"No matter what, he's still my property..." A smile squeezed onto the slave trader's coarse face, but his internal perception of the girl before him had already undergone a complete transformation.
"Just put it on my tab later."
"Splendid!"
Along the way, the slave trader chattered incessantly to Xu Xiaoyou, his face practically glowing with flattery.
"How about this one? A krul's eye—it's an urban eldritch creature! Legend says that in a kingdom where the sky only ever holds a full moon..."
"Screech!"
Inside the cage, an eyeball flew about, dragging a long tail of flesh and nerves, covered in terrifying blood vessels. Bizarrely, dense, sharp teeth occupied the place where the pupil should have been.
Standing before that small eyeball, Xu Xiaoyou felt a sense of being 'watched,' as if she were staring into an abyss.
"I'll pass."
"And this? A wall-facer. Also an urban eldritch creature." The slave trader pointed to a corner of a cage at a humanoid creature that appeared to be made entirely of reinforced concrete.
Xu Xiaoyou blinked. In an instant, the creature flickered from the corner to the front of the iron bars. On its concrete face, a multitude of eyeballs stared intently at her.
"Capturing this one took quite a bit of effort. As long as no one is watching it, it moves at extreme speeds and attacks anyone nearby."
"So, even if I become its master, if I turn my back on it..."
"It would snap your neck," the slave trader said seriously.
"It's good, but no thanks." Xu Xiaoyou waved her hand.
As they continued down the corridor, the girl showed no interest in any of the slaves in the cages, making the slave trader feel a bit awkward. Finally, steeling his resolve, he led her to a specific spot.
Two figures with dark purple skin were confined within the cage. Their hands were shackled to chains on the wall, forcing them into a humiliating semi-squat.
The male was well-built with brown hair and red eyes, his ragged clothes accentuating the muscular contours of his chest. The female had a striking figure, blonde hair, and green eyes, with a few scraps of cloth hanging off her long, shapely, and lustrous thighs.
Sensing the girl's gaze, both reacted. The male straightened his back while the female bit her lip, her face flushing slightly as she sharply turned away.
"Hmm?"
"In the daytime, they are called dark elves," the slave trader said.
"And what are they called at night?" Xu Xiaoyou asked, curious.
"At night, they moan like dark elves."
Xu Xiaoyou suddenly felt that the fat squeezed onto the slave trader's face had become incredibly greasy.
"You're not interested in even this? Dark elves are hot commodities! Their bloodline is superior, they have great bodies, they learn quickly, and they're prideful. Setting aside their ability as guards or sparring partners, they are the best bed-mates in the world! Their techniques are incredibly varied..."
"No need for details. I'm not interested, thank you."
"Sigh... You really have high standards. Well, that's it then. These are all the slaves I have." The slave trader shrugged helplessly.
Just then, a commotion came from a corner at the end of the corridor. At first listen, it sounded like the low growl of a lupine creature facing a threat.
Xu Xiaoyou knew she had found her target. Her eyes brightened slightly, though she hid it well. She casually approached the iron cage and glanced inside.
Inside was a little girl covered in wounds, currently crawling on the ground like an angry young beast. Her beast ears were pricked, her body tense, and her pair of fractured red eyes seemed intent on carving the image of the blonde girl outside the cage deep into her heart.
"This one? This one isn't for sale," the slave trader began, only to be interrupted by Xu Xiaoyou.
"Angor."
Hearing the girl call his name with such a cold expression, a cold sweat broke out on the slave trader's back, and he involuntarily lowered his posture.
"Apologies, what I meant was, she... she's not easy to sell."
"How so?"
"Her? Sigh, who knows what she went through before, but she's incredibly wary of the outside world." Angor sighed, a hint of complexity flashing in his shrewd eyes. "There were a few customers before, but they were all scared off. She can't be sold, but if I don't feed her, she makes a terrible racket. She refuses to come out no matter how much you pull. In short, she's a money-loser. If you really want her, I'll give her to you for free."
"Provided you can actually take her out of there."
"Open the cage. I'd like to see just how hard she is to take out." Xu Xiaoyou looked down at the beast in the cage, the corners of her mouth curling slightly.
The cage door was slowly opened. The moment the girl stepped inside, the girl in the cage grew furious, like a wild beast whose territory had been invaded. Her body arched, claws extended, and she backed away while intensifying her low growl as a final warning.
The girl was filthy. Her tattered, yellowed dress was covered in straw. Her white hair was dull and dry from long-term malnutrition. Her arms and calves were covered in small cuts from the straw, and her tender feet were already worn and bloody.
Xu Xiaoyou looked down at the girl, noting the purple bruises covering her body, then glanced back at Angor.
"I never mistreated her! It has nothing to do with me; I don't have that kind of sick hobby. It was probably her previous mistress. That's what I heard, anyway..." For some reason, being stared at like that made Angor feel a chill, and he hurriedly waved his hands in explanation.
"Grrr... Grrr..."
Watching Xu Xiaoyou draw closer, just as the girl in the cage tensed her forearms and prepared to pounce, she heard the blonde girl softly call out.
"Anya."
Xu Xiaoyou didn't advance another inch. The flickering candlelight behind her cast a long shadow, stretching bit by bit toward the wounded girl in the cage.
"Do you want to stay in this cage forever, or come with me to a place that is warm, has food, and where you never have to worry about danger again..."
"A place called home."
"Home...?"
Anya froze. The blonde girl standing in the light began to overlap with the memory of a woman walking out of the darkness, her face obscured.
Someone had once asked her that, too.
But that woman never brought her warmth or food, nor did she take her to a place called home.
Painful memories of the past caused Anya's fractured red eyes to tremble, and tears began to leak out. She shook her head slightly, instinctively wanting to retreat.
But the girl before her was just like that woman back then. Clearly, she seemed to be lying; every subtle movement felt calculated to polish a falsehood. Yet, her words carried a temptation she couldn't refuse, nor was she permitted to refuse.
She really, really wanted a home...
Anya could no longer hold back the tears welling in her eyes. With a loud wail, she lunged forward.
Xu Xiaoyou smiled and opened her arms, ready to give her a hug.
Anya bit down hard on her head.
Rate on N.U.
