Luo Wei nodded and handed him the parchment, "Take out a pen and write this down."
"Yes."
Luo Wei turned to the group of slaves and raised her voice, "Are there any children under twelve?"
The crowd shifted uneasily before producing five or six dirty little slaves. Seeing this, the slave trader dragged out a few more, bringing them before Luo Wei.
There were nine children in total, with dirty faces and disheveled hair, making it impossible to distinguish their genders when they stood together.
Luo Wei's eyes swept over their tattered sheepskin coats and the ragged cloth wrapped around their feet, reminding her of how Roman looked when she first met him.
These children were even more miserable than Roman had been. They were like kittens crawling out of a cesspool, their disproportionately large eyes waiting anxiously for fate's verdict.
Luo Wei noticed that several children had mutilated fingers, and their ears were so badly frostbitten that only small auricles remained, the outer helix having completely rotted away.
"Introduce yourselves - name, age, and gender," she said softly and gently. "I don't like enslaving children. Answer truthfully, as this concerns your future."
"I-I'm Julius," the boy at the edge gathered his courage to speak, his eyelashes trembling. "I'm nine years old, a-a boy."
"Julius." Luo Wei nodded and turned to Troy, "Did you write that down?"
Troy was already writing: "Yes, noted."
Luo Wei looked at the second child: "Continue, what's your name?"
"I-I'm Eulaia, ten years old, also a boy."
The third child followed: "I'm Daniel, sev-, eigh-, eight years old, I'm a boy..."
"I'm..."
Of the nine children, the oldest was ten and the youngest five. Surprisingly, seven were boys, with only two five-year-old girls.
Luo Wei had them stand aside and turned back to the slave group: "Are there any people over sixty?"
The slaves looked at her silently, no one answering.
Zachary Bunian let out a low, strange laugh from his throat: "Miss, I don't take sixty-year-olds. Even if there were any, they'd have died on the way here."
Luo Wei calmly asked, "Then what are your standards for taking slaves?"
"They need to be able to walk, withstand cold, and work," Zachary raised his brownish-red eyebrows, the red hair falling by his temples like flowing wine - looking hot but feeling ice-cold.
He was telling the truth. Most of these slaves were driven here from the western ice plains. How could weak elderly people who could barely walk make it here?
Such merchandise had no value.
"I see." Luo Wei lifted her skirts and gracefully walked between the two rows of slaves.
The slaves seemed pained by her radiance, fearfully moving aside to widen the one-person gap between them into two meters. They kept their heads lowered, anxiously watching her skirts.
They worried about dirtying the noble lady's dress - such an exquisite gown would cost more than ten of their lives to replace if damaged.
Luo Wei walked slowly, stopping occasionally as she passed through their midst.
Among the hundred and twelve slaves, judging by appearance, over twenty were above fifty years old, over thirty were above forty, and most were men.
Most of those under forty were women, as the strong men had already died on the battlefield.
Having assessed the situation, Luo Wei began pointing people out as she walked back.
"You, you, and you, you all come out."
She selected four young people in total, two men and two women, who had the best appearances among the slaves. Their exposed skin was relatively clean, and their clothes were more intact - likely the "premium merchandise" kept in the trader's tent.
"What are your names, and what can you do?"
The four answered one by one.
"My lady, I'm Yves, I can play the flute," said the youth of about seventeen, keeping his head lowered respectfully.
"My lady, I'm Belial, I can play the lyre," answered the beautiful young woman in a sweet voice.
"My lady, I'm Gal, I can dance," said the handsome young man named Gal.
"My lady, I'm Chris, I can... I can..." the last young woman seemed unable to continue. She glanced shyly at Luo Wei, her eyes glistening with moisture, "I... can serve you."
Luo Wei remained silent for a moment, looking at her expressionlessly.
Chris's face instantly turned pale, her rosy lips trembling as she lowered her head in despair.
"Raise your head," Luo Wei commanded in a cool voice.
Chris raised her head with a pale face, her thin body swaying in the cold wind.
"I don't like timid maids," Luo Wei said, looking at her.
Chris's eyes suddenly widened in disbelief.
A clever one, Luo Wei judged internally.
She turned around, meeting Zachary Bunian's mocking gaze, and spoke coldly: "How much? Name your price."
"A thousand gold coins," Zachary opened with an outrageous price.
Luo Wei raised her eyebrow: "If I'm not mistaken, the most expensive slave on the parchment was only five gold coins."
Zachary's eyes gleamed: "Yes, sold separately they wouldn't be worth this much, but Miss, kindness is worth this price, don't you think?"
"Of course, if you think they're not worth it, you don't have to buy so many."
"A thousand gold coins is the package price. If you only want those four little ones, it's just twenty gold coins."
"I, Zachary, never force anyone to buy. Miss, you can think it over."
Zachary shrugged his shoulders like a roguish bandit.
"Very well," Luo Wei suddenly smiled, her eyes showing contemptuous disdain, "A mere thousand gold coins for a hundred lives is quite a bargain."
"However, Mr. Bunian," she continued with a change in tone, "As the buyer, I have one more requirement."
"Oh?" Zachary put his hand behind his ear in a provocative gesture, "Speak up, Miss?"
"Deliver them to my designated location, all of them, and keep them alive. Can you do that?"
Luo Wei said coldly: "If you can do it, I'll buy. If not, forget it."
"That can be arranged, but it'll cost extra," Zachary said greedily. "One gold coin per mile."
"One gold coin per mile," Luo Wei mused, "Such a bargain, Mr. Bunian. Are you sure about this?"
Zachary thought she was being sarcastic, and his lips curled mockingly under his beard: "What's wrong, Miss Luo Wei? Having second thoughts?"
"No, how could I regret such a good deal?" Luo Wei shook her head, "I'm worried you might regret it."
Zachary sneered, "I never go back on my word."
"That's good," Luo Wei said, her expression relaxing, "The place I want to send them is less than eight hundred miles from here. I'll round it up to a thousand gold coins."
Zachary gave her an odd look, surprised that this young lady was actually here to spend money on charity.
"Fine," since Luo Wei was being so generous, he readily agreed, "Two thousand gold coins, and I guarantee they'll arrive at your specified location without losing a single hair!"
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