"Rubbing against a tree?" Buckteeth almost thought he misheard.
"Yes, rubbing against a tree." Chen Ai nodded, "Place the area where you've been stabbed on the tree, and rub it hard. Keep rubbing. The more rubbing, the healthier you'll be."
Buckteeth had a blank look on his face.
Shaking his head, Chen Ai continued, "You rub for two hours in the morning, two hours in the afternoon, and two hours in the evening. After three days of this, you should be fine. This treatment method doesn't cost a penny, pretty good, right?"
"But..." Buckteeth's face began to show distress. He pointed at the wounds on his body, which were all over him due to rolling in the flower bush. Asking him to rub against a tree would be like putting him on par with a streaker.
Shrugging, Chen Ai said, "But what? If you don't want to rub, just have a good meal and wait for your body to fester and die tomorrow morning. Remember to include some sleeping pills, so you'll die more peacefully."
Looking at the deepening purple of his wounds and suffering from unbearable itching, Buckteeth hesitated no more and grabbed his knife running towards the east of the city.
After sending Buckteeth away, Chen Ai, holding the wolf-girl, glanced at the slave master and walked into the hotel hall.
The slave master hesitated for a moment, but followed Chen Ai into the hotel. Although this young man was terrifyingly strong, he was not vicious. His female slave was still in his hands. If he returned empty-handed, he would suffer a great loss.
Upon entering the hotel, Chen Ai, still holding the wolf-girl in his arms, walked to a corner and gently placed her on the sofa.
The poor girl's face was still deathly pale without any blood color. Her whole body was tattered, and her weak body curled up.
Chen Ai blocked the slave master's line of sight, and gently put his hand on the girl's belly where she had been kicked. A burst of soft golden light appeared. It was a healing spell familiar to the priests.
If the martial skills shown earlier had stunned the slave master, seeing Chen Ai using this healing spell might have caused his jaw to drop.
In the continent of Chenxing, occupations for battle are divided into three, warriors, mages, and priests. Warriors are most common, as their threshold is low to the point where even housewives learn some martial arts for chores.
Mages, however, are rarer and only a few gifted individuals can become mages. And, to be a mage, one needs not only talent but also a lot of money to buy various magical devices and potions.
Above all these, even more scarce, are priests. To become a priest requires not only magical talent and countless money, but also a high level of perception and manipulation skills. Most importantly, most priests are trained under bishops or sacrifices from the church, making the output minimal.
For instance, in Helan City, apart from swindlers who pretend to be holy men, there are only two real priests. And Chen Ai's healing spell is more advanced than the recovery spell of city priests.
Chen Ai blocked the slave master's view with his back. He did not want to reveal too much about his abilities in front of others.
As he touched the abdomen of the wolf girl, Chen Ai frowned slightly.
The girl was bleeding internally. If she was not treated immediately, she might even die. The damage caused by the slave master was far worse than he had thought.
"Sir, when can I take my female slave away?" The slave master asked, his tone much more respectful than before. No matter which world, strength always gained respect.
Listening to the slave master's query, Chen Ai remained silent.
The slave master worriedly said, "I was wrong just now, but this wolf girl is worth twenty gold coins, a big sum of money. I can't just leave her here. But I have a business to do in the market; the later I get there, the more money I'll lose. Sir, could you please give it back to me?"
Chen Ai respond bluntly, "Sorry, I don't know about any slave business, as long as she is in this shop for a second, she is my guest. Please do not disturb my guest."
The slave master's brow jumped with anger, primed to explode.
Every second he wasted here, he could potentially lose some business. The caravan would only stay in Helan for two days, after which, regardless of how many slaves he sold, he had to follow the caravan to the next stop.Please translate the following Chinese text into English:
In the next two days, he would try to conclude as many deals as possible - there was no more time to waste here.
Plucking up courage, the slave trader said, "Sir, I'm just a humble slave trader making a small living through thick and thin. I request you to show mercy and let me go. Elsewise, I will have to ask the bishop and Lord Herlan for justice. Let's see if the Imperial Law still holds its power!"
With these words, there was a veiled warning as he subtly reminded Chen Ai that he operated legally under the protection of Imperial Law, hoping the latter won't cross the line.
Anyhow, the moral high ground was in the favor of the slave trader here. This was no wilderness, but Herlan, a fortified city of the northwest! He gambled on the chance that Chen Ai would not dare to rob him openly. Even if he couldn’t win by brute force, couldn't he argue his case?
"Oh? You're threatening me with Imperial Law?" Chen Ai responded with amusement.
