Chapter Forty-Four: Not Quite Satisfied with the Price

Many thanks to Brother Yipiao Qingcheng for the generous reward yesterday. Yesterday, I took a brief nap when I found some spare time, but who would have thought that by the time I opened my eyes, dawn had already arrived. I ended up missing a chapter, and I feel guilty toward all the brothers who have rewarded and supported me—please forgive me. Also, my gratitude to everyone who has recommended and favorited the story; your support and recommendations are the very guarantee that Mount Hua can continue to be featured.

As the crimson spiritual energy on the palm of the veiled woman grew richer, a faint, elegant medicinal fragrance slowly spread throughout the room. Even the composed and serene face of Ding Yuan changed color—this spiritual pill was no ordinary thing…

The woman exchanged a glance with Ding Yuan, both seeing the surprise in each other’s eyes. At the very least, this spiritual pill was mid-grade of the first rank…

With a hint of confusion on her face, the woman asked Jiang Yan, “Young master, this pill should be a first-rank Bone Transformation Pill, but its grade seems somewhat off?”

Jiang Yan’s heart skipped a beat—hadn’t he already said it was a fine spiritual pill? Was there an issue with the grade as well? At worst, he could take out another first-rank Earth Spirit Pill. He refused to believe that he couldn’t satisfy these two pill sellers…

Having made up his mind, Jiang Yan asked nervously, “So, you’re saying there’s a problem with the grade of my spiritual pill. May I ask, what exactly is the issue?”

The woman’s brows knitted tightly, making Jiang Yan even more anxious, and he couldn’t help but press, “Miss, is the grade of my pill too low? Let me assure you, this is a top-quality spiritual pill.”

Seeing Jiang Yan’s anxiety, the woman finally spoke slowly, “It’s not that the grade is too low; rather, it’s too high. According to the pill compendium, the Bone Transformation Pill is typically a lower or mid-grade first-rank pill. For a high-level alchemist to refine a mid-grade Bone Transformation Pill is already considered miraculous. But your pill, young master, appears to be upper-grade of the first rank!”

Jiang Yan wiped the cold sweat from his brow and plopped into a chair, speaking rather irresponsibly, “My junior sister is a genius in pill refining. Crafting an upper-grade Bone Transformation Pill is nothing to her. In fact, aside from this pill, I’ve already taken one myself.”

The woman’s mouth fell open in astonishment, “Young master, you’ve already taken such an upper-grade first-rank Bone Transformation Pill? Do you know how effective it was?”

Ding Yuan’s composed expression was tinged with pain—an upper-grade first-rank Bone Transformation Pill, a pill worth untold numbers of spirit stones, and this youth had simply swallowed one down…

Seeing the veiled woman’s eyes fixed intently on him, Jiang Yan smiled and replied, “As for its effects, naturally they were excellent. But if you want to know the specifics, you’ll have to try it yourself.”

The light in the woman’s bright eyes visibly dimmed; she looked regretfully at the Bone Transformation Pill in her palm, then handed it to Ding Yuan beside her, leaving the private room without a word.

Watching the veiled woman depart with such a melancholy air, Jiang Yan couldn’t help but ask Ding Yuan out of curiosity, “Why did that young lady leave so abruptly?”

Ding Yuan’s face broke into a gentle, amiable smile as he replied, “She has just advanced to the fourth level of Qi Refinement. Taking the Bone Transformation Pill now would be of little use to her. If you had come just a few days earlier, young man, you wouldn’t even have had to leave the auction house; Miss Yi would have bought the pill on the spot.”

Jiang Yan sighed in disappointment, secretly regretting that he hadn’t come to the Treasure Pavilion sooner. If he had, he could have named his price and quickly gathered all the spirit stones needed to complete his main quest and advance.

Ding Yuan, still smiling, leaned in close, his face almost beaming with flattery, “Young master, shall we discuss the price of this Bone Transformation Pill? Would you prefer to auction it, sell it directly to our auction house, or leave it with us on consignment?”

At last, they had come to the matter of price. Though Jiang Yan had never participated in a negotiation before, he had seen plenty of negotiation scenes in films. He thought, “Ding Yuan, you’d better not try to trick me.”

