"Ten thousand!" Orange sister Xiaojie echoes. The auction hall falls silent. Either not many want to pay for the Kireina Kami lite, or it has already hit it's market cap. Still, one thousand is a spectacle price point. Ash smirks as he crosses his arms. With this, he has guaranteed income to aid his growth. Blue sister Xiaojie comes with a high pile of fried shrimp, and sits next to him. Ash leans on her.

Sister Xiaojie understands. Ash must be curious why his potions are for sale already.

"I thought it'd be to sell ASAP," Xiaojie whispers.

"Is that your sister, also why?"

"Reasons, and yeah that's Ling Xiaojiejie. I'll introduce you to her later. Look a bid!"

"Twenty thousand!" A shrill voice echoes. It's the long haired blonde woman with an elegant blue dress and a swan mask. There is something familiar about her shrill voice, gracious poise, and ample figure. Yes, there's no mistaking it. Ash refuses to forget the first beautiful woman he met who isn't his mother, it's madam Belevere.

"Twenty thousand!" Orange sister Xiaojie said.

Ash taps his foot. She caused so much trouble over a comment. Sect Master Khan flashes in his mind.

"Don't let a trash experience blind you to opportunity," the words flow out Sect Master Khan's nose, the message clear in Ash's mind.

Sect Master Khan's wisdom nose knows no bounds. Ash understands it all now. His overactive imagination has made it all clear. Ash is blinding himself to reality by letting a stinky situation cloud his judgement. This woman is about to net him twenty thousand gillards. Whatever those are. Ash has yet to even hold one. Is it a coin? A cryptocurrency perhaps? Does this world even have technology? Doesn't seem like it, but anything is possible.

Regardless, it'll either get him a bunch of spirit stones, or he takes the loss and tries somewhere else. Hand over a thunderhoof, get a bunch of coconuts, and mass produce Kireina Kami. Easy sustainable income. The economics is becoming clearer by the second. Everything going as planned, splendid.

The man with the long red and blue twirly moustache under his gold peacock mask raises his card.

Is this big spender about to make me rich.

Nope.

"By royal decree, you shall cease bidding at once," A man in a cloak said. He is with a squadron of cloaked people. They form a line as he walks down to the podium, and pulls down his hood. Spiky orange hair, thick beard, and a thicker trapezoid for a neck. It was uncomfortably vascular. From his cloak he grabs a bottle, and qi pulses a massive bubble out of it. It engulfs the room and bursts, leaving a way too recognizable coconut scent. It can't be? Kireina Kami Lite?

Xiaojie looks at Ash with disappointment, turns out this boy's master is nothing more than a thief. Now she has to go gather them for Prince Charock, so that they can resume the auction.

"I must leave," Xiaojie said.

"Normally we don't give a damn about what goes on here, and we still don't. However, you have something that obviously belongs to us. Know your place." Prince Charock said.

"We had no idea!" Xiaojiejie said.

"Of course you didn't," he said. A cloaked man leaves a hefty bag by Xiaojiejie. Prince Charock drops one coin on the bag.

"That's twenty thousand and one for the trouble," he said before leaning in to whisper in her ear. She nods as she let's him go backstage.

Well... that happened.

Though Ash suspected something to rob his earnings from the get-go, it still sucks to get blind sided and robbed. Vascular neck is probably interrogating Xiaojiejie, demanding to find who sold the items.

"Don't let a trash experience blind you to opportunity," Sect Master Khan said in his mind.

I would if I could, master, but what the fuck just happened. Am I about to get killed over this ridiculous coincidence.

Ash looks down, a handful of finished shrimp straining his green shirt.

I'm stress eating too.

Poke.

It's sister Xiaojie, Ash didn't even notice her come back.

"Prince Charock wants to see you, come with me," she said.

Gulp.

Ash laments the experience ahead as he follows her to the back halls. No doubt towards vascular neck, who's apparently a prince. Turns out Sec is a kingdom, turns out Kireina Kami is one of the royal families treasures. He's barely been in the city a day and word about his mixture had already spread to the capital. Their intelligence network must run deep. Ash enters a plain booth, white walls and no excess color. Black couches and a black coffee table on the white marble floor. Prince Charock drinks tea, calm and composed. Xiaojiejie sits beside a bag of money, awkward and fidgety. She perks up on seeing Xiaojie and Ash enter, and pats the seat next to her. Ash doesn't meet the prince's gaze, though he checks the attire. Beneath that cloak are rough metallic folds, he must be wearing some armor, but it's impossible to gauge what it is. Strength oozes from his being, but there aren't any qi fluctuations. In fact, Ash can't sense his energy at all.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

"Five years old and he's searching for my spirit signature, incredible," Prince Charock said. Ash stumbles back, the prince saw through him completely.

"You've completely misunderstood this child, Xiaojie. He's one step shy of Qi Expert. Tell me, what armor are you wearing."

Xiaojie looks on in shock. He's wearing armor? I knew it! Why didn't I trust my instincts, this always happens.

Ash takes off his shirt. The thunderhoof hide below designed to last around two years, stuffing it under a tight green shirt made it look like fat folds. The prince strokes his orange beard with a smile, Xiaojiejie looks on confused. Who is this five year-old qi expert in thunderhoof hide, peddling royal secrets?

"We have closely guarded the royal musk secret formula for over two hundred years. I checked our supplies and nothing is missing, I know you didn't steal any, and in fact this money is actually for you. I am told you have a master, is he the one who made this formula?"

