The next morning Jin and Mei sat in the front off to the right side of the small room that acted like the auction room. It was a simple room with about two dozen chairs that sat in front of a low stage made of polished wood. On that stage were a few tables setup, each with an item and then a piece of cloth that covered that item. None of the items seemed very big. There was one where it looked like what might be a simple bottle, which was the one Jin would be fine with getting if it was what he thought it was. Another table held something squarish under it, and then Jin wasn’t sure how to describe what was under the third cloth.

Besides them, there were the three cultivators from the Moon Lotus Pavilion who sat just a few seats away from them. A little behind them was an older bald man that had only a few teeth and gave off no spiritual power. This man didn’t seem like he quite fit in here, but he must have been someone to receive an invitation. Then there were a few others in cultivator robes of varying colors that didn’t seem to belong to any one sect or another.

On the other side of the room in the front was a single woman dressed in deep green and black robes. Mei pointed her out at Jin excitedly.

“You know who that is,” she asked him in a whisper that the entire room heard thanks to everyone’s abilities as cultivators.

Jin cocked a brow and looked over to whom Mei was all excited about and then went back to his wife and shrugged.

“It’s someone from the Sect of the Jade Mountains,” Mei continued in the loud whisper.

Jin leaned forward once more to look past his wife and at the woman. She was a exquisite woman, but tried to hide it. Her robes were a little more loose than was normal for a woman to wear. The black hair was worn loose and messy and she tried to cover her face with it. Then he could see the makeup.

He looked back at Mei, who stared at him with narrowed eyes. “Better not be doing what I think you’re doing,” she accused.

Jin sat back a little with wide eyes. “You told me to look at her,” he said innocently. “I just wanted to see what the fuss was about.”

She still stared. “Well, you don’t have to leer.”

Jin shook his head and laughed and put an arm around his wife and pulled her close to him while he rubbed her shoulder. “Come no, you know I only have eyes for you.”

Mei exhaled through her nose, but then the attendant from the previous day walked in and on the stage. “Alright then, welcome you one and all. I’m sorry we’ve had to do this to begin with, but with the weird weather we’ve had lately…” he trailed off and then shrugged.

“Anyway, let me present to you the items we have for sale today,” he went and removed the cloth from each of the three items. The first item was exactly what Jin suspected it was: a large bottle of the dark soy sauce. He might be new to cultivating and still unsure of whatever meat and was, but even he could feel the spiritual aura the item gave off.

The next item was twelve bottles of the stuff, which sat in a wooden storage container. These gave off some of the spiritual presence the single bottle had, but was no whereas much. Would these twelve bottles go for cheaper than the single then? He wondered and looked at Mei, who just stared at the bottles.

Finally, the attendant removed the third cloth and revealed some dumpling steam baskets and Jin perked up once more. He could always use more steaming baskets and he wondered what exactly was so special about those. He felt nothing special about them, and they didn’t look remarkable. He didn’t give them another though and instead focused on the soy.

“So, I’m assuming since you all stayed the night, you have all come up with some silly backroom deals?” The attendant accused everyone in the room.

The cultivators from the Moon Lotus Pavilion and Jade Mountains looked sheepish and pretended they couldn’t see the man doing the auction. The Chens just watched everything going on. Even the mortal man seemed to look away when the accusation came out.

“So, what did we decide? Obviously, the mortal man would get the baskets?” He looked around at everyone. Taiwei shrugged and nodded his head. The woman from the Sect of the Jade Mountains sighed loudly and folded one leg over the other.

The attendant shrugged and picked up the baskets and tossed them to the bald man. “Whatever. They aren’t much. They will produce steam for you through the runes and then the fire and water spirit stones. You don’t need a fire or anything to cook your dumplings. Pay the woman at the desk on your way out, whatever.”

The man jumped and grabbed the baskets with a laugh and rushed out of the room like he thought someone might tackle him for them.

Jin watched him leave and pursed his lips. He gave a nudge to Mei and leaned in to whisper into her ear.

“No,” she said simply before he could say anything. She knew what he was going to say. He wanted the baskets. It was true. They seemed like useful tools, but they weren’t here for those. They wanted the soy sauce, preferably the spiritual sauce. The ones that came in the case were probably good. These people made the best but soy with aura from the very world? That seemed like it was a prize.

