Gifts and Demands

This time, she brought two guards with her, and the city lord didn't say anything.

"It's supposed to be a candlelight dinner atmosphere? What's this guy thinking?"

Seeing the sweet pastries on the table, Ye Qian pretended not to know anything and prepared to eat.

She then noticed that there were two children, a boy and a girl, around ten years old, sitting next to her.

They were both quite cute, but the boy's face was flushed, and he kept glancing at her. Then the girl pinched the boy's thigh hard and whispered, "Stop looking at others, it's embarrassing."

The boy lowered his head, blushing, and said, "She's so pretty."

"Can you be as pretty as your sister? You awful jerk, you can't even walk past a pretty girl." She snorted jealously.

Chapter 86 Grants and Demands

Ye Qian appeared quiet and reserved during dinner, but this atmosphere undoubtedly gave her a mysterious and aloof aura.

After she finished eating, the maid, carrying a candlestick, led her to a room on the second floor.

"Miss Qian, let me wash you." The maid said with a smile.

"No, no need, I'll wash myself. Hmm, I'll just wash my feet today." She felt a little wary of this unfamiliar, beautiful maid.

"Then I will wash your feet."

Then the maid brought a basin of water to Ye Qian and took off the long black stockings she was wearing.

Upon seeing those snow-white, jade-like legs, the long-haired black maid carefully raised her head and glanced at Ye Qian, thinking to herself: How does this girl maintain her figure?

Ye Qian's eyelids twitched, and she glanced up at the garden outside the window without saying a word.

She decided to leave tomorrow.

The purpose of this trip was actually secondary; our own territory was not strong enough, and getting too involved with human forces would not be of much benefit. Maintaining caravan trade was sufficient.

As for the Water of Purification he provided, it did indeed demonstrate its corresponding effect, but it's hard to say what the city lord thought about it.

Prolonging life, that stuff is just as unreliable as health supplements that claim to grant you a long life, but since I demonstrated a rapid recovery from minor injuries, he probably believes it to some extent.

Spending 750 gold coins directly takes guts.

Conversely, the city lord might be wary of Ye Qian's background and dare not directly attack her, but he also couldn't be sure if the potion was truly effective. What if he gave up and ended up being bought off by his political enemies?

He probably considered many things before finally deciding to make the purchase.

Based on Ye Qian's promised effects, it's enough to sell the water at an exorbitant price.

Even though there are risks involved in selling something so rare, the potential profit is not small.

"Miss Qian, you're done washing up."

After drying Ye Qian's feet, the maid stood up, carrying a foot basin, and went over to pour out the water.

This guy probably never imagined that the effect of this basin of foot-washing water would be the same as the exorbitantly priced goods she sold to the city lord.

I wonder what I would think if I knew the truth.

Ye Qian chuckled inwardly.

Wearing a princess dress, Ye Qian came to the balcony and sighed softly as she looked at the faint firelight in the distance.

Goodnight, Miss Qian.

The maid came to the door, bid farewell to the sighing princess, and then stepped out.

As soon as they got outside, they saw two furtive figures.

"Shh!"

The boy quickly made a shushing gesture.

The maid closed the door and asked in a low voice, "Young master and young lady, what are you doing?"

"This guy is completely infatuated with that woman; he's practically begging to see her." The girl glared at her younger brother. "Is she really that beautiful? Enough to make you so obsessed?"

"She's so cute, big sister! I want to pursue her, please help me figure out a way," the boy pleaded.

"Figure it out yourself. I hope you die on a woman's belly."

My sister left in a huff.

"Sis!!!"

The boy chased after him.

"Damn, that's incredible." Ye Qian rubbed her forehead.

He thought of something and whistled downstairs.

The two black-shield infantrymen heard the sound, looked up, and found Ye Qian waving at them.

Two minutes later, the soldier arrived outside the room.

"Keep watch for me tonight. If you get tired, we can switch shifts. Make sure you keep your energy up." Ye Qian propped herself up on the bed with her hands, dangling her legs, and turned to look out the door.

"Yes!"

The soldiers responded and closed the door.

"Dude, don't fall asleep! Miss Daji's safety is in our hands."

"Of course I know."

Ye Qian's Mystic Thread swept around the outside, she twisted her neck, and lay down directly on the bed.

When I woke up, it was already the next day.

After a simple breakfast, Ye Qian proposed leaving completely.

Are you leaving?

The boy froze for a moment, looking extremely reluctant to part.

"Yes, see you in a month. I might stay longer then." Ye Qian smiled and waved.

"Goodbye, it was a very pleasant collaboration." The city lord himself seemed quite pleased.

Overall, the farewell went quite smoothly.

The convoy began to leave the city center and gradually entered a poorer area.

"This environment is actually no better than the Old District."

Looking at the indifferent crowd, Ye Qian couldn't help but overthink things.

A passerby, whose clothes looked decent, casually tossed a half-eaten bun onto the roadside.

To her surprise, the iron railing of the sewer next to her suddenly opened, and a dirty girl climbed out, snatched the bun in her hand, and then retreated back underground.