Frankly, the threat from the slave merchant was rather childish. Chen Ai was not afraid of any mere bishop, even if the Cardinal, along with the three High Priests were present, he would still hold his ground.
But if the matter escalates to the church, his "Chosen One" identity would be revealed, and the entire city of Herlan would know who he really is. At that level, it would mean the end of his secluded lifestyle.
The existence of the last hero of the empire in Herlan city would undoubtedly attract a swarm of troubles. Regardless of the outcome, his inn could not continue to function.
Therefore, Chen Ai could not break ties with the slave trader.
Chen Ai stared at the slave trader for a while, then slowly began to grin.
He spoke slowly, "Of course, I am a law-abiding citizen. If she's your slave, I would certainly not seize her, but…"
Chen Ai paused, looked straight at the slave trader. His glance was filled with confidence. The slave trader swallowed uneasily under Chen Ai's gaze, sensing something was off, as if he’d been found out.
"But, what makes you think she is your slave?"
The slave trader indignantly pulled out a contract from his bag, "She is indeed my slave, I have…”
He suddenly choked on his words — the magical part on the contract where the enslavement spell was engraved was dim. He recall when the wolf-girl ran away, that was exactly when he'd dissolved the original slave contract.
Usually, during a slave trade, a new contract is signed immediately after the trade to prove ownership. The slave has to have an owner at all times. He wouldn't make such a mistake.
But who could predict that the cursed buck-toothed fool would bargain with him just after the old contract was dissolved, and before the new one was signed. It was precisely then that the wolf girl shook off her bonds and escaped.
It was such a coincidence.
Now, with this expired contract, he had no proof that the wolf girl was his property. Even if the bishop of Herlan city was present, he wouldn’t be able to prove that the slave was his.
The slave trader opened his mouth, but his throat felt as if it's choked up with a cactus, and he couldn’t utter a word.
As it turned out, when Chen Ai was treating the wolf girl, he had already examined her and did not find any slavery spell, only the residual traces of magic. It was obviously a state where the old magic has just been removed and the new one hasn't been carved.
Looking at the dumbfounded slave trader, Chen Ai slowly said: "Since you can't provide proof, this demi-human is just another guest to me, although a bit shabbily dressed. Today, if you wish to take away my guest from my shop..." Towards the end, Chen Ai's face dropped, "Think again!"
"You…” The slave trader was so infuriated his face turned red. "You're trying to cheat me?"
"Cheat you? That sounds really bad," Chen Ai shook his head, "I'm just reasoning with you."
Seeing the slave trader silenced, Chen Ai postulated, "If you report this to the church and ask him for a judgement, I can assure you that this cute wolf girl's fate would be to be 'sheltered' by the church and become a plaything for those old perverts. And, you won’t earn a copper."
"Those old men love young bodies the most. This kind of stray little girl is something they crave for." When Chen Ai said these words, there was a trace of sarcasm on his face.
The slave trader paused. Chen Ai's words had a strong possibility. The church always takes advantage with no regard. At most they would recite prayer once for him, coax a few words of "May the Goddess bless you", and then they would blatantly take his merchandise.Chen Ai walked over to the dumbfounded slave owner, gently patted his shoulder, and said, "From a public perspective, I'm just doing my job. But privately, I'm in need of a servant and I find this wolf girl quite clever and worth training. I think she's worth the price."
Chen Ai extended his hand, jingling the five gold coins he was holding.
"Although I rarely go to the Sinners' Forest, I've seen a lot of things in my travels when I was young. I'm well aware of your slave purchasing prices. For a subhuman like this who is not even an adult, the purchasing price would be no more than two gold coins. In years of famine, even one gold coin could buy you one. Then you could turn around and sell her for twenty gold coins. Ah, this is indeed a highly profitable business," said Chen Ai with a click of his tongue.
The slave owner stared at Chen Ai in shock.
The cost of goods is the biggest secret for a merchant, especially in the profitable business of slave trading. All slave traders are tight-lipped about the cost issue, outsiders have no way of knowing... how could he...
The slave owner felt that this smiling young man in front of him was becoming more and more mysterious, as if he knew everything.
Chen Ai smiled cryptically, "So even if I only give you five gold coins, you would still make a profit. However, if you insist on taking this matter to the leader, you will not get a penny. Not only that, you will lose two gold coins. Please weigh your options wisely, Mr. Slave Owner."
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Note, I made a slight change to the name of the novel.
My novel's name was mocked by the big shots in various sci-fi groups, saying it sounded like an overbearing rich tycoon's story, vulgar and ugly. Is it really that bad, T_T?
