Su Muzhi and Blackie looked at each other and said in unison:
“Eldest Princess and ‘Can’t See’!”
The two of them rushed at full speed toward Eldest Princess’s enclosure. At this moment, Eldest Princess’s remaining half-face was full of impatience. Seeing Su Muzhi running over only made her even more irritated.
“So now you remember I exist? Why don’t you wait until I starve to death?”
Knowing she was in the wrong, Su Muzhi quickly lowered her head in apology:
“Eldest Princess, I was just a bit busy! As soon as I had time I came straight to see you—and I even brought you something tasty!”
“Hmph. That’s more like it.”
Eldest Princess turned around and immediately noticed Blackie perched on Su Muzhi’s shoulder. She assumed this was the “tasty thing” brought for her.
“So this is what you brought me? I haven’t had something like this in a long time. Let it fly in by itself!”
Blackie immediately sensed the predatory gaze and exploded in rage:
“What the hell?! You idiot, you want to eat me? You think you’re really a princess?!”
Eldest Princess fluffed up again upon hearing the profanity and opened her beak to argue back.
Sensing trouble, Su Muzhi quickly stepped into the enclosure and placed two live rats she had prepared inside:
“Stop, stop, don’t fight! These are two of the biggest, fattest rats I could find—they’re fresh! I’ve got things to do with Blackie, we’ll go first!”
“Hey, why are you stopping me?! I’m going to show her who runs this rescue station!”
Blackie was dragged away, extremely unwilling.
“I just saved you and this is how you treat me?”
Su Muzhi ignored it, carrying the struggling bird toward “Can’t See,” gently stroking its head to calm it.
“Alright, alright, Can’t See is probably getting anxious.”
Can’t See was still in the same state as last night. Feeling someone approach, it trembled violently, muttering:
“Bad people…”
“Help… help…”
Su Muzhi carefully held it in her arms and soothed it softly:
“It’s okay. There are no bad people here. Your companion has already been rescued too.”
Upon hearing this, Can’t See stopped trembling and immediately became much more alert.
“Is that true?”
“Of course it’s true! I rescued it myself!” Blackie proudly chimed in.
“Blackie’s right. It’s currently receiving treatment. You need to eat more and wait for it to come back, okay?”
Su Muzhi carefully fed it a glucose-soaked mouse, watching it slowly swallow, the effort to survive making her chest tighten.
Even Blackie unusually stayed silent, standing quietly on her shoulder.
Then—
Bang!
A loud crash came from somewhere, startling Blackie so badly it lost a few feathers. Can’t See, which had just calmed down, began trembling again.
“Blackie, stay with Can’t See. I’ll go check what’s happening.”
Su Muzhi picked up a wooden stick and walked toward the source of the sound.
The closer she got to the iron gate, the more frightened the animals became.
She remembered clearly—she had closed the gate before those feed sellers left. Now it was wide open.
The rusty sign hanging on it had fallen to the ground.
So that was the loud noise earlier.
“I thought your rescue station was something impressive. Turns out you’re still using an old zoo sign. Took me long enough to find this place!”
The scar-faced man had arrived.
He stood in front of her, face wrapped in bandages stained with blood. Behind him were five subordinates, all looking arrogant, clearly not taking her seriously.
“So it’s you. Looks like Blackie didn’t bite hard enough last time.”
Su Muzhi sneered.
“I didn’t come here to argue. I came to do business.”
The scar-faced man glanced around at the overgrown, dilapidated surroundings and said:
“Sell me the wild animals from your rescue station secretly. I’ll pay you based on protection level. Live ones are best—dead ones are fine too, just cheaper.
You don’t look like someone with money. This is a good opportunity. I’ll give you ten minutes to think.”
“Fine. Let me see how much you’re offering.”
Su Muzhi acted as if she was tempted, tossing aside her stick and brightening her eyes.
“Haha, I like talking to smart people. How about 10% per sale?”
His posture relaxed slightly.
Too little,” she said coldly. “If I’m selling anyway, why wouldn’t I just sell directly to buyers? I’d make more.”
The man froze for a second.
“You’re too naive. Do you think buyers are easy to find? It requires connections. 10% is already generous considering I provide stable supply. Know your limits.”
“Then there’s nothing to talk about. You said it yourself—this is stable supply. Lower risk than your method. I don’t believe only you can find me.”
She shrugged.
“Fine! Fifteen percent. That’s the max!”
The man squeezed the words through his teeth, his gaze turning vicious.
At that moment, one of his lookouts rushed over:
“Boss! Police are coming up the mountain!”
“So what? It’s just villagers collecting herbs—what are you panicking for?”
But before he could finish—
“However… it sounds like a lot of them…”
Su Muzhi knew the moment had come.
She raised her voice:
“I’ve made my decision—I won’t do this shameless business!”
The next second, police rushed out from behind them and quickly subdued the group.
Watching the scar-faced man’s twisted expression, Su Muzhi looked down at him and said:
“Just a reminder—this is a rule-of-law society.”