Chapter 55: Alchemical Pills of the Three Kingdoms Era

As the auctioneer's voice trailed off, a murmur of chatter rippled through the auction hall.

"Could it be some ancient snack?"

"This is a porcelain bottle from the Three Kingdoms period. If there were snacks inside, they would have rotted away ages ago."

"Well, if it were gold or silver, it wouldn't spoil."

The auctioneer continued, "Now, let me reveal the answer. What's actually inside is... a medicinal pill!"

The auctioneer's announcement immediately sparked the guests' interest, and the hall buzzed with commotion.

"You've got to be kidding me? There's a medicinal pill inside?"

"What kind of pill? An immortal elixir?"

"I've attended so many auctions, but this is the first time I've encountered such a fascinating lot."

"A pill from the Three Kingdoms period? By now, it must have turned into a pile of powder, right?"

"Exactly, it's just a gimmick by the auction house. It doesn't hold much real value."

Yu Shishi's interest was also piqued.

"Jiang Jin, what kind of pill do you think is in there?"

Jiang Jin shrugged helplessly and smiled. "I don't have X-ray vision, you know."

Yu Shishi pouted and let out a light huff. "Hmph! If you had X-ray vision, I wouldn't have any privacy left in front of you, would I?"

Yet, inward, Jiang Jin was muttering to himself: *I've already seen right through you, young lady wearing Pikachu-patterned panties!*

The glamorous secretary liked Hello Kitty, and Yu Shishi was no exception, favoring Pikachu.

It seemed beautiful women really did share some common traits after all.

At that moment, Aso chimed in, "No matter what kind of pill is inside, after all this time, its medicinal potency must have long since dissipated."

Although Jiang Jin disliked this Japanese man, he couldn't help but entirely agree with his words.

The Three Kingdoms period was over 1,700 years ago. Even with modern technology, it would be impossible to preserve a medicinal pill for so long without its efficacy being ruined.

Aso continued, "However, that small porcelain bottle looks quite nice. I might buy it back just for the collection."

Beside him, Kato Teru nodded secretly.

The young master was definitely going to bid for it later, so speaking this way would prevent Jiang Jin from getting suspicious.

Jiang Jin's eyebrows twitched, and his expression suddenly turned strange.

Aso Kenji certainly spoke with a high degree of sophistication, but I learned the idiom "buying the wooden box and returning the pearls" back when I was a child.

Perhaps Aso Kenji's true target was the pill inside all along?

Then again, regardless of what Aso Kenji's goal was, as long as I stepped in to complete my task, I had to snatch it right out from under his nose!

At that moment, the auctioneer pressed his hands down. Waiting for the hall to quieten, he said, "More importantly, after testing with professional instruments, we found that this pill is relatively well-preserved."

"As for its medicinal effects or whether its potency has degraded, we haven't extracted it for testing, so there is no definitive conclusion."

Instantly, the guests' interest in the porcelain bottle plummeted.

"They don't even know what the medicinal effect is, yet they're putting it up for auction."

"What the heck? Isn't this just an ancient version of a mystery box?"

"Just a gimmick as expected, boring."

Although Three Kingdoms porcelain was relatively rare in existence, the appearance of this particular bottle was rather mediocre. It was likely a utensil used by an ordinary household in ancient times, so its collectible value wasn't particularly high.

"Alright, the basic introduction of this porcelain bottle is complete. Now, allow me to announce its starting price..."

"Starting at one million, with a minimum increment of one hundred thousand per bid. The bidding begins!"

When the auctioneer finished, the guests maintained calm expressions, completely unmoved.

One million to buy a small porcelain bottle from the Three Kingdoms? It wasn't that it was worthless, it just lacked any real appeal.

Even if someone was interested in the bottle, they wouldn't rush to bid.

Bidding required strategy. After a chilly silence lasting more than ten seconds, a guest finally couldn't help but raise their bidding paddle.

"Bidder number 98 offers one million!"

