Mortals akin to Ants

Sheng Zhen followed his uncle inside the Blooming Lotus Pavilion. The guard did not sense any cultivation from any of them but made no move to stop them. Given their state of clothes, he must have assumed they were slaves in for some clan here on behalf of their master.

The inside was as luxurious as the outside, with a polished marble floor and the redwood wall filled with carvings of myriad divine beasts. The lobby was large, with many cultivators and servants milling about.

Zihao was already at the counter, politely talking to the girl at the front counter. The girl on the other hand took one look at the state of their clothes and did not dignify him beyond necessary.

Sheng Zhen noted the cultivation of the girl sitting behind the counter, third level of Foundation establishment. From her appearance, she did not look any older than sixteen. No mere servant has that cultivation at that age.

Although Zihao could not sense her cultivation, he definitely realized that the girl was no ordinary servant. Perhaps it was her temperament or her exquisite Cheongsam.

"...Eh, Young miss, are there any Five Elements pills available?"

"Yes"

"What is the purity of the pills?"

"Low"

"I...Are any of higher purity available?"

"No"

"What would be the price of these pills, my master would like to buy some," Zihao said, banking on the impression of servents working for a clan.

She raised her head and coldly looked at their face, "That would be fifteen thousand spirit stones for one pill. Take it or leave it."

Zihao kept smiling through the entire exchange, nodding politely, his thick skin 'cultivated' through years of trade at full display.

Sheng Zhen came to the first counter and pulled back the Zihao, "Uncle, let's leave. The low-grade pill will be not enough..."

"shhh...what are you doing?"

He immediately stopped him and quietly whispered in his ears, ''We can't leave like that. You see the girl at the counter, if I am not wrong she is the young mistress of the Wen clan. If we leave without trading anything, she might get offended and do something...unsavory to us.''

''Just for that? Isn't that a little too much?''

Zihao shook his head, ''Too much, no, I have seen such things happen too often to count. To cultivators, mortals like me are nothing more than ants.''

As if to prove his point, pressure of an early foundation establishment cultivator slammed into them. It lasted for just an instant and Sheng Zhen barely felt anything, but was enough to throw back Uncle Zihao, who had barely any cultivation to his name.

The girl was not even looking at them to notice that Sheng Zhen was not on the floor, instead spoke while filing her nails, "Don't waste my time any more than necessary."

Sheng Zhen pulled up his pale Uncle while looking around. Most paid no one really paid any attention to them, like this byplay a usual occurrence. But a few people were starting to gather around but no one coming to help them, or reprint the young lady. On the contrary, they were too busy gloating.

"Ah, serves them right, to offend Young Lady."

"Loos like another fool came to the pavilion. Did they think that this was a fish market?"

"Wow, young lady Wen is at foundation establishment at such a young age, truly a genius."

Sheng Zhen frowned, the sheer apathy that everyone was displaying shook him a little. He simply could not understand how humans could be so cold to each other.

And this lady, how can someone be so cruel...no, so uncaring. As if in her eyes, Uncle Zihao was not even a human.

Keeping a lid on his temper, he helped his Uncle to get up. There was time and place for everything and now was neither time nor place for such thoughts.

Sheng Zhen turned to the Young Lady Wen, "Young Miss, my master refined a pill and told me to sell at the Blooming Lotus Pavilion. Can you please appraise it?"

He put his hand inside the fur cloak and brought a small wooden box the size of his fist out of the spatial ring, out from everyone's view. Pulling out the box, he presented it to the 'Young Lady Wen',

"Please", he courteously said.

She used her Qi to float the box towards her palm and opened it. The moment she opened it, a rich scent escaped the box, getting the attention of everyone in the immediate vicinity.

"What heavenly aroma."

"Is that a pill?"

The Young Lady Wen stared at the pill, closely examining it. Tea Green, size of a prayer bead and releasing a faint earth Qi, she could easily identify the pill as Foundation strengthening Pill. A common Grade one pill but what really astonished her was its purity. The pill had a golden sheen to it and the aroma it was emitting, and almost no impurity in it.

Suddenly she gasped, It can't be, this pill was a...

"Flawless Pill!!", The young lady exclaimed, drawing sounds of disbelief from the audiences around.