Translator:
Novel Saga
Editor:
Novel Saga
There was a huge hullabaloo of voices. Old Man Zhao Ban Feng’s lips quivered out of anger as he looked at everyone with an expression of resentment. But, he was astonished to discover that many of the ones who were jeering at him at this time had incited him to speak-up in the first place! [Did these people fuking put me out on the grill? They’ve been my friend for so many years…]
He couldn’t help getting angry as he retaliated. His lips trembled and he spoke,
You… You… Very well! The Zhao Family may not be regarded as an immensely influential family, but we have the money to buy there pills. We can afford them. So, let’s see who wins!
It was obvious that the people who had mocked him were against the Zhao Family; perhaps there was some feud between their families.
And, every family had noticed this point at this time.
Mei Xue Yan quickly swept her glance around the hall below. She then said,
Record the first set of notes — The Zhao family has old grievances with the Ma Family, the Wu Family, and the Jiang Family. Moreover, the Sun Family and the Qian Family don’t like them much either. So, it will be easy to instigate them against each other. We’ll sort this data accordingly once we go back. We’ll make different lists for families that will help us, and families that can be instigated into helping in case there’s a matter.
Guan Qing Han’s pen moved at a flying speed as she accurately recorded the first information from the auction in a clear handwriting.
Jun Mo Xie settled down at the auction stage. He was watching these families and their reactions with the detached look of a bystander. He was convinced that his speech had enticed the right passion and enthusiasm for this auction. After all, he had successfully created a lively atmosphere at the auction. And, he had also built up the image of ‘stay silent if you don’t have the money to make a bid’. The Young Master had managed to salvage this situation. And, he had also set a great environment for making big profits…
Moreover, the importance of these pills had suddenly shot up to a point where they had become a matter of life and death for these influential families. And, all of it was the Evil Monarch’s strategy!
It was obvious that not everyone would take this very seriously at first. But, that didn’t matter. After all, it would be enough for him as long as everyone had started to harbor a trace of fear and suspicion. In fact, the Young Master wasn’t even expecting to fully convince everyone present.
It must be kept in mind that even the men who don’t intend to harm someone aren’t without thoughts of self-preservation! Therefore, it had now become important for these families to fight over these Bone Tempering Pills; even if these pills were only meant for self-protection. After all, who could guarantee that the later generations of their families would walk the lands unhindered, and wouldn’t have any enemies? That would be nonsensical talk…
Jun Mo Xie decided to strike while the iron was hot, and threw out the first piece of bone…
The first round of auction will begin now. There are twenty capsules of Bone Tempering Pills in the first set. The base price is one-hundred-thousand in gold,
Jun Mo Xie spoke-up loudly,
I invite the senior representatives of every family to begin with the bidding. The price is high, but the deal is fair and equitable. Our auction house offers sincere treatments, and fair deals. This is a good bargain. The one who starts early doesn’t have to worry about missing out on it. So, getting it early can only be considered as ‘smooth sailing’. Let’s have a good beginning to the auction. Let’s see who captures the first batch!
Young Master Jun’s speech had basically sounded similar to the words a roadside hawker uses to market his goods…
Suddenly, there was pin-drop silence across the entire hall.
All eyes were gazing at the first row. They were waiting to see what approach of the people from the Three Holy Lands would take. This basically meant… [We’ll rush into making our bids if these people start aggressively.]
Ning Wu Qing was about to speak up with a faint smile on his face. However, that is when he heard a sad-sounding voice,
The Great Golden City bids a hundred-thousand in gold. Does anyone wish to fight over it?
Jun Mo Xie’s nose instantly crooked in anger.
[Bah! What is this dog-sht! Is this down-right robbery? The base price is a hundred-thousand. And, you merely started the first bid at a hundred-thousand! In fact, you even added
Does anyone wish to fight over it?
Your behavior is utterly shameless! It’s a good thing that I only put up one batch of pills for you…]
Everyone’s face was revealing that they hadn’t expected this from him. But, no one uttered a word.
