Murim Recurve

Ki'Nua walked through the narrow path, sandwiched between walls of the auction house. The narrow path wasn't a point of entry into the auction house. It was only for checking the identity of the individual and counting the money each person submitted.

Such narrow paths were situated upon every interval, barricaded by walls the height of a person, preventing others from seeing who travelled through which path. As the cycle rickshaws stopped right at the entrance of the narrow paths, the moment the person within stepped out, he/she would be hidden by the walls.

It was an elaborate setup to ensure the identity of everyone remained discrete. Typically, the guards would present a gown to everyone within their carriage itself. But upon seeing that Ki'Nua and Re'Kha were already dressed, they left them to proceed as-is into the narrow path.

After her identity check, Ki'Nua walked through the narrow path, arriving before the counter at the end. The counter was fully grilled. And, all the counters in the place were connected to one another. Harmonisers from the Royal Clan streamed within, carrying bags of coins that have been separated based on their denomination.

And, every time a bag was filled, they transported it to a different place. Stringent checks were conducted to prevent any malpractices. Moreover, there were a lot of eyes from behind, watching their every action.

So, there wasn't a chance anyone would slip up counting a couple of coins and pocket it. Moreover, as everyone working in the place was from the Royal Clan, they wouldn't do anything for some money. After all, no Harmoniser from the Royal Clan lacked any money.

So, they wouldn't even bother with any malpractices. It was beneath them and just wasn't worth the effort. This was the reason they took charge of the counters in the first place. If it had been the regular guards, they might be tempted while handling so much money.

When Ki'Nua arrived before the counter, the lady standing behind motioned for her to pour the coins in a funnel beside. But, the moment she noticed the size of her bag, she frowned, immediately calling forth a couple of her colleagues.

Snickering in her mind, Ki'Nua poured all the coins into the funnel. The funnel's entrance was situated outside, positioned right next to her hip. And, its exit was placed within the counter, leading into a flat tray.

As it was slanted, when the coins slid into the tray, they were arranged neatly along its surface. It was considerably long enough, so the coins only made three layers.

Followed by a grunt, the three ladies began to pick up the coins, putting them in small containers beside them. Each container was cylindrical in shape. And, at their top were small rectangular holes. And, the holes of each corresponded to the diameter of each coin denomination.

Moreover, there was a dial on each cylinder. It had been set based on the weight applied by the contents within the cylinder. Moreover, numbers were specified on the dial, from one to hundred per each.

The dial moved by one unit every time a coin fell into the cylinder. Since all the coins of the same denomination had the same weight, it was easy to calibrate them into numbers based on the weight. This way, they didn't have to manually count the number of coins and fear skipping or adding a couple of extra numbers while counting.

Errors might arrive while counting manually. And since they had a large volume to count, mistakes were bound to happen. And to prevent something like that from happening, such a simple mechanism was placed.

Once 100 one RuQi coins were inserted into a cylinder, the dial on it hovered above the number 100. The lady quickly set the respective cylinder aside, taking out another cylinder. This way, they mechanically inserted coins into each cylinder depending on its denomination.

As all the coins were mostly one RuQi denomination, it was easy for them. Soon, there were 37 cylinders on the counter. The other two ladies heaved a sigh of relief and left the place, intending to support others who required help.

The lady behind the counter looked at Ki'Nua, mumbling something under her breath as she spoke, taking a glance at the 37th cylinder, "The money you brought totals to 3682 RuQi."

"Alright," Ki'Nua nodded, watching the lady take out a certain contraption and begin inputting a set of numbers in four digits.

The contraption wasn't a normal Magic Artifact. Rather, it was a series of Magic Artifacts used to execute just one job. After she finished the input, the contraption spat out a metal slab. It seemed to be a low-grade elemental slab.

It had a fair quantity of Metal Qi inside it. And, inscribed on its centre was the number '3682', the amount Ki'Nua had submitted, in a dense concentration of Metal Qi. The lady behind the counter gave it to Ki'Nua, speaking, "Let me tell you the simple rule that is followed here."

"Please," Ki'Nua nodded.

"When you are seated, there would be a metal platform before you. Place this slab on it. We will know the amount of wealth you have submitted through this. And, the team of accountants will keep tabs on your remainder as you spend. You will be provided a pen and paper to keep a tally of your expense in your seat." She then motioned for Ki'Nua to proceed through the door nearby, "You'll reach the main entrance through this. Also, your seat number is printed on the back of the slab."

"Alright," Ki'Nua looked at the number, turned around, and waved at Re'Kha. She then left through the pointed entrance, acting chirpy as she reached the main entrance and entered the auction house.

The guards motioned for Re'Kha to move now. All along, she had kept attention on her mother, noting the seat she was seated at. Through her Wind Qi perception, she had obtained the information of the money her mother had brought.

And similarly, she obtained the information of the money brought by the others, also hearing some rumours that made her change her opinion immediately. She then dragged her bag and arrived before the counter, startling the lady standing behind it.