Chapter 972: I Carry!

Laughter erupted in the venue as it became clear to everyone that Sun Ji had once again been played by guest number 333.

Hearing the mocking laughter and pitying gazes, Sun Ji's face burned. Consumed by rage, he glared fiercely at Zu An. "You brat, are you playing me?"

Rage points from Sun Ji +444 +444 +444...

Faced with his accusation, Zu An dropped his smile. "Yes, I am playing you. What are you going to do about it?"

Hearing these words, Sun Ji nearly fainted on the spot from anger. Had they somehow gotten their scripts mixed up? Normally, he was the one who said such things to others; how had it become someone else saying them to him today?

The stout Venerable in the center of the hall couldn't help but take another look at Zu An, wondering where this formidable person came from, as he seemed even more unruly and overbearing than Sun Ji.

The beautiful hostess's eyes twinkled as she looked at Zu An; she became even more interested in such an arrogant and domineering man. Unlike Sun Ji, who relied on family influence, Zu An demonstrated the ability to make Sun Ji lose face using only his own skills.

At this moment, the stout Venerable stepped forward and cleared his throat. "Everyone, please maintain order in the hall!" His voice, amplified by qi fluctuations, made everyone in the hall feel a buzzing in their ears. They were astonished; a ninth-rank cultivation was truly terrifying.

Seeing everyone's reaction, he nodded with satisfaction. Naturally, he didn't want the farce to repeat and disrupt the auction, so he motioned for the hostess beside him to continue.

The beautiful hostess regained her composure and continued in her sweet voice, "Seven hundred and fifty thousand taels, going once... Seven hundred and fifty thousand taels, going twice... Seven hundred and fifty thousand taels, going three times! Sold! Congratulations, Young Master Sun!"

Sun Ji's eyelids twitched, but he could only swallow his bitterness. He forced a smile and nodded to everyone. "It's just a small sum; it's worth it to buy a toy to play with."

Seeing him desperately try to save face, everyone secretly chuckled and didn't bother to expose him.

At this moment, Yang Long approached him and said worriedly, "Young Master, money owed to the Carefree Pavilion is not easily dismissed. You have to pay for what you bid on shortly."

Sun Ji's heart was bleeding. "It's fine, I brought enough money this time."

Rage points from Sun Ji +555 +555 +555...

"But spending so much money on this, I'm afraid the Master will be displeased when we return," Yang Long said, also frustrated. Although the money was spent by the other party, he would likely bear the blame for inadequate supervision.

Sun Ji narrowed his eyes and looked in Zu An's direction. "That fellow was just willing to bid six hundred thousand taels for this throwing knife. That proves he has much more than six hundred thousand taels. Later, we can just rob him and get our money back."

Yang Long nodded, realizing it was the only way. Besides, that guy was indeed annoying. Remembering how he had to humiliatingly apologize to him earlier, his heart surged with murderous intent.

Rage points from Yang Long +444 +444 +444...

The auction continued with various weapons, rare treasures, and even demon slaves.

Watching people eagerly bid, Zu An frowned. He was truly uncomfortable with this, but after the defeat of the demon race years ago, it had become a widespread custom for wealthy families in the Great Zhou Dynasty to keep demon slaves, and he alone couldn't change anything.

"If Kong Nanwu were here, she'd probably have murderous intentions," Zu An sighed. He wasn't overly sentimental, as he knew if humans were captured by demons, their fate would only be worse.

During this time, he was responsible for antagonizing Sun Ji. Every time Sun Ji wanted to buy something, Zu An would bid up the price, making Sun Ji itch with hatred but completely helpless. Unfortunately, Sun Ji had just suffered a significant financial loss, so he didn't fancy many items. After Zu An collected rage points a few times, Sun Ji stopped raising his bidding paddle.

In the middle, he also deliberately showed interest in a few items and made several bids. Unfortunately, Sun Ji was already intimidated and dared not interfere. With no other choice, he started bidding up prices for others, seizing the opportunity to harvest a large batch of rage points from the hall.

The others glared angrily at Zu An. Before, they had relished watching him torment Sun Ji so terribly, little did they know it would turn around and fall on them. This guy must be a troublemaker!

On the contrary, Sun Ji was now smiling and even found Zu An somewhat pleasing to the eye. After all, he couldn't be the only one suffering.

Looking at the angry gazes of the crowd, Zu An remained unconcerned. Anyway, he was wearing a mask, they didn't know who he was, and earning rage points was what truly mattered. After this series of actions, he earned over a hundred thousand rage points. Indeed, milking one person was far less efficient than milking a crowd.

