The auction soon resumed, though the atmosphere was rather strange at first. Whenever the auctioneer announced a starting bid, everyone fell silent, as if waiting to see whether a certain someone was interested in the item onstage.
Only when an item was about to go unsold, and everyone confirmed that not a sound had come from a certain private room, did a few people begin timidly calling out bids.
Every bid was voiced so softly that, had the entire auction hall not been deathly silent, it would have been almost impossible to hear what the bidders were saying.
Later, as one item after another sold and no further sound came from the private room, everyone gradually recovered a little courage. They dared to bid in their normal speaking voices, and the atmosphere slowly began to liven up.
The auctioneer who had replaced the old man onstage was so moved by this that he nearly cried. Heaven only knew what he had just endured!
He could swear that he had never presided over such a bizarre auction in his entire career. It had left him completely at a loss. Fortunately, his tireless efforts had finally eased the tension.
Gradually, the auctioneer's terrified expression gave way to a beaming smile, and one item after another sold at a normal price beneath that smile.
"Hehe, our next item is rather peculiar. Even we haven't determined exactly what it does, but after careful examination, it appears to be a treasure map."
The auctioneer brought out a silver tray and carefully lifted the brocade cloth covering it, revealing a badly damaged map fragment to the crowd.
After hearing the auctioneer's introduction and seeing the map's appearance, everyone in the hall wore expressions of disdain, turning utterly scornful gazes on the auctioneer onstage.
Just as