I'm Just a Beast Tamer

Chapter 17: Chapter 17: Astonishing Price

"Granny Mei, there are so many people over there. What are they doing?"

Yu Subai looked at the bustling crowd and asked curiously.

"Miss, our surname is Su now, and your name is Su Qiaoqiao. Don’t let it slip and say the wrong thing if someone asks."

Granny Mei looked at Yu Subai, who had taken the form of a little girl, and said earnestly.

The two of them looked very different from how they did in Red Fox Valley.

Granny Mei had transformed into a different old woman, while Yu Subai had become a little girl just over ten years old.

It wouldn’t be convenient for a young maiden to wander around town alone, but a little girl had no such worries.

They planned to live in Red Fox Town for several years. If Subai came as a young woman, even with an ordinary face, it wouldn’t be long before matchmakers came knocking.

If several years passed and Subai remained single, she would inevitably become the subject of gossip and attract too much unwanted attention.

By having Subai come as a little girl, they would be nearly ready to leave by the time she reached an age where matchmakers would start visiting.

In short, for Subai to live in Red Fox Town and learn about human customs and etiquette, the guise of a little girl was the most suitable identity.

Even if she misspoke, no one would take it to heart; they would just assume it was because she was a child who didn’t know any better.

At ten years old, Yu Subai didn’t need to do anything special to alter her appearance.

Even for someone like Celestial Immortal Yu, without any deliberate primping, a ten-year-old would just look cute, not much different from an ordinary girl.

"I know, Granny Su."

Subai replied, her voice now as crisp and pleasant as a little girl’s.

"That’s Jiang Zuo getting ready to auction off a black dog he raised. There have been thieves in town recently, and it seems his dog is very well-trained. It can not only guard against theft but also catch the thieves," Granny Mei finally answered.

She had been in and out of town often these past few days, and Jiang Zuo was their neighbor, so she had naturally heard about the matter.

In fact, they had specifically chosen this house because of the Little Red Fox.

"Should we go have a look, too?"

Subai was curious about everything in the human world. With so many people around, it would be fun to watch the excitement.

"Alright."

Granny Mei nodded.

A large crowd was also a good opportunity for Subai to observe humans and learn.

The two of them walked over.

Several hundred people were already gathered in front of Jiang Zuo’s gate, so their arrival didn’t attract much attention.

"Let me see... Huh, this dog is really well-raised. I didn’t expect that besides making delicious meat buns, this guy is also pretty good at raising dogs."

Subai said with some surprise, peering through the crowd at Great Black.

Great Black sat properly by Jiang Zuo’s feet with its tongue hanging out. Its fur had a black, glossy, and smooth look to it, a clear sign that it was very well cared for.

Jiang Zuo saw that it was about time, so he stood up to face the crowd and said in a clear voice, "Thank you, patrons, for coming. I, Jiang Zuo, am deeply honored."

"Everyone’s time is precious, so I won’t waste it with pleasantries. The auction for my dog, Great Black, will now officially begin!"

"Just like in previous years, we will be using a silent auction to decide Great Black’s new owner."

"The rules are simple. In a moment, any patrons interested in owning Great Black can use the pen and paper at hand to write down your name and your bid."

"After everyone has submitted their bids, I will publicly announce who gets Great Black and show the paper with the winning price to ensure fairness."

"If any of you have any questions, feel free to ask me. I’ll explain everything clearly."

Jiang Zuo spoke in one breath, wasting no words.

"Jiang Zuo, with your method, what if someone uses another person’s name to write a high price just to cause trouble?" someone couldn’t help but ask after hearing the rules.

"Don’t worry about that. If that happens, there will be two bids with the same name. I will confirm with the patron whose name was falsely used before making any announcement."

"As for someone who didn’t bid having their name used, you have even less to worry about. I will personally collect all the slips of paper. I’ll remember exactly who submitted a bid, so there’s no need to worry about non-bidders having their names used to cause trouble," Jiang Zuo said with a smile, having already considered such a scenario.

"It seems no one has any more questions. In that case, as is customary, I will first demonstrate Great Black’s training."

"Great Black, go!"

Seeing no further objections, Jiang Zuo called to Great Black and pointed to a parasol tree a dozen meters away.

Great Black shot forward in a flash, becoming a black blur. It bounded up the tree trunk like a leopard for several steps, then kicked off with all four paws, leaped back, landed with a THUD, and raced back to Jiang Zuo’s side.

The parasol tree shook violently, and leaves rained down.

"Amazing!"

The crowd couldn’t help but exclaim in amazement upon seeing this.

They had originally thought Jiang Zuo’s big black dog just had a powerful sense of smell, not that it was so agile.

It had explosive power, great strength, high speed, and was exceptionally nimble.

Even Steward Luo’s eyes showed a glimmer of surprise as he watched.

Great Black’s performance was much more impressive than he had been led to believe.

