A glance at his bidding number told them this old man was the one who countered their bid earlier.
Lin Jin studied him carefully. While the old man had an unsightly appearance, he must be an expert at beast observation as well. At least he could tell how unusual this deformed constrictor was.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t possibly increase his bid on it by such a significant amount.
Moreover, the second round of bidding will soon be over, but the old man stood by this cage, choosing not to leave instead.
Zu Can too, noticed the old man. After watching him outbid their offer, Zu Can couldn’t resist asking Lin Jin in a tiny voice, “Brother Lin, should we increase the bid?”
“Of course. I’m telling you, no matter how high it gets, you have to buy this pet beast,” Lin Jin answered plainly. Zu Can’s heart jolted at this.
For no other reason but one.
Since Lin Jin had put it this way, this constrictor with a tumor must be an unusual pet beast so Zu Can got excited.
After much difficulty, he had finally obtained the task of purchasing pet beasts for his family so of course, he had to do it right.
And what did it mean by ‘doing it right’?
The amount spent was secondary. What’s important was to procure a pet beast with significant potential as this was crucial to the family’s future development.
Back then, the Zu family outperformed others and became one of Maple City’s top three largest families precisely because Zu Can’s great grandfather had formed a blood pact with a rare beast. The creature was promoted up to Rank 3 and thanks to that pet beast, the Zu family managed to lay down their foundation and their legacy was passed down for three generations.
However, after Zu Can’s great grandfather and his pet beast passed away, having reached its peak, the Zu family began to go downhill. They had tried everything to maintain their status, but without high-ranking pet beasts to support the family, their intimidation level couldn’t compare to the past. Hence, while they seemed prominent on the outside, they had in fact begun to decline in power.
At their current stage, the family only had two Rank 2 pet beasts to support the family. There was no other presentable creature other than the two aforementioned ones.
With this, one could tell how important a task procuring pet beasts for the family was. To nurture a pet beast required manpower and material support. It was also time-consuming, so if they purchased a pet beast that lacked potential, all the time and money invested into it would have been for naught.
As the stakes were high, Zu Can didn’t dare to act rashly.
Interestingly enough, Zu Can placed absolute faith in Lin Jin. Moreover, after getting acquainted with him, Zu Can had a better understanding of Lin Jin. While this Appraiser Lin seemed nonchalant on a daily basis, if he was ever insistent on something, that meant he had complete confidence in it.
Just like this very moment. Lin Jin had told him that no matter how much the price increases, he had to secure the pet beast.
There was no hint more obvious than this one.
His words implied that this constrictor was a rare beast with remarkable potential.
Zu Can knew just what he needed to do. He went over at once, and right before the old man’s eyes, raised the bid to three hundred low-grade spirit stones.
Simply adding a hundred was extravagant enough.
Upon seeing this, the old man studied Zu Can carefully, probably wondering what his background was. After all, to casually increase a hundred spirit stones gave off the feeling that he was determined to have this pet beast.
The old man raised his hands and saluted Zu Can, saying, “Young Man, I am well-versed in treating beasts and I couldn’t help myself from wanting to save this constrictor from an incurable disease. That’s why I wanted to buy it and remove its tumor. Honestly speaking, this constrictor is indeed impressive but average people can’t treat its tumor. When that time comes, you might suffer a dead loss so it’s best you be aware of where you’re treading.”
Zu Can smiled and said nothing.
As a young master of a prominent family, Zu Can had significant knowledge of society so how could a few sentences from an old man hoodwink him?
What a joke!
Seeing his response, the old man continued, “I’m only trying to accumulate good deeds, so Young Man, why do you have to contend with an old man like me? Could you let me have this one? Just think of it as showing an old person like me some respect.”
Having said that, he symbolically raised the bid by another twenty spirit stones, making the price three hundred and twenty low-grade spirit stones.
Onlookers began gathering around after noticing the commotion. When they heard the old man’s words, someone said to Zu Can, “This constrictor isn’t worth the price. Young man, you shouldn’t be rash. Since the old man knows how to cure it, you should let him have it.”
Zu Can grinned, and without a word, he simply increased the bid to three hundred and fifty spirit stones.
The old man turned grim at this.
He knew his words had fallen on deaf ears, or rather, the younger man didn’t believe him at all.
Three hundred and fifty spirit stones were no small change. But of course, when compared to the constrictor’s true value, it was still a ways away.
“Young man, you’re being stubborn. Are you that adamant on going against me?” As he spoke, the old man increased the price to four hundred low-grade spirit stones.
If Zu Can hadn’t gotten Lin Jin’s hint earlier, he would have stopped bidding. However, Lin Jin specifically said to secure this beast no matter the cost, so he simply raised the bid to five hundred spirit stones.
The old man became visibly flustered. He wasn’t that much of a fool to not realize how his competitor was aware of the uniqueness of this constrictor. Otherwise, he wouldn’t keep increasing his bid. Five hundred spirit stones converted into almost a thousand taels.
Regular folks couldn’t possibly afford this sum as it was enough for an average family to live comfortably for twenty years.
Aware that words were now futile, the old man knew it was time to compete in family assets. He stepped forward and put down a price.
Once the amount was revealed, the onlooking crowd gasped.
“Is this old man crazy?”
“Are my eyes deceiving me? He… He added one fold!”
The old man’s offer was double of what Zu Can had bid.
A thousand low-grade spirit stones.
Now, even Zu Can was shocked, much less everyone else.
The old man was going all in.
By adding a fold!
Despite not looking the part, this old man was surprisingly a rich tycoon.
A thousand low-grade spirit stones were half of Zu Can’s budget for this auction. He had initially planned to buy a few more pet beasts home. If he spent too much on this constrictor and if any accidents happen, things could get troublesome. Even if his father didn’t reprimand him, their rivals within the family would no doubt use this against them.
Zu Can hesitated.
He glanced at Lin Jin.
Lin Jin said nothing because he had already made his position clear.
It was up to Zu Can now. If Zu Can trusted him, he would keep increasing the price. But if he didn’t, Lin Jin couldn’t say anything. He wasn’t the one in charge of his coffers after all.
This decision had to be made by Zu Can.
As doubling bids was a rare occasion in price competitions, more and more people were drawn over by this commotion. The onlookers increased.
Gao Jiang too came over to observe from a relative distance.
After glancing at the constrictor inside the cage, he remained indifferent. But after understanding the situation, he realized that Zu Can was competing with an old man. Since Zu Can didn’t know how to evaluate beasts, the man must have listened to Lin Jin’s advice.
And a pet beast that could capture Lin Jin’s attention must be a unique creature.