Xu Bao'er never expected to meet Zhou Jin here—her utterly useless husband.
So that brute looks like this.
What a waste of such a fine face.
“Young master, what is your name?”
Zhou Zhao gave his name first. He was about the same height as Xu Bao'er, with snow-white skin. Upon closer inspection, there were piercings in his ears.
Was she disguised as a man too?
Zhou Zhao... wasn't that Princess Mingzhao?
“I am Zhang San.”
Xu Bao'er did not want Zhou Jin to learn her identity. If he found out, considering his performance that night...
Would he commit murder in broad daylight?
“Heh.”
Only after hearing Xu Bao'er give a false name did Zhou Jin spare a moment to size her up, his gaze slightly guarded.
Judging by the build of a man, the other party looked like a thirteen- or fourteen-year-old boy. His masculine features were not obvious, yet he possessed an extraordinarily beautiful face.
Her eyes were limpid as autumn waters, sly and lively, with a tiny tear mole at the outer corner of the eye. Her naturally red lips were like peach petals.
She was probably a woman.
After confirming that Xu Bao'er posed no threat, Zhou Jin slowly relaxed the hand gripping his personal sword and carried it behind his back.
Seeing this, Xu Bao'er also felt reassured. When she saw Zhou Jin gripping his sword just now, she had thought he had recognized her and wanted to draw his sword and cut someone down.
Sure enough, it had been pitch-black that night. Aside from the sensory stimulation, she had not been able to see a thing.
“Young Master Zhang, where are you planning to go later? My brother and I are planning to visit the opera house.”
“Would you like to come with us?”
It was Princess Mingzhao's first time leaving the palace, and she had not expected to encounter such a handsome young man.
Xu Bao'er wore a sapphire-blue brocade robe patterned with flowers, exuding dignity and grace. Her pair of foxlike eyes possessed the clear brightness unique to a young man.
The dashing sight of him bracing himself on the table with one hand and stabbing young master Fu with a chopstick backward had been deeply imprinted on Princess Mingzhao's heart.
His cyan hair ribbon fluttered gracefully, while his smile displayed the flamboyance and rebellious arrogance unique to a young man.
Although Zhou Jin was unwilling, Princess Mingzhao still forcibly dragged fourth brother over to Xu Bao'er.
“No.”
“My virtuous wife is waiting for me at home. I shall take my leave first.”
Xu Bao'er did not want to travel with Zhou Jin, and she had also seen through Princess Mingzhao's lovestruck feelings.
She simply cut off the girl's hopes directly.
“Huh? You are married?”
Deep disappointment showed in Princess Mingzhao's eyes. So the other party had married so young.
After getting rid of Princess Mingzhao, Xu Bao'er wandered around the streets. She did not want to return to Prince Duan's Residence so soon.
“Hurry up, the beast fighting show is about to begin.”
“I hear there are several fine specimens today.”
“Hahaha, watching those slaves fight for their lives is truly entertaining.”
A beast fighting show?
「Ding-dong, host, please proceed to watch the beast fighting show.」
The System Notification sounded. Xu Bao'er guessed that an important Side Quest character would appear at the beast fighting show.
Xu Bao'er followed the two speakers and eventually arrived at an underground slave auction market.
The moment she entered, the overpowering smells of blood and sweat assaulted her nose.
“Kill him.”
“Beat him to death.”
“Hahaha, look at how miserable he is.”
The crowd was noisy, surrounding an iron cage and shouting frantically.
“Make way, please make way.”
Xu Bao'er used silver to clear a path and finally squeezed to the front.
Two people were locked inside the iron cage. One was tall and muscular, his entire body covered in muscle. His bronze-colored skin and bulging veins were clearly visible.
This man's build was imposing. His clenched fists smashed furiously toward the other person.
The beast fighting show here was different from the fighting shows Xu Bao'er had known before.
Ordinary fighting shows featured two people of comparable builds fighting one another.
But the beast fighting show before her was a struggle between a beastlike man and a slender young man.
The young man's clothes were disheveled, and his hair hung loose. His entire body was filthy, and he ran about barefoot, dodging in every direction.
“Young master, this must be your first time seeing a scene like this.”
Xu Bao'er watched intently as the old man beside her struck up a conversation.
“The beast fighting show here is different from those elsewhere.”
“Elsewhere, beasts fight. Here, people fight.”
After hearing the old man's words, Xu Bao'er lost interest instead.
“That is nothing special.”
People fighting was quite ordinary.
As soon as he heard Xu Bao'er say it was nothing special, the old man immediately became competitive.
“Do you know what that big man is? We call him a beast slave here.”
“And that frail man is the food.”
Food? Xu Bao'er became interested.
“Why do you call him food?”
Seeing that Xu Bao'er had finally become interested, the old man smugly stroked his goatee.
“Because every fight here ends with the beast slave beating the food to death.”
“Then the people present bid for and buy the beast slave.”
“If someone successfully buys the beast slave, the food comes as an accessory.”
“They are already dead. What use are they?”
Xu Bao'er felt that no one needed a corpse.
“Hehehe, the most exciting part comes afterward.”
“Our tradition is for the buyer to feed the dead food to dogs, wolves, and the like.”
“That is the truly entertaining sight.”
The old man spoke with a beaming smile. He clearly had a kind face, yet his words contained not the slightest trace of humanity.
Xu Bao'er did not want to speak with the old man any longer and focused on the fight.
The youth inside the cage was very good at fleeing, which angered the tall beast slave.
The beast slave roared and tried to tear the fleeing youth apart.
His inability to kill the youth for so long seriously affected the beast slave's value.
The beast slave swung his massive fists furiously, launching a dense barrage of attacks at the youth.
The youth moved quickly, but from time to time he clutched his abdomen, clearly injured.
If things continued this way, the youth would eventually be beaten to death by the beast slave.
Suddenly, the youth leaped onto the beast slave's back and tightly locked his arms around the beast slave's neck.
“Good, marvelous!”
“Kill him!”
“Hahaha, is the food going to counter-kill?”
The youth's actions drew cheers from those around them.
But the beast slave was no pushover. He bent down and slammed himself violently into the iron bars.
Unable to escape in time, the youth was injured by the impact and immediately spat out blood.
Realizing that something was wrong, the youth instantly released his hold.
Unfortunately, his injuries were too severe. He no longer possessed the agility he had shown while fleeing.
Just as the beast slave was about to punch the youth in the head, a swift whip shot through the gap in the cage and bound his hand.
“Stop.”
Xu Bao'er tugged on the whip and met the beast slave's blood-red eyes.
“I will buy both of them. They must be alive.”
Hearing Xu Bao'er's words, the beast slave, who had been baring his teeth and puffing out his cheeks, desperate to tear Xu Bao'er apart, instantly lost his killing intent.
“Hahaha, how much are you prepared to pay?”
The speaker was none other than the old man beside Xu Bao'er.
It turned out he was the seller of this underground fighting arena.
“One hundred taels.”
In this world, an adult slave was worth only a dozen or so taels of silver.
One hundred taels was more than enough to buy both of them.
“No, I want this amount.”
The old man narrowed his eyes and waved his five fingers.
Five hundred taels? Why not just rob someone!