I'm Just a Beast Tamer

Chapter 16: Chapter 16: Auction

Swinging his hoe, Jiang Zuo dug out the stone tablet in just a few strokes.

He backfilled the dirt, restoring the ground to its original state.

Jiang Zuo wrapped the stone tablet in a cloth strip and quietly returned home.

Under the light of an oil lamp, Jiang Zuo carefully examined the ancient stone tablet.

It was called a gravestone, but Jiang Zuo was more inclined to believe it was just a stone tablet with an inscription.

If it were a gravestone, it had far too few words on it.

"What exactly is this stone tablet?"

After a moment’s hesitation, Jiang Zuo reached out and touched the tablet, then frowned.

He hadn’t lied to Mr. Yang, nor had he intentionally tried to scare him.

He truly couldn’t recognize the characters on the stone tablet, let alone know what they said.

Anyone in town who saw this tablet would probably assume it was an artifact from a previous dynasty.

However, the few characters on the stone tablet bore some resemblance to the tadpole-like script of the Beast Pattern.

If Jiang Zuo hadn’t obtained the Beast Pattern just over ten days ago, he never would have gone out of his way to dig it up.

The stone tablet would have likely remained buried deep underground, with no other fate possible.

Still, it was something Mr. Yang had discovered.

Jiang Zuo had originally thought about taking advantage of Mr. Yang’s discovery.

But after bringing the tablet back, Jiang Zuo found that aside from the script’s slight resemblance to the tadpole-like text, there was nothing special about it.

Jiang Zuo tried to touch the stone tablet and visualize its inscription in his mind, just as he had done with the Beast Pattern.

But neither he nor the tablet showed the slightest reaction.

This ancient stone tablet seemed to be just an ordinary piece of bluestone, only much, much older.

After a moment of hesitation, Jiang Zuo picked up his hoe and swung it forcefully at a corner of the tablet.

BANG!

Sparks flew.

The iron hoe’s corner was bent out of shape.

The stone tablet was completely unharmed, without a single mark left by the hoe.

If it had been ordinary bluestone, with Jiang Zuo’s strength, even if the hoe had bent, the tablet would never have remained unscathed.

’Holy cow!’

’This stone tablet really is strange!’

’Something this hard should be incredibly heavy.’

’But why does it feel no heavier than an ordinary piece of bluestone?’

Jiang Zuo examined the tablet from top to bottom, running his hands over it again and again.

But besides confirming the tablet was Indestructible, he made no other discoveries.

"Could this be an item from an Immortal Family?"

Jiang Zuo pondered.

Only an item from an Immortal Family could defy the laws of physics like this.

’And if it is from an Immortal Family, could it be related to Venerable Red Fox?’

Every few years, Red Fox Town would conduct a Spirit Root test for all children between the ages of ten and sixteen.

Jiang Zuo had participated when he was eleven.

He had been very excited at the time.

Although he had already begun gaining stats and lifespan rewards by raising Great Black back then, what man could refuse the chance to pursue Cultivation?

The result, to Jiang Zuo’s disappointment, was that no Spirit Root was detected. He didn’t even possess the most inferior Cultivation Talent.

At first, Jiang Zuo thought he was just unlucky, but he later learned a shocking fact from some of the town’s elders.

It wasn’t just him; in the past hundred years, or even several hundred, not a single person in the town had ever been found to possess a Spirit Root.

It seemed that in this world, possessing a Spirit Root was an incredibly difficult thing.

Venerable Red Fox was the only Cultivator Jiang Zuo knew of.

Besides him, Jiang Zuo had never even heard of anyone with Cultivation Talent, let alone anyone who had made a name for themselves.

Jiang Zuo vaguely sensed something was wrong, but he couldn’t put his finger on what it was.

However, since he had the Beast Taming System and could become stronger and live longer just by raising Pet Beasts, he didn’t dwell on the matter too much.

If this stone tablet was related to Venerable Red Fox, it would explain why he was the only one who could practice Cultivation.

Venerable Red Fox might have obtained his fated opportunity for immortality through the stone tablet.

But after some thought, Jiang Zuo shook his head again.

’If this thing was related to Venerable Red Fox, why wouldn’t he have taken it with him?’

’Even if he wanted to leave it for someone with fate, he wouldn’t have just found a random plot of land and buried it so casually.’

’And then there was that skeleton. It clearly didn’t belong to an ordinary person.’

’The weight of those bones was nothing like that of someone who had been dead for a long time.’

’Many recently deceased people didn’t even have bones that heavy.’

’If that skeleton had been buried for as long as the stone tablet, then its owner was probably a Cultivator.’

’An ordinary person’s skeleton would have long since decayed and become brittle under the erosion of time, leaving almost no weight behind.’

’Only the bones of an Immortal could withstand the erosion of time.’

However, Jiang Zuo had already handled those bones multiple times while burying and digging them up.

Besides their unusual weight, he hadn’t found anything special about them, just like the stone tablet.

Unwilling to give up, Jiang Zuo felt it over once more and even did something a little reckless: he dripped some blood onto the tablet.

