Chapter 138 - Manger Of The Auction House

When Li Ming saw the man with his hanging jaw and not replying, she just raised her eyebrows at him.

"Well...?" 

The man finally came out of his shock at the girl's raised eyebrows and questioning tone. It took him a moment to remember what she was asking for.

"Oh...y-yeah...I-I mean that...that you can..."

"Mister, please take a deep breath first." Zi Yan told the man as she got both irritated and amused by his stuttering.

The man looked a little flushed but he followed Zi Yan's suggestion and took a few deep breaths to calm himself.

After a break of a few moments, he started speaking in a normal and calm tone, "Miss...?"

"You can call our Master as Miss Li." Zi Yan told the man.

"Yes, yes. Miss Li, please take a seat here. I'll be here in a few minutes." The man said as he took the girls towards the sitting area and ordered a servant to serve them tea.

After making another person stand at the reception table, the man disappeared through a small door in the second room which was visible to Li Ming from where she was sitting.

Barely five minutes later, the man returned. "Miss, our manager wants to meet you. Please follow me." 

Li Ming stood up from her seat and followed the man through the same small door which led to a series of stairs, Zi Yan and Jin Jing following behind them.

They finally stopped in front of a wooden door on the fourth floor. The man knocked on the door twice and a voice answered them, allowing them to enter into the room.

The room was of normal size but properly furnished. A huge window was opened giving a view of the market street down below.

What Li Ming wasn't expecting was to see a girl in her mid-twenties sitting inside the room. Her high-quality clothes, golden hairpins, and the aura that was surrounding her were enough for everyone to realize that the girl had a high status.

However, Li Ming could tell that the girl was also only at the first level of High Cultivator Rank, the same as her (Li Ming).

"Miss Li, this is the manager of this auction house, Miss Bao." The man introduced the girl to Li Ming.

"Eldest Young Miss, this is Miss Li and her two companions. She's the one who wants to auction the pills." The man told the girl who was observing Li Ming and her group.

Miss Bao nodded her head at the man's introduction and dismissed him. 

"Please make yourself comfortable." Miss Bao motioned towards the empty seats around the table where she was sitting.

Her behavior was polite but Li Ming still couldn't tell what kind of personality the girl carried. 

She sat down on the empty seat opposite Miss Bao while Zi Yan and Jin Jing decided to stay standing by the door.

"It's not a normal sight to see a person carrying around hundreds of pills with them, especially a pill like Body Cleansing Pill. I don't remember seeing something happening like this in this auction house in the past ten years." Miss Bao said as she poured the steaming tea into two cups and offered one to Li Ming.

Li Ming politely thanked Miss Bao for the tea while saying, "I see. It explains why I suddenly got permission to meet you."

She took out the four jars filled with pills out of her space and placed them on the table. 

"These two are filled with Body Cleansing Pills, one with hundred pills of First Rank low-grade pills and the next with hundred pills of Third Rank Middle-grade Pills." Li Ming told Miss Bao as she tapped the two jars while pointing out which one held which level of pills.

"On the other hand, these two have Healing pills inside them. Just like the Body Cleansing Pills, one is filled with First Rank low-grade pills and the second with third rank middle-grade pills." This time she pointed at the remaining two jars.

She was impressed by the control that Miss Bao had over her expressions. If not for the surprising flick in her eyes that was there for barely two seconds before Miss Bao covered her shock, Li Ming would have thought that her pills had made no impression in front of the young lady.

"And each jar is filled with a hundred pills?" Miss Bao asked to confirm what she had learned through the shopkeeper.

"Right! Each jar is carrying a hundred pills inside it, in total four hundred pills." Li Ming replied as she lightly knocked her knuckles on the glass jar.

"Alright! We are ready to put these pills for auction this afternoon. But before that, we need to confirm the authenticity of these pills. I hope Miss Li won't mind this. It's just a precautionary measure." Miss Bao said as she tried to observe the girl's reaction very closely.

Looking at Li Ming's high-quality clothes, her cultivation level, and her aura, and the two girls that accompanied her, it was clear that she belonged to the high society. But no matter how rich a person was, it's still not a normal sight to see a young girl entering into an auction house carrying four jars of pills to auction.

Though such a sight could be easily seen in the Empires like Song or Central Empire, but why would someone from these two Empires come to the Wang Empire to sell their pills.

"Of course, Miss Bao. You can proceed with your tests. I don't have any problems." Li Ming immediately dismissed Miss Bao's words.

She didn't find anything wrong with the test. After all, it could be considered as a smart move from the auction house. Also, on other hand, at least it would be proved that her pills were real and authentic.

Miss Bao signaled one of the servants and after five minutes that same servant entered into the room carrying a heavy wooden box in his hands and placed it on the table between both the girls, before leaving the room.

Li Ming silently observed Miss Bao as the latter opened the wooden box. Inside the box were two cricket ball size holes, both covered with circular glass-like things.

"Miss Li, can you please pass me one pill from both first rank low grade and third rank middle grade Body Cleansing Pills?" Miss Bao asked as she cleaned the box of any imagery dust.

Li Ming passed two pills to Miss Bao, one from each jar containing the Body Cleansing Pills.

Miss Bao placed one pill in the first slot and the second pill in the second slot.

"When I signal you, please say the rank and level of the pills and tap both covers with the tip of your index finger while saying the ranks. If the rank and level told by you are correct, the balls will glow in golden color and if it's wrong, then there will be no change in the balls." Miss Bao explained the procedure and Li Ming nodded her head in understanding.

After closing the circular lids of the slots, Miss Bao placed her index and middle fingers on the two characters that were engraved on the box between the small gap of the two slots.

As she channeled her energy into the characters, a white light illuminated the characters and spread into the two slots.

Miss Bao signaled Miss Li to say the ranks of the pills as she continued to pass a very small but specific amount of her spiritual qi into the carved characters.

Li Ming tapped the first cover and announced the rank and level of the pill. She did the same with the second one and settled down on her seat.

Barely a few seconds later, the two glass-like circular lids glowed in a bright golden light, making Li Ming smile softly.

While Miss Bao looked at the pills in shock. Though she assumed that Miss Li had a decent personality but she was still not sure about the pills, however, looking at the golden light there were no more doubts remained as it was confirmed that the pills were indeed authentic.

The two girls performed the same procedure with the next two pills and by the end of the second test, it was clear that all the four pills were exactly the same ranked and level pills which Li Ming had told them. 

The number of pills was exactly four hundred, each jar filled with a hundred pills.

"Miss Li, we are ready to auction the pills. The auction will start within two hours. Do you have some special requirements for the auction?" Miss Bao asked.

"No. I don't have any special requirements. You can decide the starting price of the bid and any other things if needed. I just wanted to sell these pills since I don't have much use of them for now and I can always refine new pills when needed." Li Ming said as she sounded completely uninterested in the auction or the money that the pills would bring to her.

After setting a few more things, Li Ming took her leave from the Auction House with Zi Yan and Jin Jing as she promised Miss Bao to be present for the auction.

Our female lead was completely unaware of the things that were going to happen to her soon and would change her life forever!!