After Forcibly Taking The Beautiful, Powerful, And Tragic Demon Lord As A Concubine - Chapter 17

On the way to the auction, Lin Xueqing was extremely excited.

Even sitting on Feng Ruyu’s gourd, he refused to stay still, walking to the tip of the gourd one moment and then to its rear the next. Feng Ruyu was deeply annoyed by his constant harassment.

“Lin Xueqing, can’t you just be quiet?”

Lin Xueqing said innocently, “I am being very quiet. Look, I haven’t said a word this whole way.”

Feng Ruyu replied, “You haven’t spoken, but you’ve been pacing non-stop! My gourd is only so big; I really don’t know what there is to walk around for.”

Lin Xueqing said, “Well, I’m curious!”

“Curious about what? Curious about my gourd, or curious about the upcoming auction?”

“Both, of course. But I’ve studied the gourd for a while now and I’m not that curious about it anymore, hehe.” Lin Xueqing let out a silly laugh, finally catching an opportunity to ask Feng Ruyu: “Why don’t you tell me about the auction, Lord Ghost Doctor?”

Feng Ruyu glared at him. “I don’t have time for that! You’ll see for yourself in a moment.”

“Oh,” Lin Xueqing replied.

Then he started pacing back and forth again, annoying Feng Ruyu further. Feng Ruyu, unable to take it any longer, decided to secretly use his spiritual power to accelerate the gourd, intending to shake Lin Xueqing off to teach him a lesson and make him quiet down.

However, the speed increased again and again, but Lin Xueqing still didn’t fall off.

Feng Ruyu was astonished. “You kid?”

Lin Xueqing smiled broadly. “I’ve improved, haven’t I? I haven’t wasted my time these past few days.”

Feng Ruyu: “…Fine.”

Lin Xueqing asked, “Can you really not tell me about the auction? I’m afraid I’ll lose face by not knowing the rules since it’s my first time.”

Feng Ruyu glanced at him. “What are you afraid of when you’re with me? Furthermore—”

Before he could finish his sentence, Feng Ruyu suddenly accelerated again. This time, the acceleration wasn’t forward, but downward. Lin Xueqing wasn’t paying attention; although his spiritual power was clinging to the gourd, the downward force was several levels stronger than him.

“Aaahhh!”

And so, Lin Xueqing fell. He crashed straight into a tree, looking quite pathetic.

Feng Ruyu, however, stood perfectly fine beneath the tree, laughing heartily. “Hahaha! You got what was coming to you. Young man, you still need more practice.”

Lin Xueqing clutched his backside, feeling very frustrated. “Lord Ghost Doctor, even if you wanted to teach me a lesson, you didn’t have to bring the gourd down like that.”

“Who said I wanted to teach you a lesson?”

Feng Ruyu refused to admit it. “Open your eyes and take a good look at what’s in front of you.”

Hearing this, Lin Xueqing opened his eyes. Looking ahead, he saw an ancient and elegant tall building rising from the ground, magnificent and grand. At the top of the building hung a black plaque with two large words written in golden clerical script—Auction.

“Oh, so we’ve arrived.”

His frustrated mood instantly vanished, and his puppy-like eyes lit up with anticipation again.

“Just follow me and don’t say anything,” Feng Ruyu instructed as Lin Xueqing climbed down from the tree.

Lin Xueqing nodded repeatedly, looking very obedient. “Okay.”

Of course, he would be obedient. For one, he didn’t understand the rules here; as he just said, acting on his own could easily result in embarrassment. Secondly, this was no longer the territory of the Pill Sect. His cultivation was low, only at the Foundation Establishment stage. Although he carried a vast amount of spirit stones, Lin Xueqing knew that in the cultivation world, the more spirit stones one had without the strength to protect oneself, the more dangerous it was.

Fortunately, he had the Yuan Ying (Soul Formation) stage Feng Ruyu by his side, which was why he dared to leave the valley.

