Mortal Epic of Douluo

"This sofa is really comfortable. It deserves to be a black VIP seat. Rongrong, sit down quickly." After Oscar sat down, he took Ning Rongrong's hand and motioned for her to sit down too.The sofa in the black VIP seat is so big that it can accommodate three or four people, not to mention two people.

Ning Rongrong didn't give him a chance and shook off his hand, "Why, it only took so long for your eyes to be healed?"

"Uh..." Oscar was suddenly speechless.

"Hehe," Ning Rongrong pulled Atreus up from Shui Bing'er and pushed him to Oscar, "Let those two stinky boys go aside. Sister Bing'er, how about I sit with you?" "

Atreus was pushed away, what else could Shui Bing'er say?So he smiled and said: "Okay, I just want to talk to you."

Not long after the four of them sat down, a scantily clad waitress came over to offer drinks and fruits. This service was only available to VIPs in purple and above.However, although this waiter was scantily clad and had a voluptuous figure, he was not enthusiastic. He always had a cold face and did not even have the most basic professional smile.

Shui Bing'er frowned when she saw this scene, obviously dissatisfied, "It is said that Tiandou Auction House is one of the highest-standard auction houses in the mainland, why are the waiters here so rude? Could it be this auction house? Big bully?"

"It's not that some shop bullies customers. All the waiters in the auction center here are like this. This lady must be entering the Tiandou Auction House for the first time, so it's normal to feel strange." A gentle and elegant voice came from the side, everyone turned around and saw a young man in white walking towards Ning Rongrong and the others.

"Too..." Ning Rongrong had just shouted out, but was stopped by the young man.

The young man waved and said, "I just happened to come here for a walk. Just pretend you haven't seen me when you go back."

This young man Atreus and Oscar also knew each other. It was the prince Xue Qinghe they met on Wutong Mountain Road half a year ago. He was also wearing a mask at this time, but Ning Rongrong could still recognize him just by his voice and figure. Recognized.

Xue Qinghe sat down on a sofa next to the two girls, pointed at the waiters in the auction center and said: "These waiters are commoner women who were bought by Tiandou Auction House when they were very young, and have been trained since childhood. .They are completely different from the girls outside who are responsible for welcoming guests. If you don’t believe it, just look at it.”

Atreus looked in the direction pointed by Xue Qinghe and saw a middle-aged man dressed as a businessman on a purple VIP seat, stroking a waiter with a good appearance and figure.Surprisingly, instead of resisting at all, the waiter let the middle-aged businessman play with him.

Just doing it wasn't enough, the middle-aged businessman even... made the waiter kneel on the ground and let her handle the thing underneath him.

"This..." Shui Bing'er couldn't accept it after just one look, and said in disbelief: "How come the majestic Tiandou Soul Fighting Arena is not as good as a brothel? That kind of place... ....Everyone knows the door is closed!"

Xue Qinghe was silent for a moment and chuckled: "If I have to say it, the Tiandou Soul Fighting Arena is indeed inferior to the brothels in this aspect. In the empire, the regular brothel women have innocent origins, and most of them are the wives and daughters of criminals. , and are not allowed to be redeemed. But they are not only the service staff here, but also part of the auction. If someone is willing to pay, they can be bought and sold. Because of their relationship with the auction house, one is employment, One is…slavery.”

"Slavery? Isn't that just slavery? However, didn't the two empires prohibit the slave trade? Especially our Tiandou Empire, which promulgated the "Abolition of Slavery Decree" as early as 670 years ago, the capital territory of the empire and the five major provinces Slaves are not allowed inside."

Xue Qinghe's words were not only surprising to Shui Bing'er, it could even be said to be shocking.

The promulgation of the "Abolition of Slavery Decree" was a major initiative for the Tiandou Empire. The Tiandou Empire was also the first country on the Douluo Continent to announce the abolition of slavery.

The Tiandou Empire 670 years ago was still a powerful centralized empire, 2237 years before the palace coup that changed the continent's structure in 240.

The promulgation of the "Slavery Abolition Decree" and its strong and effective execution liberated countless slaves trapped in noble manors, allowing the Tiandou Empire to have the power to dominate the mainland in 20 years.

Despite the fate, a series of subsequent events gradually weakened the Tiandou Empire, especially after the palace coup in 2237, when the four kingdoms and one principality were divided one after another.The rise of the Star Luo Empire also caused a sharp decline in this ancient empire that once had the ability to unify the continent.

But the "Abolition of Slavery Act" has always been the pride of the Tiandou people, because in the eyes of the Tiandou people, this is a symbol of civilization.

Atreus sneered: "Whether the slave trade exists and on what scale it exists does not depend on when the "Abolition of Slavery" was drafted or promulgated, nor does it depend on whether the "Abolition of Slavery" exists or is abolished. What matters is whether this law is enforced and whether it can be enforced effectively."

Xue Qinghe nodded, agreeing very much with what Atreus said, "Just like the ban on alcohol and sex in the military camp, if the generals set an example, then the soldiers would not dare to disobey the orders without permission in the military camp. But if the generals all break the law and There is no scruple, so how can the soldiers in the military camp be afraid of military orders? Even though they can go to the city to rest on the day of rest, they have to bring those drunken and sexual things to the military camp. If things go on like this, the military will inevitably become ineffective."

"Alas -" Having said this, Xue Qinghe sighed, "There are many things that the state can no longer control. The Tiandou Auction House here has a strong background, let alone slaves, there is nothing they dare not sell. The reason why those girls look indifferent and do not resist when they encounter harassment or even excessive demands is because they were afraid of being beaten or scolded in the past. They have long locked their hearts with layers of shackles, and treat All you have to do is obey any request. No matter how beautiful you look, your soul has long been gone."

