That Was Money He'd Saved for Sixteen Whole Days
The auction soon began.
Lin Qingchen had little interest in the first lots. Several medicinal herbs sparked a bidding war among the people in the regular seats at the back, their prices climbing from a few dozen Gold Soul Coins to several hundred.
In Lin Qingchen's view, the herbs were probably not worth that much, but this was an auction. There had to be some markup, right?
And who knew whether the auction house had planted any shills among the bidders?
Yu Tianheng watched the excitement beside him, occasionally offering comments like, "That Blood-Clotting Grass isn't worth the price," or, "Those Soul Beast teeth are good stuff, but it's a shame no one recognizes their value."
Hmm...
A bit too forward.
Of course, Lin Qingchen understood the urge to show off, but wasn't Yu Tianheng a little too enthusiastic?
Hiss...
Are you from the Tang Sect in Shu too?
Lin Qingchen sucked in a breath of cold air and silently edged his backside away.
Soon, they reached the Soul Tool section, and the Starry Sky Ring was brought out.
The auctioneer was a middle-aged man with a silver tongue. He rattled off the Starry Sky Ring's praises from top to bottom, then tapped his gavel. "Honored guests, bidding for this Starry Sky Ring starts at three thousand Gold Soul Coins, with increments of no less than one hundred."
"Three thousand."
"Three thousand one hundred."
"Three thousand three hundred."
Several people in the regular seats placed bids one after another.
Lin Qingchen was in no hurry to raise his paddle. He waited until the price reached three thousand eight hundred before holding it up.
By then, the competition was gradually thinning out. After all, Storage Soul Tools were not particularly scarce, and a space of 1,000 cubic meters was far too large for most people. Many had only bid to try their luck, knowing full well that in the end, only the big shots would likely be able to get it.
"Five thousand."
The auctioneer looked over. "This honored guest bids five thousand."
The regular seats fell quiet for a moment.
Five thousand was already beyond many people's budgets.
Just as the auctioneer was about to bring down his gavel, someone in a private box overhead suddenly raised a paddle.
"Ten thousand."
Lin Qingchen looked toward the voice.
A boy of fourteen or fifteen sat there in a brocade robe, his hair combed until it gleamed with oil. He lounged back in his chair with one leg crossed over the other.
Two attendants sat beside him, and four guards stood behind him. It was quite a display.
The private boxes could block the view inside, but the boy was visible now, so he had clearly done it on purpose to show off.
"It's Xue Beng." Yu Tianheng's voice grew somber. Clearly, he had no good impression of him either.
"Xue Beng, huh..."
Thinking Lin Qingchen didn't know him, Yu Tianheng added, "Xue Beng is the fourth prince. He's a student at Heaven Dou Royal Academy, but he rarely comes to class. He's used to throwing his weight around outside. Compared with His Highness the crown prince, the difference is like heaven and earth."
Lin Qingchen said "Oh" and raised his paddle again. "Twenty thousand."
Xue Beng glanced in their direction, an amused smile appearing on his face, and raised his paddle again. "I bid thirty thousand."
"Fifty thousand," Lin Qingchen said without hesitation.
Xue Beng sat up straight and tilted his head to say something to an attendant beside him. The attendant looked up toward the private box, then lowered his head and replied.
Xue Beng chuckled and raised his paddle. "I bid one hundred thousand."
A wave of hushed discussion immediately swept through the room.
One hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins for a Storage Soul Tool was well above market price, no matter how large its space was.
The auctioneer began the count. "One hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins, going once-"
"One hundred and ten thousand," Lin Qingchen said calmly.
Xue Beng's expression darkened, and he immediately stared down at Lin Qingchen and Yu Tianheng.
"One hundred and twenty thousand." Xue Beng raised his paddle with a gloomy face.
"One hundred and fifty thousand."
Lin Qingchen's own money really had blown in on the wind, so he didn't feel the pinch no matter how much he spent.
But not caring about the money was one thing; someone making him waste so much more of it was another.
He gave Xue Beng a long look.
The whole room fell silent.
The auctioneer's voice took on a note of excitement. "One hundred and fifty thousand Gold Soul Coins, going once! One hundred and fifty thousand Gold Soul Coins, going twice!"
Xue Beng slapped his paddle down on his chair and stood up, calling down to the floor, "Wait! My friend, I am Xue Beng, fourth prince of the Heaven Dou Empire. I rather like this Starry Sky Ring. Would you be willing to let me have it? How about I owe you a favor?"
Xue Beng spoke with utter confidence. In his view, once he put his title as fourth prince on the table, an ordinary Soul Master would indeed have to think twice.
Even ordinary nobles wouldn't dare oppose him.
The auctioneer also closed his mouth at the right moment. He had seen scenes like this often enough. If a prince wanted something, there wasn't much he could say; after all, he was just an employee.
Yu Tianheng laughed and glanced at Lin Qingchen. "He's told you who he is, Qingchen. Are you going to let him have it?"
Ignoring the slightly inflammatory remark, Lin Qingchen casually picked up his paddle.
"One hundred and fifty thousand one hundred."
Xue Beng's face flushed crimson in an instant.
The attendant beside him hurriedly leaned in and whispered something, probably urging him to drop it.
Xue Beng shoved the attendant aside and raised his paddle through gritted teeth. "One hundred and sixty thousand!"
"One hundred and sixty thousand one hundred." This time, Lin Qingchen didn't add much, just a small increment.
Xue Beng's paddle froze halfway up.
One hundred and sixty thousand Gold Soul Coins for a single Storage Soul Tool was no longer bidding; it was pouring money down the drain. His imperial father didn't give him much of a monthly allowance, and this money had come from his uncle.
Of course, what angered him even more was the way Lin Qingchen had raised the bid. In his eyes, it was plainly an insult.
"Brat, are you playing me!?"
"Not at all, not at all, Prince Xue Beng. At an auction, the highest bidder has always won. You're free to raise the bid, aren't you? Surely a prince of your stature hasn't run out of money?" Lin Qingchen drawled sarcastically.
Xue Beng flew into a towering rage and whipped his head around to look at the guards behind him. They shook their heads vigorously, meaning: Your Highness, we didn't bring that much money.
Xue Beng's face went from red to white, then from white to ashen.
He stood there with his paddle raised, unable either to put it down or keep holding it up, frozen on the spot.
He had actually come here this time on his uncle Prince Xue Xing's orders, for the precious medicinal herbs and various highly poisonous substances coming up later.
As for whom they were meant for, that was obvious.
When he saw the Starry Sky Ring, he had thought it wouldn't cost much and that Dugu Bo would probably like it if he bought it as a gift. But now he had not only failed to buy the ring, he had also been humiliated like this.
He could afford one hundred and sixty thousand Gold Soul Coins, but if he paid that, he could only dream of buying what he wanted afterward.
"One hundred and sixty thousand one hundred Gold Soul Coins, going three times. Sold!"
The auctioneer's gavel came down with a crisp sound.
Lin Qingchen rose from his chair and brushed off the hem of his robe. "Let's go down and collect it. Is there anything else you want to buy?"
Yu Tianheng stood up after him. He hesitated, then asked, "Qingchen, where did you get so much money?"
He hadn't finished what he wanted to say. What he really wanted to ask was, Aren't you a commoner? Where would a commoner get so much money?
"I saved it."
"Saved it?"
"Yeah, I saved for quite a while, I guess..."
Erm...
It had been sixteen whole days. That really was quite a while.