Chapter 149 She Belongs to You Now

As soon as Lisa appeared inside the cage, Han Shuo was taken aback, his previously casual gaze instantly turning sharp.

In the past, Han Shuo had harbored resentment toward Lisa. However, as they spent more time together, he realized that Lisa was not actually such a bad person. Moreover, she had repeatedly stood up for him later on, which unconsciously shifted Han Shuo's perception of her.

Right now, inside the cage, Lisa's eyes were brimming with tears. Her once bright eyes were now dull and lifeless, radiating a sense of helpless despair, which made Han Shuo ache with pity as he watched her.

"Does the Addison family have some sort of grudge against Bobby Aski? Why would the Addison family be suddenly destroyed by Bobby, and even slapped with the crime of high treason?" Han Shuo asked Emily, his cold gaze scanning the surroundings.

The moment Lisa appeared, Emily had sensed that something was off with Han Shuo. Hearing him ask this now, she couldn't help inquiring, "You seem to care deeply about this Lisa?"

Nodding, Han Shuo turned to face Emily and explained, "Lisa is my classmate in the necromancy department at the Babylon Magic and Warrior Academy. We have a good relationship, and she has helped me many times. Now that she has fallen to such a state, I absolutely cannot stand by and do nothing."

Hearing this, Emily was startled, and then explained to Han Shuo, "Before Bobby Aski harbored rebellious intentions, the relationship between the Addison family and them wasn't very harmonious. Because the Addison family still held some status in Valen City, Bobby Aski didn't dare to act rashly.

However, the current Bobby Aski clearly intends to take complete control of Valen City, and any family that refuses to obey will be uprooted. It looks like the Addison family is simply one of those unlucky ones. Judging from recent intelligence gathered by Shadow Veil, Bobby Aski has been using various excuses to do exactly this."

"Little Lisa's figure is superb, but I must remind you all, she is still a necromancer, so under no circumstances should the magic-suppressing shackles on her be removed," the organizer above continued to announce regarding Lisa.

Some of the bidders below showed a very high level of interest in Lisa, and her bidding price skyrocketed, jumping from the starting price of three hundred gold coins straight to six hundred, exactly doubling.

When Brian had been sold as a slave to the Babylon Magic and Warrior Academy by his uncle, he was worth only five gold coins. Han Shuo had never expected Lisa's price to be so exorbitant, more than a hundred times higher than Brian's. It seemed everyone was extremely interested in the once unruly and arrogant Lisa.

Initially, only low-profile figures in the audience participated in the bidding. Later on, bids were continuously submitted from the private boxes above. Lisa's price climbed past six hundred and had now reached seven hundred gold coins.

With a cold gaze, Han Shuo observed all of this. Suddenly, he reached out and flicked the magic device, placing a bid of one thousand gold coins. After a chime sounded in front of Han Shuo's private box and displayed the one-thousand-gold-coin price tag, the previously noisy hall instantly fell silent. Everyone's gazes turned with astonishment toward the box where Han Shuo and the others were located.

"She's just a female slave. She's definitely not worth a thousand gold coins. Doing this will draw attention to us," Emily said, looking somewhat puzzled as she stared at Han Shuo.

"I am determined to save this woman. There's no point in lingering with slow, incremental bids; an exorbitant price will make more people back off," Han Shuo said, gazing at Lisa's lifeless eyes inside the cage.

As soon as Han Shuo's high bid appeared, it effectively made the previously enthusiastic group of bidders awkwardly halt their competition.

A female slave brought back merely for amusement was simply not worth a thousand gold coins. Although Lisa's background in Valen City had once been noble and she held some allure for them, one thousand gold coins was, after all, not a small sum. Setting aside her status, a slave of comparable beauty was worth at most fifty gold coins.

Therefore, after Han Shuo shouted out his high bid of one thousand gold coins, the organizer called out three times and then decisively hammered down the gavel, shouting, "Congratulations, bidder number eighty-three! You only need to swipe your crystal card in the private box to transfer one thousand gold coins to our slave house, and little Lisa is yours."

For the current Han Shuo, one thousand gold coins was by no means a large sum. From his recent trips into the Dark Forest, the spoils he harvested were worth tens of thousands of gold coins. Thus, at a price of one thousand gold coins, Han Shuo didn't even frown. He took out his crystal card, intending to swipe it into the slot inside the private box.

