LIGHTNOVELSTORY chapter 6
6
In the inn, a knight brought a man Gu Ming had never seen before to him.
“Young master, this man is named Tuer. He says he knows where the slave trader you mentioned is located.”
Gu Ming stared at Tuer.
“Do you really know where Sinis is?”
Tuer hurriedly replied,
“Yes yes yes yes yes I know.”
“Don’t be nervous when you speak. If you truly have information, there will be benefits for you,”
Gu Ming gestured as if rubbing coins together.
“Yes yes yes, I under-under-understand clearly,”
Gu Ming was somewhat speechless and looked helplessly at the guard who had brought him.
“Where did you find this guy? He’s so peculiar.”
The guard replied,
“Replying to young master, we were asking around in the market area when he volunteered saying ‘he he he knows,’ so we brought him here.”
“And young master, it seems like it’s not just nerves; he seems to be like this naturally.”
The guard whispered into his ear,
Gu Ming looked at Tu Er.
“Then you lead the way.”
“Right, right, my lord.”
“Stop, don’t talk, just lead the way.”
Obediently, Tu Er silently led the way. About an hour or two later, in a dark alley surrounded by buildings of various sizes, Tu Er pointed to one of the doors and stuttered,
“It’s this thi-this…”
Before Tu Er could finish his sentence, Gu Ming raised his hand to interrupt him,
“This pl-place… pah!”
Gu Ming felt somewhat annoyed inside.
“Damn it, you’ve led me into a mess.”
“There’s nothing more for you here. Take this money and get lost.”
Tu Er looked at the money bag in his hands and grinned broadly,
“Thank thank thank you very much, my lord.”
Gu Ming really had a headache with this fellow. He pointed randomly in one direction and said,
“Hurry hur-hurry… pah! Just go!”
Seeing no other choice, Tu Er dejectedly walked away.
Gu Ming knocked on the wooden door before him; he could faintly hear cursing from inside.
“Who is it? Didn’t you see we’re closed?”
The door slowly opened with a creak. A man with a beer belly stepped out; he sized up Gu Ming from head to toe until he saw the knight standing behind him. His expression quickly changed as he hurriedly fawned over them.
“Are you adults?”
“Are you Sinis?”
“Yes, sir, I am Sinis. Are you here to buy slaves?”
Gu Ming frowned slightly and nodded.
“Alright, sir, please follow me.”
Gu Ming entered with only two knights while the rest waited outside. Following Sinis into the room, Gu Ming saw countless iron cages containing various races. dwarves, humans, sub-humans, and even demons.
In a corner, Gu Ming spotted a sub-human girl with numerous scars curled up in the corner; she was likely the source of the earlier shouting.
Seeing her condition stirred pity in Gu Ming; he thought she looked pitiable and considered buying her. He then assessed her:
Race: Canine Tribe
Name: Tina
Level: 8
Skills: None
He was startled to realize that the person he was looking for was right there.
Approaching her and seeing the dense whip marks on her body made him somewhat distressed; his tone grew angry as he asked,
“What did she do wrong to deserve such treatment?”
Sinis had not yet noticed Gu Ming’s dark expression and explained flirtatiously,
“My lord, you don’t know this one just arrived a few days ago. Only after receiving her did I discover she’s lame. Because of this no other customers are interested. I can’t make any money off of her now that I have to keep feeding her here for free… And now she has even troubled your sight…”
Before finishing his sentence Sinis picked up a whip readying himself for action.
“No…”
Tina looked at Sinis in terror.
“Wait,” Gu Ming said with a stern look in his eyes.
“I’ve bought this slave. How much?”
Sinis quickly put down his whip and ingratiated himself, “My lord, this one is just defective goods. Perhaps you’d like to see the others? I have demons and other high-grade merchandise.”
Gu Ming shot him a harsh glance. “Are you trying to teach me how to do my business?”
The knights beside Gu Ming slowly placed their hands on the hilts of their swords, as if at a single command from Gu Ming, Sinis’s head could roll. Witnessing this scene, Sinis felt a chill run through him and beads of cold sweat formed on his forehead. He hurriedly spoke up, “Not at all, my lord. If you want to buy her, 10 silver coins will suffice.”
One of the knights beside Gu Ming tossed a bag of money to Sinis who checked the amount inside before handing over a piece of paper to Gu Ming.
“Thank you, my lord. Here is her slave contract; just sign your name here.”
