"Drip drop..."
The rainwater seeping into the eaves flowed along the rotten wooden boards into a puddle.
Gradually, the reflections of two people emerged in the puddle.
"Give me the candle stand."
Lin Feng took the offered candle stand and carefully looked over the group of Beastmen in the cage who were on their last legs.
"None of them will do."
"The better quality ones have been picked already. These are the cheap ones left." The narrow slave trader's face was filled with disgust as he pinched his nose.
"But Beastmen are easy to maintain. Don't look down on them just because they seem half dead now. Bring them home and feed them some leftovers and they'll liven up in no time."
Lin Feng didn't say anything. Although he had heard of the Beastmen's strong life force, these Beastmen were injured, maimed, some even had their intestines spilling out...
The slave trader tiptoed and whispered greasily into Lin Feng's ear, "Don't look down on these cheap ones. Feed them well and they can still be nice and juicy."
If that's the case, he had to buy one today no matter what.
"Will they be obedient?"
The slave trader showed a difficult expression. "Beastmen have wild natures. It's not easy to make them obedient."
"But they have enslavement marks on them. You can control them with the marks. They won't be able to resist," said the slave trader as he opened the cage and pulled out a random Beastgirl. "These still have a bit of strength left. Thirty silvers each."
"If you customers have any weird tastes, you can buy the males too, though they'll be slightly more expensive."
Lin Feng shook his head. He wasn't interested in the same sex.
"Can it be cheaper?" He haggled symbolically.
"If I sell these Beastmen slaves to the mines for hard labor, they're worth at least forty silvers each," said the trader with a wave of his hand. "But seeing this is your first time buying slaves here, I'll give you a small discount. Forty silvers for the males, twenty-five for females."
Twenty-five? That was quite affordable.
Buying one to pamper was very suitable.
"Inspect!"
[White Feather Rabbit Tribe Beastgirl slave. Overall Quality: Inferior]
[Black Cat Tribe Beastgirl slave. Overall Quality: Inferior]
[...]
Lin Feng squatted on the ground and inspected them one by one for half a day without finding one he was satisfied with.
Inspections could actually show more detailed attributes, but one look told him they were all inferior white-quality slaves. Lin Feng was too lazy to inspect further.
In fact, apart from admiring their figures, Lin Feng had two other purposes for buying a slave.
First was to complete the mission given out by the system. Second was to nurture a companion he could rely on.
After transmigrating, Lin Feng had become a labyrinth explorer, hunting magical beasts in labyrinths to make a living.
As the labyrinths he explored became more dangerous, the magical beasts he encountered also grew stronger, their numbers increasing.
With his limited strength, wanting to challenge even more dangerous labyrinths alone was clearly impossible.
Therefore, he had to find a Beastgirl companion with good talent who looked reliable.
That way, they could fight monsters during the day and at night they could... *cough cough*!
But none of the Beastmen here met his requirements.
"Are there any others?"
"These are all I have." The dealer smiled slyly and gently rubbed his hands. "If Sir is not satisfied, we can go take a look at higher quality slaves. Or slaves of other races. It'll just take a tiny bit more money..."
Money was no issue. As long as it was worth it.
Lin Feng nodded. The slave trader smiled even more obsequiously.
Just as they were about to leave, Lin Feng inadvertently caught sight of a slave in the corner.
Silver hair?
Lin Feng thought his eyes were playing tricks on him, but when he brought the candle stand closer for a look, it really was silver hair.
The silver-haired Beastman was curled up in the corner. She was covered in dirt and looked to be in poor condition. Her triangular beast ears that should've been standing upright drooped lifelessly over her head.
Even so, her facial features were as exquisite and pretty as a doll's.
"How beautiful."
However, there was a heavy bloody scent coming from her.
As his gaze lowered, Lin Feng saw a horrifying wound on her abdomen that kept dripping blood.
No wonder she looked so listless.
But despite her poor condition, her azure pupils still contained a powerful aura within them.
Lin Feng had a premonition that buying her would definitely not make him suffer losses.
"Inspect."
[Silver Wolf Tribe Beastgirl slave. Overall Quality: Excellent]
Excellent?
Slave qualities were divided into five grades: Inferior, Ordinary, Excellent, Epic, Legendary.
As expected, he had spotted her extraordinariness with one look.
Lin Feng glanced at her detailed attributes.
[Name: Yuna
Race: Silver Wolf Tribe (Beastman)
Gender: Female
Level: 11
Strength: B
Defense: C
Agility: A
Endurance: C
Spirit: C
Perception: A
Bust/Waist/Hips: 94/57/97]
A cute Beastgirl.
Her name sounds nice and her attributes aren't bad either. Her three sizes are also... *cough cough*, nearly perfect.
Her Strength and Agility are decent. She can do as a frontline warrior, though her Defense isn't great, equipment can make up for that.
Also, her Perception is high, so skills like Evasion will surely be learned in the future. That can cover for her Defense shortcoming too.
In short, everything he sees pleases him!
When Lin Feng first got his Inspection skill, he had experimented on ordinary people.
Commoners' levels were usually between 1 to 5, the older they were, the higher the level.
And their six attributes were basically all E grades. Slightly talented ones were D grades.
With her attributes and level, she was a one in a hundred prodigy.
Lin Feng gave a slight cough, trying hard to conceal the delight in his heart, then pointed at her and said, "How about this one?"
