Muli had no reaction. The rest, upon hearing this, let out a chorus of wails, extremely unwilling. Even when all the goods had been loaded onto the carts, many members kept looking this way, causing the leader to flare up twice and scold one person before they finally restrained themselves.
Over twenty people rode on horseback guarding the sides, and ten sat on the several carts in the middle to watch over the goods. The Golden Lion Mercenary Group left Giant Rock City and headed south toward Pudara.
Muli sat on one of the carts. Because of his massive build, and the large size of the cage he was responsible for, they occupied a cart by themselves.
The cart was open. The cage was placed on the outer side. A member riding on horseback beside them would occasionally use his whip to deliberately lift the black cloth over the cage, taking a peek at the woman inside.
A group of men traveling together, talking was nothing but bragging and women. Now that there was such a beautiful woman in the team, one who made people’s eyes go straight when they looked, naturally their attention was diverted, and their conversations all revolved around her.
Some members had overheard the auction house steward chatting with the leader and repeated to their companions this beautiful woman’s price.
“Heard she was auctioned for five thousand gold coins. Tsk tsk, even someone made of gold would only be so-so.”
“Seems like she’s some very rare race, almost extinct. Didn’t you see that red hair? And green eyes too, like high-grade emerald kind of green.”
“Green eyes? I didn’t see them. Isn’t she always lying there sleeping, never opened her eyes?”
“No movement at all. Could she be dead? Hey, who’s going to wake her up and check?”
Their discussion grew more and more lively. One of them raised his foot and kicked Muli who sat by the cage, “Muli, go poke that woman. See if she’s dead.”
“Yeah, let us take a look at those green eyes.”
They had been noisy the whole way. Muli hadn’t reacted, but under their constant harassment, he finally moved.
Under everyone’s expectant gaze, he grabbed the cage and effortlessly pushed it into the inside of the cart, then sat himself outside, completely blocking it.
“Damn! We told you to tease her, what are you doing!”
“Hey, not letting us see now? Move the cage out, what are you blocking for!”
A furious shout came from the front, “What’s all the noise in the back again!”
The men making the most ruckus hunched their necks and quieted down.
The journey was very long. Traveling was dull. The blazing sun beat down on them; everyone was hot and tired. Those people no longer had the mind to keep staring at the cage.
Inside the cage shrouded in black cloth, the woman who lay quietly slowly opened her eyes. As expected, they were a pair of very beautiful green eyes.
She looked at the black curtain before her, swaying slightly with the jolting of the road, revealing a bit of light. That beam of light fell on her body and on her red hair.
Red hair.
Meili looked at her hair spread on the ground, her gaze somewhat dazed.
When she was very young, she always wished she could have red hair and green eyes, just like her mother. Unfortunately, she did not inherit anything from her mother. Perhaps because of this, she had never liked her, and even her mother did not allow her to call her “mother.” She could only call her mother “Mrs. Pegg.”
For more than ten years, from the moment she was born, there had only been a sickly mother by her side.
Her mother was very beautiful, but she knew her beautiful mother was actually a terrifying witch. She would kill defenseless fairies, and she would kill people, eat people’s hearts. If the townsfolk knew, they would burn them alive.
She grew up in fear and pain, lonely. No friends to chat or play with, no family to love her.
Later… later she remembered she died. Her mother killed her.
That moment of pain was even harder to endure than the daily magic that poured fairy life into her for more than ten years.
But in fact, she did not feel sad at all. She even felt relieved within that intense pain.
But how could someone, after dying, come to another world and become another person?
She had become a beautiful woman with red hair and green eyes, placed on a stage as goods to be sold, with so many strangers below watching her. The one who bought her was giving her as a gift to someone else. And many men with terrifying eyes surrounded her, as if they were about to devour her.
All of this filled her with fear.
She had gone from a cage called “mother” to another cage.
She did not know how long she stared blankly with her eyes open. The light from the gap changed from bright to dim. The black cloth blocking the outside view was suddenly lifted, and the sudden rush of the orange dusk sky poured into her eyes, making a glimmer ripple in the green.
Meili was stunned, seeing the tall man sitting before the cage. He was too tall, and the skull he wore was very frightening. She instinctively hugged her knees and retreated, pressing her body against the opposite side of the cage.
The scent of food drifted over. Meili saw the plate in the man’s hand, a pile of meat stacked like a small hill.
He picked up a piece of roasted meat with one hand, and stretched it into the cage to hand it to her, while the other hand held up another piece from the plate and ate in big mouthfuls.
Meili did not reach out to take it, and he did not withdraw his hand either. He simply kept holding that piece of roasted meat, not urging her, eating his own.
Meili stared blankly, watching the meat on his plate rapidly decrease, and she felt her stomach growing hungrier and hungrier.
