Chapter 149: The Great Mage – Lin Muxue

“If there’s nothing else, we’ll take our leave now.”

“Yes, yes, thank you, thank you!”

Ming Xiang and Ming Bin hurriedly excused themselves, and only then did Sang Chu carefully put the last original stone into her own storage ring.

After they left, Ming Xiang glared at the old man and grumbled, “This is all your fault! If you hadn’t dragged me along, I’d have been fine. Just you wait, I’m not letting you off the hook!”

“Exactly! If I can’t find the original stone I need for tomorrow, hehe, just wait till we get home tonight. You’d better watch out.”

After they left, the old woman who had been acting all frail and elderly suddenly straightened up and transformed into Granny Mi.

She had only come here to see if she could get a few good slaves, but she hadn’t expected to end up with a personal bodyguard from Liu Shi.

Liu Shi was the most powerful person in the city, and not someone to be trifled with.

“Looks like I underestimated that little girl,” she muttered.

After tidying up, Granny Mi left. Meanwhile, her maid was excitedly messaging someone: [Ah Chu, you’ll never guess who I just saw!]

Sang Chu paused for a moment. The only people who would joke around with this kind of code were her own people.

[Granny Mi?]

Rabbit: [How did you know?]

[Wasn’t your message basically saying it was someone from our side? There aren’t many of us here—other than Granny Mi, there’s Wu Qi, and the old shopkeeper. Of those, only Granny Mi and Wu Qi could get their hands on so many original stones, but Wu Qi wouldn’t show up here, so it had to be Granny Mi.]

[Yep, you guessed it! It was Granny Mi. But why did she dress up like that and come here? So weird. Should I keep following her?]

Sang Chu: [No need. She just wants to confirm whether I bought any slaves. Looks like she cares a lot about the slave market. There’ll probably be more people watching me from now on. Rabbit, how’s the puppet body coming along?]

Rabbit: [Don’t worry, it’s already being made. But it’s a custom order, so it’ll take a bit longer. Let’s check again tomorrow.]

[Okay, I hope it won’t take more than three days!]

[I’ve already paid extra for a rush order, it’ll be fine!]

Earlier, when Rabbit was at the Sky Mall, she saw someone selling puppet bodies, but they required a lot of original stones. Sang Chu hesitated for a long time before finally buying one.

She hadn’t expected it to be a custom order, and the production time would be three days. That was also why Sang Chu had been hesitant to leave earlier.

She couldn’t leave before attracting the attention of these big shots. Besides, she was waiting for the puppet body—once it arrived, she could use it as a cover and leave openly.

After she left, Rabbit could just collect the puppet body. She’d spent so many original stones on it, there was no way she’d use it just once.

After wandering around for a while, Sang Jingwen and Lu Minli had both bought their slaves. Only Muxue was still hesitating. In the end, just before they were about to leave, she finally bought a pair of twin sisters.

On the way back, Muxue clung to Sang Chu’s arm, looking uneasy.

In the small shop

Muxue knocked on Sang Chu’s door. “Xiaoxue? Why aren’t you asleep?”

“I… I can’t sleep. I wanted to talk to you.”

“Come in, then!”

The management here was pretty lax, but they didn’t allow people to sleep in the same bed.

Because if you slept together at night, you’d never run out of things to talk about. When they were little, to make sure they could get up for school the next day, there was an unspoken rule: no sleeping together at night.

It was the same in the apocalypse—one person per bed. It had become a habit.

After Muxue entered Sang Chu’s room, she hugged her tightly. “Sang Sang, are the worlds you go to always so dangerous? What if you get caught too?”

Seeing what happened to those people today, Muxue couldn’t help but worry about Sang Chu. She was afraid that something similar might happen to her in some unknown place. Even though she didn’t want to buy slaves, when she saw those sisters locked in cages, being treated as goods, she just couldn’t stand it.

Sang Chu gently patted her back. “Don’t worry, I won’t. I’ll be fine.”

“But… I’m not strong enough. I can’t help you.”

“Any trouble I can solve, you don’t need to worry about. Xiaoxue, you’re not weak at all—you’re my family. Back in the apocalypse, didn’t you think I was your burden?”

After the Blood Moon descended and the world changed, everyone was struggling to survive. Those who made it were few and far between. Even in the bases, there was only enough food for one person, and that might just be a palm-sized bun or a small piece of jerky. Even then, she’d share her food with others.

Sang Chu used to think she was a burden too, because she didn’t have any powers. Even though she was good at fighting and could get more food, it was never much more.

Before she started traveling between worlds, she didn’t even know what “three meals a day” meant—every day was a struggle to tighten her belt and get by.

Being hugged by Sang Chu, Muxue felt a warmth in her heart. She never thought Sang Chu was a burden. In fact, during the apocalypse, with Sang Chu and Lu Minli around, she actually felt more at ease.

“Sang Sang, I feel like my ability is so useless. It’s not strong, and I always get scared. If Liu Shi hadn’t helped today, what would I have done?”

Sang Chu couldn’t help but laugh. She pulled Muxue by the hand and led her outside.

In the courtyard

Sang Chu released the twin sisters she’d bought. One of them was a black panther. When Muxue saw the panther, which was about her height, she instinctively took a step back.

“Xiaoxue, your ability isn’t weak at all—you just don’t know how to use it yet. Go ahead, my black panther will accompany you. You need to practice in the dungeon anyway, and now’s the perfect time. Go on, use your ability on the panther.”

“Can I… really?”

“You can, Xiaoxue. You have to remember, no matter which world you’re in, aside from yourself, everything else is just a tool. Don’t be soft-hearted when you shouldn’t be. You can treat it as a pet, or even as a person, if that helps.”

Muxue glanced at Sang Chu, then at the black panther. After making up her mind, she took a step forward, her expression serious. “Okay, I understand.”

“I’ll open the magic circle for you. Be careful, and good luck.”

“Mm-hmm.”

Watching Muxue step into the magic circle with determination, Sang Chu smiled with satisfaction. Muxue was a bit timid, but she could protect her. Still, she hoped Muxue could grow stronger and protect herself.

Sang Chu then released Fa Tian, who stood there in tattered clothes. She tossed him a robe. “Keep an eye on the magic circle. If anything happens, call me.”

“Yes, Master.”"