Chapter 99: Arranging the Prisoners
Chu Feng looked the fat boy over and asked, “Which family are you from?”
“Merdes family.”
Illya let out a soft “Huh?”
Chu Feng glanced at her. “What’s wrong? Something about this family?”
Illya shook his head. “Nothing wrong, but… they’re one of the top noble families in the royal capital.”
Chu Feng looked at the fat boy and thought: A top-tier second-generation heir? What’s a noble like him doing here? Experiencing rural life?
The fat boy puffed out his chest proudly. “We Merdes are one of the three major families of the capital!”
Chu Feng frowned. “If your family’s so powerful, why did you leave them?”
“I long for freedom! I don’t want to live under the shadow of my family’s glory. I dream of traveling the world, tasting all kinds of cuisine, and becoming a great bard…”
Chu Feng raised a brow. Really? This chubby noble has such lofty dreams? Doesn’t really look the part…
Chu Feng glanced at the beautiful young girl, Shi Qi, standing beside the chubby boy. She slightly tilted her head, wearing an expression that said she couldn’t bear to watch.
Chu Feng looked at the chubby boy and thought to himself: Even your maid can’t stand to see you like this.
“Tell the truth,” he said.
The chubby boy frowned and stayed silent.
Chu Feng’s face tightened as he warned, “If you don’t tell the truth, I’ll deduct your instant noodles.”
The chubby boy looked up at Chu Feng, full of resentment, seemingly troubled. Chu Feng turned to the pretty maid and said, “If he won’t talk, you do.”
Shi Qi replied calmly, “Young Master was rejected by Miss Lichiya of the Rockefeller family. He felt humiliated, so he ran away from home.”
As soon as she spoke, a blush crept up the chubby boy’s face.
Chu Feng looked at him and said, “So it was heartbreak, huh? You ran away to escape the pain? Just a broken heart, was that really necessary?”
The chubby boy looked embarrassed and complained, “How could you tell him?”
Shi Qi glanced at him and said, “They have a lie-detecting ability user.”
The chubby boy frowned. “That’s a scam.”
Chu Feng: …
Shi Qi turned toward Illya and said, “It’s real.”
She looked at Illya with some fear—she could sense a similar kind of power in him.
Illya nodded and said, “You’d best be honest.” He was highly sensitive to emotional fluctuations, and when people lied, their emotional shifts were usually quite apparent. While not 100% accurate, it was close enough.
“Lichiya? Is she very beautiful?” Chu Feng asked curiously.
Shi Qi nodded earnestly. “Very beautiful.”
Chu Feng turned and looked at Delice. “How does she compare to her?”
Shi Qi lowered her head and said, “This elf lady is more beautiful, but Miss Lichiya isn’t bad either.”
Shi Qi glanced at Delice and thought to herself: Though Delice is still young, it’s clear she’ll grow into a peerless beauty someday.
She actually felt Delice and Lichiya each had their own charm—but under the circumstances, she had to give the flattery where it was due.
Delice folded her hands behind her back and said smugly, “You have good taste.”
“Did your parents know you ran away from home?” Chu Feng asked.
The chubby boy replied awkwardly, “They probably don’t know…”
Chu Feng looked to Shi Qi. The girl hesitated, then said, “The Master and Madam probably do know. They likely felt Young Master was an embarrassment and decided to ignore it.”
Chu Feng: …Your young master is sitting right here. Is it really okay to expose him like that?
The chubby boy looked a little deflated. “That’s not true…” His parents wouldn’t see him as an embarrassment.
Chu Feng narrowed his eyes and asked, “If you go missing, would your family send people to find you?”
Shi Qi frowned uncertainly. Previously, the young master had caused many scandals while chasing after Lichiya, and there was a lot of internal dissatisfaction in the family. Even his brothers felt he was a disgrace. Though he held the title of young master, he wasn’t the only one.
Chu Feng noted her expression and thought: Seems like this family isn’t exactly filled with brotherly love.
The chubby boy puffed up his cheeks and said, “I’ve told you everything—when are you giving me my instant noodles?”
Chu Feng: …
Hands on hips, he looked down at the chubby boy. “We don’t keep freeloaders here. If you want to stay, you have to work.”
The chubby boy looked troubled. “What do you want me to do? Carry bricks? Sweep? I don’t know how to do any of that!”
Chu Feng looked at him and thought: You don’t even know how to carry bricks? Maybe you’re just plain lazy.