Jun Mo Xie remained silent for a long time. However, he eventually had no choice but to speak-up,
The Great Golden City bids a hundred-thousand gold. Would anyone like to increase the price? Is there no increase in the price? Hundred-thousand goes once… Hundred-thousand goes twice… Hundred-thousand goes thri…
Hold on!
Ning Wu Qing’s face looked heavy. He lifted his gaze, and spoke-up in a deep voice,
The Elusive Land of Immortals bids a hundred-thousand-and-one…
He had only added one gold coin!
This was undoubtedly a loud slap on the Great Golden City’s face! And, especially to Ma Jiang Ming’s face. After all, he had disdainfully asked if,
Anyone wishes to fight over it?
a moment ago. It would’ve been a fair match if someone had bid right after he had made this declaration. However, Ning Wu Qing had waited till the last moment. Then, he had cut into Ma Jiang Ming’s deal. What did this imply?
Moreover, he had only increased the price by one gold coin. It would’ve been a reasonable and legitimate bid in case he had increased by price by a margin. However, the addition of only one gold coin had clearly indicated his intention of humiliating his rival.
There was a big clamor from the audience.
After all, nobody had expected that such a strange situation would arise in the opening round of the auction.
Mei Xue Yan sighed softly as she looked-on from upstairs. Her face flushed with an intense color of anxiety as she said,
Note that the enmity between The Elusive Land of Immortals and The Great Golden City has reached a point of incompatibility. In fact, they are almost like fire and water. And, choosing between these two factions should be treated as a decision of importance. One would need to be extremely cautious, and mustn’t think blindly while picking one and rejecting the other…
Dugu Xiao Yi complied, and her pen ran off to record this incident at the speed of a dragon.
Jun Mo Xie wanted his most trusted individuals at hand when it came to task of recording and sorting out such top-secret information. Jun Zhan Tian and Jun Wu Yi were obviously the most trustworthy. But, it wasn’t appropriate for them to show their faces in the public under the present circumstances.
Dugu Xiao Yi and the others were hidden from view since they were seated upstairs. However, the people present in the lobby were strong-enough to distinguish their presence. Perhaps Mei Xue Yan was the only one who could conceal her presence from these guests below. In fact, Ma Jiang Ming and Ning Wu Qing’s monitoring abilities were so strong that even the Snake King couldn’t hide a single one of her actions from them.
Ma Jiang Ming’s complexion transformed. He then snorted,
Ning Wu Qing, do you genuinely wish to play like this?
Ning Wu Qing laughed out loud at first. Then, he replied in a cold but solemn voice,
This Old Man didn’t find this very pleasing to his eyes. The base price is a hundred-thousand in gold. And, you started your bid at such low price itself. Moreover, you even threatened others… Is this how you would’ve wanted to open your auction to business if you had been in their place? Ma Jiang Ming, this was your mistake to begin with. How can you dare to call yourself a senior expert from the Three Holy Lands with such behavior? You may be able to carry yourself in this manner, but this Old Man can’t afford to lose his face like this!
Ma Jiang Ming snorted and said,
The Great Golden City bids three-hundred-thousand in gold if that’s the case. Ning Wu Qing, do you still have any arguments over it?
The look on Ning Wu Qing’s face changed as he asked,
Ma Jiang Ming, are you trying to incite me?
Ma Jiang Ming didn’t answer; he only looked at Ning Wu Qing instead.
Ning Wu Qing smiled coldly and said,
You’ve consciously made an addition to the bid. And, you’ve made it three-hundred-thousand in gold by doing so. This can be considered as a decent price. So, this Old Man doesn’t feel like making things tougher for you.
This is how the first batch of pills was successfully auctioned. Moreover, its price had suddenly risen to three-hundred-thousand in gold due to Ning Wu Qing’s enticement. And, this could be considered a good beginning. After all, the Great Golden City was one of the Three Holy Lands. And, they had stamped the pills for three-hundred-thousand. So, wouldn’t the other families be looking down on The Great Golden City’s assessment if they were to open their bids at a lower price?
Therefore, almost everyone took a breath of cold air after this incident.
The second and the third round of bidding didn’t face any objection either. And, they were won over by the Elusive Land of Immortals and the Illusory Ocean of Blood respectively. Moreover, both sides had bid at three-hundred-thousand in gold! However, Ning Wu Qing had shot a glaring look at Ma Jiang Ming when he had announced this expensive bid.
