Chapter 3 — Bought the wrong Bac Canh Vuong

I counted the money in hand, I still owed a lot of rent. The system appears again. 【Do you regret it now?】 【The real mission target is still in the black market.】 【Last night's auction ended, he was bought by the City Lord's mansion.】 【As long as you think of a way to buy him then, in the future you won't have to worry about a job.】 I hugged the bag of cookies tightly in my arms.

"I originally couldn't buy him."

【You can borrow money.】

“What if I borrow and can't pay back?”

【From now on, the mission objective will pay for you.】 I bowed my head and kicked aside the pebble on the side of the road.

"But I don't know him, and he doesn't know me either. Just because I want him to repay me in the future, I go to the rescue first, I feel a bit strange."

The system doesn't speak anymore. I walked around the street and found two shops that were recruiting people. The first store criticized me for being too skinny and unable to carry the goods. The second shop looked at my hand and said my fingertips had a thin layer of callouses from writing, so I could try going to the bookstore and asking. I thanked them, and as I entered a small alley, the paper bag in my lap was suddenly stolen. A skinny child ran away holding bread. I was startled and quickly chased after him. It hadn't run far before it fell to the ground. Paper bags torn, bread scattered. The child was so scared that his face turned white and he held his head:

“Don't hit me!”

I stopped in front of it. It looks even skinnier than me, and its clothes are also very thin. I bent down to pick up the undirty cakes and divided half of them between them.

"Don't rob next time. You can ask first."

The child looked at me bewildered. I put the remaining cakes in a torn paper bag and was about to leave when a shadow suddenly fell over my head. There was someone standing at the beginning of the alley. Her long silver-gray hair had been washed, but was still a bit tangled. One missing ear was exposed among the strands of hair, and on the end was the gauze bandage I put on last night. It's that beastman. In his hand he carried a wild rabbit he had just caught. Seeing me sharing bread with others, his face seemed even more ferocious than yesterday. I happily ran to:

“Aren't you leaving yet?”

He did not answer. Just throw the rabbit at my feet. Then he passed me and went in front of the kid who stole the cake. The child was so scared that he was shaking. The cold-faced beast extended his hand:

“Give her back.”

The child quickly gave half the bag of cookies back. I pulled the hem of the beastman's shirt:

“I gave it to you.”

He turned his head to look at me, his eyes filled with confusion. As if asking, I don't even have anything to eat myself, why would I give it to others? I stuffed the cookies back into the child's hands. Wait for it to run away before explaining:

“It's even younger than me, still growing up.”

The beastman's eyebrows furrowed even tighter. A moment later, he picked up the rabbit from the ground and stuffed it into my lap.

“Eat this.”

“You caught it?”

“Yes.”

“My leg is still injured.”

He was silent. I lowered my head and saw that the pant leg on his right leg was soaked in blood. Maybe he went out early in the morning to look for food, but his wound cracked and he didn't return until he caught this rabbit. The bridge of my nose is a little stingy. I pulled him:

“Let's go home first.”

This time he didn't keep three steps behind. He walked beside me. When he was about to reach the old neighborhood, he suddenly spoke up.

“Hach Da.”

I can't hear clearly:

“What?”

His ears suddenly pressed down a bit.

“Name.”

"My name is Hac Da."

04

Hac Da's legs were seriously injured. Last night you didn't let me see it because near the wound there is a small piece of metal stuck inside. I didn't dare take it out myself, so I took him to the only clinic in the old neighborhood. As soon as we saw the beast, the doctor asked us to pay in advance. I took out all the wages I received today, but it was still not enough.

“Can you give us the debt first?”

The doctor shook his head:

“There are still people who haven't paid last month's medicine money, so we can't owe more.”

I was thinking about whether I should ask the landlady to borrow some money or not, when Hac Da got down from the examination bed.

“No treatment.”

He pulled me out. I couldn't pull him, I could only hug his arm.

“It will be inflamed.”

“Can't die.”

