Chapter 699: The Slave Girl of the Mountain Fruit

Li Yi never expected that saving someone in one move would net him fifteen chi jin and even gain him an exotic beast—it seemed that as long as one's strength was great enough, making money was simple no matter which world one was in.

But to keep a low profile, after collecting the gold, he immediately left the marketplace with E Ji and Su Ji, avoiding the trouble that drawing attention might bring, for he had come to the Wildlands to peacefully endure his transformation period and had no desire to fight unnecessarily.

Fortunately.

The Beihuang City marketplace was vast, and though this section had been disrupted, the slave market remained untouched.

Because the slave market had the greatest number of powerful warriors, every slave owner's guards were formidable—only sufficient strength could suppress slaves with rebellious intentions.

And the Qiu Niu exotic beast sensed the strong aura here, so it never foolishly ran toward this area—hence, its avoidance was no accident.

Arriving at the slave market.

Li Yi heard many slave owners discussing the earlier incident.

"Those merchants are useless—they couldn't even handle one fire beast, causing so much destruction."

"Hah! Now those meat merchants are in trouble—they'll lose a lot of stock."

"That fire beast is clever—it daresn't come near us. Otherwise, my hungry slaves would've devoured it alive."

All the slave owners took pleasure in the chaos.

It seemed no matter the world, there were always people eager to watch and gossip.

They had the strength to stop the fire beast but chose not to help—some even hoped it would cause even greater havoc.

"A divine blood warrior—with divine blood concentration nearly equal to a direct descendant?"

"Silver lightning? That must be the descendant of the deity from the valley outside Beihuang City. A village called Shou Shan once guarded that valley, but Shou Shan was destroyed last year—it no longer exists."

"A divine blood warrior who commands lightning—great potential. He may one day become a regional lord."

When Li Yi appeared in the slave market, many slave owners immediately sized him up—undeniably, their eyes were sharp; they instantly recognized his divine blood and even guessed his origin as a deity's descendant.

More experienced slave owners perceived his boundless potential and believed he could become a regional lord.

After sizing up Li Yi, they turned their gaze to E Ji and Su Ji behind him.

"Those two beautiful concubines—they must be from the Changshan Tribe. Once sold by slave owner Xiu Tu to merchant Xiu Xiang of Beihuang City. So this divine blood warrior is Xiu Xiang's honored guest?"

"Last night, a battle between divine blood warriors broke out in one part of Beihuang City. One of the combatants bore a striking resemblance to this man."

To Li Yi's surprise, he had barely walked half a lap through the slave market when his own information—and that of the two concubines—was already fully known.

Even their tribe of origin, who had sold them, and who currently held them—all seemed to have no secrets.

In truth, every slave sold among slave owners bore a unique mark, discernible only to those in the trade. And E Ji and Su Ji were high-value goods—worth at least two hundred jin.

Such valuable slaves were already well known to slave owners.

Only worthless trash slaves couldn't be identified—because they held no value, not even worth noticing.

"Master, take a look at my goods—top-quality slaves."

One slave owner smiled and gestured for Li Yi to examine the slaves in his care.

Li Yi glanced over.

Indeed, the slave owner had many slaves nearby—strong warriors, attractive women, and even some non-human races.

The Wildlands were not inhabited solely by humans—other races existed, such as Jiao Ren, Ren Yuan, and Yu tribes. Some of these non-human slaves held great value; others were cheap. But not all buyers in Beihuang City were well-traveled enough to recognize non-human races.

Thus, many slave owners falsely claimed that worthless non-human slaves were excellent merchandise.

Buying slaves thus required extensive experience to avoid being cheated.

"Your slaves are too weak—not good merchandise," Li Yi said after a brief inspection, then shook his head and declined the slave owner's offer.

Yet the slaves themselves looked at Li Yi with hopeful eyes.

Because Li Yi was a divine blood warrior.

Following a divine blood warrior meant at least a future full of hope. If bought by some woman or old man in the city, one would spend a lifetime doing menial labor—and even one's children would inherit the same fate, forever slaves.

But Li Yi's words extinguished their hope.

As Li Yi had said, these slaves were too weak to catch his eye.

Even some female slaves with decent looks lowered their gaze upon seeing E Ji and Su Ji beside him.

Yet the rejected slave owner showed no anger—only smiled warmly as he watched Li Yi leave, then turned to solicit other customers.

But one remark from this slave owner sparked an idea in Li Yi.

Perhaps he could buy a few slaves here, acquire a house, and have a place to settle.

Though staying at Xiu Xiang's home and eating for free was convenient, his cultivation was inevitably hindered.

