The rooms and lectures halls within the outer scholar school were of a decent size, that could not be denied. Unlike other schools, a Teacher could almost guarantee that they would have excellent attendance, unless their subject was a little obscure, even for the most enquiring minds. However, there was no way they would cope with the number of bodies that poured in during every Interschool Exchange. But naturally, they were ready and organised for such things; mages had visited before the competition had even begun to reinforce arrays and recharge the crystals feeding them to cause the space within the selected lecture halls to expand to an abnormal size, then they had been refurbished for this event.
Three spaces had received such treatment; two were where the lots were held for inspection, one was where the auction would take place.
Leon was beside Jin Li as they wandered around the crowded hall holding the open auction lots. Sixty displays were formed in the space, each protected by arrays from accidental damage, from theft and from time itself. Most of the displays held animal parts and herbs, occasionally, as with Pike's team's display, there were gemstones and ores. One team was selling some rare wood that they had found and a few had arranged to sell left over paper talismans and pills. Leon's team had decided not to do this, after all, some of his pills were not exactly common.
The small alchemist didn't look at others' pills, ignoring even the higher quality ones as they mostly had no use to him. However, there were more than one stalk of herbs that caught his eye. He particularly found interest in the whole plants, ones that could be repotted and continuously nurtured. Some were common, some were not, that part was not something he worried about.
Jin Li glanced at one or two things, just that these things happened to have little value in his eyes. Skins, furs, horns and teeth, he could hunt those things himself. The ores were nothing special to him and he had no use for jade and gemstones; he could not blacksmith nor craft weapons and jewellery, so why would he buy them? Beside, he'd already found a treasure in the sword he'd named Xunsu Bagong; these people could keep their own measly finds. He didn't want them.
That's not to say he lacked interest in everything placed in the auctions, but that was due to the fact that the second room held truly valuable and more interesting things.
The things held for the closed auction were not held in groups, just displayed individually. The other displays were made to show a fraction of the reason behind their overall scores in the competition, thus quelling some doubts. In this room, the things being sold didn't just give their finder's points toward the competition, they were valuable and sought after. Plus, non-competitors would display their finest works here in order to obtain some money or other things for themselves.
While the open auction, all the bids would be made in front of an auctioneer and all bids would be in points, the bids for the closed auction could be anything; coin, Pills, rarities, weapons. And the item would not necessarily go to the 'highest' bidder in terms of monetary value, but the seller could pick the bid that suited themselves the most. Weaker, less prosperous students could only look on bitterly, while others, including wealthy outsiders and experienced Teachers whisked away all the more interesting things. It never stopped people from trying and hoping though.
In amongst these lots, Leon's senior brother Hue happened to be standing, with his other senior brother, Stygar. They happened to be standing next to a display with a jade bottle upon a pedestal, a single, rare pill inside. It was known as the Scarlet Barrier pill and was an defence-enhancement pill aimed at Fire Mages. If a mage or even a martial artist with fire roots took this pill, it would form a reflective barrier around them made of fire, which would not only burn any weapon or fist that attempted to make contact with them, but would retaliate with small fireballs. The major downside was naturally its reduced market; without fire roots to control the volatile nature of the magic pill, the consumer would suffer internal and external damage from the flames.
"D-d-did b-big brother m-make this p-pill?" Leon found himself asking the large man.
"En," came the simple response.
Leon couldn't help exchange glances with Jin Li and as if reading their mind, Stygar answered their unasked question. "Hue likes to stand guard over his pills before they exchange hands," he told them, then muttered with a sneer; "it's not as if there is no protective measures in place. He does this every year."
He didn't tell them why he chose to stand beside Hue; Leon understood that their relationship was not unlike that between himself and Jin Li, so he did not say anything in regards to this. But a sudden thought did cross his mind.
"C-can b-big brother m-make other p-pills m-m-m... that mages like?" Leon asked him.
"En," Hue replied, but a slight curiosity did develop in his dark eyes.
"These pills aren't cheap, you know," Stygar informed him, quickly. "You are our junior brother, but we can't give away things for free!"
"I understand," Leon responded quickly and murmured something to Stygar that he could possibly trade with them for one of Hue's pills. Stygar's eyes widened and he blinked a couple of times, his eyes drawn towards a display amongst the herbs. He had thought about making a bid for one of those stalks, but they were not easy to transplant. Growing from seed wasn't easy either, but with the right conditions... "What d-do you think?"
