“Ha ha ha! This looks authentic! The smell, the color, the feel… everything is perfect!”

Ikasa exclaimed as he checked his version of the ‘ancient scroll.’

‘The only problem is time. Creating one copy took me 3 days! I guess I should take the premium route for these scrolls. After all, if too many of the same scrolls appear at the same time, their price will drop.’ Ikasa thought as he rolled the scroll carefully and put it back inside the holder.

“Ikasa, are you in there?” Ikasa hurriedly hid the scroll holder when he heard the voice of Captain Yao Han. Then he opened the door and smiled at the man.

“Good Morning…” Before Ikasa could finish his greetings, Yao Han cut him off.

“What took you so long?” Yao Han barged into the room while giving Ikasa a look of annoyance.

“Anyways here, take these. The administrative office wants you to draft a guarantee letter for security.” He pointed at the documents in his hands while motioning him to close the door.

Ikasa helplessly closed the door. Whenever security documents needed to be drafted, a guard captain assigned to the job would arrive personally. And Yao Han was the friendliest of the bunch.

Ikasa opened the documents to check what points he needed to include in the agreement. Before he could read further, he heard Yao Han exclaim.

“What’s that?” Yao Han was standing before the printer.

Ikasa’s heart thumped. He decided to play it cool. He got up from his seat and arrived beside Yao Han.

“Do you remember the trip I took a week back to the ruins outside the city?”

“Oh Yes… That’s where you found your high-grade single-use manuals too right?” Yao Han asked teasingly.

Ikasa’s face darkened immediately but he didn’t blow up as this was just friendly ribbing.

“I am telling you they are real! Anyways, I found this in that ruin too. Don’t know what it does but it is heavy.”

Ikasa watched with bated breath as Yao Han caressed the printer. Thankfully there was no reaction at all. The captain then turned to Ikasa and asked, “Why don’t you sell it in the auction happening a few days later?”

“No way! This is my souvenir from my first adventure! I will show this to my grandkids and regale them with the tales of my adventure!”

Ikasa smiled as if imagining the future. Yao Han laughed heartily as he slapped Ikasa’s back.

“Goodman, you can dream far! You don’t even have a wife and you are thinking of grandkids!” Ikasa didn’t argue further as he had achieved his purpose and distracted Yao Han.

Both of them moved away from the printer and took a seat on the floor. Sitting on a hard floor made of mud keeps your bum bouncy. Especially when you have no chairs.

“Anyways hurry up, I still need to take these documents back for approval.” Yao Han urged.

“It’s you who distracted me, old man!”

Ikasa retorted as he shuffled through the papers.

As he looked at the documents, he realized it was not the usual agreement that needed a third party. It looked more like official paperwork of the administrative office.

He noticed the party requesting for extra security was Lotus Pavilion. Usually, they requested more security from the City Lord only when there was a big event like an auction.

Ikasa instinctively raised his head and asked, “There is an auction happening soon?”

“Didn’t I just tell you about it a few minutes ago? There are still 3 days to go… If you take that big box of yours there now, maybe they would still allow you to consign it!”

Then Yao Han lowered his voice as if he was about to reveal some confidential information.

“I heard rich people are very willing to fork out big money for these kinds of goods. I am telling you that box will at the least sell for 500 Gold. That’s 500,000 coppers! With it, you will be set for life!”

Ikasa smiled helplessly. He was depending on that box to make money, but not by selling it.

“I’ll think about it,” Ikasa replied patronizingly. Yao Han looked dissatisfied with his perfunctory answer. He wanted to nag Ikasa more.

Sensing danger, Ikasa quickly tried to change topics. He pointed to documents in his hands and asked,

“Shouldn’t this kind of work be done by the Scribe in the administrative office? How come it is coming to me?”

Yao Han paused and sneered gloatingly.

“That useless guy bought his mistress back home. His wife caught him and they had a big quarrel. She threw a knife at his face but he used his palms to protect it. Now he has a deep wound on his palms so he is off work this week. Expect lots of work from the City Lord’s office in the coming days.”

As he saw Yao Han take joy in the two-timing scribe’s misfortune, Ikasa shook his head.

‘Worlds might change but people are similar everywhere.’

Seeing that Yao Han still wanted to talk to him more about the incident, he entertained him for a few more minutes. Once Yao Han had his fill, he paused and Ikasa also buried his head in legalese.