Of course, he didn't do this solely to earn rage points; he had another purpose.

As expected, the beautiful hostess then announced the next auctioned item: "King Cangwolf's Teeth."

"These ten are the sharpest canine teeth of adult King Cangwolves," the beautiful hostess introduced rather casually. "They can be used to make arrowheads capable of piercing cultivators' qi shields. Of course, they can also be used in medicine... The starting bid is fifty thousand taels, with increments of no less than one thousand taels."

This item had limited uses. While it had some medicinal value, it wasn't significant. Its main purpose was for making demon-breaking arrows, but archery cultivation was not mainstream in this world, and most of the wealthy and noble guests present would have little use for them.

As expected, after she finished speaking, only a few scattered bids came in.

At this moment, Zu An's languid voice came again. "Fifty-five thousand taels."

In the private room, there was a small booklet. Apart from the final mysterious auction item, all other auctioned items had detailed descriptions, essentially acting as a promotional brochure. At first, Zu An hadn't noticed, but later, he noticed that some of the auctioned items were materials needed for Daji's breakthrough, so he paid close attention. Fearing that Sun Ji or other guests might oppose him and make him pay a higher price, he had deliberately bid up every item he didn't intend to buy, simply to prevent anyone from guessing his true purpose.

The beautiful hostess's eyes immediately lit up. She almost adored this guy. Today, precisely because he had driven up the bids, each item sold for at least twenty to thirty percent higher than the pavilion's expected price, and her commission would increase accordingly. Her beautiful eyes became alluring slits as she thought about going to his room later to properly thank him. Thinking of his young, tall, and straight figure, her body couldn't help but become more sensitive.

However, everyone else in the hall had completely different thoughts. They thought, "This guy is raising prices again." They weren't particularly interested in these wolf fangs to begin with, and they were also worried about falling into his trap, so no one continued bidding. In the end, it was sold for fifty-five thousand taels.

"Huh?" Hearing the final bid, the annoyance and surprise revealed in Zu An's eyes and voice made everyone secretly rejoice. "That's what you get for raising prices. You're trapped this time, aren't you?"

Sun Ji felt even greater delight. He thought it was a pity that Zu An didn't bleed much this time; it wasn't quite satisfying. But then he had a change of thought: the money on that person would soon be his, so the less Zu An spent, the better. Thinking this, he couldn't help but feel a pang of heartache. That damned bastard is spending my money on these useless teeth!

Rage points from Sun Ji +257 +257 +257...

Several more items were auctioned next. Zu An continued to bid up prices as usual, but his bids were visibly much more cautious. Others secretly chuckled, thinking, "This guy probably learned his lesson; once bitten, twice shy."

Soon, it was time for the next auctioned item. The beautiful hostess held a brocade box, displaying it to everyone; the colorful contents were dazzling to the eye.

The beautiful hostess's sweet voice rang out again: "These are Nine-Headed Pheasant feathers, painstakingly collected by Carefree Pavilion from hunters across various regions. There are fifty feathers in total, excellent for making arrow fletchings, allowing arrows to fly faster and steadier. Of course, they can also be used to make beautiful clothes and hats, which also offer some defensive properties... The starting bid is fifty thousand taels, with increments of at least one thousand taels."

This item was clearly more popular than the wolf fangs. These beautiful feathers were enough to please a woman if bought as a gift, and the price quickly rose to seventy thousand taels.

Zu An's voice predictably rang out, "Seventy-five thousand taels."

"That damned bastard is raising the price again!" The same thought arose in everyone's mind.

Immediately, the bustling venue fell silent. No one else bid against him. They now suspected that this guy might be a shill hired by the Carefree Pavilion. The stout Venerable of the Carefree Pavilion, however, felt a headache. Just now, the other party's bids had certainly earned the Carefree Pavilion a good sum, but now, every time he made a bid, others stopped playing along. These small items were fine, but if the grand finale item also fell flat, it would be a huge loss.

The beautiful hostess called out three times, but no one responded. In the end, Zu An successfully bid on this batch of Nine-Headed Pheasant feathers for seventy-five thousand taels.

A smile finally appeared on his lips. He had obtained his target items for much less than he expected, and his mission was successfully completed. How could he not be happy?

At this moment, people in the hall gradually caught on. "Could this guy have only wanted to buy this particular item?" The feeling of being toyed with made them contribute another huge wave of rage points.

Zu An's face was almost twisted with laughter. It seemed coming to Carefree Pavilion this time was indeed the right decision.

At this moment, the beautiful hostess's sweet voice rang out again: "Next, we will present tonight's grand finale item..."