Na: ng Jueyan
Origin: Classified
Status: Crippled
Category: Labor Slave
Conditioning: Complete
Suggested Use: nial tasks
Han Yu felt a coldness spread across his chest.
He turned toward the clerk.
"Was this one from the purge two years ago?" he asked in a calm tone.
The clerk checked his own formation screen and nodded.
"Yes. She is from that batch. A nasty one too. Very troubleso. Not like the others who break quickly."
Han Yu resisted the urge to crush the counter he was gripping with one hand.
"What happened to her?" he asked.
The clerk laughed, enjoying the gossip.
"Look at her face. She was originally selected to beco a bed slave. The training staff said she had the right features at first. Unfortunately for her, she was a stubborn one. She learned about the Doll Seal sohow and refused to be turned into one of those puppets.
So she mutilated her own face to avoid it. Bit her own lips to pieces. Ripped her own skin. Even gouged out her eye. The Slave forgers said she did it with her bare hands."
Han Yu felt a chill crawl down his back. For ng Jueyan to go that far, she must have been terrified of the Doll Seal. Terrified enough to destroy herself.
The clerk continued speaking casually.
"Of course she angered the staff. They beat her again and again. Broke her bones. Tortured her. They crippled her cultivation too. But they could not kill her because she already cost too many resources. Now she is just a defective product. Hardly anyone wants her. They only hope to recoup the base cost. You can see the price for yourself."
Han Yu looked at the price.
Twelve thousand rit points.
After a few minutes of bids, the current price rose to thirteen thousand one hundred and one rit points.
He exhaled slowly.
So cheap yet so devastating.
He stared at her disfigured image again. In his mind he could still picture the ng Jueyan who had plotted alongside him. The ng Jueyan who had smiled despite danger. The ng Jueyan who had mocked enemies and poisoned fellow disciples upon his command as Elder Yi.
Even if she was not orthodox, even if she was unorthodox, even if she was not a close companion like Xuan Qing, she had still fought beside him. She was one of the few who had not betrayed him despite having many chances to do so.
She was an ally.
The clerk raised a brow.
"What, you want her? Surprising. She will not be much use in the bed. Ugly thing now. And I bet she stinks worse than a sow down there."
Han Yu kept his tone cold and bored.
"I am tired from pill making and puppet study. I need an assistant. She is cheaper than buying a puppet assistant."
The clerk laughed loudly.
"That is true. She is certainly cheap."
Han Yu placed his bid quietly. He stayed in the hall for hours, outbidding a few newcors who tried to purchase her out of pity or curiosity. Most lost interest quickly. None wanted a crippled slave with a ruined face.
When the final bid settled at thirteen thousand one hundred and ninety one rit points, Han Yu tapped his token. The formation flared, confirming his purchase.
His rit points dropped by almost half. The number felt painful. Yet his heart felt slightly lighter.
He had saved one more.
Even if she was broken. Even if she was far from the ng Jueyan he rembered. Even if she could never cultivate again. Even if she would hate being seen in her current state.
At least she would not die under the hands of a perverted elder or cruel disciple.
At least she would not vanish into the endless darkness of this cursed sect.
Han Yu turned to leave, breathing in deeply.
It was ti to retrieve her.
And perhaps, soday, help her reclaim even a fragnt of the self she had destroyed in desperation.
Han Yu waited in the receiving chamber much as he had done half a year ago when he bought Xuan Qing. The tallic scent of old blood, the faint hum of spirit arrays and the cold, indifferent glow of the stone lanterns all felt eerily familiar.
This ti, however, he felt different. He felt tired, worn down by the work he had done for the sect, pressed by the constant need for rit points, weighed upon by the puppetry studies, and above all the urgency to protect those he could still save.
The heavy doors opened with a grinding sound and two Zombie guards walked in along with two human guards.
Their armor glinted with faint crimson light and their stiff, corpse like movents scraped the stone floor. Between them walked a chained woman with her wrists locked behind her back. Her steps were quiet, barely making a sound, but the tension in her posture spoke volus.
It was ng Jueyan.
Even after preparing himself ntally, Han Yu felt shock roll through him again when he saw her in person.
The scars on her face were far more grotesque than the formation screen image suggested. Her empty eye socket was sunken and dark with no patch to cover it. Her lips were torn in jagged shapes.
Even her left cheek looked as if it had been shredded and roughly healed. Her posture was upright but stiff, as if the muscles no longer rembered how to move naturally.
The guards recognized Han Yu’s figure at once.
"Oh, it is Ju Fan," one guard said, his voice raspy, as if he had smoked too much. "Did your tastes change? Looking for sothing worse than a pig for the night"
The other snorted with a heavy chuckle. "She is uglier than a smashed gourd. You must really be desperate or twisted."
Han Yu kept his face cold and detached. He already knew that acting offended or flustered would be suspicious. Instead, he lifted his chin slightly and spoke in the tone he had mastered in this place.
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