Since the little girl had fallen into the hands of the slave merchant, her only consolation was that she was youthful and had a flat body. To most men, her figure was not attractive at all. Normal people preferred more mature female slaves. But there were exceptions, and there existed people in the world who had a preference for young girls. The man before her was of such type.
Standing in front of the cage was a skinny, scruffy-looking man with yellow hair and two large rabbit-like front teeth. He was different from those humans who treated the little girl as a pet and just teased her. This human was staring at her with lustful, naked eyes, causing the girl to shiver uncontrollably.
The owner of the wolf-girl slave appeared beside the buck-toothed man and enthusiastically introduced: "Sir, are you interested in this wolf-girl? She is a pure breed, purchased from the holy city of Prad. The price is only twenty gold coins."
"Wolf-girl? I thought she was a cat-girl," the buck-toothed man mumbled.
The slave owner revealed a mysterious smile, "Indeed, she is a genuine wolf-girl, only with smaller ears that make her look like a cat. If you train her well to meow, you can also use her as a cat-girl. In this sense, you pay for one slave and get two breeds."
The lustful desire of the buck-toothed man was already overwhelming. He had set his eyes on the wolf-girl from the first glance. After hearing the description given by the slave owner, his imagination ran wild. He rubbed his hands together and made up his mind, taking out a handful of change. Counting it, there were exactly twenty gold coins.
"Deal!" responded the slave owner, promptly opening the cage and removing the chain from the girl's neck. Holding her by the neck, the slave owner pulled her out of the cage like a chick.
The slave master presented a contract with various terms and a magic array for controlling the slave. As long as the magic was activated, the slave could never disobey her master's will. The slave master then took a small knife with a magic mark from his waist, which corresponded to the magic array like a key to a lock.
Stabbing the knife into the magic array, a light burst followed by darkness. At the same time, a hidden magic circle on the wolf-girl's chest disappeared. This signified that the previous master-servant relationship had vanished.
To establish a new relationship, blood must be drawn from both parties and dripped into the magic circle in sequence. The slave master prepared to draw a drop of blood from the buck-toothed man, but he hesitated and refused to give his hand.
"Is there anything you're worried about, sir?" the slave master asked, puzzled.
It turned out the buck-toothed man was a mercenary who had just spent all his money on the girl, recklessly and impulsively. Now he suddenly remembered that his mercenary group had a task the next day. Out of the twenty gold coins, only eighteen belonged to him, and the remaining two coins were for buying emergency supplies for the group as instructed by his leader. If he spent all his money now, he would suffer the consequences within his group.
"Isn't the girl too expensive at twenty gold coins? Can you give me a cheaper price?" the buck-toothed man asked.
The slave master gave him a disdainful look, "Sir, we just agreed on the price, and you also agreed. I have removed the chain and invalidated the contract. We are only one step away from completing the deal. There's no backing out."
With a red face, the buck-toothed man knew that he was at fault, but he couldn't bring himself to use the two gold coins entrusted to him by his leader. "Surely the magic array can be carved again without any cost, so there's no harm in negotiating the price now."
"Sir, the rule of slave trading has always been to exchange money in one hand and cancel the contract in the other..."
While the two men were arguing, the little girl calmly watched them with her hands behind her back, trying hard to cut the ropes. With a "snap!" the rope was finally severed. The girl's hands were now free, and she immediately turned and ran.
The two men, who were still immersed in their argument, were stunned for a moment. They had never expected the weak young wolf-girl to break free from the ropes. In that brief moment of hesitation, the girl had already run several meters away, and the two enraged men abandoned their argument, cursing and chasing after her."Stop! Stop right there, dammit!" Bucktooth yelled in anger.
"You little brat, just wait till I catch you!" the slave owner shouted loudly.
Although the slave owner was a businessman, he had been a mercenary just a few years ago. Although he had gained some weight, he had not lost his skills, and was now chasing the girl even faster than Bucktooth.
The little girl darted through the crowd like a headless fly, with the slave owner and Bucktooth closely behind her.
On the way, she stumbled and knocked over countless vendors and goods, causing chaos in the market.
