Dragon Clouds City, Spear District.
Old Brook extinguished the Everlasting Lamp he had lit to attract customers. He lamented about another bad day without any business.
Spear District was an interesting place. It was not as poor and backward as Shield District and Hammer District, nor was it as honorable as Axe District and Arrow District. In fact, it was not as lively as Bow District, Sword District, and Armor District. However, the slope of Dragon Clouds City was relatively high. Most of the people who lived here were the family members of the king's loyal servants who held official positions but could not get their titles, or the commoner merchants who were rich but could not live in the nobles' district. Hence, Spear District became an awkward place.
But Old Brook, who was the owner of the inn, was one of the few who made use of this awkward situation to make a living. He saw a business opportunity hidden in it.
Old Brook's inn was clean and tidy. The decorations were not too bad. Although it was not as expensive, it always attracted customers who were neither high nor low in status. For example, wealthy merchants or craftsmen, or declining nobles who did not want to lose their dignity despite not being rich, or tourists who came from afar and did not understand the local market.
These people were usually people who came from other places and were waiting to meet the 'important people'. They did not have the right to stay in Axe District and Arrow District for too long, and they did not want to lower their status in the messy Sword District and Bow District either. Of course, the lowly Shield District and Hammer District were out of the question. Hence, they usually chose to stay in Spear District, which was Old Brook's inn, which was orderly and not shabby.
After countless hardships, Old Brook and his family settled down in Spear District.
Unfortunately, ever since Prince Moriah was assassinated, the relationship between the two kingdoms in the Western Peninsula suddenly became tense.
Rumors of conscription, tax increase, war, and a shortage of goods spread. The tense atmosphere in the city caused Old Brook's business to plummet for the past month or so. Recently, he only had one guest staying in the inn. He could only sigh at his bad luck. Then, as usual, he cut costs from the purchase of alcohol and the wages of the odd-job workers to maintain the inn's survival.
When news of the Prince of Constellation's arrival arrived, he thought that the crisis was over.
Then, last night, Old Brook woke up from his sleep with a start.
The moon had pity on him!
Why were there countless patrols hurrying through the streets at night?
What were those terrifying loud noises last night?
What were those thunderous booms in the latter half of the night?
Although Old Brook was a Camian, he was different from the merchants in Dragon Wings Square who only cared about profit and left after making a quick profit.
It had been twenty years since Old Brook was young Brook, since he saw the Northland girl who helped transport goods in Vallierbon, and fell for her wholeheartedly. Then, he recklessly eloped to Dragon Clouds City with his future wife. It had been so long since his neighbors, who had powerful backers, got used to his presence, and even the harshest and most xenophobic disciplinary officer would not bother him. It had been so long since the young people thought he was just a Northlander with a rather unique appearance. It had been so long since he spoke with a thick Northland accent, which he would have mocked as "vulgar" when he was young. Even after his beloved Northland wife passed away, Old Brook had no intention of returning home or moving to another place.
But Old Brook could swear by either the Bright Moon Goddess or the Harvest Lady that in all the years he lived in Dragon Clouds City, he had never seen or heard what he saw after he opened the window last night!
'Calamity?
That giant octopus that bared its fangs in the direction of Shield District?
Dragon?
That winged lizard that landed and roared in flames? '
The neighbors whispered in fear or awe. Old Brook, who did not know much about Northland legends and stories, was terrified. 'Am I back to the Age of Mythology?
'Forget it, the important people will take care of it.' Old Brook yawned due to his lack of sleep. He shook his head and flipped open the accounts. Just as he was about to calculate the bribe for the disciplinary officer and the patrol team, a black-haired girl about fifteen or sixteen years old pushed open the door and walked in calmly.
The gloominess on Old Brook's face disappeared in an instant, as if he was about to welcome his princess.
"Lucy!" the innkeeper said happily. "My dear daughter!"
But when he saw the girl's clothes, Old Brook immediately frowned.
The girl's head was covered in ice and snow, and a piece of black cloth was tightly wrapped around her nose and mouth, revealing only a pair of clever eyes. She wore a simple but thick cotton-padded coat, and her gloves were covered in snow. Her trousers were tightly strapped and tucked into her boots.
'I wonder where she's been,' Old Brook thought unhappily.
"You ran out of the city again? You didn't even wear a hat in such a heavy snowstorm! " The innkeeper forced himself to keep a straight face and raised a finger. "Didn't I tell you? You saw it yesterday. It's a mess outside now. There aren't even a few customers in the past ten days …
"The patrol team even passed by this morning …
"There are rumors everywhere, saying that the districts below have been destroyed …
"Those country bumpkins from the poor districts …" Old Brook looked at his daughter worriedly. "You are a girl, Lucy! You have to be more careful of your own safety! "
The girl with her face covered stomped on the ground to rub off the snow on her feet. Then, she patted her ice-crystal-encrusted gloves and pulled her fair hands out. Only then did she pull down the black cloth covering her face, revealing a cheeks that were rosy in the cold, playful and adorable.
