Chapter 307: A Petty Clown

"Senior Brother!" Fire Phoenix lightly tugged at Kunlin Shu's sleeve, signaling him not to act recklessly.

"Ah!" Niu Youdao stopped and turned toward him. "That would be me. May I ask who you are?"

Kunlin Shu said proudly, "Tianhuo Sect. Kunlin Shu!"

"Oh!" Niu Youdao immediately cupped his hands and smiled. "I've long heard of you. May I ask what guidance you have for me?"

In truth, he had never heard the name at all. Who the hell knew who this man was? This was their first meeting, and the first time Niu Youdao had ever heard of him.

But circumstances were stronger than men. If he did not want to court death, then he had to rein himself in and remain polite. Stiffening his neck and radiating some domineering aura would merely mean he was tired of living. Niu Youdao was not a man who gambled on luck.

Kunlin Shu said, "I've long heard of you as well."

Niu Youdao was about to exchange a few more courtesies, but Kunlin Shu had already turned his head slightly. "We can talk later. Handle your business first."

"Good!" Niu Youdao nodded with a smile, then turned to Third Madam Pei. "Elder Sister Pei, may I ask which esteemed expert is presiding over today's affair?"

Third Madam Pei pointed toward the leading man from Daqiu Sect. "My Eldest Senior Brother, Qin Yong!"

Niu Youdao immediately stepped forward and asked with great humility, "Senior Qin, please instruct me on how we should proceed."

Kunlin Shu watched him from the corner of his eye, his face full of disdain for that humble attitude.

Qin Yong said calmly, "This is your affair. Auction them however you like. We won't interfere. But please move quickly. We don't have time to waste here with you."

Niu Youdao froze briefly, then repeatedly agreed. He turned and exchanged a glance with Linghu Qiu before walking to the steps outside the pavilion. In full view of everyone, he drew the roll of exit permits from his sleeve, walked straight toward the unidentified crowd gathered to watch, and began handing the permits out one by one.

Inside the pavilion, the people from the three sects looked at one another, unable to understand what he was doing. Those who received the documents were equally baffled.

Once he had distributed them all, Niu Youdao returned to the steps and cupped his hands toward the crowd.

"The esteemed experts of Daqiu Sect told me to move quickly, so I won't waste everyone's time. First, many thanks to all of you for coming to support the occasion. Second, the documents have already been passed around. Please verify for yourselves whether they're genuine."

A slight commotion arose. Those holding the permits turned them over and examined them while others leaned close and whispered among themselves.

In truth, very few people had ever seen warhorse exit permits before, so quite a few could not tell whether they were genuine. Still, they presumably could not be fake. All three sects had appeared here personally. It was hard to imagine anyone publicly using fraudulent documents to deceive people under their eyes. Niu Youdao stood on the steps and waited.

He was not worried that someone might seize a permit and flee. If anyone really dared do that, he would have been delighted. Then the matter would have nothing more to do with him. Unfortunately, the result disappointed him.

No one had the courage to snatch the permits in front of the three sects. One after another, they were eventually returned. Holding all ten documents, Niu Youdao walked back down the steps and divided them openly into three lots. Two lots contained three permits each. The third contained four. He found three stones and used one to hold down each stack. Then he returned to the steps and pointed below.

"Three, three, and four! Let's keep this short. The auction begins now. We'll start with the first lot on the left, three permits."

"The opening price is one million gold coins. Highest bidder pays, takes the documents, and leaves. Fair dealing for old and young alike!"

"First lot: opening bid, one million gold coins. Each bid increases by fifty thousand. Anyone willing to bid?"

He waited for quite a while. No one spoke. No one stepped forward.

Niu Youdao called again, "If you don't want to speak, raising a hand will do!"

Still no one raised a hand. Niu Youdao looked carefully and noticed that quite a few people across from him kept glancing behind his back. He turned as well. The people from the three sects were all standing in the pavilion behind him, expressionless. They did look rather intimidating. Niu Youdao more or less understood.

