Chapter 80:
This Venerable One’s Ex-Wife… Is Here
THE INDIVIDUAL who had just arrived was indeed the modest gentleman with whom Mo Ran had shared a residence at Peach Blossom Springs: Ye Wangxi.
Today he had come donned in the colors of Rufeng Sect, his blue cloak embroidered in silver with a crane. His hair was fastened with a deep, vivid blue ribbon, and hanging at his waist was a silver incense bell filigreed with a pattern of a rare beast carrying a pearl in its mouth. Perhaps it was because he wasn’t wearing armor, but his usual aura of valiant heroism carried a trace of a refined, elegant air.
Xuanyuan Pavilion’s chief steward approached and greeted Ye Wangxi, eyes lowered and head inclined. “Ye-xianjun.”
Ye Wangxi nodded. “I’ve come in my yifu’s name to bid for an item. Would it please the chief steward to lead us to the upper floors?”
“The pavilion master anticipated Xianjun’s presence, and a booth has been reserved for Rufeng Sect. Allow me to lead my lord there straightaway.”
Ye Wangxi then led the group of ten or so Rufeng Sect disciples upstairs, leaving behind an entire hall of hooded figures who whispered amongst themselves.
“Have Rufeng’s people also come today?”
“Who’s that xianjun? How come we’ve never seen him before?”
Obviously there’s a reason none of you have seen him before, Mo Ran thought, but he found himself curious too. He watched Ye Wangxi’s back disappear around the corner before he turned to Chu Wanning. “Shizun, you’ve stayed with Rufeng Sect before. Do you know this Ye-xianjun?”
“No.” Chu Wanning’s brows knitted slightly. “Although for some reason he looks rather familiar…” He paused for a moment and closed his eyes to think, but he shook his head. “I can’t quite put my finger on it.”
Mo Ran scratched his head. “This Ye-xianjun stayed in the same residence as I did back at Peach Blossom Springs. Ability-wise, he isn’t bad. If he’s been sent to bid on behalf of Rufeng Sect, I imagine his status within the sect can’t be low either. Shizun really doesn’t know him?”
“There are seventy-two cities within Rufeng Sect; its people are spread far and wide. Furthermore, I don’t like to run around and can’t be bothered to pry into internal affairs, so it’s not strange that I wouldn’t know him.”
As they spoke, the booth reserved for Rufeng Sect on the third floor lit up with a bright yellow glow. No doubt the lights had been lit for Ye Wangxi and company, who had entered and settled in their seats. The highest level of Xuanyuan Pavilion was specially reserved for the great sects, so it was seldom used. Thus the crowd looked up to see, thinking it a rare event.
The instant Rufeng Sect arrived, anticipation for the auction had increased a few notches. After a quarter of an hour, the white jade lotus platform at the center of the hall began to glow, and a vibrant length of brilliant red satin unrolled from the ceiling of Xuanyuan Pavilion. A dainty young girl of eleven or twelve, barefoot and dressed in delicate, snow-white silk, spun through the air holding onto the satin banner. She landed light and dainty on the ice-cold lotus platform.
“Honored Xianjun, thank you for waiting. I am the Second Pavilion Master of Xuanyuan Pavilion.” The pretty little girl smiled. “You have come from all across the four seas, and we are honored by your presence. Naturally, Xuanyuan Pavilion will, as always, express our gratitude by putting the rarest and best of items on display.”
Mo Ran’s excellent hearing picked up murmurs from the crowd below.
“The Second Pavilion Master of Xuanyuan Pavilion is just a little girl, still wet behind the ears?”
“Aiyoh, buddy, you really don’t know anything, do you? Do you know how old this ‘little girl’ is?”
“Ten? Fifteen? She can’t be more than twenty at most.”
“Heh. Stunned, are you? She’s over a hundred now. You should call her Great Granny, not ‘little girl.’”
“What?! Liu-xiong, you’re pulling my leg! How can that little thing be a hundred?!”
“This is Guyueye, the number one medical sect in the world. How could anything be impossible? It’s just some medicine of everlasting youth or whatever.”
“Whoa…”
This was doubtless the awestruck man’s first time at the pavilion. After that conversation, he excitedly craned his neck, his hands clutching his money pouch. He was obviously impatient to see what manner of miraculous medicine and sacred items Xuanyuan Pavilion would produce for the auction.
The Second Pavilion Master didn’t disappoint either. With a snap of her fingers, a gap cracked open at the center of the jade lotus platform, and a small stand shaped like the seedpod of a lotus flower slowly rose. Upon it rested five silk brocade boxes the size of one’s palm, and each box was open wide, revealing the medicinal pills within and their pearlescent sheen.
Someone burst out laughing. “Aren’t those just infatuation pills? What’s so rare about those?”
“That’s right! Even if you don’t start out with rare treasures, at least make it something better than basic infatuation pills!”
The Second Pavilion Master wasn’t at all irritated by the crowd’s gripes. Instead she smiled with delight in her eyes and said in a clear, bright voice: “You certainly have good eyes, everyone. These are indeed infatuation pills. As you all know, while these pills are difficult to refine, they aren’t remotely exotic. And of course, Xuanyuan Pavilion would never offer ordinary items merely to placate our customers.”
As she spoke, she picked up one of the brocade boxes and, holding it in her palm, snapped the box shut.
Though the crowd was seated at varying distances from the stage, an enchanted mirror had been placed in front of each individual; it allowed them to view the treasures in detail. Only then did the crowd notice the serpentine emblem on the cover of the box.