Male Lead, Please Don’t Covet the Mob Character Cannon Fodder (Quick Transmigration) - Chapter 10

The face of Song Qingshi suddenly flashed before Gu Jiuli’s eyes. He gritted his teeth and retorted, “What nonsense are you talking about?”

Ma Qilin curled his lip. “Jiuli, you are still so lacking in romantic sensibility.” His eyes darted around. “Jiuli, you have been away for so long that you surely do not know that the capital has many new fun places. For example, a new place called Linglong Pavilion just opened in the east of the city, specializing in auctioning rare treasures.”

He rose and walked to Gu Jiuli’s side. “I heard that Linglong Pavilion is holding a special auction tonight. Why not come along with your brother here to see the excitement?”

Gu Jiuli, absorbed in playing chess against himself, responded coldly, “Not interested.”

“Jiuli, I am begging you as a brother,” Ma Qilin closed his folding fan and cupped his hands. “Entry to Linglong Pavilion requires assets of over a million taels. I have been a bit short on cash lately.”

Gu Jiuli sneered. “So you came to see me today specifically for this, yet you claimed you just wanted to visit.”

“Hehe,” Ma Qilin laughed awkwardly. “You cannot put it that way. I also heard that the Nectar Wine at Linglong Pavilion is the finest in Yan City. I wanted to use this chance to welcome you back and watch the auction at the same time.”

“Hah,” Gu Jiuli shook his head, not wanting to argue further. “Let us go.”

“Right away!” Ma Qilin snapped his fan open, instantly transforming back into Yan City’s famous elegant and suave young master, with no trace of his previous sleaziness.

Qingshi woke up to find himself locked in a cage. The surroundings were quiet, with only the occasional sound of footsteps in the distance.

He did not know how long he had been there. Every so often, someone would come to feed him a small amount of food and water, just enough to ensure he did not die. The person feeding him never responded to his questions or attempts at conversation.

Qingshi thought he must have encountered human traffickers. To think that a grown man like him could be kidnapped by traffickers in ancient times; he would be laughed to death if anyone found out.

He did not know where he had been taken. These people were just keeping him locked up. Were they waiting for an auspicious day to sell him?

Qingshi did not realize he had hit the mark.

Today, instead of the usual feeder, a group of people arrived and took him out of the cage. They stripped him and cleaned his body meticulously, ensuring not a speck of dirt remained.

Once cleaned, Qingshi was dressed in a thin, sheer silk robe. Feeling the fabric, he realized there was almost no difference between wearing this and wearing nothing at all. They placed metal rings around his ankles and neck; with every movement, Qingshi could hear the soft jingle of bells.

Finally, they tied Qingshi’s hands in front of him, bound his mouth tightly with a silk ribbon, and covered his eyes with a silk sash.

After finishing, Qingshi felt someone pull at his bound hands. “Follow me,” a hoarse voice said, sounding as if the speaker had thick phlegm in their throat.

Qingshi was forced to follow. He felt himself walking upward. Had he been underground before?

“Thank you all for coming. Linglong Pavilion has one final item today. As for what it is, allow me, Linglong, to keep you in suspense for a moment.” A crisp female voice reached Qingshi’s ears. His heart sank. Was this an auction?

Then he…

The person leading him suddenly stopped. Qingshi was then pushed down onto a spot covered in soft fur.

Amidst his mounting anxiety, Qingshi felt the platform he was on begin to rise. Within seconds, his ears were filled with the clamor of voices. He seemed to have arrived in a place with many people.

Qingshi gritted his teeth and tried to curl himself up, but a hand grabbed his hair, forcing his head up.

Once the youth’s beautiful face was fully revealed, Linglong listened with satisfaction to the uproar from the audience.

“This is a fresh young lad. Although he has an eye ailment, he is a rare treasure.” As she spoke, Qingshi felt the silk sash removed from his eyes. The intense light forced tears from his eyes. He tried to close them to hide, but his chin was gripped firmly to display him unreservedly to the crowd.

“I am sure you all understand the pleasure to be had here. Linglong will say no more. The starting bid is one hundred thousand taels!”

