As Yuan An rode her small horse, she searched around the streets for the Han Xiu Jewelry Shop that Xiaoyu had mentioned. As she was doing so, she noticed a group of men moving coal near a large coal heap. One of them accidentally hit something soft while shoveling, and to their surprise, a dark figure suddenly jumped up from beside the coal heap!
At first, the men were startled, but they quickly realized what was happening. They started shouting and accusing the figure of being a coal thief. Without hesitation, they surrounded him and began to beat him, shouting, "Look! There's a live person here! Must be a coal thief! How much coal has he stolen already? Beat him! Beat him!"
The figure could only jump and dodge to evade the blows, looking miserable and bewildered. He accidentally ran into a shop, but it didn't take long before several fierce women threw him out, yelling, "Where did this dark, sneaky monster come from? How dare he spy on us while changing clothes! Beat him to death!"
The dark figure desperately tried to escape. After barely evading the coal movers and the fierce women, he cowered in a corner, still trembling with fear. Just then, he noticed a young child leading a large dog. The child was chubby and wore a soft hat with a red silk jacket. In his hands, he held a cake made of white glutinous rice and red dates. The child looked at the dark figure with curiosity, while the large dog beside him growled menacingly.
The child called out, "Mom, Dad, come and see! There's a monkey here!" He then let go of the dog's leash and commanded, "Tiger, Tiger, bite him! Bite him! Bite this monkey!"
The large dog obeyed, leaping to attack, and the dark figure quickly tried to evade, but he had no time to escape. He crossed his arms in front of his face to defend himself. Just then, Yuan An approached from behind, grabbed the dog's collar and played with its ears. The dog loosened its grip.
Yuan An made a gesture that seemed like a signal, and surprisingly, the big dog became docile.
The child stared at Yuan An in surprise.
Yuan An looked back at the child and extended her hand, saying, "Hey, give me your cake."
The child replied, "This is mine. I won't give it to you."
Yuan An repeated, "Give me your cake!"
The child only wanted to protect his food and didn't know that the person in front of him was up to no good. He still replied defiantly, "No!"
Narrowing her eyes, Yuan An crouched down and commanded the big dog, "Attack!"
The dog, following Yuan An's command, immediately lunged at its owner. The child was shocked and ran away, crying and leaving the cake behind. Yuan An caught it with a grin, saying, "Perfect, not a single bite."
Feeling accomplished for successfully chasing away a child who was just slightly taller than herself, Yuan An turned her attention back to the dark figure. He seemed even darker now, covered in mud and dirt, skinny, and with little flesh under his skin. No wonder the chubby child mistook him for a monkey. This was the little dark kid Yuan An had rescued from the slave traders in the Ghost Market. However, he didn't seem to be doing any better than before.
Yuan An said, "Do you recognize me?"
The dark child looked at Yuan An, considering her cautiously. Suddenly, he seemed to remember something and pointed at her, making a whining sound.
Yuan An smiled and said, "Yes, that's right. It's me. I bought you from the slave traders and rescued you that day. You can really run fast, right? Then how did you end up here? You were being chased and beaten just now, right? I saw you a long time ago!"
The dark child remained silent, his black and white eyes fixated on the cake Yuan An was holding, his mouth watering.
Yuan An asked, "Oh? Do you want to eat this? It's delicious. Here, have it."
He immediately took it and started devouring it. Yuan An laughed, "Is it tasty?"
The dark child nodded.
"Do you like to eat it?"
The little dark child nodded and kept his eyes on Yuan An while munching on the rice cake.
Yuan An was pleased with his response and slowly coaxed him, saying, "If you like it, I can buy more for you. But you have to listen to what I have to say."
Ignoring the fact that she had saved him from the slave traders that day, she continued, "Today, if it weren't for me, you might have been bitten to death by that big dog."
"And if it weren't for me, you wouldn't have this rice cake to eat. Isn't that right?"
"Do you understand?"
The little dark child finally stopped chewing and looked at Yuan An, seemingly understanding and yet not quite grasping everything. His clear eyes seemed like they could see through people.
Yuan An wondered why the child looked at people this way.
She tried to be even more gentle, saying, "Did you understand what I said? From now on, I am your owner, and you are my servant."
However, upon hearing this, the little dark child seemed to be infuriated. He suddenly spat out the rice cake, almost hitting Yuan An. Then, he threw the remaining cake away and shoved her, making Yuan An fall to the ground. Yuan An exclaimed, "Ouch!" She hadn't even had time to react when the little dark child leaped to the top of a wall and disappeared.
Yuan An dusted herself off and saw that her palms were scraped. She was frustrated and thought, "Ah, that little rascal! He's so agile! I can't keep him under control! When I'm done with this matter, I'll make sure to catch him! I'll skin him, beat him..." She suddenly didn't want to sound so vicious, so she stopped mid-sentence and turned to attend to her business.
What Yuan An didn't know was that the little dark child hadn't gone far. He was lying on a rooftop, secretly observing her.
Yuan An crossed three streets and two alleys and indeed found the Han Xiu Jewelry Shop as Xiaoyu had mentioned. She lifted the curtain and entered with a grand demeanor, saying, "Where's the boss? Call the boss out."
A shop assistant went to call the boss, and not long after, the boss came out, half-bowing, and asked, "May I ask what business brings you here, sir?"
"Wasn't it a few days ago that Ruyue from the Qianduan Pavilion left something with you? Show it to me."
The boss was momentarily stunned and replied in fear, "Ruyue, Miss Ruyue... I heard that she was killed. How could she have left something with me? You must be mistaken!"
Yuan An coldly smiled, thinking she knew it would be like this. Truly, no one is trustworthy. They think they can hide someone else's belongings just because the person is dead? Fortunately, she was prepared. Yuan An waved him closer, and when the boss approached, she showed the forged waist badge at him, asking, "Recognize this?"
The boss was startled and spoke respectfully, "Oh, so you're Constable Zhao from the county office."
"Do you know why I'm here?"
"To investigate a case?"
Yuan An widened her eyes and said, "Exactly! Now go and get the item for me. If you make me impatient, you'll regret it. Do you want me to smash your shop?!"
The boss immediately nodded like a scared rabbit and hurried inside. In no time, he brought out a box and handed it to Yuan An, saying, "Please take a look. Ruyue asked her maid to bring this to me. It's this."
Yuan An opened the box, and immediately closed it again. She was puzzled, thinking, "Is this it?"
~Thank You for Reading, Please Comment Below~
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