I lent my brother 500 yuan, and he offered his wife as collateral.

……

The cart came to a stop.

There was no dazzling golden light as expected, nor any overwhelming sense of preciousness.

As soon as the velvet black cloth was lifted, the entire audience responded not with gasps of amazement, but with a chorus of suppressed boos.

"What is this thing?"

"At least it was jade a moment ago, and now it's charcoal?"

On the display stand, a piece of wood, about the thickness of an arm and half a meter long, lay quietly.

It was charred black all over, and its skin looked like that of a crocodile after being burned by a raging fire, with grayish powder clinging to the cracks.

No matter how you look at it, these are just fire pokers pulled out of a rural earthen stove.

Even the hostesses in charge of the display looked somewhat embarrassed, trying their best not to touch the crumbly surface.

Tang Ziyun remained calm and composed, demonstrating exceptional professionalism.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is tonight's grand finale auction item—lightning-struck peach wood."

She gestured with her hand, her voice echoing in the empty hall: "Ancient books say that peach wood is the essence of the five woods, also known as immortal wood. This piece of peach wood grew on a cliff, survived being struck by heavenly lightning, and was reborn from the ashes, containing pure yang energy."

"Placing it in the home can ward off evil spirits and prevent ghosts from invading; wearing it on the body can calm the mind and soul, and drive away all evil."

Tang Ziyun paused, her gaze sweeping over the listless crowd, and then announced her starting price:

Starting bid: five million.

"cut……"

Someone in the audience chuckled.

"Mr. Tang, isn't this a bit of an exaggeration? Five million for this rotten wood? A peach wood sword wholesale in Yiwu only costs twenty yuan."

"Exactly, what era are we living in? Why are we still talking about warding off evil spirits? If I wanted to ward off evil, wouldn't it be better to buy a statue of Guan Yu?"

Nobody bought it.

Those huge orders worth tens or hundreds of millions have spoiled everyone's appetite.

Now it looks just like looking at garbage in a recycling center.

Inside a private room on the second floor.

Qin Feng sat on the leather sofa, looking at the piece of withered wood that everyone else disliked, and a slight smile appeared on his lips.

Ordinary people, with mortal eyes and bodies.

In his view, the charred piece of wood was practically a giant, luminous object.

Beneath its charcoal-black exterior, wisps of purplish-gold light were slowly moving, like sealed thunder.

The overwhelming interplay of vitality and destructive aura was so intense that even a single glance was enough to sting one's eyes.

[Item: Peach Heart Struck by Lightning]

Purity: Perfect

[System Determination: The toxin on Su Qingxue's face is a Yin-type poison. This wood contains the pure Yang energy of Heavenly Thunder, which is its only nemesis. Using this as a guide, combined with the ointment, the poison can be eliminated in three days!]

In addition, there is a line of small print in the system's notes section:

[Note: The wooden core contains trace amounts of lightning elemental energy, which can be absorbed by the host to temper their physique.]

nice one.

It's really good stuff.

If this were in the cultivation world, it would be a Foundation Establishment treasure that people would fight tooth and nail to get their hands on.

It's sitting here, and people are using it as a fire poker?

"Brother Feng..."

Su Qingxue shrank to the side, but unusually peeked out, her big eyes fixed on the piece of wood. "I'm not afraid of that..."

She was trembling with fear when she first saw the Pisces jade pendant.

But looking at this dark piece of wood, she suddenly felt a warmth that came out of nowhere, like the sun shining on her back in winter, which made the birthmark on her face that had been itching a lot feel much better.

"Don't be afraid, that's a great medicine to heal your face." Qin Feng rubbed her head. "We have to get it."

Downstairs, the scene became quite awkward.

The starting price was five million, but no one raised their paddle.

Although Tang Ziyun's smile remained, her grip on the auction gavel tightened.

Just one second before she was about to announce that the item had failed to sell.

In the first row, a hand was raised.

"Six million."

Su Tianxiao.

The second master of the Su family, who had just spent 120 million yuan to buy a bunch of "junk", was leaning back in his chair with a gloomy expression.

He didn't actually believe that this broken piece of wood could ward off evil spirits.

But he's feeling incredibly panicked right now.

To his left was the deed to an armory that could explode at any moment; at his feet was a cracked cup that could shatter at any time; and above his head hung Qin Feng's sword of Damocles.

He felt that he had been incredibly unlucky lately, or that he had run into something unclean.

"Buy it for peace of mind."

Su Tianxiao rubbed his throbbing temples and comforted himself, "Let's put it in front of the old house to ward off bad luck. It'll also show everyone that although the Su family has suffered losses, we're not all dead, and we can still afford to pay a few million."

