Chapter 83
Chapter 83
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 83
Chapter Title: Big Spender at the Auction House (2)
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When the response to the first item, which had been boldly promoted, turned out lukewarm, the auction organizers seemed to panic, leading to a phenomenon where the starting bids for the overall auction were lowered.
"This next item is sixty geun of early shoots from the Snowfield River Ligusticum sourced from the North Sea Ice Palace. As those in the know are aware, it's an extremely rare herb that's incredibly difficult to obtain south of the Yellow River. Starting bid is a mere thirty nyang. We'll start at thirty nyang."
In truth, if I had come to this auction alone, I wouldn't have known whether the starting bids had been lowered or not.
The original story didn't detail the market prices of minor spirit herbs, and I hadn't been so idle as to scrutinize every single one of those prices.
"Young Master, that one's incredibly cheap."
"Cheap?"
But I had Dang Ok-gi, disguised as Dandan.
"Yes, Young Master. This girl doesn't know much about the merchant world's dealings, but I'm well-versed in herb prices. Even if you just resell that at next week's Ten Thousand Herb Market, you'd make a profit at that price."
"Hm. Is that so?"
"Yes. The leaves are so fresh—transport and storage must have been handled perfectly. You could resell it for a tidy profit, or process it into medicine like that Golden Wound Ointment you bought earlier."
"Like the Golden Wound Ointment I bought earlier?"
"No way you'd use that much ointment all by yourself. You must have bought it thinking of the servants, right?"
"Well, yeah."
"Medicine made from Snowfield River Ligusticum excels at reducing fevers, and if someone who hasn't reached the Unmoving Heart Sage realm takes it in summer, it can even drive away the heat."
When it came to pharmacology or herbal studies, Dang Ok-gi was never wrong.
A herb with fever-reducing and heat-relieving properties seemed useful not just in peacetime but in all sorts of situations.
"If you say so, Dandan, then it must be."
I immediately raised my placard and joined the bidding.
"Bid from bidder number 214 at thirty nyang! Thirty-one nyang. Thirty-one nyang going once?! No takers? Sold to bidder number 214! Sold!"
Interestingly, even with the lowered starting bids, the auction house's atmosphere had grown even more stagnant.
In that paradoxical situation, my master, who had been observing from my waistband, spoke up.
- That loud-voiced auctioneer was bragging about how this was the pinnacle of Luohe Valley's Herb Market auctions, the Golden Auction or whatever, yet why are there so few bidders? Are all these seated folks just spectators?
'They're not spectators. They screen people at the door from the start, don't they? I'm wearing silk robes called touch gold and acting like a young noble who can casually toss around five nyang as chit-chat money to get in here.'
- But why is the atmosphere so dead? From what that Tang girl was chattering, the prices seem dirt cheap.
'What do you call it... suspicion from the shadows?'
My master, who had devoted his life to the sword, couldn't comprehend the situation, but having experienced all sorts of trials, I had a rough idea why the auction house felt so subdued.
'The suspicions stemming from the Huangbo family's spirit pills have taken root in the merchants' minds.'
The very first item was suspicious enough, and now every item coming up was priced below market value, breeding even greater doubt.
What if I buy the wrong stuff today and get food poisoning?
Is there some event crashing herb prices overall? If so, better to hold onto gold today and buy at next week's Ten Thousand Herb Market.
I hadn't mastered mind-reading arts or anything to peer into hearts precisely, but they were probably thinking along those lines.
Well, anyway.
The ghosts of suspicion haunting the competitors' minds was something I welcomed with open arms.
'No competition means it's all good for me.'
And so, in the subdued auction house atmosphere, following Dang Ok-gi's advice,
"Sold! Sold!"
I scooped up all the sweet deals like swimming through clear waters with the ground beneath me.
"...Sold to bidder number 214 once again."
I'd raised my placard so many times that my right shoulder muscles were loosening up, and Dang Ok-gi was furrowing her brows in worry.
"...Young Master."
"What's up?"
"You haven't forgotten that the pomegranate and red jade haven't come up yet, right...? Don't spend all the money?"
"You're only sharp on herb prices—you lack flexibility, Dandan. Subtract what I've spent so far from the amount on the bill of exchange I showed you."
"...Ah?!"
"Plenty left, right? And look at the auction house vibe. I guarantee the pomegranate and red jade will come out cheaper than market too."
It was then.
As Dang Ok-gi's furrowed brows relaxed,
"We'll take a half-quarter-hour break. Those who want to see the sophora, go view it. Those who want fresh air, get some and return here."
The auction organizers declared a short intermission.
Then the loud-voiced middle-aged auctioneer, accompanied by a guard exuding sharp energy, approached me.
"Young master. Might we speak privately in a quiet spot?"
The middle-aged man's words were polite. But his intent was close to a threat.
'Well, it's only a threat if it works as one—maybe not quite?'
After all, the guards' sharp auras were intimidating, but precisely because of that, they weren't my match.
'Guys who can't even conceal their auras aren't opponents for me, let alone for Ha-seong waiting outside.'
Anyway, their blatant intent to drag me to some "truth room" they prepared made me briefly consider flipping the table, and Dang Ok-gi seemed to have the same thought flash through her mind.
She pulled out a pitch-black dagger from who-knows-where and spoke.
"Young Master?"
