Chapter 105: A Fortunate Mistake

Second update.

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The auction plaza was stirred into a considerable frenzy by the ten ‘female artisan slaves’ from Zehe Kingdom. In less than two minutes, with dozens of bids, the price soared to six thousand seven hundred gold coins—equivalent to some ordinary five- or six-star high-quality equipment.

Eileen noticed that with each bid from the crowd, the ten artisan slaves on stage would quickly glance toward the bidder. If the bidder looked ordinary, it was fine, but if there was even a hint of lechery or a brutish expression, the ten girls would huddle together, trembling.

“They’re so pitiful.”

“……”

Xu Wen sighed softly.

Just moments ago, he had overheard from the talkative man beside him, who resembled a scheming military advisor, that slave auctions were always very clear-cut.

In the early stages, the lowest-class slaves were auctioned first—mere laborers barely surviving; often, a single gold coin could buy several.

These auctions were the most chaotic but also the simplest.

You just chose the tags of the slaves you wanted and found the person in charge; pay a little, and you could take them away.

The second round involved ordinary female slaves. Wealthy families, common households, even some bachelors could bid—though the latter usually needed connections to cover the deposit.

The third round featured child slaves, priced slightly above ordinary female slaves.

After that came artisan slaves, warrior slaves, alchemist slaves, jade slaves—the later the category, the higher the price.

Xu Wen had originally planned to buy a few pitiful children to make up for Eileen’s childhood regrets and then leave. Unexpectedly, the auction had already reached the artisan slaves, and these were top-tier female artisan slaves, commanding prices seemingly higher than warrior slaves...

“The later it gets, the more expensive it might be. Better to buy them and leave.”

Xu Wen wasn’t worried about the money. With his alchemy skills, money was nothing to him; he just didn’t want to attract too much attention. After some thought, he was the first to raise his bidding card:

“Eight thousand gold coins.”

“Sold!”

“This young master truly recognizes value! A bid of eight thousand gold coins!”

“Anyone willing to offer more? If not, this young master will take the beauties home.”

Hearing the auctioneer’s words, Xu Wen felt a strong urge to punch him.

The man was clearly stirring things up...

Sure enough!

The bid for the ten female slaves instantly jumped from seven thousand two hundred gold coins to eight thousand. The auction hall fell into a brief silence. Xu Wen even felt all kinds of gazes focused on him from all directions. But as soon as the auctioneer spoke, it was as if Xu Wen was placed in opposition to all the male bidders. Several thick-headed fellows stood up:

“Eight thousand five hundred gold coins!”

“I’ll raise it to nine thousand!”

“……”

Those who had just bid eight thousand two hundred gold coins were naturally ignored. Only a rotund man with a broad face and a pale young man made higher bids, throwing challenging looks at Xu Wen, as if daring him to compete.

If this were Earth, Xu Wen would sum up these people with two words:

Idiots.

It wasn’t the spoiled heirs that were scary—it was those who lived off their wealth without effort...

These two were obvious examples: dressed lavishly, adorned with countless pendants, surrounded by servile lackeys, as if afraid no one would know they were rich.

Xu Wen calmly shifted his gaze back to the artisan slaves on stage and sighed quietly. With these two fools stirring trouble and an auctioneer eager to provoke an outrageous price, he might lose all his money and still fail to win.

At that moment, Eileen, who had been sitting quietly beside Xu Wen, raised her bidding card:

“Eleven thousand gold coins!”

Qing Yue’s voice brought a sudden hush over the auction plaza.

Eileen?

Xu Wen glanced at her: no wonder she was the city lord’s daughter; her boldness in spending vast sums was formidable.

The hall was silent for several seconds before the auctioneer resumed his eloquent speech.

But no one was paying attention anymore.

Nearby, a young gentleman smiled gently, clasped his hands, and bowed: “Since this lady is interested, I won’t interfere.” The self-styled elegant man sat back down.

“Me too, me too. Beauty, I won’t compete with you.”

The rotund man, afraid the beauty’s attention might be drawn to the other fellow, called out but did not sit, staring fixedly at this side, as if unwilling to rest until the beauty returned his smile.

No one else bid again.

The ten female artisan slaves on stage brightened instantly, their eyes sparkling with joy as they spotted the conspicuous Eileen in the crowd, hoping to fall into her hands.

Seeing the girls’ uplifted spirits, Xu Wen gave a faint smile. They knew all too well the difference between being owned by a woman and being in the hands of a man. He sighed softly:

“If I had known this, I would have let you bid from the start and saved some money...”

Of course, this was directed at Eileen.

Just then, Eileen leaned against Xu Wen’s side, and he was startled. He heard her soft, anxious voice, tinged with a touch of panic:

“Why did everyone stop bidding?”

“Huh?”

Xu Wen turned to her, blinking, clearly not understanding.

“I didn’t bring any money! What do I do, Xu Wen?”

Eileen’s voice grew slightly tearful, and she fidgeted, her eyes misted like a dream: “I originally planned to make them bleed a little more... why did everyone stop bidding?”

Xu Wen slapped his forehead, suddenly realizing: Eileen had no funds for the auction at all. She had only intended to drive up the price to mess with those two men but had inadvertently trapped herself.

