"Four thousand." But soon, a new bid came from the booth next to Chu Feng's.
"Five thousand." Chu Feng didn't dither either, bidding directly.
"Six thousand." The other party bid again.
"Seven thousand." Chu Feng raised the bid once more, but at the same time… he also said to Her Majesty:
"This item is of some use to me, but not a great deal."
"Five thousand already exceeds its intrinsic value."
"Seven thousand is the absolute limit I'm willing to pay."
"Beyond that price, I won't play the fool and overpay."
"That's right — we won't be fools or get into a bidding war over pride," Her Majesty agreed.
"Ten thousand." And soon, the neighboring booth threw out another bid.
In one leap, the price jumped by three thousand, straight to ten thousand.
This… was ten thousand Venerable-grade weapons!!!
"Heh…" Chu Feng smiled faintly and stopped bidding.
Seven thousand, he could accept. Ten thousand, he would not.
It wasn't a question of money — it was a question of worth.
He had already inspected that bead. It would indeed be of some help, but for his current state, the benefit was minimal — certainly not enough to advance his cultivation.
Ten thousand ingots of the Commerce Guild's currency, and Chu Feng naturally wasn't going to spend that.
Moreover, Chu Feng could tell that this person was dead set on obtaining the item. If Chu Feng kept competing, the other party would keep raising the bids.
Since the other fellow was willing to play the fool, Chu Feng was happy to let him.
And so the item ultimately fell to the booth next to his.
After that piece was sold off, the final item made its appearance.
It was a lotus radiating an aura of blood-red energy.
This… had to be the Crimson Blood Lotus.
Truthfully, whether in terms of its aura or its appearance, it didn't look particularly remarkable.
"This thing is the grand finale?"
Many people expressed doubt over the Crimson Blood Lotus.
"This item is called the Crimson Blood Lotus. It has a rather notable effect on repairing the soul."
"Starting bid: one thousand ingots of the Commerce Guild's currency," the elder on stage announced.
"What? It's just some rare herb that heals the soul, and it's more expensive than that Nine-Colored Heavenly Thunder Pearl?"
Many were baffled by the starting price, let alone willing to place a bid.
"The grand finale item, and this is the entire introduction?"
Her Majesty was somewhat taken aback, and Chu Feng also sensed something was off.
The brevity wasn't just in the sparse words used — even the described effects of the Crimson Blood Lotus sounded completely mundane.
This was clearly not fitting for a grand finale item.
Under these circumstances, nobody placed a bid at all. Instead, it only drew waves of complaints from the crowd.
Seeing that no one was bidding, Chu Feng finally spoke up.
"One thousand and ten ingots of the Commerce Guild's currency." Chu Feng bid only ten ingots above the minimum, not wanting to appear too eager for the item.
"Seriously? Someone's actually going to spend that much money on something like this?"
"This guy's way too easy to swindle!"
"Does anyone actually believe that just because it's the finale, it must be worth its price?"
"Even if this thing really is rare, it's just a soul-healing item. There are way too many alternative treasures."
"Some young master from which sect is this? Truly a fool with more money than sense."
But after Chu Feng placed his bid, not only did no one counter, it sparked a wave of discussion — everyone thought Chu Feng had been played for a fool.
"This distinguished guest bids one thousand and ten ingots — does anyone wish to raise the bid?" the elder on stage asked.
But the words had barely left his mouth before he added:
"Crimson Blood Lotus — one thousand and ten ingots of the Commerce Guild's currency. Sold."
He locked in the item for Chu Feng on the spot.
"See? It really was a scam. The moment someone bid, they confirmed it right away. They finally managed to swindle some poor fool and were terrified he'd change his mind."
Seeing this, everyone was convinced Chu Feng had been duped.
But Her Majesty said: "To arrange things like this — it seems that old man Ma must have given instructions. In that case, you really do owe that old man Ma a favor."
Her Majesty had figured it out — this was the Steward Ma's arrangement.
"Steward Ma did indeed do me a great kindness." Chu Feng agreed.