Chapter 14: A Woman’s Scent and a Slave Contract

“I went out for a stroll,” Lu Yuan replied.

Merlin eyed Lu Yuan suspiciously, then leaned in close to sniff him lightly.

“A woman’s scent?!”

The atmosphere suddenly grew chilling. Even as an Earth Immortal, Lu Yuan felt an inexplicable coolness, as if a draft had swept in from outside the door.

Merlin lowered her head, her long silver hair obscuring her profile, making her current expression unreadable.

“Um. Is breakfast ready?” Lu Yuan fumbled for an excuse, attempting to shift the topic.

“Hee hee hee… Heh heh heh…” Merlin lifted her small face, revealing a brilliant smile. “It can’t be helped. Uncle is an adult, after all. It’s perfectly normal to indulge a little in ‘those places’ when you’re feeling down.”

‘What kind of places is she talking about?’ Lu Yuan momentarily failed to grasp little Merlin’s meaning.

“But Uncle, you haven’t fully recovered yet. I wouldn’t recommend going to ‘those places’ so soon.” The little girl narrowed her eyes, her lips twitching into an eerie smile. “If you go too often, be careful you don’t… *exhaust yourself to death*.”

Lu Yuan was speechless.

****

That morning, Merlin had prepared salted fish for Lu Yuan. Half-cooked salted fish.

Whether it was an illusion or not, Lu Yuan felt the fish was extraordinarily salty. Merlin had even sprinkled a thick layer of pristine white salt over it right before his eyes.

As an Earth Immortal, he didn’t technically require sustenance. Yet, under the watchful gaze of the little girl’s innocent, sweet smile, Lu Yuan found himself utterly unable to refuse.

He ate every last bite of the salted fish, even consuming the bones.

‘So incredibly salty,’ he thought. ‘And yesterday’s porridge was so delicious.’

Only after Lu Yuan had finished eating did the little girl finally show a satisfied expression.

“Grocery money.” She extended a hand towards Lu Yuan.

“Huh?”

“We’re out of food at home. I need to buy some today. How can I buy anything if you don’t give me money?”

Domestic life, mundane worries, and daily necessities like firewood, rice, oil, and salt—these were things Lu Yuan had ceased to consider since embarking on the path of cultivation. Now, he felt a peculiar sensation, as if he were reborn into the mortal world. He reached into his clothing pocket, only to find it completely empty.

“Uh…”

“In the second, locked drawer of your bedside table,” Merlin sighed, muttering softly. “Have you been so bewitched by women that you’ve lost your senses?”

Lu Yuan remained silent.

Lu Yuan returned to the bedroom. The bedding had already been neatly made, and beside the pillow lay two small, folded white garments. They were likely Merlin’s clean clothes, yet this was Lu Yuan’s room.

Lu Yuan shook his head helplessly. From the drawer, he retrieved a small wooden box. Upon opening it, he found only a pitiful two or three gold coins and a small handful of silver coins.

This was the currency of this nation.

Lu Yuan casually scooped up a handful. With a clatter, the coins shifted, revealing a yellowed, stiff piece of paper beneath them.

A faint spiritual aura clinging to it caught Lu Yuan’s attention. He pulled out the stiff paper.

He discovered a blood-red imperial seal on it, from which the spiritual energy emanated.

‘Spiritual energy?’ Lu Yuan’s lips twitched. Such a meager amount of spiritual energy was utterly useless to him. He merely wondered why the paper possessed it, though it likely adhered by chance.

He didn’t pay it much mind, merely glancing casually at the paper’s contents.

“A s*ave contract?!”

Lu Yuan’s brows furrowed. There had been no mention of such a thing in Lei Yin’s fragmented memories.

He unfolded the paper and read. The more he read, the deeper his frown became. This s*ave contract was an official document, justly issued by the Empire.

The subject of the contract was—Merlin.

The little girl who had been diligently caring for Lei Yin’s daily life, Merlin. She was Lei Yin’s s*ave.

*Rip!*

Lu Yuan crumpled the s*ave contract in his hand into a ball of waste paper.

The situation was, in fact, not complicated. Merlin’s parents were distant relatives of Lei Yin, and they had once borrowed a considerable sum of money from him. The collateral for that debt was this very s*ave contract.

Though ostensibly collateral, it was, in reality, a sale.

‘Scum,’ Lu Yuan cursed under his breath. Though he wouldn’t claim to be a good person himself, parents who sold their own children for money were no different from beasts.

Fortunately, Lei Yin had harbored no particular intentions regarding this. He had always treated Merlin like his own younger sister, and the contract had simply been tossed aside, never shown to anyone.

“…Uncle, you found it, didn’t you?”

Lu Yuan turned his head, just in time to see Merlin standing at the doorway.

The little girl’s expression was downcast, and she stood there timidly.