Little Pink Starfish

Jiang Zhuojun, Reduced to a Criminal Slave

“Enough,” said the slave dealer sitting on a high-backed chair. Seeing that the beating had gone far enough, he finally called it to a stop.

Yu Xiaoxiao began pushing her way to the front of the crowd.

Xiaozhuang and Xiao Wei had made it onto the stone platform, but all they could see were people—no sign of their princess.

“What now?” Xiaozhuang asked.

Xiao Wei glanced at the stone steps, crowded with people, and also couldn’t see Gu Xinglang. “We go in and find her,” he said. If the princess wants to see the action, she’ll definitely be right up front.

The slave dealer strolled up to the teenage boy, lifted the boy’s chin with the tip of his boot, and sneered, “Still not used to being a slave, huh?”

“Let her go,” the boy croaked, his voice hoarse.

“Let her go?” The dealer’s smile turned mocking. He kicked the boy hard, sending him sprawling. “You think you’re still some general?”

Hearing that, Yu Xiaoxiao froze mid-step. General? What kind of trash fire country is Vermilion Bird? Even generals get sold as slaves?!

The boy coughed, blood flowing freely from crisscrossing wounds on his body, quickly pooling beneath him.

The dealer planted his boot near the boy’s face and spat on it. “Lick it clean, and I’ll find decent buyers for your sisters—maybe they’ll suffer less and live a little longer.”

The crowd fell silent, waiting to see what the boy would do.

The kneeling slaves shouted in anger or sobbed in despair.

“Think you’ve all gone soft?!” the dealer barked.

Whips began cracking again as enforcers beat the rebellious slaves.

Hearing his people cry out, the boy struggled to lift himself slightly.

“He’s actually gonna do it!” someone near the front gasped.

Laughter erupted around them.

The boy clenched his eyes shut, as if doing so could block out the nightmare around him.

By the time Yu Xiaoxiao pushed her way through the crowd, his lips were already inches from the dealer’s boot.

The dealer looked down at the boy with immense satisfaction.

Yu Xiaoxiao suddenly appeared in front of him and lifted him effortlessly off the ground like a rag doll.

Silence fell on the platform.

The dealer was a huge, burly man—but this slip of a girl picked him up like a chicken. The scene was downright terrifying.

Still struggling through the crowd, Xiaozhuang and Xiao Wei heard the abrupt silence and knew something was up. They stopped pushing forward and vaulted straight to the front.

Sure enough, it was their princess causing the commotion.

The dealer snapped out of it and tried to resist, but Yu Xiaoxiao flung him to the ground. He hit hard and howled in pain.

The other enforcers stopped beating the slaves and rushed over, glaring at Yu Xiaoxiao and waiting for their boss to give the word so they could jump her.

Sitting on the ground, the dealer looked up and asked, “Who the hell are you?”

Xiaozhuang and Xiao Wei rushed to Yu Xiaoxiao’s side.

Yu Xiaoxiao pointed to the young woman, clothes half-torn and hands still bound, struggling to cover herself.

Xiao Wei rushed to the girl, found nothing suitable nearby, and reluctantly took off his outer robe. “Pardon me,” he whispered as he wrapped it around her.

The warmth from the coat seeped into the girl’s frozen body, making her sob harder—this warmth broke her.

“You’re a businessman,” Yu Xiaoxiao said coldly to the dealer. “Sell what you want, but you don’t get to humiliate people.”

Everyone around them thought this statement was odd. Slaves aren’t even people—what does humiliation matter?

The dealer got to his feet. Being flung like that made it clear: the girl had skill. Her simple ponytail made it hard to tell if she was a young girl or married woman. He gave her a once-over and cautiously asked, “You want to buy this slave?”

Yu Xiaoxiao would splurge all day on food, but she hated spending money on other things. Looking at the boy, who lay as if dead, she hesitated. Buy him? Or just snatch him and run?

Someone in the crowd shouted, “Miss, that kid’s not bad-looking. Worth the price! Take him home to warm your bed—you won’t regret it!”

Laughter erupted.

Xiaozhuang and Xiao Wei were fuming but couldn’t massacre the whole crowd.

The dealer laughed and went over to the boy, grabbed his hair, and forced his head up. “Take a good look, miss. Like what you see?”

The boy trembled, shamed to the core, eyes still tightly shut.

When Yu Xiaoxiao saw his face, she rubbed her eyes. Though bloodied and swollen, with a gash at his mouth—that face…

She stared hard. Someone explain to her—how the hell did Jiang Zhuojun end up as a slave? This makes no sense!

Noticing his princess staring at the boy’s face, Xiaozhuang took a closer look too. Handsome, sure—but doesn’t the Prince Consort look just as good? “Princess,” he whispered, tugging her sleeve, “you really want to buy him?”

“Jiang Zhuojun?” Yu Xiaoxiao called to the boy.

“Who?” Xiaozhuang asked.

Xiao Wei froze. He rushed over, took one look at the boy, and exclaimed, “That’s Jiang Zhuojun?” Prince Consort had mentioned that name—Xiao Wei remembered it well.

“Well now,” the dealer chuckled. “You’re not locals. You know our Little General Jiang too?”

Without thinking, Xiao Wei said, “Name your price.”

The dealer shook his head. “Our king has decreed: no Jiang family slaves are to be sold to outsiders.”

Yu Xiaoxiao’s voice turned cold. “Who said I wanted to buy him? This man’s shed blood for your country. After all the Jiang family has done, this is how you treat them?”

At her words, Jiang Zhuojun opened his eyes.

A girl stood before him.

He gave her a weak, pale smile. Never imagined that the one to speak up for him and his family in the end… would be an outsider.