Stone wiped his tears and muttered, "Seeing this girl just reminds me of my little sister." As he spoke, he untied the purse at his waist and took out a twenty-tael silver ingot.
Gu Qing thanked him profusely and took the silver. Just as he was about to run and hand it to the human trafficker, two thugs came over, grabbed Gu Fei, and started to drag her away.
Gu Qing shouted, "Let her go! I have the silver!"
The two thugs ignored him and continued to drag Gu Fei away. Only then did Gu Qing see that the white inner tunic on his sister's back was stained red with blood.
"SOB SOB SOB..." Gu Qing started crying like a child. He walked toward the human trafficker, weeping all the way.
"I have the silver. Give me back my sister's Indenture Contract." Gu Qing held the silver in one hand and held out his other, palm open.
The human trafficker didn't argue. He rummaged through a stack of Indenture Contracts, found the one for Jadeite, and was about to hand it over when the madam suddenly shouted, "Wait! I'll pay twenty-five taels of silver for this girl!"
The words had barely left her mouth when the crowd below the stage erupted in an uproar, while Gu Qing just stood there, stunned.
What should have been the happy reunion of a brother and sister had been twisted. Had the madam lost her mind? Why was she so insistent on forcing this girl into a brothel?
The righteously indignant crowd shouted, "You shameless madam! Have you no conscience?"
"May lightning strike you down, you evil woman!"
"May you give birth to a son without a butthole!"
Gu Fei stared daggers at the madam. 'If it weren't for all these eyes on me, I'd rush over there and beat her to death!'
Gu Qing was at a complete loss. 'It's gone up by another five taels. Where am I going to get more silver?'
Just then, Xiao Yu pushed through the crowd to the front of the stage and glared fiercely at the madam. "You old hag, are you tired of living? It's a rare day when I, this young master, feel like doing a good deed, and you just have to get in my way!"
"So you want to compete with me on wealth, is that it? I have enough silver to buy this entire South Market with plenty to spare!"
"Stone! Get the silver and bury this old crone in it!"
Stone clutched the money pouch, a troubled look on his face. 'Young Master, we only have silver notes left. How are we supposed to bury her in those?!'
Watching Xiao Yu, Gu Fei finally broke into her first smile since arriving in this world.
'This pretentious rich kid,' she thought, 'is just so full of life!'
'The place where I live is no longer a post-apocalyptic wasteland crawling with zombies, nor is it a prison. This is the world of the living!'
Xiao Yu glanced up and saw Gu Fei's smile. He was taken aback for a moment, momentarily stunned. 'Even though she's filthy and her hair's a mess,' he thought, 'she's actually quite pretty when she smiles.'
The madam, however, froze when she saw Xiao Yu up close. He had been too far away for her to see his clothes clearly before. Now she saw he was wearing a Kesi silk robe, and panic flared in her heart. Having worked in the brothel for years, she was worldly enough to know that Kesi silk was not something an ordinary person could wear.
'I can't afford to offend a nobleman over my own petty, dark desires.'
The madam was quick-witted. She immediately dropped to her knees and began slapping her own face. "My lord, please quell your anger! This old one was just having a laugh with Ya Zi. The girl, I don't want her anymore!"
Xiao Yu snorted coldly and remained silent.
The Ya Zi was a sharp fellow himself. Seeing the madam's reaction, he knew this was someone he could not afford to offend.
He quickly took the silver from Gu Qing's hand and respectfully presented the Indenture Contract with both of his own.
Gu Qing took the Indenture Contract, rubbed his eyes, and read it over and over. Only after confirming it was indeed his sister's contract did he carefully tuck it inside his robes.
He hurried over to help Gu Fei, and the two of them walked down from the stage together.
Gu Qing pulled Gu Fei down to kneel before Xiao Yu. He kowtowed heavily three times. THUMP. THUMP. THUMP. "My lord, we will never be able to repay your immense kindness. Please send someone with us to our home to retrieve the silver."
Xiao Yu gave a magnanimous wave of his hand. "Get up, get up. Don't worry about the silver. I'm in a good mood today, so consider it a gift."