Han Xuhan had won about 150 spirit stones from his bets. Xuanyuan Zhou's winnings stood somewhere around 300 spirit stones.
With these winnings pooled together, they would be able to pay for only a month's expenses.
Xuanyuan Zhou couldn't believe it.
"Why is it so high? Mine is only around 120, and I selected the best one available!"
"Attendants have to pay for the privileges ordinary disciples get for free, my lady."
Han Xuhan chose not to explain that he could cut down that cost by a great margin if he selected a low-tier package that would have him do a shitton of menial jobs everyday.
The justification behind hiding this information was... Well, there was none. He was just not a very honest person. Since Xuanyuan Zhou wanted to treat him like a real attendant, what's wrong with letting her pay the price?
Face somber, Xuanyuan Zhou searched her purse for a while and pulled out a coin that looked slightly different from the ones in Han Xuhan's pouch. The center of the coin consisted of a flattened, polished red crystal.
"This should do. Go deposit it over there along with our forms. You'll get 150 spirit stones back."
Seeing Han Xuhan looking at her, nonplussed, she rolled her eyes.
"You don't recognize spirit currencies, do you? Well, it's a simple system. The plain coins made from refined crystals have numbers on them based on the percentage of crystal used. There are 1s, 2s, 5s, 10s, and 50s."
Other than the part about refined crystals, Han Xuhan had comprehended that much by himself.
"Then there are real spirit stones, polished, but unrefined, like this one. They simply get a metal casing. These aren't marked, but any cultivator can measure how much they're worth by sensing the energy inside the stones. Their worth can range from 100 to 1000, or even more depending on the source of the stones."
"What if two cultivators claim that one spirit stone like this has different values?" Han Xuhan asked, fascinated by the novel system.
"You can usually negotiate. And nobody's stupid enough to lowball the value unreasonably. Otherwise, they're going to be humiliated for having bad energy perception ability."
Scratching the back of his head, Han Xuan took Xuanyuan Zhou's spirit stone and asked, "So is this worth about 500?"
"That's right, and if they try to negotiate with you, don't go below 490 no matter how much they criticize it."
"Got it, my lady."
Embracing his role as an attendant, Han Xuhan slithered through the small crowd of newly recruited disciples and came in front of the registrar's desk.
The senior disciple working on it was busy verifying multiple documents. Unable to grab his attention despite several awkward coughs and greetings, Han Xuhan simply placed the thick spirit stone on the desk.
Immediately, the senior disciple's gaze snapped onto it like a magnet drawing a nail.
"How many people are you paying for?" He asked eagerly, scanning Han Xuhan from head to toe as if he had discovered a treasure.
"Two, senior brother."
The senior disciple's countenance turned brighter.
"Two packages typically don't cost above 200. Unfortunately, we don't have that much loose change to return. Why don't you and your friend buy a higher tier package and round up the total cost to 300 spirit stones?"
Han Xuhan was rendered speechless. Why did everything in this sect feel like a scam? Did this senior disciple get a share of profits from the sale of residential packages?
"Ours already cost above 300 spirit stones, senior brother."
"That's impossible!" The young man snatched the documents from Han Xuhan's hand and went through them in the blink of an eye. Seeing Han Xuhan's application marked with the attendant quota made him do a double take.
"Oh, impressive! Which clan's young master did the sect recruit this year? It's not every day that a new disciple admits his attendant with him–hmm? Xuanyuan Zhou? That's not a man's name..."
The senior disciple trailed off. After a moment, his gaze snapped back to Han Xuhan's face and disbelief and indignation flashed in his eyes.
It was as if he couldn't believe that Han Xuhan was getting this treatment with a face like that.
After a long, awkward silence, the senior disciple shook his head and verified both documents absentmindedly. He was so shocked that the dreaded negotiation didn't even happen. He simply threw a handful of coins at Xuhan and waved him off.
While counting the money, Han Xuhan noticed Xuanyuan Zhou having a discreet chat with an old servant who was mopping a corner of the pavilion by himself. He clearly saw her hand the old man some coins before shuffling away nonchalantly.
"My lady, may I know what that was for?" Han Xuhan asked after coming by her side.
"You'll know soon enough. As an attendant, you have put some effort into learning how to guess your lady's intentions, Han Xuhan," she replied smugly.
Han Xuhan had to put some effort into not rolling his eyes at her antics. Wasn't she getting a bit too comfortable in her role as his master?
According to the instructions of their guide, they were supposed to head towards the Sect's dining hall for an early dinner. Afterwards, they'd be informed of their primary housing allocation, where they'd be living for the next few months.
"What happens after a few months?" Someone asked the guide.
"You'll be a few months older, hahahah!" The guide, a pretty senior disciple, roared in laughter as if she had just made the joke of the century. The hint was clear enough. They didn't want the disciples to know.
As the team of new recruits was being guided out of the Archives Pavilion, a burst of red lightning suddenly struck the mountain Peak, scattering everyone back in panic.
Only the senior disciple stood in her place with a stern face.
"Hey, which idiots among you didn't pay the chart tribute while filling up your applications? It warned you that you'd be punished if you didn't deposit a coin there!"