The little girl was constantly hindered by various obstacles, but the two men managed to maneuver through the crowd with their martial artist skills, narrowing the gap between them.
The slave owner's hand almost reached the girl's long hair several times, but she managed to narrowly avoid it at every turn.
After turning into an alley, the girl was confronted by a towering wall. Without realizing it, she had ended up in a dead-end.
She hastily turned back only to find that the slave owner and Bucktooth had already blocked the entrance, sneering as they approached her.
The little girl knew that rebelling against her owners was a grave crime, and she had seen the cruel punishments inflicted upon rebellious slaves with her own eyes. She had only just managed to escape, and if she were to be caught here, her fate would be a hundred times worse than being sold.
No! She couldn't let herself be caught here!
The little girl glared fiercely at them, then turned and charged towards the tall wall.
Using the momentum of her sprint, she stepped onto the wall and leaped up, reaching her hands towards the top.
Fortunately, she managed to find a groove to grab onto and, with all her strength, she pulled herself up and barely made it over the wall.
On the other side of the wall was a deserted alley, empty and illuminated by the cold moonlight.
The two men, having a lower martial artist level and heavier adult bodies, failed to jump over the wall after several attempts.
They cursed a few times before deciding to go around the alley to continue their pursuit.
Footsteps gradually grew quieter, but the girl knew that she was not out of danger just yet. The two men would soon find their way around the wall, and she would have to go even further.
As she moved to take a step, a sudden pain shot through her thigh.
Looking down, she saw that she had managed to climb over the wall successfully, but the sharp edge of the stone had cut her thigh, which now appeared bruised and swollen.
The girl's heart instantly sank, wondering how she would be able to escape from the two adult men with an injured leg.
Footsteps were already near her, and she had no time to hide.
She could no longer afford to think, and had to limp forward, gritting her teeth against the pain.
Under the cover of night, the small demi-human girl struggled to run, trailed closely by the two sinister men, not unlike a hunted animal trying to escape predators.
Minutes later, she had no idea how many streets she had crossed or obstacles she had overcome.
Her breathing grew heavier and heavier. She had been malnourished since becoming a slave, leaving her frail and weak. Her injured leg made running even more unbearable.
Her legs felt impossibly heavy, each step taking all her strength.
Stars flashed before her eyes. Though she was running, the girl felt as if she were in a dream.
She seemed to return to her home in the demi-human country, back to her parents' side. Her father sat at a table reading a newspaper, and a fragrant lunch simmered on the stove. Her mother tended to gardenias in the courtyard.
Her mother loved gardenias, and she would often gently pat her head, telling her, "Pecco, the gardenia symbolizes my everlasting love for you. Wherever there are gardenias, your mother will always watch over you--"
"Mother..." the girl called out softly, like a lost, young animal.
Her pace slowed further, her small body now twisting unevenly, nearly collapsing onto the ground.
Her ears continued to send warning signals, telling her that the men were right behind her, but she just couldn't run any further.
"Mother, please save me..."In panic, the little girl suddenly smelled the fragrance of gardenia flowers.
"Where there are gardenia flowers, Mom will always be waiting for you -" The girl's brain had stopped thinking due to lack of oxygen, and she instinctively stumbled forward following the familiar scent.
The fragrance of gardenia flowers became stronger and stronger, and she stumbled into a courtyard where gardenia flower bushes were planted on both sides, looking extremely white under the moonlight.
The little girl looked around, trying to find her mother's figure.
Suddenly, footsteps came from behind, and then a hawk-like hand gripped her neck tightly, lifting her up and mercilessly ramming a knee into her fragile abdomen.
"Ah -" The little girl cried out in pain, curling up on the ground. The man's knee strike was very heavy, and the intense impact made the little girl stop breathing for a moment, even vomiting out stomach acid.
In a daze, she raised her head and took one last look at the wooden house in front of her. On the second floor, there was a tasteless plaque with the words "Blaze Hotel" written in gold lettering. The hotel door was locked, and the lobby was empty. From the gaps in the fence, she could see that there was only a dim little night light inside.
Then she passed out completely.