The girl turned to the innkeeper and flashed a bright smile.
That stopped Old Brook's heart-wrenching lecture.
"Yes, yes, yes, my dear father." The girl giggled and waved her hand, holding onto the handle of the wooden ladder. "I understand.
If there's nothing else, I'll go upstairs … "
The girl tilted her head and made a funny face. Then, she skipped away from Old Brook's sight.
All that was left was the sound of her footsteps going up the stairs.
Old Brook was immediately exasperated.
"You, Lucy!"
The innkeeper leaned half of his body out, suppressed his voice, and said to the stairs in exasperation, "Don't disturb the customers — he emphasized on silence!"
What responded to him was his daughter's drawn-out voice, "I — Know — La —"
There were also a few mutterings from above. Most of them seemed to be "long-winded old man".
Old Brook retracted his head from the bottom of the stairs and heaved a long sigh.
"The people of the Empire, calamities, dragons, curfew, hmm, and a daughter who is as troublesome as her mother …" The innkeeper walked back to his seat in resignation. He took a sip of his late wife's favorite ale and shook his head. "God knows what's waiting for me …"
'But …'
Old Brook rolled his eyes and curled up the corners of his mouth.
'As long as Lucy is fine, as long as Lucy is happy …
'Life isn't too bad.'
Old Brook's originally gloomy mood instantly brightened.
But what he did not know was that the moment his daughter disappeared from his sight, the girl's youthful and playful expression suddenly turned cold.
It was as if frost had suddenly descended.
A faint chill emanated from the bottom of her body. Her light and happy footsteps immediately became silent, like a black cat walking on tiptoes.
The girl pushed open the wooden door of a room and coldly walked into the narrow, dark room that smelled of medicine.
On the wooden bed in the room, a man sitting against the wall slowly opened his deep eyes. His expression was gloomy.
He was wrapped in a close-fitting and tight gray robe, which did not make him feel cold in the cold weather. His sleeves were pulled up to his upper arms, and his left arm and right shoulder were wrapped in thick bandages.
The girl closed the door and slowly curled up the corners of her mouth, revealing a cold smile that was completely different from the playful one just now.
She spoke softly to the man and respectfully and patiently called out a strange form of address.
"Father."
The man in gray did not respond. He only looked out the window, which was slightly ajar.
"The city has begun to lift the martial law." The young girl seemed to be used to the other's silence. She sat down on a stool at the side, grabbed a short knife on the table, and said to herself, "It's probably because the important people in the palace have reached an agreement."
When are we leaving? "
The man in gray still did not respond.
But in the next second, he suddenly raised his head. The emptiness in his eyes turned into wariness.
The man in gray raised his hand gently. A short knife jumped up from the table two meters away in a strange manner and flew into his hand.
He said calmly, "We have a guest."
The girl's pupils moved. She stood up and instinctively moved.
She stretched out her fair and slender fingers, which were rarely seen among Northlanders, and pulled out the black cloth tied around her neck from her collar. She pulled it all the way to her nose and covered half of her face like before.
It was like a professional mask.
Not only did it cover her face, but it also covered her breathing.
She had just pulled up the mask and held the dagger in her arms when a shrill voice came from outside the door.
"Long time no see, old friend."
A middle-aged man pushed open the door and walked in. His smooth face was full of smiles.
This' guest 'wore a thick coat commonly seen among Northlanders. He wore a thick fur hat that covered his ears, but he had a flat face rarely seen in the Western Peninsula. His lips were thin, and his skin was yellowish. At first glance, he would leave a good impression on anyone.
He blew into his hand and ignored the girl beside him. He squinted and adjusted his eyes to the light in the room.
The girl frowned, but the man on the bed made a gesture that made her suppress her desire to attack.
The guest's smile did not diminish. He looked straight at the man on the bed and walked forward.
At this moment, the man in gray suddenly raised his deep eyes. His gaze was cold.
"There are three traps in front of you."
The guest's smile froze on his face, just like the right foot he had just lifted.
The man in gray's words were direct and emotionless, "Two of them are fatal."
The guest with the flat face took a deep breath, blinked, and shrugged. He seemed to have no choice but to put his raised right foot back on the spot.
The girl beside him curled up the corner of her mouth and sneered in her heart.
But the guest's smile seemed to be plastered on his face. It glowed again amidst the awkwardness.
"Now, you are truly a regicide family." The guest smiled obsequiously and rubbed his hands together. His accent in the lingua franca was strangely accented. He did not sound like an Eckstedtian or Constellatiate, nor did he sound like a Camian or Southwesterner. "Just thinking about it makes me feel …"
The guest suddenly paused. His gaze shifted to the bandages on the man's shoulders.
"Oh." His voice sank. He seemed to be a little surprised, but also a little enlightened. "You're injured."
