ATPnovel #387 - Chapter 385
#387 - Chapter 385
Before long, the auction of the Jade Shadow Bow came to an end.
In the end, Liang Jin kept raising the price, bidding up to six hundred thousand taels of silver, and successfully acquired the Jade Shadow Bow.
Soon, the auction staff carefully delivered the Jade Shadow Bow to Liang Jin's private room.
Liang Jin calmly took out a stack of silver notes and completed the payment procedures.
When Liang Jin held the Jade Shadow Bow in both hands, a heavy texture instantly came over him, and he truly felt its extraordinary nature.
The bow was extremely heavy in the hand, as if it carried the precipitation of time and strength.
Liang Jin tried to draw the bowstring, and fortunately, with the powerful strength contained in his current Dragon God Arm, he was able to pull it open easily.
"Thank you, Miss!"
Liang Jin was overjoyed to obtain the Jade Shadow Bow, and immediately turned to sincerely thank Yu Linglong.
Yu Linglong said with a smile:
"It's good that you like it."
"However, since ancient times, there have always been only a few people who can practice archery to perfection."
"Since you have cultivated the Hundred Evil Body, close-range heavy weapons may be better able to unleash your power to the fullest."
Yu Linglong's words contained well-intentioned reminders.
Liang Jin naturally understood the reasoning behind them.
It's just that he has already dabbled in many close-combat manuals, and he doesn't lack close-range weapons.
For a long time, he had been eager to try ranged weapons and experience different combat styles.
At this time, the auction was still proceeding in an orderly manner.
Most of the remaining auction items were also rare treasures, but Liang Jin was not interested in them.
Yu Linglong, on the other hand, seemed to have discovered endless fun, and immediately enthusiastically participated in the auction herself.
To the point that sometimes the price she bid for a treasure was obviously inflated.
However, Yu Linglong didn't care about the silver at all, but instead enjoyed it, immersed in the exciting atmosphere of the auction.
She even deliberately targeted the sea merchant Qi Lord Seven's bidding.
Whatever Qi Lord Seven wanted to bid on, she would definitely keep bidding until Qi Lord Seven couldn't bear the high price and gave up.
After a few rounds, Qi Lord Seven was so angry that he yelled loudly.
He glared angrily, stood up directly, and roared at the private room on the second floor where Yu Linglong was:
"This lady, why do you have to make things difficult for me?"
"I see that you didn't come to bid at all, you are clearly deliberately targeting me!"
Obviously, Qi Lord Seven was already embarrassed and angry.
Upon hearing this, Yu Linglong's lips curled up slightly, and she replied disdainfully:
"This is a grand auction, and it is only natural that the highest bidder wins."
"Furthermore, you are right, I just want to target you, I just don't like the look of you."
When Qi Lord Seven heard these words, he became even more furious, and he looked as if he was about to explode in the next second.
At the critical moment, the auction house staff hurriedly came forward and persuaded Qi Lord Seven with kind words, and it took a lot of effort to finally calm Qi Lord Seven's anger slightly.
But looking at the way Qi Lord Seven glared fiercely at the private room on the second floor from time to time, one knew that he would never swallow this insult easily.
However, Liang Jin and Yu Linglong naturally did not take Qi Lord Seven seriously.
Soon, another treasure was steadily carried onto the auction stage.
As the covering red silk was slowly lifted, a palm-sized piece of blue jade stone was quietly placed on the tray inside.
This jade stone was carefully carved into the shape of a phoenix-headed knife, the carving was delicate and exquisite, and every line seemed to contain the soul of the craftsman.
Especially inside the jade stone, there seemed to be some kind of mysterious power flowing faintly, exuding a fascinating light.
Liang Jin recognized at a glance that this object was the Soul Jade.
He himself already possessed a piece of Soul Jade, but his piece of Soul Jade was carved into the shape of a shield, while the one being auctioned in front of him was in the shape of a knife.
Although he didn't plan to bid for this Soul Jade, he would never let Zou Cifeng get it easily. Liang Jin never showed mercy to his enemies.
Immediately, Liang Jin turned to Yu Linglong and said:
"Miss, please let me handle this auction."
"One of my opponents wants to bid for this Soul Jade, and I have to find a way to raise the price and make him bleed a little more."
Upon hearing this, a flash of excitement suddenly flashed in Yu Linglong's eyes, and she said with great interest:
"It's okay, let me do it!"
"I'll help you vent this anger!"
At this moment, she was immersed in the excitement of the auction, and when she heard that Liang Jin wanted to play the trick of raising prices, she naturally couldn't wait to personally take charge.
Seeing this, Liang Jin could only nod in agreement helplessly.
Just then, the auction of this Soul Jade officially began.
The auction house seemed to have heard some rumors, so the starting price for this Soul Jade was set particularly high, opening at one million taels of silver!
As the auction began, the entire venue instantly fell into silence, and no one bid.
