As soon as Ikasa stepped into the entryway, his eyes were blinded by the gleaming light reflected from the Chandelier. The floor was as reflective as a mirror and the walls were lined with real gold plates!

An attendant noticed Ikasa looking at the ceiling. This was not an uncommon occurrence. Most of the first time visitors would be fascinated by the opulence displayed in this hall.

The attendant smirked as she approached Ikasa, completely missing the look of annoyance in his eyes. She helpfully supplied information about the Chandelier.

“This Chandelier is made entirely from Star Crystals. Even 10,000 gold is not enough to purchase it.”

Her melodious but proud voice sounded in Ikasa’s ears. She expected to see the look of awe and respect in his eyes but she was sadly disappointed.

Instead, she saw Ikasa click his tongue and slightly shake his head. When she heard what he muttered under his breath, her face became flush with anger.

“Tsk. They have such an elegant name but their decorations are so gaudy!”

These were Ikasa’s true thoughts. Rather than awe, the glare from the reflective surfaces annoyed the hell out of him.

Hearing the words, the attendant stomped her foot and raged away leaving Ikasa alone. Beside him Sang Yi was left speechless by Ikasa’s actions.

‘He was usually so sensible. Why did he have to antagonize the attendant as soon as they entered the Pavilion?’

Sang Yi thought, as he led Ikasa to the receptionists. Three pretty ladies with rouge dabbed on their cheeks were pleasantly chatting with the customers.

Ikasa recognized one of them. His eyes widened as he immediately approached her leaving Sang Yi behind.

“Madame Lian Hua?”

The lady was no longer in the pristine white robes but in the form fitting red cheongsam worn by the attendants. The tight dress hugged her mature body, highlighting her curves. Though her body exuded sex appeal her smile still remained pure and innocent.

Astonishingly, she was the high and mighty Manager of the Lotus Pavilion of Sal City who was working as a lowly attendant in the Fortune Lotus Pavilion!

The mature woman’s eyes darted to see who called her by her previous designation. Complicated emotions flashed through her eyes as she recognized the young man responsible for the downfall of the branch she managed.

The Lotus Pavilion had reopened after a month from the incident. She had even brought in a competent Appraiser from Maple City. But the Lotus Pavilion could not regain its past glory.

The Li Family, one of the major customers, completely boycotted them even after her attempts to make reparations. The City Lord and the Xue family also purchased only miscellaneous items.

The bids for the auctions also fell and many items were sold for cheaper than their actual price. After suffering such losses, many merchants from other cities stopped consigning items to her Lotus Pavilion.

The Lotus Pavilion was thus caught in the vicious cycle of no supply because of low demand and even lower sales because of no goods. It became impossible to sustain the operations and Madame Lian Hua had to close the branch in Sal City.

She returned to her parent organization, the Fortune Lotus Pavilion, as a person who tarnished the name of the organization.

Until the end, she was in the dark about the identity of the Adventurer who consigned the fake manual but from the rumors she heard, it may have something to do with the young man standing before her.

The mature woman slightly narrowed her eyes at Ikasa and quickly put a smile on her lips. She excused herself from her current customer cum admirer and came to Ikasa’s side.

“Young Master Ikasa! What a coincidence! What are you doing in a faraway place like Elm City?”

Lian Hua had no idea what had happened to Ikasa after he left Sal City. She still thought of him as a small-time shop owner. That’s why when she greeted him, her eyes were not very respectful.

Ikasa did not mind it.

This lady was one of the reasons he was able to exact revenge on that fraudulent Appraiser, Master Jin Ping. She could’ve easily lied when checking his Energy Path to save her skin but she had cared more about morality.

In the end, she and the reputation of her Lotus Pavilion had ended up being the collateral damage. Ikasa held a slightest bit of guilt and lots of respect for this woman. If he could, he would definitely try to help her.

With a smile Ikasa took out the Yijian sword and said,

“Madame Lian Hua, I am here to consign some items for the upcoming auction.”

After her previous experience with this young man, Lian Hua was wary of his smile. She critically eyed the red and purple striped scabbard.

On the first glance, she could see that the craftsmanship of the leather scabbard was not on par with the products of Artisans from a Tier-2 City.

A sword in such a crude scabbard would at most be a Superior-Grade Weapon. Though valuable, she did not think it was worth her attention.

She was about to hand him off to one of her junior attendants when Ikasa stopped her.

“Madame Lian, please accompany me to the appraiser. I assure you that you won’t regret it.”

Ikasa said with a charming smile. His handsome smile caused the heart of the older lady to jump before she regained her logic.

She looked at the line of customers waiting for her attention and then at Ikasa and his sword. She tried to calculate which would earn her more contribution.

After all, the amount of transactions facilitated by an attendant determined their status in the Auction house.

Ikasa knew this as well, hence his insistence on making her his attendant. This way he could help her without putting any extra effort.

A few breaths passed in silence. Seeing the lady before him take so long to accept his goodwill, Ikasa felt a little disappointed but he was glad to know he had tried.

“Brother Ikasa, there you are!”

The voice of Sang Yi jolted Lian Hua out of her stupor. She looked at the tattooed young man approaching their position and then at Ikasa with shock.

Who in the Elm City did not know the distinguishing characteristics of the Nian Clan? Their tattoos were famous throughout the City.

As an attendant of an Auction House, Lian Hua knew more than others about the hierarchical structure of the Nian Clan. She could clearly see that Sang Yi belonged to the upper echelons from the long tattoo on his face.

Yet, this person addressed Ikasa, a small shop owner from a tier-3 city as Brother?

Lian Hua was shocked out of her mind. She immediately came to a decision and answered Ikasa, “Young Master, please allow me to lead you to Appraiser Mo.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep