Tang Yin and the skinny servant boy walked up the stairs to the second floor, as soon as they appeared on the second floor, numerous gazes drifted to them for a moment before retracting. The brief glances were from the few cultivators gambling on the second floor.
Tang Yin ignored their glances and continued following the skinny servant boy, eventually, he arrived before a door. "Didn't I say, I don't wish to be disturbed?" An aged voice sounded out from the room before him, it contained a hint of anger and impatience. Clearly, the owner of the voice had heard Tang Yin and the servant boys' footsteps.
The skinny servant boy immediately fell to his knees, "Lord shopkeeper, this senior said he had an important matter to discuss with you." The skinny servant boy trembled in fear while politely explaining himself to the shopkeeper.
"Oh, so it's a Fellow cultivator, pardon me for my rudeness, please enter." The aged voice resounded again from behind the door in a slightly more amiable manner.
Cultivators would not easily offend each other over nothing. When cultivators met, they would often be polite towards each other unless they had a reason not to be like a grudge, higher status, stronger cultivation and many other reasons.
Tang Yin opened the door and calmly strode into the room. The room was not huge, there was a large desk positioned at the far end of the room. On either side of the room were large bookshelves racked with documents, records and books. However, everything was kept neat and organised.
There was a person sitting behind the desk opposite Tang Yin. He was an old man who looked to be in his early 50s. He had long, expensive robes sown with golden threads, he also had a few wrinkles on his face to represent his age. He wore an eyepiece as he scanned through a document in front of him. He looked like a very busy person.
When Tang Yin entered the room, the old man lifted his head. He did not look at Tang Yin but at the servant boy and uttered a single word in a casual voice with indifference, "Leave."
The skinny servant boy respectfully got up from his kneeling position with his head lowered, he closed the door and left without a sound.
"Fellow cultivator, please take a seat." The old man pointed towards a chair opposite his desk with a kind smile on his face.
Tang Yin used the Heaven Piercing Gaze as soon as he opened the door. 'This old man is at the peak of the Spirit Channelling Realm, he could form a Qi Sea at any time to break into the Physique Transformation Realm. His Martial Spirit is a Tier 8 Ancient Book.' Tang Yin thought to himself when he saw the old man's strength, wariness rose in his eyes.
Tang Yin did not refute the old man, he walked towards the seat the old man gestured to and sat down.
"My name is Nie Shian, I'm a disciple of the Nie family. I believe we have not met before." The old man looked in Tang Yin's direction and introduced himself. "I'm nobody, I came to you because you're from the Nie family, I have a few questions I wanted to ask you." Tang Yin calmly replied under the old man's scrutiny.
"Is this the important matter you had to discuss with me?" The old man did not pry further into Tang Yin's identity but asked another simple question. "Yes", Tang Yin replied straightforwardly without wasting any words. The old man frowned, the cultivator before him was very strange. He had never met him before, this made him feel uneasy.
"As long as this doesn't concern some of the secrets of the Nie family, I would be more than happy to clear your doubts." The old man said firmly. "I heard the Nie family is hosting a large auction, is this true?" Tang Yin asked his first question.
The old man's frown slowly disappeared to be replaced by a smile, "So it's about the upcoming auction, it is true. Fellow cultivator, please ask away."
Tang Yin remained calm and composed under the cloak, he was not under any sort of pressure. "When is the auction going to commence?" Tang Yin blurted out frankly without a hint of flattery. "2 weeks from now." The old man replied straightforwardly, without wasting his breath on any extra words.
"How can I attend the auction?" Tang Yin questioned him again.
"To sign up for the auction, you will have to go to the auction site 5 days before the auction starts, there are a few requirements you must pass, otherwise the Nie family won't sell you a ticket. If you already possess a ticket, then you can show it to the gatekeeper when the auction is about to start. He or she will let you into the auction hall after inspecting your ticket." The old man replied with a detailed description. He had realised Tang Yin did not bear any nefarious intentions, he only needed information. The information he provided was also available for the public, therefore he was not conceited.
"Is there a limit to the number of people who can attend?" Tang Yin did not let the old man catch his breath before he followed up with another question.
"I believe so, once the limit had been reached, you won't be able to purchase a ticket even if you meet the set requirements." The old man replied.
Tang Yin asked a few more minor questions before he got up and said, "Thank you, I'll remember your kindness." Without waiting for the old man's reply, he walked towards the door, opened it and left. He made his way to the first floor before disappearing from the gambling den.
The old man let out a wry smile, "What a strange person." He did not bother with Tang Yin anymore; he had already left. Instead, he continued reading his documents.