The time of the auction was soon upon him, and Sage was glad of it. The alchemical prosthetics were a pain to apply over and over again every day. It didn’t dissolve or anything dangerous like that, but over time it grew lumpier and more uncomfortable to wear. If he didn’t remove it and make a new set every day it would start to get itchy and also look like he’d grown a bunch of warts.

Once this auction is over, I can finally ditch this annoying disguise.

The boy, Dou Deng, and his grandfather, Dou Cheng, acted as his servants during this time and they went with him to the auction. It would be better if he also had a few bodyguards, but he was worried that if he brought out any Hoplites the higher-ups of the Chong Clan would sense something. He still needed to strengthen his foothold in 10,000 Wave Province before interacting with the Chong Clan. Those who sold goods at the auction were anonymous, so he shouldn’t run into any issues just spectating at the auction.

After arriving at Thousand Treasures, Dou Deng acted as a coachman to open the door for him. Then the boy and his grandpa rode away on the coach. Dou Deng would return to wait until the auction was done, since his responsibility later was to fetch the coach again. In this world, labor was cheap. Having a valet to fetch a coach was far cheaper than wasting a message talisman. At least, it would be for just a merchant like Sage was pretending to be. The truly powerful wouldn’t care about a simple talisman, they would have dozens of disciples eagerly making hundreds or thousands of them every day. Sage wasn’t even important enough to have bodyguards with him, or at least that was how low key he had made this identity.

He walked into the large doors, and then between two long rows of armored guards that were standing at attention like living statues. After passing the guards, there was a line of ushers waiting to greet the customers. They checked invitations and then showed the guests to their seats. This auction didn’t care much about anonymity like the other one that Sage had attended. Sage leaned close and whispered to the usher, “Why isn’t anybody wearing masks or carrying numbers?”

The usher smiled, “We at Thousand Treasures are no amateurs. We guarantee the safety of our auction participants. Anyone who dares to assault one of our customers in the pursuit of their purchased items, will be black-listed from our stores and also listed as criminals in the Dou Kingdom. If they dare to murder another customer, then a price will be put on their head with the Black Dog Company.”

“I’m very impressed, but how is it you can know if any customers are assaulted or murdered? That seems very difficult. You must mean in town or somewhere similar, right?”

The usher shook his head and then bowed to him, “Thank you for your praise, but there is no limitation like that. Instead, all the winning items are placed in special containers and if anyone other than the winning bidder touches them, or if the winning bidder is killed within a month of the sale, we will know.”

Sage started to think of ways around what he was told, but even so he nodded to the usher, “Very ingenious. The Thousand Treasures sure is great.”

He buttered up the usher a bit more even as the usher flattered him as a customer. Sage was led to a seat in a large auditorium and his invitation was exchanged for a bidding paddle. Others continually flowed into the auction area and a few seated next to him even started up some polite conversation. Sage kept up his act as a humble merchant, though those near him were surprised to hear that he wasn’t trading goods, but recruiting for the Jade Horde. A man in the row behind him even asked if they were looking for others to perform the same job. Sage was surprised and then nodded, “I think so. Head over to Lionheart Town to meet them.”

Sage had previously been relying on word of mouth and the exploits of the Jade Horde to recruit. He’d only just made up this fake identity before coming to Golden Cricket Cove on a whim. He hadn’t realized that it might actually be effective. Thinking about it, he’d actually managed to recruit a high level cultivator. It made sense, as many mercenaries would be too prideful to ask to join another mercenary group that was their competitor. On the other hand, if a businessman flattered them with praise and offered great rewards, they would be much more likely to accept the deal.

Seems I need to start hiring businessmen for the job. Hmm, Falcons and Falconers can even use it as a cover or at least make them into Little Birds.

They chatted more until the Qi Lanterns in the theater were turned down. At that point everyone settled down and waited patiently. The curtains on the stage slowly drew open and revealed a pair of very powerful cultivators sitting on the corners of the stage. The two of them looked over the crowd and released their auras. The powerful pressure let everyone know that they weren’t to be trifled with. Sage made a guess that they were level 60s. What they called the peak of the fifth rank. With just one more breakthrough they would become leaders in the cultivation world.

After that, just like the other auction, a beautiful woman walked onto the stage. She almost floated over the ground, her steps graceful and lively. It was the usual tactic, using a beautiful woman to try and coax a little more money out of the bidders. Getting them to compete for her affection, or at least to try and make themselves look powerful in front of her. Sage tried not to roll his eyes at the sound of gulping or gasps around him. Eventually, the auction started up and he was pleased with the quality of goods being sold. Some of the goods he’d entered into the auction were some of the least valuable items up for sale. The Yellow Furred Gremlin was pretty unimpressive, as were many of the monster organs and other specimen preserved in the jars. Most of the monster parts had become a half dozen large lots, sold altogether to bundle up semi-valuable bits with unimportant ones.

Sage couldn’t complain, since that was probably the best way to auction the common goods. The items weren’t common or cheap, but they had very niche uses. So, they grouped up items that would be commonly used together for certain recipes, or in large enough lots that it became a great deal. If somebody wanted one or two of the objects, they’d have to buy the whole lot. The more people they could get interested in a lot, the higher the bids would go. Sage didn’t really care either way. If the auction goods weren’t bid on, he would just sell them directly to Thousand Treasures afterwards. Even with the extra fees for a failed auction and the lower returns of direct sale, it was only slightly less than selling to someone else.

The Hundred Spike Tigers didn’t sell for as much as he hoped. They went for quite a bit, but they were difficult to train so even as highly ranked as they were they only sold for 50 thousand each. The pile of trade contracts and deeds surprisingly sold for 20 thousand, and Sage guessed there was something good in there he didn’t know enough about business to figure out. Since he wasn’t the original owner, he didn’t want to step into that legal swamp. The Yellow Furred Gremlin sold for 40 thousand, 10 thousand less than he bought it for. The monster organs sold for various amounts, making another 30 thousand.

The Demonic Beast skeletons were more valuable, each selling for a few thousand Spirit Stones. One of them was actually just as valuable as the Rhino Seal he kept, and sold for 100 thousand on its own. Along with a few other miscellaneous items he sold, they totalled out at 163 thousand. The only items that hadn’t sold yet were the Storage Ring, the terrifying fingerbone necklace, and the treasure map.