848 Making An Enemy (1/2)
After entrusting the goods, Fang Yuan was automatically granted admittance to the auction.
Of course, since the auction was due to start in the evening, Fang Yuan and the rest were first invited into a splendid private room, where there was an endless supply of wine and delicacies.
As Butcher was munching on chicken drumsticks, one in each hand, someone knocked on the door.
”Who's there?” Fang Yuan frowned.
”Sorry… Sir, Mr. Heathfrey wants to meet you!” An attendant entered, the helpless smile on his face suggesting that he had no other choice.
”That slave trader?”
Fang Yuan shrugged and took a look at Wilson's expression. ”Let him come here!”
Heathfrey was swarthy, obese, and short. He had a ferocious expression on his muscular face and an extremely ruthless glow in his small eyes.
Rumor had it that he had instigated civil strife in two small indigenous countries that eventually led to their collapse just because he wanted the thousands of strong slaves and a beautiful princess in the countries.
”Arcane Trickster Roche!” Heathfrey rudely sat down opposite Fang Yuan, irritating Fang Yuan slightly. ”I want your female slave. Give me a quote!”
”Hehe…”
Fang Yuan cast a fierce glance at the auction house attendant at the side.
Evidently, the commercial firm of this pirate team was blatantly faithless, leaking information about the lots before the start of the auction.
Of course, from another point of view, he could tell that this slave trader possessed tremendous power. He might even be in the same firm as the auction house.
”You mean Elizabeth… I'm auctioning her only for gold coins. The reservation price is ten thousand gold coins, but if she's in great demand, the price may rise to twenty thousand gold coins… However, if you're willing to pay fifteen thousand gold coins, you can take her away.”
”Fifteen thousand gold coins? Are you joking?” Heathfrey stared with his small eyes wide open. ”I can buy hundreds of pretty women slaves with this amount of money! That woman is at most worth five thousand gold coins…”
He took a glance at Wilson and sneered. ”Of course, since this is the first time I'm doing business with Captain Arcane Trickster, I can't make you suffer a loss. How about five thousand gold coins plus that slave named Helga?”
”Do you think that a mere voyager is worth ten thousand gold coins?” Fang Yuan pointed at the door. ”If you're here to joke with me, this joke is unusually clumsy!”
”Lad! Bloody Mary is not the inshore waters where any pirate can wreak havoc!” Heathfrey banged the table, his eyes emitting a fierce glow. ”Do you know that everything here belongs to the great Blackbeard! And I, Heathfrey, am an important merchant serving Blackbeard… As soon as I demand it, the auction house will hand that woman over to me!”
Bill's expression changed when he heard this, looking at his captain worriedly.
Wilson also clenched his fists nervously.
Obviously, they thought that Fang Yuan had been too reckless.
”Go ahead!” Fang Yuan gestured. ”She's just a woman, so do anything you want… However, from tomorrow onward, a story about how the auction house extorts and plunders commodities will circulate in the entire port!”
Even though this auction house was associated with Heathfrey, it could at most leak some information about the sellers and commodities in advance.
If it really dared to plunder the goods to be auctioned, it would definitely be courting death!
Which pirate or merchant would dare trade with the auction house once it did such a thing?
Even a hundred Elizabeths could not make up for the resulting losses. Furthermore, if the backer of the auction house—Blackbeard—learned about such deeds, Heathfrey would only end up as a skin floating in the wind at the dock.
”Very good… You're quite daring!”
The two bodyguards behind Heathfrey had taken out their weapons, but Heathfrey restrained their further actions. He said to Fang Yuan balefully, ”Do you know that a dead person can't talk?”
”Unfortunately, it looks like we can't agree to a deal!”
Fang Yuan shrugged, not caring about the threat at all.
”You'll regret it! I swear!”
Heathfrey took one last stare at Fang Yuan, as though he wanted to etch Fang Yuan's appearance into his mind, before slamming the door behind him.
”Captain…” Wilson wanted to say something but hesitated.
”You're afraid that he'll torture Helga?” Fang Yuan was somewhat speechless. ”This would have been likely to happen if I had appeared more concerned about Helga. But now… he won't do that. After all, he still needs to sell this high-level slave tonight.”
Of course, even Fang Yuan felt more surprised now.
Heathfrey's attention clearly implied that there might still be some secrets in Elizabeth or those close to her.
”In this case, she can be sold at an even higher price tonight!”
A trace of anticipation flashed in Fang Yuan's eyes.
…
Bloody Mary Port looked more prosperous and bustling in the evening. The entire place was brightly illuminated.
Noise, quarrels, and even the sound from fights echoed continuously.
In the hall of the auction house.
Good-looking attendants moved through the crowds like butterflies moving through clusters of flowers, receiving pirates and merchants one after another.
The auction house in Bloody Mary Port was very famous in both the Nightmare Ocean and Ettoman.