Catching Monsters

Chapter 308 The Highest Bidder Wins
Upon hearing this, Jiang Yun was almost stunned. He quickly reached out and picked up Xiao Hei again: "Master Miaode, I'll find another way to treat this Gugu..."

That old monk is too cunning.

He wanted to spend 30,000 taels of silver to acquire the meteorite.
Adding his own 20,000 taels of silver, that's 50,000 taels.

It would be a miracle if they could actually photograph a meteorite.

Seeing Jiang Yun get up to leave, Master Miaode quickly raised his hand: "Benefactor Jiang, don't be in such a hurry, shall we discuss this?"

"I can only offer a maximum of ten thousand taels of silver," Jiang Yun said in a deep voice. "Master Miaode, you can figure out the rest yourself."

"If Master Miaode still disagrees, I will go to four other Buddhist temples and offer five thousand taels of silver to have them treat Gugu."

Puji Temple has a method to cure Xiao Hei, and the other four Buddhist temples may also have one.

Upon hearing Jiang Yun's words, Master Miaode nodded in agreement without hesitation, and said with a smile, "Then let's do as Commander Jiang says."

Jiang Yun was slightly taken aback, seeing how readily Master Miaode agreed.

Suddenly I realized that I might have overcharged by ten thousand taels...

……

The following evening, the Garden Lake Auction House was located on the shore of a lake called Garden Lake in the inner city, hence the name Garden Lake Auction House.

Although it's called an auction house, it's actually a huge mansion built along the lake.

Normally, this place is quite deserted. Only when there are occasional auctions of treasures will the powerful and influential people of the capital come here to take a look after receiving the news.

The auction house was bustling with activity today.

There were countless luxurious carriages parked at the entrance.

The powerful figures in the capital had all heard of the emergence of a rare treasure called the Meteorite.

Of course, most people didn't know what it was; they only knew that it had attracted the attention of many important figures in the capital.

Many people are thinking that even if they don't take a picture, they just want to see what this treasure looks like.

High-ranking officials and wealthy people from the capital all wanted to come and have a seat.

In this era, there are not many things to do for entertainment at night.

This resulted in even the invitation to the auction fetching hundreds of taels of silver.

At this moment, Jiang Yun, dressed in casual clothes, stood at the entrance of Yuanhu Auction House, accompanied by Xu Suwen.

Looking at the assembled court officials and powerful figures from the capital, Xu Suwen whispered to Jiang Yun, "Many important people have come today."

"Duke Cheng, Duke Qing, Prince Fu..."

"And there's also Master Xia of the Benevolence and Righteousness Academy, and Master Liu of the Propriety and Righteousness Academy..."

As the Zhenguo Duke's Mansion, one of the most powerful and influential families in the capital, naturally received an invitation from Yuanhu Auction House.

Tao Yuelan was in the Buddhist hall praying for Jiang Qiaoqiao, so she naturally had no interest in coming here to join in the fun.

He then sent Xu Suwen with the invitation to attend.

Jiang Yun touched the silver notes containing 10,000 taels of silver on his person. Puji Temple only offered 30,000 taels of silver, and it was almost impossible for them to win the bid.

Jiang Yun came purely out of a desire to broaden her horizons.

You know, Qingfeng Temple has gone mad for some reason. It's said that last night, they suddenly sold off a lot of land and shops.

Rumor has it that Qingfeng Temple managed to scrape together 100,000 taels of silver!
Amidst the comings and goings of people, Jiang Yun's gaze suddenly fell upon an old man.

The elderly man was pushed in a wheelchair by a young man and slowly walked into the Yuanhu Auction House.

Just then, a portly monk approached Jiang Yun, put his hands together in prayer, and said with a smile, "You must be Commander Jiang?"

“I am Yuanxin, a monk from Puji Temple, and I am here to participate in this auction on behalf of Puji Temple.”

Jiang Yun smiled, then took out a 10,000 tael silver note and handed it over: "Master Yuanxin, this is what I promised."

He and Xu Suwen were waiting here to hand over the money to the other party.

Then he led Xu Suwen into the auction house, not wanting to get too close to Yuanxin.

What if he gets carried away with the bidding and asks me for money?

The courtyard of the Yuanhu Auction House is antique and quite exquisite. On both sides of the courtyard, there are many porcelain pieces, which look to be quite valuable.

"These porcelain pieces are placed on the way in, is it so that people passing by can buy them if they like them?" Jiang Yun looked on with some curiosity.