Most people really did not have the ability to take out such a huge amount of silver, and a small number of people with financial resources did not dare to bid easily.
After all, everyone knew that Zou Cifeng, the number one expert in Dongzhou, had already released the news in the Jianghu that he was determined to obtain this Soul Jade.
Anyone who dared to bid against Zou Cifeng was undoubtedly openly offending him.
And offending Zou Cifeng in this land of Dongzhou, the consequences would naturally be unimaginable.
In a silence, the gauze curtain in Zou Cifeng's private room finally slowly rose.
Zou Cifeng himself stood by the window, cupped his hands to everyone, and said loudly:
"Thank you all for your concession!"
"This Soul Jade is very important to me and has extraordinary significance.
After the auction is over, I have already set up a banquet in the best restaurant in the city to entertain everyone present. Thank you all for your—"
His voice had not yet fallen.
Suddenly.
A clear, melodious, yet firm and powerful voice suddenly sounded:
"I bid two million taels!"
This voice clearly spread throughout the venue, like a blockbuster, instantly setting off an uproar at the auction, shocking everyone present.
Everyone couldn't help but turn their heads and crane their necks to look towards the private room on the second floor.
They were all curious, who was it that dared to openly compete with Zou Cifeng, the leader of the martial arts world in Dongzhou, for this Soul Jade?
"Isn't this person crazy? She was frantically targeting the sea merchant Qi Lord Seven before, and now she's provoking Old Man Zou, is she planning to offend all these big shots?"
"What is the origin of this woman? But to be able to sit in the private room on the second floor, her status and position must be extraordinary."
"But no matter what her identity is, she can't offend Old Man Zou like this. This woman is too young and doesn't know the dangers of the Jianghu."
… …
Faced with the discussions of the crowd, Yu Linglong looked calm and stood generously by the window, not minding the eyes of the crowd at all.
On the other hand, Zou Cifeng in the opposite private room instantly had his old face flushed red, like a ripe tomato.
He had just thanked everyone for their concession, but was immediately outbid, which was tantamount to slapping him hard in the face in front of everyone.
Zou Cifeng immediately showed displeasure and looked in the direction of Yu Linglong.
But when he saw Yu Linglong clearly, he was slightly stunned, and his brows furrowed tightly.
He naturally knew that this was the mysterious third-grade expert that Zhuying had mentioned to him not long ago!
Zou Cifeng originally felt that he had no grudges with this mysterious expert, and also believed that there would be no conflict with her before capturing Xiongba.
But unexpectedly, this mysterious expert suddenly participated in the auction and called out a high price.
This made Zou Ci Feng somewhat confused for a moment. He really couldn't figure out whether this mysterious expert was deliberately targeting him, or simply wanted to bid for this Soul Jade?
After all, before this, this mysterious expert frequently bid, and it didn't seem like they were specifically targeting him.
Immediately, Zou Ci Feng suppressed the displeasure in his heart, cupped his hands towards Yu Linglong from afar, and politely asked:
"May I know this girl's esteemed name? This Soul Jade is extremely important to me. I wonder if the girl can bear to part with it and let me have it?"
"Afterwards, I, Zou Ci Feng, will definitely reward you handsomely."
Zou Ci Feng's words were already quite polite.
If it weren't for Zhuo Ying saying that the other party not only possessed Third-Rank strength, but also likely came from a mysterious force, Zou Ci Feng's temper wouldn't have allowed him to be so polite.
Just when everyone thought that Yu Linglong would at least take the opportunity to step down that Zou Ci Feng had provided.
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However, Yu Linglong said in a calm tone:
"This is an auction house, not a charity hall."
"If you want this Soul Jade, you might as well bid against me."
"As long as you win the bid, this Soul Jade will naturally belong to you."
Everyone was once again shocked to hear these words.
No one expected that Yu Linglong would so decisively reject Zou Ci Feng, which was simply not giving Zou Ci Feng any face at all.
Zou Ci Feng's face instantly turned ashen, and he felt a burning pain on his face, as if he had been slapped a few times in public.
In front of so many people, if he didn't regain some face, then his title as the number one expert in Dongzhou would probably be looked down upon in the future.
But this was, after all, an auction, and there were many people and the situation was complex. Zou Ci Feng couldn't rashly resort to force.
Otherwise, once it was spread out that he didn't abide by the rules and bullied the weak, his reputation would be completely ruined.
Immediately, Zou Ci Feng gritted his teeth and said in a deep voice:
"I bid, two million and ten thousand taels!"
He originally planned to take this Soul Jade for one million taels, but now Yu Linglong suddenly called out two million taels, which greatly exceeded his expectations.
Therefore, Zou Ci Feng didn't dare to bid too high, and could only carefully add one hundred thousand taels.
After all, he only had this much ready money on hand.
The auctioneer, who had not dared to speak for a long time, immediately raised his voice when he heard Zou Ci Feng's bid, and shouted loudly:
"Two million and ten thousand taels of silver, once!"
