The Ger's Contract Marriage [BL]
Chapter 481: Offer Accepted

Chapter 481: Offer Accepted

All the mountain bandit clichés were met.

There was in fact a cave involved, but it wasn’t where the bandits lived, it was where they stored their treasures. This storehouse was situated purposefully behind their leader’s home.

Of their group of three, Momo had the most expressive face. Sometimes he would put on a good master-like face (poker face), but other times, he was just a blank page. In the cave, he wasn’t just a blank page, he was a blank book!

Bai Mo was in awe of how many treasures these men had gathered.

There weren’t just gold and silver, there were also items that would be beneficial for cultivation. Some things the fox had seen before, and some things he hadn’t, this was a mound of treasure that needed to be carefully sorted through. It was treasure that looked like it had been taken from more than just a few carriages.

While Bai Mo seemed to be in wonderland, Xu Hu Zhe was almost disgusted to a physical reaction—this was so much wealth just in one bandit’s possession, what could be found if all the bandits of Donghua were cleaned up?

It was the difference between life and death for at least a single prefecture’s worth of homeless people.

Xu Zeng seemed... no, he was annoyed.

He had gone back to Sun Village to retrieve his shell, but maybe one or all of these items with energy, used together, would be enough to help his nephews hatch.

Was his plan flawed from the beginning? Would it have been better to target bandits than to have spent so many moons scraping clean the periphery of the Nanshan mountain range for treasures?

No, it was good he came here... he retrieved his dad’s memorial tablet. He also was able to spend time with his partners. It wasn’t a complete loss, many lessons were learned along the way.

He wouldn’t like to put Bai Mo in this kind of danger in the future. He was confident he could protect the fox in this form, but he didn’t enjoy the feeling he got in his chest when the fox wasn’t safe, sound... and pampered.

As for feelings for Xu Hu Zhe, he enjoyed fighting alongside the snake! He liked it very much! Maybe he would agree to go hunting in the woods with the other more often now.

There were still dozens of unconscious bandits to rid themselves of as well as civilians caught in the mix. In the interest of saving time and not lingering too long, Xu Zeng would take all the treasure in his space.

In the end, it was Xu Hu Zhe who "explained" the concept of a space "bag" to Bai Mo as Xu Zeng attempted to move the treasure into the space. He wasn’t too picky about what was kept in which way, but after transporting a few items, his exhaustion became obvious.

This body was his favorite, this was uncontested, but he’d done too much. The night was filled with a consistent use of energy and abilities. It didn’t take too much energy to control the plants, but still, he had to shift and his senses were working in overdrive to protect and monitor everyone.

He was used up like a sponge.

Lingering wasn’t a good option though. The easiest option was to consume another energy stone and cut their efforts in half. So, that’s what he did.

Hearing Bai Mo exclaim, "WOW!" His eyes widened in awe, was almost worth the frivolous use of the energy stone. Xu Zeng excitedly and grandiosely put away his treasures as Bai Mo clapped in appreciation.

The hoarding of treasure was almost too easy, and Xu Zeng’s complexion was much better at the end than it was at the start. The energy stone left him in a better state than when he started. He was still covered in blood, but the dull quality of his skin was now gone and he didn’t look like he would pass out at any moment.

While it would be nice to sleep for a very long time, he could make do.

The relief on Xu Hu Zhe’s face hadn’t gone unnoticed either. While the demon beast was of a particularly dense variety, he still understood his partner’s worry for himself. It was another reason to smile.

.

.

.

The state of the village center was much more crowded than when they left to pilfer from thieves. From an empty clearing to a clearing with less than a dozen women, young boys, and even two babies. It was a lot for the previously eerily silent village.

Two of the women looked tired and dazed like this promise of freedom was only a lie. Another two women looked excited, but still cautious, trying to put up a guard. The last woman was in the worst shape with large, dark bruises around both her eyes. Even in such a state, she was hovering around an even more bruised boy.

This last woman was Zhang Hui, Zhang Cai’s sister.

The boy in question looked like a puffed-up doll. Armed with a few lanterns, the crowd lit up the square to show the gruesome sights. One could see the discolored patches of skin on the boy everywhere— this was one of Zhang Cai’s good brothers, Ping.

The other good brother, Chun, hovered nearby with a small baby in his arms that looked to be around 6 or 7 months old. The baby was newly hatched and needed round-the-clock care. This little baby was the reason Chun hadn’t gone with Zhang Cai, someone needed to watch it.

The others in the group wouldn’t.

It was a miracle the second baby in the group was being cared for. The woman watching that child knew the mother who died in childbirth and was doing the bare minimum to keep the newborn alive—that and the bandits hated the noise the baby made, and no one wanted to be hit, so she stepped up to care for her own good "friend’s" child after the first beating.

"Three great masters!" Zhang Cai called out carefully but without backing down, "My sister is tainted goods, but she is talented in many ways. She can clean and cook. Your journey is long, One Eye said you came from far away, so you must be returning far away. While we are worth little, we," he pointed to his good brothers, "Are willing to sell ourselves if you would consider taking Sister Hui and the baby—"

"Take this one too!" The woman holding the other child almost tossed it to Chun like it was a hot potato. She hadn’t offered to sell herself into slavery, why would she go from fire to flame? But she did have the audacity to get rid of her burden with quickness.

Zhang Cai quickly stepped forward to take the crying baby from Chun’s hands, "Rui how could you just—"

"Okay, we’ll accept your offer." It was Xu Hu Zhe that made the decision. "Gather all your things, we leave in a quarter of an incense."

Bai Mo had a small look of confusion on his face before his master’s stare was back in place. Xu Zeng noticed the small slip and a little grin played on his lips. He didn’t know what Xu Hu Zhe was thinking, but he would go along with it just like Bai Mo.

Besides, they needed to leave this place. He had energy, but what if more bandits showed up? He didn’t have an unending supply of energy, even with his new trinkets, a poor man needed to be frugal.