of card is for the mysterious owner and leader of the Thousand Treasures Pavillion to give it to you.

No one knows the requirements needed to qualify for this card nor what kind of benefit it brings with it. They only know that the owners of this cards can go to any branch of Thousand Treasures Pavillion and be treated to the same courtesy and even more as the branch leader.

After listening to Ho You's explanation, Fan Zhu Xia's pensive look was replaced by amused happiness while mischief sparkled in her eyes as she giggled which made those looking at her momentarily dazed then confused on her behaviour.

Turning to Ning Yan Mei, Fan Zhu Xia smiled softly behind her veil, her eyes glittering prettily before addressing the princess.

"Your Highness, you are absolutely correct that this is the first time that this young miss ever came to the Thousand Treasure Pavillion, but this young miss does wonder if this is enough to prove my qualifications?"

In the center of numerous curious yet confused gazes, Fan Zhu Xia gently waved her hand and in an instant, a card which drew spirit energy to it with an ever-changing purple shade suddenly appeared in her hands and upon seeing this, people's jaw dropped open while some gasped in shock and surprise as the sight left them dumbfounded.

Even Ho You was momentarily speechless before he suddenly blurted out a something that almost seemed like thunderclap to everyone there.

"Essence Spirit Card!"

Feeling faint, Ning Yan Mei stared with an incredulous look at Fan Zhu Xia, not even daring to believe what's right in front of her eyes!

One thought just keeps running through Ning Yan Mei's mind over and over again.

Just who on earth was this woman?!

Before Ning Yan Mei could even gather her composure, Fan Zhu Xia laughed softly, her laugh filled with amusement, sounding like delicate bells tinkling beautifully that it made those who heard it mesmerized yet the next words she spoke immediately snapped everyone out of it.

"Now this young miss would like to know, who is the real frog at the bottom of the well?"

This time, Ning Yan Mei couldn't hold it in and actually coughed out blood in anger before fainting.