Chapter 20 Is Mr. Xiao, the Wolf Boy, Too Caring for Me?
The so-called underground world is a Shura field even worse than the gambling houses on the ground.
The foul smell of blood seeped out from the cracks in the rocks, and wild beast-like howls came from underground.
"Are you scared?" The masked man had been standing beside Luo Wan without him noticing when, his silver mask glowing coldly under the torch.
Luo Wan did not answer, but followed the crowd to open the dark red curtain.
The huge Colosseum came into view. The underground Colosseum was even larger than she had imagined.
The entire underground palace was transformed into an inverted bowl-shaped structure, with a sand field in the center and gold- and jade-inlaid stands on the surrounding high platforms.
"A new face." The scarred man at the entrance suddenly pressed an iron hook against Luo Wan's collar.
The man's left little finger was missing a piece, and there was a thick scab on the broken part, which obviously showed that it had been broken not long ago.
The underground activities of the Red Mansion are not allowed to be seen in public, and they are extremely wary of strangers.
The masked man's slender fingers gently pushed aside the hook: "This is my friend."
"Mr. Xiao, please forgive me." The man spoke respectfully, but his eyes were still sinister. "The higher-ups have been investigating closely lately, and the boss told us to be careful."
He looked at Luo Wan as he spoke: "Since you are Mr. Xiao's friend, please do as you please."
Young Master Xiao.
Luo Wan silently repeated this name in his heart.
The gamblers in the casinos above ground called him that, and the guards in the underworld also called him that.
The assassin that Luo Wanjin fought against on a rainy night in West City unexpectedly turned out to be a rich young man.
His identity is indeed not simple.
How could a stubborn man come to a gambling house to gamble for no reason, let alone win or lose thousands of taels?
But this masked man helped her time and time again.
The first time, he deliberately lost her one thousand taels to let her enter the underground world.
The second time, a man came to her rescue.
It was as if he was deliberately guiding Luo Wan to go somewhere.
"Have you seen enough?" The masked man's dark pupils met Luo Wan's eyes.
The moment their eyes met, Luo Wan felt a momentary sense of familiarity.
I seem to have seen these eyes somewhere before.
"Mr. Xiao." Luo Wan imitated the others' way of addressing the masked man: "Why do you keep following me?"
The masked man didn't take it seriously and asked, "You and I are going to the stands together. There's only one way. Why should I follow you?"
Luo Wan paused.
That’s... true.
The masked man urged, "Aren't you leaving yet?"
The audience was seated under the guidance of the waiters, just in time for a new round of "goods" display.
The two people who had previously fought each other in Jinxi City were now sitting together calmly watching the show.
Luo Wan asked: "Why help me?"
He lost the game on purpose.
The masked man simply said, "Half of the people who come to the Red Mansion are here for this. I think you'll like it."
The iron chains rattled as the strong men pushed twelve iron cages onto the display stand at the edge of the battlefield.
"The first batch, all top-quality goods!" The black-robed smuggler stepped on the slaves' backs and jumped onto the stands. "The prisoners from the south are strong and sturdy!"
Prisoners of war in the south.
Isn’t this the place that Jiang Cichen attacked?
Prisoners of war from the Yun Kingdom.
What method did Honglou use to get the prisoners of war brought back by Jiang Cichen to this underground arena, or is there a close connection between Jiang Cichen and Honglou?
Before he could think deeply, Luo Wan saw the broker on the stage suddenly tear open the black cloth in front of the cage.
A young boy was curled up in a cage in the corner, his left eye was covered with pus and blood, and the white bones of his right foot were exposed at the tendon.
What is even more uncomfortable is the wooden sign hanging around the boy's neck——
"No. 3, domestication level: Class C, recommended use: human-dog performances."
A voice came from the next stand: "This batch of goods is not good. Can you give a discount on the one with the broken hand?"
The dealer immediately smiled flatteringly, led the young man out of the cage and trotted over: "Your Excellency has good eyesight! Although his right hand is disabled, he is still young. Look at his teeth..."
He roughly pried open the slave's mouth and displayed it to the guests like inspecting livestock.
The guest and the broker talked in a low voice.