With this thought, Li Yi began observing the slaves in the market.

He didn't need to select powerful warriors—only young ones with potential, for he could guide their cultivation. With this world's resources, they would grow strong in no time.

But just as Li Yi began considering slaves to buy—

Suddenly—

He stopped in his tracks and saw a group of slaves clad in tattered animal skins. Among them was a woman he recognized. Li Yi had a perfect memory—he immediately recalled her identity.

"Shan Guo, the female warrior of Shou Shan Village."

When Li Yi spoke her name aloud—

Shan Guo, hidden among other slaves, battered and covered in wounds, suddenly lifted her head. Her eyes widened in surprise—she hadn't expected anyone in Beihuang City to recognize her.

But when she saw Li Yi, she was utterly stunned.

Then her gaze flickered away, and she quickly lowered her head.

She felt only shame and fury.

Once a captive, now a powerful divine blood warrior—while she, a warrior of Shou Shan, had become a slave.

"Master, these are ordinary slaves. I have better goods," the slave owner stepped forward, smiling.

Li Yi pointed at Shan Guo. "I'll take that female slave. How much?"

The slave owner followed his gaze and chuckled. "That's a stubborn female slave—I've often whipped her. Her body is now weak. But since she's a warrior, I can only sell her at the lowest warrior price. Many buyers think it too expensive. If you want her, I'll take ten jin."

"Fine." Li Yi immediately handed over ten qing jin.

Qing jin was lustrous bronze—hundred pieces equaled one chi jin. In this world, when people said "jin," they usually meant qing jin, not chi jin. Chi jin was precious, so only wealthy merchants used it.

The slave owner took the gold and immediately ordered a servant to drag Shan Guo out from the group, cut her bonds, and hand her over to Li Yi.

"Master, if this slave refuses to acknowledge you as master, you may return her," the slave owner added.

Clearly, he didn't want to damage his reputation by selling an unbroken slave.

Li Yi turned to Shan Guo. "Will you acknowledge me as your master?"

"Kill me," Shan Guo said, voice thick with shame and fury.

She believed Li Yi bought her not to save her, but to humiliate her. She'd rather die than be taken home to suffer his mockery.

But these words enraged the slave owner. He glared at Shan Guo, his hand instinctively reaching for the whip from a servant.

Yet he remembered the rules.

Li Yi had already paid. He had no right to punish this slave.

But he could still frighten her.

True enough, Shan Guo shrank back at the slave owner's expression, fear flashing in her eyes.

Clearly, she had suffered greatly under his hands.

Li Yi remained calm. "Shou Shan Village is gone. Past grudges are over. If you stay here, you'll die soon. If you refuse to acknowledge me as master, you may leave. But next time you're captured, you may not be so lucky to meet me again."

He wasn't being kind—only moved by the sight of Shou Shan's destruction, its people reduced to slaves.

After all, buying Shan Guo was cheap.

Shan Guo stared at Li Yi in disbelief.

She had expected humiliation—never freedom.

In this moment, she didn't know what to do.

She wasn't afraid of humiliation—death was better.

But Li Yi had granted freedom to his former enemy—an immense favor, one she must repay.

Yet Li Yi had already turned away with E Ji and Su Ji. Before leaving, he told the slave owner: "She's mine now. Let her choose."

"What a lucky slave," the slave owner murmured—he rarely saw anyone buy a slave and then grant freedom.

But Shan Guo did not leave.

Because Li Yi was right—Shou Shan Village was gone. The old hatred vanished with it. She was no longer a warrior of Shou Shan—only a female slave.

And Shou Shan had already betrayed the deity once.

Would she betray it again?

Shan Guo watched Li Yi's retreating figure. After a brief hesitation, she gritted her teeth, pushed through her wounds, and swiftly chased after him.

She was a descendant of Shou Shan. Her ancestors' wish was to follow the descendants of the deity buried in the valley.

She should heed the call of her bloodline, and live again on this ancient land.

Thinking this—

Her hesitation hardened into resolve, her steps quickening.

Finally, Shan Guo caught up to Li Yi.

"Master, take me. I vow to follow you—even give my life. This is my promise." She bowed her stubborn head, accepting her new identity.

In this world, once a promise was made, it could not be broken.

Why such a rule existed, Li Yi didn't know—he could only say every world had its own ways.

If a person from Earth made a promise, it was worth nothing—he wouldn't believe a single punctuation mark.

But a person from the Wildlands who made a promise and chose to serve him—he believed it. After all, Shan Guo could have left. She had no reason to follow her enemy.

(End of Chapter)