Stygar glanced up at the man shadowing him, who was also listening with apt concentration. Noticing Stygar's gaze, he said simply; "I'll listen to you."
"Alright," Stygar decided after thinking it over for a few minutes. "Come over to our place in a few days after the auctions are over. We'll discuss it then."
"Okay," Leon agreed with a nod, then noticed that Jin Li was no longer close beside him, but rather he'd wandered over to a stand nearby. He was placing his bid upon parchment square, which was then sealed with wax and placed in a box with other bids. His action naturally gained Leon's and the small alchemist returned to his side to take a look. He appeared to be bidding for an insignificant looking piece of amber, which happened to hold a tiny, downy feather in its midst. The gem itself was no bigger than Leon's smallest fingernail.
Glancing down, he noticed that the description claimed that the trapped feather was believed to be from a phoenix chick. Not the Phoenix, Feng Huang, the mystical bird that was immortal and would not bear offspring as it had long since removed itself from the cycle of life and reincarnation. The phoenixes were an offshoot species, said to have been born of pheasants, but the eggs were caught in the spiritual fire of a Dragon that was locked in battle with it. Feng Huang was upset that innocents were caught up in the battle and used its own energies in an attempt to protect and heal them, before drawing the raging Dragon away. The embryos within the eggs, exposed to the fire of the Dragon and the benevolent heart of the Feng Huang were reborn in the image of the latter, but formed of the fire of the former.
That was the legend, the truth was lost to time, but it was believed that lava cranes, red sparrows and flame wisps all descended from these fire phoenixes.
As for the downy feather, it escaped imagination how a feather made of fire could be trapped within a piece of amber, perhaps the chick within its shell was still more flesh and blood that what it would evolve into, Leon didn't know. But each feather, each drop of blood, each talon of a phoenix was a pure thing that attracted the natural spiritual energy around it. Although the effects would be lessened thanks to the transparent orange shell containing it, if a Cultivator placed this close to their skin, they could draw more energy to themselves during cultivation. How much they could absorb, though, was down to their own luck.
Unsurprisingly, this was part of the treasure that the placed first above all other martial artist team obtained as part of their trove, ensuring their victory over the others, even if first place over all still remained out of their grasp.
Leon didn't ask how much Jin Li bid for it, just noticed that the man looked satisfied with his offer.
"Sold! For the price of 150 points!"
The first auction was bustling and quite fun, at least compared to the dryer more serious atmosphere to an auction in town. This auction was open only to students, who purchased the products which were sometimes uncommon, though not really that rare in exchange for points that they had earned throughout the year. Some genuinely wanted the items; Pike bid on some metal ore, Bowyer tried hard to obtain several pieces of sizeable leather, Leon raised his hand whenever a decent herb came to attention.
Then there were others who bid randomly, showing off their 'wealth' and others who used the auction as a psychological way to seek vengeance. One such young woman, for example, bid on a selection of lesser gemstones just to block another young woman, who happened to make jewellery to hold paper talismans to sell onward. Leon and the others didn't understand the grudge between the two women, but it was clearly deep.
"Lot number 73, this bottle of six high quality Hidden Fog Pills, do I have any bids?"
The auction itself was quite fast, there were many, many items to get through after all, so there were no flowery descriptions designed to lure in customers and besides that, generally the students already understood the value of what was on offer so didn't need eloquent words to draw them forth. The First Years were particularly enthusiastic; their participation in school events was always kept to a minimum, so they loved to be involved more in the things open to them, such as this auction. Most of the cheap and common items found their way into their pockets while most others held out for things with more interest or value. In this way, everything was sold in the end.
Leon didn't manage to get his hands on all of the herbs he wanted, but he did collect one stalk of the uncommon herb known as Whispering Juniper and a couple of common stalks that he didn't already have the seeds for. When he collected them, he noticed they'd wilted a bit, partly due to the conditions they were kept in, partly as they'd come from a warm place to a cold one. He borrowed a small bowl from Roman to water their roots in while waiting for the results of the closed auction.
