PDLP Chapter 52 Ghost Street Auction
Chapter 52 Ghost Street Auction
Is anyone there?
Qu Lingyan looked around and called out several times before she heard a faint cough coming from behind the counter.
As the two approached, they saw a thin, middle-aged man dressed in tattered gray clothes, leaning back in a recliner with his eyes half-closed.
"Excuse me, is the shopkeeper's surname Ge?"
Upon hearing this, the man opened his eyes and slowly stood up.
By the dim light, the two could finally see his face clearly. He had a wrinkled face, small eyes, was bald, and had very little hair around his head.
"Where did this child come from?"
The man waved his hand impatiently, signaling the two to leave.
"Is the shopkeeper from the Xingyi School, and surnamed Ge?"
Upon hearing this, the man's expression became slightly serious.
"I was indeed a member of the Xingyi School before, named Ge You. What brings you two here?"
"Ge You?" Xiao Xuan was taken aback. There was indeed a resemblance in appearance, but upon closer inspection, it should be the character "You" from the shop's name.
Qu Lingyan took out Fu Lianzhuang's handwritten letter and handed it to Ge You. Ge You took it with a puzzled look and opened it to read it carefully.
After reading a few sentences, a smile appeared on Ge You's rigid face.
"So it was this guy."
Ge You carefully folded the handwritten letter and put it in a drawer.
"Since it's a request from an old friend, I will definitely do my best to help."
"That's great, thank you very much, Senior Brother Ge."
Qu Lingyan smiled and used her identity as Granny Ling Snake to get close to Ge You.
Ge You then inquired about their purpose, and upon learning that their goal was gentian root, he immediately said:
"Then you've come at the right time. If you had been a day later, this item would probably have changed hands."
"What do you mean?"
Ge You explained to the two that the gentian grass belonged to Shangguan Tong, the owner of Ghost Street.
Shangguan Tong is the person in charge of Ghost Street, and he is only one step away from becoming a Grandmaster at the peak of the Ninth Realm.
It was precisely because of his influence that the government tacitly allowed the existence of Ghost Street.
Shangguan Tong also manages the auction house on Ghost Street, holding an auction on the seventh day of every month.
"It's past midnight, isn't today the seventh day of the month?"
"So you've come at just the right time."
Qu Lingyan was still somewhat doubtful: "Gentian is not a common herb; it's a highly poisonous plant. Is someone really auctioning it off?"
Ge You explained, "Shangguan Tong has a habit that any item that fails to sell at auction will be offered again in the next auction until it is sold."
Logically, the gentian should have failed to sell at auction this time as well, but yesterday a group of people from the Medicine King Association came to Ghost Street and specifically asked to buy the gentian.
"This is unbelievable?!"
Qu Lingyan's expression was one of disbelief; this was clearly an outcome she did not wish to see.
The good news is that the 50,000 coins she received directly from the Wan family are enough for her to compete with the Medicine King Association.
When does the auction start?
"There's no one left on Ghost Street, so it should be quick. I'll take you there."
Ge You led the two through Ghost Street, and soon they arrived at a guarded courtyard.
Two guards stepped forward, and Ge You went up to say a few words. Then he returned to Xiao Xuan and Qu Lingyan and said:
"You can make it, but admission costs a thousand coins per person, and you also need to wear a special mask."
Xiao Xuan took out his money and exchanged it for two masks with wood fragrance.
After putting on masks, Qu Lingyan and the two parted ways with Ge You and entered the courtyard.
As soon as they entered the courtyard, Xiao Xuan and Qu Lingyan exchanged a surprised glance.
The courtyard was very large, and the entrance they entered was only one of eight.
Moreover, the design of the courtyard is very sophisticated, seemingly incorporating the principles of Bagua (Eight Trigrams).
In the center of the courtyard stands an extremely tall tower, with attendants at the entrance.
"Would you two like to come together?"
Qu Lingyan nodded, and the waiter took out a wooden plaque and said, "Please take this plaque; the seating order for the two of you is also written on it."
Xiao Xuan took the wooden sign, which read "Second Floor, Ding Wuwu".
Upon entering the tower, one discovers that the bottom three levels are hollow, supported only by three pillars.
The space on the lower three floors is like a stadium, and you can see the situation below from the platforms on all three floors.
Xiao Xuan and Qu Lingyan went up to the second floor and found the table marked with Ding Wuwu. There was a sign on the table that also read Ding Wuwu.
The two sat down and began to look around.
There weren't many people around them, but that didn't mean there weren't many people at the auction; it was just because the tower was so big.
There were at least a hundred people in Xiao Xuan's field of vision.
He used his abilities to look around and found that there were not many ordinary people here.
There are three martial artists at the seventh level, which shows that there are indeed treasures in Ghost Street.
After scanning the tables of people, Xiao Xuan finally found the people from the Medicine King Society that Ge You had mentioned.
【Su Ting (Six Realms)】
[Known in the martial arts world as "The Mysterious Doctor," he is the vice president of the Medicine King Association.]
[I came to Ghost Street in Hangzhou in search of gentian.]
"As expected, they came looking for gentian."
Xiao Xuan pointed to the direction of the Medicine King Society members towards Qu Lingyan. Although they were wearing masks, they were dressed simply and were easy to recognize.
"snort."
Qu Lingyan snorted coldly.
"I have 50,000 yuan, I refuse to believe I can't beat them in a fight."
"Even if you manage to take a picture, it's uncertain whether the other party will try to snatch it."
A moment later, a richly dressed fat man walked to the middle of the three pillars on the first floor.
He made a hand gesture and said, "Welcome, esteemed guests, to the monthly auction on Ghost Street!"
Xiao Xuan was startled. As soon as this person opened his mouth, his voice reverberated throughout the entire tower, as if it had been turned on with reverberation.
"What kind of internal energy cultivation technique is this?"
Qu Lingyan's eyes widened as well, thinking to herself that the world of martial arts was truly vast and contained all sorts of things.
"I am the host of this auction, and I will now explain the rules to you!"
The rules of the auction are simple: the highest bidder wins, and after the auction, the money and goods are exchanged on the spot based on the bidding paddle.
What martial arts practitioners need are nothing more than divine weapons, miraculous elixirs, martial arts manuals, and precious materials.
The auctions on Ghost Street also offer these kinds of items. Although they may be of dubious origin, they are all of high quality.
"The third item! The Beggars' Sect's secret manual, 'Broom Kick Technique'!"
The host's voice rang in everyone's ears, followed by a gasp of surprise.
"Wow! You even have the secret manuals that the seven major sects keep hidden?"
"Who was the expert who got this? I want it!"
As everyone was talking, three people stood up from the first floor. They were wearing somewhat old cloth clothes and each had a cloth bag hanging on their body.
"It's here after all!"
"This secret manual was stolen by that traitor Yan Xuan! Where is he? Hand him over!"
Those who were making a ruckus were none other than the Beggars' Sect disciples. Xiao Xuan had previously seen the name Yan Xuan in the Fengwentai Monthly magazine.
Faced with the commotion, the host simply chuckled softly: "Ghost Street is not a place for you to run wild. Guards, please."
Before the sounds from the tower had faded, several unmasked guards appeared behind the Beggars' Sect members.
In no time at all, they had driven those men away.
"Through this little incident, everyone has seen the value of this manual. Starting bid: 5000 yuan!"