"Thirty copper coins!"
"Fifty copper coins!"
"One tael!"
"Sun Census Officer! You're bidding too much!" someone said with a laugh.
"One tael and ten copper coins!"
This playful atmosphere continued for a quarter of an hour, until a voice rang out.
"Sixty taels."
The atmosphere immediately grew solemn. More than half the people fell silent; only now had the true starting price emerged.
But before the first call could begin, someone else followed.
"Sixty-three taels."
"Sixty-eight taels."
"Seventy taels!"
Some eight or nine people spoke in succession.
Pei Ye turned to glance at Li Piaoqing. The girl simply sat quietly.
Then a young voice rang out. "White Bamboo Pavilion bids one hundred taels."
For the first time, the room fell completely silent.
Only after the first call was finished did another deep voice follow. "One hundred and five taels."
By this point, the bid was already quite close to what this pill was worth here and now, and the bidders began weighing their offers carefully. As a rule, further increases would grow slower and slower, quite possibly rising by just one or two taels at a time.
But suddenly, a muffled female voice rang out from a corner. "One hundred and forty taels."
Pei Ye whipped his head around, but the movement did not stand out, for the rustle of people turning sounded throughout the room.
This was a price that utterly disregarded the pill's own value, shattering a contest that should have continued for another quarter of an hour. The bidder's determination was unmistakable-she wanted this pill, regardless of expense, with everything she had.
"Ding Seven Pavilion offers one hundred and forty taels of silver for the Ascension Pill! The third call seals the sale!"
No one spoke.
"Ding Seven Pavilion offers one hundred and forty taels of silver