I Reloaded the Save File! [Transmigration] - Chapter 49

After the auctioneer finished speaking, the entire auction house was silent for about three breaths before the subtle whispers resumed. The people who could afford to sit here were essentially all prominent individuals, and for the sake of reputation, none of them intended to be the first to bid.

“One hundred high-grade spirit stones,” Yun He, an outsider and slightly dense cultivator, didn’t overthink things and immediately called out a price.

While Yun He could sometimes be easily fooled due to her straightforward nature, it didn’t mean she was blind to the dirty looks some people were giving the girl. If this young girl were bought by those types, let alone serving as a subordinate for a hundred years, she might not even survive one or two years.

“Three-number VIP box bids one hundred high-grade spirit stones,” Hearing Yun He’s voice, the auctioneer’s expression eased slightly.

It’s good that someone is bidding. My professional skills must be decent, as I didn’t mess up the first auction of a living person.

“Two hundred high-grade spirit stones!” Soon, someone started to raise the bid.

A half-demon who could both cultivate and transform into a demonic beast would be highly useful if properly trained. The only pity was that the service time offered was only one hundred years, meaning she could likely only serve as an enforcer at the Golden Core stage at most.

“Two hundred fifty!”

“I bid four hundred!”

“Six hundred high-grade spirit stones,” Yun He couldn’t resist raising the price again.

Soon, the price stabilized around one thousand high-grade spirit stones. Aside from a few people interested in other aspects, most gave up the bidding.

After all, a Golden Core stage cultivator’s value was only worth that much. Not to mention the need to invest a lot of resources to cultivate her, with returns likely only appearing in the last ten years of the contract.

Compared to spending time and effort cultivating a half-demon with uncertain talent, it was better to spend a little more money and bid on a useful weapon.

“One thousand two hundred fifty spirit stones!” After this price was announced, those who had previously bid fell silent.

“One thousand two hundred fifty spirit stones, going once, bid by the four-number VIP box,” the auctioneer said. “Does any other Fellow Daoist wish to bid? One thousand two hundred fifty spirit stones, going twice! If not, this item…”

“One thousand three hundred spirit stones,” Yun He called out the price again.

“I bid one thousand four hundred high-grade spirit stones!” The cultivator from the four-number box immediately followed.

“One thousand five hundred!” Yun He continued to follow.

“One thousand six hundred!” The four-number box quickly countered, without any hesitation, signaling a determination to win.

One thousand six hundred high-grade spirit stones? Yun He hesitated slightly. Even including the thank-you gift from Chu Ting, she only had about five thousand spirit stones. Raising the bid any higher seemed unworthy.

Should I just wait until the auction is over, knock out the winner, and let the girl go?

“Two thousand high-grade spirit stones,” Seeing this, Qiu Wu started bidding. She knew Yun He didn’t have many spirit stones, and one thousand six hundred was likely her limit.

“Two thousand high-grade spirit stones! The three-number VIP box currently holds the highest bid!” The auctioneer’s tone grew excited, internally hoping the three and four-number boxes would continue to clash. That way, the price might double, and his commission would double accordingly.

Two thousand high-grade spirit stones—this price was already higher than the four-number box cultivator’s expectation. He hesitated over whether to continue bidding. After all, a price like this could already purchase a decent Nascent Soul stage defensive spiritual artifact.

“Two thousand high-grade spirit stones, going twice! Two thousand high-grade spirit stones, going th—” Just as the auctioneer was about to strike the gavel, the four-number box cultivator bid again.

“I bid two thousand one hundred high-grade spirit stones!” The cultivator’s voice was less steady than before, making it clear he had hit his price limit.

“Three thousand,” Qiu Wu did not hesitate, immediately naming a round number. The nine-hundred high-grade spirit stone difference completely crushed the four-number box cultivator’s ambition.

The auctioneer beamed, quickly repeated the price three times, and struck the gavel. “Congratulations to the VIP in the three-number box! You have won this auction item. The item will be delivered to you shortly!”

Yun He rubbed her face, blinking at Qiu Wu. “Qiu Wu, you bid on her to…”

“Haven’t decided. Since you pity her, I simply took the liberty of bidding on her,” Qiu Wu said.

“Qiu Wu, you don’t need to spend so many spirit stones for me,” Yun He said, her voice growing quieter. How long would it take me to earn three thousand high-grade spirit stones? If I just rely on the monthly allowance, it would probably take decades…

“It’s a trivial matter; no need to worry too much,” Qiu Wu said. “I’ll just forge one more spiritual artifact later. Consider this a good deed done this time.”

“…” The sadness in Yun He’s heart successfully braked to a stop. Right, Qiu Wu is from a wealthy family, unlike a small pitiful person like me! Three thousand spirit stones is just pocket change.

The next two items were cultivation technique manuals. As five individuals backed by a sect, they did not lack cultivation methods, so they had no intention of spending so many spirit stones just for a glimpse of them.

The auction house was efficient. Before long, a knock sounded on the box door, and the smiling steward appeared.

“Fellow Daoist, this contains the spirit stones you earned from consignment. Please verify the amount,” the steward said smilingly, handing over the storage bag without stating the specific amount.

Qiu Wu took the storage bag and checked it. Her fifteen spiritual artifacts combined sold for nearly sixty thousand high-grade spirit stones. This was a very good harvest, enough for her to indulge in for quite a while.

“By the way, we have already deducted the three thousand spirit stones. Now I will bring you the item you bid on,” the steward said, gesturing to his subordinate, who quickly brought the young girl in.

The girl’s appearance was no different from when she was in the cage. If there was any difference, it was that the curiosity in her eyes had increased somewhat.

