Take a Little More?

Seeing Xiao Yan put on such a righteous expression, I was left speechless.

Now I finally understood why villains were always picking fights with protagonists—because the protagonist was actually the one picking the fight.

I was the dignified young master of the Nalan Family. Did I need to ask a maidservant's opinion before having her help me with something?

Xiao Yan, Xiao Yan, you were a young master too. Though only from a small family, you surely had maidservants and servants, right? Did you have to ask those servants and maidservants for their opinions whenever you wanted them to do something?

Heh. It looked like respect for others, respect for human rights, but in the reality of the Dou Qi Continent, this simply went against common sense!

But then, who told you to be the protagonist...

"Third Brother, you have a point!"

I laughed heartily, flipped my hand, and poured roughly a thousand gold coins from my Ring of Holding. They immediately clattered loudly, piling into a small glittering heap at Qing Lin's feet, bright enough to hurt one's eyes.

I turned back to Qing Lin, smiling warmly as I said, "Qing Lin, as long as you help me with this, all these gold coins will be yours. How about it?"

Qing Lin shrank back, cautiously glancing at the little pile of gold coins at her feet. They were golden and gleaming, just like the desert outside Stone Desert City.

Twenty gold coins were enough for an ordinary family of five to live on for a year. A thousand gold coins meant fifty years! And Qing Lin was only one person.

Yet as she looked at this enormous sum, enough to support her for a lifetime, there was little excitement in her eyes.

Because she was a half-blood between the Snake-People Tribe and humans. Ever since she had been born, all she had received were scornful looks, mockery, and bullying.

Could a thousand gold coins make others respect her?

Clearly, this sum was a little too small...

She raised her head, her pale green eyes looking at me with a trace of timidity on her face. Her hands tightly clutched her light green dress, and she seemed rather nervous.

Yet excitement seemed to be emerging in her limpid eyes?

Deep within those dark green pupils, three tiny jade-green dots vaguely appeared. Her eyes gradually gave off a strange charm, leaving me slightly dazed.

"Young Master Nalan, can I really help you?"

Qing Lin asked timidly. There was a trace of expectation on her face, though deep in her eyes lay hints of inferiority and gloom.

"Of course you can!"

I came back to my senses and smiled slightly. With a serious expression, I said, "Qing Lin can definitely help me, and for this matter, you are indispensable!"

"Really? I can really help you?"

"It really is true."

I nodded firmly. A smile immediately bloomed across Qing Lin's eager face, filled with a strange allure that left me in a daze, as though in a dream.

"Young Master Nalan, I... I don't need so many gold coins... Just a little is enough."

A clear voice jolted me awake. I stared at Qing Lin in alarm. This was already the second time. I was a One-Star Dou Shi, while Qing Lin was not even a Dou Zhe... Was this the power of the Jade Eye Three Flower Pupils?!

Despite such a vast disparity in strength, she could still make me lose focus, become muddled, and even faintly fall into an illusion!

I calmed the shock in my heart and lowered my head to look at the small pile of gold coins. Giving over a thousand gold coins to a little girl like Qing Lin really made it hard to say whether it would bring fortune or disaster.

One had to know that the Dou Qi Continent was no law-governed society. Murdering people and stealing their belongings was practically commonplace.

For Qing Lin to recognize the danger herself and turn down such an enormous sum for a little maidservant was not something an ordinary person could do.

I turned my head to look at Qing Lin, growing more satisfied the more I looked. This feeling no longer came from what had been written in a book, but from what I had personally seen and felt.

This little girl had grown up amid countless insults and acts of bullying; that showed strength and endurance. She could recognize the danger posed by gold coins; that showed intelligence and caution. She could immediately refuse them; that showed she was neither greedy nor indecisive.

And with the remarkable talent of the "Jade Eye Three Flower Pupils," as long as she could get rid of the timidity and inferiority in her nature—she would be quite an extraordinary person!

