Chapter 103 Auction! The Highest Bidder Wins!
“Yi, what the heck is this?”
“Is it worth 300,000?”
“I don’t think it’s medicine. It looks rather like a gem. But it’s not a gem. How could it be worth 300,000?”
“Yi, think carefully. Spending 300,000 on this might not be a good idea.”
The young people around Elder Yi questioned one after another.
At last,
Elder Yi didn’t answer any of them. He grabbed the Red Spirit Date in his hand even tighter.
“How much do you want?”
Locking his eyes on Fang Qiu, Elder Yi asked for the price.
Hearing his question,
The crowd on the scene was astonished.
The deal couldn’t be closed at 300,000 and Elder Yi was willing to further raise the price?
What on earth is going on?
What the heck is that tiny little thing?
“You name it.”
Faced by the shocked crowded, Fang Qiu responded to Elder Yi’s question calmly.
“500,000?”
Said Elder Yi in a questioning tone, gazing at Fang Qiu closely.
His words were telling everyone that its value was more than 500,000.
The crowd grew more curious.
All the eyes were turned to the Red Spirit Date in Elder Yi’s hand though the majority of them had no idea at all what they were looking at.
“500,000?”
Fang Qiu burst into a laugh and asked, “That’s what you’re willing to pay for an earth treasure?”
Hearing that,
Bam!
All those present were stunned!
An earth treasure!
All the martial arts practitioners on site opened their eyes wider, carrying the same look of shock at once.
They were all martial artists.
They had all heard about the fabled heaven materials and earth treasure.
However, for them, the so-called heaven materials and earth treasures remained in tales and legends since they had never seen a real earth treasure.
A legendary earth treasure was there?
On such a small trade fair?
Who could have guessed?
Earth treasures had occasionally appeared on big trade fairs before but they were exclusively taken by the senior martial arts masters.
These people had no chance of attending a trade fair at that level.
That day, an earth treasure was right in front of them.
Stunned!
Matchlessly stunned!
They all came to realize
Why Elder Yi had been holding this little thing in his hand ever since he first saw it and why he continued to raise the price for Fang Qiu. It was an earth treasure.
Seeing how eagerly Elder Yi intended to take it, they were certain it was an earth treasure.
Rumble.
As the shock faded slowly, a stir was made in the trade fair.
There was light in every pair of eyes.
No one was buying anything so those martial artists closed their stalls and gathered around the earth treasure.
At once,
Everyone on side gazed at the red spirit date in Elder Yi’s hand with shock in their eyes.
He knew it!
Keeping his eyes on Fang Qiu, Elder Yi’s grip on the earth treasure tightened.
The heat and longing in those eyes gave him pressure.
He desperately wanted this earth treasure!
At that moment,
Fang Qiu suddenly turned to the young man with a broken arm behind Elder Yi and asked, “How much did you say you would pay for my earth treasure?”
The young man lowered his head in silence.
However, people remembered.
Thirty grand.
Thirty grand for an earth treasure?
It would be robbery!
It was a ridiculous joke!
No one would believe this offer if he hadn’t said it himself when begging for Elder Yi to uphold justice for him.
Obviously.
This was quite clear.
This man was courting death.
First, he wanted to pay Fang Qiu 30,000 for the earth treasure. Without a deal, he then attempted to take it by force. With no luck in fighting, he turned around to slander Fang Qiu. Wasn’t he courting death?
Those who had felt sorry for him then felt ashamed.
Those close to him threw a few fierce glares at him and pushed him out of the crowd.
“An earth treasure?”
“This is really an earth treasure?”
“I thought I would never get to see a legendary earth treasure in my life. What a surprise to see it here!”
“Earth treasures are rare and precious. Most of us won’t be able to see one in our lifetime.
“I heard earth treasures can help martial arts practitioners improve their strength but I don’t know if it is for real.”
“Of course it is for real. Earth treasures are magical gems that bear internal Qi. Take one earth treasure and your strength will be improved for sure. However, earth treasures are so rare and they are all well hidden in secret places. Even if you are really determined to look for it, you probably won’t have the luck.”
“This is a great thing.”
“Better than great! Earth treasures are divine items for martial artists!”
The martial artists around marveled in shock one after another.
“Yi!”
All of a sudden, a middle-aged man chuckled and said to Elder Yi, “The earth treasure is not sold to you yet. Don’t you think it’s not very good for you to hold it so tight in your hand?
“And it’s not very decent for you to have it all to yourself!”
Elder Yi blushed, obviously embarrassed.
To be honest,
He knew this red spirit date was an earth treasure but he didn’t tell anyone; instead, he kept it in his hand, attempting to purchase it without anyone else noticing.
At last, Fang Qiu laid bare the truth.
As a prestigious figure, he certainly felt awkward there.
The middle-aged man continued, “Since we haven’t seen any earth treasure yet, why not pass it around?”
The crowd nodded in unison.
“That doesn’t sound good!”
Elder Yi hesitated and replied, “What if someone took it and ran when we passed it around? What if someone ate it? That would be awful.”
Hearing this,
The crowd was lost for a moment.
To be fair,
That would be very possible.
