Gu Yong glanced at Ning Bei beside him with a contemplative look in his eyes.
"Bei'er, you're quite filial. I can tell you still remember how good your mother has been to you."
Gu Yong clearly knew that the exquisite evening dress Ning Bei had bid for was intended for his mother, so he praised him for his filial piety.
However, his tone had an odd undertone, almost as if he were reminding Ning Bei: I've been good to you too—so, where's my gift?
Ning Bei awkwardly scratched his head.
"Grandpa Gu, if I see something suitable for you later, I'll bid on it too. You've treated me so well; I should honor you as well."
Gu Yong nodded in satisfaction upon hearing this.
"You don't need to buy me anything, just the thought is enough."
Ning Bei rolled his eyes in his mind: I don't trust you, old man. You're up to no good!
The auction continued as usual, with the items being paid for after the event. Ning Bei lost interest in the following items, such as storage soul-guides and a catgirl maid, so he didn't participate in the bidding.
It wasn't until the fourth item was brought up that his attention was piqued.
"This fourth item is a set of highly sought-after medicinal pills: ten each of the Recovery Pills, Rejuvenation Pills, and Energy Pills, all crafted by the alchemy masters of Seven Treasures Glass Sect."
As the red cloth was pulled away from the cart, several white jade bottles appeared before the audience.
The mercenaries in the middle of the hall immediately started whispering excitedly. These pills were often life-saving during soul hunting expeditions, and many had tried and failed to win them in past auctions.
"The starting price for these pills is 200 gold soul coins, with each bid increasing by no less than 10 gold soul coins."
The starting price immediately sparked a wave of discussion among the mercenaries.
"Damn, it's raised again. Last time the starting price was only 150 gold soul coins."
"Tell me about it! It's hard enough finding auxiliary soul masters, and now the price of these pills is through the roof!"
But soon, the grumbles were drowned out by jeers from their competitors.
"If you think it's too expensive, don't bid. You'll have fewer competitors."
"That's right! Go ahead and back out, poor folk."
The mercenaries who had been complaining flushed red with embarrassment upon hearing the insults.
"Who says we won't bid? 220 gold soul coins."
"Ha! You're only adding 20? You think you're feeding the beggars? 250 gold soul coins from me."
Before long, the price of the 30 pills was pushed up to 500 gold soul coins.
Ning Bei in his private booth watched in shock, unable to stop muttering to himself: They're really out here robbing people.
He'd heard from Ning Fengzhi that the pills were in short supply, and prices were likely to go up.
But now, seeing it for himself, the increase was just outrageous. As expected, no matter the world, selling medicine is a profit-greedy business.
Gu Yong chuckled as he stroked his beard.
"Bei'er, these pills are quite popular, huh?"
"Yeah," Ning Bei replied with a sigh.
Gu Yong, seemingly aware of Ning Bei's thoughts, didn't mention that the pills were actually crafted by him. He probably didn't want to draw attention to it in such a crowded place.
In the end, the 30 pills sold for a whopping 600 gold soul coins—several times more than Ning Bei had imagined.
These 30 pills represented two days' worth of his work. It seemed that Seven Treasures Chamber of Commerce was well-versed in the art of scarcity marketing.
After the pills were auctioned off, the next item was revealed.
As the red cloth was pulled back, a black, gooey substance appeared on the display cart.
"This," the auctioneer, Ya Fei, announced with a sly smile, "is a block of Whale Glue, brought back by the soul masters of the Seven Treasures Glass Sect during their sea expedition. It's said to be the key to a prosperous life. Will any of our noble guests be interested?"
The starting bid was set at 1000 gold soul coins, with each raise having to be no less than 50 gold soul coins.
Hearing this, Ning Bei's heart skipped a beat. Whale Glue! He knew that it was an invaluable substance for enhancing physical strength. At this point, people were still unaware of its true benefits; the noble guests only used it for enhancing certain... personal abilities.
"1300 gold soul coins."
"1500."
"1700."
As Ning Bei mulled it over, the bidding grew intense.
Soon, after several rounds of bidding, the price for the Whale Glue reached 2300 gold soul coins.
Ning Bei noticed that the number of bidders was dwindling, so he waved at the maid beside him.
Gu Yong and Xiao Tao exchanged a glance, their expressions clearly saying, How old are you? Playing such games?
Ning Bei flushed red as he saw their reactions, and then tried to justify his actions.
"Grandpa Gu, you know how sensitive my Dan Tower is to medicinal substances. This Whale Glue isn't just for the things people think it's for."
Gu Yong and Xiao Tao both looked at him with suspicion.
"Oh? I didn't know Whale Glue had any other uses."
"Master, you're too young for such things," Xiao Tao added, her face full of concern.
Ning Bei felt embarrassed by their comments but didn't try to explain further.
"Just bid on it for now, and I'll explain it to you later when we get back."
Reluctantly, they both agreed to keep quiet.
"3000 gold soul coins from Box No. 1. Any higher bids?"
The noble bidders, though wealthy, felt that spending 3000 gold soul coins on a piece of Whale Glue wasn't quite worth it, and the bidding stopped.
"3000 gold soul coins once."
"3000 gold soul coins twice."
"3000 gold soul coins three times."
"Congratulations to Box No. 1 for winning the Whale Glue."
After securing the Whale Glue, Ning Bei nodded in satisfaction, though his small fortune was now running dangerously low. He didn't bid on any more items from that point on.
Just as everyone thought the auction was nearing its end, Ya Fei's next words caught Ning Bei's attention.
"Next, we have the last item of today's auction: a mysterious herb."
"This herb was found by our soul masters during a soul-hunting expedition. It was being guarded by a 9000-year-old Giant Rock Serpent. Though we don't know the herb's exact properties, we can safely assume it is no ordinary plant, considering the protection it had. The starting price is 1500 gold soul coins, with each bid raising the price by no less than 100 gold soul coins."
The crowd below immediately started murmuring.
"1500 gold soul coins for some random herb? Are they trying to rob us?"
"Right? We don't even know what it does."
"Exactly, what if it's poisonous?"
The audience's discussion was filled with skepticism about the herb's worth.
In the private booth, Ning Bei stared at the herb, releasing his martial soul to examine it more closely. Gu Yong, seeing what Ning Bei was doing, immediately knocked out the maid in the booth to prevent anyone from overhearing.
Ning Bei noticed that the first layer of his Dan Tower began glowing brighter than usual, clearly showing interest in the herb.
"Grandpa Gu, you saw that, right? It seems like this herb has some connection to the Dan Tower."
Gu Yong nodded seriously and shouted towards the auction floor.
"3000 gold soul coins, I'll take the herb."
"Ah, 3000 gold soul coins from Box No. 1. Any higher bids?"
Seeing no other bids, the auctioneer quickly concluded.
"Then, congratulations to Box No. 1 for winning the mysterious herb."
With that, the auction officially ended.