Chapter Thirty-Four: The Enchantress Miaomiao

“Sir, our auction house’s owner wishes to meet you. Please follow me.” After waiting for quite a while, Du Gu Ling finally saw Lanlan return and speak to him.

“Alright.” Du Gu Ling replied, picking up his precious herbs and following behind Lanlan.

After passing through several corridors, Du Gu Ling arrived at the entrance of a lavishly decorated room.

“Sir, please enter. The owner of our auction house is waiting for you inside.” Lanlan made an inviting gesture and then waited by the door.

Du Gu Ling nodded to Lanlan, then pushed open the door and stepped inside.

Introducing such a valuable client will surely earn me a reward from the owner. Taotao, that foolish girl, actually let a big client like this slip by. She’s truly hopeless, Lanlan thought to herself.

As Du Gu Ling entered, a strong scent of perfume assaulted his nose. Then a seductive voice drifted into his ears.

“Dear guest, you’re finally here. Please, have a seat. I’ve been so anxious waiting for you.” The voice was so alluring it seemed to melt one’s heart, sending chills down his spine.

Du Gu Ling looked at the woman before him. She wore only a thin, sheer robe, so transparent it was as if it wasn’t there at all, revealing the contours of her body beneath. Even though a layer of black gauze separated them, Du Gu Ling could almost see everything. In her hand, she held a round fan, fanning herself languidly, causing her robe to flutter with every movement.

He found a seat and sat down, speaking in a hoarse voice, “Let’s get to business. I have other matters to attend to, so let’s not waste time.”

“Oh? Doesn’t the guest wish to spend a little more time with Miaomiao? Am I really so unappealing?” Miaomiao pouted and struck a coquettish pose.

“I told you, I have business to attend to. If this continues, I’ll take my leave,” Du Gu Ling said, pretending to be stern.

“Please don’t be angry, dear guest. If I have displeased you in any way, feel free to punish me. I promise I won’t utter a word of complaint,” Sima Miaomiao replied, feigning pitifulness.

Inwardly, however, she thought, Hmph, I’ve seen men like you countless times in my life. I refuse to believe there’s a man in this world I, Sima Miaomiao, cannot handle.

Du Gu Ling had only heard a little about Sima Miaomiao—she was said to be a woman of great cunning. Despite being a woman of the Sima clan, she had managed to seize control of the largest auction house in Cold Moon City, expanding its reach and power even further in the surrounding cities. Though she appeared to be no more than thirty, she was anything but ordinary. Her greatest talent, it was said, was enchanting men; no matter what kind of man met her, he would fall under her spell. People called her the Enchantress Miaomiao.

“Dear guest… dear guest…” Miaomiao continued to call out.

At that moment, Du Gu Ling seemed to be caught in the web of Miaomiao’s voice. In a daze, he saw Miaomiao standing before him, her sheer robe almost nonexistent, revealing flawless skin beneath. Though already thirty, her skin was as smooth as a young girl’s. The sight of her ample curves left Du Gu Ling utterly entranced.

“Come, dear guest, just rest… rest now…” Miaomiao’s voice was pure seduction.

Listening to her, Du Gu Ling unconsciously closed his eyes.

“Now, tell me, where did you obtain these precious herbs?” Miaomiao’s voice seemed to carry a hypnotic effect, slipping endlessly into his ears.

“From… from…” Du Gu Ling murmured, drifting into a trance. He thought of how he’d ventured into Cold Moon Forest, fallen off a cliff, entered a secret realm, met Old Baize, and received the Primordial Codex, the Void Divine Ring, and his Pet Egg… Pet Egg…

Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through his arm, snapping him back to consciousness. What’s happening? In an instant, Du Gu Ling realized Sima Miaomiao had used some kind of hypnotic technique on him.

Thankfully, he had his pet. He rubbed his arm, thinking that without its intervention, he would have been doomed.

Once he regained his senses, rage surged within him. “Sima Miaomiao, you’ve gone too far!” he shouted.

Sima Miaomiao, still waiting for him to speak, was taken aback when he suddenly broke free from her control. How could this be possible? she wondered.

Yet, seasoned as she was, Sima Miaomiao’s face betrayed no emotion even in the face of Du Gu Ling’s anger.

“Please don’t be angry, dear guest. I was merely curious about the source of your precious herbs. I admit my mistake,” she said unhurriedly, her pitiful demeanor instantly dissipating Du Gu Ling’s anger.

“Let’s get down to business,” Du Gu Ling said coldly.

Seeing that Du Gu Ling was not easily swayed, Miaomiao temporarily gave up on prying into the origins of his treasures.

“Well then, as you know, our Miaomiao Auction House is holding an unprecedented auction tomorrow. I plan to put your ten-thousand-year-old ginseng up for auction. What do you think?” she asked.

That was exactly what Du Gu Ling had intended, so he nodded in agreement.

“As for this thousand-year-old lingzhi and hundred-year-old polygonum, I’d like to purchase them myself. Please, name your price,” Miaomiao said with a charming smile.

“Very well, but I’m not familiar with the market. I’ll leave it to you to decide,” Du Gu Ling replied.

“This polygonum, I’ll offer you a hundred gold coins. For the thousand-year-old lingzhi, ten thousand gold coins,” Miaomiao said.

Goodness, Du Gu Ling was startled. A hundred-year-old herb was worth a hundred gold coins, which was acceptable, but a thousand-year-old lingzhi was worth ten thousand? To think that an ordinary family’s living expenses for a year were only about ten gold coins.

“How much do you think the ten-thousand-year-old ginseng will fetch?” Du Gu Ling asked.

“Well… the last ten-thousand-year-old herb sold for a million gold coins, and even then, it was priceless. This time, it should fetch at least a million,” Sima Miaomiao replied after a moment’s thought.

What? Du Gu Ling almost collapsed in shock. That ten-thousand-year-old lingzhi was worth more than the magic artifacts he’d crafted; those sold for only a hundred thousand gold coins each.

But upon reflection, it made sense. A ten-thousand-year-old ginseng could extend one’s life by ten years. For some, it was beyond price. A million might even be too little.

Du Gu Ling subconsciously touched his ring. He had been far too impulsive, bringing out something so valuable all at once. Anyone would be tempted to make a move against him. If not for his pet’s help, he would have been in real danger.

Still, it wasn’t entirely his fault—he hadn’t realized the ginseng’s true value. A million gold coins—far more than Cold Moon City’s annual income.

“Can I get an advance on the proceeds?” Du Gu Ling asked. He needed a lot of money; although he had earned a fair amount forging weapons over the past year, it was clear that shopping would be costly.

“Yes, of course. For your three treasures, I’ll give you one million and twenty thousand gold coins up front. Consider the remaining nine thousand nine hundred gold coins a gift from me. As for the auction commission, our usual rate is five percent, but given the value of your item, we’ll only take three percent,” she said, handing him two cards.

“This is a Chaos Gold Card, exchangeable anywhere on the Chaos Continent. It contains one million and twenty thousand gold coins. The other is our auction house’s discount card—anything you wish to buy will be ten percent off,” Sima Miaomiao said suggestively.

Du Gu Ling took the two cards, said, “I’ll return after the auction,” and hurriedly left.

Lanlan watched his hasty departure with some confusion.

Just then, Sima Miaomiao emerged from the room and warned Lanlan, “Today’s events must not be spoken of. Understand?”

She then watched Du Gu Ling’s retreating figure and murmured, “Who exactly are you, to break free of my ‘Allure Technique’? The next time you come, I won’t let you escape my grasp.”