The reason was obvious. Ma Jiang Ming’s intention behind bidding at three-hundred-thousand gold was… [I won’t leave you feeling better about this if you make things difficult for me!]
However, Huyan Xiao had shown a tranquil and relaxed expression on his face when he had made the bid. In fact, it had seemed as if he had thrown away thirty pieces of broken silver coins. Obviously, there existed a reason for it… This money had come at the Huang Family’s cost. Young Lord Huyan Xiao had taken over the Huang Family’s estates and business after he had ascertained that Huang Tai Yang had died. Then, he had sold these estates of the Huang Family. He had looted their family’s treasury as well. In fact, he had even mortgaged their family’s residence…
However, both parties involved in every transaction had helplessness written over their faces. The seller was obviously feeling forced. And, the buyer hadn’t necessarily agreed to do the deal. But, the middleman — Huyan Xiao — would surely feel as pleasant as a punch while stuffing the entire revenue in his purse. Huyan Xiao was obviously very skilled in conducting such business transaction. And, that was because he didn’t care about the mindset of the buyers… or the seller…
The first round of auctions had come to an end. And, each of the Three Holy Lands had handed over the gold in order to collect their pills. However, the unique requirements of the auction had given rise to the need for a very efficient calculation system. After all, huge amounts of gold and silver coins would change hands during this auction. However, Young Master Jun had already made arrangements for the same…
And, who could be better than Fatty when it came to accomplishing this task? The gold coins had piled up like a mountain. However, Jun Mo Xie had merely sent eight assistants along with Fatty. Moreover, he had also given a warning —
All the gold must be counted. None of it should be left. Tang Yuan, your share will be reduced by ten-percent even if there’s one coin less. I want all of it counted…
Tang Yuan had arranged a massive pot full of pig trotters in order to replenish his strength whenever needed. However, he still wasn’t very optimistic that the pot would be sufficient in the current situation. After all, only the first round of the auction had ended thus far. However, one-third of the pot’s contents had vanished into his stomach… But, Fatty still hadn’t figured the inside story of this strange situation. It turned out that this entire ‘pay in coins instead of banknotes’ was a strange trick that Jun Mo Xie had come-up with in order to help in reducing Fatty Tang’s weight…
Fatty Tang would’ve certainly cried himself tearless if he had to find out about this. And, that’s because Jun Mo Xie’s would’ve straightaway told him to finish the entire task by himself in that case… And, that would’ve been akin to smashing one’s own foot with the stone they had previously lifted…
However, it could be estimated that processing such a massive amount of gold coins would reduce Fatty’s weight by a considerable margin…
The fourth batch of pills was about to be put up. Therefore, everyone was sitting up straight with their ears erected.
The real competition was about to start as far as these families were concerned. After all, the Three Holy Lands were unlikely to interfere in these subsequent rounds…
The fourth batch also has twenty pills. The base price is still a hundred-thousand in gold. Moreover, each subsequent raise in the bid has to be by a margin of at least ten-thousand in gold!
Jun Mo Xie had barely finished with his opening remarks when someone made a bid for the pills,
The Wei Family of Jiang Dong bids three-hundred-and-fifty-thousand in gold,
this was uttered by a middle-aged man.
Ning Wu Qing and Huyan Xiao turned their heads. Then, they frowned. However, Ma Jiang Ming’s face remained expressionless.
This Wei Family’s first bid might not have been an attempt to buy the pills. Instead, this was probably an act to flatter Ma Jiang Ming. Moreover, they had done this in the presence of the other two Holy Lands.
Upstairs, Mei Xue Yan instructed in a heavy voice,
The Wei Family from Jiang Dong can be considered a hardcore supporter of the Great Golden City after today’s incident. They won’t be able to change their sides after this; not even if they wanted to. So, you can write this down as ‘confirmed’!
Guan Qing Han complied, and began writing down the words ‘Jiang Dong’s Wei Family’ on a white paper. Then, she added a few more words at the end — Subordinates of the Great Golden City.
