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 pulled Ning Rongrong's hand and motioned for her to sit down too. The sofa in the black VIP seat is very big, not to mention two

It can accommodate three or four individuals.

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 speechless for a moment.

"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 she smiled and said: "Okay, I just want to talk to you."

Not long after the four people sat down, a scantily clad waitress came over to provide drinks and fruits. This service is also available to VIPs of purple and above. However, although this waitress was scantily clad and had a voluptuous figure, she was not enthusiastic and always stern.

He had a cold face and didn't 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 is bullying 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 said

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 the Wutong Mountain Road half a year ago. He was also wearing a mask at this time, but Ning Rongrong still recognized him with just his voice and figure.

Recognized it.

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 all commoner women who were bought by the 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 good looks and figure. Surprisingly, the waiter

Instead of resisting at all, he 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 play with the stuff underneath him.

"This..." Shui Bing'er just looked at it and couldn't accept it. She 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 a brothel in this aspect. In the empire, the regular brothel women have innocent origins, and most of them are the wives and daughters of prisoners.

, 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 Act" as early as 670 years ago. The Imperial Capital Territory and

Slaves are not allowed in the five major provinces."

Xue Qinghe's words were not only surprising to Shui Bing'er, but 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 six hundred and seventy years ago, still two hundred and forty-two years away from the palace coup that changed the continent's structure in 2237, was still a powerful centralized empire.

The promulgation of the "Abolition of Slavery" 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 twenty years.

Although fate played tricks on people, a series of subsequent events gradually weakened the Tiandou Empire. Especially after the palace coup in 2237, the four kingdoms and one principality were divided one after another. The rise of the Star Luo Empire also became more

Let this ancient empire that once had the ability to unify the continent take a sharp turn.

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

Atreus sneered: "Whether the phenomenon of slave trading 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 authorization in the military camp. But if the generals all break the law, they will be punished."

If you have no scruples, how can the soldiers in the military camp be afraid of military orders? You can go to the city to rest on the day of rest, but you have to bring the wine and sex 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 them like

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 expression 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 bosses of the store bullying customers, and she did this on purpose.

So now, her heart is full of sympathy for these poor people. Losing free souls, how sad is this, a tragic thing that outsiders cannot understand?

"Sister Bing'er, don't be sad." Ning Rongrong comforted her. Although she came today to inspect Shui Bing'er and even to "take good care of Atreus for Fraser". But Shui Bing

Her expression cannot be faked, and Ning Rongrong believes 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, 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 reluctantly at Ning Rongrong, but the sadness and compassion on her face never left her face.

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, and 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 17,000 gold soul coins. For a storage soul guide with a storage volume of only six cubic meters, this price was already high.

Pretty good.

After Ning Rongrong pressed the bidding button, the auctioneer immediately raised his hand and said loudly to them: "Black VIP No. 9, bid eighteen thousand gold soul coins. Eighteen thousand gold soul coins once!"

As soon as the auctioneer said this, he immediately received a reminder to increase the price. As an auctioneer, it is very worthy of celebration for him to be able to sell an auction item at a value for money, because this

Not only can you get more commission shares, but you can also satisfy your own mental stimulation.

"Another VIP has increased the price, 19,000 gold soul coins, from... Black VIP No. 9?"

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. 9 has increased the price again. Now this one has storage facilities."

The capable hairpin soul guide has reached 20,000 gold soul coins, is there anything higher?"

"Twenty thousand gold soul coins once!"

"Twenty thousand gold soul coins twice!"

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

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

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 and said, "Sister Bing'er, doesn't this hairpin look good? How about I personally help you put it on when you go out later?"

"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 low. 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, you could see 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 heads up. The next auction will start.

The price is 100,000 gold soul coins, and each increase in price must not be less than 10,000 gold soul coins. In the name of the big auction house, I guarantee that it will definitely be the best of the best."

____________________________

Article 1: 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 2: The Empire has the right to implement this Order by appropriate judicial, administrative, and military means.

Article 3: For families/individuals who take the initiative to terminate the slave vassal relationship and actively donate land to the freedmen who have been terminated from the slave vassal relationship, the empire will reward them with tax reductions and exemptions.

Article 4: Slave trading is prohibited within the empire. Those who report slave trading will be rewarded with 50% of the amount involved.

...

————Tian Dou Empire's "Abolition of Slavery Law", Douluo Calendar 1995.