The one to pick the winning bids were the team captains, reducing the time and possible arguments that could occur if the whole team gathered to discuss. Leon didn't think that there was anything wrong with this idea; it was the Captains that formed the team's at the end of the day, without their initial decisions, they never would have had the chance to go on such an adventure and test themselves.
The closed auction was not completely discreet; although the names of those to make winning bids were not called out in front of the masses declaring to all what had been won, the winners did each receive a jade plaque with the details carved upon it. This plaque also acted as a key to the pedestal on which their items were standing upon, lowering the arrays protecting them so the item could be retrieved. As the plaques had to be handed out, there would be keen eyes who noticed them exchange hands after all.
Jin Li was not given a plaque.
This caused him to be completely sullen for the whole journey back to their small home on the outskirts of the alchemist's outer school.
Leon quickly potted the three plants, once more watering their roots and placing them somewhere relatively sheltered and light in the home, as Jin Li tossed a fairly large amount of coal into the stove to fire up the smouldering embers within. Leon couldn't help role his eyes heavenward, thinking that it was a waste, but that was soon forgotten as the room became awash with warmth.
The kettle began to steam and Leon grabbed a cloth to remove the iron pot from the stove so he could pour the water into the awaiting teapot with leaves ready to seep. Placing the lid on the teapot containing the water that was turning a grassy green, he placed two teacups either side of it and lifted the whole tray to the low table in the middle of the room.
"Is it such a b-b-big d-deal?" Leon couldn't help questioning his silent lover as he passed him a warm cup.
Jin Li hesitated on bringing the refreshing scented tea to his lips, but still drank it gracefully before replying; "This Lord wasn't expecting gratitude, but thought it might have some use to you. Seems I would have been wrong."
"You wanted t-to g-get it for m-me?" Leon realised and felt warmth spread from his belly to his face. "Thank you."
"What's the use of thanking this Lord now?" Jin Li grumbled, the tips of his ears slightly red. He blamed the growing temperatures caused by the heated stove.
Leon didn't answer, just smiled and poured Jin Li a second cup of tea.
The amber pendant was a cultivation aid, much like Spiritual Pills, but without the side-effects, naturally it would be sought after. Of course Leon didn't know what Jin Li wrote upon the bidding slip, it could have been a little or a lot less in value in comparison to whomever won it in the end, but Leon appreciated the thought in his heart. Still, it was not meant to be and Leon would have to continue to cultivate without its help.
Naturally, he did not know that Jin Li's thoughts had run deeper. Although the martial artist did not want to damage the foundation of Leon's cultivation by hurrying his advancement, a sense of urgency had developed in his mind. This had been caused by the reappearance of his maternal grandfather in his life. He'd always known that he'd have to return to the heart of his family in the Higher realm eventually, but he'd grown comfortable living and studying close to Leon's side. He'd found companions to fight next to, Teachers whom he could respect and his small lover who was obedient and loyal; even if he was a bit stupid and naive at times.
As Leon curled into his embrace, fast asleep that evening, his eyes roamed that youthful and still tender face deep in thought. They'd been together for two long seasons now, lovers and Dao companions for the majority of that time, but during that first time when he'd drawn his sword at that narrow back, he never would have imagined that he was meeting the man he was fated to be with.
That quivering, huddled form, adorned in the cheapest and plainest of cloth and with dirt marring his pale cheeks... not to mention those offensive things covering his eyes... how was he to have known this man who he'd mistaken as a threat to him, possibly the cause to his unforeseen fall into this realm, was actually going to be his life partner! He looked like a beggar rather than a student of the alchemist profession. After realising that he'd been a fool to even consider the timid rabbit as a danger to his life (he didn't even think his disorientation could be blamed for that idiot assumption), he'd sought to use him in order to return to his own realm, to his home. Things hadn't gone his way, of course and slowly strange feelings had arisen in him the longer he'd spent with the alchemist. The need to bully him had always been there, but there also developed a need to protect, a need to possess... a need to touch.
He placed a kiss upon the smooth forehead after brushing aside lengths of black and lengths of white hair, the silken locks running through his fingers as he did so. Now there was the need to keep his small alchemist as close to his side as possible, even though that meant that he could not yet return home, even though that meant he needed to wait for a greater time. But seeing his maternal grandfather appear before him, he'd come to realise that time might not wait for him.
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