Chapter 30: Showing Kindness

Not long after, the door to the reception room opened.

The maid, leading two young attendants, brought in three large bags and several wooden boxes. With an even more sincere and enthusiastic attitude than before, she smiled and said, "Young masters, here are the medicinal herbs you requested, all packed and ready!"

"Additionally, our master has specially instructed that we waive the remainder of the cost for you, so you only need to pay 20,000 gold coins!"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Bai's eyes glimmered with thought.

Xiao Yan, on the other hand, curiously asked, "Why is your master doing this?"

The maid smiled and replied, "You need not overthink it. Our master simply wants to form a good connection with both of you young masters."

Xiao Bai remained silent. He used his spiritual power to scan the large bags and boxes of herbs, confirming that the quantity and quality were correct. Then, he waved his hand and stored everything in his spatial ring.

He then took out 23,800 gold coins and said to the maid, "Please tell your master that we appreciate the gesture, but we do not take rewards for nothing. We'll pay the original price!"

Afterward, he and Xiao Yan left the Mittel Auction House.

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On the top floor of the Miter Auction House, the room was adorned with intricate carvings and golden decorations, exuding an air of luxury.

From here, the view of the entrance to the auction house was unobstructed.

Standing by the window were two figures—a young woman and an elderly man with white hair—silently watching the departing figures of Xiao Bai and Xiao Yan.

"Master Gu Ni, are you certain they purchased the herbs needed to refine Blood Coagulation Powder?" the young woman asked the elderly man beside her, her voice soft and alluring.

The woman had peach-blossom eyes that curved slightly upward, filled with a spring-like charm. Her lips were soft and fragrant, and her delicate face was more beautiful than any flower.

Her wine-red hair was tied up in a bun, giving her a sharp and efficient appearance. She wore a red cheongsam that tightly hugged her mature and graceful figure. Every smile and gesture of hers was captivating.

The elderly man beside her, however, seemed unaffected by her charm. He nodded and replied, "Indeed, those are the three herbs required to refine the Tier 1 pill, Blood Coagulation Powder."

The woman gently waved a fan in her hand, pondering for a moment. Then, she said to the attendants behind her:

"Go and bring Xiao Shi Liu, A Da, and A San up here. I have something to ask them."

The attendant behind her softly responded and left. A short while later, they returned with the three men, the same three who had just gone to deliver the herbs to Xiao Bai.

"Xiao Shi Liu, A Da, A San, greet the young mistress!" The three men immediately bowed in front of the beautiful woman at the window.

"No need for formalities. Xiao Shi Liu, you've lived in Wutan City for a long time. Do you recognize the two people who came earlier?" The woman asked the maid, Xiao Shi Liu, in a soft voice.

"Replying to the young mistress, Xiao Shi Liu doesn't know them, but A Da should." Xiao Shi Liu replied.

"Oh?" The woman's eyes flickered as she turned to look at one of the attendants.

A Da, who was responsible for deliveries and ran errands throughout Wutan City, knew all the gossip and local news very well. Naturally, he was well-informed.

Seeing the beautiful young mistress's enchanting gaze fall on him, A Da's breath quickened, and his face turned red.

From the moment he first saw this young mistress, he had been in awe. Her captivating beauty and alluring figure haunted him every night, making him unable to forget.

"A Da, A Da?" Xiao Shi Liu noticed that A Da was standing in a daze, not responding, and quickly nudged him.

A Da snapped out of it, his face turning even redder when he saw everyone staring at him. He stammered, "Re... Replying to the young mistress, those two... they should be from the Xiao family!"

"The Xiao family?" The alluring woman gently stroked her tempting red lips, murmuring to herself. She remained unaffected by the reaction of the man before her.

Over the years, she had seen too many men look at her with that same expression, and she knew exactly what vulgar thoughts filled their minds. At first, it disgusted her.

But over time, she realized that if she let every single one of them bother her, she wouldn't be able to live her life. So now, whenever she encountered such situations, she simply ignored them.

"Do you know which member of the Xiao family they are?"

"Replying to the young mistress, I don't recognize the young one, but the one with grayish-white hair should be Xiao Bai!"

Ah Da had only learned about this a couple of days ago when some members of the Xiao family were discussing Xiao Bai in the market. That grayish-white hair combined with his youthful appearance was something he had never seen before in all his years living in Wutan City.

"Xiao Bai, huh?" The alluring woman seemed to ponder for a moment, as if she recognized the name.

She had heard from Nalan Yanran when she was in the Imperial Capital that the Xiao family had produced two geniuses—and also two good-for-nothings.

It seemed that the other one was Nalan Yanran's fiancé, Xiao Yan.

Thinking this, she felt a wave of disappointment. Coming to Wutan City had been a hard-fought opportunity. She had pleaded with the elders of her family branch to let her come here.

It was both a training opportunity and a bet.

Her family was preparing for her to marry into one of the three great families of the empire, the Mu family. She didn't want to just accept fate, so she asked the elders to send her to this remote small city instead.

For this, she had signed a bet with her family: in two years, she needed to double the profits of the Miteerl Auction House's Wutan City branch. Only then would her family acknowledge her worth and allow her to avoid the forced marriage.

But this task was not easy. The Wutan City branch's annual net profit was 300,000 gold coins, which meant 600,000 gold coins in two years. However, she needed to increase the profit to 1.2 million gold coins in two years.

To ensure success, she had used a lot of her connections to hire Master Gu Ni, a second-grade alchemist, to help her complete this task. But now, it seemed that it still wasn't enough.

Although Wutan City seemed prosperous on the surface, it wasn't actually wealthy. Most of the people coming and going were mercenaries, and they didn't bring in much profit.

When she was in the Imperial Capital, she had heard that there was no Alchemist Guild here and no alchemists either, so she thought bringing one would surely ensure success.

However, upon her arrival, she realized the situation here wasn't as she had imagined. The absence of alchemists made perfect sense.

Here, because there were no alchemists, another profession had become very popular—doctors. The profession of doctor wasn't as demanding as that of an alchemist. As long as one had knowledge of medicinal herbs and their properties, they could become a doctor.

They could compile various medicinal herbs into prescriptions, or mix them into pills or decoctions, achieving the effects of first-grade or second-grade pills.

However, this method wasn't as pure as the medicinal properties in alchemical pills. It contained many impurities, and the effects couldn't match those of alchemical pills, but it had one advantage that alchemical pills couldn't offer.

It was cheap!

The main consumer base in Wutan City were the mercenaries heading into the Beast Mountain Range. What they wanted when they bought something was simple—cheap and effective.

This had caused the price of first-grade alchemical pills in Wutan City to be impacted. While they could still sell, given the effects, if the price was raised too high, people wouldn't buy them. As a result, the profit margin on pills was very low.

Of course, if the price was lowered, they could still make a profit through high sales volume, but she only had one alchemist, and no matter how many hours they worked, they couldn't make much.

So, when she had heard that someone had bought a large amount of medicinal materials for first-grade pills, she thought she had encountered an alchemist and tried to extend an olive branch in hopes of winning them over. But now, it seemed this was no alchemist at all.

The alluring woman shook her head with a bitter smile.