Feng Ruyu was very satisfied with Lin Xueqing’s obedience. He was even more satisfied with the budget Lin Xueqing had told him before they left. Having practiced medicine for many years, Feng Ruyu was a regular customer who frequented various major auctions, but he had never fought such a “wealthy war” before!

This silly kid. He might be a bit dim, but he was certainly rich.

Feng Ruyu thought to himself that after they went in, he should let Lin Xueqing “bleed” a little. However, he hadn’t decided exactly how to do that yet. While he was distracted by these thoughts, a plump, bearded middle-aged cultivator arrived beside them, riding on a giant copper coin.

The middle-aged cultivator clearly recognized Feng Ruyu and greeted him with a smile. “Lord Ghost Doctor, you’re here again.”

Feng Ruyu snapped out of it and smiled. “Manager, it’s still you.”

The manager said, “Look at what you’re saying. Since Lord Ghost Doctor has graced us with his presence, of course, I have to come out and welcome you personally. But why have you brought a young gentleman with you today?”

“My disciple,” Feng Ruyu said nonchalantly. “Bringing him to see the world.”

The manager laughed. “Oho, then you’ve come at a great time. We have many good items in the auction this time.”

Feng Ruyu said, “I know, that’s why I came to take a look.”

The manager’s smile deepened, his face nearly wrinkling. “Then, Lord Ghost Doctor, please come inside? The usual spot?”

Feng Ruyu nodded. The manager then pulled two tokens from his sleeve, handing one to Feng Ruyu and one to Lin Xueqing.

With the tokens, they could enter. However, places in the cultivation world were different from shopping malls. After entering, the space before them was initially chaotic, as if they were standing amidst clouds and mist. It wasn’t until Feng Ruyu threw out his token that the mist suddenly cleared, and a door appeared before them.

After pushing the door open, the interior was not the massive stadium-like space Lin Xueqing had imagined. Instead, it was a small room of about twenty square meters. The room had comfortable reclining chairs, beautiful patterned blankets that were soft and plush, and an exquisite classical screen. There was even a fruit plate, snacks, dried fruits, tea, and pastries laid out on a long table.

Lin Xueqing admitted he felt like “Grandma Liu entering the Grand Prospect Garden,” staring in wide-eyed wonder.

“This is too nice!”

Feng Ruyu walked familiarly to a chair, sat down, and said, “What did you expect? I am a high-level patron of this auction house.”

Lin Xueqing thought: Does that mean he’s a VIP member?

“So, if someone isn’t high-level, they don’t get such a nice room and treatment?”

Feng Ruyu replied, “Naturally.”

Lin Xueqing understood, having a sudden realization. “Lord Ghost Doctor is indeed amazing!”

Feng Ruyu folded his arms proudly. “Hmph.”

But Lin Xueqing asked again, “The room is comfortable, but how do we buy things?”

With a wave of Feng Ruyu’s sleeve, the screen in front of them underwent a sudden change. Not only did the screen vanish, but a massive extended space appeared before their eyes.

Of course, the auction hadn’t started yet. The space was quite empty at the moment, with only an empty stage set up. Even so, it left Lin Xueqing, the little “country bumpkin,” dumbfounded and full of praise.

“So that’s how it is! How ingenious!”

“It’s nothing. All auctions look like this. Have you really never been to one your whole life?”

Lin Xueqing confessed honestly, “I really haven’t.”

Feng Ruyu was surprised for a moment, looking at Lin Xueqing as if he were a primitive man, before remembering that perhaps this kid’s family had too many treasures at home, so he never needed to come to one.

“Then you should first familiarize yourself with the auction process later, so we don’t miss out when it’s our turn to bid,” Feng Ruyu said.

Lin Xueqing agreed.

Just as he spoke, there was a knock on the door of the “VIP” private booth. After they said “Come in,” two pretty young maids entered one after another, each carrying a tray. They placed the trays in front of the two men.

Lin Xueqing looked closely and saw three items on the tray: a booklet, a small hammer, and a matching small bronze gong.

