Stranger Danger

Chapter 364: Auction

“Don’t worry, I won’t take too much of your time. In fact, we’ll get right to the meat in a couple more sentences!”

Fire Skull wasn’t loud, but his voice was extremely clear. It was also soothing like the cool breeze after a downpour.

“One, your activity will be restricted after the auction begins, and you are not allowed to disturb others during the auction.”

“Two, your mouths are the only organ you are expected to flap during the auction. Fighting is strictly forbidden.”

“Three, yin gold is the currency we’ll be using for all our transactions. Once the money is paid, and the goods are received, then the business is considered to be over and done with. We don’t accept refunds. If you don’t have enough yin gold, you can make up for the deficit by paying a treasure of the appropriate value.”

“Four, at the end of the auction, you have one incense stick to interact with your fellow bidders and trade with them if you want to.”

“And five, no one is allowed to disrupt the auction in any way.”

“That’s all I have to say, folks. Let the auction begin!”

A jade plate with a pair of transparent wings flew out from behind the curtains and stopped in front of Fire Skull. It was carrying something that was covered in a red cloth. “To kick things off, the first item we’re going to auction is…”

Fire Skull dragged out the moment for a second or two before his flames turned into a pair of hands, and he pulled away the cloth covering the item. “The Yin God Bone Changing Fruit!”

Someone whistled from beneath the stage and said, “They’re showing us the good stuff right off the bat?”

Fire Skull ignored him and continued, “The Yin God Bone Changing Fruit is the fruit of the Yin God Tree and could only be found at Resting Mountain, and the Yin God Tree is a plant that could only be birthed from the yin qi of Fengdu. It takes a hundred years for the Yin God Tree to grow to full maturity, another hundred years to flower, and another hundred years to conceive a fruit! Moreover, the tree only conceives one fruit its whole life. It will wither once the fruit has fallen off its branch.”

“The Yin God Bone Changing Fruit is said to be capable of transforming a person so thoroughly it might as well be a rebirth, and whoever said it wasn’t kidding in the slightest. If a ghost eats the Yin God Bone Changing Fruit, they would grow flesh and blood and become human. If a human eats it, they would be freed from their mortal shell and gain an imperishable soul.”

Loud murmurs began resounding throughout the room. It was clear that many people were interested in the fruit.

Beneath the stage, Ye Qing curled his lips in disdain. “Tsk tsk… As expected of the Ghost Tower. I can smell their nonsense all the way from here!”

“Oh? Did he lie?” Greenlake asked smilingly.

“No, but it did hide some key information,” Ye Qing answered. “It is true that the Yin God Bone Changing Fruit could reverse yin and yang, life and death, but it only works for an ordinary human who’s never practiced martial arts or a weak ghost. Anyone who’s even a little stronger would find their energies clashing against the fruit’s energies. Best case scenario, they would experience a deviation and turn into a cripple. Worst case scenario, their mind and soul would crumble, and they would experience true death.”

“To put it simply, this item is completely useless to us warriors. If it worked on warriors, the Ghost Tower would’ve kept it to themselves.”

“You are quite knowledgeable, husband. I am very impressed,” praised Greenlake while watching him with gentle eyes.

Ye Qing simply smiled and said nothing.

“The starting bid for this treasure is one hundred yin gold. Every bid must be at least fifty yin gold higher than the previous number.”

Fire Skull wasted some time after that in order to fan the bidders’ impatience. When it thought that the time was right, it finally declared, “Begin!”

“Two hundred yin gold!”

“Three hundred yin gold!”

“You seriously thought you can buy a treasure like this for three hundred yin gold? Five hundred yin gold!”

“Is that it? Eight hundred yin gold!”

For a time, it sounded like the bidding would never end.

At a seat not far away from Ye Qing’s, a cute thirteen or fourteen year old boy who was dressed like a student scoffed at the bidders.

“I can’t believe they’re fighting over a useless fruit. Pitiful. Truly pitiful.”

Sitting opposite the young man, a, young handsome scholar who was reading a book seriously said, “Sixue, to know but not expand on what you know is the same as not knowing, and to be wealthy but not share what you have with others is the same as being poor. You know the truth, and yet you chose to ridicule the ignorant instead of illuminating them on the truth. That kind of behavior is deplorable.”

“You are correct, teacher. I will think on my mistakes.” The student hurriedly rose to his feet and saluted the scholar deeply. “Should I tell them the truth then, teacher?”

Still reading his book, the scholar replied calmly, “No. Rules are rules. We are guests of the Ghost Tower, so we should follow the rules they set.”

“Besides, one only learns from one’s mistakes. They may have wasted their yin gold, but the knowledge they would gain from this experience would teach them to be better jianghu warriors[1].”

“You are right, teacher. I shall remember your teachings,” The student answered primly.

“Enough with the ceremonies. Sit,” the young man said gently.

“Yes, teacher.” The student returned to his seat and stuck out his tongue when he thought the scholar wasn’t looking.

Meanwhile, the bidding had finally ended on two thousand yin gold.

“Congratulations on obtaining the Yin God Bone Changing Fruit, dear customer. Now then, our second item is…”

This time, a gorgeous female ghost wearing a semi-transparent dress stepped onto the stage while carrying a stone bowl.

“The Mengpo Soup! That’s right! It’s the Mengpo Soup! One mouthful from this bowl will make you forget everything you have experienced up until that point. In other words, this soup will grant you a fresh start.”