The auctioneer let out a sigh of relief. During those preceding ten-odd seconds, he had genuinely feared the bottle would fail to sell.

Soon, another guest raised a paddle.

"One million one hundred thousand."

"One million one hundred thousand! Bidder number 76 offers one million one hundred thousand! Are there any higher bids?" the auctioneer cried out, waving his gavel.

A few seconds later, number 98 bid again. When the price reached 1.5 million, number 76 dropped out of the running.

"1.5 million going once, 1.5 million going twice, 1.5 million thre—"

Before the word "three" could escape his lips, Aso Kenji raised his paddle.

"Two million."

A gasp echoed through the room!

Fifty thousand was small change to everyone present, but increasing the bid by 500,000 all at once made little sense. After all, the bottle itself shouldn't have been worth two million.

Bidder number 98 frowned slightly, but after a moment, gave a light, carefree smile and gave up on following further.

"Bidder number 5 offers two million. Are there any higher bids?"

This price had already exceeded the auctioneer's psychological expectations, but a qualified auctioneer was supposed to drive the price of an item as high as possible.

Silence filled the room.

Waiting a few more seconds, the auctioneer finally called out, "Two million going once, two million going twice, two million thre—"

On the surface, Aso Kenji looked calm, but inside, he was already over the moon.

Securing the Body-Decay Pill for just two million gave him a triumphant sense of having played the people of the Dragon Country right in the palm of his hand.

Kato Teru's expression remained equally undisturbed, though his hands, hidden inside his sleeves, were already clenched tightly.

Yu Shishi let out a bored yawn, then picked up the teacup on the table and took a sip.

Right at that instant, Jiang Jin raised his paddle.

"Twelve million."

The tea Yu Shishi had just taken into her mouth sprayed out entirely.

Aso Kenji's body jerked, and he turned his head to stare at Jiang Jin with a bewildered expression.

Kato was so shocked he nearly jumped to his feet!

On the stage, the auctioneer's hand shook so violently he almost dropped his gavel!

Gasping breaths sounded simultaneously across the venue!

"Holy crap, did I hear that right? Twelve million?!"

"Increasing the bid by ten million in a single jump, is this guy out of his mind?"

"Could there actually be something special about the pill inside this bottle?"

"A pill with a history of over 1,700 years? Even if it was special when it was forged, it would have long been erased by time!"

"Is this guy a shill hired by the auction house?"

The guests present were all elites of Baoshui City, and most of them could easily cough up ten million.

The problem was that the bidding had just been at two million! No matter how wealthy someone was, that wasn't how you raised the price!

A dangerous glint flashed in Aso's eyes as he asked, "Mr. Jiang, what is the meaning of this?"

Just as he was about to get his hands on the Body-Decay Pill for two million, Jiang Jin had ambushed him midway and aggressively driven the price up to twelve million.

Could Jiang Jin know that he was determined to win the Body-Decay Pill?

Jiang Jin's lips curled upward into a faint smile, and he replied dismissively and casually, "Money is just a number to me."

That line certainly carried an air of pretense, but it was still slightly better than saying, "I have too much money and nowhere to spend it," right?

Beside him, Yu Shishi couldn't help frowning, saying with a hint of sarcasm, "You're the one who has no concept of numbers, aren't you?"

She was quite wealthy herself, yet she had never thrown money around as recklessly as Jiang Jin!

The ten million she lost to him last time didn't count.

Jiang Jin sighed helplessly. "Actually, I suffer from the pressure of having too much money to spend."

Yu Shishi sneered, "I'll believe that when pigs fly!"

Just then, the auctioneer snapped back to reality and shouted excitedly,

"Bidder number 6 offers twelve million! Are there any higher bids?"

After waiting less than three seconds, he eagerly raised his gavel.

"Twelve million going once, twelve million going twice, twelve million thre—"

"What a coincidence. Money is just a number to me as well. When it comes to spending money, you're truly no match for me."

As the words fell, Aso Kenji raised his paddle and shouted,

"Twenty million."