The purpose of the hammer and gong was easy to guess—they were for bidding. But this booklet…

After the maids left, Lin Xueqing couldn’t wait to open it. He was shocked by what he saw; the service industry in the cultivation world was actually so well-developed!

First, the booklet registered all the items to be auctioned that day according to category. Everything from low-grade to high-grade was included. Furthermore, next to each item, two prices were listed: the starting bid and the historical highest price. This was likely to tell everyone not to bid if the price exceeded that amount by too much. Finally, all the registered treasures had an approximate time of appearance.

The more Lin Xueqing looked, the more he felt the owner of this auction house was a business genius. This kind of person would be on the level of Jack Ma or Lei Jun in the modern world.

When Lin Xueqing asked about the owner, Feng Ruyu showed a look of envy.

“Him? He’s very mysterious. Anyway, almost all the auctions in the cultivation world are in his hands. He has connections in both the demonic and righteous paths.”

“That powerful?”

“Mm… just a bit more powerful than your family. He’s just the richest man in the cultivation world.”

“Holy crap—”

Although Lin Xueqing found it hard to imagine anyone being richer than his own family after learning a bit about their assets, there were always people better than oneself. Being the richest man in the cultivation world was indeed impressive.

Lin Xueqing quickly flipped to his targets for today—the Soul-Soothe Grass and the Heartless Flower on the last two pages of the medicinal herbs category.

But it was strange. These two herbs had no historical highest transaction price, only a starting bid. However, even the minimum starting bid was as high as fifty thousand high-grade spirit stones.

“Lord Ghost Doctor, what does it mean when there’s no historical price? Has it never been sold before?”

“Correct.”

“That’s quite a coincidence. Something that’s never been sold before is being sold just as we arrive.”

Feng Ruyu said, “Is it possible that because I wanted them and told the manager, they sourced the goods for me?”

Lin Xueqing: “…” As expected of a VIP, that’s impressive!

Feng Ruyu added, “But you better be prepared. These things are specifically for removing demonic energy and haven’t appeared in public for a long time. Their appearance at the auction this time will likely cause a scramble.”

Lin Xueqing touched his pocket and said with a serious expression, “I understand.” He was ready.

Feng Ruyu said, “Alright, the auction is about to start. Generally, it goes from low price to high price. Look at the items in the beginning and try playing around to get familiar with it.”

Lin Xueqing agreed and began flipping through the booklet to look for interesting things.

As he looked, the auction officially began. Just as Feng Ruyu said, they started by auctioning some small items to warm up the crowd. The first item being sold was a pill with a special effect called the Taotie Pill.

But after listening to the manager’s introduction for a while, Lin Xueqing found it strange. “Is there any point in buying this?”

If the manager’s introduction was correct, this thing was like a flavored candy pearl. It offered no benefits to the human body and wouldn’t be digested by the intestinal tract. It simply provided different flavors when placed in the mouth. The flavors were quite diverse, ranging from Pickled Pepper Beef to Braised Earth Chicken.

Lin Xueqing really couldn’t understand. If someone had the time, why not just stew a pot of real chicken? For ordinary people, eating a pot of real chicken would be more filling, and for cultivators, this pill was useless.

However, Lin Xueqing didn’t expect the pill to sell quite well, with many people competing for it. Even if it was cheap… it wasn’t necessary to grab everything, right?

It wasn’t until he asked Feng Ruyu that the doctor explained calmly, “You don’t understand. It has many uses. For example, some cultivators crave food but don’t want ‘mortal grains’ to enter their bodies; they eat this to satisfy their cravings. Or for some mortal women who want to maintain their figures, eating this satisfies them because while it doesn’t enter the stomach, it still provides a tiny bit of energy.”

“So that’s why.”

“Oh right, there’s another group of people who use it. Those who are paralyzed in both legs and cannot take care of themselves.”

Lin Xueqing was stunned. “Why is that?”

Feng Ruyu said, “Simple. If they can’t take care of themselves, if you give them regular food, won’t they have to go to the toilet? If someone is there to serve them, it’s fine, but if not, isn’t that just torturing them?”