But her voice made me change my mind.
'I haven't gotten the Blood Centipede Myriad Poison Brew yet.'
Besides, even during the break, plenty of people remained seated.
'Though I'm in disguise with face-altering too.'
Making a big scene here could lead to headaches I didn't want to deal with.
'If I'm gonna wreck shop, better do it in their prepared truth room.'
So I stood from my seat.
"Very well."
We moved to a small tent attached to one corner of the massive tent used as the main auction hall.
The middle-aged auctioneer opened his mouth again.
"My apologies, young master. This humble one is Heo Im-saeng."
I listened while picking my ear,
"The reason we've brought you to this humble place is..."
cutting in at the right moment.
"You're doubting my ability to pay, right?"
"Heavens, yes, regrettably so. We thoroughly verify participants' identities, but the gatekeeper must have let you through based only on your attire."
Well, it wasn't incomprehensible.
'I've snagged too many items.'
Nearly thirty percent of the items up so far in this Golden Auction had gone to me. From their perspective, if I was just a con artist in fancy clothes, today's already sluggish auction would be completely ruined.
"We beg your generous understanding of our rudeness and inquire: from which house, and who might you be?"
Of course, understanding didn't mean I'd comply or let it slide.
"What if I tell you who I am?"
I blew on the finger I'd been using to pick my ear, twisted my lips into a mocking smirk, and spoke.
"Can you handle it?"
Then, slowly, I pulled out bills of exchange from the Myeonggeum Bank one by one from my bosom.
One, two, three, four.
Five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten.
As the 1,000-nyang bills piled up, Heo Im-saeng's face paled.
Confirming his expression, I instantly switched to a stern look,
tucked all the bills back into my bosom, and stood.
"I came to spend money happily, but you've soured my mood. Let's go, Dandan."
I figured if I stormed out like this, either Heo Im-saeng, glued to me, would grab me, or one of the venue guards would threaten to leave payment for the auctioned items.
And sure enough.
The latter happened.
"Hold it."
One of the venue guards reached to grab my shoulder.
But his move didn't go as planned.
"Leave payment for your auction items, you... Khek."
Because Dang Ok-gi, disguised as Dandan, moved sharply.
She didn't even use her specialty poison.
Pak!
It was a skill gap so vast it ended in just two moves—not even worth calling a exchange.
"Don't touch the Young Master."
It was then.
As one venue guard frothed at the mouth and collapsed in an instant.
Heo Im-saeng kicked the ankle of the remaining guard beside him, forcing him to his knees, then prostrated himself obsequiously and spoke.
"S-sorry! I've committed a grave sin worthy of death!"
"You drag me here to probe who I am and intimidate me, and now you grovel. Do you know who I am to grovel like that?"
"For a lord to employ such a lowly maidservant, in this fool's humble opinion, you must hail from the North Direct Commandery... A grave sin! Worthy of death!"
North Direct Commandery referred to the greater Haibei region.
But specifying "North Direct Commandery" instead of just Haibei, and stammering—it seemed he'd mistaken me for a member of the imperial family.
'Pearl Island in Haibei does fall under North Direct Commandery, so not wrong.'
It wasn't entirely off.
They were misunderstanding on their own; I wasn't impersonating royalty.
I could smile venomously without a shred of guilt.
"Listen, if mere apologies erased all wrongs, why would we have constabularies or the Murim Alliance? I thought merchants just lacked eyes, but you lack shame too."
"...S-spare me!"
"Hey, so vicious. Why would I kill you? Do I look like such a bad guy to you?"
As I said that, no reply came from Heo Im-saeng, but my master's voice echoed in my head.
- You look plenty the part.
'?'
- Still haven't realized? Look in a mirror more often.
I let my master's voice go in one ear and out the other.
And continued.
"I-I'm not that bad of a guy."
"...Then, you'll forgive our rudeness?"
"That's a separate issue. Fulfill a few requests of mine, and I'll overlook your shamelessness this once."
"H-how can this fool become a man of shame?!"
"The items I bought..."
"Ah! Though I'm the rude one asking, please don't say you want them for free. If we gave them away, we're dead anyway. Kill us instead!"
"Hey now. I said I'm not that bad."
"Y-you're not asking for them free? S-sorry. Your aura intimidated this fool."
As Heo Im-saeng babbled on, Dang Ok-gi bared her hostility and ground her teeth.
"Don't interrupt the Young Master, Heo Im-saeng."
Dandan.
This young master was moved.
You stuck your lips out refusing to do it, but now you're doing great at it!
"S-sorry."
At Dang Ok-gi's words, Heo Im-saeng slammed his head to the ground again, and I spoke in a deliberately firm tone.
"Fine. Listen up. I'm no bandit. I'll pay for the items full. But that commission you take—cut it in half. That's reasonable, right?"
At my proposal, Heo Im-saeng rolled his eyes, swallowed hard, and spoke.
"If we do just that, you'll forgive us?"
"One more thing. I planned to buy more, but you've completely killed my mood. So, how about I buy one more item from what I originally wanted, right here, and leave?"
"That's no trouble at all. Demanding half commission is the brigand demand..."
"Brigand what?"
"N-no. Just tell us what item you're seeking, and I'll have this one fetch it."
"Blood Centipede Myriad Poison Brew. A pair of live ones."
Bring it.
Right now.