She swallowed and silently accepted that piece of roasted meat.
Compared to her hand, the hand holding the meat was truly too big. He wore gloves, making them look even bigger. That piece of roasted meat that looked small in his hand felt heavy in hers, and she could not even finish it.
The meat was not delicious. She struggled to gnaw half of it, while the man outside had already finished the heap of meat on his plate.
She really could not eat anymore. The remaining half cooled in her hands. The man came back after putting down his plate. Seeing her like that, he reached his hand into the cage.
Meili was startled, watching him warily. Only after a while did she understand what he meant. She hesitantly placed the unfinished piece of roasted meat into his hand.
Then she saw him pull down the lower jaw of that skull mask on his face and stuff the half piece of roasted meat, bearing her bite marks, into his mouth and eat it.
Meili: “…” He really eats a lot.
“You’re not full yet?” She was so curious she forgot to be afraid and remain quiet.
“I’m full.” A tender teenage voice came from beneath the tall man’s skull mask.
With her confused expression still there, Muli put the black cloth down and sat back in his original position. After eating, he always rested out of habit.
Night fell. The mercenary group rested at a campsite. They had traveled this route many times and knew where to set up camp to rest. Many people were still eating and drinking, while only those guarding the goods stayed on the carts.
A few men who had eaten their fill once again had the urge to come look at the pretty girl. They wandered over but found the cage completely blocked by Muli’s tall figure. Unable to see anything, they cursed twice in frustration before leaving.
Meili could clearly hear the movement outside, and she relaxed only after realizing they were not coming to gawk at her. The back that blocked the cage gave her an inexplicable sense of safety.
He was unlike the other men, who looked at her with uncomfortable gazes. He did not pay too much attention to her, even seemed indifferent, but that very attitude put her at ease.
She crawled up and went to the back of the man who leaned against the cage with his back to her.
He was sitting, yet his shoulders were very tall. She leaned closer and quietly said, “I’m very thirsty. I want to drink water.”
Muli’s ears beneath the skull mask twitched. He raised his hand, unfastened the water flask hanging at his waist, and passed it backward into the cage without even opening his eyes.
Meili hugged the large water flask and drank several gulps. After easing the dryness in her throat, she screwed the stopper back on and placed it where it had been.
The camp gradually grew quiet. Except for those on watch, the others were all seizing the time to rest. Muli was awakened by a faint movement. He sat up and reached for the water flask at his waist.
His hand found nothing. He remembered he had stuffed the water flask into the cage earlier. He reached out and retrieved it, opened it, and took a sip.
There was a faint fragrance at the mouth of the flask, and it even tasted a little sweet.
Muli drank some water, looked at the flask, and thought strangely: Why does it taste a little sweet? It’s clearly ordinary water.
The soft voice behind him sounded again, “Can you… let me out? I want to… relieve myself.”
Muli put away the flask and opened the cage to let her out.
There were still chains on Meili’s neck and hands, fastened to the bars of the cage. When she saw Muli unlock the chains at that end, she had a brief impulse to run. But she quickly saw the people around and the tall man before her, and she gave up in disappointment.
She could not run. And she had nowhere to go.
“Sigh, Muli, what did you let her out for?” A mercenary on patrol asked knowingly, then added on his own, “Going to piss, right? I’ll go watch with you, in case she runs, and in case you secretly do something to the goods—that won’t do!”
Muli did not react. He didn’t even say a word, and the skull he wore made it impossible to see his expression.
Meili walked to the edge of the camp and found that the mercenary who followed was openly staring at her, his gaze vulgar. She turned away to avoid his eyes.
The man said lewdly, “Hey, what are you doing? Just pee right here, what are you hiding for? Trying to run?”
Meili hid behind Muli, using his tall body to shield herself. But the man moved over again, clearly wanting to watch. Meili was so angry her eyes turned red, but she didn’t know what to do with him.
She looked at the man trying to take advantage of her, then at Muli who remained motionless. Gritting her teeth, she pulled open Muli’s wide black-gray cloak to cover herself.
Scoundrel! Even if someone sees, it won’t be you! Meili thought hatefully.
Muli glanced down and, realizing what was happening, stepped back.
He spread his cloak to block the tiny red-haired woman, turning his head to stare coldly at the mercenary who still wanted to approach.
The enormous white animal skull showed a vicious, deathly outline in the dark. In the hollow sockets, two red glimmers shone like some fierce beast, staring at him chillingly.
The mercenary, full of dirty thoughts, felt a chill down his back and took a step back.
Meili heard him curse something, then there was no more movement.
Author’s Note:
Yes, the heroine of this short story is Mrs. Peg’s daughter, Meili!
