Totem

A woman such as this who was like a fresh water lotus, like precious jade. When she laughed, her eyes emanated a gentle light that cause the hearts of all men in existence to palpitate.

Charming in a plain white dress and carrying an air that evoked pity and tenderness: when the red cloth fell to the ground, this was the type of woman who appeared in the cage.

More accurately, she was still a young girl.

A head of raven black hair along with a plain white frock, she only seemed to be around fifteen or sixteen years old. An iron chain bound her body, and there were even some preventative mechanisms against suicide. She curled up cowering in the corner of the cage and stared in silence at Jiang Nan with a pair of jet black but dim and lifeless eyes. It seemed as though she had already fallen into the lowest point of despair.

There were three objects placed beside her: a pen, a letter, as well as a marker that sent out a fiery light, clearly possessing a temperature that exceeded a hundred degrees.

Jiang Nan grabbed the letter and looked at what was written on it: “Esteemed victor, are *you satisfied with this gift?”

The letter was written full of flattering words, “This girl is one of my arena’s purchases from the black market. She possesses outstanding beauty and is as gentle as water. Since *you have won this arena, you can own such a superior and attractive female slave as this…”

“Lord, there is a slave marker in the cage. As long as *you use the marker to cover any part you desire on this girl, then… this girl will become *your lifelong slave!”

“Please rest a.s.sured. This slave girl’s family is more than ten thousand miles out. Only after many complications and difficulties did she come to this country. *You possessing her will not attract any repercussions. On the other hand, in order to guarantee the value of this gift, we have never touched her. This girl is still an…. ‘original’ package.”

Alright, so this hot marker was a slave marker, and this girl was the victor’s reward!

Then… what was he to do with this girl?

This was an extremely frustrating question. Take her back to the farm? It couldn’t be done. Jiang Nan himself was a slave, and if he took back a female slave, even if he had a hundred mouths, he shouldn’t dare think to hide the fact that he partic.i.p.ated in the arena.

Dump her here and let nature run its course? This was also unacceptable. One just had to look at her, those thin clothes and pitiful state. In this biting cold night filled with flurries of snow, if he left her here and waited for her conclusion, if she hadn’t still starved to death, then she would freeze to death!

As Jiang Nan pondered over this, the girl also stared at him with a curious gaze.

The girl had expected that once the red cloth fell and the man outside saw her beauty, even if he didn’t pounce on her like a wolf or tiger, he would at least look at her lasciviously and rush to take her to a room.

Contrary to her expectations, however, not only did this man not revaeal any l.u.s.tful desire when he saw her appearance, he instead looked at her like a hot potato, vexed and hating that he couldn’t just kicker her away…

As such, the girl had an even better impression of the man in front of her. Looking a bit closer, this man was wearing a long gown on top with a short skirt on the bottom. His face even had a cracked and cornerless mask, but looking beyond his mask, it seemed as though this man had been beaten black and blue into a pitifully sorry figure.

This appearance… Pfft. The girl couldn’t help but let out a laugh.

However, after just a half second, the girl returned to her detached and cold look. She stuck her hands out of a mechanism and brought the pen to her palm to write something, showing it to Jiang Nan.

“Because you’ve prevailed over the arena, you’ve obtained me.” The script was exceedingly elegant, but if one read between the lines, the words exuded an obstinate spirit that would die before submitting. “However, I won’t become your slave. Kill me, or else I beg *you to undo the shackles on my body to allow me to kill myself!!”

After she finished writing, the girl closed her eyes and lifted her head stubbornly as she waited for Jiang Nan’s response.

Jiang Nan let out a sigh. By this time, he had already thought of a way to deal with this girl.

“Alright, I won’t kill you, but I won’t let you be a slave either.”

Jiang Nan dug into the trash heap. Several minutes later, he had excavated two dirty and tattered blankets, a pile of rotten vegetables, as well as a chipped bowl.

Using these things, Jiang Nan turned this girl into a male beggar.

After that, Jiang Nan undid the chains on her body and threw her the rest of his medicine as he shrugged and said: “Miss, take this medicine and follow the road towards the north. You can use this medicine to exchange for money and then go to the posting station to make inquiries on how to get home…”

“Hey, don’t look at me that way. I don’t want to make you look like a beggar either, but Miss, don’t you think your appearance is a bit too conspicuous? If you want to go home, it’s still safer to disguise yourself as a beggar…”

What is he saying?

The girl tilted her head upwards in astonishment as a series of extraordinary emotions flitted across her two jet black eyes. It seemed as though she was saying, “You’re letting me go, and giving me freedom?”

“Isn’t this obvious?” Jiang Nan opened the cage and gestured as he said: “Are you still not going? Miss, just look at my appearance. I’m only a dejected pauper. This is the most I can help you.”

In order to prove his words, Jiang Nan crushed the slave marker and promptly left the alleyway.

The girl stared after the back of Jiang Nan’s figure dazedly. In the end, after half a minute, just as Jiang Nan’s figure was about to disappear, she finally confirmed that this man really wasn’t joking!

He was a genuinely good person!

“Mmrh! Mmrh!”

The girl let out two strange noises. As if she had suddenly thought of something, she hastily wrote some words on one palm, then switched to her left hand and wrote some more on her right palm.

Surprisingly, she was ambidextrous!

She chased after Jiang Nan and then bowed deeply after rushing towards him. Lifting her head, she extended her two fair palms with a smile of excitement.

The left hand said: “Could *you tell me your name? *You saving me is something I will definitely repay!” On the other hand, it wrote: “My name is Suzu.”

“Miss, you see this mask? Obviously I don’t want to tell you my name.” Jiang Nan looked curiously at the girl’s mouth and asked inquisitively: “How come you… don’t speak?”

The girl sadly lowered her head, then wrote something on her palm that left Jiang Nan speechless.

“I’m mute.”

   ……

No one noticed when the snow stopped, but it was now the time for lanterns to begin lighting up. A distance from the narrow alley, houses began to light up one by one and illuminate the snowy landscape, make it seem as though everything was so quiet and serene.

As Jiang Nan stared at this girl’s smile, he was speechless for the longest time. Suddenly, he waved his hand, then disappeared from the girl’s sight without even turning his head.

Even Jiang Nan didn’t know why he left so quickly. He only felt troubled in his heart, and that he wanted to leave this place quickly.

A plainly unadorned girl of matchless beauty was unexpectedly a….

Ai! Jiang Nan let out an ineffable sigh.

And the girl only continued to stand there in silence as she watched Jiang Nan’s back with unblinking eyes. She didn’t know Jiang Nan’s name, nor did she see his face, but she would definitely diligently and earnestly remember Jiang Nan’s… back!

This was Jiang Nan’s and Suzu’s first meeting.

Perhaps after this farewell, the two people would no longer meet again, or perhaps they might brush shoulders on a street after several decades. However, by that time, they would have already aged with graying hair and simply took the other to be an unfamiliar pa.s.serby.

Of course, this situation could also occur: Many years later, a melodramatic minstrel might be standing on the street and speaking with fervor, “In year 2143 of the Flowerstream Era, snow scattered across the sky. A day later, the esteemed Rodi who trekked the entire path of a totem master and began the first undertaking as a ghost totem master met a woman whose fate was intertwined with his in an unremarkable town…”

Well f***, who knew what the future would bring?

Several minutes later, Jiang Nan threw the matter of Suzu to the back of his head. He still had an even more important matter to tend to.

One must know that Miss Weylin’s match was about to conclude. Before his master walked out of the stadium, Jiang Nan absolutely had to find the perfect excuse to explain why he had been beaten until his ‘face radiated red like a peach blossom’, a monstrous face that even ‘his own mother wouldn’t recognize’.