However, it wasn’t his own blood, but Great Black’s.

Great Black shot Jiang Zuo a reproachful look for quite a while because of this.

But in the end, he still failed to discover anything.

"Forget it. It probably takes a Cultivator to uncover its secrets."

Jiang Zuo sighed, gave up, and turned to bury the stone tablet under the vegetable patch in his yard.

’If I have any new ideas or discoveries in the future, I’ll dig it up again to study.’

No longer dwelling on the stone tablet, Jiang Zuo opened his attribute panel and invested another 100 Beast Taming Reputation into his strength, increasing it by 10 points.

His strength attribute reached a high of 65.7.

When he went to the wealthy families’ homes to deliver the news today, several people were surprised by how much more robust he had suddenly become.

Jiang Zuo realized that adding too many stats at once wasn’t a good idea; the change in his physique was a bit too obvious.

So, Jiang Zuo changed his mind on the spot and decided to add stats once every ten days.

This would create a gradual process, and even if people were surprised by the changes in his body, they could be explained away as natural growth.

After selling Great Black and reaping the last wave of Beast Taming Reputation, Jiang Zuo still planned to focus mainly on increasing his strength.

There was nothing wrong with adding some strength in advance.

As for whether to add to his Physique and agility, he would see how things went.

The 10-point increase in strength placed little burden on his body. The energy provided by his still-digesting dinner was already enough.

Besides feeling his power rise once again, Jiang Zuo didn’t experience the same ravenous hunger he had felt after adding 30 stat points at once.

But he estimated that he would feel hungry again in a little while and would need another meal.

Sure enough, before going to bed, Jiang Zuo felt his stomach rumbling. He ate another meal before rubbing his belly and lying down on his bed.

「The next day.」

Jiang Zuo didn’t do anything special today. He just petted Great Black’s head and took him out to play.

He didn’t give Great Black any commands, just let him run around as he pleased.

In the blink of an eye, the third day arrived.

Early in the morning, around eight o’clock, several people arrived outside Jiang Zuo’s wooden cabin and began busily moving chairs and tables.

In the past two years, there had only been seven or eight people, which Jiang Zuo could easily handle himself.

This year, with over forty people, not only was there not enough room inside his cabin, but even if he held it outside, he didn’t have enough chairs and tables.

It would be too shabby to make everyone stand outside.

Since Great Black’s selling price was bound to be high anyway, for the sake of Beast Taming Reputation, Jiang Zuo decisively spent money to hire a well-known teahouse from town to help.

He had them bring over chairs and tables and prepare breakfast and refreshments for over a hundred people.

"What a scene... Jiang Zuo, it looks like I can only come to watch the excitement this year."

Steward Liang arrived relatively early, but before he got there, many ordinary townsfolk had already gathered around, ready to watch the show.

Looking at the tea tables set up outside, Steward Liang could only marvel.

The Liang Family was the first to express interest in buying Great Black, and Jiang Zuo certainly hadn’t forgotten his promise to Steward Liang. He had visited the Liang Family first thing yesterday.

The competition was fierce this year, and Steward Liang knew the chances of buying Great Black were slim, but he still came over early.

Even if he couldn’t win the bid for Great Black, it was still a good opportunity to meet people and expand his network.

Steward Liang suspected that quite a few people had the same idea; otherwise, so many wouldn’t have shown up.

"It’s a silent auction this year, same as always. If you want him, Steward Liang, you still have a chance. Who knows, maybe no one else’s bid will be as high as yours."

Jiang Zuo smiled.

Although the number of people who wanted Great Black had skyrocketed, he had no intention of changing the auction format.

"True."

Hearing this, Steward Liang couldn’t help but feel a flicker of hope.

He had originally thought Jiang Zuo would take advantage of the large crowd and switch to an open auction where the highest bidder wins.

He hadn’t expected Jiang Zuo to stick to his original plan of a silent auction.

In an open auction, the Liang Family wouldn’t stand a chance, but a silent auction was a different story.

Afterward, people arrived in a continuous stream, a considerable number of whom were from wealthy families Jiang Zuo hadn’t even invited.

Jiang Zuo had anticipated this, but many people had also brought their families along. He soon realized the tables, chairs, and refreshments would be insufficient and had to quickly ask the teahouse to add more.

"That man, is that Steward Luo from the Government Office?"

"I didn’t expect the County Magistrate to be interested in this black dog too."

As it neared 9:00 AM, a figure gracefully approached.

Many people recognized Steward Luo and were surprised to see him.

"Steward Luo, please, come sit over here!"

Several people who recognized Steward Luo quickly stood up to greet him.

"Please, don’t mind me. I’m just here to watch the excitement," Steward Luo said with a smile as he took a seat next to a small, elderly man.

With Steward Luo’s arrival, the auction’s atmosphere reached its peak. The open space outside the wooden cabin was more lively than ever before.

More than a hundred people were seated around the tea tables, while several hundred more townsfolk stood around them, ready to watch the show.

The time for the auction to begin was fast approaching.

At the same time, two figures—one old, one young—appeared in front of the new house next door.

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