The bid had exceeded 4,000 gold coins in a matter of seconds! Every bidder had the same thing in mind: they would not go home with empty hands. Many people had come all the way to Green Sea Town for the express purpose of winning the Pill of Meridian Fortification. However, many of those same people felt like 8,000 gold coins for one Grade Six pill was a little too expensive.
The second elder felt less and less confident as the bid continued to rise. However, he absolutely needed this pill. If he were to let his injuries drag on, there might be lasting side effects after he recovered.
His wallet would feel the pain if he bought the pill. If he didn’t buy the pill, his meridians would be the ones feeling the pain.
The second elder steeled his heart and made his decision. He raised his hand and bid, “6,800 gold coins.”
The entire hall gasped when they heard the price. For a moment, no one dared to raise their paddle and bid higher.
“Isn’t he Viper Sword Wun Ching Muk, second elder of the Wun Clan?” The audience in the hall was familiar with the ongoings of Green Sea Town. Naturally, they knew the members of the Wun Clan. They were especially wary of this sinister and insidious man, who had the title of Viper Sword.
For a moment, perhaps out of respect for the Wun Clan’s reputation and power, or perhaps out of fear of the second elder’s character, no one dared to bid. Moreover, 6,800 gold coins was far too much for a Grade Six pill. If this pill didn’t have the ability to mend the meridians, it wouldn’t even be worth anything more than 4,500 gold.
Chan Goh Shue was quite satisfied with this price as well. He admired his own decision to add a fixed price to the bid. The selling price was instantly brought to a new height. He looked around the hall proudly, “Is there anyone else who wishes to bid more than 6,800 gold.”
The second elder’s unease was placated at the sight of this. However, something unexpected happened. The private room upstairs pressed the button to bid again.
“The esteemed guest in the private room bids 7,000 gold coins!” Chan Goh Shue pointed upstairs and looked up with interest. He thought to himself, Kid, be careful not to burn yourself playing with fire. If the second elder suddenly made up his mind to give up on the bid, Wun Fan would be the one left crying.
“Wow, 7,000 gold coins…” This expensive price stunned everyone in the hall. The second elder’s expression turned dark.
Wun Fan was still laughing heartlessly upstairs. He knew the second elder well enough. If he was still bidding for the pill when the price was so high, it meant that he definitely needed it very badly. With his personality, the second elder would never let something he needed so badly slip past his jaws, especially when he was so close to it already.
Wun Fan figured that Wun Ping must have been badly injured by the great elder that night. Otherwise, the second elder wouldn’t be so desperate to obtain the pill. Unexpectedly, it was Chan Chi Yuet who seemed to have a better grasp of the situation. She muttered to herself, “The second elder of the Wun Clan. Your great elder planted sword energy in his body on the first day of the new year. Did he manage to defuse the sword energy somehow in the past few days, but accidentally injured his meridians in the process?”
Wun Fan’s eyes gleamed. He suddenly understood the situation. He stood up and rubbed Chan Chi Yuet’s head, smiling as he said, “Well said, Chan girl. That was incisive.” Wun Fan wasn’t surprised that Chan Chi Yuet knew what happened at the banquet that night. If she couldn’t receive news about something so easily found out, it would be a disgrace to the Chan Clan’s intelligence network.
“Stop it. Don’t you know? A woman’s hair is as valuable as their life.” Chan Chi Yuet slapped his hand away and glared at him.
“Tsk, I like rubbing your head,” Wun Fan put on an upset expression. Why did every girl say that their hair was as valuable as their life? For some reason, Wun Fan really liked touching girls’ long hair. He especially liked making it all greasy. It gave him a tremendous sense of achievement to do it.
“No one other than my man is allowed to touch me,” Chan Chi Yuet suddenly said seriously, a never-before-seen stubbornness glowing in her eyes. Some sort of emotion glimmered in her black pupils. Wun Fan raised his head to look her in the eyes and felt his heartstrings waver. For a moment, he didn’t know what to do but change the topic, “Great weather today.”
Chan Chi Yuet scoffed, “Idiot.” However, her snow-white hand couldn’t help but tremble. She quickly grabbed her hand with her other hand and kept a straight face.
