[Inside Ye Hann’s apartment – Late afternoon]
The message came in a jade scroll. Sealed. Private. The kind only passed between alchemists and collectors.
Ye Hann cracked it open, eyes flicking across the glowing script.
Ye Hann (muttering):
Spirit-Withered Root. Finally.
Only one piece being auctioned this decade... and it's showing up now?
He looked over at the cauldron in the corner. His current pill refinement process was stalled—the missing root was the final key.
Ye Hann (smiling):
Time to show up with pockets light, and leave with a treasure—and maybe a few egos crushed.
[Golden Fragrance Auction Hall – Evening]
The pavilion stood like a temple of wealth, veiled in golden silks and guarded by cultivators wearing quiet confidence and sharp blades. The hall buzzed with high-class guests: alchemists, sect envoys, nobles, collectors.
Ye Hann stepped in wearing plain robes—black, clean, nothing that screamed "money."
Eyes turned.
Random noble (whispering):
Is that… the Hann family’s discarded son?
Alchemist (curious):
No, no—he’s the one who made that healing pill last week. The one Ruoqi Clan endorsed.
From the upper floor balcony, a familiar voice echoed.
Hann Jinhai (mocking):
Even fleas want to bask in gold now, I see.
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Ye Hann (not looking up):
You’re loud for a man who couldn’t win a duel last week.
Hann Jinhai (scowling):
Let’s see if you can win when it something.
[Auction Begins]
An elegant woman in golden robes—Manager Yao, of Golden Fragrance—stepped onto the auction stage.
Manager Shi (smiling):
Welcome, esteemed guests. May your bids be bold, and your pockets be deeper.
The auction moved swiftly. Beast cores. Artifact fragments. Herbs.
Finally—
Manager Shi:
Lot 23: Spirit-Withered Root. Preserved for 63 years. Alchemy-grade.
Opening bid: 500 mid-tier spirit stones.
Ye Hann:
600.
Hann Jinhai (immediately):
1,200.
Ye Hann:
1,500.
Hann Jinhai (grinning):
2,000.
Guests murmured. That price was steep for a single root.
Ruoqi (watching from her family’s section):
They’re trying to price him out. Of course.
Ye Hann’s fingers tapped rhythmically on the railing. He had exactly 3,100 stones left. If he lost this root, his next advancement might be delayed for .
And then—someone else joined the fray.
Master Yun (Alchemist Guild elder):
2,500.
Ye Hann (murmuring):
You too, old man?
[Ye Hann's Counterplay]
He stood up, drawing every gaze.
With a flick of his wrist, he raised a small glowing vial.
Ye Hann (clear voice):
Instead of spirit stones, I offer a trade.
A freshly refined Seven-Spirit Recovery Pill.
[Gasps around the room.]
Manager Shi (interested):
May I verify?
A staff member took the vial, placed it inside a formation. It pulsed with soft golden light—the mark of purity.
Master Yun (standing):
Impossible. That pill requires triple fusion and balance correction.
Who refined this?
Ye Hann (nodding):
I did. Yesterday.
It was meant for trade.
Manager Shi (smiling):
Golden Fragrance accepts the pill. The trade is fair.
Lot 23—awarded to Ye Hann.
[Exit – Outside the Auction Hall]
Ye Hann stepped out, the Spirit-Withered Root tucked safely into a jade box.
Behind him, Hann Jinhai jaw was locked tight.
Ruoqi caught up to him, eyes dancing with amusement.
Ruoqi:
You seriously just traded a pill worth five thousand stones… to get an herb that’s barely three thousand?
Ye Hann (grinning):
What’s a little loss today for a huge leap tomorrow?
Ruoqi (smiling):
You really are reckless. But it’s kind of fun to watch.
