The woman asking questions earlier unchained Laluri and took her aside. After that, Abdin chose the grey-haired man and the girl called Sanata.

Sanata was a full-grown woman who was even more attractive than Laluri. She had shorn hair like a man. He chose her just for laluri's sake. He had noticed earlier on that she was the only one who stood closer to Laluri. All the others stood away as if afraid she might infect them with something. If his guess was correct, then there was a good relationship between the two girls.

The man, however, would be useful for doing works unsuitable for women.

"Wait for me over there." Abdin pointed toward the door to his house. He then turned to Denyanu. "What are you going to do with the remaining slaves? You can't sell them off now. They saw the castle and heard everything we talked about."

Denyanu scratched the back of his head. "I haven't thought about it, but I will accept anything you decide."

Denyanu and his men came into the castle hoping for treasures. They never thought to find any spirit ki, despite being informed by Abdin. And, of course, they didn't intend to stay. But things changed when they came in and felt the spirit ki. Now they must plan what to do with their lives and wealth. Unbeknownst to them, Abdin had already planned everything for them even before he decided to invite them.

"Why don't you leave them for the castle?" Suggested Abdin. "They could sweep and do the laundry and even cook. They could become the servants of the castle. When your indenture ends and you are to leave, then I would give you other slaves or money in their stead."

The party agreed, and the slaves officially became the servants of the castle.

A little house stood near the gates. Abdin loaned them the house. There was a water supply system and even drainage. But the houses were empty. No furniture or food.

Denyanu beat his chest pridefully. "You needn't bother about that, Commander." He stepped forward and produced three bags of holding, toppling the contents before Abdin.

Abdin smiled. There was frozen meat and more than seven gutted cows. There was also foodstuff and tinder, some bedding, and clothing, which were mostly new.

According to Denyanu, his party was also in the business of buying and selling fabrics and furniture. They were into all and every sort of trade as long as they could gain profit.

He wasn't lying, but they traded less for the gain and more to disguise themselves. By Abdin's estimation, Juwaira had taken enough wealth while fleeing from Shurein to run a small kingdom. And he would gradually convince her to bring it all out. He planned to build his city with it.

Abdin had seven thousand Ayrid tied to his belt, which he used to purchase some beddings and six sets of clothes. Two for men and the rest for women. He would have a change of clothes for his slaves and himself.

The foodstuff he took on loan, despite Denyanu's protest that it was a gift.

"That house should serve as the cooking house."

Abdin pointed to one of the houses neighboring the slave quarters. Those two houses had protection that would prevent them from vanishing. And no portal had ever appeared near them. Thus the slaves who were without any cultivation would be safe there.

Four slaves that had excellent culinary skills were chosen and taken to the house. A guard was posted by their door. The rest of them would be doing the laundry and cleaning or running errands.

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At least, they were now unshackled and free from slavery. They were the servants of Abd city like everyone else and could cultivate if they wanted to.

Despite Abdin's efforts, these mundane tasks took almost a day.

Right now, he was sitting in his room. Laluri and the two other slaves knelt before him. The old grey-haired man, who Abdin discovered was named Somal, was there. And Sanata, the girl with the shorn hairstyle, was also there.

Their story was the same. They were captured from the fallen Dikan empire after the Biyakis empire conquered it.

The strangest story was that of Laluri. She wasn't from Dikan and the name given to her by her parents was Laluri. Even with all the names in the world, her parents decided to name her that.

Abdin wanted to discuss this with her so he dismissed Somal and Sanata. He turned to face the young woman. "Laluri or Lalura?" He asked.

"La... Laluri, Commander." She stuttered.

Abdin sighed. "Are you aware of its meaning in Juyad?"

"They told me... It means problem." Her tone was low as if she feared offending him.

Abdin scratched his forehead with bitterness. He couldn't fathom the amount of injustice that was involved in naming the girl. It was unfair even if the parents hated her. Why not some other less acidic name?

"And you said I shouldn't rename you?" Asked Abdin. They had started talking about it on their way to the building.

Laluri nodded. "If it wouldn't be a bother to Commander, I would like to honor my parents by keeping the name they gave me."

He wanted to tell her that no parents who loved their child ever named them that, as long as they knew what the name meant. But he wouldn't waste his breath since she liked it.

At that moment, he heard some movement from behind the door. Thinking it was Sanata eavesdropping, he activated his spiritual sense to confirm. He might need to punish that girl.

But then his brow creased in confusion. "Show yourself," he demanded, looking directly at the door.

There was a pause before princess Juwaira entered. Her face was still covered but he could now see her bright eyes. They stared at each other before she turned and left without speaking.

She was almost to the door when she glanced back. This time, it was Laluri she stared at. For a split second, something like fear passed through her eyes before it vanished. She returned her gaze to him for a second before she quickly left.

Though she tried to hide it, Abdin had witnessed all these exchanges between her and Laluri. He turned to the slave girl. She was still kneeling with a bowed head. The picture of innocence.

But something didn't feel right.

The short moment of fear that was shown on the princess' face... Why would a princess look at her slave with such an expression? And why did she come and go away without saying anything?

Admittedly, it was hard to read someone's expression by just looking at their eyes, but fear was the most apparent emotion. Abdin had seen it too many times to mistake it.

The look she gave him was curious, but he couldn't put a finger on what she meant by it. From his investigations, Juwaira was self-respecting, causing some to see her as arrogant. There was no way she would come to his room without a valid reason. It was also against most royal ethics.

He turned to Laluri. Perhaps she had the explanation he needed. "Can you tell me your relationship with her?"

"I'm... a slave, my lord."

Abdin smiled. This sounded like the kind of lie a kid would tell when caught red-handed. He turned serious and asked again.

"Lying is not among the qualities of a good person. Why don't you tell me the truth, and then I would take care of it?"

His gut was telling him Laluri was the problem, but he couldn't understand how this well-mannered and timid young woman could do anything that could frighten Juwaira or any other person for that matter.

Laluri lowered her head and didn't reply. Abdin repeated his question but all in vain. It was as if she wasn't listening to him.

Many things spun through his mind at that moment. He had known everything about Juwaira's party. It could rightly be said that he had spent four years stalking them, and he knew them even before then.

But he had never met Laluri until now. But that wasn't surprising given her status as a slave. Slaves were purchased and resold. She wasn't with them three months ago. Did something happen in that span of three months?

He pushed the thought away from his mind after some rumination. Whatever happened was probably just between them. He would gradually know about it. But he needed the answer to one question now.

"Are you a witch of darkness?" He asked

The young woman's demeanor became more withdrawn, and her eyes began to brighten with unshed tears. With a lot of effort, she opened her mouth and replied, "They said...I am a dark witch."

Abdin roared with laughter. "Hmm. Is that it?" He didn't wait for her answer and went on, "Then you need to relax because dark witchcraft doesn't exist. Only cultivation does. Good and evil cultivators. That's all there is to it. Do you understand?"