The three sects had escorted him here and were now planted behind him. Anyone intending to bid was probably feeling some pressure.

"Price drop!" Niu Youdao suddenly shouted.

Pointing at the first lot on the ground, he called, "Opening bid, ten thousand gold coins! Each bid increases by ten thousand! Anyone want it? Raise your hand!"

The disciples of the three sects behind him were rendered speechless. Third Madam Pei nearly rolled her eyes. Linghu Qiu's expression twitched.

That price had been slashed far too viciously. He had gone directly from one million to ten thousand. To get the permits out of his hands, this fellow truly would stop at nothing. Exit permits for thirty thousand warhorses, sold for only ten thousand gold coins. That was practically giving them away. It would be a lie to say no one was tempted. Quite a few people began whispering and exchanging looks. Someone tilted his head toward another man and gave him a meaningful glance.

The other man nodded slightly, braced himself, and raised a hand. Niu Youdao was overjoyed. He did not even ask whether anyone wanted to raise the bid, afraid the bidder might regret it.

He immediately pointed and shouted, "Good! Sold! The first lot is yours!"

Every gaze followed his finger. The man he had pointed at slowly looked left, then right. Even he had not expected the lot to be sold the instant he raised his hand. The speed startled him. With so many people staring, the pressure was enormous. Niu Youdao hurried down the steps, picked up the first lot, and walked directly toward him. He pushed through the crowd, reached the man's side, personally stuffed the permits into his hands, then beckoned.

"Pay up. Ten thousand gold coins!"

"..."

The man stood frozen, utterly speechless. Niu Youdao's face darkened.

"Friend, you can't regret it after winning the bid. Are you here to wreck my auction?"

He was plainly borrowing the tiger's might, using the three sects behind him to frighten the man. Linghu Qiu raised a hand and rubbed his face. He could barely endure watching this sworn brother of his. Why did it feel like this bargain-priced younger brother was forcing people to buy and sell?

The man looked helplessly toward the pavilion, where the people inside appeared to be staring at him like tigers. At last he reached into his robe and pulled out a gold draft. Niu Youdao did not waste time with him.

He snatched it from his hand, flipped it over several times to inspect it, confirmed there was no problem, and immediately announced in a loud voice, "Payment made, goods delivered!"

Then he turned and practically trotted back to the steps.

Pointing at the second lot, he shouted, "Opening price is still ten thousand gold coins! Anyone want it?"

Among the crowd, the man who had won the first lot quickly slipped away. Several dozen others left with him, plainly guarding him.

When they reached the cliff, they leapt into the air one after another, plunged into the lake, and vanished beneath the water. No one knew which direction they went. From the look of it, the group plainly belonged together.

They evidently felt that permits for thirty thousand warhorses were enough. Afraid of bringing disaster upon themselves, they decided to leave first. Everyone watched them go.

After some time passed without any disturbance on the lake, it became clear that the documents had truly been carried away. The atmosphere among those still participating in the auction immediately changed. It grew noticeably livelier. People could be seen exchanging signals with one another far more frequently. Before long, someone abruptly raised a hand.

Niu Youdao happily pointed. "Good, you—"

He had not finished when Qin Yong suddenly interrupted from inside the pavilion.

"Niu Youdao, since this is an auction, you should at least give everyone else a chance to bid."

They had already agreed beforehand that the three sects would not interfere and that Niu Youdao could auction the permits however he liked. But faced with what was happening now, Qin Yong could no longer remain silent. Niu Youdao was obviously desperate to get rid of the documents as fast as possible. Daqiu Sect, however, was in a different position.

It had already been agreed that Niu Youdao would not take a single coin from the auction proceeds. The money would be divided among the three sects.