“And let’s face it,” the attendant said once the bald man was gone. “The Chens, while quite popular and with a glowing reputation, could not afford this bottle,” he put his hand on the single bottle.

Mei went to object, but he raised a hand to stop her. “It’s true, you know it’s true. Yes, yes, I’m sure you have plenty of little trinkets and made decent money last night. The other groups have entire sects backing them, and the Moon Lotus Pavilion while small live their entire lives to excess. That’s their whole thing,” he explained.

Mei frowned but hung her head in defeat. The man was right, and she knew it. It was a pipedream. Jin wrapped his arm around her shoulders and patted her arm softly. It would be alright. He gave a smile and a shrug to the attendant.

“Still though, you’re walking away with something. The Jade Mountain sect didn’t care to receive the mortal sauce. They only wanted the spiritual stuff,” he explained.

Mei looked back up and hung her jaw. “We can afford that,” she said.

The attendant nodded his head. “I know you can. This is what you were originally after, after all.”

The other people in attendance looked uncomfortable, and the woman looked backwards at the group from the Moon Lotus Pavilion.

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Taimei just grinned a nasty grin and said, “I guess it’s between you and us. Did your elders give you enough gold to get it?”

She narrowed her eyes and frowned at him and then looked back at the attendant. She rolled her eyes and shrugged before she left without saying a word.

Taimei and his group chuckled. “Guess she didn’t want it that bad,” he said as he held his stomach.

Mei couldn't care less and just looked back at the case of soy sauce that was about to be theirs. It wasn’t exactly the product she wanted, but it was delicious stuff and could help elevate her husband's cooking to get more notice. It seemed like they already had notice of some people from the Pavilion so this could only help. Before she realized what was happening, the attendant was giving the case to Jin.

“I know you’ll make good use of it, cultivator,” he said and bowed his head to him.

Jin sat there kind of slack jawed himself now. No one ever called him that. He was a cultivator, but he was really recognized as one. Everyone just called him Jin, or Chef, or Cook, or something like that. Jin stood now and sat the case on the chair he was in before and bowed to the attendant.

“Thank you. Thank you so very much. We will make excellent use of it,” Jin said whole-heartedly and gave the man a deep bow. When Jin stood, the man had his hands on his shoulders and he grinned.

“I’m sure you’ll find it’s an excellent product,” the attendant leaned in and whispered in Jin’s ear. “Excellent,” he said once more and stressed the word.

Jin pulled back a little and looked at Mei for support. “Yeah, uh, I know. That’s why I wanted them. Thank you so much,” he said and took his seat once more.

The attendant looked down at them both and gave a wink before he went back to the last bottle and over to the Moon Lotus Pavilion cultivators and handed it over. He smiled and told them, “two hundred gold pieces.”

Taimei looked shocked. “I thought this was an auction?”

The attendant shrugged. “The Jade Mountain girl would have been able to afford that. If you don’t want to pay it, I’ll —”

“No, no, it’s fine. I’ll pay for it. We’ll pay it,” he rushed out before the man could finish his statement.

The attendant nodded his head. “Good, pay young Aiko on your way out,” he said and held out an arm, leading them to the back of the room and through the back door. “I’m sorry for all of this, just things are happening and my day is turning out busier than I expected it to be. So I’m just getting to where we’re all going to end up quicker.”

The three from the Pavilion stood and grumbled but eventually made their way to the exit and Jin and Mei sat there and watched them. Was he going to tell them how much their product was going to be? Or would they be able to dictate the price like the bald guy could? Jin held the case close to his chest as the attendant walked over.

“Now, you two,” he grinned and watched the three others finally leave the room and close the door behind them.

“We wanted our product to go to someone who could really use it. Really be able to appreciate and get the most use out of it. Those three would just give it one of their cooks and expect it to bring them up a level or something,” he said and rolled his eyes.

Jin and Mei weren’t sure what to say or what to do, so they just stared at him. “We’ll, we’ll appreciate it,” Jin offered once the man took a moment to breathe.

