Dugu Bo looked at them and warned:

"I'll let you off this time, but if I catch you lying again, I won't let you off so easily."

The stall owner nodded quickly and agreed, then left the nearby area in shame.

Zhuge Lan looked at the backs of the stall owner and others as they left, and he walked to the side of the man in the crimson robe.

He patted the crimson robe man on the shoulder and said:
"Brother, I've finally let you off the hook this time. You better be more careful next time and don't fall for this kind of trick so easily."

The man in the crimson robe looked at Zhuge Lan gratefully and said:

"Thank you so much this time. If it weren't for your help, my money would have been wasted. I don't know how long I would have been cheated by them."

Zhuge Lan smiled slightly and said:
"When we are out, we should help each other. But there are indeed many scammers in this world, so we have to be more careful. What are your plans next?"

The man in the crimson robe pondered for a moment and said:
"After this incident, I feel that I am still too naive. I plan to practice hard first to improve my strength and knowledge, otherwise I may suffer losses next time I encounter such a situation."

As he spoke, he took out a thousand gold soul coins and handed them to Zhuge Lan as a thank you.

"Hey, what are you doing? It's just a small favor from me, no need for that!"

Zhuge Lan refused with his mouth, but his hands were honest.

His hands were held forward motionless, with no intention of retracting them.

The man in the crimson robe couldn't help but smile when he saw Zhuge Lan's appearance.

He knew that Zhuge Lan was just being polite, but in his heart he still wanted to accept the thanks.

So he simply stuffed the gold soul coin into Zhuge Lan's hand and said:
"Brother, please don't refuse. This is a small token of my appreciation. If it weren't for your help, I would have suffered a huge loss today. Please accept it. It will make me feel better."

Seeing this, Zhuge Lan smiled, put away the gold soul coin, and said:
"Then I won't be polite, haha. If you have any problems in the future, just come to me."

After saying this, he patted his chest, looking very confident.

The man in the crimson robe nodded and said:
"Thanks, brother. It is my great honor to meet you all today. I wonder where you are going next?"

Dugu Bo stroked his green beard and said slowly:
"We plan to go to the auction. We heard there are a lot of interesting things there."

"auctions?"

The man in the crimson robe was slightly startled, then smiled and said:

"Yes, most of the people who came to the ghost market today came for the annual auction."

Zhuge Lan also nodded, with anticipation in his eyes, and said excitedly:
"Yes! I heard that the items in this auction are very valuable, and they are all rare treasures."

A gleam of light flashed in the eyes of the man in the crimson robe, and he said:

"Since you are all going to the auction, that's a coincidence. I know a thing or two about auctions, so maybe I can provide you with some information."

Dugu Bo looked at him with interest and asked, "Oh? What do you know about the auction?"

The man in the crimson robe cleared his throat and said:

"This auction attracts many powerful people and wealthy people every year. The auction items are dazzling, from precious soul bones to rare fairy herbs, from powerful weapons to mysterious skills. Moreover, the competition in the auction is also very fierce. Sometimes, for a desired treasure, various forces will fight to the death."

Zhuge Lan couldn't help but exclaimed:
"So amazing! Then we have to see it for ourselves. However, we don't quite understand the rules of this auction. Can you tell us about them?"

The man in the crimson robe nodded and said:
"Of course. The rules of the auction are not too complicated. First of all, you need a certain identity verification or an invitation letter to enter the auction. However, judging from your temperament, you are not ordinary people, so there shouldn't be any problems. First of all, identity verification means that you must show the guard that you have at least 5,000 gold soul coins on you. In other words, when you enter, you need to take out 5,000 gold soul coins to prove that you have at least this much wealth before you are allowed to enter the auction venue. Secondly, as for the invitation letter, generally only those large families with strong wealth will receive invitations."

Zhuge Lan nodded and continued to listen to him carefully.

"During the auction, everyone can bid according to their own wishes, and each bid increase has a certain range requirement. If the final bid is the highest, you can get the auction item. However, it should be noted that once you bid, you cannot regret it, otherwise you will be severely punished by the auction."

After listening to this, Dugu Bo said:

"Well, these rules make sense. Have you heard about any special treasures that will be sold at this auction?"

The man in the crimson robe pondered for a moment and said:
"I'm not sure about that. The items in an auction are usually kept secret and will only be revealed when the auction begins. However, based on my experience, there will always be a few treasures at each auction that will definitely make people's eyes light up. You can look forward to it."

Zhuge Lan rubbed his hands excitedly:

"Haha, I'm really looking forward to it. By the way, brother, you just said that you know a thing or two about auctions. Do you go there often?"

The man in the crimson robe smiled somewhat embarrassedly and said:
"Emmm, after all, this auction is only held once a year, I will go and have a look and broaden my horizons. After all, my financial strength is limited, and the auction prices of those treasures are all sky-high! I can only look and cannot afford them. I remember once there was a very small elixir, and in the end the competition was no longer based on money, but on bartering. Many people took out their most valuable treasures to exchange, and some even put their entire family property on the line."

Zhuge Lan was also shocked when he heard this:
"Oh my god, this is so exciting?"

At this time, Dugu Bo patted the shoulder of the man in the crimson robe and said:
"Young man, don't lose heart. As long as you work hard and practice, you will have everything in the future. Look at us, we have also come this far step by step since we were young."

The man in the crimson robe looked at Dugu Bo with pretended gratitude and said:

"Senior is right. I will definitely work hard."

"Ah! That's right."

At this moment, the man in the crimson robe seemed to suddenly remember something.

He took out a black card from his pocket, handed it to Dugu Bo, and said:

"Senior, please take this card."

Dugu Bo took the black card. There was a pattern printed on it, which looked like the logo of some sect or organization.

He asked with some doubt:

"What card is this?" (End of this chapter)