Chapter 40: Auction (1)
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
"Xue Ling, didn't you say that you know all about auctions? Then, don't forget to remind me if there's anything valuable at the auction later!" Qiu Nuo communicated with Xue Ling in her heart.
"Don't worry, you can count on me!" Xue Ling promised.
"Miss, the auction will be starting shortly. I'll bring you there." The attendant rose up.
"Alright!"
Qiu Nuo followed the attendant down a long hallway to a venue that was large enough to accommodate up to tens of thousands of people.
The attendant stood by a staircase and smiled at her. "Miss, there's a private room upstairs, but it costs an additional hundred gold coins. Would you like to rent it?"
"So expensive?" Qiu Nuo pouted. "Forget it. It'll be the same downstairs."
With that, she ignored the attendant and found herself a seat in a nearby corner.
Because those who could come to this auction were undoubtedly from prestigious families in Tianluo City.
Qiu Nuo was worried that someone would recognize her, so she retrieved a cloak from Xue Ling's storage space and draped it over herself.
As the time ticked by, almost half of the venue had been filled.
At that moment, the lights suddenly went off as a huge dark pearl descended gradually from the ceiling, illuminating the center of the exhibition stage.
On the stage was a beautiful lady in red.
In front of her, there was a silver tray with a dark green ore that glistened with a metallic luster.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I'm Bi Zhu. I'll be your host for the night." The beautiful lady gave a wide smile and turned her gaze to the tray in front of her. "What you're looking at now is the first item up for grabs today, a green copper ore. I believe that everyone knows about its benefits. This is an ore that can improve the sharpness of weapons. The starting price is five hundred gold coins. If you want your weapons to be more powerful, you'd better not miss your chance!"
As soon as the lady's voice died down, a cacophony of voices cried out in the venue.
"Five hundred and fifty gold coins!
"Five hundred and eighty gold coins!"
"Six hundred gold coins!"
"Six hundred and twenty…"
In the end, the green copper ore that was no bigger than a palm was bought by an elder, who gave the last bidding price of seven hundred gold coins.
Qiu Nuo couldn't help but marvel at Qiwu Pavilion's methods.
To be honest, the green copper ore was probably worth five hundred gold coins, at the very most. But the transaction price had been jacked up by so much!
The next few items were either pills for cultivation or ordinary materials. None of them sold for anything above a thousand gold coins.
Qiu Nuo looked on insipidly.
At that very moment, a glistening clear jade vase was brought onto the stage, and there was a faint outline of a pill within it.
"We've reached the middle of our auction today, and this next item is one of our finales for the day." Bi Zhu's gaze swept through the audience as she smiled. "It's a second-grade Beauty Pill!"
The moment she said that many women present yelped.
Beauty Pills were the holy pill in the eyes of all women. Not only did it make one more radiant, but it also helped in delaying aging.
Many wealthy ladies in their thirties to forties looked no more than in their early twenties after consuming this pill.
How tempting!
Bi Zhu was pleased by the atmosphere, and her lips curled up into a smile. "That's not all. This Beauty Pill was refined by Master Qin Zhi himself. It's of very high quality, so the starting price will be five thousand gold coins!"
"Five thousand gold coins? Isn't that too expensive? Even if it's from a famous master, it's just a Beauty Pill!" Shouts of disagreement could be heard all around.
"That's right. The starting price never went above three thousand in the past!" Someone else concurred.
"You guys can't afford it, but that doesn't mean that others can't either. Six thousand gold coins!" An elegant young lady raised her auction placard gleefully.
"This lady has offered six thousand gold coins. Do I have a higher bid?" Bi Zhu asked with a smile.
Although a Beauty Pill was extremely valuable, and it was also the first finale item of the day, the bids didn't come as continuously as they had for the precious items. But every bid was shocking.
"Six thousand eight hundred gold coins!"
"Seven thousand gold coins!"
"Ten thousand gold coins!"
A haughty male voice suddenly rang out.
Qiu Nuo couldn't help but turn to the source of that voice in astonishment.
No more than twenty meters away sat a couple who looked extremely intimate. Who else could they be but Lin Hao and Qiu Yue?
Ever since Qiu Yue left Ziying Mountain depressed, Lin Hao had been looking for all sorts of ways to make it up to her.
It was only when he was informed of a Beauty Pill being up for auction at Qiwu Pavilion that he took the initiative to look for Qiu Yue, offering to buy that pill for her. Of course, Qiu Yue had agreed unhesitatingly.
"This young master has offered ten thousand gold coins. Do we have any other bids?" Bi Zhu glanced around, and, seeing that no one else raised a higher bid, she sounded the gavel and looked toward Lin Hao. "Congratulations, Young Master. This Beauty Pill is yours. Remember to come up to the third floor after the auction ends to settle the paperwork."
Lin Hao nodded arrogantly before turning to get intimate with Qiu Yue again.
Next up was the red mineral stone with white spots that Qiu Nuo had seen in the pamphlet.
Then, there was the black wooden plaque that had been purchased for fifty gold coins by a collector.
"Qiu Nuo, you'd better buy this stone." Xue Ling suddenly spoke up.
"What's that?" Qiu Nuo couldn't contain her curiosity.
"It's a piece of Red English Gour Stone. It was used as the main ingredient for refining high-level medicine in ancient times. You might have the chance to use it in the future."
"An ingredient for high-level pills? Of course, I'll buy it!" With that, Qiu Nuo immediately raised her placard. "Fifty gold coins!"
All the items that couldn't be categorized by Qiwu Pavilion were sold at a starting price of fifty gold coins.
That was just a spare change to Qiu Nuo at the moment.
"This young lady has offered fifty gold coins. Do we have any other takers?" Bi Zhu raised her voice.
After a long time, the venue was still silent.
After all, such stones might be worth some money if one got lucky. Otherwise, one would get nothing but a useless stone. It wasn't worth the risk.
Just as Qiu Nuo was waiting for Bi Zhu to declare the ore hers, a hoarse voice suddenly cried out…
"A thousand gold coins!"
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
AtlasStudios
AtlasStudios From 18 Dec 2020, there will be only 40 chapters for Trial Read, with Chapters 20 to 40 locked.
After a book is picked, Chapters 20-39 will have the locks automatically removed. Chapters 1-39 will become free to read, with Chapter 40 remaining a Premium chapter. The selected book will have a mark on the corner of the book cover in 30 days to indicate continuation.
Coins spent on all books during Trial Read will all be refunded within 30 days. However, Fast Passes will not be refunded.
Thank you for your understanding.
— New chapter is coming soon — Write a review
-- Gift
received