Chapter 584: Wrapping Up and Returning

The final item has concluded, and this auction has reached its end.

Zhou You, playing the role of the host, bowed slightly to the four directions, "Thank you for your patronage, guests. This auction has concluded successfully. We shall meet again if fate allows."

He slightly opened his sleeve and called out the word "Collect." A gust of wind suddenly rose, swirling toward the boxes of gold and silver delivered.

Heavy chest after heavy chest flowed like a stream, pouring endlessly into his sleeve.

Yet his sleeve was like a bottomless black hole, swallowing all the boxes until they were gone, before returning to normal.

The guests could all see that this was the ability of a Storage Pocket, so they were not overly surprised.

With so much gold and silver—hard currency—hidden in the Storage Pocket within his sleeve, one only needed to intercept this host to obtain a staggering fortune that could not be squandered in ten lifetimes.

A faint sound of swallowing saliva echoed, and undisguised greed spread through the surroundings.

"My friend, I am from the Cao family of Weinan Cheng. I would like to invite you to Weinan Cheng to hold an auction."

Someone could not help but stand up to issue an invitation.

Weinan Cheng is the second-largest city under the jurisdiction of the Fucheng, far larger in scale and wealthier than Chongguang Cheng.

The Cao family is an elite, prominent clan in the region with formidable strength.

Several noble families of Chongguang Cheng were displeased; poaching on our turf, right in front of us? "We invite the host to be a guest at our estate. The Su Dafu Auction is too much of a pity as a mere underground auction; it should be expanded and strengthened to become the largest auction house in Chongguang Cheng."

"Whether it be land, manpower, or resources, we are willing to provide them unconditionally."

"Please do us the honor of coming with us."

All parties issued invitations one after another, and even Hai Li'er extended an invitation on behalf of the Thousand Faces Hall.

Zhou You's face was stiff from smiling. Who would want to run this auction? I was just forced into this, deliberately finding a channel to feed the Heavy Talismans to the Thousand Faces Hall. I'm never doing this again after this trip.

Let the so-called Su Dafu Auction become a legend! "I appreciate everyone's kindness, but as I said before, we shall meet again if fate allows."

After he finished speaking, the group of attendants and doormen generated by the projection gathered behind him and bowed to the many guests.

The guests' eyes flickered. When they had previously made contact with the attendants, they had each used their own methods to leave various clues and secret marks on them, all to track the whereabouts of the Su Dafu Auction.

Even after the venue cleared and the host went into hiding, he would still leave traces behind.

Once the venue cleared and the host and attendants left through the stone door behind them, the tracking began.

"Did you make a move?"

A group of four left with the Heavy Talismans. The items they had auctioned were just a few sheets of paper, making them easy to carry.

Zhou You deliberately asked Pei Li, as they could also see that many people had left tracking traces.

Pei Li shook his head, "I didn't join in that excitement. I could tell that host was unfathomable and not someone to be trifled with."

Their goal for this trip had been successfully achieved; it was nothing more than spending a bit more money, and there was no need to risk offending a mysterious force of unknown background.

He thought for a moment and said to Zhou You, "Did you notice? The gazes of those doormen and attendants—they were dead soldiers!"

For a noble family, raising even one or two dead soldiers is precious, let alone Su Dafu sending out dozens at once.

As expected...

The news over the next few days left everyone dumbfounded. The guests who participated in the auction used various means to track the whereabouts of those attendants, only to find, without exception, that the traces and clues they had left behind had failed—and it wasn't just one or two cases.

One must know that some people's methods are extremely vicious; unless the target dies, these traces can never be erased. Even if the target becomes a corpse, it can still serve as a medium to locate the direction.

However, all the clues and traces were now broken, which meant that not only had the entire batch of attendants died, but their bodies had been pulverized to a degree that made them impossible to recover.

Dozens of capable, obedient, and loyal subordinates had just vanished into thin air with a wave of a hand.

"Even if they are dead soldiers, they shouldn't be used like that. It's too wasteful."

After learning the news, Pei Li clicked his tongue in wonder, his fear of Su Dafu increasing by a few notches.

Zhou You said nothing on the side. They were just projections, not real people, and the panel was responsible for recycling them.

Although, to a certain extent, this batch of attendants—including the host he played himself—were thoroughly "dead," it was not the loss of flesh-and-blood lives, so it did not count as murder.

But to the outside world, this turn of events shocked everyone and made the Su Dafu Auction famous, for a time surpassing the Buguo Wu Auction House of the Strong Martial faction.

As internal information about the auction spread to all parties, many who had missed the opportunity wrung their hands in regret, wishing they could turn back time.

After all, whether it was the Mid-grade Storage Pocket, the Great Medicine, or the specialties of Caoshu Zhou, these were treasures that could be sought but not found; having missed them, who knew how long it would be until the next time.

However, there would be no next time.

Many years later, in the underground auction circles of Chongguang Cheng, the fleeting Su Dafu Auction had become a legend.

There were even rumors that because those guests had acted too ruthlessly and violated the confidentiality principles of the underground auction, the Su Dafu Auction had only been held once.

The parties involved inevitably faced condemnation, and the underground auction scene formed a customary rule: anyone who pried into the background of an auction without permission would be permanently blacklisted and strictly forbidden from entering any underground auction ever again.

Of course, that is a story for another time.

The group of four—Zhou You, Pei Li, Hai Li'er, and Pavilion Master Chang—had decided to return to Fucheng.

They were eager to bring the Heavy Talismans back, even going so far as to set off lightly, leaving behind a crowd of helpers and attendants.

Both Zhuang Li and Zhou You had brought Disciples and Apprentices out to see the world; Hai Li'er had helpers from the Thousand Faces Hall, and Pavilion Master Chang had brought a large number of assets and personnel to be responsible for allocating the gold and silver.

The total amount of this auction reached as high as ten million; the Thousand Faces Hall and the Rare Treasure Pavilion had consumed a great deal, and so much gold and silver certainly couldn't be transported all at once, so they had to rely on the business channels of Chongguang Cheng to borrow and allocate funds.

After the auction ended, it would take at least 2 to 3 months to settle the accounts for the expenses incurred.

The two martial arts hall masters were responsible for providing the manpower and effort, but when it came time to return, after much thought, they decided to leave their Disciples and Apprentices behind to exchange and learn with the local martial arts halls for a period of time.

"There is danger on the road!"

There was certainly danger; the treasures of the Su Dafu Auction were eye-catching. It was said that after it ended, more than a dozen conflicts had already occurred surrounding the Storage Pocket and the Snow Bud Pill.

As a treasure with a total value of over 2 million taels of gold, the Heavy Talismans were enough to turn upright gentlemen into robbers.

"As long as it isn't a Strong Martial, the two of us can handle it."

Pei Li said firmly; after all, this batch of Heavy Talismans was something the Thousand Faces Hall was determined to obtain, and even a Strong Martial would have to weigh the consequences before making a move.

Chi Riqianli was currently preparing to fight Du Taiyue and had gathered many Martial Arts Masters by his side; at a time when he was at his strongest, no one dared to provoke him, as it would undoubtedly be an act of suicide.

The only thing to watch out for were those martial artists who would take risks.

(End of chapter)