There were generally two types of people entering the slave market through the front door: Those selling and those buying. Sellers were often merchants or impoverished families so desperate that they either sold themselves or their children. Buyers were typically noblemen. Regardless of their intention, neither were prone to acts of charity. Merchants prioritized profit severely and did not care for beggars; the impoverished barely survived and had no resources for others. As for the nobles, they were more worried about dirt from beggars sullying their fine clothing. Therefore, this small beggar's choice to beg here did not seem wise. If his body was stronger, he may have been seen as suitable for slavery. However, he was too puny and dirty, and in the eyes of these merchants, he was worth less than the cost of a bath.
When Ye Yinzhu first saw the beggar, he thought to himself with a pure heart, "This boy seems to be about my age, yet he is so thin. Orphaned at three, abandoned by his father at ten - what a tragic fate." Pity welled up within him. He instinctively walked towards the beggar.
The young beggar's eyes brightened when someone stopped before him. "Sir, sir, please spare some change," he begged.
"Here you go." Ye Yin Zhu pulled out all the gold coins he had saved for buying a unicorn, about thirty, and handed them to the beggar.
The young beggar paused. He saw Ye Yin Zhu's pure black eyes and, for some reason, felt a quiver in his heart. Soon, however, the joy of receiving gold coins replaced his discomfort.
"Thank you, thank you, sir." With trembling hands, he stuffed the coins into his jacket pocket so fast that Ye Yinzhu was startled.
"Get up. The ground is cold," Ye Yinzhu said. Unconcerned about the dirt on the beggar's hands, he grabbed both and helped him up. The beggar's hands were soft but thin and delicate.
With his head bowed, the small beggar saw the shining space ring on Ye Yinzhu's hand under the sunlight. His hands trembled slightly. He stood up with Ye Yinzhu's help and expressed his gratitude: "Thank you, sir. You are a good man." Because of the abrupt movement, his body slightly touched Ye Yinzhu's. As Ye Yin Zhu held him steady, the beggar subtly snatched something with his thin, agile hand.
Ye Yinzhu smiled a gentle and kind smile, just like an angel. He thought to himself how good it felt to help someone else. "Goodbye," he waved to the little beggar and headed into the slave market.
Watching Ye Yinzhu disappear, the young beggar had a moment of struggle in his eyes. However, he bit his lip and quickly headed in another direction, disappearing into the crowd in the blink of an eye.
The slave market was divided into seven areas. The outermost area sold lower-class civilian slaves; even healthy humans were worth only fifty gold coins. The next area sold low-level magical beasts. The further in, the more expensive the items sold. Of course, in a small city like Roel, there were not many precious goods on sale. Only in slave markets of large cities could one find treasures, such as women from the Elf Tribe and dragons.
The moment Ye Yinzhu entered the slave market, he was hit by the chaotic noise of various voices in his ear. The market was vast and without any experience, he had no idea where to buy a unicorn. He quickly approached a middle-aged man walking by and asked, "Excuse me, sir, could you tell me where I can buy a unicorn?"
The middle-aged man appeared to be in his forties, wearing a delicate black leather armor. The emblem, crossed sword and shield entangled in thorny vines, was imprinted on the left side of his chest. He was as tall and strong as Zi, carrying a heavy two-handed sword nearly 1.5 meters long on his back.
"Oh, you want to buy a unicorn? I'm heading that way too. I can bring you along." The man cheerfully volunteered.
"That would be great, thank you, sir," Ye Yinzhu gratefully replied. His gentleness and elegance, ingrained after years of playing the zither, combined with his handsome looks, effortlessly won him favor.
The middle-aged man led Yin Zhu towards the inside of the slave market, asking as they walked, "Young man, what's your name? Where are you from? My name is Ge'en."
"My name is Ye Yinzhu. I come from Acadia."
"What a strange name you have. Ah, here we are," Ge'en said as he pointed to a massive stable ahead.
As they entered the stable, a strong stench of horse met Yin Zhu's nose, making him wrinkle his brows in disgust. He was accustomed to the fresh air of the blue sky and sea, this filthy environment made him uncomfortable. In the stable, there were dozens of unicorns. The horse traders were discussing prices with some customers.
Ge'en seemed very familiar with this kind of environment, "This is what the slave market in Roel City looks like. If you ever go to the slave markets in the big cities, you'll see enormous stables there. That's where the best unicorns are, with at least hundreds to choose from."
The horse trader seemed to recognize Ge'en. He immediately left his customers and walked over, "Well, if it isn't Commander Ge'en. Are you guys on the move again? These unicorns just arrived, pick out a few."
Ge'en humphed, "Hart, don't I know what quality your unicorns are? Enough, pick me twenty of the strongest ones. Oh, right, pick one for this young man as well."
Hart quickly agreed with a smile and swiftly selected the best unicorns. Within a short while, twenty-one unicorns were brought out. Ge'en, clearly a frequent customer, didn't inspect them meticulously. He took out a purse from his clothing, "The usual rate, two unicorns for five gold coins, here are fifty gold coins, count them."
Hart took the bag of money and casually shoved it into his pocket, laughing, "There's no need to count. Do I not trust you? Your Iron Thorn Mercenary Group is the only permanent mercenary group in Roel City."
Ge'en chuckled wryly, "You think I enjoy staying in this damned place? Without real strength, it's impossible to settle in those big cities. Alright, this young man came with me, give him a discount out of respect for me, two gold coins will do. Young man, you can choose from these twenty-one unicorns. Though they're not top-quality unicorns, the stamina of Hart's horses is quite good."
Yin Zhu could tell that Ge'en was given a discounted price for the unicorns, "Thank you, Uncle Ge'en." He had given all his gold coins to the beggar boy earlier, so he instinctively activated his spiritual power to fetch money from his space ring. However, the look on his face suddenly froze in the next moment.
His hands were stretched out, and eight fingers were completely empty. On the finger that should have his space ring, there was only the mark left by the ring.
"Ah! My space ring is lost." Yin Zhu cried out, a feeling of panic suddenly seizing his heart. The space ring was incredibly precious, but even more precious to him were the five ancient zithers within it! There was also the letter from Qin Shang and the remaining gold coins, all in the ring. Now that the ring was lost, he was destitute.
"Young man, what's the matter..." Ge'en was startled by Yin Zhu's sudden reaction.
Yin Zhu didn't answer. A cold light flashed in his clear black eyes. He closed his eyes and a faint red light emanated from his forehead, gradually forming a dark-red magic hexagram in front of him.