Terra Su smiled faintly and said, “Go ahead.” Then he casually tossed the bottle containing the Purple Flame Elixir over.
Wei Youde caught the bottle, uncorked it, and took a sniff before peeking inside.
Immediately, Wei Youde’s expression changed drastically. The initial nonchalance vanished, replaced by a look of shock.
He quickly re-corked the bottle and swiftly tucked it into his sleeve, then pretended to be indifferent as he said to Terra Su, “Well, just as I thought, this is merely a bottle of the most common Minor Origin Elixir, worth almost nothing. It certainly won’t make it to tomorrow’s auction. How about this, I’ll do you a favor and take it off your hands for a thousand silver notes. Here, take it.”
Terra Su was taken aback. He knew Wei Youde was no good, but he hadn’t expected such shamelessness, trying to buy the Purple Flame Elixir for a mere thousand silver notes. This was daylight robbery.
Appraiser Zhao, though unaware of the situation, found Wei Youde’s odd behavior towards the elixir suspicious. He lowered his voice slightly and said, “Wei Youde, this customer wishes to sell this elixir through our Five Treasures Hall. Please hand it over to me for appraisal.”
“Hmph, ungrateful fool. Take it then.” Wei Youde snorted and pulled a bottle from his sleeve, tossing it to Appraiser Zhao.
Terra Su glanced at the bottle and couldn’t help but sneer internally.
He noticed that the bottle had been switched; it wasn’t the one he had handed over.
Appraiser Zhao, however, was oblivious. He had been standing too far away to see the bottle clearly earlier. Moreover, these common, unadorned elixir bottles all looked similar. Even if he had seen it clearly before, he might not have recognized the switch now.
Appraiser Zhao uncorked the bottle and looked inside, his face immediately showing anger. Inside was indeed a bottle of ordinary Minor Origin Elixir, at best of ten-star quality. Such a common elixir had no place in an auction.
He tossed the bottle back to Terra Su, his face stern. “Customer, this is just a common Minor Origin Elixir, unqualified for auction!”
Appraiser Zhao’s tone carried a hint of anger. Terra Su had made a big fuss to call him out, only to appraise a common Minor Origin Elixir. Was this a joke on Five Treasures Hall?
Gu Qianyin looked puzzled. She didn’t know what elixir was in Terra Su’s bottle, but she knew Terra Su well enough to know he wouldn’t come to Five Treasures Hall just to make trouble. So what was going on?
Wei Youde, on the other hand, looked smug. Although he couldn’t identify the elixir in Terra Su’s bottle as the Purple Flame Elixir, he could smell its unique aroma, indicating it was a near-third-grade elixir. Such an elixir was rare and valuable, and getting it for a thousand silver notes was a huge gain.
If Wei Youde had known it was the Purple Flame Elixir, he might not have dared to switch the bottles, as the implications were too significant for him to handle.
At this moment, Wei Youde was feeling triumphant. Given Terra Su’s concealed face under a black cloak, he assumed he wasn’t anyone notable. Even if Terra Su discovered the switch, what could he do?
After all, the elixir couldn’t possibly have been made by Terra Su. He probably just got lucky and found it somewhere. Better to benefit himself than leave it to an unknown nobody.
“Let’s go,” Wei Youde said to the heavily made-up woman beside him. Having committed the deed, he wanted to leave as quickly as possible.
Terra Su’s lips curled into a mocking smile. “You dare to steal from me? You’ve got some nerve.”
“What are you talking about? I don’t understand,” Wei Youde feigned ignorance. He had finally gotten his hands on a near-third-grade elixir and wouldn’t give it up easily. Though he was an alchemist, he was only first-grade and couldn’t produce such an elixir himself.
Selling this near-third-grade elixir elsewhere could make him a fortune.
“Do you think you can just leave?” Terra Su said calmly.
“Why wouldn’t I? Do you dare to stop me? Don’t forget, I’m an alchemist,” Wei Youde scoffed and started to walk out.
Smack!
Terra Su’s hand shot out like lightning, grabbing Wei Youde’s wrist. “What if I do stop you? Not only will I stop you, but I’ll also beat you.”
“You dare?” Wei Youde couldn’t believe it. He was an alchemist, and this person dared to threaten him?
“You’ll find out soon enough,” Terra Su said calmly, then slapped Wei Youde across the face.
Smack!
The crisp sound of the slap echoed through the Five Treasures Hall, drawing everyone’s attention.
Wei Youde clutched his swollen cheek, unable to believe that this person had actually dared to hit him.
“This is outrageous!” Wei Youde shouted. “How dare you publicly insult an alchemist? Do you want to die? And you, people of Five Treasures Hall, are you going to let this thug cause trouble in your hall? Do you still want to do business?”
Appraiser Zhao, feeling conflicted, couldn’t ignore Wei Youde’s words. Five Treasures Hall had strict rules against causing trouble, but he had kept silent earlier because he disapproved of Wei Youde’s actions. Now, he had to intervene.
“Customer, please stop immediately. Violence is prohibited in Five Treasures Hall!” Appraiser Zhao said to Terra Su.
Terra Su acted as if he hadn’t heard, gripping Wei Youde’s wrist tightly with his right hand while slapping him repeatedly with his left. Smack, smack, smack—Wei Youde’s face was soon a bloody, swollen mess.
“You don’t know the meaning of death!” Wei Youde raged, trying to break free, but Terra Su’s grip was like an iron vice, immobilizing him.
Wei Youde was shocked. Although his martial cultivation wasn’t top-tier, he was at the fifth level of the Condensing Origin Realm. How could he be overpowered by an unknown person?
“Are you all blind? Get this thug off me!” Wei Youde shouted, struggling.
Appraiser Zhao finally ordered, “Call the armed guards!”
By the time the guards arrived, Terra Su had already retrieved a bottle from Wei Youde. He recognized it immediately as the one he had brought.
Terra Su tossed the bottle to Appraiser Zhao. “This is the elixir I want to auction.”
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