I sighed emotionally, but then a mischievous thought suddenly arose in my heart. Smiling, I said, "Qing Lin, take however many gold coins you want."

Qing Lin answered softly. She crouched down, first setting the tray in her hands on the ground. She stared wide-eyed at the small pile of gold coins, then glanced up at me.

I chuckled, encouragement visible in my eyes. She immediately lowered her head like a startled rabbit.

After hesitating for a moment, she finally stretched out her right hand cautiously and lightly—very, very lightly—grabbed a handful from the very tip of the coin pile.

I was rather surprised. Gold coins were about the size of ordinary coins. With such a small hand lightly grabbing a handful, there could not be more than ten at most, right?

Qing Lin timidly looked up at me again. I frowned and suggested, "Wouldn't you take a little more?"

The scene before me was rather strange. As the employer, I actually felt she had taken too little money? But I dared swear to the heavens that this time, I was absolutely sincere and harbored not the slightest ill intent!

Qing Lin gently shook her head, tucked the few gold coins in her palm close against her body, then picked up the tray and stood. A sweet smile appeared on her face, carrying a faint hint of happiness.

"Young Master Nalan, this is already a lot."

"All right."

I was somewhat disappointed. It seemed she truly was a genius, though that also made me happy again.

After clearing my throat, I called out to Qing Lin, who had already turned and walked several steps away. She turned back, her eyes full of confusion as she blinked curiously, but she was no longer afraid of me.

I spread my hands and looked at her, saying each word carefully and seriously, "Qing Lin, my compound surname is Nalan, and my given name is Ye. Don't call me by the wrong name again next time."

"Ah?"

Qing Lin cried out. A flicker of panic crossed her face as she anxiously said, "Young Master Nalan, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to."

I waved my hand and said it was fine. Qing Lin finally calmed down and left.

I sighed and swept my gaze around the hall. Naturally, the six members of the Xiao Family had not foolishly stood there watching Qing Lin and me talk. They had been chatting among themselves, lively and animated.

I looked at Xiao Yan, smiled, and said, "Third Brother, Qing Lin has agreed herself. Can I take her away now?"

Xiao Yan nodded. "You can, but you gave her too few gold coins. You'll have to make it up to her later."

I gave a helpless bitter smile. Qing Lin had taken them herself; it was not as though I had been stingy and refused to give her more. You really do meddle in everything, don't you?

But who told you to be the protagonist?

I nodded in agreement, then crouched down and began gathering up the small pile of gold coins. Pouring them out of the Ring of Holding with all that clattering had felt incredibly satisfying, but picking them back up and putting them into the ring was truly troublesome.

As I picked them up, I casually listened to the Xiao Family members chatting. But when I heard Xiao Yu's words, my expression could not help turning savage!

"Meier, do you think Little Yezi has taken a fancy to that little maidservant?"

Xiao Meier hesitated, then shot Xiao Yu a fierce glare. "That maidservant is a half-blood between the Snake-People Tribe and humans, and she even has scales on her body. Who would like her?!"

"Hehe, Meier, this is your first time leaving Wutan City. You simply haven't seen enough of the world."

Xiao Yu laughed sweetly. She reached out and stroked Xiao Meier's cheek. "Meier, I've been to Gama City before. Do you know how prosperous it is there?"

"The young masters and noble sons of Gama City have gold coins to spare. They can casually take out thousands of them. They've already grown tired of ordinary women, so they started playing with snake-people instead."

"In Gama City, a beautiful snake-person female slave can easily fetch a sky-high price of more than ten thousand gold coins at auction!"

Xiao Yu said with a smile, "That little maidservant is a half-blood of the Snake-People Tribe and humans. Compared to ordinary snake-person female slaves, she is ten or even a hundred times better, and she is not bad-looking either... Meier, do you think Little Yezi wouldn't be tempted?"

I stared at Xiao Yu, struggling to breathe for a moment. There was almost only one thought in my mind.

Xiao Yu, Sister Xiao Yu! You really have never been beaten down by society, have you?!