Veer thought to himself, "The world may change, but human nature is the same everywhere."
...
Veer had also decided that if the girl chose the highest bidder, he would immediately leave the place. People like that were not worth helping anyway.
As soon as the competition started in the crowd, the price quickly began to rise, and the onlookers, who had come to watch the scene, couldn't stop themselves from being astonished.
Earlier, when the girl had refused to show her face, no one had offered to help her. Only one kind young man had been willing to give her ten silver coins for her mother's funeral.
But as soon as the girl revealed her beautiful face, the men who had initially shown no interest in paying were now fighting like madmen for her. There was no difference between them and animals.
"I will give one hundred silver coins!" said the plump man in a low voice and then yelled, "If anyone offers more than me, they can take this girl with them. Otherwise, she will go with me today!"
One hundred silver coins!
The people who were bidding before shut their mouths.
One hundred silver coins was no small amount.
In their opinion, the girl wasn't worth such a price.
"Thank you all… thank you!"
When the plump man saw that no one was bidding anymore, he smiled and began thanking the people around him.
Then, staring at the girl who was kneeling, he said with greedy eyes, "From now on, you are my servant."
Suddenly, a harsh voice interrupted, "I… will give two hundred silver coins!"
The crowd turned toward the voice and saw a young man wearing silk clothes, who looked a little ill, walking lightly toward the girl.
"Pranav Ahuja?"
Veer immediately recognized the dissolute young man; he was the son of the head of one of the three most powerful families in Sanchi, the Ahuja family.
He was only 15 years old, but he had ruined the lives of many girls from prestigious families. He was infamous throughout the Sanchi town for his immoral actions.
If he weren't the son of the head of the Ahuja family, he would have been beaten to death a long time ago!
"Someone like you, disgusting, can offer two hundred coins?"
The plump man said, glaring at Pranav Ahuja with disdain. He didn't notice that, since Pranav Ahuja had arrived, most of the people around were showing signs of fear.
"You are not from Sanchi, are you? You seem new here," Pranav Ahuja said in a heavy voice, looking at the plump man.
"Yes! I'm a merchant from outside who has experienced the world… Don't think I didn't notice you're wearing silk. But who knows, maybe you stole it from somewhere..? The moment I saw your weak face, I realized you're nothing but a poor man. You wear royal clothes, but you don't look like a prince. I'm afraid you won't even be able to produce five silver coins, let alone two hundred!"
The plump man looked at Pranav Ahuja with contempt.
"Hahaha!"
Veer couldn't hold back his laughter. The faces of the people around him also turned red as they tried to stifle their laughter. They were all afraid of Pranav Ahuja and thus didn't dare to laugh out loud.
"You… surely want to die!"
Pranav Ahuja glanced at Veer, then looked at the plump man and took a deep breath.
The plump man was still in shock when Pranav Ahuja suddenly yelled, "You all are useless. Why are you standing there like fools? Hurry up and beat this fatso to death! Don't you know who I am? I'm Pranav Ahuja!"
"Yes, Master!"
Three strong young men, about the same age as Pranav Ahuja, stepped out from the crowd and surrounded the plump man.
The plump man was completely stunned.
He had only recently arrived in Sanchi but had heard about the most famous people in the town, and one of them was Pranav Ahuja, the son of the head of the Ahuja family.
Pranav Ahuja was a notorious thug in Sanchi who used his family's power to intimidate men and abduct women. Since the Ahuja family was a powerful one in Sanchi, many people didn't dare to fight Pranav Ahuja.
"Oh... I'm sorry. I'm blind, I didn't recognize you. I didn't know you were the son of the head of the Ahuja family. Please forgive my mistake. This girl is now your servant!"
The color drained from the plump man's face. Cold sweat dripped from his forehead, and his voice became humble and respectful.
Pranav Ahuja coldly said, "It's too late to beg for mercy. Now you have to die!"
"I'm sorry, young master. I'm sorry… I will never make such a mistake again."
The three muscular young men began to beat the plump man. They kept hitting him until he was almost dead.
The crowd intentionally took a few steps back and started watching from a distance. They were afraid that they too might face the same fate as the plump man.
The plump man was still begging for mercy. But Pranav Ahuja acted as though he couldn't hear the man's voice.
"Listen, girl, come with me to my house. I will give you two hundred silver coins and also perform your mother's funeral. If you come with me, I will treat you with great love, and maybe… make you my wife."
Pranav looked at the kneeling girl with lustful eyes. He reached out his hand to grab her...
The girl panicked seeing Pranav and tried to stand, but her legs were shaking from kneeling for so long.
"Little master, I was already bought for ten silver coins. I am only their servant in this life..." The girl, trembling, said, hiding behind Veer.
"Ten silver coins? Didn't you hear that I'm offering two hundred silver coins?"
Pranav Ahuja said angrily. He felt betrayed.
"I never asked anyone to bid for me. I said that whoever would help bury my mother first would become my servant." The girl said firmly.
"You are honest… I like that about you! But even if you want to become this boy's servant, he won't dare make you his servant. Am I right, boy?"
