Chapter 107

Chapter 107

Fox Si's Aunt seemed to have already guessed that Dan Yun would refuse, and couldn't help but smirk, saying, "You better think this through, when you don't have any money to spend in the future, you'll keep recalling this moment and regret it."

"Then let me regret it," Dan Yun coldly turned away, "You can laugh at me then."

Fox Si's Aunt didn't persuade her further, and instead turned to Lu Yan: "She won't sell, so how about you?"

Dan Yun helped Lu Yan by holding her arm and guided her to pick a token from the iron box.

Lu Yan gently touched the token, feeling the inscription, and softly said, "It's strength... I can sell it."

She had already lost her sight and left hand, and now with no strength left, she was practically at the mercy of others.

Dan Yun coldly refused: "No, it's too dangerous."

"We still have three more nights, we really need the money..." Lu Yan quietly reminded, "Together, we only have 140 taels left. Are we really going to go without food and water?"

Dan Yun, unwilling, had a stubborn look in her almond eyes behind the fox mask: "But we can still—"

She was clearly thinking of earning money by killing other streamers.

Lu Yan calmly replied, "Many things are beyond our control, it's better to play it safe."

After hesitating for a moment, Dan Yun finally released her wrist.

Lu Yan decisively turned to Fox Si's Aunt and said, "I'll sell."

"Ah, but you're a girl with no strength, even if you give it to me for free, I wouldn't want it," Fox Si's Aunt said, clicking her tongue, "Only 30 taels."

Dan Yun angrily shouted, "You...!!"

Lu Yan stopped her, giving a bitter smile: "Thirty taels is fine, I couldn't fight others anyway."

Fox Si's Aunt tossed a few silver coins and snapped her fingers next to Lu Yan's ear.

Immediately, Lu Yan's legs went weak, and she felt all her strength drain away. Dan Yun quickly held her up in panic.

Fox Si's Aunt walked in front of Su Ziyan: "I heard you went to Lin Lan'er? Helping the wicked... Besides, you couldn't even handle such an easy job in my pawnshop, what can you do?"

Unfortunately, Su Ziyan, the "deaf" one, couldn't hear anything and loudly asked in confusion, "Huh?"

Fox Si's Aunt, immediately annoyed, shoved the iron box in front of him: "Hurry up!"

Su Ziyan picked a token and, upon seeing "sight" engraved on it, frantically waved his hands: "No, no, no! I won't!"

"Hmph, coward," Fox Si's Aunt turned and asked, "Anyone else? Hurry up."

At this point, besides Xi Yu, who was still outside cutting flowers, only Huo Qing Shen remained.

This man had sold his most prized appearance, only to waste the money on a guesthouse. Naturally, he was very anxious now.

Fox Si's Aunt seemed to have no interest in finding the ability she desired from him and showed her impatience.

Huo Qing Shen frowned as he picked a token, only to see it cursed with "memory" again!

His situation was similar to Su Ziyan's—he could not afford to lose his intellectual ability, or else his last hope of working for Doctor Yan would be gone. After much inner turmoil, he finally sighed, "Forget it, I won’t sell."Fox Si's Aunt had already anticipated this outcome, putting away the iron box and token: "A bunch of useless people. Fine, since none of you are selling, I guess it's time for me to rest."

In fact, everyone was curious to see what Xi Yu would sell, but he showed no intention of speaking up. Given the heavy tasks each NC had, they eventually left in small groups.

Su Ziyan, carrying a full 100 taels of silver, was naturally worried about being attacked and kept close to Lu Yan and Dan Yun.

The others, however, seemed unwilling to travel together and chose different paths.

When the pawnshop grew quiet, Xi Yu finally gathered the flowers and entered. Seemingly casually, he sighed, "That Hong Feng is definitely going to be kicked out by the swordsman Chi Miao. He'll probably come work at the pawnshop soon."

"I don't like his look," Fox Si's Aunt muttered as she moved behind the counter. "But, his fortune and appearance seem unaffected, so he’s barely acceptable."

Xi Yu responded, "It’s fine to come here. Being Chi Miao's disciple looks tough, he has to leave the city every day to find medicine. There must be plenty of corpse demons outside the city, right?"

"Find medicine? I don't believe that," Fox Si's Aunt immediately mocked. "He can act like a great benefactor, but he can't fool me."

Xi Yu, sensing there was more to the story, quickly asked, "Why do you say that?"

Fox Si's Aunt sneered, "Chi Miao wasn’t originally living in Taoyuan Village. He abandoned his wife and child to travel. After the corpse demons appeared, he returned. But that orphan and widow couldn't withstand the plague of the corpse demons and were all bitten to death. Chi Miao was heartbroken and angry. How could he want to help the people of Taoyuan Village?"

Xi Yu said, "But it’s all the corpse demons’ fault. Chi Miao should be trying to stop the disaster because of his grief."

Fox Si's Aunt yawned and lazily looked at Xi Yu. "Tsk, you little fool, stop thinking so highly of people. Alright, I’m going to take a nap. There are four buns behind the counter. Go get me eight ears in two hours."

Xi Yu lowered his head in agreement but did not move, as he was waiting for Luo Xi to return so they could do the final pawn. If he lost his ability to work at the pawnshop, there was no need to keep busy aimlessly.

Meanwhile, Luo Xi had used the fastest method to find Captain Situ.