The broker announced loudly, "Next up is today's highlight! The wolf boy, freshly brought in from the battlefield, versus three Western Mastiffs!"
The whole audience suddenly boiled over.
Amidst the clamor, the masked man whispered, "Want to bet?"
Luo Wan frowned: "What are you betting on?"
The masked man said, "Buyers buy goods for the show, spectators place bets on winning or losing, and buyers take a cut of the profits. This is the drama of the underground Colosseum."
"The odds are open! Wolf Boy pays 4 to 1!"
The dealer in a red jacket came out from the upper box and walked to the side of the stands, where servants held trays to collect the bets.
Luo Wan looked at the boy whose neck was chained: "The wolf boy will die."
The masked man smiled slightly: "You don't want him to die?"
Luo Wan asked calmly, "What does his life or death have to do with me?"
She couldn't even control her own life and death, so how could she have the leisure to care about the life and death of a prisoner of war? What's more, in this world, only by being a bad person can you live longer.
The wolf boy's nails had been sharpened into hooks, and the other end of the chain around his neck had been untied.
The gates of the sand arena rose, and three calf-sized mastiffs rushed in roaring, saliva dripping from their fangs onto the sand.
The strongest mastiff immediately pounced on the wolf boy and tore off a piece of meat from his back.
The blood aroused the animal nature.
The wolf boy swung the chain around the mastiff's throat, and the dog's barking instantly turned into a drowning grunt.
The second mastiff jumped up and bit the wolf boy's calf, and the third mastiff bit the wolf boy's arm.
The wolf boy jumped up in pain and smashed the dog's head, which was entangled in chains, against the stone wall.
The sound of skulls cracking was heard, and then the remaining two were sent away in the same way.
The outcome of the battle has been decided.
The wolf boy knelt in a pool of blood with his head lowered.
The stands began to make a commotion, and the dealer announced that "Wolf Boy wins."
"Clear the place!" The dealer kicked the stunned slave worker. "Drag that half-dead guy back. If you can save him, hang a sign for the next performance!"
The masked man said, "He won."
Luo Wan's gaze fell on the wolf boy being dragged away, and he said calmly, "He will still die."
He was a warrior, but no matter how strong a warrior was, he could not withstand such torture.
The masked man said, "If you like it, I'll buy it for you."
Luo Wan frowned, half doubtful and half cautious: "Is Master Xiao too kind to me?"
The masked man said, "You and I are friends through thick and thin, and I am just a prisoner of war."
Neither side mentioned the matter of Jinxi City, but they both knew it well.
Even if someone wants to take the other person's life, he can call it a friendship of life and death.
This person's behavior was too strange. Luo Wan didn't want to get involved with him any more, so he just said, "No need. I have no place to keep him."
The black-robed yamen beat drums and gongs: "The second batch, the stunning beauties!"
The four words "stunning beauty" sounded particularly harsh in the underground palace filled with the smell of blood.
The black cloth on the iron cage was lifted, revealing seven or eight thinly dressed women curled up in the cage. Their hands and feet were chained, and there were bright red marks on their necks.
"This batch of goods is a rare treasure shipped from the south! They are proficient in everything from music, chess, calligraphy and painting. The best thing is..." The broker smiled obscenely, "They have all been fed 'Xiaoyao Powder'. I guarantee they are more docile than the girls in the brothel."
There was an ambiguous laugh from the stands.
Several men who looked like wealthy businessmen could not wait to come forward and look at the women in the cage as if they were picking goods. Some even reached out to pull their hair and force them to look up.
Luo Wan's knuckles turned white from pinching.
What is the difference between the woman in the cage and her former self?
They are all "goods" for anyone to choose.
"What?" The masked man's voice suddenly sounded beside his ear, with a faint smile: "Sir, which one do you like?"
Luo Wan glanced at him coldly: "If you have nothing to do, Mr. Xiao, you can buy two to take back."
"Forget it." He sighed softly, his eyes flickering slightly under the mask, "It's too troublesome."
The thief roughly grabbed the woman in the middle and said, "Look at this figure and this pretty face. Starting price is five hundred taels!"
The girl, who was about fourteen or fifteen years old, staggered.