After saying these words, the look on Shui Bing'er's face changed dramatically. Perhaps she was very dissatisfied with these scantily clad beautiful waiters before, thinking that they were the boss of the store bullying customers and deliberately doing so.

So now, her heart was full of sympathy for these poor people.Losing a free soul, how sad and tragic a thing outsiders cannot understand?

"Sister Bing'er, don't be sad." Ning Rongrong comforted her, even though she came today on a mission to inspect Shui Bing'er, and even to "take good care of Atreus for Fraser."But Shui Bing'er's expression couldn't be faked, and Ning Rongrong believed that she must be an upright and kind-hearted girl.

But Shui Bing'er suddenly thought of something, looked at Ning Rongrong with a serious face, and said seriously: "Ning Rongrong, tell me, does your Qibao Glazed Sect have a stake in this auction house?"

The smart Ning Rongrong quickly realized the reason for Shui Bing'er's question, shook her head and said: "No, our Qibao Glazed Sect has many ways to make a fortune, such as food, salt and iron, soul guides... so many We can do serious business. When the Tiandou Auction House was first established, I wanted to persuade the Qibao Glazed Sect to take shares, but the ancestor at that time refused on the spot."

"That's good..." Shui Bing'er breathed a sigh of relief and smiled forcefully at Ning Rongrong, but the sadness and compassion on her face never faded away.

A hairpin-shaped storage soul guide was being auctioned on the auction stage. Ning Rongrong wanted to liven up the atmosphere and also wanted to give Shui Bing'er a gift in return, so she pressed the button next to it to participate in the bidding.

Next to each seat in the auction center, there is a special bidding button. There are four different buttons on it: white, yellow, purple, and black, which respectively represent the price of each additional increase: one hundred, one thousand, ten thousand, One hundred thousand.

Unit: gold soul coin.

Before Ning Rongrong participated in the bidding, this hairpin storage soul guide had been bid at a price of [-] gold soul coins. For a storage soul guide with a storage volume of only six cubic meters, this price was already high. Not bad.

After Ning Rongrong pressed the bidding button, the auctioneer immediately raised his hand and said loudly to them: "Black VIP No. [-], bid eighteen thousand gold soul coins. Eighteen thousand gold soul coins once!"

As soon as the auctioneer finished saying this, he immediately received a bid increase prompt.As an auctioneer, being able to obtain a value-for-money price for an auction item is very worthy of celebration for him, because not only can he get more commissions, but he can also satisfy his spirit. Stimulate.

"Another VIP has increased the price, [-] gold soul coins, from... Black VIP No. [-]?"

After saying this with doubts, the auctioneer suddenly received another price increase prompt. After confirming and waiting for a few seconds, he said: "Black VIP No. [-] has increased the price again. Now this one has storage facilities." The capable hairpin soul guide has reached [-] gold soul coins, is there anything higher?"

"Twenty thousand gold soul coins once!"

"Twice for [-] gold soul coins!"

"Two or three gold soul coins three times! Deal—!"

The generous Ning Rongrong immediately attracted a lot of attention, but because she was wearing a mask and could not see her true face, and because Ning Rongrong's clothes and hairstyle changed every day, no one recognized her.

But Xue Qinghe next to her was different. Although he was wearing a mask, many people could recognize him in the Tiandou Auction House where aristocrats and wealthy businessmen gathered.

Therefore, from this moment on, many interested people began to speculate on the identities of the four young people sitting next to Xue Qinghe.

After successfully taking the photo of the hairpin, Ning Rongrong asked Shui Bing'er for credit: "Sister Bing'er, doesn't this hairpin look good? I'll help you put it on myself when you go out later, how about it?"

"That won't work. It's too expensive. It's not like I don't have a storage soul guide." Shui Bing'er shook her head and refused.

At this time, Ning Rongrong seemed to have forgotten the purpose of tonight. No matter how Shui Bing'er refused, she insisted on Shui Bing'er accepting it. Shui Bing'er was made impatient and finally reluctantly agreed.

At this point in the auction, everyone's interest was not high. Ning Rongrong wanted to suggest leaving, but Xue Qinghe pulled her away and told her to wait.

As soon as Xue Qinghe finished speaking, the auctioneer took the soul-guiding loudspeaker produced by Qibao Glazed Sect and said loudly to the bidders in the venue with a smile: "Next, all distinguished guests will see a rare treasure. . Especially the male VIPs in the venue, please be sure to open your eyes and watch carefully."

At the same time as the introduction, the auctioneer signaled to the audience, and four strong men pushed a four-wheeled cart up. The cart was covered with a bright red cloth, but from the occasional fluttering corner, it could be seen that there were many items on the cart. It's an iron cage.

Atreus' expression condensed and he immediately guessed what the "treasure" contained inside was.

The auctioneer said with a smile: "I think some VIPs who are familiar with our Tiandou Auction House have already guessed it, but before that, I still want to give some new VIPs a try. The next auction will start. The price is [-] gold soul coins, and each increase in price must not be less than [-] gold soul coins. In the name of the grand auction house, I guarantee that it will definitely be the best of the best."

______________________________

Article [-]: Slavery and forced servitude shall not exist within the Tiandou Empire or anywhere under the jurisdiction of the empire, except as punishment for crimes against persons convicted according to law.

Article [-]: The Empire has the right to implement this Order by appropriate judicial, administrative, and military means.

Article [-]: The empire will reward families/individuals who take the initiative to terminate slave vassalage and donate land to freedmen who have been terminated from slave vassalage.

Article 50.00: Slave trading is prohibited within the empire. Those who report slave trading will be rewarded with [-]% of the amount involved.

......

————The "Slavery Abolition Decree" of the Tiandou Empire, Douluo Calendar 1995.