“But it will hurt.”

His steps stopped. It was like no one had ever felt like pain alone was something that needed attention. The doctor sat behind the desk, his eyes fell on Hac Da's neck, and suddenly frowned.

“Wait.”

He stepped closer and pushed Hac Da's long hair aside. There is a burning mark there. Most beastmen in the black market only have identification numbers on their bodies, but the mark on the back of Hac Da's neck is much more complicated. Black lines spread across the skin, the middle part looked like it had been burned with iron over and over again, only a vague patch remained. The doctor's expression gradually became serious.

“You used to belong to the Northern Landscape Corps?”

Hach Da immediately pushed his hand away. The claws popped out, eyes filled with killing intent. The doctor took a step back in fear. I quickly grabbed Hac Da's wrist.

"It's okay, we won't ask anymore."

His breathing was very rapid. It wasn't until I gently tapped the back of my hand twice that the claws slowly retracted. The doctor did not dare to come closer, just stood from afar looking at him:

“I can treat his wound, but you two must promise not to go out after talking.”

I don't understand why. But as long as it can be healed, it's okay. When removing the metal piece, anesthetic cannot be used. Hac Da's body has a very strong rejection reaction to common drugs. The doctor was afraid something would happen to him so he could only take action directly. I sat next to the examination bed and asked him to hold my hand.

“If it hurts, just squeeze my hand.”

Hac Da glanced at my thin wrist and calmly said:

“It will break.”

“Then you hold the bed.”

He grabbed the edge of the bed. As soon as the doctor lowered the knife, the wooden bed board cracked. I was so heartbroken that my eyes darkened. Perhaps this also requires compensation. Hac Da seemed to see what I was thinking and tried to let go. His forehead was covered with cold sweat. I had no choice but to give him my sleeve.

“Bite this, it won't cost you money.”

He looked at me for a moment then bent down. I thought he really wanted to bite me, I was so scared that I closed my eyes. But he just rested his forehead on my shoulder. Hot breath. His fingers gently grabbed the hem of my shirt. When the doctor took out the metal piece, his body trembled violently, but from beginning to end he did not make a sound. I raised my hand and rubbed his uninjured ear.

“Almost done.”

His ears are very soft. It trembled slightly in my palm, but did not shy away. After the wound was treated, the doctor gave us some medicine. He didn't charge me for the examination, he just asked me to help organize a backlog of medical records. I know how to write and do these things very quickly. Busy until late in the evening, not only did I pay the full examination fee, but the doctor also gave me more some coins. When he left, he called me aside to the door.

"That beastman's identity is not simple. The mark on his body is very similar to the symbol of the Northern Landscape Corps."

I'm a bit nervous:

“Did he ever avoid military service?”

The doctor shook his head.

"Ordinary soldiers do not have the right to bear this mark. This is the seal used by the royal family of Bac Canh and the bodyguards. The lines on the outside represent the army, the middle part is really used to distinguish the status."

He looked behind Hac Da's neck again.

“But the mark in his middle has been destroyed, now we can only see that he must have been from the royal family before.”

I turned my head to look. Hac Da is sitting on the steps outside the clinic. He was impatient to wait for me, but his tail was tightly wrapped around the paper bag containing the medicine, afraid of losing it. No matter how you look at it, it doesn't look like a royal guard. I told the doctor:

“Maybe it's just the same pattern.”

The doctor wasn't sure either, just told me to be careful. On the way home, I didn't ask Hac Da. Everyone has something they don't want to say. I also didn't tell him about being fired from the bakery. Two people who were so poor that their pockets were empty, without needing the first day, increased each other's troubles. The landlady helped deal with the wild rabbit. I gave her one thigh, and put the rest in the pot to stew with a few pieces of potato. The fragrance spread throughout the room. This was my best meal in months. Hac Da picked up all the meat in his bowl for me. I picked it up again. Pushing back and forth, the piece of meat finally fell onto the table. We were silent at the same time.