"
"Not interested. I've already bid on so many things — I should leave something for everyone else to fight over. Bidding all by myself is no fun!" Nie Li said flatly.
Nie Hai couldn't help but grimace. Soul Nurturing Pills were excellent for nurturing the younger generation of a family. It suddenly dawned on him — these pills were from the Alchemist Association, and Nie Li was so close with
"Nie Li, has Director Yang given you any pills?" Nie Hai asked in a low voice.
"Of course! I got all those pills from Sister Yang herself. The Clan Head wouldn't try to take them from me too, would he? If you do, I'll go straight to Sister Yang!" Nie Li blinked, putting on an earnest expression, a hint of playful mischief flashing through his eyes. Teasing the old Clan Head now and then was quite entertaining, even though he had already decided to contribute a portion of his pills to the family.
"Of course not!" Nie Hai practically felt like crying. If Nie Li said something like that to Director Yang, the Tian Hen Family's partnership with the Alchemist Association would be done for. "What I mean is, since Director Yang gave you those pills, you absolutely must keep them safe. Don't let anyone take them from you!"
"Oh, I misunderstood you, Clan Head. Thank you for your concern!" Nie Hai nodded with a bitter smile and turned away. Kids these days were really hard to deal with — getting even a scrap of advantage out of Nie Li was practically impossible! A pool of bitterness had accumulated in Nie Hai's heart.
The first batch of Soul Nurturing Pills was won by Lei Zhuo at three hundred twenty thousand. Then came the second, third, fourth, and fifth batches. Each time Nie Hai wanted to compete, the price was driven above three hundred thousand Demon Spirit Coins.
Nie Hai was thoroughly depressed. If he bid on a Soul Nurturing Pill, he wouldn't have the money to go after a Soul Condensing Pill. All he could do was watch the other clan heads go at it while silently shedding tears inside.
"These clan heads are way too loaded!" Nie Hai thought resentfully. The Tian Hen Family's foundations were simply too thin, and they had only just begun their partnership with the Alchemist Association. Before that, they had been drowning in debt and had only recently paid it all off. How could they compare to families like Silver Tiger and Iron Gate? Those families still had considerable reserves!
Watching how fiercely everyone was competing, Nie Li secretly clicked his tongue. The pill business really was profitable! After all, of the auction proceeds — minus the commission — thirty percent went to him! Nie Li was perfectly happy to watch it all play out without getting involved. Sure, he could have driven the prices up a bit, but that amount of money was trivial for someone earning hundreds of millions, even billions, of Demon Spirit Coins a day.
Watching one Soul Nurturing Pill after another land in other people's hands, with absolutely none for himself, the frustration Nie Hai felt can be imagined.
After all five Soul Nurturing Pills were sold, the frenzy had calmed somewhat, but the price never dropped below three hundred thousand for any batch.
"Clan Head Nie Hai, I noticed your bidding wasn't very enthusiastic. Not interested in Soul Nurturing Pills?"
"I..." Nie Hai wanted to say that he simply didn't have the money, but would Chi Feng and the others even believe him?
The one who had been splashing money left and right earlier was Nie Li, not him!
"I... well... fine!" Nie Hai agreed somewhat reluctantly. Even if he denied it, Chi Feng and Li Yuan probably wouldn't believe him. He could only look helplessly toward Nie Li.
Seeing the frustrated look in Nie Hai's eyes, Nie Li blinked and put on an innocent expression. He still wanted to mess with the old geezer — after all, the old man had always worn that sour face in his past life!