"Six hundred taels!" Someone immediately shouted the price.
"Seven hundred!"
"Eight hundred taels!"
The bidding sounds came one after another.
"One thousand taels." A cold voice sounded.
Just as Luo Wan finished speaking, a soft voice suddenly came from above: "Two thousand taels."
The bead curtain of the private room above the stands moved slightly, revealing half of a face as pale as a ghost.
Young Master Xiao teased, "You're lucky. You met the owner of the Red Mansion on your first bid."
Luo Wan didn't know why he couldn't help but bid just now.
Perhaps, we share the same suffering.
Seeing her is like seeing my former self.
A woman with short hair cut by a knife came out of the private room and said in a cold and hard tone: "This girl, our boss wants her."
Everyone knew that the person sitting high up in the sky was the owner of the Red Mansion, so there were voices of dissatisfaction one after another. Sellers and buyers were bidding, and no matter how much the seller bid, the money went into his own pocket.
If you don't want to sell her, you can just not release her.
This behavior is tantamount to making fun of the buyers.
The masked man stepped forward and shouted, "If that's the case, then the Red Mansion has gone back on its word and broken exceptions time and time again. Is there still any rule left?"
Most of the spectators here are wealthy and knowledgeable businessmen who know that human nature is treacherous. If there is a first time, there will be a second time. They are unwilling to suffer in silence and thus suffer losses in their interests.
Since someone took the lead, everyone began to refute, sighing that the owner of the Red Mansion was nothing but a lustful man.
The short-haired woman was about to draw her knife and step forward to provoke the troublemaker, but was stopped by the owner of the private room.
The host asked, "What does this young master want?"
"All those who bid just now should be compensated." The masked man turned and asked the audience, "What do you think?"
Upon hearing this, everyone immediately echoed the words, becoming enraged and chaotic. The masked man brushed past Luo Wan's shoulder as he left, raised his eyebrows, and whispered, "I helped you again."
No matter how powerful the owner of the Red Mansion was, he could not go against his own money. After everyone's emotions were calmed down, he began to send people to discuss compensation with the onlookers who had just bid the price.
Some want money, some want beautiful women, and some businessmen want their rivals' secrets.
When she came to Luo Wan, she wanted to find out the whereabouts of the maid that was sold in the Red Mansion five years ago.
The people in the Red Mansion were puzzled: "Just a maid?" The people in the Red Mansion were puzzled.
Such an opportunity is rare, and this man is actually only looking for a maid. What kind of maid is so lucky to be found, and what kind of maid is so unfortunate to be sold.
Luo Wan covered her mouth with her hand, afraid that others might eavesdrop, and said something nonsense: "Actually, she wasn't a maid, but my father's concubine, who was sold by my mother as a maid. Now that my mother has passed away and my father is seriously ill, he still misses her. I thought of finding her to make my father happy when I had the chance."
The person on the other side immediately understood.
Among the dignitaries, there are few who have complicated relationships within their inner houses.
The buying and selling of maids in the Red Mansion was a common knowledge, and it was legal for the mistress to sell the maids, so it was not a secret.
Soon, the man brought in an account book with a blue cloth cover, the spine of which had been worn white.
He handed it over seemingly casually, but he deliberately brushed the edge of the book with his sleeve: "Find it yourself, read it here, and don't take it out of this room."
Luo Wan accepted it and sneered in his heart. There must be a reason why Honglou was so straightforward.
It is reasonable for the mistress to sell the maid, but that is only one of the reasons.
Secondly, the truly shameful sales records of the Red Mansion are not in this account book at all.
Even if you look at it, you can't find anything wrong.
The yellowed pages were turned by my fingertips, and the scent of ink mixed with a faint musty smell hit me in the face.
Suddenly, two familiar names pierced my eyes like sharp arrows:
"In the 16th year of the Zhenzhi reign, Poria cocos and licorice were sold to merchants in the Western Regions for fifty taels of silver."
Further down:
"Platycodon grandiflorum is sold at a flower shop in the capital for eighty taels of silver."
"Selling peonies to Wang Erzhu of Baolin Village for twenty taels of silver."
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