Chapter 49 - Annual Pinchu Auction (3)

"2,000 gold kins."

"It's that booth no. 8 again..."

The raise of 1,000 golds at once shocked others. Normally, people would raise by 100. If not, then it meant that the person was either mad rich or just mad.

"Booth no. 8 bids 2,000 for this adult Craoca. Anyone willing to raise the priz-"

"2,300."

This wasn't a young master. The man's voice came from the first balcony. Someone else was competing now. I couldn't see his face from up above.

I frowned and raised once again, "2,600 gold kins."

The others didn't have any place to bid at all. The families here had no use for such a beast whose potential was limited to only Body Tempering stage. If they forgot to use that medicine on it, then this Craoca might even wreak havoc on the family residence.

"2,800."

The auctioneer waited patiently. I judged the beast, it was healthy. With this much money, I could even hire a Visera Purifying practitioner.

However, having a beast while travelling would be more advantageous than having a bodyguard. Such creatures had great senses for danger that normal humans couldn't hope to match.

Although I had a spirit sense, it was a broken one. I could even kill this beast for meat if our supplies finished while still on the journey.

"3,500 gold kins." I calmly stated. Safety was the first priority, money would come and go.

The bidder below me had no response. Various eyes tried to look past the curtain and saw two people. Booth no. 8 also had a wealthy bidder just like in booth no. 14. They couldn't discern our faces from that far away. The transparent curtain was a coloured one and that made things very tricky.

"3,500 golds one... 3,500 golds two... 3,500 golds three! Sold. This beast goes to the bidder of booth no. 8."

I sighed after hearing the auctioneer. There was less competition this time but the competitor was fierce.

One of the servants stamped a paper on the cage. Number 8 was written on it. After the beast was taken away, a short break followed. It had been an hour and people were thirsty.

Lin family servants were quick and soon, they started serving drinks to everyone. The girl from earlier came to our booth carrying two small pots.

"Would you prefer wine, young master?" she asked, putting the pots below us.

"No," was my response. I had no intention of getting drunk at this moment. Heh, Lin family was really crafty for trying to make us bidders spend more money this way.

Another servant brought two glasses and left with one of the pots. The first servant girl poured the fruit juice equally on both glasses. She suddenly glanced at Ling'er who was sitting on my lap looking like a bored pet.

"I'm sorry. Would your mistress like to have it in the same glass as well?"

I couldn't hold my laughter. This girl really had some imaginations. Though, I still told her to serve us in separate glasses. I could tell Ling'er would rather stay thirsty than drink from the same glass as mine.

After the servant girl left serving us two glasses of fruit juice, I slipped a thin white paper in my drink.

"What are you doing?"

"Nothing." I replied to Ling'er. Seeing the paper remain the same, I took it out and shook the glass. The juice inside had no bubbles. Only then I drank the drink in one go.

"Where you perhaps looking if it's poisoned?" Sipping the juice, Ling'er asked incredulously. She couldn't believe that I was this distrustful.

The second phase of this auction started with a fruit called Ironheart. This was very effective for strengthening the heart of a practioner. With the help of the pills and herbs with me, I could reach the peak of Body Tempering in about two months. Then I would focus on internal organs.

"3,000 golds!" I bought it. Many of the young masters and even people from other booths look towards us. They were jealous of my wealth, of course.

"Do you want to buy something as well?" I comfortably leaned on my chair.

"I'm not as rich as you." She passed me her glass and I put it down. Ling'er wasn't interested in this auction in the least. Weird. As a practitioner, she should strive for higher ranks and that definitely required resources.

The young masters fought for the next items while I spoke with Ling'er. I asked her about her past. She told me that it's been years since she left her parents. She didn't tell me where she was from, but I could guess that she also was a lone wolf like me. I was with my sister at least, though I didn't consider Chunu my blood sister as I wasn't the real Zuifan.

"Are you the only disciple of Posion Asura?"

I needed more lies to answer her. I made a fake background while adding some real things in between. I came from far away, I met my sister here with my mysterious master. I had no parents now. I wanted to become a great cultivator. The same cliche backstory every young protagonist in a novel had.

What I didn't tell her was about my life on earth. How, in a span of 28 years; I went from being a normal baby, a simple child, a hormonal teenager, to a terrifying adult.

Only I knew how much my body had shaken when I first drew blood from someone's body. I wondered, would things have gone differently if they hadn't pointed their guns at me in the first place?

I could've been married by now, having a decent job and good friends. I would maybe go on vactions with my cute children... experience this love like everyone else, grow old and die...

But I killed someone to live, then I robbed someone else to live, then I killed more... I robbed more and I scammed more. I schemed, I seduced, I acted, I beat, I threatened, I fucked - Ah, I had since then learned to live by taking lives and stealing wives.

Here in this world - where the strong preyed upon the weak, where individual strength could be greater than combined - I could go further. I didn't have to kill my way up but even if I did, I could justify my actions with my strength.

In that life, I learned some things the direct and brutal way but I still hadn't experienced a few things considered as good. This reincarnation messed me up. Someone else's memories and my own memories - they both combined. I wasn't fully Zuifan but I wasn't the previous David either.

Even so, as a man, I was ambitious. I had an identity for myself, and I would only make that identity greater. I vowed to cultivate till I dominated everything and everyone.

"I am Zuifan." I accepted who I had become and finally told her my true name. She only knew me by my alias, Benfang.

Ling'er had little reaction. Maybe she thought I was lying this time as well. She was listening to the auctioneer while paying attention to my free hand. I no longer stroked her and instead danced my fingers on the chair's armrest.

The earlier bidding had ended in a fierce debate. Dou Peng had bid 2,100 golds on a bottle of strength boosting pills and Chae Lee accused Dou Peng of hoarding everything for himself.

One of the Lin family elders had to step up and end the dispute. Above us, some discussion went on and Dou Peng turned mute after that. His father, Dou family's current head, must've told him to refrain from bidding anymore.

After that, two more items were sold to a rather lowkey merchant group occupying booth no. 27. The auction was nearing the last stages. I managed to win the bid for a shoot of Gehart. It was a plant whose smell was hated by demonic beasts, it would be very useful for me.

"Now we present to you a mysterious scroll that came to us just a day ago. It's a complete manual for a technique named Asura Breath."

My eyes glittered when I heard the auctioneer.. Finally, it was here.