Within an hour he had readied the required document. Yao Han checked it and verified with agreement terms. He patted Ikasa’s shoulder appreciatively.

“You really are talented, brother. Too bad commoners like us can only work under someone else.”

Ikasa could only smile wistfully. It was the truth. All he could do was try his best to change this reality.

“Anyways as usual when the documents are verified, you can come collect your payment from the administrative office.” Yao Han patted his butt and left to submit the documents.

Once Yao Han had left, Ikasa closed the door excitedly. He did have something that would fetch more than 500 gold at this auction.

He fetched the Scroll Holder from its hiding place. He was about to leave the house but then he paused.

‘If that sneaky old man, Jin Ping, is the appraiser, he will definitely make trouble for me. I better cover my face like adventurers do.’

Ikasa rummaged through his closet as he looked for the adventurer’s garb he had purchased before his trip to the ruins. He found it but it was smeared with dirt and grime.

“Perfect! This will make my story even more believable!”

Ikasa quickly put on the long robe with a hood that covered his face and set off to the Lotus Pavilion.

—-

“Good Afternoon, Mister! How can I help you?”

The pretty lady at the reception desk asked Ikasa politely. She was clearly trying to suppress her instinctive reaction to the stench coming from Ikasa’s cloak. So her voice sounded unnaturally nasal.

Ikasa smiled seeing her reaction. This was exactly the reaction he hoped for. His stench would distract people and any slip-ups that might expose his identity would go unnoticed.

“I would like to consign a precious manual for the upcoming auction.”

Ikasa answered straight without bothering with pleasantries as he would normally do. At this point, he was almost leaning over the desk.

The lady still tried to smile and replied, “Please wait a minute, I will notify the appraiser to assess the worth of your item.”

Then she immediately left her post as she jogged to get away from the sweaty stench from Ikasa’s robe. A few minutes later she came back and invited Ikasa to the upper floor where the appraisers sat.

When Ikasa entered the room, he saw an old man on his knees enjoying tea. A long table was placed in front of him and a bag of tea leaves was on it. Ikasa recognized the man. It was none other than Master Jin Ping!

As soon as Ikasa entered, the nose of the old man twitched and his eyebrows furrowed. But he didn’t exhibit any extreme reaction except for a mild look of displeasure.

‘Old Fogies sure know how to keep their composure. If his servants were here, they would have created a scene.’

Ikasa smirked at the thought. He bowed his head slightly to show his respect and then placed the Scroll Holder on the long table and stepped back two steps.

Master Jin Ping took out his monocle and placed it on his left eye. He carefully observed the scroll holder without touching it.

“Where did you find this?”, he questioned.

“I found it among the goods of an abandoned caravan attacked by beasts.”

Master Jin PIng’s forehead wrinkled. It is easier to ascertain the authenticity if the goods are from a ruin. Every ruin nearby has been dated and matched to a certain power from history. But this scroll looks ancient but with an unclear background.

Master Jin Ping picked up the scroll holder and opened it. A familiar musty smell assaulted his nose. He nodded in appreciation. When he unfurled the scroll a look of shock appeared on his face.

“Ape’s Might Body Forging Technique! What a name!”

Ikasa smirked inwardly. He had imagined the reaction countless times when he had penned the name. Seeing it in person brought him immense satisfaction.

As Master Jin Ping looked through the depicted exercises and intended energy path, he exclaimed once again.

“High-grade Path Forging Manual?”

The more Master Jin Ping looked, the more he liked it. If not for his Energy Path conflicting with the one in the manual, Jin Ping might’ve used the manual for himself.

“This manual is worth 1000 Gold. Are you willing to sell it to Lotus Pavilion?” Master Jin Ping asked.

‘1000 gold! I had expected the prices to be in this range but to be offered outright? Maybe I can earn more if I auction it?’

Ikasa pondered about his quandary while Master Jin Ping calmly sipped on tea. In the end, he decided against selling it directly.

“Thank you for your appraisal, Master. But I would like to consign this manual.”

Ikasa was having a hard time maintaining a facade of politeness. But when he imagined Master Jin Ping’s reputation in shambles, he was easily able to calm himself.

An hour later, Ikasa had left the Lotus Pavilion after completing the procedures for consignment. He had to pay 5% of the total selling price as a fee to Lotus Pavilion and an additional 1% to the Appraiser.

Now all he had to do was wait for his scroll to be sold in the auction.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep