Looking at the smiling faces in front of her, Carina felt a little nervous. Subconsciously, she took two steps back. There were other people in the alley, but they seemed to be used to this kind of thing. Each of them looked indifferent and indifferent. Poverty had made them infinitely numb to the outside world.
The leader grinned and took two steps forward. Just as he was about to say something, a black shadow loomed over his head, and his smile froze on the corner of his mouth.
"Cauchy?"
"She's my guest, Andy." A black man with a bull-like body appeared behind the female merchant and said coldly.
A few young hoodlums looked at each other, and the leader, a teenager named Andy, immediately raised his hands and squeezed out a smile from his freckled face. "This is a misunderstanding, Cauchy, we won't make things difficult for your guests."
After that, they obediently retreated to the entrance of the alley. Carina breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you."
"Don't thank me yet. Check if your purse is still there," said the black man named Cauchy.
Carina was shocked when she heard that. She reached into her pocket, but she couldn't find her purse anywhere. Then, she seemed to have remembered something. "Where are those kids?"
"Don't worry. I know where they are. I will help you find your purse," said Cauchy. "Let's go. He's waiting for you."
The strong black man brought Carina to a slaughterhouse. Several workers were busy killing pigs, and they turned a blind eye to the two of them. Carina followed Cauchy down to the cellar, and finally, she saw the black gladiator.
The last time they met was a month ago. Carina was entrusted by Zhang Heng to give Laeli some funds. After that, Laeli disappeared, and he only contacted her two days ago.
"Thank you, Cauchy."
The owner of the slaughterhouse nodded at Laeli, turned around, and walked out of the cellar.
"Cauchy isn't a member of the tribe, but he can be trusted. No one dares to mess with him in this alley, and he has helped me a lot recently," said the black gladiator when only the two of them were left in the cellar.
"I'm sorry, I had no choice but to meet you here. Malcolm is a very cautious man, but he also has his weaknesses. He focuses all his attention on powerful opponents. He spends time and energy studying them, like Captain Zhang Heng and you. He will analyze your personalities, behavior patterns, family backgrounds, and even childhood experiences to find effective ways to deal with you …"
"Everyone's energy is limited. Malcolm focuses all of his attention on you. He doesn't care about others, especially those he doesn't think are important. Even if they live right beside him, he doesn't care about them. For example, me or the other slaves in Terrance's manor.
"In his eyes, we are no different from the trees in the manor. When I was dragged out of the banquet hall, he no longer cared about my life or death. The overseer wouldn't tell him that I was sold. However, if he finds out that I'm in contact with you, he will realize that I'm not dead yet. Then, he will start to assess the threat I pose to him, and that will bring trouble to my activities."
"I understand," said Carina.
"Let's get back to your father." Laeli briefly explained why he chose to meet Carina here. "I used my method to contact the tribesmen in the manor. As I said before, they are no different from trees in Malcolm's eyes. However, most of them can't help much. The young laborers can't even leave the orchards and farms. Most of the maids are only responsible for cleaning and receiving people. They don't have access to anything valuable, but there's one exception. Her name is Leah."
"Leah?"
"She's a very special child. When she was in the tribe, she showed that she was different from the others. Malcolm must have noticed this, so he focused on training her. He didn't let her receive guests like the others. Not only did he teach her the language, but he also taught her how to read. After that, she began to help Malcolm with some paperwork, such as writing greeting letters, invitations, and the like. Other than that, he asked Leah to clean his study every Saturday. No one is allowed to enter that place except him."
Laeli paused for a moment. "Anyway, I contacted Leah through the tribesmen. She agreed to help us look for evidence that Malcolm framed your father. However, she only cleans the study for a quarter of an hour each time. She needs to finish her work first before she can move around freely. She also needs to avoid the guards outside the door. That's why it took us so long to finally find something."
The black gladiator took out a letter from his pocket. "I don't understand what's written on it, but Leah said that this thing might be able to help you."
Karina took the letter, and after reading two lines, her expression changed. The content of the letter was simple. It was sent from Malcolm's family, and the content was vague. It only told her that they would be inviting Count Slaughter over for dinner, and that the trouble was basically solved. The date of the letter's signature was exactly half a month after his father was sent to prison.
Based on what Laeli had heard before, the contents of the letter confirmed that Malcolm was indeed related to his father's imprisonment. Laeli looked at Carina. "What do you think? Can this letter help you bring him down?"
The latter tried her best to suppress the hatred in her heart, forcing herself to remain rational. In the end, she shook her head and said, "This thing might cause him some trouble, but it's not enough. We need more direct evidence to prove that he was the mastermind behind my father's imprisonment."
Karina hesitated for a moment, but in the end, she returned the letter to the black gladiator. "Put this thing back. Don't let Leah get suspected."
Laeli nodded. "Don't worry. We're getting close. I'll ask Leah to continue her search. I'll inform you if she finds anything."
"Tell her to be careful too. Oh, right. Is the money I gave you still enough?"
"There's more than half left, miss."
"Look for me if it's not enough." After the meeting with the black gladiator, Karina left the slaughterhouse. Outside the slaughterhouse, not only did Cauchy return the money she had lost, but he also escorted her out of Smoked Fish Alley.
After thanking Cauchy, Karina took the carriage to Malone. She watched as boxes of goods were loaded onto the Gentle Breeze. For some reason, she felt uneasy.
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