Gu Ming wasted no time and signed his name directly on it. The slave mark on Tina’s chest emitted a faint white light which disappeared in less than two seconds.
Gently lifting her head, Gu Ming fed her a bottle of healing potion.
He then picked up Tina in his arms; she trembled slightly with panic within his embrace until he softly told her not to move.
Tina remained still in Gu Ming’s arms thereafter.
On the street later on, Gu Ming bought Tina some clothes intending to help her change into them when they returned.
Back at the inn where they were staying. initially intending for Tina to wash herself. it became apparent that due difficulties with her legs she couldn’t manage alone; reluctantly he helped bathe her instead.
When they emerged from the bathroom later on. Gu’s face was still flushed. he felt somewhat emotional inside.
“I must say, although Tina is only 13 years old, she has developed quite well physically, already showing some growth, cough cough…”
When Tina stood in front of Gu Ming after changing her clothes, Gu Ming felt as if she had become a different person. However, the scars on her arms still made him feel very distressed.
“Tina, can you come over here so I can have a look?”
Tina obediently walked over. Suddenly, her stomach growled loudly and she quickly knelt down in fear.
“I’m sorry, Tina won’t be hungry; please don’t hit Tina.”
Gu Ming gently helped her up and took a lollipop out of his backpack.
“Brother won’t hit you. Eat this first; I’ll go get you some food.”
Tina took the lollipop but hesitated to eat it. Seeing this, Gu Ming gave her an encouraging look.
“Go ahead and eat it; it’s okay.”
After saying this, Gu Ming felt increasingly like he was turning into a creepy man who deceives children.
Tina glanced at Gu Ming with hesitation before slowly putting the lollipop into her mouth and reluctantly licked it once but then immediately started wagging her tail happily.
Gu Ming stood up with a slight chuckle. Although curious about her tail wagging behavior when seeing how contentedly she was eating while squinting made him decide not to inquire further.
After one last glance at her he went downstairs to prepare food for her.
A minute or two later, Gu Ming came back carrying a tray which he handed to Tina,
“Eat up.”
Tina looked at the food and whispered softly,
“Why?”
Gu Ming didn’t hear clearly,
“What did you say?”
“Why are you being so nice to Tina?”
Gu Ming pretended to be deep in thought, then said lightly, “Maybe I think you’re cute and want you to be my little sister.”
Seeing Tina occasionally glance at the tray, Gu Ming couldn’t help but find it amusing. “Go ahead and eat; there’s more if it’s not enough.”
Tina carefully took a piece of meat and started eating. Realizing that Gu Ming had no intention of hitting her, she relaxed and began devouring her food voraciously.
“Cough cough…”
Gu Ming smiled and handed her a glass of water. “Slow down, don’t choke.”
After drinking the water, Tina began to eat again while tears streamed down her face. “Thank you, Master ╥﹏╥)”
Gu Ming wiped away her tears. “Alright, keep eating and no more talking.”
“Mmm.”
After wolfing down several large bowls of rice and meat, the table was a complete mess.
“Burp!”
Tina covered her mouth with a blush on her face as she observed Gu Ming’s expression.
Gu Ming smiled quietly as he picked up the plates and headed towards the kitchen.
A minute later when Gu Ming returned he found Tina limping around trying to tidy up his bed. He quickly came over to stop her saying,”Stop stop stop! You’re still not fully recovered; you need to rest more.”
Tina looked disheartened.
“Tina is useful, master, please don’t abandon Tina.”
Gu Ming walked over with a heartache and hugged her.
“Stop talking nonsense. You were bought by me; you can’t run away even if you wanted to.”
“Mm, I will definitely repay the master…”
After Tina relaxed, she fell into a deep sleep. Gu Ming was startled and quickly checked on her. Finding nothing wrong, he breathed a sigh of relief, gently covered her with a blanket, and watched her sleeping face.
“Good night, Tina.”
Gu Ming slowly closed the door and decided to rest for today before heading to Cologne Village tomorrow to find the swordsmanship master.
Name: Gu Ming
Race: Human
Level: 14
Skills: Fantasy Harvesting, Unexpected Gift, Seal Tablet
Profession: Warrior
Backpack: 88 lollipops, Silver Longsword (Fine)
Equipment: Silver White Armor (Fine)
“It’s still early; let’s walk around some more and pick up a souvenir for Tina.”
Gu Ming walked out of the inn with the head knight.