Precious Medicine Workshop's New Member

Ye Tong looked at the Medicine Slave's nervous expression and thought of the corpses scattered outside. He said calmly, "After the Precious Medicine Workshop was rebuilt, its scale increased significantly, but its popularity decreased even more. In a few days, we'll head to the county town. The journey will take at least several months. We need to find someone to guard the house!"

"Yes!"

The Medicine Slave replied without hesitation.

Ye Tong was taken aback, then asked curiously, "Who?"

The Medicine Slave said, "The Crippled Old Woman."

Ye Tong was surprised. "The crippled old woman at the alley entrance who lives by begging? She looks older than you! She walks with a black charcoal stick, as if a gust of wind could blow her over. You're saying she should guard our house for us?"

The Medicine Slave was silent for a moment. "The old master said that in the entire Cold Mountain City, there's no one you can afford to offend except her. In fact, I suspect she has something to do with you."

Ye Tong's expression changed slightly, and he asked, "What do you mean?"

The Medicine Slave said, "Ten years ago, three months after the old master brought you here, she came begging here and hasn't left since. The shack at the alley entrance can only accommodate one person, yet she's lived there for ten years. Whether it's the scorching summer heat or the freezing winter, she's never left."

Ye Tong said, "Even so, that doesn't prove she has anything to do with me, does it?"

The Medicine Slave said, "I've observed her for so many years. Only when you give her some food do her eyes soften considerably. Anyone else who gets close to her will trigger her vigilance. Outsiders might not notice, but I can sense a trace of it."

Ye Tong asked, "Are you sure she can guard the house?"

"Yes!"

The Medicine Slave answered decisively.

Ye Tong didn't say anything more. He brushed past the Medicine Slave, left the main gate of the Precious Medicine Workshop, and walked along the bluestone-paved path, step by step, towards the alley entrance. After a short fifteen minutes, Ye Tong saw the dilapidated shack at the alley entrance. In front of it sat the Crippled Old Woman, ragged, disheveled, holding a pitch-black charcoal stick, slumped against the wall.

In the entire Cold Mountain City, there weren't many people Ye Tong remembered, but this Crippled Old Woman was one of them.

Ye Tong's gaze swept over the Crippled Old Woman's right leg, which was missing half its calf. Then, he met the gaze of the Crippled Old Woman who looked up at him and said, "In a few days, I'll be taking the Medicine Slave to the county town and won't be back for months. The Precious Medicine Workshop needs someone to guard it. Are you interested?"

"Interested."

The Crippled Old Woman replied without hesitation.

Ye Tong turned and walked back the way he came, leaving behind a light remark: "Follow me!"

He didn't ask.

Even if she was related to the Ye Tong of the past, as long as she didn't bring it up, he didn't need to get involved in any karma. Living was a blessing, and what he could provide was a place for the Crippled Old Woman to settle.

However.

After about ten steps, he stopped again, as if he had thought of something. He turned back to the Crippled Old Woman, who was following him slowly, and as he brushed past her, he said, "Follow me."

They walked slowly, exiting the medicinal herb market, passing through two blocks, and stopped in front of a tailor shop. Ye Tong looked up at the plaque, remained silent for a few seconds, and then stepped forward again.

"Customer, do you need custom clothes?"

A clever young attendant, with a face full of enthusiasm, came forward and asked. Even when he saw the Crippled Old Woman following Ye Tong, he didn't show any disgust.

Ye Tong asked, "Do you offer washing services here?"

"Yes."

The young attendant nodded.

Ye Tong pointed at the Crippled Old Woman and said, "Have someone help her wash up, and then get her three sets of fitting clothes. Here's ten taels of Blue Silver, is that enough?"

"It's more than enough."

The young attendant took the Blue Silver, his smile widening.

Ye Tong looked at the Crippled Old Woman and said, "I'll be waiting for you at the Precious Medicine Workshop."

After saying that.

He strode out of the tailor shop. Standing on the street, he pondered for a moment, then headed towards the slave market. He wasn't sure of the Crippled Old Woman's true capabilities, but with the vast Precious Medicine Workshop, having the Crippled Old Woman there would still be too quiet. At the very least, he couldn't have two elderly people on their last legs doing the laundry, cooking, and cleaning forever.

The slave market.

It was a spacious area, but the construction was exceptionally simple. In the entire Cold Mountain City, there were many slave merchants, and the number of slaves sold was not inferior to that of some major cities. Here, no one cared about the slaves' past identities, nor did they care much about whether the slaves lived or died. In everyone's eyes, slaves were the lowest of existences, measurable only by their monetary value.

It was very lively here.

Many adventurer teams, whenever they entered the Golden Phoenix Mountain Range or the southern barbarian territories, might suffer losses among their members. Every time they returned, they would almost always replenish their team members here.

In addition, Cold Mountain City had people dying every day, and all walks of life needed new people to fill the gaps. This also contributed to the booming business of the slave market.

As Ye Tong stepped into the slave market, he walked slowly. His sharp eyes swept across the stone houses, clearly seeing the slaves chained in each one.