The serious NC, with large dark circles under his eyes, was directing soldiers to reinforce the defenses. The corpses piled outside the wall began to burn, releasing thick black smoke.

Luo Xi quickly stepped forward and asked, "Why was last night's situation so much worse?"

Captain Situ sighed, "After dark last night, the number of corpse demons was double the usual, we just couldn’t hold up."

Luo Xi squinted, skeptical: "Are corpse demons attracted by some kind of smell?"

"Of course, the smell of blood," Captain Situ answered, then frowned in confusion. "Why are you asking this?"

Luo Xi sneered, "If I’m not mistaken, corpse demons are not very active during the day, but if blood is spilled all the way to the city gates, they will be drawn in once night falls."

Captain Situ asked, "You’re saying someone is deliberately luring the corpse demons?"

Luo Xi clicked his tongue, "In such a dangerous situation, no one should be allowed to leave the city."

Captain Situ sighed, "But the food supply in Taoyuan Village is low. Sometimes the refugees want to go out to find wild vegetables or herbs. I can’t stop them. As long as those entering the village haven’t turned the Zhaoyun herb color, they’re allowed to come in for shelter. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have made it in."

Luo Xi said, "Let’s be clear, I suspect it's Chi Miao's disciples, though I still don’t know why."

"If you're not sure, send someone to follow them today," Luo Xi added.

There was much to deal with inside and outside the city. Captain Situ could only reluctantly nod.

Luo Xi glanced at the faintly shining sun, estimated the time, and urged, "Alright, what’s today’s task for me? Should I continue investigating the Lin family's corpse demon case?"

Captain Situ replied, "No, we’re seriously short-handed. There are still some corpse demons and injured villagers hiding in the corners of Taoyuan Village. You need to catch eight of them in the next two hours. Don’t let the plague spread any further."This task is not difficult for Luo Xi, and he immediately agrees: "Okay, I’ll take my leave now."

Meanwhile, Xiyu, who had been waiting anxiously in the pawn shop, finally sees Luo Xi’s tall figure emerge from the mist and smiles as he approaches: "Did you complete your task?"

Luo Xi nods and carefully checks on Xiyu: "They didn’t trouble you, did they?"

Xiyu pushes his hand away: "I don’t have much silver left. They are all in a hurry to handle their NC tasks. Let’s use this opportunity to sell our abilities. I’ll go call Fox Four."

Saying this, he quickly walks back inside.

Luo Xi, feeling uneasy, scans the surroundings, but the thick fog obstructs most of the visible area, and even if someone is hiding, it’s impossible to identify them.

As he hesitates, Fox Four, who had been dozing off, leisurely strolls out: "Oh, you two schemers, you really had to trouble me once again. You could have sold it all at once earlier."

Luo Xi is never polite with her: "You set the rules; we haven’t broken any, have we?"

Fox Four rolls her eyes: "Alright, alright, you really don’t know how to say nice things. Hurry up and draw your token."

Luo Xi stops Xiyu’s hand: "I’ll go first."

Xiyu immediately understands what he means. Now, Luo Xi doesn’t have many choices, and the most important thing is to preserve his strength. Therefore, the result of Luo Xi’s pawn will significantly impact his own options.

Fox Four eagerly hands over the iron box. When the "strength" token is drawn, she lets out an excited exclamation: "Ah, exactly what I wanted! I knew you were penniless! Your strength is the best among everyone here. I’ll give you two hundred taels of silver, enough to survive until the end and buy a decent weapon!"

Luo Xi deftly avoids her outstretched hand: "Who said I’m selling? I knew you would have me draw the strength token, but I refuse."

Fox Four immediately becomes angry: "Strength is important, but silver is even more important! You’ll die without money!"

Luo Xi stands firm: "Can’t I just live off someone else? Why should you worry about it?"

Fox Four frowns, wanting to say something, but finally turns and walks up to Xiyu: "I don’t know what you see in this useless person. You pawned only twenty taels in three days; that’s strange. Come on, you’re the last one who can pawn today."

Xiyu gives Luo Xi a helpless smile and stretches his hand into the box, feeling around.

Fox Four is impatient: "Hey, what are you dragging your feet for? No cheating!"

Xiyu, of course, is trying to find a high-value token, but the tokens in the box are all smooth and indistinguishable, so he can only take a chance and pick one out.

Fox Four widens her eyes and sees that the token reads "Appearance," which makes her even more excited. She circles around Xiyu, saying: "He’s not selling it, so you two really have no money left. I really like your face, and I’m willing to give you two hundred taels!"

Luo Xi pulls Xiyu: "Are you blind? How can something this good-looking be worth two hundred taels? I could just kill someone and take their money. Save it."

"Hey, hey, hey, my price is very fair!" Fox Four immediately blocks Xiyu: "When have you ever seen me haggle?"

Xiyu leans slightly toward her and smiles faintly: "Give a little more. I’d really like to agree to it."

Fox Four hesitates: "Add twenty taels more. Really, I can’t go higher... if I didn’t like you..."

"Alright." Xiyu roughly calculates and nods: "I’ll sell."

Fox Four excitedly widens her eyes, spinning around like a woman who just bought a new dress, and says: "I finally found a face that matches mine! It was really worth coming to this poor, remote place."

Xiyu frowns, feeling uneasy: This strange NC... she won’t use my face for some weird purpose, right...