Chapter 159: Buying One's Freedom

"Ah, let go, let go quickly!" Xue'er cried out in pain, her hands grabbing wildly. The blond man's hand was grazed, and he instantly yanked it back.

"You stole my stuff and still dare to hurt my hand? Damn it, if I don't make you lie down and sing *Conquer* tonight, I'm a bastard! Everyone, together!" The blond man sucked in a cold breath through the corner of his mouth, looked down at the three bloody scratches on the back of his hand, and his face twisted with malice.

The men and women behind him surged forward together. Xue'er did not wait passively to be captured; she suddenly stood up with a spray bottle in her hand and began blindly spraying it into the air.

"Ah!" The overlapping screams of the man and woman in the lead rang out. One collapsed into the sofa while the other sat heavily on the floor, both clutching their eyes. The two men and one woman trailing behind slammed on the brakes and dared not advance further.

Without a second word, Xue'er turned and bolted. A fierce glint flashed in the blond man's eyes as he snatched a wine bottle from the coffee table and hurled it at Xue'er's retreating back.

*Thud!* The bottle struck Xue'er squarely in the back with tremendous force, producing a dull, heavy thud. She staggered a couple of steps. Taking advantage of this slowed momentum, the blond man lunged forward, raised his foot, and kicked Xue'er flying. Her head struck the corner of the sofa, and she crashed heavily to the ground.

Following that, the blond man and his group swarmed forward and completely subdued her.

At that moment, the bar's security guards rushed over, accompanied by the female manager, who immediately demanded, "What is going on here?"

The blond man pointed at Xue'er and said to the female manager, "Five days ago at Night KTV, she stole my watch. The next day I specifically checked the surveillance footage and confirmed it was her. I waited for her at Night for two nights, but she didn't show up. Then I searched for her for another two days, running through seven or eight venues, and finally caught her today."

Xue'er shook her head in panic. "Manager, I didn't steal anything. I... I picked it up..."

The female manager's expression turned icy. Xue'er had already admitted to picking it up, but in the manager's eyes, picking up and stealing were no different. Stealing from customers was a cardinal taboo in nightlife venues; frankly speaking, getting her fingers chopped off wouldn't be going too far.

"Young Master Luo, I'm so sorry," the female manager said to Luo Song with an apologetic expression. "How about I find another companion for your friend? Tonight's tab is on the house."

The manager's intent was crystal clear: she was going to let these people take Xue'er away. To be honest, this incident had completely ruined Luo Song's mood. Hong Chen was no ordinary friend; he was someone the Luo family needed to curry favor with. For a hostess accompanying guests to turn out to be a thief—if Hong Chen were paranoid, it wouldn't be impossible for him to suspect this was some kind of setup by Luo Song.

"Young master, save me! I really didn't steal it, I just picked it up!" Xue'er was terrified to the extreme, realizing the manager was abandoning her. She looked pleadingly at Hong Chen.

If he were going to save her, he would have intervened earlier. If Xue'er were being bullied by a bunch of thugs for no reason, Hong Chen might have spoken up. But these people had come forward openly to catch a thief, and they clearly weren't lying. What reason did he have to stop them?

Just because Xue'er was an innocent-looking, pretty young girl? Heh, no matter how pretty she was, could she compare to Lin Yuxin or Mo Fei? Top-tier beauties of that caliber couldn't make Hong Chen lose his head, let alone a bar hostess.

He casually fished a wad of cash from his pocket—around two thousand yuan, as carrying cash was a habit of his—and tossed it onto the coffee table, gesturing to it. "This is your tip."

The meaning was simple: take the money and leave!

"Forget about waving the tab, just arrange a new one. If my friend isn't satisfied, you can give this booth number one to someone else from now on." Seeing Hong Chen's stance, Luo Song gave instructions to the female manager. She hastily nodded in agreement, then picked up the money from the table and shoved it into Xue'er's hands. With a stern face, she said, "Take what the boss rewarded you with. Don't even dream about getting your wages for the past three days. And don't ever set foot in this bar again, or I'll make sure you can't walk out of here on your own two feet."

Despair filled Xue'er's eyes. Once she was dragged away, she knew all too well what awaited her. A flash of struggle crossed her features before she suddenly gritted her teeth, forcefully wrenched herself free from the two people holding her arms, and dropped to her knees before Hong Chen with a heavy thud.

With reddened eyes and a rapid-fire delivery, Xue'er pleaded, "Young master, I beg you to say a word for me! I really didn't steal anything. I know that things picked up in nightlife venues are supposed to be handed in. I admit I felt greedy because I need the money to save my younger brother's life. If I can't scrape together enough money to buy back his freedom, he'll die."

As she spoke, she fished a bank card out from her clothes. "I can pay for his watch, I can pay double! Young master, I beg you to help me..."

She then kowtowed heavily three times. The blond man and his companions moved to pull Xue'er away, but the female manager blocked them. In her heart, she hoped Hong Chen would soften and help Xue'er weather this storm. If he did, there would be no dissatisfaction, and she wouldn't lose Luo Song as a major client. Besides, why should women make things hard for women? She had climbed her way up from a hostess to a PR manager herself and deeply understood the hardships and bitterness involved.

Looking at the pitiful Xue'er kneeling before him, Hong Chen didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Having inexplicably received three deep bows without even saying a word for the poor girl seemed a bit too cold-blooded. He raised his eyes to look at the blond man. "How much is that watch of yours? If it's not too expensive, I'll pay you for it and call it even. It's pointless to pick on a girl."

The blond man looked reluctant, but the female manager chimed in, "Handsome, this young lady has it hard too, and she's willing to pay compensation. Why not let her off the hook this once? Name your price."