“7,000 gold coins going twice,” Chan Goh Shue’s voice rang out from the platform once more, reverberating in the second elder’s ears. He stood underneath the stage with an indifferent expression, but his five fingers were white from how tightly he was gripping the paddle. If anyone were close enough to the second elder, they would be able to faintly hear the grinding sound coming from his teeth.
The second elder had no choice but to raise his paddle once more as he said coldly, “7,800 gold coins. That is my final bid.” Having said that, he cast his gaze upstairs. If the person upstairs were to bid once more, he would have no choice but to give up. Even so, he couldn’t help but feel his heart twinge in pain. If he did manage to win the pill, his wallet would be a lot smaller than before.
Of course, he wasn’t an idiot. He intentionally bid 7,800 gold coins. Otherwise, if his competitor bid again, he might have to pay 8,000 gold coins just to get his hands on the pill.
If it wasn’t for that ridiculous banquet, if it wasn’t for that worthless son of his, if it wasn’t for that damned Wun Sing…
Anger rose in the second elder. The circulation of his soul energy accelerated and he felt a stinging pain from his meridians.
Chan Goh Shue was smiling so wide you could only see his teeth but not his eyes now. Wun Fan started cheering and whooping loudly as well. He had just managed to make a few hundred more gold coins for nothing. He ought to do more of such things, tricking his enemies and making a profit at the same time. Haha!
“Sold at 7,800 gold coins. Congratulations, second elder,” Chan Goh Shue slammed the hammer to indicate the sale, drawing the auction to a conclusion, “Thank you all for coming to Thousand Relics Auctions. The auction today has come to an end. Thank you once again.”
Not long after, Wun Fan took his money and left the auction as well, happy and satisfied. He made sure to put his black cloak on when he left.
Only Chan Goh Shue and Chan Chi Yuet were left talking on the auction stage. Chan Goh Shue smiled and said, “A dozen more auctions like this and you will have made enough contributions to be promoted to a second-tier city.”
Thousand Relics Auctions had its own purchasing channels. Apart from the Pill of Meridian Fortification, all the other auction items had been sourced by Thousand Relics Auctions itself. This was to say that Wun Fan’s pills had been most useful as a sales gimmick to draw in customers.
That was why the old adage rang true: Auction houses open only once in three years, but once they open, it would be enough for them to stay closed for three years.
Chan Goh Shue did some rough calculations. The auction earlier had made at least 100,000 gold coins in revenue for Green Sea Town’s Thousand Relics Auctions. Of course, there were some costs involved that had to be included, but overall, 100,000 gold coins was a pretty good estimate for the profit.
A single auction alone made them as much money as a year’s income for the Wun Clan. The reason they still needed a dozen more of such auctions was simple. The Chan Clan’s requirement for promotion to a second-tier city was for the manager to raise a town’s net profit to 2,000,000.
It was difficult for a town to even make 1,000,000 in net profit, let alone 2,000,000. This alone demonstrated the tremendous strictness of expectations that the Chan Clan set on its lineage offspring. However, disciples of particular branches often found themselves with a lot of support from the shadows. They often easily exceeded this amount. The reason was simple. You would naturally have a lot more business if you had people willing to support you.
This was why Chan Chi Yuet was so interested in the mentor who stood behind Wun Fan. He was the person who could decide her future.
“Thank you, Uncle Goh. It was your impromptu idea on stage today that helped us make that much more money,” Chan Chi Yuet was very appreciative. The most important thing to an appraiser was their integrity. Honesty was the key to their reputation. Uncle Goh had put his own integrity on the line to help her. He had essentially bet his very qualification and reputation on her.
Chan Chi Yuet couldn’t imagine how she could ever repay Uncle Goh. She could only try her best to make Thousand Relics Auctions more successful.
Uncle Goh was not much of a poet himself. He didn’t know what to say. He just stroked Chan Chi Yuet on the head and smiled, “It is my honor to be able to contribute to the revival of the Yau Branch. Our branch has been oppressed for many years now. Our rebirth rests in your hands.”
Uncle Goh suddenly seemed more resigned, “I am old already. I might be able to see the day you succeed.”
Chan Chi Yuet said nothing in response. This was one of the rare few things that Chan Chi Yuet wasn’t confident she could accomplish. She grabbed a few strands of her hair and fell deep in thought for a moment, muttering something to herself.
“Stupid Wun Fan.”269Please respect copyright.PENANAa3JubUo7eS