C14

Most of the people walking past her were West Cold practitioners who had come to participate in the auction. Zhuang Li heaved a sigh of relief when she realized that not many people noticed her, and probably thought of her as a slave of some family.

When she sneaked near the tent, she peeked inside. Sure enough, Qing You hung her head low and tied the two girls' clothes on the ground together with the other two girls. However, she had not left Luo Lihua's side before. Probably already bought.

Qing You seemed to be asleep, with her head lowered. The two burly guards around her were talking to each other in high spirits, so it would be unrealistic to go in and release them.

Just as Zhuang Li was at her wits' end, she felt someone grab the clothes at the back of her neck and lift them up. Before she could even turn her head to see who it was, she felt a blow to her head. Her entire body felt dizzy, and she was carried into the tent and thrown to the ground.

"?"

When she woke up, the first thing she felt was the water, which was wet and splashed on her body. She tried so hard to open her eyes, but more water entered them; she wanted to use her hands to wipe her eyes, but her first two hands were firmly tied behind her back, and her feet were also tightly bound, unable to move at all.

Then she felt as if she were being lifted up and slung over her shoulder like a sack, which made her stomach ache. She wanted to speak, but her throat didn't have the strength to do so, so she finally opened her eyes.

She was carried on the back by a burly man and was in an extremely sorry state, splashing water seemed to be trying to make her wake up from her coma in order to start the auction. Originally, she had not had the opportunity to take care of her hair for many days, and as she walked over, the dust and dirt on her hair fluttered all the way. It was extremely disgusting sneaking into her mouth, but now, she didn't even have the strength to spit it out.

He could faintly feel the burly man entering the arena and could hear the deafening screams from the surroundings. The big man lifted her, and she felt as if she were an insignificant prey being held by the arms and legs, held above her head like a fish on the verge of death.

The fire around her eyes, which she had just opened, blinded her eyes.

Qing You, Qing You? After her eyes adapted to the light, she looked around and saw Qing You standing behind her. Just like her, Qing You was also lifted up by a big man, but there was no sign of life in her eyes.

He rolled his throat as he tried to accumulate some strength.

"Qing You, Qing You, what's wrong with you?"

Her weak voice was drowned out by the surrounding screams. The auction had already begun, the first batch of slaves had already been brought out by the big men and the bidders had already started.

The first auction would be split into many levels, and not only would the slaves become slaves from wealthy families, there would also be a portion of the slaves from the West Cold s. Perhaps it would be the children whose families were so poor that they could not even open the pots, the beautiful slaves would all be sold to the owners' houses as concubines, the young miss of the brothels, and the servants of the imperial palace.

Zhuang Li was probably already aware of her fate, and her ears were almost going deaf from the noise of the bidding.

People were always being bought, she struggled, praying in her heart.

"I know that it's probably because of the sins I've committed in my past life that I've fallen to such a state, and I don't know who I should be praying to. Please, even if I've been sold, please let me and Qing You stay together and don't let us separate."

The surrounding was still as lively as before. She struggled to finally fall from the big man's hand and rolled onto the ground. She didn't know where she was in pain, but her whole body was in pain and she was about to fall apart.

The big man was also not aware that this unobedient slave who had been drugged still had the strength to struggle. He lifted his leg and kicked Zhuang Li directly in the abdomen. Immediately, he felt half of his body splitting apart in pain.

She could only reflexively kneel on the ground with her stomach in her hands. The man didn't feel satisfied, so he bent down and picked her up from the back of her neck. Her clothes were tied around her neck, making her unable to breathe.

He closed his eyes in despair.

After waiting for a long time, the palm that he wanted to slap didn't come down. The surrounding voices also suddenly stopped. She opened her eyes and saw that the big man's other hand that was about to hit her was tightly entangled by a whip, unable to come down. Looking at the whip, the owner was a West Cold youth with deep facial features.

Zhuang Li was put down by the big man and leaned against the stone steps. She didn't have any strength left. The young man threw a golden leaf on the ground.

Is this to buy me? Am I worth so much money?

When Zhuang Li saw a girl in red clothes walking out from behind the youngster, she immediately recognized him. Wasn't this the girl in red clothes who had appeared beside the camel's carriage when they had just entered Aroma Swallowing City?

Zhuang Li only learned a little about West Cold from listening to the bandit chief's conversation these few days. She didn't know what they were talking about at this moment, but she vaguely felt that the youth's clear eyes made her think of Li Liangxiao who was as warm as a fawn.

"Please, please …" The corners of her mouth curled up, wondering if anyone would notice her.

