Chapter 55: Two Choices
Zhu Rong had managed to earn 7 low grade spirit stones from selling all the first stage beast cores he had,
and now only 2 remained, as he had spent the rest to secure a batch of the cheapest elf girls the merchant had.
He also told the merchant to set aside the others, saying he’d buy them all later.
The merchant, who at first wasn’t too happy with such a small profit, brightened up at this, though he said he’d only wait for a month,
as keeping the Elves in decent condition cost money, and there were already other customers waiting.
He did it because he thought Zhu Rong was some big shot, and doing him this favor might pay off in the future.
If only he knew that just by buying those few Elves, Zhu Rong’s pockets were already close to empty, he might’ve spat a mouthful of blood on the spot.
That said, Zhu Rong now had only a few hundred gold coins left, just enough to cover what these girls would need to live for a little while.
It was obvious that if he didn’t come up with something soon, he wouldn’t be able to provide them with a proper place to stay for long.
If it had been the him of the past, he wouldn’t have cared about saving a bunch of Elves.
But he had made a promise to Ye Ning back when she finally agreed to accept him as her master, a promise that whenever he could, he would help her people escape from situations like this.
Even if that was something from a past life, he still intended to keep that promise in this one.
That said, it’s not like he didn’t have plans for them.
In the eastern part of the commercial district, there was a residential area, and on its outskirts stood an old, two story inn.
The building looked worn down, its wood faded by time, its sign cracked, and its windows coated in dust.
Once lively, it had long been forgotten by most people.
Clearly, given its poor location, it had lost to the competition and gone bankrupt before long.
Inside this building, now ignored by the world, a large group stood looking around.
The interior was tidy, at least as much as it could be for an abandoned place like this
The furniture in the main hall was old, some showing signs of wear from poor maintenance, others simply eroded by time.
At the center of the hall, a small group of Elf girls looked around the room before turning their eyes to a young human man seated casually at a nearby table.
Zhu Rong let them look around for a bit before finally opening his mouth.
"Ladies, I’m sure you all have plenty of questions about your current situation, so I won’t waste time beating around the bush," he said, successfully grabbing everyone’s attention.
"You’re free," he added as he took out a series of slips of paper and, under the stunned gazes of the Elves, tore them to pieces.
In the next moment, faint glimmers of light appeared on the chests of every Elf in the room before quietly fading away.
He had removed their slave seals.
Those seals were how every owner guaranteed a servant’s loyalty, just a single command would cause the seal to shatter the target’s heart, ending their life.
Needless to say, their effectiveness made them ideal for things like this.
They were very popular, whether for enslaving people or subduing beasts, their uses were many.
With a calm expression, Zhu Rong looked at the group of women, who were now clearly shaken and caught off guard by their supposed new master’s unexpected words.
Free?
Of all the things they could have imagined happening to them today, this was the very last on the list, in fact, it hadn’t even made the list.
After being captured, with their homes destroyed and their futures ripped away, they had resigned themselves to their fate.
They knew that the moment they fell into the hands of a slave merchant, their lives were as good as over.
All they could hope for was to avoid ending up in the hands of someone truly cruel.
And yet here they were, freshly purchased by this young human man, hearing words they never thought they’d hear in their entire lives.
Was this some kind of joke?
A cruel trick of fate giving them a tiny glimmer of hope just to crush it brutally right after?
As doubtful as they were, the man’s actions spoke louder than his words, leaving them even more confused.
Inevitably, a small spark of hope began to flicker inside them, and after a long moment of hesitation, someone finally stepped forward to speak.
It was a young Elf girl with short yellow hair tied into two little ponytails and bright green eyes, her voice filled with hesitation as she spoke.
"S-sir, are you... telling the truth?" she asked, her voice trembling, clearly torn between fear and doubt.
Zhu Rong looked at her for a moment before smiling and saying,
"Yes, you cute little monster, you’re free."
The little Elf immediately puffed out her cheeks in protest.
"Hey, I’m not a monster!" she said, but then stopped before suddenly panicking and blurting out,
"Ah, I didn’t mean.." she hurriedly tried to apologize, thinking he would get angry, and even the group of Elf girls behind her panicked for a moment.
But she stopped when Zhu Rong reached out a hand and gently patted her head.
"Hahaha, you’re right, you’re not a monster," he said, not bothered in the slightest by her little outburst.
It was a small gesture, but it seemed to calm the rest of the Elves as well.
Noticing the group starting to settle down a little, Zhu Rong decided to continue.
"I’m not asking you to trust me, I get how you feel, and I don’t blame you for it," he said, his expression turning serious.
"I might not be a saint, but I’m not a demon either.
Of course, I have my reasons for buying all of you.
But I can promise you, none of it will be harmful to you."
"That said, I’m not going to force anyone. So I’ll let you decide:
You can choose to leave and live your lives however you wish, and I’ll even help get you safely to the Qinglan Empire," he said, and hearing those words, many eyes started to glimmer.
Zhu Rong noticed this but continued without pausing.
"Or... swear loyalty to me. In return, I’ll make sure you can walk through this world without having to fear anyone... or anything."