However, most of them hadn’t thought about it until this reminder.
That was an earth treasure after all. No one knew how it would taste like. Who wasn’t curious?
“I’m taking this earth treasure.”
Said the middle-aged man generously, “I give you my words that I’ll compensate for your loss in case of any accident. It is passed out from my hands and I’m here to see who has the balls to make trouble.”
Elder Yi heaved a sigh helplessly, looking at Fang Qiu and seeking his opinion.
“You are very rich?”
Asked Fang Qiu, turning to the middle-aged man.
“Very!”
Answered the middle-aged man at once.
Elder Yi nodded his approval.
Fang Qiu gave his consent by nodding his head.
He was not afraid of anyone robbing the earth treasure. Considering his strength, no one on site was capable of taking it from his hand.
If someone devoured it, he couldn’t kill that person anyway.
But he would lose a fortune if the earth treasure eater was a rascal who would rather die than pay for the loss.
It would be real trouble if some greedy man swallowed the red spirit date.
He couldn’t kill.
He already made an exception to let Elder Yi and young man have a look at it.
However, since someone had offered to take the risk, he couldn’t care less.
Seeing this, Elder Yi had no choice but to say, “As you have given your words, fine.”
The crowd gazed at the red spirit date in Elder Yi’s hand, their eyes bright and shiny.
“Take a look.”
Under numerous eyes, Elder Yi handed the red spirit date out, looking reluctant.
The middle-aged man took it over at once and began looking at it carefully.
After, it was passed around and the crowd took turns to observe it.
Everyone handled it with extreme care, afraid of putting forth their strength.
As the crowd observed it in turn, Elder Yi followed the Red Spirit Date closely, scared of any accident.
It didn’t matter to him that someone had promised to take responsibility for any accident..
He wanted this earth treasure.
“This is an earth treasure?”
“This is magical. The touch is so very unique.”
“I’ve never seen anything like this. This is my very first time.”
“I can tell it is extraordinary from the first touch. An earth treasure indeed.”
“There seems something inside. Could that be the internal Qi?”
“I’m touching an earth treasure! I’m touching a bloody earth treasure!”
“How lucky I’m today to see a legendary earth treasure with my own eyes!”
As it was passed around, it won more admiration.
Fortunately,
No one crossed the line. After all, Elder Yi had his eye on it closely.
“Young brother, how much would you sell this earth treasure for? I’m taking it!”
“I want it. May I exchange something for it?”
“He takes cash only. Young brother, how much?”
Questions flooded in from the crowd.
However,
When the last person was looking at the red spirit date, Elder Yi snatched it and said, “I have reserved it already!”
“Reserved it? You haven’t bought it yet, have you?”
“That’s right, Yi. You can’t kill us all with one strike.”
“Give us an opportunity.”
“Why not auction it off?”
“The highest bidder wins. How does it sound?”
People in the crowd shouted one after another.
Elder Yi was apparently displeased and gloomy.
He was the first one who had noticed it.
“Everyone, shouldn’t we line up in order of arrival?”
Called Elder Yi, cupping his fist in the other hand before the chest in front of the crowd.
The crowd returned the same gesture in unison and shouted, “The highest bidder wins!”
Elder Yi was speechless, turning to seek Fang Qiu’s opinion.
Everyone else also turned to Fang Qiu, looking forward to his decision.
“Up to you. I’ll take as much money as possible.”
Said Fang Qiu calmly, glancing across these people.
“Great!”
The middle-aged man chipped in at once, “In this case, we’ll have an auction and the highest bidder gets it.”
After saying that,
He turned to Elder Yi and added, “Yi, give the earth treasure back quickly and get ready to bid.”
Elder Yi had no choice but to return the red spirit date to Fang Qiu.
Fang Qiu accepted it and held it in his hand.
Seeing this, the middle-aged man forced himself to move his eyes away from the earth treasure and said, “Brothers, let’s use Elder Yi’s previous offer, 500,000, as the base price. Whoever wants to bid, raise your hand and shout out your price.”
“Start!”
Shouted the middle-aged man.
Surrounded by the crowd, Elder Yi fell in a very dark mood.
Everyone else seemed extremely excited as if being injected with chicken blood.
“550,000!”
As soon as the auction started, a young man raised his hand and called.
“560,000!”
Another man raised his hand.
“600,000!”
Shouted Elder Yi loudly.
“650,000.”
Called the middle-aged man who had put on a rival show against Elder Yi.
In a blink,
The price for this red spirit date rose from 500,000 to 630,000.
Most people in the crowd were unable to afford this price but several wealthy men were still eyeing covetously.
Fang Qiu finally felt relieved.
He had gathered 300,000 in no time.
However, the more money the better. From then on, he didn’t need to worry about money again.
“700,000!”
Elder Yi held his breath and shouted loudly!
It was obvious that he was determined to take the red spirit date at all costs.
Hearing that, more people put on a wry smile.
700,000 was not a small amount. Quite some people on site had over 700,000 in their account but they had to live. They could spend all their saving on this earth treasure but how should they live after and how could they provide for their family?
Every time when someone offered a higher price, more people were eliminated inevitably.
“800,000.”
The middle-aged man called again.