Stranger Danger

That doesn’t even make sense. What on earth is he talking about?

Ye Qing looked confused. It was the same for many others.

Sensing their reaction, Xi Duoduo explained with a chuckle, “Ah, it seems that some of you are participating in the Treasure Appreciation Auction for the first time. In that case, allow me to explain how the Treasure Appreciation Auction is normally carried out.”

“Generally speaking, the Treasure Appreciation Auction can be split into two segments. The first is the auction, and the second is the appreciation.”

“What do I mean by appreciation? It’s already in the title. It’s the part where we appreciate a treasure. As you know, we Hill Carriers travel to all sorts of places as is our norm, and we often encounter all kinds of strange and mysterious items as well. Some of these items are difficult even for us to appraise, or possess a kind of value that is difficult to quantify…”

“Therefore, we would not be putting a number on these treasures. Instead, we would simply give you a brief introduction and leave it to the rest of you to determine if it’s treasure or trash, valuable or worthless. It is up to you whether you want to bid for it or not.”

Now I get it! It’s a bargain bin! An auction-style bargain bin to be exact!

Ye Qing smirked as his interest was piqued. This Hill Carrier sure knew how to play!

Xi Duoduo continued, “Of course, this segment has its own set of rules. First, you are not to touch or perceive the item in question with your spirit. You can only observe it with your own two eyes. Second, we don’t accept returns. If you successfully bid an item only to find out that it is trash, then you’ll just have to accept it. Finally, if you can identify an item’s origin or use and inform me about it, then you may have it free of charge.”

Of course, the more experienced warriors such as Ancestor Greenwood, Amorous Mother and more merely scoffed at the crowd’s reactions. Did they really think it was so easy to get one over the Hill Carrier?

Forget that the first rule made it incredibly difficult to determine the quality, value and origin of a certain item, Xi Duoduo put these treasures out only after his faction’s team of experts failed to find anything. Did they really think that their insight would be greater than the Hill Carriers’ experts?

It would probably be easier to stumble upon a treasure beside the road than get one over the Hill Carrier. The rule was there purely to trick the idiots who were participating in the Treasure Appreciation Auction for the first time.

Ye Qing himself was shaking his head, though he didn’t say anything about the Hill Carrier’s scheme.

“Without further ado, let us take a look at our first treasure.”

Xi Duoduo clapped his hands, and a gravestone about three inches tall appeared on stage.

The gravestone was dirty and covered in chips and cracks. A couple of words were engraved to the top and the bottom right part of the gravestone.

The words on the top of the gravestone was most likely the name, and the ancient script at the bottom right the date. However, they were blurry and indecipherable.

A grayish fog began leaking out of the gravestone after it appeared. However, a mysterious energy was keeping it from leaving the boundaries of the stage. Naturally, the same power was keeping the crowd from perceiving the gravestone as well.

Even so, just looking at the gravestone was enough to send a chill down everyone’s spine.

“This is a gravestone.”

Xi Duoduo began introducing the item. “It was extracted from a strange village by a group of Stranger Hunters.”

“The village was surrounded by a mysterious fog that allowed entry but barred exit. Once you entered the village, you will lose your way and never be able to leave.”

“Even worse, those in the village suffer a sudden, inexplicable death every once in a while. The deaths follow no rhyme or reason whatsoever and so are completely unpredictable.”

“The group of Stranger Hunters numbered over eighty people when they entered the mysterious village. Only three managed to leave with the gravestone after all was said and done.”

“According to the trio, the gravestone was the source behind all the anomalies that afflicted the village. If anyone stares at the gravestone for over thirty breaths, then it would leak blood and draw their name and date of birth and death on the gravestone.”

“The date of birth is the time a person was born in this world. The date of death is the time a person departed this world. Once the victim’s date of death takes form on the gravestone, they would die a sudden, inexplicable death on that exact date. There is absolutely nothing they can do to save themselves.”

As Xi Duoduo spoke, bright red blood began leaking out of the gravestone. The blood squirmed like it might draw a person’s name at any moment.

At the same time, everyone in the main hall felt an inexplicable sense of danger.

Having heard exactly how the gravestone functioned from Xi Duoduo himself, everyone in the room blanched in fear and worry. Even Ancestor Greenwood, Weak Old Man, Red Calabash Celestial and more were gathering their energies and staring at Xi Duoduo with hostile looks.

“What is the meaning of this, Xi Duoduo?”

According to Xi Duoduo himself, anyone who stared at the gravestone for over thirty breaths would lose their life. Xi Duoduo knew this, and yet he purposely did not tell them about this until it was too late. Was he trying to kill them or something?

“Hahaha! Relax, my dear customers. No harm will come to you.”

Xi Duoduo paid their hostility no attention, however. “A gentleman only accepts wealth that is obtained the right way. We Hill Carriers would never rob a person of their wealth like a base robber, so you have nothing to worry about.”

As he promised, the blood on the gravestone never formed a name or even a word despite its squirming. In the end, it simply slid off its craggy surface like it was weeping.

As this happened, the tombstone cracked some more and sent bits of stone flying here and there.

“What’s going on?”

Someone began voicing their doubts. “You said that the names of anyone who stared at the gravestone for over thirty breaths would appear on its surface, right? So what’s going on here?”

“Allow me to explain, my dear customer. This gravestone is a very special Strange Artifact. If your name and date of birth and death were to appear on its surface, then you will die no matter how strong you are. In a sense, it is unstoppable.”

Xi Duoduo explained, “Unfortunately, its activation requirements are just as stringent. First, the person must stare at the gravestone for thirty breaths at minimum. Only then would their name appear on its surface. If the person averts their gaze just a little or blink during this time, then its effect would be neutralized.”

“Second, whether or not it succeeds in killing its target, the gravestone would suffer a small amount of damage with every activation. It is impossible to say how many uses it has left before it breaks completely.”

“And finally, our analysis concluded that something very bad might happen if the gravestone is completely destroyed.”

The crowd oohed and ahhed in realization, and Ye Qing realized why Xi Duoduo had decided to place this gravestone in the appreciation segment instead of the auction segment. It was because it was impossible to appraise the value of this gravestone properly.

The gravestone was undeniably powerful. No one, not even a Sage or a celestial-on-earth could survive if their name and date of birth and death appeared on its surface.

Was a Strange Artifact that could kill a Sage or a celestial-on-earth powerful? Of course it was. Stupidly so, in fact.

However, it was also situational to an extreme degree. For starters, the requirement that the victim must stare at it for over thirty breaths was nigh impossible to complete. Thirty breaths was neither too long nor too short a time, but any ordinary person would blink at least once during this time. And if they blinked, then the gravestone’s deadly effect would be nullified just like that.

Even ignoring that fact, what kind of person would stare at such an obviously anomalous gravestone for long? An ordinary person would stay far, far away from it, and a warrior might try to attack it and see what happens. In any case, no one in their right mind would stare at it for long without blinking.

Due to its stringent requirements, it was extremely improbable for this gravestone to kill anyone.