Chapter 9: All Possessions

Having experienced too much today—the Mage Tower assessment, the mages' fireworks display, the Troll's super-strong self-healing ability, the Kara-Tur Bard's Spell, and Lao Neil's malicious gaze—combined with the lingering effects of the Spell and his own vigilance, Xia Duo had not fallen asleep even by midnight.

Listening to the sounds of the bonfire party outside gradually fading, in a daze, Xia Duo seemed to hear someone downstairs saying things like "tomorrow... outside the town... brand... the price is negotiable..."

Xia Duo was instantly jolted awake, sat up from the bed, quietly got off, and moved to behind the door. Listening intently, it was Lao Neil speaking downstairs, along with a strange, rough voice. At this moment, they seemed to have reached an agreement, as he heard that voice say:

"No problem, you can trust the reputation of our Wild Wolf Group. When the time comes, we'll register the Slave under the name of the Golden Lark Chamber of Commerce, and the person will still be yours to use. Our leader is the own brother of a manager at the Golden Lark Chamber of Commerce, so don't you worry."

Words like "Slave" and "use" made Xia Duo recall the keywords "outside the town" and "brand" he had heard in his daze earlier, and his breathing instantly hitched. It seemed Lao Neil had already put his malice into action.

Xia Duo truly could not think of anyone other than himself whom Lao Neil could associate with a Slave.

Is a Slave expensive? Of course they are. From what Xia Duo understood, in Savile Town, a physically sound Gnome Slave could sell for at least 150 Gold Coins, while human Slaves were slightly cheaper (due to shorter lifespans) and required a certain status to purchase.

Lao Neil clearly did not have the qualifications to own a Slave, but that sentence, "register the Slave under the name of the Golden Lark Chamber of Commerce," made Xia Duo feel as if he had thorns pricking his back.

The price of a Slave might seem expensive, but generally, one could recoup the cost in two or three years, and everything after that was profit. Sometimes, Xia Duo couldn't help but fantasize that after becoming a Mage, he would definitely buy many Slaves to start a farming and (Magic) technology-climbing mode.

Xia Duo was willing to use Slaves, but if he were to become a Slave, he certainly wouldn't be willing. Not only would he be unwilling, he would want to kill the person saying these words on the spot.

But at this moment, Xia Duo clearly couldn't beat the strange Adventurer downstairs, and he might not even be able to beat Lao Neil.

How truly miserable!

The fate of the weak is always so fragile, or perhaps the weak can only use fate as an excuse for their own helplessness.

Xia Duo did not want to be a weakling forever. Right now, Lao Neil did not have the immediate intention of turning him into a Slave, and this was Xia Duo's chance; he had to leave this inn immediately.

At this moment, the image of Mu Yan, the Kara-Tur person with black hair, black eyes, and yellow skin just like him, suddenly popped into his mind. Perhaps he could only seek refuge with him at this time.

In the vast Savile Town, Xia Duo could not find a single person worth trusting and could only pin his hopes on a stranger he had only met once. This feeling was truly uncomfortable.

Xia Duo silently experienced this feeling and kept it in his heart. Afterward, he carefully went to the bedside, lifted the straw mat under the bedsheet, and by the dim light of the bonfire remaining outside the window, carefully counted his income from the past half-year.

A total of over 100 Copper coins, 150 Silver coins, and 5 Gold Coins. Except for the 5 Gold Coins that were Lao Neil's money for "buying" Xia Duo's pajamas and slippers, the rest was the remainder of his wages from this period after spending a portion.

If one really calculated it, it wasn't even 1 Silver coin per day.

One must know that in Savile Town, the wages for an inn attendant or laborer were at least 2 Silver coins per day, meaning at least 6 Gold Coins per month, yet Xia Duo's wages for these 8 months were only 18 Gold Coins.

There were quite a few Copper coins, which were inconvenient to carry. Xia Duo didn't count the Copper coins, but he had a rough idea of what he had. This pile of Copper coins looked like a lot, but if converted into Gold Coins, it might not even be 2.

Xia Duo only took the 5 Gold Coins obtained from "selling" his pajamas and slippers, hid them close to his body, and grabbed a handful of Silver coins. He wrapped them tightly into a long strip using a piece of linen torn from the bedsheet, then wrapped it again with a wide cloth strip he used as a belt, and tied it around his waist.

There was nothing else worth taking. Living under someone else's roof, Xia Duo had no desire to shop. He only had one set of worn-out linen clothes, which Lao Neil had charged him 2 Silver coins for when he sold them to him.

Later, he learned that a new set outside only cost 1 Silver coin, which was exactly what he was wearing now.

It was just past midnight, and since the crowd attending the bonfire party hadn't completely dispersed, Xia Duo didn't flee immediately. Instead, he lay back on the bed, but he didn't intend to sleep; he pricked up his ears to listen for movement outside the window.

Now he could see the benefit of living on the street-facing side. Although it might be noisy at times and he might get mud thrown at him by bratty kids, when it came to a critical moment, this was an escape route.

Xia Duo couldn't help but praise himself for his foresight, completely ignoring the fact that this small cubicle was too small and too noisy, which was why few guests liked it and it remained empty year-round. If guests stayed here often, Xia Duo might have had to live in the basement.

In that case, if he encountered a situation like this, it would be hard to escape.

Time passed bit by bit. Xia Duo's tightly strained nerves couldn't hold up, and sleepiness struck. Xia Duo could only pinch his thigh hard, reminding himself that if he fell asleep, he might become a Slave tomorrow.

Suddenly, there was a commotion downstairs. Xia Duo was startled and listened carefully; it turned out to be guests staying at the inn returning from the bonfire party. Listening to their irrepressible laughter, it seemed they had all gained something.

Whether it was free Holy Water or something else.

A few guests who had fallen asleep early were also awakened, cursed angrily, and then quieted down. Once everything in the inn became quiet, there was no sound outside at all.

But Xia Duo still did not act. At this time, there was still a long time before dawn, the town gates were not yet open, and with the Night Watchers who might appear at any time, Xia Duo dared not provoke the order of the Territory.

These Night Watchers were mostly followers of Jergal, but they were not Fate Recorders focused on recording life and death, but rather ruthless people focused on the Domain of power. These people viewed Jergal's Doctrine and the Lord's laws as their life.

Any night-walker without permission could potentially find themselves becoming one of the Night Watchers—of course, if they were willing to exist in the form of Undead.

Basically, in Savile Town, everyone, including Mages, was very wary of the Night Watchers.

Xia Duo wouldn't be stubborn enough to want to see if he was the special one.

Patiently waiting until the movements of the Night Watchers also disappeared, Xia Duo gently pushed the window open a crack. Outside the window, it was silent, and the street was full of messy traces left by the Midsummer Festival celebration and the bonfire party.

Fortunately, at this moment, the moon had just risen, and the soft light of Selune fell quietly, as if guiding the way for Xia Duo to escape.

But Xia Duo still did not act, continuing to observe and wait by the window, until Selune faded into the stars, making room for the approaching Lord of Radiance.