Chapter 434: Underground Auction

"Honored guest, walk slowly!"

In front of the Curio Pavilion, the attentive receptionist saw them off repeatedly, their expression full of reluctance to part.

If Zhou You were in their shoes, he would also be loath to let a big spender go.

The commission from every transaction Zhou You completed at the Curio Pavilion added up to enough to let him stop struggling for 30 years.

Zhou You stepped down the stairs, feeling the stack of soft, thin gold notes against his chest.

The stolen goods from the Cloud-Touching Stronghold were all sold off, the wealth plundered from the Witch Tribe during his trip to Beijing was all sold off, and the wealth he had scavenged from the Five Birds Palace after Gongliang City fell was also all sold off.

The Curio Pavilion was truly wealthy and powerful; they bought everything Zhou You had, and the prices were very fair.

It totaled 3.58 million taels of silver.

They were issued as gold notes from Tianxia Bank, which honored the note rather than the person; one could find any branch of Tianxia Bank and exchange them for designated common currencies like silver or gold.

Once one has money, one must spend it to contribute to the orderly and healthy circulation of the economy.

Snake fangs half a person's height—bought; he would take them back to practice his palm techniques and increase the circulation and penetration of his Palm Poison.

Snake venoms, both those seen on the market and those unseen, he took one of each to complete his "Hundred Poisons" and enhance the transformative direction of his poison aura.

Zhou You's act of wanton purchasing caught the attention of interested parties; he never stopped buying, confirming he was a big spender.

"This old snake skin of mine is two fingers thick and two paces long and wide; if you strike it with a blade, sparks will fly everywhere. It is best used to refine a Leather Robe."

The stall owner spoke until spit flew, his hands constantly shaking a multicolored snake skin.

Zhou You shook his head, "This snake skin of yours is pieced together; I wouldn't take it even if it were free."

The onlookers around them burst into uproarious laughter, "You swindler, looks like your eyes deceived you!"

A person squeezed out from the crowd and grabbed Zhou You, who was turning to leave, "Guest, stop a moment. Do you want truly good goods?"

"Hm?"

A moment later, inside a natural limestone cave.

The ceiling and the surrounding ground were covered with stalagmites of various sizes and thicknesses, which emitted a fluorescent glow in the darkness.

The water pooled in the low-lying areas reflected shimmering light, making the cave look dreamlike and illusory.

This cave was one of the temporary auction sites of the Dixa Guishi.

The auction house operated on an invitation-only basis; it was not open to the public and dispatched guides to observe and invite guests from outside.

Each guide's performance commission depended entirely on the transaction volume of the guests they invited.

The person who had stopped Zhou You at the market and brought him to this place was one such guide.

"Guest, please wait. If you wish to drink tea, read a book, or play chess, just give the word."

After the guide whispered the rules of the auction house, he bowed and took his leave; his historical mission was already complete.

Zhou You looked around and discovered that quite a few people had already arrived in the cave, each having called for service.

The handsome middle-aged man with a long beard closest to him was playing chess with a beautiful woman; the two were very quiet.

One person further away was playing quite extravagantly; a floral canopy hung down from a stalagmite, and inside lay a large fatty, surrounded by seven or eight stunning women frolicking and feeding him wine and grapes with their mouths.

There were also those who were alone, having ordered nothing, sitting in place with their eyes closed to rest their minds.

The invited guests present had an unspoken tacit understanding; they did not inquire about each other, nor did they get too close. Everyone was in their own independent space, doing as they pleased.

Zhou You closed his eyes to rest, thinking this auction was somewhat interesting.

He had deliberately thrown money around in the market with the goal of catching the attention of the high-end circle, and sure enough, he had gotten his wish and been invited in.

A moment later, the water in the cave pool splashed, and a high platform suddenly rose up, with a person standing on it.

It was starting!

The guests waved away their companions one after another.