“Two hundred thousand!” “Two hundred fifty thousand!” “Five hundred thousand!”

“Tsk, tsk, tsk. The finale at Linglong Pavilion is actually a person, and a man at that,” Ma Qilin remarked, propping his chin with his fan as he watched the youth on stage. “Though, looking like that, it does not seem to matter if he is a man or a woman.”

He teased Gu Jiuli, “Jiuli, they are competing so fiercely. Should we join the fun?”

As soon as he spoke, he saw Gu Jiuli throw his bidding jade token into the tray held by a waiting waiter. “Jiuli? You are serious? I was just joking.”

Gu Jiuli ignored him, his eyes fixed on the person on the auction stage who was so familiar to him. He called out the price, “One million taels of gold.”

“Hiss!” Ma Qilin gasped. “Jiuli, are you mad?”

The waiter was quick-witted and immediately went out to report the bid to the manager.

Linglong, standing on the stage, received the message. A flash of surprise crossed her eyes before she signaled for silence. “The guest in the Heaven Number One Private Room has bid one million taels of gold. Is there anyone with a higher bid?”

“One million taels of gold? Who is it? So wealthy?”

“No idea.”

“Someone in a private room must have an extraordinary identity.”

The audience below buzzed with discussion.

“Is there any higher bid? Three, two, one! Sold! One million taels of gold.”

I am actually worth a million taels of gold, Qingshi thought self-mockingly as he knelt on the floor. That amount of money could crush him to death.

After the auction ended, the people holding Qingshi took him upstairs. “Sir, your item has been delivered.”

Qingshi stood blankly in the room with his hands bound and his mouth tied. The corners of his eyes were red from excessive tearing, giving him a look of ravaged beauty.

“My goodness!” Ma Qilin, seeing the beauty up close, almost let his drool escape.

He wanted to say more, but his friend Gu Jiuli let out a cold snort, picked up the beauty, and walked out. “Hey, hey! You are leaving just like that? Choosing beauty over your friend?”

Gu Jiuli ignored Ma Qilin’s chatter and carried the person straight to his carriage.

Qingshi felt a strange sense of familiarity from the embrace of this person. This man…

Gu Jiuli did not set him down. Looking at the bright red corners of the youth’s eyes, he felt both rage and heartache. He had spent so much time guessing, never imagining that this person would end up being sold. He should have known; how could a blind person run so fast without leaving a single trace?

He reached out and untied the knot behind Qingshi’s head. He removed the silk ribbon from his mouth, which pulled away a few silvery threads of saliva.

“Cough, cough, cough!” Qingshi coughed a few times, finally able to close his jaw which felt nearly dislocated. After catching his breath for a moment, he asked tentatively, “Da Hei, is it you?”

Hearing that dog name again, Gu Jiuli pressed his tongue against his cheek and said gloomily, “Master, are you hiding something from me?”

Qingshi stiffened. “What, what would I be hiding?”

Gu Jiuli replied, “A few days ago, some people found me and said I am the Great General of the General’s Estate. Am I not the servant you bought back, Master?”

“Uh, perhaps you were a general before you were sold?” Qingshi tried to cover the lie. “Has your memory returned?” When he asked this, there was a small flicker of expectation in his eyes. After all, the male lead regaining his memory meant he had finished his mission and could go offline.

Gu Jiuli wanted to take this opportunity to expose the master who was full of lies, but when the words reached his lips, they became, “Although I have returned to the General’s Estate, my memory has not yet returned. Master, can you come back with me? I am a bit afraid to stay there alone.”

“Huh?” Qingshi opened his mouth slightly in surprise. Why had the male lead suddenly become so manipulative?

“Is that not okay, Master?” Gu Jiuli found that he called him “Master” quite naturally.

Whether the youth was a mantis or a siskin, keeping him under his own eyes would ensure he could not flip out of his palm.

“Fine, then,” Qingshi agreed.

Eight Eight, can you check with your friends to see when the male lead’s memory will return?