Ash is taken aback. Turns out he's not in trouble, and he made his money, but he's not out of the spiderweb yet. Fortunately his fake master bit might be able to bail him out again.

"Yes, and in fact he's made advanced versions too. Master said to bring one in case you're interested, you can sleep in a trash heap with it and still smell as though you freshly showered." Ash said, handing the prince the only authentic Kireina Kami mix he brought with him. The prince nearly drops it.

This boy's master anticipated my movements, his strategic wisdom must be exceptional.

Xiaojie suspected as much. Well... she also suspected that the potions are stolen, but turns out that's not the case. Instead, this boy's master was indeed testing them with an inferior mix, keeping a stockpile of more potent mixtures for people he can trust. This boy too, there is more to him than meets the eye. Now that his tight green shirt is off, it's clear that his baggy clothes beneath were just unfortunately clumped up. His posture and qi show a completely different person now, one much more capable than the pathetic boy she thought he was. Over ten years younger than her and two stages shy from her cultivation level. Just what kind of master can create such a monster? Maybe it's Ash who's the real monster.

The prince closes the bottle, deep breath.

"I want your master to never sell these to anyone except us. For the normal mixtures we will do one thousand gillards each, and for this potent mix we will pay two thousand. Sell as often as you like. However, if you dare sell to anyone ever again, well... just beware the cogs you disrupt, or under a gear you may find yourself crushed."

Gulp.

Was that a threat?

Ash nods shakily as Xiaojiejie puts a heavy bag of gold on his lap. Ash counts, exactly twenty. Apparently a gold coin is one gillard, while a block of it is a thousand. It's a literal gold standard, good to know. Ash clasps his hands with a bow.

"I understand. If these are your wishes then I must come clean. I do not have a master, I made him up so I can get here without answering too many questions while testing the market for this potion I created."

Xiaojie nearly jumps out her seat. It took all of her discipline and control to not react. This boy is a genuine alchemist. She was onto him from the very start, but didn't trust her instincts enough. This child completely fooled her with his ridiculous act, boyish innocence, and over the top confidence. It was so stupid she blinded herself to the reality of the situation. It just doesn't make sense for a lone child to wonder into a black market peddling royal mixtures, she was convinced it had to be literally anything else and went with the flow.

The prince smiles. The lie doesn't matter to him whatsoever, the boy was just making the most of his situation and came clean the moment he had to. It's actually commendable. This child improved on a secret recipe, using qi no less. Charock has been experimenting with his flux for years and he has never been able to enhance the mixture. The alchemists said it would be a fruitless effort. Hundreds of thousands of gillards were spent trying, before his father demanded the project to be scrapped. In comes this child with an improved recipe, using qi, an elementary energy form. His general mastery of energy must be exceptional. Charock knows potential when he sees it. This boy is capable of bringing greatness to the Sec Kingdom if nurtured correctly. Sparing him now an investment. One day he will make a formidable ally, or a terrifying adversary. Charock has made his mind, he will keep him watched closely.

"From now on you will be one of the royal sec families secret alchemists. You have no choice, think yourself a slave in this matter. However, you will have access to our bountiful resources, and may roam free, go to school, cultivate, explore, and participate in these auctions as you see fit. So long as you don't betray us, you have every other freedom. Understood?"

As far as slavery goes, it can be much worse. It's not like Ash is in any position to deny. Xiaojie and Xiaojiejie are both stronger than him and they are stiff as stone around this man. This Charock is a strange tyrant. He's willing to treat him fairly and rightly, while not willing to take any risks. Regardless, with the royal family's connections, he can grow without too much worry.

"Oh, and this is a secret position. Don't go off acting all high and mighty. As far this city is concerned your status hasn't changed," Prince Charock added.

"Understood, your highness" Ash said with a bow. The prince puts on his cloak, and his cloaked envoy gather the Kireina Kami Lite mixtures. One drops by Ash a bag with two gold bars, another two thousand for the genuine Kireina Kami. The prince turns, his golden eyes nearly piercing through Ash with it's intensity. Whatever he's about to say, Ash must do well to listen and respect.

"And this is for trading our Royal Musk for an ugly, cheap green shirt."

Ash's eyes widen. Dammit Janne!

Charock's golden eyes flash as a deep sting courses through Ash's head.

"Don't ever devalue my family's pride." The prince said before leaving.

Ash collapses on the marble white floor, staining it red with his coughs and spits. The pain is spreading from his head to his body, carried bit by bit with each pump of his heart. His vision is blurs, and sounds distort. The beautiful Ling sisters call out, but it's as though their voices are coming through water. Ash doesn't need to hear them, he knows they're concerned. It's clear in their qi.

That prince, the energy he shot at him. It's on a whole different level than what he and the Ling sisters use. This was a warning shot. If Charock wanted to, he could destroy this entire auction house himself. Just one tyrannical prince in a kingdom far larger than anything Ash has imagined. Just what was it he shot him with?

Ash shakes and jerks violently. Cracking the marble around and breaking the coffee table with the reckless swings of his arms. The Ling sisters jump and grapple him down, locking his limbs with their long legs. Xiaojie squeezes her knees against his arms, locking them against his body, while grabbing his skull and preventing it from shaking. Xiaojiejie sits on his legs, clamping them shut with her hands and feet. A quick and effective lockdown.

Even in these dying moments, when Ash's mind is both scrambled and screaming in pain, Sect Master Khan's words shine through.

Don't let a trash experience blind you to opportunity.