To Zhou You's surprise, the one who left from the man and woman playing chess was actually the handsome man with the long beard; it turned out the beautiful woman he had taken for a plaything was the true guest. Zhou You couldn't help but look at the beauty twice more, and she didn't get angry, instead smiling and nodding at him.

"Honored guests, welcome to this auction."

On the high platform, a ruddy-faced dwarf introduced them loudly, his voice resonant and clearly echoing in every corner of the cave.

He clapped his hands, "Today, we have both familiar guests and new friends."

"I, this lowly one, kowtow to all you benefactors here, and thank you all for providing me with a living."

Saying this, the dwarf knelt on the platform and knocked his head three times with a loud thud, thud, thud.

A voice came from the crowd, "Stop the nonsense and show us the good stuff!"

The dwarf stood up with a smile and clapped his hands, "I have kept you all waiting. Today's first treasure is a treasure of Beijing: the Rhinoceros Pearl."

"As everyone knows, pearls from aquatic species are not as good as those from land species, and among them, the Rhinoceros Pearl is the most valuable and the rarest."

"Outside the fifty states of the world, the Rhinoceros Pearl dug from the body of a Blood Marrow Rhinoceros, native to the untamed lands of Beijing, is the most precious."

"The Blood Marrow Rhinoceros is a naturally spiritual species; it does not eat rotten meat or withered grass. When thirsty, it drinks snow water; when hungry, it eats medicinal herbs. On ordinary days, it uses its horn to plow the earth and break stones to find precious wild herbs to eat."

"After such a rhinoceros lives for over a hundred years, its entire hide turns snow-white. After another two hundred years, its horn becomes saturated with the essence of medicinal herbs, gestating a bright pearl; this is the Blood Marrow Rhinoceros Pearl."

"When a Blood Marrow Rhinoceros Pearl is first born, it is only the size of a grain of rice. It grows as time passes, growing one circle larger every ten years."

"To grow a Rhinoceros Pearl the size of a thumb, it takes at least another two hundred years."

"In other words, to want a Rhinoceros Pearl worth looking at, one must have a snow-white rhinoceros that has lived for over five hundred years."

The dwarf spoke as if counting his own family treasures on the platform, leaving the guests listening, utterly mesmerized.

Two tall women walked out from behind him, wearing tight, thin clothing that outlined their figures to near perfection.

They held jade trays in their hands, each with a gray, round pearl placed upon it.

"For bright pearls, one in a hundred is round; that is to say, out of a peck of pearls, one can only pick out one or two that are perfectly round and flawless."

"I have here two perfect-quality Blood Marrow Rhinoceros Pearls, 200 years old; the starting price is 100,000 taels."

"You all have one quarter of an hour to place your bids."

The crowd below became restless; with Beijing in chaos and the Witch Tribe invading, it was not easy to get hold of a Rhinoceros Pearl of such quality.

This kind of rare, top-quality pearl has a price several times higher than usual.

A starting price of 100,000 taels per pearl is considered a fair price; this would be absolutely impossible outside.

Zhou You does not intend to make a move; unless he encounters an item he absolutely cannot miss in the first few auctions, he only wants to familiarize himself with the environment and the auction house rules first.

"110,000 taels."

A quarter of an hour later...

The first to bid was, surprisingly, the beautiful woman next door; she raised her hand and added 10,000 taels.

Zhou You had just taken a few extra looks at her; what was most eye-catching about this beautiful woman was her pair of long legs.

"I bid 115,000."

Voices calling out bids rang out one after another from all directions, quickly pushing the price of the two Rhinoceros Pearls up to 180,000 taels.

When it rose to 180,000, the bidding began to become sparse, clearly approaching a bottleneck.

"I bid 200,000."

A young voice rang out; it was a fair-faced youth wearing a gold crown, who looked at the beautiful woman next to Zhou You with a smile, "I gift these two pearls to the beauty to express my sincerity."

Gazes from all around were cast over; good grief, someone was actually throwing money around in an auction house to please a woman.

That was 200,000 taels of real gold and silver.

(End of this chapter)