forced buying and selling
"...No," Qi Fengling said with difficulty, "In this world where vampires and humans coexist, social relations are extremely distorted. In some places, people have their own set of local customs and practices that completely disobey orders, making it difficult to interfere."
In fact, the king had banned the arbitrary buying and selling of human beings by the people since the day he came to power.
But such things happen again and again despite repeated bans.
"This kind of thing has little to do with whether or not there are vampires, right?" Su Liu said sharply, "Even if there are no vampires, in the face of huge profits, the inferior nature of human beings is 'known to everyone.'"
"But the existence of the blood clan has indeed brought such things from the dark to the light," Qi Fengling's tone even carried a hint of compassion for the suffering of all living beings.
"Is there no other way?" Su Liu became angry.
"How can we talk about morality when we can't even get enough to eat?" Qi Fengling seemed to want to say something, but from the other side, Ruoshui's voice came slowly.
"I came here this time to find a job," Ruoshui said calmly, "My mother raised me alone. It was really not easy for her. But every time she came home from work, she would find fault with me, beat me, and curse me with all kinds of vicious words. It seemed that my existence would bring her eternal damnation. In her mouth, I am not her daughter, but her biggest enemy..."
Among the three, Ruoshui is indeed the youngest, about eighteen years old, and she still has some baby fat on her face.
In this world, there are selfless and great parents, and there are also beastly mothers and fathers.
"When I was little, I often wondered if she would treat me well if I had money," Ruoshui said softly. "When I was ten, I started looking for a job. I did a lot of work, such as childcare, doorman... I earned a meager salary, and had to hand it all over to her. Once, I just wanted to use my own money to buy a piece of sweet-scented osmanthus cake that I had been craving for a long time. When she found out, she actually beat me up in the street, saying that I was a heartless debt collector and that she should have drowned me the moment she gave birth to me..."
Teenagers are in the prime of their youth, and it is also the time when Ruoshui has the strongest self-esteem.
Her spine was broken by the beatings and scoldings from her own mother in the street, and the pointing and gossips from onlookers in the streets.
It seems so easy to destroy a person with words.
This is a symbiotic stranglehold on Ruoshui by her closest bloodline.
"I want to leave my mother and find a decent job. If I can't climb over this mountain, dying is better than going back," Ruoshui twisted the corner of her clothes with her fingers.
Mother Ruoshui's behavior is a typical example of the "Kicking the Cat Effect." As a weak person, she has no way to resist the exploitation of Omegas by the powerful society, so she seeks the pleasure of sadomasochism from Omegas who are even weaker than her.
This is a distorted mentality that is common among the weak.
It is also the deep oppression that systemic social violence brings to the weak.
She is sick, but what is sicker than her is the world.
"Have you heard of the City of Spark?" Ji He imitated Xun Ruozhang and began to recruit talents.
"Never heard of it. What place is that?" The three of them shook their heads.
"It's a free city," Ji He said with starry eyes.
"...Forget it. Compared to a place I've never heard of, this mountain in front of me is at least real," Xiaoling said.
Ji He's words seemed unconvincing, and his sister Ji Bai also said: "Don't think too much, wait until we are all alive and get over this mountain, then think about it."
Ruoshui also nodded seriously, "If it's so good there, why would you and your master come to climb this mountain?"
The word "but..." in Ji He's mouth turned around in his throat for a few times, and finally, when Su Liu shook her head slightly, he had to swallow it reluctantly.
The group continued climbing the mountain.
Ji He's physical strength was very poor. After walking for about twenty minutes, he almost lost his balance and fell down. In order to prevent him from showing off, Su Liu simply asked Qi Fengling to carry Ji He on his back.
Along the way, the remaining people walked and stopped, stopped and walked, for their own purposes, and no one complained of being tired.
Perhaps it was because they encouraged each other that they felt more powerful than traveling alone, and before dark they finally arrived at the Duke's castle.
The castle's butler had a small tuft of beard and received guests with an elegant pace.
"Please come this way," the butler said, separating them.
Ji He looked at Ji Bai reluctantly, and Ji Bai comforted him, "I'll wait for you at the castle gate after I finish my business."
Seeing Ji He nod, Ji Bai waved his hand and left with a servant.
After Ji Bai walked away, Ji He came to Su Liu and asked, "Why do you want to separate the three people?"
Su Liu didn't know either, so he turned to look at Qi Fengling.
"Those people were escorted by His Royal Highness the Prince himself. Even if they got here, they didn't rely on their own strength. Of course, my master will add another trial to them," the butler beside him answered in a serious tone before Qi Fengling could speak.
"That's not as good as our Spark City," Ji He was a little worried about his sister.
"You have already given the choice, but Ji Bai and the others did not accept it. This means that this is the path they must take. Don't worry, anyone who has the courage to cross this mountain is no ordinary person." Su Liu said affirmatively.
The determination in Su Liu's eyes seemed to give Ji He strength, and Ji He's tense body finally relaxed.
"Your Highness, Lord City Lord, please come in," the butler led the way.
Su Liu walked in front, Ji He walked in the middle holding Su Liu's hand tightly, and at the end of the team was Qi Fengling who was looking at Su Liu with a smile.
The butler introduced the scenery along the way from time to time. Occasionally he looked back and saw that His Royal Highness the Prince was walking at the end. There was a flash of surprise in his eyes, but he didn't say much.