With Su Tianxiao taking the lead, the atmosphere warmed up a bit.

A few small business owners who wanted to curry favor with the Su family, or nouveau riche who were superstitious in the building materials business, also raised their signs sporadically a few times.

"Six million five hundred thousand."

"Seven million."

"Eight million eight hundred thousand... I'm going to be rich, rich, rich!"

The price climbed slowly, like an old ox pulling a broken cart, until it reached ten million, and then it couldn't move any further.

The atmosphere at the scene was as somber as a funeral.

Everyone is waiting.

Once this boring formality is over, I can hurry up and attend the banquet.

"Ten million once."

Tang Ziyun raised the gavel, her tone indifferent, already mentally planning what late-night snack to have after get off work.

Just then.

The red light in the private room on the second floor, which had been silent for a long time, suddenly came on without warning.

"Ding!"

The crisp electronic sound seemed particularly jarring in this dull moment.

Qin Feng did not roar hysterically as before, nor did he smash the table.

He picked up the bidding device, pressed a number, and then slowly moved closer to the microphone.

"Twenty million."

His voice was lazy, with a hint of teasing sarcasm that made you grit your teeth.

Qin Feng looked through the one-way glass at the stiff-looking old man downstairs and chuckled:

"Boss Su, I heard you just bought a cemetery plot? This lightning-struck wood looks so dark, it's a perfect match for your dark complexion. A house-protecting talisman? I think you're trying to ward off a corpse, aren't you?"

boom--!

A stone stirred up a thousand waves.

The guests, who had been drowsy, suddenly sat up straight as if they had been injected with adrenaline, their eyes wide open.

coming!

That man is here again!

"I knew it! He definitely wouldn't be absent!"

"Hahaha, I knew this last match would be a big show! Qin Feng has his eyes on the Su family!"

"Twenty million? Are they setting up another scheme? I wonder how many billions they're going to swindle from the Su family this time?"

All eyes in the room were focused on the first row.

Su Tianxiao's hand was about to touch the teacup when he heard Qin Feng's voice. His hand trembled, and the scalding tea spilled directly onto the back of his hand.

But he couldn't care less about the pain.

He and Su Linglong, who was standing next to him, exchanged a glance. They both saw the deep fear and wariness in each other's eyes.

That was a conditioned reflex formed after being scammed twice in a row.

I had a PTSD attack.

"Again?"

Su Linglong gritted her teeth, her nails digging into the armrests of the leather seat. "That bastard Qin Feng, does he really think we're fools?"

"Calm down! You must stay calm!"

Su Tianxiao took a deep breath, forcing his wildly beating heart to calm down.

He squinted, his cloudy eyes gleaming with what he thought was "wisdom."

"What is this kid up to?" Su Tianxiao's brain raced as he began to review the situation. "In the first round, he kept raising the price, actually to sell me that broken cup at a high price."

"In the second instance, he threatened me with a secret, forcing me to buy a land deed."

"In the third round, he pretended to be crazy and acted as if he was going to fight to the death, but ended up throwing that poisonous jade to you."

The more Su Tianxiao analyzed, the clearer his thinking became.

"Now, the fourth match."

He pointed to the charred, rotten piece of wood on the table and sneered, "Linglong, look at that piece of wood, it's just junk! Qin Feng has such sharp eyes, how could he not see that it's junk?"

Su Linglong frowned: "What does Second Uncle mean?"

"He did it on purpose!"

Su Tianxiao slapped his thigh, a knowing look on his face: "This time he wasn't pretending to be crazy, but using reverse psychology! He deliberately mocked me in a sarcastic tone, just to provoke me! To make me feel like he's trying to steal my treasure!"

"As soon as I place a bid, he'll definitely do what that cup did—raise the price all the way to fifty million, eighty million, and then suddenly back out!"

"He wants to rip us off again!"

After hearing this, Su Linglong felt a chill run down her spine.

Makes sense!

Qin Feng, that treacherous scoundrel, every bid he made before was a trap. This time will definitely be no exception!

"This wood is worthless!" Su Linglong looked at the dark, grimy surface, her conviction growing stronger. "He just wants to exploit our desire for revenge, to make us suffer another round of being ripped off!"

"Dream on!"

Su Linglong sneered, crossed her arms, and adopted a posture of watching a good show:

"The story of 'The Boy Who Cried Wolf' will stop being believed after the third time. Do you really think the Su family's money comes from thin air?"

Su Tianxiao also loosened his grip on the license plate.

He leaned back in his chair, completely relaxed, a sense of superiority about his intellectual superiority on his face.

"Let him buy it!"