With this in mind, Jiang Yan cleared his throat and said nonchalantly, “Manager Ding, I don’t care much about the method of sale, but as for the price?”

Ding Yuan’s face lit up with delight and he immediately explained, “Young master, selling directly to our auction house might fetch a slightly lower price, but you’ll receive the spirit stones right away. According to the rules of the Treasure Pavilion, given the exceptional quality of your pill, selling it to us will make you a premium client. In the future, whenever you have pills to sell, we’ll always offer you a high price.”

His face full of smiles, Ding Yuan looked eagerly at Jiang Yan. He was very eager to secure this pill for the auction house. Previously, in preparation for this auction, the Treasure Pavilion had compiled a catalog of items and sent it to the various sect leaders. The highlight of this auction was a mid-grade first-rank Bone Transformation Pill. According to intelligence from their spies, many sects had already dispatched their experts to bid for this pill.

If he could add this upper-grade pill to the auction, it would not only save on promotion costs but was certain to fetch a sky-high price.

Thinking of this, Ding Yuan almost drooled. When he looked at Jiang Yan again, he regarded him as a walking fortune.

Jiang Yan touched his nose, a sly smile playing about his lips. “Manager Ding, isn’t there an auction tonight? If I wait until it’s over, I can just take the spirit stones from the sale. Auctioning it doesn’t sound like a bad idea.”

Ding Yuan’s face showed a trace of disappointment, and he said with some surprise, “An auction, is it? But you must know that auction prices can’t be guaranteed, young master, and we charge a commission on each item—ten percent of the selling price.”

Jiang Yan seemed tempted by this, “Manager Ding, if I sell the pill directly to you, how many spirit stones can you offer?”

Ding Yuan’s face brightened again. “If you sell the pill to us, you’ll become a premium client of the Treasure Pavilion, and I’ll offer you the highest market price.”

After a moment’s thought, Ding Yuan gritted his teeth and declared, “We are willing to offer three hundred spirit stones for this pill.”

Jiang Yan was disappointed. He had hoped to make eight hundred and thirty-seven spirit stones from this pill to complete his main quest, but three hundred was far short of his expectations.

Seeing the disappointment on Jiang Yan’s face, Ding Yuan felt a pang of worry. Was the young master dissatisfied with the offer? This was already the highest price for a Bone Transformation Pill on the market—he wasn’t underbidding.

However, Ding Yuan had overlooked one thing: most Bone Transformation Pills on the market were lower-grade, with mid-grade ones already being rare, let alone an upper-grade one.

Ding Yuan continued to use all his persuasive skills, hoping Jiang Yan would sell the pill to the auction house. His plan was to set the auction price at four hundred spirit stones; if it didn’t sell, he would send it to a larger branch of the Treasure Pavilion, where wealthy buyers were always waiting for pills that could alter one’s spiritual roots.

Jiang Yan shook his head in disappointment. The price Ding Yuan offered was far less than he needed; three hundred spirit stones wouldn’t even cover half the amount he required to finish his quest. No matter how Ding Yuan tried to talk up the price as rare and precious, Jiang Yan remained unmoved.

Glancing at Ding Yuan, who was about to keep persuading him, Jiang Yan cut him off firmly, “I want five hundred spirit stones for this pill. Manager Ding, put it up for auction. If it doesn’t sell, I’ll take it back myself.”

Jiang Yan had his own ideas. Judging from Ding Yuan’s attitude, it seemed he was very eager for the pill. So, Jiang Yan decided to auction it first. If someone bought it, all the better; if not, he could still sell it to the Treasure Pavilion later, even if the price would be lower. But if the auction brought in a high price, it would give Jiang Yan a sliver of hope in completing his quest.

Ding Yuan was quite disheartened—how could this youth be so stubborn? With little enthusiasm left, he said, “Young master, if you want to set the auction price at five hundred spirit stones, there’s no guarantee it will sell. If it doesn’t, we’ll lower the auction fee from ten percent to five percent, but the fee must still be paid.”