These slaves were men and women, old and young. They were dressed up handsomely, which was only to fetch a higher price, but their eyes were filled with despair, numbness, or confusion.

They… saw no future, no hope.

Ye Tong was not a savior; he was just an outsider who had come to this world by chance. He didn't have enough wealth to restore all the slaves in the world to freedom. He was not a king or a general, unable to prevent the existence of slavery or stop batches of pitiful people from eventually being branded and becoming slaves.

"Young man, want a slave?"

"A former noble lady from the main city, the offspring of the powerful..."

"A Qi Refining Fourth Level expert, a strong warrior..."

"Barbarian Fox tribe bloodline, Stone Forest Giant..."

The enthusiastic greetings of the slave traders couldn't stop Ye Tong's footsteps. He was nearing the end of the kilometer-long street, but he hadn't found a slave he was satisfied with.

A connection.

It was a very important connection.

Ye Tong understood physiognomy; he could observe a person's form, gaze at their aura, discern their character, and determine their destiny.

Suddenly.

Ye Tong's steps halted abruptly. His gaze fell upon a beautiful face, one that was both familiar and strange.

"Dingding?"

"No, she's not. Her appearance is about eighty percent similar, but her eyes are vacant, unlike Liu Dingding's cunning and lively gaze."

"The willow-leaf-shaped red mark between her brows proves she possesses fox clan blood, and is even a cultivator whose bloodline has been activated. However, her complexion is dim, suggesting a life of hardship and suffering since childhood..."

Ye Tong observed meticulously. After taking in the fox clan descendant, he turned his attention to the young man by the door, who was lazily chewing on a blade of grass.

"Found someone you like?"

The languid youth asked indifferently.

Ye Tong pointed to the girl and inquired, "How much?"

The languid youth glanced over, then slowly replied, "You're not a regular customer, so there's no discount. Eight hundred taels of Blue Silver. Not half a tael less."

Ye Tong took out bank notes and handed them directly to the youth. "She's mine now."

The languid youth spat out the grass, rummaged for a key, and led the girl out from among the more than twenty slaves. "Whether you want to remove her chains is up to you. I'll state this upfront: if you unlock them and she escapes, I have nothing to do with it."

Ye Tong acted as if he hadn't heard. Under the youth's watchful gaze, he unlocked the chains, tossed them aside, and then stared at the girl, who hadn't even lifted her head. "Answer my question, what's your name?"

The girl shook her head.

Ye Tong said, "Since you don't have a name, you'll be called Dingding from now on. You'll take my surname, Ye Dingding."

The girl finally slowly raised her head. A flicker of focus finally appeared in her previously vacant eyes. She understood one thing: a purchased slave who wasn't given a name was worse than a pig, their remaining life destined to be bleak. However, if they received a name from their master, their status would improve significantly, at the very least they wouldn't be killed arbitrarily.

"Mhm!"

The sound that escaped the girl's throat was barely audible.

Ye Tong turned and walked back the way he came. The girl silently followed behind him, with no thought of escape or hope for her future life. She was like a puppet, dejected and numb.

Precious Medicine Workshop.

After Ye Tong returned with his newly purchased slave girl, Ye Dingding, he saw the Medicine Slave approaching with a face full of suspicion. "From now on, she'll be a maid for our Precious Medicine Workshop. Find a way to remove her slave brand, even if it leaves a scar. From now on, all the chores like washing, cooking, and sweeping the courtyard will be hers."

The Medicine Slave asked blankly, "Then what will this old servant do?"

Ye Tong replied without hesitation, "Cultivate. I need strong individuals to protect me."

Cultivate?

The Medicine Slave's heart trembled. An indescribable feeling surged within him. Although he could cultivate in the past, his old master, Huo Lanqiu, never cared about his cultivation level nor gave him much time to practice. He was treated like an ox or a horse, his labor exploited.

Young Master...

Ye Tong seemed to recall something and said again, "The Crippled Old Woman will also be coming over later. Whatever she wishes to do within the Precious Medicine Workshop, she can do. If she wants to cultivate, give her a few Silver Crystals."

The Medicine Slave's eyes lit up, and he nodded without hesitation. "This old servant understands."

Ye Tong said, "Why are you still standing there? Take her to get familiar with the environment. At mealtime, she'll eat with us. Later, give her some Silver money to buy a few new sets of clothes."

"Yes!"

The Medicine Slave replied respectfully.

Ye Tong returned to his room, found a piece of white paper, took out the charcoal pencil he'd made in his spare time, and began sketching. Gradually, the components for a prosthetic leg took shape.

Ye Tong pondered quietly, designing the mechanisms and assembling the parts. It took him a full half hour to finish the drawing.

Through his fused memories, he knew that without prosthetics, severed limbs could only remain as they were, at most being supported by a crutch or an empty sleeve.

"If she had cultivation, a prosthetic limb would be very useful to her. But without cultivation, at her age, it would be nothing more than a 'chicken rib'," Ye Tong mused thoughtfully.