"No matter what, he's still my property..." The slave trader forced a smile on his rugged face, his opinion of the girl before him already changed.
"Just put it on my tab later."
"Straightforward!"
Along the way, the slave trader went on endlessly introducing Xu Xiaoyou to everything, almost wearing sycophancy on his face.
"How about this, the Klue eyeball, that's a grotesque creature! As the rumor goes, in the land of only full moons in the sky..."
"Squeak!"
In the cage, an eyeball flew around, dragging long nerves of blood and flesh, covered with terrifying blood vessels. Strangely, dense sharp teeth replaced what should have been the pupil.
Standing before that small eyeball, Xu Xiaoyou had the feeling of being "peered at," as if gazing into an abyss.
"Not this one."
"How about this, a Wall-Facer, also a grotesque creature." The slave trader pointed to a corner of the cage, a humanoid creature seemingly made entirely of reinforced concrete.
Xu Xiaoyou blinked, and almost instantly, the creature flickered from the corner to the front of the cage. On the concrete face, numerous eyeballs stared at her.
"It took me a lot of effort to capture this one, as long as no one is watching, it moves at an extremely fast speed and attacks the people nearby."
"So, even if I become its master, with my back to it..."
"Your neck would be broken by it," the slave trader said seriously.
"Interesting, but no thank you." Xu Xiaoyou waved her hand.
As they proceeded further down the corridor, the girl showed no interest in any of the slaves in the cages, making the slave trader a bit embarrassed. Finally, he braced himself and led the girl to a spot.
Inside the cage were two figures with dark purple skin, both with their hands shackled to the wall's iron chains, in a humiliating half-squat posture.
The male had a sturdy figure, brown hair, red eyes, and tattered clothes accentuating the muscles of his chest. The female had a striking physique, blonde hair, blue eyes, and a few ragged clothes draped over her long, glossy legs.
Seemingly sensing the girl's gaze, both of them reacted; the male straightened his spine, while the female gritted her teeth, turning her blushing face away sharply.
"Huh?"
"In the daytime, they're called Dark Night Elves," the slave trader said.
"And at night, what are they called?" Xu Xiaoyou was curious.
"At night they are also called Dark Night Elves."
Xu Xiaoyou suddenly felt that the slave trader's meat-squeezed face was becoming vulgar.
"Not interested in this either? Dark Night Elves are in high demand! They have excellent racial bloodlines, good physique, fast comprehension, and a proud nature. Being a guard or sparring partner is just the beginning; they are the best bed partners in this world! Their skills are extremely diverse..."
"No need to elaborate, I'm not interested, thanks."
"Sigh~ You've got high standards. That's it then, I only have so many slaves," the slave trader spread his hands helplessly.
Just then, a noise came from the corner at the end of the passage. At first, it sounded like the low growl of a wolf-like creature facing a threat.
Xu Xiaoyou knew she had found her target for coming here, her eyes brightened briefly, but she hid it well, feigning nonchalance as she approached the cage, taking a glance inside.
Inside the cage was a small girl covered in wounds, now crouching on the ground like an angry little beast, her beast ears erect, her whole body tense, a pair of shattered red eyes seemingly engraving the blonde girl outside the cage into her memory.
"This one? This one is not for sale." The slave trader was immediately interrupted by Xu Xiaoyou as he started to speak.
"Anger."
Seeing the girl coldly call him by his name, the slave trader broke into a cold sweat, involuntarily lowering his stance.
"Sorry, what I mean is, she's... not easy to sell."
"Why do you say that?"
"She... sigh, I don't know what she's been through, but she's extremely wary of the outside world," Anger sighed, a complexity flashing in his sharp eyes. "There were a few customers before, but they were all scared away. Can't sell her, and if we don't feed her, she'll make a racket. No matter how we drag her out, she won't budge. Essentially, she's a loss-making product. If you really want her, you can have her for free."
"As long as, you can take her out."
"Open the cage, I want to see just how hard it is to take her out." Xu Xiaoyou looked down at the beast in the cage, a slight smile on her lips.
The cage door was slowly opened, and the moment the girl stepped inside, the girl in the cage sprung like a beast whose territory had been invaded, her body arching, claws extending from her hands, retreating while emitting a louder growl as a last warning.
The girl was filthy, her faded yellow tattered dress covered with straw, a head of white hair dull and brittle from prolonged malnutrition, and her arms and calves covered in cuts from the straw. Her tender feet were already rubbed raw and bleeding profusely.
Xu Xiaoyou looked down at the girl, noticing the bruises all over her body, and glanced back at Anger.
"I haven't mistreated her! It has nothing to do with me, I don't have those evil hobbies. It must be her former female owner, I've heard it was like that..." Anger felt a shiver when stared at like that, hurriedly waving his hands to explain.
"Ooooo...
As Xu Xiaoyou drew steadily closer, the caged girl, at the moment her forearm tensed ready to pounce, heard a gentle call from the blond girl's lips.
"Anya."
Xu Xiaoyou didn't step forward an inch more. The fluctuating candlelight behind her stretched her shadow long, gradually reaching towards the girl covered in scars within the cage.
"Do you want to stay in this cage, or come with me, to a place with warmth, food, and no need to constantly worry about danger..."
"A place called home."
"Home...?"
Anya stood still, as the golden-haired girl meeting the light overlapped with the woman from her memory emerging from the darkness with an indistinct face.
Someone had once asked her this same thing.
But that woman never brought her warmth, food, nor took her to a place called home.
The painful memories of the past made Anya's shattered red eyes tremble slightly, tears beginning to flow bit by bit. She lightly shook her head, instinctively wanting to retreat.
Yet the girl before her was similar to that woman then, clearly seeming full of lies with each subtle action crafted to adorn deceit. But her words held a temptation so irresistible that they left no room for refusal.
She truly yearned for a home...
Anya could no longer suppress the tears pooling in her eyes, and sobbing loudly, she leapt forward.
Xu Xiaoyou smiled and opened her arms, ready to embrace her.
Anya bit down fiercely on her head.