Pranav said, glaring at Veer. His eyes showed cunning.
Although Veer recognized Pranav, Pranav didn't recognize Veer.
"Master, save me..."
The girl grabbed Veer's arm and said nervously. Veer was her last hope.
She had heard about Pranav's immoral actions. She knew that if she went with him, her life would become hell. She would rather die than become his servant.
"Don't worry!"
Veer lightly patted the back of her hand and comforted her with a soft smile.
Her anxiety diminished a little upon seeing his smile, which felt like a new life to her.
"Little master, this fat one is unconscious now."
The plump man had been beaten until he was covered in blood.
"For now, forget about him. Come here and see… someone is trying to take this girl from me," Pranav said with a mocking smile, looking at Veer.
"Who dares take a woman from Young Master Pranav?" Pranav's three companions said, glaring at Veer.
"If you don't want to die, leave now!"
Veer said to them. His voice was deep and different, as though the god of death himself was speaking. Anyone who heard Veer's voice felt their heart freeze for a moment. Pranav and his three companions were also stunned.
Whispers spread through the crowd. Who is this boy? Where did he come from?
Pranav, with a devilish grin, asked, "Do you know who I am?" He felt that Veer might not know his identity yet.
Stepping out of the crowd, Veer grabbed the girl's delicate hand and said in a harsh voice to Pranav,
"What do you have besides the Ahuja family? Everything you have is thanks to your family or ancestors. What do you have on your own? Besides relying on your family's power to bully men and abduct women, what can you do? I truly wonder… what will happen to you if one day the Ahuja family no longer exists?"
Pranav, enraged, yelled at his three companions,
"Kill this boy!"
"Yes, Master!"
At the command, the three servants rushed toward Veer.
"You wait here, I'll be right back," Veer said with a slight smile, looking at the girl. He wasn't afraid of those three thugs at all. He had already observed that the strongest among them was only at the second level of the physical realm, so they posed no threat to him.
Veer first defended himself against their attack. He quickly turned his body in all directions and leaned back a bit. His whole body became like a bow, stretched to its limit, waiting to release.
"Falling Punch!"
Veer threw his right fist out like an arrow from a bowstring. All his strength was concentrated in his fist. The first strike of the Falling Punch hit one of the three thugs on the spine...
Crack!
The thug let out a harsh, sharp scream and panicked; he fell to the ground unconscious.
This scene was similar to the one when Veer defeated Ravi earlier in the morning... the only difference was that Veer had shown mercy on Ravi and only crippled one of his hands.
But this time, he showed no mercy and broke his opponent's spine.
The faces of the other two thugs turned pale upon seeing this. The strongest among them couldn't even withstand one punch from Veer. So how could the other two possibly face him?
However, when Veer's gaze fell on them, they reluctantly decided to face him. They knew that whether they attacked Veer or not, he would definitely attack them.
For Veer, facing two first-level warriors of the physical realm was as easy as playing a game.
Taking a step forward, he raised his hands and struck down with both fists. His punches landed on the thugs' heads, knocking them unconscious.
The punch Veer used this time was not the Falling Punch but another boxing technique called the Power Punch.
Now, only Pranav remained to face Veer, as his companions had already been defeated.
Even though Pranav Ahuja was the son of the head of the Ahuja family, his life of indulgence had drained his body's strength, and he was only at the first level of the physical realm. His strength was even weaker than his three companions.
"You… don't come near me… I am the son of the head of the Ahuja family... If you even try to touch me, your entire family will be killed!"
Pranav's face turned pale as he saw Veer approaching.
Veer, with a cold smile on his face, said, "You're not even fit to be my enemy."
The crowd slowly began to disperse, and their discussions clearly revealed how happy they were about Pranav's misfortune.
Veer followed the girl to her dilapidated room and spent some silver coins on her mother's burial.
"Take this money and start some business."
Veer handed the remaining silver coins to the girl as he spoke.
"Master, did I do something wrong? Do you... not like me?"
The girl's body began to tremble. Her face turned pale. Until now, she had thought that maybe Veer would always protect her, but now all her hopes were shattering.
Veer shook his head in disagreement.
"What are you thinking? You only tried to sell yourself to bury your mother because you had no other choice. I helped you because if I hadn't, those people—who were no better than animals—would have destroyed your life. You might not even have gotten a chance to regret it. You don't need to become my servant!"
From the beginning, Veer hadn't intended to make the girl his servant. He himself had been an orphan in his past life, so he understood how the world treated people like her.
"Master, you are a good person. Please let me follow you... My mother is gone, and I have no one left in this world." The girl extended her hand and grabbed Veer's arm, speaking in a tearful voice.
Seeing the hope in her eyes, Veer thought for a moment... and then said,
"Alright, you can come with me to my house."
"Thank you, Master!"
The girl immediately smiled like a flower.
When Veer left the Mishra family's mansion, he was alone, but when he returned, there was another person with him.
As they returned, many of the Mishra family's disciples were captivated by the girl's beauty. They all started speculating about her identity and her relationship with Veer.