Xu Suwen pulled Jiang Yun closer to the porcelain pieces, placing her a little further away, and whispered, "These porcelain pieces are quite expensive; even the cheapest ones cost over a thousand taels..."

"If it's accidentally bumped into and falls down, causing damage, you'll have to pay for it at the original price..."

Jiang Yun: "..."

He hadn't expected it to have this effect.

The main room is very large, divided into two floors, with eight private rooms on the second floor.

Normally, Xu Suwen, as a member of the Duke of Zhenguo's family, would definitely be given a private room. But today, there were too many important figures present, so the two of them could only sit in the main hall.

Of course, Jiang Yun and Xu Suwen didn't have any objections. They were just there to watch the fun, so it didn't matter where they sat.

The two of them casually found a spot near a corner to sit down.

Unexpectedly, the young man and the old man sitting in the wooden wheelchair were right next to him.

Jiang Yun's gaze swept over the other person, sizing him up.

The young man frowned, looking somewhat displeased, but the elderly man in the wheelchair smiled and nodded at Jiang Yun, then asked, "Are you also here to bid?"

Jiang Yun shook his head and said with a smile, "I just came in to see what's going on."

"What a coincidence, we've also come in to see what's going on." The old man chuckled, then said, "My name is Liu Boqing, may I ask how you are addressed?"

Jiang Yun frowned and said, "Jiang Yun."

"I see that Young Master Jiang has a full and prominent forehead..."

Jiang Yun quickly raised his hand to stop the old man: "Judging from your tone, sir, you want to tell my fortune?"

The young man behind the old man said in a low voice, "I'm going to the outhouse."

“Go ahead.” The old man nodded slightly, then took Jiang Yun’s hand and continued chatting: “Does Young Master Jiang have a female companion? I know quite a few excellent girls…”

“This is my fiancée,” Jiang Yun quickly pointed to Xu Suwen beside her.

Xu Suwen's face was also dark. If the old man hadn't been quite old, she probably would have already punched him.

"Congratulations, Young Master Jiang! This young lady also appears to have a full and prominent forehead..."

Jiang Yun's face darkened. Was this old man's only way of praising people that he only knew this one phrase?

This old man is being way too enthusiastic. Something's definitely up. He then made an excuse: "We have a friend over there. Let's go sit down first."

After saying that, he pulled Xu Suwen away from the old man named Liu Boqing.

Inside a private room on the second floor.

This private room was extremely luxurious, with white fox fur carpets on the floor, calligraphy works by masters hanging on the walls, and furniture made of expensive sandalwood everywhere.

Xiao Yuzheng sat inside, drinking tea.

Through the window, you can see the center of the auction stage perfectly.

Feng Yu, who was serving nearby, said with some worry in her voice, "Your Majesty, the Demon Emperor sent someone to say that he wants this meteorite..."

Xiao Yuzheng frowned slightly, sipped his tea, and said calmly, "Everything must be done according to the rules. Since we're at an auction house, we have to follow the rules of the auction house: the one with the most money wins."

"Am I right?"

As the ruler of a country, how could he be so frightened as to not dare to bid just because of a word from the Demon Emperor Ao Lie? What kind of talk would that be?

Besides, even if you don't want to offend Ao Lie, you might as well let him take the meteorite away in the end...

I need to raise the price myself, so that he'll bleed a lot before I feel better.

Hearing Xiao Yuzheng's words, Feng Yu could only force a smile and nod in agreement...

Xiao Yuzheng said slowly, "Everyone's almost here, let's begin."

"Yes."

Feng Yu turned and left the private room to inform the auction house staff.

Soon, a middle-aged man dressed in a scholar's robe walked onto the auction stage. He said with a smile, "Greetings, everyone. I am Yuan Changyu from Yuanhu Auction House."

"As you all have probably heard, our auction house has a rare treasure on display. This treasure is said to be a divine object from heaven, divided into seven parts, one of which will be auctioned off tonight."

"I won't waste any more words, lest I spoil your enjoyment. Here, take out the meteorite and let the gentlemen appraise it!"

Soon, a meteorite was placed on a sandalwood plate, which was slowly brought out by a beautiful woman with an antique charm.

Yuan Changyu announced loudly, "Today, the starting price is 10,000 taels of silver."

“The highest bidder gets it.”

"start!"

Immediately after he finished speaking, someone in the audience shouted, "Thirty thousand taels of silver!"

All eyes turned to him; the one making the bid was a wealthy businessman from the capital.

Soon, more people started bidding.

"Fifty thousand taels of silver."

"I'll offer 60,000 taels of silver."

(End of this chapter)