Chapter 134: Bidding
The entire hall fell into a dead silence the moment Jiang Xiaotian called out his bid!
No one was optimistic about this bracelet, not even the organizers. They originally expected it to either fail to sell or go for two or three hundred thousand at most, but Jiang Xiaotian directly bid one million!
Yang Feng's expression at that moment looked as if he had just swallowed feces; his mouth hung open, words at the tip of his tongue, yet he had no idea what to say!
Recalling the very words he had just uttered, Jiang Xiaotian had effectively delivered a resounding slap to his face!
As for Li Xiaoqing, her brows furrowed deeply. Didn't she know what kind of person Jiang Xiaotian was? Could this guy possibly pull out one million?
"Heh, looks like being someone's bodyguard has earned him quite a bit of money." Wanting to salvage a shred of dignity, Yang Feng decided he was going to have this bracelet no matter what.
He figured that one million was already Jiang Xiaotian's absolute limit, and that Jiang Xiaotian had merely gone all out to put on a show.
"One million and five hundred thousand!" Gritting his teeth, Yang Feng placed his bid. Even if this was Jiang Xiaotian's scheme to trick him into buying it at a high price, he simply could not swallow this insult! He had to make Jiang Xiaotian miserable!
"Two million." Jiang Xiaotian remained unhurried. He was annoyed right now, but since Yang Feng insisted on locking horns with him, he was more than happy to play along.
Yang Feng, however, could no longer maintain his composure. Could a pathetic bodyguard like Jiang Xiaotian really make this much money? And was he actually willing to spend every last cent of it on a useless trinket?
Everyone else simply watched quietly, with no one else participating in this bidding war. After all, no one wanted to play the fool, nor did they wish to offend Jiang Xiaotian, a rather prominent figure.
"Hmph! I'd like to see just how much money you actually have! Can you possibly have more than me? Two million five hundred thousand!" Yang Feng was determined to fight him to the bitter end, raising the bid once again.
Yet Jiang Xiaotian matched him stride for stride. Whenever Yang Feng called out a price, Jiang Xiaotian immediately raised it. By the later stages, Yang Feng was covered in cold sweat, and the price had skyrocketed to four million eight hundred thousand!
Who could have imagined that an item nobody had shown any interest in, starting at a mere two hundred thousand, would multiply by so many folds and directly become one of the top three highest transaction prices of the current auction?
Anyone with a discerning eye could tell that Yang Feng was already struggling beyond his limits, while Jiang Xiaotian still wore that utterly indifferent expression—you bid, and I follow.
At this auction, whatever sum of money you brought had to be deposited in advance, and the bids you placed could never exceed the amount you had brought. Once a sale was finalized, the organizers would deduct the funds directly from your account, leaving you no way to run even if you wanted to!
Only after Yang Feng shouted out the four million eight hundred thousand did he suddenly snap to his senses, realizing that he had let his temper get the better of him. This price was already excessively high to dump onto Jiang Xiaotian, and there was no need to keep clashing. What if Jiang Xiaotian had brought more than five million? The one who would end up losing face then would be himself!
With a long sigh of relief, he turned to Li Xiaoqing beside him and said, "Your cousin is quite something. Looks like he must have latched onto some wealthy benefactor, otherwise where would he get so much money? Just watch, in a moment he'll bid at least five million, and then I'll immediately stop."
In his eyes, Jiang Xiaotian could only call out such high prices because he had a rich boss standing behind him.
He remembered that the boss was a beautiful woman, which basically led him to conclude that Jiang Xiaotian had picked this cheap and useless item purely to go back and fool his boss while pocketing a portion of the funds for himself. Little did he expect to be trapped by his own scheme. Refusing to admit defeat, he wanted to see who was truly superior!
Anyone who spent this much money on a bracelet was an absolute idiot.
Yang Feng simply sat back down, poured himself a drink, and waited for Jiang Xiaotian—that absolute moron—to call out his bid.
Yet things did not go as expected. The first call, the second call, and finally the fall of the hammer—not a single person raised the price again.
The host made the thrilling announcement that the bracelet had been successfully auctioned off for four million eight hundred thousand to Yang Feng!
Instantly, thunderous applause erupted, though it carried very little genuine congratulatory intent. Everyone looked at Yang Feng as if he were a complete fool. What kind of wealthy simpleton would buy this antique for four million eight hundred thousand?
This piece of junk was worth at most four or five hundred thousand at the very peak...
Yang Feng remained frozen in place, still unable to process what had happened. As the notification sound of his phone rang, a bank text message popped up confirming that four million eight hundred thousand had indeed been deducted!
"Jiang Xiaotian!" Yang Feng slammed his fist onto the table, his teeth grinding in sheer fury!
He never expected that he would end up being the ultimate moron!
Turning back to catch Jiang Xiaotian's lukewarm smile, Yang Feng felt his vision turn black; he nearly passed out on the spot!
He had only brought five million with him in total! Now he had a mere twenty thousand left, not even enough to touch the starting bid for many of the remaining items!
Furthermore, he couldn't afford to show his distress too clearly, or he would lose every ounce of remaining face!