The castle is built around the mountain, with ups and downs and twists and turns.
"My master is fishing in the garden." The butler led Su Liu and the others to the back garden of the castle.
It was already dark. For a human like Ji He, the vision was not very clear under the dim lantern, but it had no effect on the vampires.
But fishing? This is really a novel hobby for the vampires.
The garden is very large, with pavilions and towers stacked up like a maze.
Follow the blue brick path and you will come to a high platform.
Su Liu saw at a glance a very beautiful female Alpha sitting cross-legged on a high platform fishing.
Her fishing rod is made of green bamboo.
Looking closely, there is a hemp rope on the bamboo, and the end that enters the water is a straight bronze hook, without barbs, like a needle, and there is no bait on the top.
The straight hook hangs in the air above the water.
This is a case of "those who are willing take the bait."
"Can you catch fish if you fish like this?" Su Liu stopped and watched for a while, then asked.
The female Alpha turned around and looked at Su Liu. She was bright and beautiful, with an aggressive look brought by her overly beautiful appearance, but her voice was gentle and calm. "It's not me who's important, it's the fish."
As she said this, she put away the bamboo pole and jumped down from the platform.
She is also very tall, only an inch shorter than Qi Fengling. If you don't look closely, the two Alphas are almost the same height, but the oppressive feeling brought by their height is not very strong. Perhaps this is because these two vampires have a gentle temperament.
——This female Alpha is the type that Su Liu used to like.
Duchess Pan Xuesun seemed to read this from Su Liu's eyes and looked at Qi Fengling with a smile.
Qi Fengling put his arm around Su Liu's waist and pulled her towards him.
Su Liu didn't notice any of this, staring intently at Pan Xuesun until Qi Fengling pinched his waist. Only then did he react and politely said, "Good night, Your Excellency the Duke."
"Good night, Lord City Lord, is there anything that brings you here?" Pan Xuesun said frankly.
"I hope you can sign this document giving up the responsibility for 'interracial love'," Su Liu took out the prepared document.
"Haha," Pan Xuesun laughed twice before his expression suddenly turned serious. "Lord City Lord, don't you know that once something like this gains overt support, the hidden dangers it brings will be greater than the short-term benefits?"
"I know," Su Liu seemed to have guessed that she would refuse. "But whether this happened or not, the world will not be worse than before, Your Excellency the Duke."
"What do you want to do?" The topic involved was a bit sensitive, so Pan Xuesun called Su Liu aside.
"Compared to this little thing, I hope you can stand on my side," Su Liu went straight to the point.
"...If I join, will you marry me?" Pan Xuesun said, and suddenly smiled.
"Sorry, I already have someone I like," Su Liu refused without hesitation.
"Am I not your type? Don't you have any thoughts about me at all?" Pan Xuesun looked down at Su Liu, her beautiful eyes seemed to be captivating.
"You are indeed my type. If I had met you first, I might have agreed to your pursuit, but once I met him, I would still choose him. So I thought about it, the liking that can be abandoned is not the real liking, and my love for him is different from this cheap liking," Su Liu said honestly.
"Since you don't want to have any romantic ties with me, do you think there is something about you that's worth me dying for you? After all, the most solid thing between AO is love," Pan Xuesun said.
"Does being with you mean love will only bring about love? Weighing the pros and cons, or love that forgets one's principles for the sake of beauty, is nothing but a false transaction. If the prices offered by both parties are unequal during the transaction, one party might even overturn the table, and we'll end up as a couple of resentful lovers." Su Liu paused, a smile moistened by love appearing on her face. "When I was with him, even when we argued, I felt sweet. At that moment, I knew I had found the right person."
True love allows each other to find a better self in the process of falling in love.
Pan Xuesun seemed to be dazzled by the smile on Su Liu's face and changed the subject: "If I sign that document, what can I get from you?"
"You'll know after you sign," Su Liu kept it a secret.
"If this document comes into effect, the vampires will exploit human Omegas even more," Pan Xuesun said disapprovingly.
"The Taocheng beauty pageant was originally supposed to provide human Omegas with safe and well-paying jobs, right?" Su Liu asked, "But look at what this beauty pageant has become now."
Pan Xuesun blinked guiltily.
"And the 'buying and selling' system that the king abolished, did anyone really listen?" Su Liu continued.
Pan Xuesun was so blocked that he couldn't speak.
"Do you still want to preach to me now?" Su Liu spread out the document and put the pen in Pan Xuesun's hand.
The moment their skin touched, Pan Xuesun seemed to be stimulated by Su Liu's soft hand and trembled slightly. Then she gritted her teeth, gripped the pen tightly, and signed her name.
After putting away the documents, Su Liu muttered in his heart: It was so easy for me to incite him to rebel, no wonder he was not chosen as the heir by Queen Dai Ning.
Qi Fengling, Bosi, and Pan Xuesun, these vampires are indeed not suitable to be kings.
It seems like one can easily be cheated by Omega and lose all his money.
If Su Liu were the vampire king, she would be worried to death.
"Welcome to Spark City," Su Liu shook hands with Pan Xuesun in a friendly manner.
"...You are really forcing me to buy something," Pan Xuesun's face turned red, but he seemed to be helpless against Su Liu.
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