After My Thoughts Were Read, My Master Led Me to Change My Fate - Chapter 19

Ning Songwu flipped through the booklet. There wasn’t much in the front that interested her. She had extremely low materialism. If the set of Dharma Artifacts hadn’t been hinted at in the book, she wouldn’t have bothered making a trip to the auction house just for it.

She turned a page and spotted a Dharma Robe. The introduction—”automatic wind and cold protection; capable of resisting magical attacks up to and below the Void Training Stage”—immediately caught her eye.

The part about resisting the Void Training Stage was useless to her, but the series of talisman formations noted for resisting frost and increasing warmth… that seemed potentially useful.

[Wind protection? Not suffering from frost intrusion should be nice, right? Heavens, the starting price is fifteen thousand taels?! Why is it even more expensive than that defensive Dharma Artifact set!]

[You get what you pay for… otherwise…]

Liu Ruoying naturally noticed the hand that had suddenly frozen. She leaned over to look. “Did you take a fancy to this? Don’t you have nearly a million taels? Shall we give it a try?”

“I’m afraid I can only choose one or the other…” Ning Songwu murmured, once again understanding why auctions were called the playground of the rich. Although she had borrowed some influence and acquired some silver, facing this thin booklet still left her feeling willing yet powerless.

The original novel detailed the defensive Dharma Artifact set but didn’t go into much detail about the subsequent lots. She struggled to recall the original text but could only remember that after the artifacts, there were a few items valued in the hundreds of thousands of taels. She figured this Dharma Robe must be one of them.

Her current money might not be enough.

Luo Sheng looked over while holding a pastry. “Do you want to give that to Senior Aunt Ran?”

“Is it possible?”

“I don’t know, and besides, you might not have enough money.”

The young woman looked innocent. Seeing that the moody person was starting to grind her teeth again, Luo Sheng quietly moved her pastry and sat a little farther away, declaring loudly, “The pastries in this small room smell wonderful. It was worth it.”

“Glutton!”

Liu Ruoying interjected, “Enough or not, let’s try for it first? That set of defensive Dharma Artifacts is also excellent for you, after all, you are always the one rushing to the front.”

Ning Songwu’s brow furrowed slightly, and she slowly nodded.

[Then I can only try for the first one. I hope the Dharma Artifact doesn’t cost me too much money… I want to save my own little life, but I also want to help her as much as I can.]

[Just consider it… repayment for her care of me during this time.]

Things did not go as planned by the heavens. When the Dharma Artifacts were auctioned, the price climbed steadily. Because Ning Songwu did not raise the bid conspicuously every time, unlike Lin Yuxue, but only matched the price, it gave others a chance, and the bidding remained tightly contested.

Finally, the expenditure reached eight hundred thousand taels.

[Just one more follow-up. If that doesn’t work, then I’ll give up.]

“Room Three adds a bid of one thousand taels.” The emotionless maidservant announced the matched bid, and the hall instantly fell quiet.

Qin Siyue, who had witnessed the entire process, shook her head. “I suppose that’s the end of it.”

“This guest in Room Three is truly persistent, but this set of Dharma Artifacts isn’t a loss for him.”

“The next item is that Dharma Robe. You… what are you doing?!”

Qin Siyue stared blankly as Ran Fanyin gracefully raised her bidding plaque, then listened as the woman calmly told the maidservant next to her, “Two thousand taels.”

The maidservant announced the bid: “Heaven-tier Room One, two thousand taels.”

Inside Room Three, the young woman silently breathed a sigh of relief.

[A loss is a loss, so be it.]

[It won’t be Lin Yuxue who bought it; she shouldn’t be able to afford that much right now either.]

[As long as it doesn’t fall into her hands, I thank the big boss in the Heaven-tier room.]

Inside the Heaven-tier room, Qin Siyue reached up and pressed the woman’s forehead, making sure she didn’t have a fever today, then gave a chuckle. “Lunatic.”

Ran Fanyin rolled her eyes at her and said gracefully, “I’ll buy it back for my disciple to play with.”

“Was that much of a price increase necessary?”

Buying this thing back was utterly useless to them and a complete waste of money. Money shouldn’t be spent this way!

It could only be said that this person should have indeed taken a disciple long ago. Since she had a disciple, she had undergone an earth-shattering change.

The iron rooster willingly plucked its own feathers, and even wasted so much money.

Heh. Qin Siyue scoffed inwardly, then felt displeased and coldly scoffed a few more times before quietly rolling her eyes.

Ran Fanyin was noncommittal. The voice in her mind, which had just been palpitating and breathless, suddenly became active. [Thank you, big boss, thank you, big boss. I’m willing to be your cow or horse in my next life, thank you, big boss.]

It was just a set of Dharma Artifacts; how did that warrant being a cow or a horse? However, her disciple always spoke… oh, no, had a mind full of nonsense, so she just listened, much like she listened to Qin Siyue’s current nagging—in one ear and out the other.

It couldn’t be taken seriously.

Soon, the Dharma Robe was brought onto the stage. After a brief introduction, before the gavel could fall, a familiar voice emerged: “Room Three, sixty thousand taels.”

Ran Fanyin’s tea-holding hand trembled, and she choked again.

Once this is over, she must properly teach her disciple how to discern the value of these objects, instead of opening bids so recklessly based purely on whim.

Her money wasn’t easy to come by, either.

At this moment, the little creature was still gloating. [My determination is fully maxed out. That should scare quite a few people, right?]