Therefore, no matter how much rage burned within him, Yang Feng had to shatter those teeth and swallow them right back into his stomach.
"You'll regret this!" Yang Feng cursed under his breath, resigning himself to reality as he waited for the designated staff to deliver the treasure to him.
Later on, he would definitely make use of Ouyang Ziqian to humiliate Jiang Xiaotian thoroughly!
If he didn't avenge this humiliation, he would spell his own name backwards!
If his earlier mood felt like eating feces, then right now, it felt as if he had just vomited that entire plate of feces right back out!
Never before had he felt such profound humiliation! Yet trapped in front of the two girls beside him, he had no choice but to hold it all in.
"Not bad, not bad at all. I might have been outmaneuvered by him, but I reckon he only had around four million anyway. A poor ghost remains a poor ghost. I feel that spending four million to buy this isn't a loss at all, because to me, it makes no difference compared to forty-eight bucks. I bought it simply because I liked it," Yang Feng forced a calm demeanor, though his heart was bleeding internally!
If his father found out he bought this back, he'd be scolded to death! Liking it would be one thing, but the crucial point was that he had zero interest in it whatsoever!
Jiang Xiaotian just wanted to laugh watching that display. A mental retard—if you want it so badly, I'll gladly hand it to you. Having money doesn't make you God.
The subsequent auction items were sold off one after another. Yang Feng only dared to open his mouth and place bids on items with a starting price around ten million just to put on a show; the moment anything exceeded twenty million, his bluff was instantly exposed.
That scabbard was eventually claimed by Jiang Xiaotian for six hundred and fifty thousand. Not many people competed for it, and the person who bid against him the most was the one who had bought the ancient sword earlier, though he ultimately chose to give up.
Without Yang Feng acting as a demon, his acquisition of items naturally went smoothly.
Of course, the truly heavyweight figures were all holding their cards close to their chests, saving themselves for the ultimate grand finale of the house.
Because the auction moved at a rapid pace, it wasn't long before only a single item remained. Without needing to guess, nearly everyone in the room already knew what it was.
Thus, the organizers didn't even bother covering it with a cloth; they proudly and openly carried it out.
"I won't need to make a lengthy introduction for this one. I presume everyone has been waiting for a long time. The Eastern Ryukyu Swordsmanship Manual—I'll skip the superfluous words. The starting bid is two million, let's begin!" The host was intensely excited, anticipating that the Swordsmanship Manual would fetch an astronomical price, earning them a fortune purely on commission fees.
The people who had been brimming with restless anticipation finally erupted at that very moment!
"Three million!"
"Four million five hundred thousand!"
"Four million seven hundred thousand!"
The bidding never stopped, constantly escalating until it reached an unbelievable height!
Because this time, it wasn't just martial artists fighting for it; wealthy tycoons were also desperately throwing their fortunes into the ring. Whoever managed to secure this would secure an opportunity to build a favorable relationship with a genuine powerhouse!
"Nine million!"
Even a second-generation wealthy heir like Yang Feng couldn't help clicking his tongue in disbelief. These people truly didn't treat money as money!
He glanced back at Jiang Xiaotian, assuming the fellow must have been frightened out of his wits by now.
Yet the very next second, Jiang Xiaotian suddenly spoke up: "Fifteen million!"
The sudden leap instantly added six million, leaving everyone stunned for a few seconds. But soon enough, others began to follow suit, and even the Easterners in the audience joined the fray.
As for Li Xiaoqing and Yang Feng, their facial expressions twisted into a mask of extreme shock!
"Impossible!" Yang Feng let out an involuntary cry of disbelief!
Yet reality gave him no room for disbelief, because Jiang Xiaotian's bid had already been officially registered, meaning he possessed the financial capability to back it up.
Amidst this daze, the price escalated once more. Refusing to play games, Jiang Xiaotian spoke again, raising the bid straight to twenty-five million!
Yang Feng felt his legs turn to jelly as he slumped back into his chair.
He had originally thought Jiang Xiaotian only had a limited amount of money and was merely bluffing for show, but it turned out the guy actually had the funds and was simply playing with him for sport!
Furthermore, judging by his momentum, he was fully prepared to push the bids even higher. This was a realm Yang Feng could no longer accept; his mind went completely blank!
Li Xiaoqing stared dazedly at Jiang Xiaotian as well, feeling an almost surreal level of disbelief. Gritting her teeth, she grabbed Yang Feng's arm and pleaded, "Brother Feng! You said earlier that you were saving your money specifically for this grand finale! Now that Jiang Xiaotian is stealing all the spotlight, hurry up and outbid him to crush him!"
With a dry throat, Yang Feng found himself completely unable to utter a word. Bid? How could he possibly bid? It was approaching thirty million now! Even his family's entire pool of liquid capital didn't amount to that much!
Just what background did this Jiang Xiaotian actually have?
Suddenly, a deep, resonant voice echoed through the hall: "Forty million! This is the martial heritage of my Eastern nation, and the Ito family has traveled here in full force precisely to bring it home. Huaxia is a land of etiquette and propriety, and I sincerely hope everyone here will grant us this courtesy!"