The dealer craned his neck to take a peek, then praised Lin Feng obsequiously, "Sir has a good eye, going straight for her with one glance."
"What's up with her?"
"She killed three of my guards in the forest," said the dealer, holding up three fingers. "She moved very fast, almost in an instant."
Lin Feng observed her carefully again for a bit.
She looked about sixteen or seventeen years old, but her figure curves were already prominent, with many callouses on her hands caused by training. On closer look, many tiny scars could be seen as well.
As the dealer followed Lin Feng's line of sight in inspection, he supplemented, "She's from the Silver Wolf Tribe, a beastman tribe. Their settlement is in the southwest area of the Great Forest. All of them are fierce and valiant warriors."
He gesticulated repeatedly, continuing, "Moreover, Silver Wolf Tribe slaves are rarely seen, especially healthy youths. The live ones are usually impossible to capture, only children and seniors can be caught."
"If she wasn't already dying, she could be sold for at least sixty silvers," said the dealer, pushing his spectacles. "But the fur and bones of the Silver Wolf Tribe are great medicinal materials. I've heard they can strengthen yang qi... She can also be sold as ingredients to medicine shops."
A slave of such quality used as medicine ingredients?
That would simply be wasteful!
"Sell her to me," said Lin Feng, lowering his head to glance at her.
The slave dealer looked at Lin Feng in shock, slowly opening his mouth, "To be blunt, she won't live more than a few days. No returns or exchanges once sold."
Lin Feng silently took out a pouch of money and placed it in the slave dealer's hands.
After going through a series of tedious contracts, Lin Feng obtained ownership of the Silver Wolf girl.
Looking at the identical fang-shaped enslavement marks on both their arms, Lin Feng was very satisfied.
He then stuffed her into a bamboo basket and brought her straight home.
The moment he stepped through the door, a mechanical female voice rang in his mind.
[Completed mission: Bought a slave]
[Mission reward: High-grade First Aid Medicine issued]
In a flash, several dots of light appeared in Lin Feng's hands, turning into three pitch-black pills after a few seconds.
Lin Feng tapped the pills skillfully, silently mouthing "Inspect".
A line of words appeared.
[Can effectively stop bleeding and slowly heal wounds. Estimated price: Fifty silvers]
One of these pills cost fifty silvers?
Lin Feng's eyes widened.
It was expensive, but good steel should be used on the blade. Worth it!
"Open your mouth," said Lin Feng, placing the pill by Yuna's lips. But she glared at him fiercely instead.
"This is medicine. If you eat it, you'll recover quickly. Your wound is serious. You'll die fast without treatment," explained Lin Feng patiently.
Yuna still hesitated for a bit, but soon struggled to place the pill in her mouth.
Seeing her throat bob up and down in a swallow, Lin Feng put her down in relief then threw her into the storage room.
When he saw her the next day, her complexion had already improved somewhat.
[Mission updated: Have a simple chat with slave, obtain initial trust]
This was far too simple!
Gaining an attractive young girl's trust and the like were what he excelled in the most!
As Lin Feng slowly approached, Yuna's eyeballs remained fixed on him.
Beastmen Girl
"Don't be nervous, and don't move around either, your wounds haven't fully healed yet." Lin Feng turned around and went into the kitchen, bringing out a bowl of rice.
Given beastmen's large appetite, rice portions were measured in bowls.
"You probably haven't eaten in a long time, right?"
Yuna looked at the rice, then back up at Lin Feng. She nodded.
"Then go ahead and eat. Having a full stomach will help you recover."
Yuna picked up the bowl of rice. Her gaze towards Lin Feng softened considerably.
Her pair of beastmen ears twitched, and she slowly opened her mouth, "Who are you? Where is this place?"
"My surname is Lin, name Feng. I'm the human who bought you yesterday. This is my home, very safe, you don't need to worry." Lin Feng sat down in front of her. "What should I call you, do you have a name?"
Although he already knew her name from the inspection, Lin Feng still asked out of habit.
Suddenly and accurately saying her name without prompting would make her suspicious.
Yuna shoveled mouthfuls of rice with a wooden spoon. In no time, the bowl was licked clean. Only then did she lift her head and murmur unclearly, "My name is Yuna."
Although her face was still dirty, those beastmen ears that would twitch from time to time really made her look cute.
[Quest Update: Tell Yuna about her current situation.]
Lin Feng took a deep breath, and spoke to her, "Yuna."
"Hmm?"
"You're my slave that I bought. You're no longer free. From now on you'll have to listen to everything I say, understand?"
The slave trader had said that beastmen were difficult to tame. But Yuna remained calm, silently nodding her head, seemingly not as displeased as imagined.
"I understand."
Lin Feng nodded, satisfied, and got up while pointing to the bathroom, "Then it's settled. I've prepared the bathwater for you, and put a change of clothes inside too. Your room is over there. You can rest after your bath."
Yuna murmured in agreement. But her feet didn't shift an inch, standing timidly in place instead.
Could it be...
[Quest Update: Help Yuna scrub her back.]
"Do you need my help?"
Yuna glanced up at Lin Feng, fists clenched in slight embarrassment, "The wounds... haven't fully closed up yet. I do need someone else's assistance."
Lin Feng nodded solemnly. This would indeed require someone else's help...