Chapter 63: Lesser Spirit Herb
Although they shared a common last name, the Zheng family of Hong Kong was not the same as that of the Chu Zhou City.
During the heydays of the Zheng Family of Hong Kong, they were on the top ten of the Forbes list. Even now, they were around twentieth to thirtieth. Not even the richest person in Zhong Zhou Province could compare with the might of the Zheng Family.
During the eighties and the nineties, such prominent families were able to talk directly to the Federal Political Bureau. As such, if the head of the family came to visit Zhong Zhou Province, the provincial government would greet him with someone in the government with equal political clout.
Although Wu Shanhe had some influence in the Zhong Zhou Province, he was no match against heavyweight such as the Zheng Family.
Master Wu looked at Chen Fan for help. Seeing Chen Fan was indifferent to his embarrassment, Master Wu stepped back and out of the women's way.
The half Asian, half white girl snorted at Master Wu and walked into the courtyard.
None of the bosses and tycoons from Zhong Zhou city dared to stand up for Master Wu. They knew that even their combined might could not reach a fraction of the Zheng Family's influence.
"The Zheng Family from Hong Kong?" Chen Fan mulled on the name for a while.
The old man of the family was a household name among the Chinese community in China and abroad. He was in his eighties; the same age as Superman Li. Chen Fan scrapped the memory of his past life and remembered that he had seen on the news that the old man passed away this year.
"No wonder they are buying up all the precious herbs." Chen Fan shook his head.
In his eighties, the Old Man Zhen had reached the end of his life, as he suffered multiple organ failures. There was no cure for him. Even these rare herbal medicine could only temporarily boost his vitality but would not be able to halt the unrelenting beckoning of death.
As a cultivator, Chen Fann knew that the best medicine for prolonging life was the Essence Enhancing Pill. Too bad that Chen Fan couldn't gather enough material to make more, otherwise, he could sell them to the Zheng Family for a hefty price.
"Master Chen, let's go in." Wu Shanhe spoke under his breath.
"Very well." Chen Fan nodded.
This was an underground auction and as such, committing to a transaction here was risky business. Neither the host nor the seller offered a guarantee that the items were authentic.
The first item of the auction was a one-hundred-and-thirty years old Mountain Ginseng.
It weighed 127 grams and started at three million. The half-white girl eventually bought the ginseng with a whopping seven million.
"Deep pockets!" A lot of people exclaimed.
Ever since the start of the auction, the half-blood girl had bought off nearly all the items with skyrocket offers. In the end, most people scarcely dared to bid against her. Most of the bidders were here to purchase their business inventory; therefore, it was not absolutely necessary for them to compete against the girl.
Chen Fan was only able to get a ninety-year-old Black Hair Herb. Most of the other herbs were snatched up by the half white girl.
"The next one requires some judgment; you have been warned: buyers beware."
The host brought out a platter; he removed the black cloth that covered it and revealed a gnarly bough.
"What is going on?"
"I have no clue, is it also herbal medicine?"
"It looks familiar."
The bidders narrowed their eyes, tiring to get a better view of the item.
"Uh?" Chen Fan gasped lightly.
"Master Chen, have you recognized what it is?" Wu Shanhe asked.
"Not really."Chen Fan shook his head and then continued, "I don't think this is an herbal medicine, but I can sense a strong presence of Spirit Qi inside. It was ten times stronger than what was in the hundred-year-old ginseng."
"A herb like this is close to Spirit Medicine; as such, it can be called Lesser Spirit Medicine."
"Lesser Spirit Medicine?" Master Wu was at a loss.
"Indeed." Chen Fan nodded. Since he was in the mood to talk, he continued to fill Master Wu in. "The so-called Spirit Herbs are anything that contained enough Spirit Qi, let it be rare herbs or just a blade of grass. Only Spirit Herbs could be used to make real Spirit Pills."
"However, the Spirit Herbs were extremely picky in terms of their growing environment. On the earth, right now, there are probably less than half a dozen such herbs, and most of them were hidden deep in the mountains."