Soon, the young lady in red reached her side and put her ear to her mouth.

"Save my sister, my sister …" "Qing You …"

With great difficulty, she turned her head to look in Qing You's direction. She didn't know if Qing You had heard what she had said clearly or if she had understood, but she didn't have the strength to do anything about it. After saying these words, she fainted again.

"?"

???? When she opened her eyes, she saw a white veil. She sat up, her clothes had changed. She was lying on a soft bed with layers of gauze covering her head. The air was filled with a lazy foreign land.

???? This? She paused and saw a woman in a headscarf standing by the door.

???? Auntie? Mama? Grandma? How should he be called?

???? Seeing that Zhuang Li had woken up, the grandma hurriedly came over and touched her forehead first before putting her down to sleep. It probably meant that she still needed to rest, so she left in a hurry. After a while, three little girls came into the room. They were holding a golden cup and a golden plate. The workmanship was extremely meticulous. Bring it to her and let her eat.

???? Zhuang Li took a glance at the bowl of delicious porridge and immediately felt that her stomach was unbearably hungry. She quickly picked it up, grabbed the spoon beside her and started to eat. In less than two minutes, the bowl of porridge was empty. Zhuang Li took a glass of water and gulped it down. It was the lemon juice that she hadn't tasted in a long time. It made her shiver. The last faint feeling of dizziness in her head instantly vanished.

???? She hurriedly jumped off the bed. Just as she ran to the door, she saw the old woman leading the young woman in red over.

????? Jingshui nanny said you woke up, but I didn't believe her.

???? Zhuang Li didn't know what to say for a moment. The red-clothed girl had already taken off her veil, her face was pretty, and her smile was brilliant. However, she seemed to be slightly different from the people from West Cold.

?????? My name is Ge Ya, what's your name? "

?????? My name is Zhuang Li, but where is my sister, Qing You? "

?????? "Don't worry, all of you were only given a small amount of incense and will be fine after a day of sleep. She's still young and has poor resistance and she's even fainted in the side palace. Just put your heart in your stomach, I've already ordered someone to take care of her."

?????? A side palace? "Where is this place?"

?????? The young girl also smiled. Her voice was as melodious as a bell. "This is the Xiao Imperial Palace of the Banner Platinum City."

????? She was afraid that Zhuang Li wouldn't understand and so she added with a smile, "Princess of West Cold's Imperial Palace."

?????

?????? Only later on did Zhuang Li realize that the young girl in front of her, Ge Ya, was the youngest princess of West Cold. She was lively and moved, deeply favored by King of West Cold. The young Great Phoenix King had accidentally met his daughter, Rong Xiao, in the imperial city of the Da Feng Empire. The two of them fell in love at first sight, and Rong Xiao had followed King of West Cold to the West Cold to be his concubine.

??? King of West Cold was extremely fond of Rong Xiao of the Great Phoenix. After she died, he built this Xiao Imperial Palace for her and had her nurse, Jingshui nanny, bring over from the Great Phoenix to teach Ge Ya. This time, she was the one who begged her, Second Brother, Xi Cuo, to follow him and inspect the foreign trade gains. Passing through the Aroma Swallowing City s, she wanted to go in and choose the spices, yet she also had to watch the slave trade bustle, which was why she had the chance to save Zhuang Li and Qing You. The youth who whipped was the second prince of West Cold, Xi Cuo.

When I reported this to royal father, I only said that it was for the trade of maids and servants, but I didn't say anything about it. Furthermore, I even mentioned to the people who were kidnapped from the black market, and seized the opportunity to report to royal father.

Ge Ya chatted as she talked. Zhuang Li was a rare playmate to her, and she had never met her mother before. She only knew that she was from the great phoenix race, unlike her father. Her tranquil water nanny was also from the great phoenix race, and half of the blood of the great phoenix also remained in her body.

The king doted on her, gave her palaces, and gifted her countless gold pieces, but it couldn't make up for her lack of the loneliness of her peers. The princesses stayed far away from her, and amongst the princes, only Xi Cuo was on good terms with her. Her personality was as unrestrained as a wild horse on the prairie. She was even happier now that she had Zhuang Li with her, following Xi Cuo, who was willing to ignore her every day.

"Li, what exactly is the Great Phoenix like? Is it like what Jingshui nanny said?" She and Zhuang Li were around the same age and quickly became good sisters.

Zhuang Li then began to tell her about the Great Phoenix she knew, which had as many streets as Xingyun and the mysterious Brightmoon Restaurant in the eyes of the crowd.

"Great Phoenix is indeed a good place."