A Thick Skin Gets You Your Fill

Although Lin Fei was surprised that someone had stepped in to compete with her bid, she was not angry.

After all, this was an Auction. Were other people not allowed to bid?

Though she was usually rather haughty, she was not unreasonable. She merely glanced at Mo Tang, saw that he was a young man she had no impression of whatsoever, and did not think much more about it.

However...

This guy is actually pretty handsome...

After silently praising him, Lin Fei immediately raised her bid again.

"One hundred and ten thousand!"

Mo Tang raised an eyebrow, and the corner of his lips curled into a faint, almost imperceptible smile.

"One hundred and fifteen thousand Gold Coins!"

He did not dare raise it too much, lest the girl be frightened off by his sudden increase.

Not everyone would blindly rise to the bait and recklessly keep raising the price...

Lin Fei's delicate brows furrowed slightly. She lightly flicked the long hair behind her back and spoke again. "One hundred and twenty thousand!"

Mo Tang calculated silently and felt that this price was already quite good.

After all, he could not keep fleecing the same sheep. That would make it far too easy for people to notice...

When Lin Fei saw that Mo Tang had fallen silent, she was delighted.

After all, she only had one hundred and thirty thousand Gold Coins on hand. If he raised the price again, she would have no money left...

The auction ended, and everyone left the auction hall one after another.

As Lin Fei rose to leave, she deliberately glanced toward Mo Tang's seat.

However, Mo Tang had already gotten up and gone backstage to collect his money, so all she saw was his tall, straight back.

After following an auction house maid back to the previous room, Mo Tang quietly waited for the auction house to settle the payment.

What he had not expected was for Lin Fei to enter the room as well. It seemed she had come to collect her own item...

This was fucking awkward!

He had just bid against her, after all...

If she found out that he was the owner of that Fourth-Tier Magic Core, she would probably explode with rage!

Lin Fei was also slightly surprised when she saw Mo Tang sitting there. However, remembering that he had attended the Auction too, she assumed he had come to collect his item, just like her.

She took the initiative to nod at him. Amid Mo Tang's somewhat awkward smile, she sat down quietly as well and said nothing more.

After a while, hurried footsteps sounded from outside, and a figure pushed open the door and entered.

"Hehe, sorry to keep you both waiting."

The person who entered was still that same middle-aged man.

"Haha, it has been a long time, Miss Lin Fei. How is Master Otto?" The middle-aged man clearly knew Lin Fei and hurriedly greeted her.

"Thank you, Steward Lei. My teacher is well. Has my Magic Core been brought over?"

Seeing that Lin Fei had no desire to exchange pleasantries, Steward Lei quickly replied, "It has, it has. Please take a look, Miss Lin Fei."

Upon seeing the Magic Core carried in by the maid behind him, with faint green currents of wind still swirling around it, Lin Fei nodded happily.

"Good. Here are one hundred and twenty thousand Gold Coins..."

Money changed hands, and so did the goods.

Just as Mo Tang was about to breathe a sigh of relief after watching the transaction conclude, Steward Lei suddenly seemed to recall something. He pointed at Mo Tang and said to Lin Fei with a smile, "Miss Lin Fei, you do not know him yet, do you? Allow me to introduce him. This gentleman is the seller of the Magic Core in this auction."

"...!"

Why the fuck would you tell her that?!

At that moment, Mo Tang's expression perfectly embodied the saying: smiling on the outside, cursing on the inside!

After hearing Steward Lei's introduction, Lin Fei's eyes widened as she stared at Mo Tang in disbelief.

"You mean... he was the one who auctioned this Magic Core?"

Steward Lei had no idea about the bad blood between them. Though he was confused by their expressions, he still nodded.

At once, Lin Fei gritted her teeth and strode up to Mo Tang. Her small body seemed to contain the energy of a volcano on the verge of eruption.

"Fine! I did not expect the owner of the Magic Core to personally act as a shill. You are really something!"

Seeing the furious little girl, Mo Tang simply decided to shamelessly go all in. He spread his hands and said, "You flatter me, you flatter me. I originally planned to find someone else, but the situation was urgent, and I was not prepared."

"You... heh...!"

Lin Fei was so angry that she laughed. Yet faced with someone this shameless, she did not know what else to say.

"Hmph! Just you wait!"

After leaving behind a thoroughly unthreatening threat, Lin Fei stormed out in a huff.

Mo Tang merely rolled his eyes, collected his money from Steward Lei, and left the auction house as well.

One hundred and twenty thousand, minus the five percent owed to the auction house, left him with one hundred and fourteen thousand Gold Coins.

With so many Gold Coins, Mo Tang returned directly to Thousand Medicine Pavilion and had them prepare the medicinal herbs he had selected long ago.

One hundred herbs rated First Grade by the system, thirty-four herbs rated Second Grade by the system, and another five herbs rated Third Grade by the system.

The herbs Mo Tang had chosen all offered the best value for money, but First Grade herbs only averaged 3.5 Energy Points each; Second Grade herbs averaged only 15 Energy Points each; and the five Third Grade herbs were worth 60 Energy Points each...

"That means another 1,160 Energy Points are coming in."

Compared to one hundred and fourteen thousand Gold Coins, obtaining so many Low-grade Energy Points was already an excellent deal.

It was an excellent deal for him, but the Thousand Medicine Pavilion Shopkeeper was about to cry...

"My lord, these medicinal herbs are worth over one hundred and fifty thousand Gold Coins. You..."

Mo Tang immediately glared at him. "What? Do you think I do not know better? This Purple Leaf Orchid only costs three thousand Gold Coins per stalk. I paid entirely according to market price!"

The Thousand Medicine Pavilion Shopkeeper smiled bitterly. "That is indeed the market price, but it is the purchase price! The lowest price at which Thousand Medicine Pavilion sells Purple Leaf Orchids is three thousand eight hundred Gold Coins!"

The difference back and forth amounted to tens of thousands. If Manager Lin found out, would he not skin him alive?

Mo Tang sat there and said faintly, "I meant the purchase price... Could it be that I, the commander of the Mo Clan and the family-appointed overseer of Black Rock City, must buy medicinal herbs from my own shop at the retail price?"

The shopkeeper's expression froze.

Though no one had ever explicitly said such a thing, it was an unspoken rule.

Manager Lin had taken no one knew how many medicinal herbs from the medicine shop before, and no one had ever seen him pay a single Gold Coin!

But this was not something a mere shopkeeper like him could decide.

After hesitating for a long time, the Thousand Medicine Pavilion Shopkeeper finally said, "My lord, the price difference is too great. This humble one truly does not dare make the decision. How about... I ask Manager Lin for instructions?"

An inscrutable smile appeared on Mo Tang's face, and his fingers lightly tapped the table before him.

"Sure. Go ahead..."