Strong-Arming a Slave Contract, Commit Suicide at Once (Please Follow)

"What a mighty stone lion."

From afar, the manor gate looked small; up close, it loomed large. It stood more than ten feet high, its bronze studs and vermilion paint proclaiming authority. Like a gaping bloody maw, it seemed ready to swallow a person whole.

Standing outside the gate, Li Xiaofan could not help feeling oppressed. Thinking of his elder brother living in such a place only strengthened his resolve.

After hesitating for a moment, he gently knocked on the door.

"In the dead of winter, which honored master has come calling?"

A bout of muttering came from within, followed by the gates being pulled open.

The ones opening the gate were Grade-One servant foremen, responsible for clearing the snow from the entrance. Once the snow melted, it clumped together and became difficult to sweep. Still, compared to other servant work, this was far easier.

Those who could snatch up such work were all veteran servants.

These servants had originally been all smiles and bows, but when they saw that the visitor's clothes were filthy and tattered, making him look even worse off than themselves, their expressions instantly turned.

"Kid, who are you?"

One servant demanded impatiently, "We aren't recruiting servants right now."

"Looking at that scrawny body of yours, you'd keel over in a gust of wind. You can't do any work anyway. Get lost before you die at the manor gate and make us clean up after you."

Another servant chimed in.

With that, they moved to shut the gate.

"Big brothers, you've misunderstood." Li Xiaofan breathed warm air into his hands and rubbed them together. "I'm looking for someone. Could I trouble you to see if you can notify him?"

His voice was young, but polite.

"Looking for someone?" The servant frowned and called toward the back, "Master Bi, there's an outsider kid here looking for someone. Should we send him away, or...?"

Leaning on his crutch, Bi Hao rose from his wooden chair. His clash with Li Xian last time had left him grievously injured, and only these past few days had he barely been able to get out of bed.

"Looking for someone?" Bi Hao found it strange as well.

After selling oneself into slavery, it was rare for relatives to come looking.

"Who are you looking for?" Bi Hao asked with great interest.

Li Xiaofan said earnestly, "I'm going to the Winter Examination and will be leaving Qingning County. My elder brother is in the manor. I want to see him once."

"What's your elder brother's name? If he's a servant, he may well already be dead," Bi Hao teased.

"No, no, that can't be. My elder brother is already a guard," Li Xiaofan shook his head repeatedly.

"Oh..." Bi Hao frowned. "He's a guard, is he?" Much of the mockery vanished from his tone.

"My elder brother is called Li Xian. Big brother... could I trouble you to notify him?" Li Xiaofan pleaded.

"Li... Xian?" Bi Hao's expression changed, though he immediately suppressed it. "Your elder brother is definitely called Li Xian?"

"What is it?" Li Xiaofan grew nervous too.

"No... it's nothing. Wait here for now." Bi Hao signaled to several servants, then hurried away on his crutch.

Those servants were all foremen of their respective teams. They had no particular skills, but they were close to Bi Hao and knew what was on his mind.

They immediately dispersed without a sound, deliberately or seemingly casually blocking Li Xiaofan's path.

"Maternal Uncle! Maternal Uncle!"

Bi Hao hurriedly sought out the steward, Luo Fang.

Luo Fang frowned and waved him off. "Get lost, get lost. Seeing you annoys me."

"Maternal Uncle, hear me out." Bi Hao briefly told him what had happened at the manor gate.

"Oh..." Luo Fang raised a brow as a sinister scheme surfaced in his mind. "Then isn't this a case of finding what we sought without lifting a finger?"

"Maternal Uncle, what do you mean?" Bi Hao pressed.

"You worthless thing, stupid as you are and dull as you are. Still, you do have one rather good quality." Luo Fang stood with his hands behind his back, pacing to and fro as though planning within the command tent before saying,

"You're obedient. You never make decisions on your own when something happens."