"Is there anyone who wants to bid higher?"
As soon as the auctioneer's voice fell.
Yu Linglong unhesitatingly spoke again:
"Three million taels!"
As soon as these words came out, the audience was once again in shock.
The auctioneer subconsciously wiped the sweat from his forehead, feeling uneasy in his heart, and involuntarily looked at Zou Ci Feng.
Zou Ci Feng's face was now full of anger. He gritted his teeth and roared angrily:
"Three million and two hundred thousand taels!"
The auctioneer was about to call out.
But who knew that Yu Linglong had already taken the lead and shouted crisply:
"Four million taels!"
At this moment, the entire audience was instantly silent, and everyone was stunned, as if they had been cast with a petrification spell, completely shocked and at a loss.
Who bids like that?
Opening your mouth is a million taels of silver, this is simply not treating money as money!
Zou Ci Feng clenched his teeth tightly, hesitated slightly, and finally shouted:
"Four million and five hundred thousand taels!"
His voice echoed in the silent auction hall, as if carrying endless unwillingness and struggle.
When he shouted out this price, Zou Ci Feng's fists clenched unconsciously, and the veins on the back of his hands bulged.
Four million and five hundred thousand taels of silver meant that he not only had to take out all his ready money, but even had to mortgage his family property.
Everyone subconsciously turned their attention to Yu Linglong, and everyone was guessing whether Yu Linglong would continue to increase the price to five million taels?
The corners of Yu Linglong's mouth curled up slightly, revealing a sly smile.
Her jade-like fingers gently tapped the windowsill, and she said leisurely:
"You're so slow, it's really boring."
"Let me make it simple, ten million taels."
As soon as this bid came out, many people were so shocked that they fell directly from their chairs.
Ten million taels of silver!
This was already an astonishingly terrifying number!
Looking at the entire Dongzhou, who would dare to pat their chest and say that their family property is this much?
Liang Jin couldn't help but feel nervous when he heard this price.
In his previous life's history, Shen Wansan's net worth was as high as two billion taels of silver, the great corrupt official He Shen's wealth was worth one billion taels, and Prince Qing alone had one hundred million taels in bank deposits.
Of course, these were all extreme cases.
In today's Great Qian Dynasty, for those high-ranking officials and nobles, ten million taels was naturally not a problem.
But this was, after all, Dongzhou, where the heavens are high and the emperor is far away.
In Dongzhou, if anyone could possess ten million taels of silver in ready money, it would be enough to be called the richest man in Dongzhou.
Back then, when the Taiping Dao seized the Yang family in Qingzhou, the wealth they obtained was only a little over ten million taels. With this little money, the Taiping Dao was already able to support all the believers, and even form an army.
And now Yu Linglong actually shouted out the astronomical figure of ten million taels of silver, which made Liang Jin really worried about whether Zou Ci Feng would continue to bid.
Zou Ci Feng naturally didn't lack money, but he was, after all, a martial artist and not a businessman, nor a high-ranking official or noble.
Most importantly, Zou Ci Feng cherished his reputation very much.
He was called the "Big Dipper of Mount Tai" and "highly respected" by the Dongzhou martial arts world, all because he still cared about face when doing things, and wouldn't be as unscrupulous as the Yang family in Qingzhou.
This also led to the fact that the money Zou Ci Feng could possess was also limited.
If Zou Ci Feng didn't follow, then Liang Jin could only decide to take Yu Linglong to cheat and default on the debt.
After all, Yu Linglong didn't lack Soul Jade. If she really spent ten million taels to buy a blue Soul Jade that she didn't like, then she would really be a sucker.
On the other side, Zou Ci Feng was now in a state of extreme anger and entanglement. His old face turned red due to the surge of blood, as if it was about to drip blood.
He never expected that Yu Linglong would play cards so unreasonably, and suddenly shout out the terrifying high price of ten million taels.
For a moment, Zou Ci Feng really intended to give up.
But if he stopped here, then what face would he have to see his ancestors after a hundred years?
The family heirloom that his Zou family had inherited for more than a dozen generations was actually stolen in his hands.
If he couldn't find a Soul Jade to make up for it, he would really be ashamed of his ancestors and have no face to face his descendants.
But this was, after all, ten million taels!
All of his Zou family's property combined was far less than this, unless he went around borrowing money.
If he continued to bid, then he would really be bankrupt.
But he was really unwilling!
This entangled emotion made Zou Ci Feng somewhat lose his mind for a moment.
One last time!
He decided to bid one last time!
If Yu Linglong still wanted to increase the price this time, then he would really have to give up helplessly.
"Eleven... million... and ten thousand taels!"
Zou Ci Feng hesitated, his voice trembling slightly, and finally shouted out this price.
Everyone habitually turned their attention to Yu Linglong, and everyone was ready to hear Yu Linglong shout out an even more exaggerated and outrageous price.