“Are you my Master for the next hundred years?” the young girl asked.

“Yes. Since you took the money, you must obey me,” Qiu Wu said. After seeing the steward wisely retreat, she began to inquire about the girl’s situation.

“My name is Xiao Que (Little Bird). You can call me that, Master. I am already at the late Foundation Establishment stage. I can cultivate by devouring demonic beast inner cores, or by absorbing spiritual energy from spirit stones,” Xiao Que did not hide anything and disclosed her situation directly.

When Xiao Que decided to auction herself, she had already thought things through: she needed a powerful patron, one rich enough. As long as she could raise her cultivation and survive for these hundred years, she could enjoy the rest of her life.

It must be said that Xiao Que’s approach was quite clever. Finding a patron was far better than fighting alone, but this was predicated on meeting a good person, someone who wasn’t plotting against her body.

Xiao Que was fortunate; she met Qiu Wu, a kind-hearted Nascent Soul stage cultivator who was not short of money.

“Your name is Xiao Que. Is your father a bird-type demonic beast?” Qiu Wu asked.

Xiao Que nodded. “If Master needs it, I can transform and serve as your mount.”

Qiu Wu stroked her chin thoughtfully and continued to ask, “Do you fly very fast?”

Xiao Que hesitated. “Not very fast right now, but once I form my core, my flying speed will be about the same as an ordinary Nascent Soul stage cultivator. If I reach the Nascent Soul stage, my speed won’t be much slower than a Spirit Transformation stage cultivator.”

Qiu Wu said, “Since you have been living in Bafang City, you should be very familiar with the auction rules, correct?”

Xiao Que nodded. She wasn’t just familiar; she knew them inside and out. She had even figured out the patterns and tricks of the auction items, knowing when certain things were in high demand.

“Very good! Since you call me Master, anything I ask you to do should be acceptable, right?” Qiu Wu asked.

Xiao Que continued to nod. “Of course. Whatever Master commands, Xiao Que will do. If Master doesn’t believe me, we can form a contract. That should put Master at ease, right?”

Because Xiao Que was a half-demon, she could form a contract with a human cultivator. Once successfully contracted, the dominant party could sense the weaker party’s location at any time.

“A half-demon can form a contract like this?” Qiu Wu was slightly surprised; this was the first time she had heard of it.

“Mhm. Master, stretch out your hand. In a moment…” Xiao Que said, extending her hand, intending to form the contract with Qiu Wu.

“No need. I trust you,” Qiu Wu pressed Xiao Que’s extended hand back down. “Since you are familiar with Bafang City’s situation, you will stay here and help me buy and sell things. I will give you twenty high-grade spirit stones every month, as your… provision fee?”

“Ah?” Xiao Que was a little confused. Master bought me to work? She doesn’t want me to get stronger and become a free enforcer?

“Master, I am a half-demon. I can be a spell-casting cultivator, and I can also transform into a demonic beast,” Xiao Que reminded her, emphasizing her utility. “If Master wants to go on an adventure in a secret realm, bringing me along is very useful. I can help Master bypass guardian demonic beasts and steal items directly.”

“Mhm, mhm, I know,” Qiu Wu nodded perfunctorily, then took out a storage ring from her spatial storage. “This contains some weapons, defensive spiritual artifacts, and such, suitable for Golden Core stage cultivators. You can help me sell them at market price when you have time.”

“Additionally, here are five high-quality Nascent Soul stage spiritual artifacts. Consign one for auction during the monthly auctions,” Qiu Wu said, then took out a small jade plaque and infused it with her spiritual sense.

“This contains the materials I need. Every time you sell a spiritual artifact, use the spirit stones you earn to purchase these materials,” Qiu Wu instructed. “I’ve already told you the basic types and quantities. As long as you don’t exceed the specified amount, you are free to buy.”

Qiu Wu loved Bafang City—a town with many traveling cultivators and business districts everywhere. If she didn’t have to follow Mo Xiao to the extreme north to search for rare materials, she might have stayed here for ten or twenty years.

Xiao Que took the small jade plaque with a look of surprise, subconsciously covering it with her spiritual sense to see what was recorded inside.

“…” Seeing the contents recorded within, Xiao Que’s mouth dropped open in disbelief. “Master, you want to buy one hundred thousand jin of profound iron ore? Five thousand jin of red star stone? Eight hundred…”

Xiao Que stopped reading the rest of the list and looked at Qiu Wu with a blank expression. “Master, did you write that down incorrectly?”

“No. Just buy according to what’s written here,” Qiu Wu said. “You just need to stay in Bafang City. I will come to find you when necessary.”

Although Xiao Que was already several decades old, because her appearance was still that of an eleven or twelve-year-old, she was still a little girl in Qiu Wu’s eyes and didn’t need to follow her around needlessly.

“Good, thank you, thank you, Master,” Although Xiao Que’s reaction was a bit slow, she realized she had struck it rich.

She only needed to expend some time and effort to gain many high-grade spirit stones. Twenty high-grade spirit stones a month meant over two hundred a year. Over a hundred years, wouldn’t that be over twenty thousand high-grade spirit stones?

Calculated that way, it would be enough to buy ten of her! Did I use up all my luck for a lifetime just to meet Master?

Seeing Xiao Que on the verge of tears from emotion, Qiu Wu sternly said, “Remember, the spiritual artifacts I give you, you must not sell below market price. The next time I come to find you, I will check the accounts with you!”

Qiu Wu was not good at playing emotional cards, so she simply put on a straight face, issued a long list of instructions, and then urged Xiao Que to leave and quickly get to work for her.