Chapter 215: Bargaining
Yu Luo stood at the edge and watched for a while. There weren’t many women in the iron cages, only three, but they were quickly bought.
A woman cost three hundred taels of silver, which, in Feng City, wasn’t expensive at all. But elsewhere, three hundred taels could probably buy seventy or eighty women.
Perhaps the buyers were willing to spend so much only because they couldn’t leave Feng City, so they wanted to purchase someone to “spend the rest of their lives with.”
Because of this, Yu Luo became even more curious about the border gates of the surrounding nations.
The checkpoints of the Lan Yue Dynasty had been pushed back to Pingyang City. In truth, the real obstacle for commoners wasn’t Pingyang City, but Jiuzhong Mountain. Anyone attempting to enter the Lan Yue Dynasty had to cross Jiuzhong Mountain and then pass through Pingyang City. Even for skilled martial artists, it would be a grueling ordeal.
But what about the Dong Feng Nation, the Bei Kingdom, and the Xi Mo Nation?
Yu Luo refocused her attention and looked at the men in the cages, who had been largely ignored. She walked up to one of the cages and, lowering her voice to a deep, hoarse tone, asked, “What’s the background of these men? What skills do they have?”
Hearing someone finally asking about the men, the seller’s face lit up with joy. He quickly cupped his hands in greeting. “Young master, these men are official slaves. These three are from Xi Mo. They were once personal guards of their master, highly skilled in martial arts—each of them can fight ten opponents at once.”
Yu Luo was a bit taken aback by the seller’s eagerness. Ever since she had arrived in Feng City yesterday, she had been treated with disdain at every turn. Now, being met with such enthusiasm, she couldn’t help but be suspicious.
But after a moment of thought, she realized that vendors in the black market were mostly outsiders. If they were this eager, they were probably desperate to get rid of these people quickly.
“Official slaves? Can the purchase go through proper legal channels?”
“Yes, yes! Here are their contracts of indenture, issued by the Xi Mo government. They passed through multiple hands before ending up in Feng City. If they were still in Xi Mo, they wouldn’t sell for much, and the market for them isn’t good. Plus, given their former master’s status, no one in Xi Mo dares to associate with them. But young master, you don’t seem to be from Xi Mo. If you buy them, they’ll be more than enough as guards or enforcers.”
If their previous master really was that influential, then it made sense that no one in Xi Mo would dare to touch them—anyone who did would immediately become a suspect in their master’s case, drawing suspicion from the imperial court.
Yu Luo thought for a moment before stepping closer to the cage to examine the three men inside.
“You, shopkeeper—how do you know I’m not from Xi Mo?” she asked, curious about his certainty.
The seller chuckled and gave Yu Luo another once-over. “Xi Mo folks have a completely different accent from yours. Young master, you must be from the Lan Yue Dynasty, no?”
Yu Luo had to admit, this vendor knew his stuff. She didn’t confirm or deny it but instead shifted her gaze back to the cage.
“Would you be willing to follow me?” she asked the men inside. “If you swear loyalty to me, I’ll consider taking you under my wing and keeping you by my side.”
The three men sat cross-legged in the cage, their hair disheveled and tangled into knots. Yu Luo even suspected they had lice.
Their faces were covered with thick beards, obscuring their features. She didn’t particularly care about their looks—if they weren’t skilled in martial arts, they could still run errands.
Their hands and feet were bound with iron chains, and their clothes were so tattered that their original color was unrecognizable.
Hearing Yu Luo’s question, all three men lifted their heads in unison, though their messy hair still covered much of their faces.
The man in front, seemingly the leader, studied Yu Luo for a moment before nodding firmly without hesitation, though he said nothing.
Yu Luo smirked under her mask. She liked decisive people.
“What about you two?” she asked. “If you’re unwilling, I’ll just buy him.”
“Willing!”
Two younger voices immediately responded.
Yu Luo’s smirk deepened—she was even more satisfied now.
“Alright, how much for these three?”
Seeing Yu Luo’s straightforwardness, the vendor grinned even wider and raised one finger, looking at her expectantly.
Yu Luo feigned surprise, her brows arching with delight as she blurted out, “One hundred taels?!”
Before the vendor could speak, Yu Luo quickly shook her head. “One hundred taels for three men is a bit expensive, but since they have some skills, I guess I can pay that much.”
She then reached into her robe as if to pull out money.
The vendor panicked. “No, no, one thousand taels! I meant one thousand taels!”
Yu Luo had expected this—she was deliberately messing with him.
She withdrew her hand and crossed her arms, looking unimpressed. “Are you joking? Even if they know martial arts, how do I know they won’t turn on me once they’re free and kill me? I was watching earlier—those women were only three hundred taels each. And you want one thousand for these men? Do you think I’m an idiot? Can these men give birth or something?”
The vendor’s smile stiffened, but he quickly recovered, his face growing even more obsequious. “Yes, yes, young master, you have a point. But they really are skilled fighters.”
“So what? They’re also old. Who knows if they’ll even be loyal to me? And let’s be honest, if you’re selling people in Feng City, are you really short on buyers? I’m just being soft-hearted here. Two hundred taels. If you’re willing to sell, I’ll pay immediately. If not, then forget it. Buying people is a matter of fate, after all—if we’re not meant to make a deal, I won’t force it.”
With that, Yu Luo made a show of turning toward another cage.
Seeing her about to leave, the vendor quickly grabbed her sleeve and stepped in front of her.
“Three hundred taels! If you’re willing to pay that, young master, you can take them! I risked a lot coming to Feng City—I can’t leave empty-handed, can I?”
As expected, black market goods were cheaper than the ones sold in Feng City’s official markets. They were even open to haggling.
Three hundred taels might have been enough to buy a hundred men elsewhere, but given the current circumstances, this was already a steal.
“Fine. You should earn something for your troubles. Hand over the contracts of indenture, and I’ll pay.”
Yu Luo agreed without hesitation, making the vendor beam with joy as he nodded repeatedly and pulled out the documents.
She carefully examined them. The official seals were intact, but to be safe, she had the system verify them.
Once the system confirmed they were genuine, Yu Luo handed over the three hundred taels.
The moment the iron cage was unlocked, the three men inside had a fleeting moment of disbelief—it felt like a dream.