“Just like the Yin God Bone Changing Fruit, the starting price is one hundred yin gold, and every bid must be at least fifty yin gold higher than the previous number.”

“The bidding starts… now!”

“The Mengpo Soup? Who on earth would need such a thing?” Ye Qing rubbed his nose in confusion. It was completely useless to most people unless it was fed to others, and even then its usefulness was very situational.

As expected, few people bid for the Mengpo Soup. In the end, it went to Greenlake for five hundred yin gold.

“Why on earth did you bid for the Mengpo Soup?” Ye Qing asked curiously.

Greenlake smiled. “I got it for myself. If one day you abandon me and go away, I will need it to cure my sorrows.”

“Hahaha… you do you.” Ye Qing ended the conversation on the spot.

“Now then, our third item is… the Three-Lived Grass!”

Fire Skull pointed at a bright red grass with three flowers and three leaves and began its introduction, “You’ve all heard of the Three Lived Stone, haven’t you? The Three Lived Stone is a godly artifact of my Fengdu, and it can reveal someone’s past, present, and future lives.”

“The Three Lived Grass is born next to the Three Lived Stone, which is why it possessed some of its power.”

“Of course, the Three Lived Grass is no Three Lived Stone. It can only reveal glimpses of one’s past, present, and future lives.”

“Heh… trash and more trash. This Ghost Tower sure isn’t afraid to scam the shit out of their customers!” Ye Qing shook his head. That said, the Three Lived Stone was definitely more valuable than the Mengpo Soup, and it was especially valuable who dabbled in fortune telling and the like. It should sell for a lot of money.

As expected, the audience was quite enamored with the item, and the Three Lived Grass was ultimately sold for five thousand yin gold.

The next few items that were brought on stage were actual treasures, and some of them were quite attractive for Ye Qing. For example, there was the Yin Fire Eternal Sand that could be used to temper one’s spirit, a Cloak of True Invisibility, a cultivation art meant for ghost warriors called the “Myriad Ghosts Sutra”, a bottle of Bone Jade Marrow that could greatly increase the chance of a Strange Artifact growing an artifact spirit and so on.

He had to let them go though. After all, he was poor as dirt.

Greenlake bought a lot of things though. It truly was the privilege of the wealthy.

“The next item we have here is a flower that can grow even without roots. Born in the River of Forgettance, it is the beautiful Duckweed Flower!”

As soon as Fire Skull finished, an imp jumped onto the stage while carrying a vase on top of its head. Inside the vase was a bright, colorful, fragrant, and dreamlike flower.

“So that’s the Duckweed Flower…” Ye Qing immediately devoted his full attention to the stage.

“The Duckweed Flower can only be found in the River of Forgettance. It takes sixty years to grow its leaves, and another sixty years to flower. The flower only blooms for a day, but it may never wither for ten thousand years.”

Fire Skull was doing his best to hype up the item, but most people paid it no heed. It was true that the Duckweed Flower was beautiful and rare, but it could neither be used as medicine nor provide any sort of practical function. A lady might be interested in such things, but even they would be hardpressed to convince themselves to pay money that could be better spent elsewhere.”

“They treat sand like treasure, and actual treasure like sand. Truly pitiful.”

The student couldn’t help but scoff at the bidders again, “The River of Forgettance is a dead river full of taint and yin energy, but where there is yin, there must be yang and vice versa. Born from a place of absolute filth, the Duckweed Flower is the purest and brightest flower of them all.”

“The Duckweed Flower is full of Great Yang Qi. Once you obtain it, you’ll reach the adept level of the Thousand Autumns Art.”

“To travel a thousand kilometers with a single breath of Greatness! How amazing would that be?”

Still not looking up from his book, the scholar said, “Sixue. What did I say earlier?”

“Er, right. I will repent, teacher.” The student stuck out his tongue.

“And yet you are decidedly not. When we get back, you will copy the chapter ‘Regarding The Heart’ of the ‘Analects’ three times.”

“Yes, teacher,” The student responded obediently before adding, “But can we talk about my punishment later? The bidding has already begun. If you don’t bid now, it might just go to another bidder.”

“How many times have I told you that impatience clouds the mind, and a clouded mind can do nothing? You will copy the ‘Heart Sutra’ three times as well.”

“Yes, yes, I’ll do that when we get back. But for now, let me bid for you, okay?”

The student shouted, “Three thousand yin gold.”

“It looks like one bidder is offering three thousand yin gold to buy the Duckweed Flower! Are there any takers? If not, then this priceless treasure will go to them!” Fire Skull yelled.

“Three thousand? Rich people,” Ye Qing cursed under his breath. He thought he would be able to obtain the Duckweed Flower for cheap considering that not many people were interested in it, but suddenly, it cost three times more than he could afford. He strongly suspected that the Ghost Tower had fake bidders upping the price to make sure they wouldn’t make a deficit.

“Do you want the Duckweed Flower, husband?” Greenlake heard his mutter and asked smilingly.

“Yes, but I can’t afford it,” Ye Qing replied honestly. It wasn’t that he could afford the price—he had plenty of Strange Artifacts he could trade to the Ghost Tower to make up for the yin gold he didn’t have—but all that for one Duckweed Flower? It just wasn’t worth it.

“If that is your desire, then I shall grant it!”

“It’s f—”

Greenlake raised her hand before he could finish and called out, “Six thousand yin gold!”

1. If you haven’t figured it out yet, this guy is bullshitting. As Ye Qing already told you, those who eat the fruit straight up die or become a cripple. ☜