Mr. Wang didn’t make much money telling Shuangshuang’s story before because storytellers used to tell old stories. He was always stingy with money, wishing he could split a copper coin in half to spend.
So today, upon hearing Zhen Shu name the price, Mr. Wang subconsciously tried to take advantage but accidentally angered Zhen Shu.
Zhen Shu wasn’t just a Xuan Master; she also held the full authority to auction off Jian Shuangshuang’s story. Mr. Wang didn’t dare to offend Zhen Shu further, so he shut up and played dumb, but leaving was not an option.
Not only did Mr. Wang stay, but everyone else played dumb and stayed too. The people around, seeing they couldn’t squeeze these guys out, could only regretfully keep quiet, giving Mr. Wang and others a cold snort, waiting for the auction to start.
Seeing these people fall silent, Zhen Shu then struck the hammer to begin auctioning the first book.
The first book’s story was about a young hero who learns Martial Arts from his master, goes out to uphold justice, and eventually becomes a couple with a female knight skilled in medicine.
Of course, the hero became a Xuan Master and the female knight turned into a Mystic Doctor practicing Medical Cultivation. Jian Shuangshuang had spent much effort on the story’s summary, making it very attractive.
Thus, as soon as the summary was introduced, everyone below quickly began raising their bids, starting with a few wealthy shopkeepers in the front row.
Storytellers rely on these people to make a living, so no one dared to follow suit with their own bids; only these few people bid among themselves, and of course, couldn’t raise the price too high to avoid offending others.
So Jian Shuangshuang’s first book was quickly auctioned off by a tavern’s shopkeeper for twenty Gold Coins.
The subsequent books were the same, all auctioned off for twenty Gold Coins, each taken by a few big bosses in the front row, and once they secured theirs, then the real storytellers dared to follow suit with their bids.
However, their bids weren’t as high as those given by the bosses, but they were auctioned off at prices of around eighteen or nineteen Gold Coins, with a few going for sixteen or seventeen Gold Coins.
These were all of the more obscure and niche types that Jian Shuangshuang wrote, which everyone researched and feared might not be profitable but couldn’t resist the stories Jian Shuangshuang wrote, so they hesitantly won them.
Overall, in terms of these amounts, Zhen Shu truly felt heartache while auctioning. If Jian Shuangshuang were to tell them herself, the money she could earn would multiply several times over, but the result was this cheap for others.
Finally, Zhen Shu endured a painful heart and liver ache, managing to auction off all thirty storybooks, yielding five hundred eighty-two Gold Coins for Jian Shuangshuang.
After the auction ended, it remained the old rule that Jian Shuangshuang reconciled her Gold Coins and exchanged for a Purple Gold Coin, so she now had three Purple Gold Coins, which Jian Shuangshuang carefully kept close to her.
The remaining Gold Coins and silver coins filled two purses tied to her waist, with copper coins being the most numerous, requiring a separate purse to prevent mixing with the silver coins for convenient use.
Looking at the three purses tied at her waist, jingling noisily with each step, all the sounds of money, though delightful, were too cumbersome.
Jian Shuangshuang now greatly missed space items; her Main God Space was the most powerful, but she couldn’t open it given her current power and doing so would only invite trouble for herself.
Any other spaces that could traverse worlds with her, Jian Shuangshuang had none. The space storage items in this world were so expensive, even the cheapest costing a thousand Purple Gold Coins.
Jian Shuangshuang rubbed her face, deciding to endure for now. Once she builds her business bigger, she’ll buy a larger storage space to save herself from having to hang a row of purses on her waist just to store money, fearing it won’t attract thieves.
After having a meal with Zhen Shu and briefly discussing her future plans, she knew she’d have to keep dealing with Zhen Shu, although Jian Shuangshuang had to be busy for a while first.
After the meal, Jian Shuangshuang bade farewell to Zhen Shu and prepared to return to the Hundred Families Village. Having just thought of attracting thieves, she encountered them, and they were even blatant thieves.
In a sparsely populated place outside Wujia Town, Jian Shuangshuang found herself surrounded by a group of people, five men and three women, looking ill-intentioned.
The leading man had a grass stem in his mouth and smirked coldly at Jian Shuangshuang, saying, "Mr. Jian, you made quite a bit today. If you know what’s good for you, leave the money behind.
We seek wealth, not life, and won’t bully you; otherwise, out here far from the village or town, we’d kill you and throw your body in a ditch, and no one would know where you vanished."
Previously, Jian Shuangshuang told stories always in Zhen Shu’s tavern. Zhen Shu was a Xuan Master, capable of beating other Xuan Masters in Wujia Town, grand and now well-known, facing no rivals.
Jian Shuangshuang told stories within Zhen Shu’s tavern, and Zhen Shu had already left word that no one should bully Jian Shuangshuang, with Zhen Shu protecting her. Jian Shuangshuang lived peacefully without trouble from Wujia Town’s little ruffians.
Now Jian Shuangshuang held this auction, and these little ruffians didn’t know the truth; they thought Jian Shuangshuang had auctioned off her stories and was clearly going to part ways with Zhen Shu, ceasing to tell stories.
This person wasn’t telling stories at the tavern anymore, so Zhen Shu surely wouldn’t continue to protect Jian Shuangshuang; Jian Shuangshuang wasn’t helping Zhen Shu earn anymore, so Zhen Shu would definitely be angry.
A few little ruffians gathered, thinking now Jian Shuangshuang was just a fattie without the backing, surely everyone would be after her, and they had to act fast to bite this fatty first.
Then, the few conniving people arrived at the outskirts of Wujia Town early to lie in wait, ready to rob the Gold Coins Jian Shuangshuang earned from the auction today.
Jian Shuangshuang slightly smirked, stretched her wrists, and said with a knowing smile, "You rob for wealth but not harm lives, quite ethical indeed."
The leading man didn’t understand Jian Shuangshuang’s meaning, impatiently frowning and shouting, "Don’t talk rubbish; quickly hand over all the Gold Coins you earned from today’s auction!
I’m telling you, it’d be best if you hurried up; if we’re in a good mood, we’ll spare your life, or else today we won’t just be after the money but your life too!"
Jian Shuangshuang chuckled, "Quickly, alright, let me give you a quick one!" With these words, Jian Shuangshuang leapt up and kicked at this menacing man’s face.
Soon, cries and wails echoed in this empty place, and after half a stick of incense, bodies lay scattered everywhere, while Jian Shuangshuang, humming happily, walked away with her purse.
Ah, she finally completed the black eat black she’d longed for; unexpectedly, these little ruffians were quite wealthy, yielding over fifty Gold Coins, nearly two hundred silver coins, and seven to eight hundred copper coins.
No clue why they carried so much money on them, but now it was all Jian Shuangshuang’s gain, truly satisfying her heart and soul. She should visit the meat shop and see if she could find some Mutant Beast meat to buy and reward herself.
Behind Jian Shuangshuang, a bunch of bruised and swollen bandits lay weeping, especially touching their now-empty purses, crying even harder.
Tears poured from all the bandits, the heavens ah! The earth ah! What a life to live, weren’t they supposed to be the bandits? Such a black-hearted one, not leaving even a copper coin, was too cruel, even more ruthless than them!