Suddenly reaching out to stop him, Emily pushed Han Shuo's hand holding the crystal card to the side and said, "Let me do it. If you use your crystal card, the name registered to your account will be left behind at their slave house. Although the slave house will keep it confidential, if Bobby Aski wants to investigate you, he can easily find out the name on your account."

Hearing Emily put it that way, Han Shuo thought about it and realized it made sense. He said, "Alright then, I'll transfer one thousand gold coins to your crystal card, and you can use a secure card to pay for it."

Originally, Emily hadn't intended to let Han Shuo do this, as one thousand gold coins was nothing much to her either. However, just as Emily prepared to help Han Shuo pay, she noticed Chester watching them from the side. With a slight shift in her thoughts, Emily ultimately nodded in agreement with Han Shuo's suggestion. She transferred one thousand gold coins from Han Shuo's crystal card into an alternate card she had prepared, and then paid for Lisa.

In the subsequent auctions, several elven female slaves and two beastman fox-girls were presented, including a remarkably strong berserker. Han Shuo and his companions did not make any further moves, coldly watching everything unfold.

"We can come back to investigate thoroughly in the middle of the night. Since you participated in the bidding today, we shouldn't wander around aimlessly anymore," Emily said, after the auction continued, carefully explaining the entire layout of the slave house and the precautions to Han Shuo before finally speaking to him.

Nodding in agreement, Han Shuo, along with Emily and Chester, walked out of the private box. Just as they were planning to retrieve Lisa and leave the place together, Han Shuo's sharp eyes spotted someone suddenly entering through the door.

Stopping abruptly, Han Shuo made a gesture to Emily and whispered, "You and Chester go ahead and pick up Lisa first. I have some business to attend to."

With those words, Han Shuo moved swiftly, striding through the crowd and abruptly appearing near the entrance, approaching Lawrence, who had just arrived there. Before Han Shuo could reach Lawrence, two men suddenly materialized by Lawrence's side, stepping forward in unison, left and right, gazing at Han Shuo with strict vigilance.

At this moment, Lawrence finally noticed Han Shuo. He first looked at Han Shuo with surprise, then turned his head to give a low shout to the two men before waving at Han Shuo.

Once Han Shuo stood before Lawrence, Lawrence asked him in utter astonishment, "Brian, why are you in Valen City?"

"I have some matters to take care of. By the way, why did you show up here?" Han Shuo asked in return.

His expression turning abruptly cold, Lawrence said coldly, "My cousin Addison's family ran into some trouble. Now even Lisa has been framed and reduced to a slave. I heard she was going to be auctioned off here, so I came specifically to rescue my cousin."

Lisa shared a family relation with Lawrence. It appeared Lawrence must have already learned about the Addison family's plight, which was why he had rushed all the way here from the imperial capital. This made Han Shuo hold Lawrence in higher regard, not expecting him to be someone who valued family ties so deeply.

Logically speaking, even the closest relationship between cousins had its limits, and the crime the Odette family had been slapped with by Bobby Aski was high treason. Such a massive accusation would cause all relatives to shrink back in fear, because a single misstep could easily bring disaster upon themselves. The fact that Lawrence was able to travel thousands of miles to come here made Han Shuo look at him in a completely new light.

"You're a step too late. Lisa has already been bought by someone else for one thousand gold coins!" Han Shuo looked at Lawrence and said with a smile.

"It must be that old dog Carlfert. Lisa's family and theirs have always been at odds, and this time Lisa's family trouble was also stirred up by him. He must have been willing to spend a huge sum to buy Lisa back just to torture her," Lawrence's expression turned grim as he suddenly said to the two men behind him, "It looks like we'll have to play the role of murderous, arsonist bandits today."

The two men standing behind Lawrence wore expressionless faces and ordinary, loose clothing. Their attire revealed nothing, but after Han Shuo focused his spiritual sense to perceive them, he discovered that the two were a swordsman and a mage respectively, though their exact strengths remained imperceptible to him.

"Since I'm here, how could I let anyone else buy Lisa? Don't worry, Lisa is in my hands," Han Shuo said with a smile, having already sensed from Lawrence's expression that he genuinely cared about Lisa.

As soon as those words were spoken, Lawrence visibly breathed a sigh of relief, and then sincerely said to him, "Brian, consider me owing you a favor!"