Impressive...

Just as he was about to reassure her, the auctioneer struck the gavel, finalizing the sale of the ten female artisan slaves from Zehe Kingdom.

Eileen’s panic deepened.

“What do we do? This is bad. Maybe if we pay compensation, it’s not too late... Xu Wen, can you cover it for me? When I return, I’ll have my father pay you back.”

“……”

Xu Wen sighed inwardly—she was adorably foolish.

Although he hadn’t planned to raise the price further—not because he lacked money but because he worried those men, egged on by the auctioneer, would go all out against him—he still had a bit of cash. When leaving Blackwater City, Mu Yuanshan and Elder Xu each gave him a crystal card loaded with twenty thousand gold coins.

As soon as the auctioneer brought the ten female artisan slaves over, before Eileen could speak, Xu Wen handed over the card and paid the eleven thousand gold coins for her.

“Don’t do this kind of thing again. Let’s go.”

Looking at the now calmer Eileen, Xu Wen smiled slightly and turned, preparing to leave the auction plaza.

“Young master, leaving so soon? There’s more excitement ahead.”

The scheming military advisor leered, stroking the small mustache above his lip.

“The more exciting it is, the more expensive. I have no money,” Xu Wen replied simply and walked ahead. Eileen stuck out her tongue and followed, then came the ten artisan slaves, hand in hand, timidly passing through the crowd emitting faint green light.

Outside the plaza, Xu Wen took the ten female artisan slaves to a nearby clothing shop and bought them garments to cover their exposed, alluring skin. Watching the ten girls now dressed in civilian clothes, he turned to Eileen:

“We’ve bought them. What do you plan to do with them?”

“How about sending them back to where they came from?” Eileen suggested, tilting her head.

Several of the ‘female artisan slaves’ immediately paled and fell silent, then knelt down.

“Please, master, don’t send us back. Our sisters have no family left, and the village was burned to ashes. If we return, we won’t have anywhere to live and will surely be captured again. Please don’t drive us away. We’re willing to serve our master for life.” Having finally found a kind master, they weren’t about to return to the tiger’s den.

“I see.”

Eileen’s face softened with pity as she looked at the pleading, hopeful expressions of the girls, then frowned in difficulty.

“But we’re about to head to the Scarlet Alliance. We won’t be able to take care of you there.”

“I’ll arrange for someone to escort them back to Blackwater City,” Xu Wen offered. Within a thousand-mile radius of Blackwater City, the Horton-Kline family ruled, and with Eileen’s father as the city lord, the ten girls would be perfectly safe.

However, he didn’t fully trust the Horton-Kline family. It would be better to send them to the city lord’s mansion under his own name, along with some gold coins to enroll the girls in the Slan Academy—completely secure.

“Wonderful. Let’s do that,” Eileen nodded excitedly and whispered to the girls, whose faces lit up with joy.

Soon after, Xu Wen and Eileen took the ten girls to the West City family’s Aviary Post, instructing them to safely deliver the girls to the Blackwater City city lord’s mansion. Only then did the two return to Longhu Academy to register.

What Xu Wen did not know was that shortly after they left the Aviary Post...

Two spies who had been tailing them left the West City family, blending back into the crowd and returning to the auction plaza.

“What?”

At the auction hall, the pale-faced young master frowned and stood.

“You’re not mistaken—it really was a distinguished guest of the West City family?”

“Master, the Purple Gold Token is unmistakable. I wouldn’t be wrong. The West City family’s people were very respectful toward him. Those ten female slaves probably...”

The reply came with a slight raise of the eyes, glancing at the auctioneer standing beside the young master. The auctioneer’s face was ashen, eyes darting around without focus, cold sweat covering his forehead—clearly in deep trouble.

“Look at what you’ve done!”

The young master strode over and kicked the auctioneer over, blood spilling from his mouth.

Still unsatisfied, he snarled:

“Those female slaves were reserved by a distinguished guest, and you dared to auction them off on your own? And they ended up in the hands of someone like that! Even if you had ten heads, you wouldn’t survive!”

“Please spare me, master! I’ve sent people to pursue them. We will definitely get them back!” the auctioneer pleaded desperately.

“Pursue?”

The young master smiled bitterly at this, grabbed the auctioneer’s chin, and ground his teeth:

“Do you think the West City family is stupid? Trying to snatch people from them? If you want to die, don’t drag our family down with you!”

His tone shifted.

“Men! Add extra feed to the ‘treasures’ in the cages.”

“Right away!”

Two burly swordsmen entered the tent. Before the auctioneer could make a desperate, shrill plea, they struck his nape.

“He must be awake during feeding.”

The young master looked at the auctioneer who had served him for years with disdain, as if he were a dog.

“Yes!”

The two warriors shuddered slightly before dragging the man out.

“For a bit of petty profit, you’ve ruined a great plan... You two, take the fastest bird and return to the Scarlet Alliance. Bring me back ten female slaves!”

There was no warmth in the young master’s eyes as he ordered his men. Then, unconsciously, he recalled the girl who had appeared once at the auction—a glimpse that had left a strong impression.

“So it was the West City family’s people after all... What a pity...”