Chapter 58: "Dragon Saliva Metal"
Ling Yue's mood became exceptionally good after winning the Fire Viper eggs.
"I see little sister have quite the special preference there." The woman in red chuckles with a smile. At first this woman thought the little girl beside her would be more interested in fine jewelry and the stuff like any other ordinary girl, but she was proven wrong when Ling Yue bought something as terrible as the Fire Viper eggs.
"It's just a preference of mine. I see that big sister isn't buying anything, can it be that nothing catches your fancy?"
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After so many rounds of auctioning, Ling Yue can see that this woman was of exceptional background because she didn't bat an eye over the various valuables. Now the only question remains was what could possibly catch this lady's eye to attract her here today.
"The stuff I'm interested in is coming up soon. I came today to get my father a gift because his fiftieth birthday is coming up in a few days." The woman in red didn't conceal anything and revealed that she and her parents only arrived in Glass City a year ago.
The two girls joked around some more until the shopkeeper tasked some workers to lift a certain thing out.
Based on the size, the object in question should be no bigger than two hands matched together, and the appearance was like a hybrid between a rock and a piece of wood.
As soon as the thing was moved in, the entire hall became engulfed in a relaxing fragrance, calming the audiences mind and soul.
"What I want to buy is that century old Aloeswood." The woman in red simplified the history of the Aloeswood's history.
Aloeswood was a type of crystal like resin that grows out of a fragrant tree unique to the southern region of this kingdom. By cutting a small piece and then burning it like an incense, the aroma coming off of it can help improve the conditions of various illnesses and was said to be comparable to a medicinal Dan pill in its use.
Due to her father having an old injury that wouldn't heal, the woman in red specifically rushed over to today's auction in order to procure the Aloeswood after learning of its sale by chance.
"I believe many people came today for this century old Aloeswood so I won't say much. The starting price will be ten thousand silver." The shopkeeper didn't waste his words to do more introduction because those who came for this Aloeswood are of considerable background in Glass City.
Such a small piece of thing is worth over ten thousand silver? Dammit, to think a piece of wood would be more valuable than gold in this age!
Pinning her eyes at that Aloeswood, Ling Yue couldn't turn her sight away. At first she thought her blue patterned Xuan Yin Dan pills were of considerable value, but now this tiny block of wood was making her look poorer than ever before!
"Eleven thousand silver." The woman in red delved right in and added an extra thousand silver to her bid.
There are definitely those who are afraid of this woman's background, but more were turned away by the astronomical asking price. In the end, only a few in the audience were participating in the bidding war.
"Twenty thousand silver." Eventually, only a fat looking merchant remains in the bidding war with the woman in red.
"Sister, don't you think that fatty over there is intentionally driving up the price? See, he's constantly whispering something to his partner on the side as if they are planning something." When the price got pushed to thirty thousand silver, Ling Yue couldn't resist warning the woman in red.
She's been paying attention to that fat merchant the entire time because she just got an aching feeling something was amiss here.
With that reminder, the woman in red immediately looked over, her brows curling into a tight knot.
In order to win the bid for the Aloeswood, she had lost her composure for a moment there and didn't realize the fatty down there was a well-known dishonest merchant in the city.
Selling counterfeits and cheating the cheats, that's the daily business of that merchant.
Then that Agarwood....
"Wait, shopkeeper, I want to see that piece of Aloeswood." The woman in red stopped the auction because according to the rules of the Profit House, a buyer can inspect the goods halfway into the event.
She trusts the Profit House to not cheat its customers, however the origin of that Aloeswood seems to have some issues.
And of course, the Profit House also recognizes the woman in red so she was immediately allowed to go up.
Flipping over the Aloeswood, it's confirmed to be the real deal, but...
At the bottom of this thing, there's a blood stain.
A few days ago, a chamber of commerce from the neighboring city, who was transporting a century old Aloeswood, was ransacked by bandits while on the road, leaving no survivors in the end...
Turning white in her face, the woman in red didn't make a scene and directly places the Aloeswood down without making another bid.
Seeing the woman suddenly abandoning the bid for the item, the fat merchant and his partner also became very depressed. In the end, the two dishonest businessmen can only use thirty thousand silver to "buy" back the blood-stained Aloeswood.
With the first half of the auction coming to an end, the next half of the auction was an appraisal and identification event.
Unlike the earlier part of the auction, the items on show in this segment aren't for sale, only for identification. For those who like to collect treasures and such, this second half of the show was far more interesting.
Tasking the floor workers to bring the items out, each good was placed directly in the hall for the audience to see.
One glance in, Ling Yue can see the range of items are also multifarious, about twenty to thirty pieces in total.
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Prior to coming here, she had in fact tasked the workers of the Profit House to identify her ore, but even those old hands in the business couldn't figure it out. Right now, her rock was humbly placed in a not so noticeable corner.
I hope someone here can recognize the origin of that ore, Ling Yue kept wishing in her heart.
Being unable to purchase the century old Aloeswood, the woman in red was a bit sulky right now. At first she wanted to give the items here a random look before taking her leave, but as soon her gaze fell on something in the corner of the hall, her eyes froze.
Like her at the same time, the vice president of the Alchemist Association also noticed the ore and rushed over quickly.
"This is?" The woman in red had by now come up to that lump of ore, her voice carrying a little uncertainty.
Picking it up to carefully assesse it, her eyes kept widening and widening until it looked like it's about to pop.
Then it was the vice president's turn to pick up the ore. Placing it into the palm of his hand, this man in green started to tap it and dangle it beside his ear.
That's when the sound of shaking liquid drifted into the man's ear.
"Dragon Saliva Metal!" Both the vice president and the woman in red were certain now, this was the legendary ore that's ranked third among all the metals of this world.
"Sister, what's Dragon Saliva Metal?" Ling Yue takes the opportunity to get close to the woman in red.
Not minding it, the woman casually explains the background of the Dragon Saliva Metal.
Dragon Saliva Metal was one of the finest ores known in these lands. Like Meteor Metal and Buddhism Metal, the three ores make up the three most sought after metal in this world.
Speaking of the Dragon Saliva Metal, there's a mythological story to its creation. In ancient times where dragons are more common in these lands, it's not uncommon to find dragon saliva dripping down to the floor and mixing in with Yuan Iron. After years of forming and reforming, the new compound to come into existence was what's known as Dragon Saliva Metal. Aside from its vast uses in forging weapons, this metal also has the ability to scale in size according to the users will, making it one of a kind metal.
Therefore, every martialist in existence would want to forge a weapon out of this material, regardless of the fact that they are suited for its use or not.
"If so, wouldn't this ore be very valuable? Compared to that century old Aloeswood, which would be worth more?" The only thing missing from Ling Yue's eye now was turning those pupils into a money sign.