"Next is its sense of smell. Would anyone be willing to do me the honor of marking this stone?" Jiang Zuo then picked up a small stone from the side and said to the crowd.

"I will!" a young man immediately raised his hand.

"Alright, please write any recognizable character on it."

Jiang Zuo handed the stone over.

The young man scrawled a crooked "Li" character on the stone.

Jiang Zuo held up the stone, showed it to the crowd, then placed it in front of Great Black for it to sniff.

Then, he turned toward the back of his wooden house and hurled the stone with all his might.

The stone flew over the roof and landed somewhere far away, over a hundred meters out, disappearing from view.

Never mind Great Black sitting on the ground; even the standing townspeople couldn’t see where the stone landed.

"Great Black, go find that stone," Jiang Zuo gave Great Black the command.

Great Black immediately shot off, weaving through the crowd and running in the direction the stone was thrown.

Many of the surrounding townspeople surged forward, curiously following after it.

When Great Black was about halfway to where the stone had landed, it slowed its pace, walking slowly with its head down, sniffing the ground.

But in just a moment, it started running again, snatched a stone from the weeds, and raced back.

Returning to the front of the wooden house, Great Black placed the stone at Jiang Zuo’s feet.

"So fast! This big black dog’s sense of smell is incredible!"

The crowd looked over and saw that it was indeed the stone with the character "Li" written on it.

"Besides tracking scents, Great Black can also give a warning when it smells certain poisons. Of course, it doesn’t work for all poisons; it’s not quite *that* amazing," Jiang Zuo added. "Last night, I bought a venomous grass snake. I’ll use its venom on a few tea snacks to give you all a simple demonstration."

"It can even smell poison?"

Hearing that Great Black had such an ability, the crowd was even more surprised.

Jiang Zuo first had Great Black wait inside the wooden house, then came forward, holding the venomous snake.

Finding a table willing to participate, he dripped a few drops of venom onto some of their tea snacks.

Four poisoned tea snacks were mixed in with normal ones and placed on different tables. Then, Jiang Zuo called Great Black back out.

Great Black started from the front, sniffing at each table one by one.

"WOOF! WOOF!"

Soon, every single one of the poisoned tea snacks had been accurately identified.

Some of the wealthy people who had only come to watch the spectacle now found their interest piqued.

’This dog’s ability might not be something I’d use often, but it’s better to be safe than sorry.’

’If it ever did come in handy, it could save my life!’

The atmosphere of the auction instantly became more heated.

Next, Jiang Zuo had Great Black demonstrate a few more commands, highlighting its docile and obedient nature—it would do exactly as told without fail.

"This dog is too obedient. I’m afraid this man used some kind of trick," Subai said, suddenly frowning.

Looking at the big black dog, she was reminded of the Celestial Fox Race, kept in captivity by the Demon Emperors.

"So what if he used some tricks? It’s just a dog that doesn’t know any better."

"Forget dogs. Among all the living beings in the world, how many are not enslaved? It’s just a matter of degree," Granny Mei, however, said coolly.

’Subai is still too young, too soft-hearted.’

However, Granny Mei didn’t lecture her any further.

’If the Celestial Fox Race is to escape its fate of being kept in captivity, Subai will have to go through countless bloody battles on this journey.’

’She doesn’t need to say more. Sooner or later, Subai will have to cast aside this pointless sympathy.’

’Even if that sympathy was born from the plight of the Celestial Fox Race.’

"The demonstration ends here. Patrons, if you’re interested, you can now write your bids on the slips of paper. I will come around to collect them shortly."

After speaking, Jiang Zuo sat down, picked up his cup of morning tea, and began to drink it slowly.

After a while, Jiang Zuo saw that most of the seated crowd had stopped writing, so he got up and walked over, collecting the slips of paper they handed him one by one.

There was no shortage of people who wanted Great Black, but with even Steward Luo present, some felt their bids were unlikely to win, so not that many people ended up submitting one.

Jiang Zuo counted; only a little over fifty people had made a bid.

Looking through them one by one, Jiang Zuo’s eyes quickly locked onto a particular slip.

Knowing the result had been decided, the crowd looked over curiously, wanting to know who would be Great Black’s final owner.

"Steward Luo, with a bid of five thousand taels!" Jiang Zuo took a deep breath, slowly announced the winner, and held up the slip of paper for the crowd to see.

"Five thousand taels? Heavens, didn’t they say it would be a thousand-some taels at most?"

"A single dog actually sold for that much money?"

Seeing the astonishing price, everyone present was completely shocked.

Even Jiang Zuo initially thought he had misread the number.

He had estimated it would go for two or three thousand taels at most.

But the amount Steward Luo offered was double that.

In fact, among the fifty-odd bids, Steward Luo’s was the only one that exceeded three thousand taels.

However, amid the shocked murmurs, several experienced elders looked at Steward Luo’s bid, their expressions turning a little grim.

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