If Niu Youdao continued like this, never mind dividing the proceeds among three sects—the total would be embarrassingly low even as compensation for the trouble of making this trip. The auction had another purpose, yes. But that did not mean Niu Youdao could play it this way. Qin Yong truly could not bear watching anymore. Rubbing his forehead, he had no choice but to intervene.

Inside the pavilion, Kunlin Shu gave a disdainful snort and muttered lightly, "A petty clown."

Niu Youdao turned and glanced at Qin Yong. Then, facing the crowd again, he changed his tune without the slightest hesitation.

"Anyone want to raise the bid? Each increase is ten thousand gold coins!"

The moment he said it, another hand immediately rose.

Niu Youdao quickly shouted, "Twenty thousand! Any higher?"

"Thirty thousand!"

"Good! Someone offers forty thousand!"

The price climbed steadily. Niu Youdao began to regret choosing increments of only ten thousand. His throat was going dry from all the shouting. Fortunately, once the price reached two million gold coins, no one else raised a hand. It was not that the lot was unworthy of the price. Everyone simply had concerns.

First, even after spending such an enormous sum, whether the winner could safely carry the permits away was a serious question. Second, exposing too much wealth in front of so many eyes was itself another risk. Niu Youdao did not care about any of that. He immediately declared the sale complete, then turned and waved toward Linghu Qiu.

"Second Brother, help collect the money!"

The moment those words came out, quite a few people looked directly at Linghu Qiu. Niu Youdao had deliberately exposed their relationship in front of everyone. He also deliberately wanted to drag Linghu Qiu into the water.

There was no way he would miss such a perfect opportunity to make his sworn brother show his face. The corner of Linghu Qiu's mouth twitched. He could not refuse, nor could he deny their relationship.

So he could only walk out of the pavilion wearing a smile that was not quite a smile and help collect the payment, counting the bidder's money in full view of everyone. Once Linghu Qiu returned with the payment and nodded to confirm it, Niu Youdao immediately shouted again.

"Final lot! Exit permits for forty thousand warhorses! Opening bid, two million gold coins! Each increase, one hundred thousand!"

Another group rapidly broke away from the auction crowd. Clearly, they too belonged together. Everyone watched as they leapt from the cliff and vanished into the lake. The moment attention returned to the auction, someone raised a hand.

"Good! Two million! Any higher...?"

The price climbed again. Perhaps because it was the final lot, this time bidding did not stop until it reached four million gold coins. Niu Youdao had nothing more to say. He immediately completed the exchange of money and documents. The winner paid, took the permits, and departed on the spot. Once again, a group of people leapt from the cliff and disappeared into the lake. When Linghu Qiu returned with the money, Niu Youdao immediately faced the crowd and cupped his hands.

"Many thanks to everyone for supporting the occasion. The auction ends here. Stay or leave as you please!"

Some people departed. Others dispersed around the island. A portion remained behind, watching the reactions of those in the pavilion for reasons no one could determine. Niu Youdao ignored them.

He took the stack of gold drafts and returned to the pavilion, offering them to Qin Yong with both hands.

"Senior Qin, please count them."

Qin Yong tilted his head slightly. Third Madam Pei immediately stepped forward, accepted the stack of gold drafts, and began counting.

"You really managed to sell exit permits for thirty thousand warhorses for ten thousand gold coins." Qin Yong snorted coldly at Niu Youdao.

Niu Youdao had his explanation ready. He cupped his hands with a bitter smile.

"Senior, you saw what happened. If I hadn't sold one lot cheaply and let everyone see that the documents could actually be carried away, no one would've dared bid at all!"

Qin Yong could not be bothered arguing with him.

"There's nothing more for you here. You can get lost!"

"Good. This junior takes his leave!" Niu Youdao immediately cupped his hands and bowed in farewell.

He could not have been happier to leave early. He had no desire whatsoever to participate in what came next.

Once the three sects found where those buyers had gone, he trusted they would have their own ways of letting the others know which direction to pursue if they wanted to kill and seize the permits.

[End of Chapter 307]