Chapter 490 — A Sky-High Auction

And one look at Lai the Fatso's old man was enough to tell you just how good this stuff really was!

What he had not expected was that Lai the Fatso would open by driving the price straight up to a hundred million! Did the man not know how to shop? Even the rich did not burn money like that! The Liu family had money too, but they could not go tossing it out a hundred million at a time!

Still, angry as he was, Liu Tianyi knew the true worth of these Longevity Detox Pills—a hundred million was even on the low side! So without a moment's hesitation he raised his bidding paddle: "One hundred and ten million!"

"Huh?" The hall erupted louder still! If Lai the Fatso had gone mad, fine—but Liu Tianyi was the Liu family's first-in-line heir. How could he be joining Lai the Fatso in this nonsense? If even he had bid one hundred and ten million, could these Longevity Detox Pills really be something special?

The auctioneer drew a sharp breath too! Good heavens above! This way of bidding came along once in a thousand years!

Yu Haitian's frown deepened. If Lai the Fatso was merely driving the price up, then what was Liu Tianyi doing joining in? In Yu Haitian's eyes, these Longevity Detox Pills might just genuinely be something fine. Had he misjudged them when he made his estimate?

"One hundred and fifty million!" Lai the Fatso raised his paddle again.

Liu Tianyi's lungs nearly burst with rage. What was Lai the Fatso playing at? Competing with him, was he? Did the man think that having money meant he alone had it? Liu Tianyi raised his paddle once more and named a price that left the whole hall gasping: "Two hundred million!"

At first the others had taken a wait-and-see stance, wanting to watch whether anyone else would make a move before deciding whether to act themselves. After all, many in the hall knew Liu Tianyi, and anything Liu Tianyi set his sights on could hardly be worthless.

But now they truly could not act. For one thing, the price had been driven to two hundred million—simply too high; for another, they genuinely did not wish to make an enemy of Liu Tianyi. From the way he kept raising the bid it was plain he was determined to have this Longevity Detox Pill, or he never would have bid like that.

So even those whose interest had been stirred found it awkward to bid now. Fortunately there were three pills in all, two still to come! They began rubbing their fists in readiness, because Liu Tianyi's fervent pursuit of the Longevity Detox Pills had reminded them of something!

It was no secret that Liu Tianyi's father had recently gone to Guan Xuewen for treatment. Many present knew of it, and now, connecting it with the "Dr. Guan Pharmaceuticals" the auctioneer had mentioned, they thought at once of Guan Xuewen!

Could it be that Liu Tianyi's father had recovered only after taking these Longevity Detox Pills? And those who also knew Lai the Fatso suddenly understood all the more clearly!

Lai the Fatso's father had come down with uremia and was on the verge of meeting the King of Hell, yet all at once he had been discharged from the hospital—face glowing, appetite hearty, healthier than old men half his age. Even if the uremia was not fully cured, he was close enough, with nothing serious left to worry about!

This miraculous turn made everything clear to those present! So Lai the Fatso and Liu Tianyi were no fools after all—they both knew just how good these Longevity Detox Pills were. Otherwise, why would they dare bid so boldly?

"Two hundred and fifty million!" Lai the Fatso's eyes had gone red. A rare treasure like this—even Wei Zhao had said it was very scarce, so it must be precious indeed! Lai the Fatso was too embarrassed to ask Wei Zhao for one, so he could only bid for it himself!

"Two hundred and eighty million!" Liu Tianyi gritted his teeth and named his absolute limit.

The hall erupted once more! If Liu Tianyi had not known beforehand what these Longevity Detox Pills could do, he would never have offered such a price! There was only one answer: everything the auctioneer had said in his introduction was true, and these pills really could lengthen life and purge toxins!

Lai the Fatso was about to bid again when Bangyi caught his arm and shook his head. "Let it go. It's getting a bit expensive."

"Ah—all right then!" Reluctant as he was, Lai the Fatso did not dare disobey Wei Zhao. Wei Zhao was his leader; losing the Longevity Detox Pills would hurt, but offending Wei Zhao would be worse than death!

"Your old man's been drinking the medicine I made up for him. He doesn't need to take these anymore," Wei Zhao said mildly to Lai the Fatso. "No need to fight over it."

"Ah! Then thank you, leader!" Lai the Fatso was overjoyed. He had only meant to keep one on hand for his father in an emergency, and if Wei Zhao said it could be cured, then cured it would be. But Lai the Fatso wanted a pill for himself too—this was an elixir of immortals, after all! So he said, "Leader, I'd like one for myself as well."

"Oh, I'll give you one when we get back," Wei Zhao said offhandedly.

"Huh?" At Wei Zhao's words Lai the Fatso burst into tears. Anyone who did not know better would have thought he was weeping over having no money left and losing his chance to win the Longevity Detox Pills!

"Two hundred and eighty million, first call—two hundred and eighty million, second call—two hundred and eighty million, third call! Sold!" The auctioneer was beside himself with excitement. This price could well be the highest of the entire auction! Even the lots of the third day's session might not fetch so much! These Longevity Detox Pills clearly deserved a place in the third session—but since they had already been placed in the first, there was no changing it now, and the auction could only go on.

Liu Tianyi saw that Lai the Fatso had stopped bidding and was now sobbing instead, and his heart leapt with delight! Lai the Fatso must surely be strapped for cash, his funds tied up and unavailable. He had heard that the head of the Lai family was quarreling with him over the division of the estate. It looked as though all the Lai family's money had been siphoned off by Lai Changtian!

"Next, we auction the second Longevity Detox Pill, reserve price one hundred million yuan!" the auctioneer said slowly. "Each bid must raise the price by at least ten million!"

An auctioneer was free to set his own increments according to market conditions and the response of the room. After the lesson of the previous round, there was no way he would auction this one at a reserve of a mere one million, for that would be inviting ridicule.

Though the price staggered every guest present, they also understood that the thing was indeed worth such a sum, and so none of them raised any objection.

"Dad, what is that thing? How can it fetch such a high price?" Feng Xiaoxiao asked her father, looking somewhat puzzled.

She and Feng Tianlong had been delayed at the hospital, and so had entered only after the auction had already begun. Once inside, they happened to catch the auction of the first Longevity Detox Pill, which had just fetched the astronomical sum of two hundred eighty million yuan. (To be continued. To learn what happens next, please visit Qidian. More chapters await. Support the author, support legitimate reading!)