The attendant nodded his head. “Yes, we believe you will. As I said, your reputation precedes you. You’re known for your ramen and dumplings, but that barbecue you did last night surely did hit the spot,” he said as he rubbed his stomach. “You don’t have any left, do you?” he asked and cocked a brow.

Jin looked up at him and nodded. “We do, actually. Some chicken and brisket and the macaroni and cheese.”

“Deal,” he said and struck out his hand.

Mei stared at the two and then centered on the attendant. “Deal?”

“Yes, deal. Give me whatever you have left from last night and that case of spiritual sauce is all yours.”

“Well,” it took Mei a moment, and then she opened her eyes wide and looked at the case. Jin was already staring at it. “The spiritual sauce?”

“Of course,” the attendant said. “We would not let our product go to those guys. Not the quality stuff, anyway. They just have a regular bottle. I mean, they have a bottle of our private stock. It’s a bit more concentrated, more flavorful, but nothing like what your husband is holding,” he said as he looked at her.

Mei spluttered but not wanting to wait too long, she jumped to her feet. “Deal!” she said as she ran out of the room and out to the carriage.

Jin just sat there clutching the case of soy sauce, not sure if he believed what was really happening. He clutched it like he thought this man just might yank it from him at any moment. The cook eyed the attendant and believed he could take him if he tried to take the sauce away from him.

I could take him, I’m sure of it.

Mei was back and held containers in her arms. “There was some chicken left we were saving for dinner tonight, but you can have that as well,” she said as she put the leftovers on one table on the stage.

The attendant nodded his head. “Excellent. My master will be thrilled with that. He really enjoyed that spicier sauce on the chicken.”

Jin chuckled nervously. “Yeah, it was quite a hit. I should have made more of it.”

The attendant shrugged. “Well, now you know for next time you do that sort of food.”

Jin nodded his head and stood before he went back towards the exit. Mei walked with him and they thanked the attendant over and over while he waved them away and picked at some leftovers. The attendant didn’t even look back at the couple as they left the room. They said a goodbye to his assistant and left the building entirely, heading for their carriage.

“We need to get out of here before his masters find out what he did and come for that sauce,” Mei urged her husband.

Jin nodded his head. “I want to try it,” he said and looked at the bottle in his arms. A bit of drool formed on his lips.

“Oh, we will, we will,” she assured him.

The stable folk had their oxen all ready to go and were in their yoke on the carriage when the two arrived. Their lead ox Ping stared at them and watched them load the case into the back before they climbed on top of the driver’s bench. The three animals pulled the carriage once Jin gave the order, and they were off.

Mei watched the oxen pull and move and wished they had quicker animals. She stared back at the manor to see if they were coming after the couple, but no one ever came. She still watched her back as they traveled along. They rode the whole day without stopping. They didn’t even park anywhere to do a lunch service. It wasn’t until sunset they stopped and park.

Jin had the carriage opened up a little and was making them some dinner while Mei set up the tent and bed for them. She was finally calmed and decided that if the family was going to come after them, they would have by now.

“Come on Mei, dinner is ready,” Jin called to her. He had a couple of plates of simple fried rice on one of the little tables they had and two chairs sat at it. Between those plates was one of the plain brown ceramic bottles of the soy sauce, that apparently held great aura in it.

She came out of the tent and took her seat, and watched Jin uncork the bottle and pour some on her rice and then his own. “You think it’ll be good?”

“It should be with all the trouble we went through to get it,” she replied.

Jin chuckled and nodded his head. When they both reached into their bowls with their chopsticks, they felt the presence of three others.

“Well. I guess you two got the real prize, huh?”

They knew the voice and looked over to the woods when the three forms came out. It was Taimei and the other two from the Moon Lotus Pavilion. He smiled at the Chens while the other two just frowned.

“We’re here to offer you a deal,” the female of the group said. She was long and thin and looked more like a traditional cultivator as opposed to Taimei, who was much more round.

Mei jumped to her feet and by the time she stood, her negata was in her hands with the blade pointed at them.

The three from the pavilion raised their hands to placate the woman who was quick to fight. “Whoa there. We just meant we want you to come and cook for us,” Taimei said and the three stepped back a few feet.