This immediately reminded Ye Qian of "Mia," a member of the Dusk who had experienced a mission in real life. She also faced difficulties in life, but at least that girl had her own little home.

But the girl in front of us who snatched a steamed bun and hid in the sewer to eat it was in a much worse situation.

It had many whip marks on its body, and many parts of it were ulcerated. Its small body was curled up in the sewer, and it stuffed the whole bun into its mouth at an extremely fast speed.

After swallowing it all, she chewed with her mouth bulging, while looking at the surroundings through the iron bars next to her.

In the distance is a fountain in the city center.

The faint light illuminated the spring and adorned the houses of the wealthy. All around, however, was a damp environment, as the nearby ditches were constantly filled with rainwater that had seeped in from the ground due to days of rainfall.

Ye Qian looked at the child with a sense of pity.

"Perhaps... I could train two people specifically to help me gather information."

These children, already living in poverty, receive little sympathy. So, wouldn't it be easy to bribe them with just a little food?

At least statistically speaking, she is better than anyone you randomly pick on the street.

"Give it a try."

Of course, Ye Qian couldn't just jump out of the carriage and enter the sewers in front of everyone.

Her method was simple: cross-world teleportation.

Swoosh—

Almost instantly, the figure inside the carriage disappeared and reappeared in front of the girl.

The other person was still biting into the bun in their mouth when suddenly, a girl dressed in a gorgeous princess dress appeared out of thin air.

Ye Qian landed lightly, her long hair fluttering in the extremely damp and filthy sewer where a cold wind was blowing from who-knows-where.

His exquisitely handsome features, which almost outshone everything else, smiled at the girl and reached out his hand, asking, "Are you willing to change your life?"

The girl was about to cry out in fright when Ye Qian made a shushing gesture.

The guy immediately quieted down, gulped down the food in his mouth, and then stared at the mysterious girl in front of him with a look of great fear.

The next second, Ye Qian extended a finger and placed it near the other person's lips.

"Open your mouth."

A strange thought suddenly arose in her mind. She stared wide-eyed in fear and instinctively opened her mouth, and Ye Qian's finger went in.

The moment it touches the tongue and saliva, a gentle sensation spreads.

The pain that had spread throughout his body suddenly lessened, and the resistance he had been trying to make out of fear subconsciously stopped.

In less than 20 seconds, the shocking wounds on her body had been reduced by more than half.

Ye Qian took her hand out and looked at the sticky saliva on it, her lips twitching slightly.

She reached out her other hand and gently took his, asking softly, "Would you like to come with me?"

The little girl's eyes lit up, as if she had seen hope. Although she didn't make any gesture, her eyes were full of longing.

"So..."

Whoosh!

The scene before my eyes distorted twice, and when I came to my senses again, the little girl was already sitting in the carriage with Ye Qian.

"If you come with me, you have to listen to me and do things for me. I'll give you lots of good food, help you heal your injuries, and I won't allow anyone to bully you."

Ye Qian's Mystic Thread were reading the scenes in the other person's imagination.

The girl's heart seemed to be filled with fear, including numerous memories of being whipped and kicked.

She once had a warm home, but after her parents passed away, the city garrison confiscated her only small house on the grounds that young children could not inherit it, and roughly compensated her with 10 silver coins.

The silver coins were stolen by bad guys, and she was captured by strangers and enslaved. She suffered terrible abuse and was injured all over her body. During a chaotic fight, she escaped while the others were not paying attention and hid in the sewers, only daring to climb out at night to find food.

She knew those people were in the city, so she lived in constant fear, afraid of being discovered and killed.

After experiencing so much, she would sit in the sewer every day, looking at the wealthy neighborhood across the river through the side railing, yearning in solitude.

I thought the future would only become more and more hopeless.

But at this moment, her older sister suddenly appeared and led her to this luxurious but unfamiliar vehicle, placing her hand on her sticky and dirty head without any hesitation.

The young woman's hands seemed to possess a divine power; they could easily cleanse anything they touched.

With her small brain, she couldn't say anything at that moment; only tears flowed down her face.

"Silence means agreement."

Ye Qian opened the drawer next to her and took out a piece of dried meat.

"For you."

She gazed nervously at the fragrant meat, cautiously reaching out her hand, like a frightened cat, quickly withdrawing it at the last second before she could touch it.

Ye Qian maintained this position until she had completely caught the meat, then forcefully tore off a small piece of flesh and put it in her mouth.

The moment she tasted it, her eyes lit up.

Eat slowly, chew thoroughly before swallowing.

Ye Qian poured her another glass of Water of Purification.

After she had eaten a few bites, Ye Qian lifted the curtain, pointed to a wooden building in the distance, and said to the two black-shield infantrymen at the door, "See that house over there? There are a few men inside. I'll take you there to deal with them. Before that, empty your mind and body and accept the power."

Amidst the soldiers' puzzled expressions, the contract from the Dragon Loli appeared.