System 886: “I cannot. That involves the main plot.”

You are useless.

Qingshi sighed inwardly.

Having received a satisfactory answer, Gu Jiuli’s lips curled up. He untied the ropes binding Qingshi’s hands. Seeing the bruised wrists, his gaze sharpened. He then took a high-quality ointment from a hidden compartment in the carriage and carefully applied it to Qingshi’s injuries.

“Hiss!” The cool ointment must have contained some stimulating ingredients. Qingshi let out a soft hiss and instinctively tried to pull his hand back.

“Do not move.” Gu Jiuli gripped the two slender wrists with one hand. Looking at Qingshi’s shrinking body, he automatically recalled the expression the youth had in Sajia Village when he was washing his feet and applying medicine; he looked exactly like someone who had been bullied miserably.

It was fortunate he had met a true gentleman like himself back then; otherwise, he would have been eaten until not even the bones remained.

Thinking of this, Gu Jiuli felt a bit jealous. Even though “Da Hei” was just his memory-less self, every time he recalled memories related to Da Hei, he wished he could go back in time and take his place.

Qingshi felt that Gu Jiuli’s application of the medicine was becoming heavier. He bit his lip and endured it for a while before finally speaking up, “Da Hei, uh, General, are you not finished yet?”

Gu Jiuli snapped out of it and saw the thin sweat on his forehead. He let go. “It is finished. Calling me ‘General’ is too distant. My real name is Gu Jiuli; Master can call me Jiuli.”

“Alright.”

“General, we have arrived home.” The carriage stopped in front of the General’s Estate.

Gu Jiuli settled the person in the side hall of his room. Qingshi, utterly exhausted, fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

Gu Jiuli watched his unconscious sleeping face for a moment, then covered him with a quilt and closed the door as he went out.

Li Yang, who was waiting outside, reported, “General, the people who kidnapped Young Master Song have been caught. They are in the dungeon. The Linglong Pavilion you asked me to investigate appeared only in the last few months. It is said that people from above are involved behind it.”

“Heh, I was just looking for a way to catch them, and they handed me a blade,” Gu Jiuli sneered.

The dark dungeon.

Zhang Daniu was locked in a separate cell, trembling as he listened to the intense screams coming from all around. He had no idea how he had offended the people of the General’s Estate. He was truly unlucky.

The cell door creaked open, and two people came in to drag Zhang Daniu out.

Zhang Daniu’s face was pale, and his voice shook. “Officers, where are you taking me?”

“The General wants to see you. Move, do not dawdle!”

“The General!” Zhang Daniu’s teeth chattered. He wanted to cry but had no tears. There was only one person in Great Qi who could be called “The General,” the Mighty General Gu Jiuli. He had led troops at the age of fifteen and had not lost a single battle in ten years. The enemy armies would flee in terror at the mere mention of his name.

Rumor had it that he was nine feet tall, with a face as fierce as a demon, and that he killed people as if they were grass. He was also known as the “Night Spectre.”

For such a person to suddenly want to see a commoner like him, it could not be anything good.

“General, the man has been brought.”

Zhang Daniu was pushed into a torture room. On the floor in front of him stood a pair of black boots embroidered with gold cloud patterns. He slowly raised his head and saw a very familiar face.

He raised a trembling hand. “You, you are”

“How dare you! Bow to the General!” Someone kicked him from behind in the back of his knees. Zhang Daniu fell to the ground with a thud.

Zhang Daniu’s vision went dark, and he almost fainted. He lay prostrate on the ground, his teeth shaking. “This lowly one greets the General.”

It was over. All over!

“Heh,” Gu Jiuli let out a soft laugh. “You know why I am looking for you, right?”

Zhang Daniu swallowed hard. “I know, I know. But General! The one who kidnapped him was Chi Liang, the appraiser from Linglong Pavilion! I only, I only brought him there, General!”

Gu Jiuli asked curiously, “Oh, how did you get him to go with you?”

“I, that gentleman said he wanted to go to the Academy of Seeking Knowledge and asked me to lead the way,” Zhang Daniu said in terror.

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