The chubby boy, seeing Chu Feng stare, spoke righteously, “We have lots of servants at home. I’ve never needed to do any of this.”
Chu Feng: … “As a prisoner, saying such infuriating things… Aren’t you afraid of getting hit?”
Shi Qi bit her lip and said softly, “My young master truly hasn’t done any manual labor. But I can help you—roadwork, construction, anything.”
Chu Feng looked at her. “You?”
She nodded. “I can raise and level land. I’ve helped before. I can do the work of ten people.”
Chu Feng glanced at Illya, who nodded—Shi Qi wasn’t lying.
Some ability users had truly astounding powers—one person could be as efficient as ten or even a hundred.
Her earth-based abilities seemed quite useful. If he could make good use of her skills, they might be able to finish those road projects much faster.
Chu Feng nodded. “Alright.”
He thought to himself: This girl might be hard to manage, but with that slave collar and the chubby boy as leverage, she shouldn’t be a problem.
“You can read, right?” Chu Feng asked the chubby boy.
He nodded. “That I can do.”
After all, he came from a prestigious family. His academics weren’t great, but he was literate.
Chu Feng pulled Illya aside and whispered a few words. Illya nodded. “Good idea.”
Shi Qi overheard their exchange and looked at Chu Feng in disbelief. “You want my young master to become a slave?”
Though they spoke quietly, she heard it.
Chu Feng nodded. “Yes.”
He didn’t have an extra slave collar on hand, but that didn’t matter. He could reuse Eric’s.
The chubby boy jumped up in outrage. “You’re bold! Do you even know who I am?”
Chu Feng nodded. “You already told me.”
“You know my identity and still want to make me a slave?!”
Chu Feng folded his arms and thought: A dragon in shallow water gets mocked by shrimp. A tiger fallen from grace gets bullied by dogs. You’re just a stranded young master—what don’t I dare?
“In the capital, you’re a noble. But here, you’re just a prisoner.”
The chubby boy muttered, “You’re seriously giving me secondhand stuff?”
Little did Lan Hu expect that one day, he would become a slave—and worse, wear a slave ring that was a used “hand-me-down.”
Chu Feng glanced at him and replied calmly, “Can’t be helped. Conditions in the village are tough. You’ll have to bear with it.”
The chubby boy pouted, “Tough? Where exactly are things tough around here?”
Chu Feng: …It’s really not that tough, actually.
“Even though your maid is willing to work for you, you really shouldn’t be doing nothing at all,” Chu Feng muttered.
The chubby boy scratched his head. “I’m no good at anything…” Back home, his older brother often called him useless—not in a nice way, but not without reason.
“You might not be able to carry or lift things, but at least you can read, right?” Chu Feng asked.
“Of course,” the boy replied.
Though he was terrible at studying and near the bottom among his peers, he was still from a major aristocratic family. Basic literacy wasn’t a problem.
Chu Feng looked toward Delice and said, “Gather the village kids and have him teach them to read.”
Delice blinked, confused. “Learn writing? What for?”
Chu Feng rolled his eyes. Why are these kids so unmotivated? Knowledge changes lives!
“If you can read and do arithmetic, you can take on better jobs and earn more work tickets.”
Delice’s eyes lit up. “Work tickets? Really?”
“Of course.”
“That’s great!” she said, clearly excited.
Chu Feng thought to himself, This girl is a little money-grubber.
He then took Shi Qi outside with him. Not far from the door, he saw his car—completely surrounded by people, even some on the roof.
“Boss, there you are!” Shaya walked up enthusiastically.
Chu Feng nodded. “Yeah. Why are you here? Slacking off?”
“No way! Today’s my day off,” Shaya replied.
“I see,” Chu Feng said.
Shaya looked at the car and said, “Boss, I heard this thing is super fast!”
Chu Feng narrowed his eyes. “What, you planning to sneak a joyride again?”
Shaya laughed awkwardly. “No, just asking!”
“You heading to the castle district?”
“Yep,” Chu Feng nodded.
Shaya blinked. “Can I tag along?”
“Sure,” Chu Feng said. “But I’m not giving you a ride back.”
“No problem! I’ll run back on my own. Or maybe crash somewhere in the castle district—it’s really nicely built now.”
“Hop in,” Chu Feng said to Shi Qi.
She nodded, suppressing her curiosity, and climbed into the backseat.