Ran Fanyin rolled her eyes internally. It was scary, alright—scary in how much of a fool’s bargain it was.

Qin Siyue stated, “This Dharma Robe is worth two thousand taels at most. Is the occupant of Room Three a little silly? They were chasing the bid all the way before, too… stupid.”

Elder Ran nodded, her red lips lightly parting: “Stupid.”

As the gavel fell, even the stupidest person realized they had been taken for a fool.

When haggling, the faster the seller agrees, the more frustrated the haggler feels.

They would constantly think back to one sentence: If only I had known, I would have haggled more!!

[Oh, heavens, I… what a massive loss!!!]

[Original novel, why didn’t you write what you were supposed to write, wuwuwu.]

Ran Fanyin covered her face with one hand, desperately trying to hide the uncontrollable smile on her lips, but her tensed shoulders and slightly trembling silver hair betrayed her current feelings.

Her disciple was likely unwilling to step foot in this auction house ever again.

That simply wouldn’t do.

This incident was recalled by Ning Songwu all the way back, so much so that the three words ‘taken for a fool’ flashed out every so often to pierce her heart.

She could pay for a thirty-unit takeaway, but she didn’t want to pay a five-unit delivery fee. Similarly, if this item had truly been hyped up to over a hundred thousand, a large expenditure would have been just that…

But now, sixty thousand taels felt exceptionally wronged. This was practically tearing out her heart and savagely poking holes in it!

Her arrival was preceded by her sound. Hearing her disciple’s weak, mosquito-like whimpering, Ran Fanyin took out the Dharma Artifacts she had bought and leaned her head languidly on her hand, quietly awaiting the return of the person who called herself [A Broken-Winged Angel].

This little creature, Ning Songwu, was truly excessively adorable.

Perhaps Ning Songwu had been overly listless the entire journey. Upon landing, Zhuque even pressed her head with great solemnity as a gesture of comfort.

“Thank you, but I’m truly not in the mood,” Ning Songwu said, on the verge of tears.

Before entering the door, she took the Dharma Robe out of her ring, carefully folded it neatly, took several deep breaths, and pushed the door open. The silver-haired woman was watching her with a radiant smile.

[Master is still so beautiful… Beauty can’t be eaten or spent as money… but it can make the money I spent feel a bit more worthwhile.]

As if self-consoling, she repeated this thought over and over in her mind. Hugging the treasure in her arms, she walked up to Ran Fanyin. “Master, this is the Dharma Robe I bought down the mountain today, which is engraved with many talisman formations. It is my birthday gift for you.”

Birthday…

So, had this little girl been going through all this trouble recently just for her birthday?

Watching the young girl, who tried to look happy but couldn’t hide her disappointment, yet was still secretly worrying if her Master wouldn’t like the gift… although the final concern always landed on whether the money was worth spending… a strange sweetness suddenly welled up, tightly enveloping Ran Fanyin’s heart. It thumped, and even accelerated slightly because of those clear and naive eyes.

She did her best to suppress her aura and asked softly, “So, were you planning this all these days?”

The mention of it only made Ning Songwu recall the series of disastrous things she had done recently. Before she could ponder it further, a hand with slight calluses gently pressed onto the top of her head and softly massaged it.

“Thank you. I like it very much.” The woman’s voice was soft, carrying an indescribable magical charm.

The hand resting on the top of her head was exceptionally warm due to the Fire Spiritual Root cultivator’s body temperature. Ning Songwu didn’t even dare to look up, her ear tips instantly turning completely red.

Ran Fanyin: Why does the gurgling sound in my disciple’s heart sound so much like boiling water?

She withdrew her hand, opening her mouth gently with a faint smile. “How interesting. I also have a gift for you. Would you like to guess what it is?”

Ning Songwu blinked and shook her head honestly.

[It’s neither a holiday nor a festival. Why would Master give me a gift?]

The woman propped up her chin, her phoenix eyes gleaming with flowing light, and she lightly curved her lips. “I think you must be very curious about where Lin Yuxue, who descended the mountain at the same time as you, went.”

The listless person suddenly straightened her back, her gaze burning as she stared directly at the woman in front of her, awaiting her next sentence.

[I knew it! Although Lin Yuxue doesn’t have much money this time, according to the plot, she should have appeared there. Even without money, she would have come out for a walk. How could she be completely gone? Was it Master, then?]

Ran Fanyin nodded, and a light flashed in her hand. “Before that, take a look at this object.”

“This is! That set of Dharma Artifacts!” The person who had been standing stiffly moved her already rooted legs, leaning closer in disbelief. She held the silver-white Dharma Artifact set. “Master, you…”

“Your Master knew that Room Three was you, and also knew you would be interested in this Dharma Robe. Well, as Master and disciple, do we not share a spiritual connection?”

“But, Master, why did you add two thousand taels…”

[With that money, what else couldn’t you have done? You definitely could have stopped the chasing bids by adding just one hundred taels extra.]

[What a massive loss!!!!]

Elder Ran leaned back into the long chair and said gracefully, “I bid two thousand taels for the same reason you bid sixty thousand taels.”

“Besides,” she said, as if performing a trick, flipping her fair hand, and several silver notes appeared. “They are all family belongings. Why care so much?”

“…! ! ! !”

Ran Fanyin watched as Ning Songwu’s already large eyes suddenly widened even further, and she couldn’t help but laugh lightly.

Little Ning’er had practically written “Money-Grubber” on her face.

Clearly and completely.