A ringing filled his ears, high-pitched and whining. As his vision returned, everything moved sluggishly, shapes blurring into one another.
A dull, throbbing pain gripped his head.
He--he had really just been hit over the head by a club!
What came next, Qiu Yunru couldn't say. He was too busy trying not to throw up. He wasn't aware of when he was conscious, and when he was awake; only that he saw a few things, and that he couldn't stand straight.
There was a crooked wooden club. The demon who held it was short, with a black mask with no distinguishing features.
He felt his feet leave the ground. Someone was chattering, but he couldn't understand the words.
He swayed back and forth in the air. Someone must be carrying him. His mind raced with anxiety:
Where did they hit me? How hard was it? If I'm unable to move, it must have been really bad! Holy shit! What if I'm brain damaged forever? Liao Li--hasn't he noticed I've been gone!? Game menu, save me!
However, for once, it seemed that not even the game menu could heed his calls. Perhaps his brain was too foggy, or he wasn't commanding it with words well enough, or it didn't care to respond; in any case, it didn't appear. Qiu Yunru's head spun as he wept internally.
Whatever--it's not like it would have helped me anyways! Stupid game, stupid menu!
With great effort, he concentrated all his brain energy on circulating his spiritual qi. When one was sluggish and half-conscious, one's spiritual qi became the same. Thus, even if he could get it to move a little more smoothly, he might be able to use his senses a bit more.
After some time, he began to hear a little more clearly, and his vision cleared up enough that he could tell he was being carried down a dark alleyway like a sack of rice.
"...good figure," exclaimed a high-pitched voice. It was someone walking next to Qiu Yunru. Squinting, Qiu Yunru saw that it was a taller demon, also wearing a black mask. "Good proportions, noble-like. If we didn't need the gold, I'd say we should keep him for ourselves!"
"What matters is the gold," a gruff voice responded. It was the short demon carrying Qiu Yunru. "Don't get distracted. You're right; a good figure like this will fetch a high price. Madam Red likes purchasing this type."
It took Qiu Yunru a second to process all of the words. As soon as he did, he started to struggle violently.
At least, he tried. The result was that his limbs flopped weakly like beached fishes, and the demon holding him bonked his head again, causing him to go limp once more.
Are you kidding me? He thought, his internal weeping intensifying. They're selling me to a brothel--isn't that what this is?
At that moment, the game menu decided to answer his calls.
EASY LEVEL QUEST: Receive quest at brothel. Please continue to work hard! REWARD: Pending.
Pending?!?!?!
Qiu Yunru lay there limply. How can you assign a quest that's just to receive another quest? How can you say the reward is 'pending'? How can you send me on a quest that involved getting trafficked to a demon brothel? What's wrong with you, huh?!?! Are you coded to be a sadist? Are you having fun?!
They had already entered the red light district. On either side of the street, garish and elaborately painted buildings rose, with demon ladies and men standing on balconies in scandalous outfits and waving.
What was this, a bad danmei brothel plot?! How is this necessary?! Let me out, I say!
Seeming in the mood for answering, the game system pinged once more, blinding Qiu Yunru with its bright blue screen:
EASY LEVEL QUEST: Receive quest at brothel has been upgraded to REQUIRED QUEST. Please work hard!
Oh, fuck you!