"Li Xian's younger brother has come out. We only need to trick him into signing a contract of sale. Once he becomes a servant, won't we... have a hold over Li Xian?"

Bi Hao's eyes widened with delight. "Maternal Uncle, you truly are the number one smartest man under heaven."

"Hahaha. I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare." Luo Fang laughed merrily. "Prepare the contract. Quickly, come with me to the front gate."

Not long after, Luo Fang indeed saw Li Xiaofan at the front gate. His clothes were filthy and disordered, but his eyes shone brightly, and his features bore a thirty-percent resemblance to Li Xian.

"Little brother, you wish to see your elder brother?" Luo Fang smiled warmly, though a blade hid within his smile.

"Mm, can I?" Li Xiaofan asked uncertainly.

"This... is rather difficult, because the manor rules do not permit outsiders to enter freely." Luo Fang pretended to be troubled.

Li Xiaofan sighed softly and gazed into the manor. If things were like this, he would not be able to bring his elder brother the news that he was leaving to take the examination.

"But..." Luo Fang deliberately drew out the word and took out a paper contract. "If you want to see your elder brother, sign this contract and you can enter the manor. Then I'll take you to see him."

Li Xiaofan recognized it as a contract of sale with only a glance.

His heart skipped a beat, thoughts flashing through his mind. Though young, he was not foolish. He was quite clever.

Those servants said earlier that they aren't recruiting servants now. The moment this man heard my elder brother's name, he came over to force me to sign a contract of sale.

He must have a grudge against my elder brother and wants to use me to restrain him. Brother said everyone in the manor is a beast. He truly wasn't wrong!

Li Xiaofan feigned ignorance. "Ow... I ate some wild fruit on the road, and my stomach hurts so badly... I'm going to use the toilet, then I'll come back and sign. Uncles, big brothers, you must wait for me."

"Hahaha." Luo Fang stroked the short beard on his chin. "Of course, of course. Go on."

Cold sweat streamed down Li Xiaofan's back as he turned and ran. Luo Fang waited a moment, then sensed something was wrong. It was winter, and as far as the eye could see, everything was a vast blanket of white.

It was not hard to spot Li Xiaofan already running for his life. Luo Fang cursed, "Damn it, this kid is trying to run! Catch him and bring him back!"

"What are you standing around for? Go after him... Ow..." Bi Hao watched anxiously and kicked the servant beside him, only to aggravate his injury and grimace in pain.

Several servant foremen gave chase at once. Li Xiaofan was small, with short legs, and he was dragging around adult-sized clothes. How could he outrun them?

He was quickly captured and dragged back.

"Press his handprint onto it," Luo Fang said coldly.

"Dream on!" Li Xiaofan struggled like a wild beast trapped in desperate straits, but there were too many of them. His limbs were firmly restrained.

"Ah!"

He suddenly spotted an opening and bit down hard. One servant cried out in pain and released him. Li Xiaofan hurriedly scrambled to his feet and tried to flee.

"You little bastard! If I can't handle the big bastard, can't I handle you?"

Luo Fang was furious as well. These two brothers were truly thorny problems.

With a leap, he seized Li Xiaofan by the back of the neck. His inner energy circulated, and no matter how Li Xiaofan struggled, he had no more room to use his strength.

He gripped Li Xiaofan's hand, sent force through it, and forced blood from the tip of his index finger, pressing it toward the paper contract.

"Hahaha."

Li Xiaofan suddenly laughed and stared coldly at Luo Fang. "You want to use me against my brother? Dream on! If you press it down, I'll kill myself at once!"

He stopped resisting completely.

For no reason, Luo Fang felt a bone-chilling coldness creep over him.

He had not expected both brothers to have bones this hard. If that truly happened, would his scheme not turn cleverness into clumsiness?

"Heh, you little bastard, and you still dare talk tough." Luo Fang was about to press the contract down completely.

Just then, he felt a hand settle on his shoulder. Five fingers tightened, as though they had sunk into his flesh.