"It would take a regular herb over a thousand years to harness enough Spirit Qi to become a Spirit Herb. However, this bough had lived over half a millennia and therefore was halfway to become a real Spirit Medicine, hence the prefix in its name, 'lesser.'"
Master Wu listened attentively and wished that he had a pen and paper so that he could write the knowledge down.
He had never heard of Spirit Herbs. All he knew about Chinese Medicine was that the older they were, the more potent their effect were.
"Although it possessed only half the effect of a real Spirit Medicine, I should be able to use it and create some lesser version of the Spirit Pills."
Master Wu was elated by Chen Fan's words. He asked, "Should we bid on it?"
"Of course." Chen Fan nodded.
This seemingly ordinary tree bough possessed the highest concentration of Spirit Qi he had ever seen since he was reborn. If he didn't get it this time around, he might have to wait for another decade to lay eyes on its equal. He could not pass up this opportunity.
"Great!"
Master Wu's face was lit up with excitement.
If they were successful in their bidding, he could watch and learn while Master Chen made the Spirit Pills.
The skill of Elixir Brewing so far had only been a legend to Master Wu, and he could not wait to witness it with his own eyes.
Some ancient schools had recorded the art of Elixir Brewing; however, the art had long since been lost. The modern technology of extracting the medicinal components of the natural herbs couldn't compare.
"This unknown herb starts at five million."
The host announced, and then there was a pin drop silence in the courtyard.
Five million was not a small amount to be spent on something that they couldn't even recognize.
"Five million and five hundred thousand."
Master Wu raised the stake.
Seeing it was Master Wu who had first spoken up, the rest of the bidders wagered that this bough did not have any medicinal use but could only be used to enhance Dharma Spells.
With this in mind, even fewer people were willing to join the bidding.
Even as the host hesitated if he should strike a deal with the only bidder, a clear voice came up.
"Ten million!"
Everyone was taken aback by the development. They looked to the speaker, and it was the half white girl.
"How dare you!"
Master Wu was riled up by the turn of events. He has been angry with the girl ever since the beginning of the event when she slandered his name; this last provocation was the last straw.
"Eleven million!"
Master Wu shouted.
"Twenty million!"
The half white girl said lightly.
Most bidders were stunned by the rate at which the price was increasing. Master Wu had raised his offer by a million, yet the girl had followed up with ten million.
The sudden surge in the offer had also quelled Master Wu's enthusiasm.
He had worked hard all his life and had accumulated a few hundred million worth of the assets. Twenty million was all the cash he could afford. So thinking, Master Wu looked to Chen Fan for help.
Chen Fan furrowed his brows and pondered.
Although he had over six hundred thousand cash in his bank account, he had used more than half of those on purchasing supreme-grade jade to construct the Misty Mountain Array. By then, he had less than fifteen million yuan left on his account.
After a while, Chen Fan said, "All I could afford is thirty million."
"Oh well." Master Wu gritted his teeth and gid in for a bidding war.
"Twenty-one million!"
"Thirty million." The half-blood girl raised her offer by another then million. She gave Master Wu a sidelong glance after she had put in her offer.
Everyone was speechless by how quickly the situation and escalated.
Such was the financial clout of the Zheng Family that the girl didn't even hesitate when she raised her offer by the tens of millions. To her, money was nothing but a string of numbers.
Having reached his budget, Master Wu sat down into his chair slowly and begrudgingly.
"Master Chen, this mix-blood lass is a jerk! Why don't we..." As he spoke, he glided a finger across his neck.
"There is no need." Chen Fan said calmly.
Although Chen Fan was pissed off by losing the precious Spirit Medicine, he was curious as to why would the Zheng Family even need the seemingly useless tree branch.
He believed that the Zhengs were not idiots, and they would not dump thirty million yuan into something that had no return.
"Unless someone in the Zheng Family had also recognized that this bough as a Less Spirit Herb."
Chen Fan thought as his eyes glinted.