She then leaned in close to the blond man and whispered, "This is booth number one. Not even our boss can afford to offend these guests, and a single word from them carries immense weight. Why not give way a little, and I'll give way a little? People come out to play just to have fun, there's no need to make things unpleasant."

The blond man's expression shifted several times. He didn't think the female manager was deliberately bluffing him; he was a veteran of the nightlife scene and naturally recognized the Pink Gold KTV. At five thousand yuan a bottle, there were over a dozen right on the table, not to mention other expenses. His total tab would easily exceed one hundred thousand. Earlier, in a fit of rage, he had thrown a bottle at Xue'er, yet Luo Song and the others hadn't demanded he pay for it—evidently, these people were either extremely wealthy or of high social standing.

"I bought that Rolex for close to fifty thousand, and after wearing it for a few years, its value went up by tens of thousands. Then these past few days spent looking for her cost me travel and trouble fees. Plus, she scratched my hand just now and sprayed something in my friend's face—add it all up to one hundred thousand, and we'll call it even." After weighing his options, the blond man decided to compromise and named his figure after doing some mental math.

"I only pawned that watch for twenty thousand!" Xue'er immediately countered.

The blond man's face darkened. "Are you saying I'm intentionally ripping you off?"

The female manager said coldly, "Xiaoxue, the pawnshop gave you twenty thousand, but a specialty store's retail price is at least three times that. One hundred thousand isn't an outrageous price. Don't forget, you're the one who did wrong first."

Xue'er looked imploringly at Hong Chen again. Hong Chen shrugged. "I've already spoken up for you. As for the rest, you'll have to figure it out yourself."

In the end, the female manager showed some consideration by helping Xue'er cover ten thousand yuan, leaving her to pay ninety thousand. The blond man and his group left, and Hong Chen didn't bother changing hostesses, letting Xue'er stay. While the girl wasn't great at accompanying guests for drinks, she was quite attentive when it came to serving people.

Luo Song and the others selectively forgot the little episode that had just occurred, and naturally, Hong Chen didn't bring it up either. However, Xue'er hesitated to speak several times, seemingly wanting to offer an explanation, though it ultimately dissolved into silence.

After playing for over three hours, it was nearly eleven-thirty when Luo Song suggested changing venues. Hong Chen and the others had no objections. Luo Song settled the bill, and as for tips, Hong Chen gave Xue'er another thousand-plus yuan on his own accord. Xue'er didn't take it; instead, stammering, she said, "Young master, I heard you guys talking earlier about going to the midnight auction house. I can't get in there. Could you please take me with you? I... I need to buy back my younger brother's freedom."

Hong Chen was slightly surprised. He glanced at Luo Song, but Yuan Shuang chimed in with a shock, "Your brother wouldn't happen to be a lot item on the auction block, would he?"

Xue'er's expression turned unnatural, but she still nodded. "When my mom was critically ill and the family couldn't afford her medical bills, my younger brother borrowed loan shark money. When he couldn't pay it back later, those people forced him to sign an indenture contract. After training for three months, he's going to be auctioned off at the midnight auction today and tomorrow."

As if afraid of being misunderstood, she added to Hong Chen, "For the past three months or so, I've worked at a hotel during the day and accompanied guests at nightlife venues at night, and I borrowed some more. I've already scraped together enough money to buy his freedom. I just beg you to take me inside."

Bringing along one more person was no big deal. Hong Chen didn't mind, nodded in agreement, and shoved the thousand-plus yuan back into Xue'er's hand.

Leaving the bar, the two cars drove for a quarter of an hour before turning into the basement of a stadium. After parking, the group navigated a couple of turns through a corridor until they reached a heavy iron door. Luo Song flashed a membership card, and the guarding security personnel checked it before letting them pass.

Upon entering, a wave of noise hit them head-on. A massive combat arena came into view. Hong Chen smiled inexplicably—it was similar to the venue of the martial arts tournament he'd attended previously, except instead of a raised platform, this place was modeled after an ancient Roman amphitheater, viewed downward from top to bottom.

At that moment, the surrounding spectator seats were about sixty percent full. In the circular combat arena below, a man in armor was locked in fierce combat with a bare-chested, bald man.

"Young Master Chen, things reach their climax starting at one o'clock. Let's head to the neighboring auction house first; the midnight auction starts in five minutes right at midnight." Luo Song checked his watch and pointed toward a side corridor. Li Chengming and Yuan Shuang both looked excited, barely able to contain themselves.

*Boom!*

Just as Hong Chen nodded, a burst of cheers suddenly erupted. Down in the combat arena, the armored man took a direct headbutt to the face from the bald man. Though his face was covered in blood, he showed no weakness as he kicked the bald man flying. The heavy body slammed onto the ground with a resounding thud that struck heavy against one's heartbeat. Fresh blood vomited continuously from the bald man's mouth.

The bloody spectacle stirred the emotions of the spectators, while Xue'er's face instantly drained of color, her entire body trembling.

Hong Chen glanced at her and quickly guessed the truth. He asked in a low voice, "Is it true that if your brother is won by someone else at the auction, he'll have to fight publicly just like the two guys down there?"

Xue'er's autumn-water eyes quivered, filled with unbearable pain and terror. Her teeth bit a faint line of blood into her soft lip. "If someone wins him at the auction, he has to go down and fight—two matches every weekend, with a minimum of ten matches. It's not just one-on-one combat; I've heard there are group fights until everyone on one side goes down, and sometimes even fights between a few people and a pack of wolves. Every single match requires signing a life-and-death waiver."

Hong Chen wasn't overly surprised. Underground boxing matches, combat sports, and the like inherently used blood and life to entertain audiences. Still, for the young girl before him, knowing her own flesh and blood was about to be thrown into that meat grinder was undeniably cruel.