The Legend of Fangren

Chapter 118 A Chance Encounter with Zhu Huan'e

"1801 times—1802 times—"

The auctioneer was getting anxious. Why did the fourth-grade Spirit Condensation Pill only fetch 10,000 yuan before stalling? In the past, it would have been easy to add several thousand more. If it had been sold this time, it would have been better if it hadn't been sold at all. What was going on today? In the past, all the major sects and families should have been scrambling for it.

She glanced around the platform and deliberately delayed her third bid. Seeing that no one had followed suit yet, she decided to fabricate some more stories about the effects of the elixir to buy time.

Fortunately, at that moment, a bidding paddle was raised on a high platform.

"Hey! The guy on the platform to the left has raised the bid again, 11,100, just once!"

Attorney Chu was surprised that Fang Shi actually bid, throwing out 10,000 yuan with a single move. As expected of someone with a storage magic treasure, he was indeed not short of money.

After Fang Shi placed his bid, the person on the opposite platform also placed a bid; it was the same person who had just placed the last bid.

Seemingly to show their determination, the other side raised their bid twice in a row. Fang Shi glanced at it, but his expression remained unchanged. He calmly raised his bid again, and as expected, the other side continued to bid, twice in a row.

The auctioneer below was delighted; wasn't this exactly the bidding process she wanted to see? The more the two sides argued, the more money the merchant would make.

In the blink of an eye, the price soared to over 15,000, already within the price range for a fourth-tier Spirit Condensation Pill. However, neither side showed any sign of stopping. Even the auctioneer couldn't help but remind them, "Gentlemen on the platform, please bid rationally. If you back out at the last minute, you will be placed on our blacklist."

Attorney Chu quickly reminded him, "Brother Fang, you heard that too, don't act impulsively."

"I understand." Fang Shi nodded and continued to raise his sign.

Finally, the person on the opposite platform seemed unable to hold back any longer and called out loudly, "Young hero, I am the steward of the Liu family in the south of the city. My young master has recently gone out to train and needs elixirs to ensure his safety. I hope you will give me some face."

"Who is the Liu family in the south of the city?"

Fang Shi didn't know, so he asked Attorney Chu, who quickly said, "The patriarch of the Liu family in the south of the city is Liu Xuansheng, the former deputy general of the Ministry of War. It is said that he sacrificed his life to lure away the beasts and saved a large group of wounded soldiers. He even fought his way back and fell in front of the city gate. Due to his serious injuries, he had to retire. The Ministry of War posthumously conferred upon him the title of honorary deputy general. He has a lot of prestige and connections in the Ministry of War. His Liu family is also quite popular among the families in Emerald City."

"Oh—" Fang Shi nodded, bowed to the person opposite him, and did not bid any further.

The steward breathed a sigh of relief and replied, "Thank you, young hero."

Fang Shi, who hadn't managed to get a picture of the elixir, swallowed hard, the aroma of the elixir still lingering in his mind.

"Brother Fang, if you really want to eat it, you can just go to Danlou to buy it."

"That's not the case at all. Since these families are scrambling for pills at the auction, it means they can't buy them normally. I only met that proprietress once, and we have no connection. How can I just refine them whenever I want?"

Nothing at the auction could pique Fang Shi's interest anymore, and he felt bored. He wanted to push aside the curtain and go downstairs to browse, but he saw a woman in a red dress sitting in the next seat. She was looking up at him.

Oh, is this the owner of the Bhutanese restaurant? I didn't expect her to be right next door. We arrived early and didn't notice. Separated only by a curtain, we must have overheard everything we just said.

Fang Shi couldn't just walk away, so he bowed with both hands. But the proprietress, Zhu Huan'e, smiled and spoke first: "Young master, were you implying that I don't usually refine pills?"

"Uh—" Fang Shi was a little embarrassed and explained, "I just felt that this pill was extraordinary and not an ordinary thing, so how could it be obtained so easily?"

Zhu Huan'e knew he was flattering her, and said with a light laugh, "For me, this fourth-order Spirit Condensation Pill is not difficult to refine. It's just that the production is limited because spiritual herbs are hard to find. I put this pill at the auction in the hope that it won't be snatched up and can be distributed to those who need it."

"Hahaha—Boss Zhu is really thoughtful." Fang Shi glanced to the side, a bead of sweat sliding down his face, thinking to himself, "You're just distributing this to wealthy people who need it."

Zhu Huan'e understood his expression, picked up a teacup from the small table next to the chair, lowered her eyebrows and took a sip before saying, "I see that you have no cultivation, young master. Even if you are quite wealthy, it is best not to be too curious. Although the Spirit Condensation Pill is one of the mildest of the fourth-grade pills, it is still not something that an ordinary body can handle."

"It seems the proprietress still remembers our meeting at the shop the other day," Fang Shi replied politely with a smile, offering no further explanation.

Zhu Huan'e meant that even if a fourth-grade pill is cheap, it is still a fourth-grade pill and should have the price of a fourth-grade pill. It is not something that can be sold cheaply just because someone is kind. A high price may seem to distinguish between the rich and the poor, but it also distinguishes between cultivation level and ability.

But Chu, the lawyer behind him, couldn't bear to see his benefactor being looked down upon like that, and bluntly said, "Brother Fang is wearing a magic item that conceals his cultivation aura; he's incredibly capable."

Upon hearing this, Fang Shi hurriedly laughed and said, "Although I have a magic treasure to conceal it, my cultivation level is only average, at the second or third level, nothing to mention."

"Oh?"

He explained it this way, but Zhu Huan'e became interested: "Young master, you actually carry such a magical treasure?"

She glanced at Attorney Chu behind her and immediately recognized him as an honest fellow who wouldn't lie, but was also easily deceived.

She suspected the young master had made unfounded accusations, and having no intention of covering for him, she directly asked Fang Shi, "Young master, in this Emerald City, I am the only one who has reached the fifth rank of alchemist, and I have some experience in the method of sensing profound energy. I'm curious, what kind of magic weapon could prevent me from sensing even a trace of profound energy? If I were fortunate enough to see it, the matter of pills would be easily discussed."

"this--"

Seeing his troubled expression, Zhu Huan'e added fuel to the fire with a half-smile: "I still have some of the spiritual herbs needed for the Spirit Condensation Pill in my alchemy room. You can get them tomorrow if you want to refine it."

"Ah, this—" Fang Shi thought it over and over, and decided that he should just admit that he had a special constitution.

But then Zhu Huan'e said, "I suppose young master feels it's inconvenient to display your magic weapon in public. How about this, you come to collect the pill tomorrow afternoon, and I'll have a look then, okay?"

"That's fine too."

Zhu Huan'e ultimately gave Fang Shi some face and didn't directly expose the lie Fang Shi told to Attorney Chu.

However, it wouldn't be accurate to say that she made the arrangement for tomorrow solely to tease this young master.

She could sense the storage ring on the young master's hand, which meant he was extraordinary. If he really had such a magic weapon, she couldn't let it go easily. Her fifth-grade alchemist had been stuck in the realm for many years. She had been searching for such craftsmanship for a long time. Even if she gave him a few fourth-grade pills for free, she would still find out the truth.

With the agreement now made, Zhu Huan'e surprisingly got up and left.

The alchemy process is complicated. The pill condensation needs to be completed by tomorrow afternoon, so I need to go back and prepare the elixirs tonight.