"Accident?"
The girl beside him snorted coldly.
But the man in gray on the bed only looked at the guest coldly.
"White Blade Guards, sixteen people," the man said softly.
A look of interest appeared on the guest's face.
"Three cuts, each deeper than the last." The man in gray flexed his bandaged left arm and continued to say nonchalantly, "It's good enough that you came back."
The flat-faced guest stopped smiling. He lowered his head and looked at the man quietly with the corner of his eyes.
It was as if he was peeping behind the door.
"Where's your brother?"
The guest grinned and asked softly, "He let you do it alone for such a difficult task?"
"He has his own place to go," the man said quietly.
The silence lasted for a few seconds.
The guest stared at the ground under his feet. He stretched his hands out from behind his back and silently rubbed them in front of him. "How's your injury?"
The girl, who felt that something was wrong, frowned.
The man in gray's gaze was still calm. He stared at the guest from afar.
The man slowly curled up the corners of his mouth and flexed his shoulders. "If you want to kill me, now is a good time.
"While I can't wield my saber with either of my arms."
The guest raised his eyebrows slightly.
He leaned his head forward and did not move. He stared straight at the man in front of him. His gaze was gentle and strange.
The atmosphere suddenly became strange.
The man responded quietly, calm and composed.
Finally, just as the girl was about to lose her patience, the guest suddenly grinned.
"Hahahaha …"
The guest narrowed his eyes and tilted his head back. He was overjoyed, as if he had encountered something very funny.
He raised his finger to eye level and pointed at the man. He had a playful expression on his face that said, "I've caught you, haven't I?"
"You're getting more and more humorous, Bannette!"
He laughed, his index finger shaking in the air faster and faster. His tone was exaggerated. "I like this about you!"
The man in gray called Bannette just looked at him coldly and did not say a word for a long time.
But the guest did not feel left out at all. He put away his smile and finger and turned to the girl with interest.
"Oh, girl, you must be the talented 'Lucy'!"
The guest bowed politely and continued to smile strangely. He said in his strange accent, "My subordinates are indebted to you for your help. As expected of your father's …"
But he was obviously not welcome.
"Stay away from me," the masked girl said with disgust, "Eccentric Far Easterner."
"Oh, that's really cold," the guest from the Far East replied patiently, not at all offended. "You break my heart."
The gray-robed Bannette snorted coldly and interrupted the guest, "You never put yourself in danger."
He said coldly, "But you're still here."
Hearing this, the guest from the Far East closed his mouth awkwardly and sighed in a seemingly helpless manner.
"The client this time was not easy to deal with. If I didn't come, the young ones would have screwed up." He shrugged.
'And …'
The guest from the Far East sighed softly. 'More importantly, the boy who represents Renaissance Palace.'
But the man was not moved at all. "Why did you come to me?"
The guest exhaled and chuckled.
"My friend got some news about Constellation." The guest blinked as if he was about to take out a big treasure. "You know, it's not easy for us to get news about that place now …"
The voice of the man in gray turned cold. "Get to the point."
"You might be interested." The guest from the Far East quickly changed the topic, making what should have been a very stiff turn very smooth. "A few population gathering points at the border encountered invaders …"
Bannette snorted loudly again. "Get to the point."
Without any hesitation, the Far Easterner said his next sentence, "It's very similar to the Charleton Family's style, whether it's the style of the blade or the figure."
At that moment, the girl beside him held her breath.
It was as if she remembered something.
The guest from the Far East raised his eyebrows and observed Bannette's expression.
The man in gray still did not react. He only suddenly glanced outside the window.
The Far Easterner was a little puzzled.
But a few seconds later, he also froze slightly and looked outside the window.
The Far Easterner's expression became solemn and serious.
"Do you want me to take care of it for you?" the man in gray said flatly.
The guest from the Far East sighed softly, but immediately put on a cheerful smile again.
"I wouldn't dare."
He bowed slightly. "This is my personal matter."
"Very well then." The man in gray nodded slightly. "Farewell."
As soon as he finished speaking, the man named Bannette flipped off the bed.
The moment his feet landed on the ground, the five short knives on the table jumped up as if they were alive and flew towards Bannette at the same time.
Then, they obediently inserted themselves into different scabbards all over his body.
Seeing this unbelievable scene, the Far Easterner could not help but frown slightly.
"The trap is removed." The man in gray put on a loose robe and covered the bandages on his body. As he walked past the Far Easterner, he said softly, "You can come in without worry."
The guest from the Far East bowed politely.
The girl snorted softly and glanced at the Far Easterner with a sly smile. Then, she followed her father out of the room.
The moment the two of them left behind him, the guest from the Far East raised his head. His gaze became extremely cold.
He gently closed the door, looked outside the window and sighed.
"It's been fifteen years," the guest said in a different language that was different from the common language of the Western Peninsula. It was made up of monosyllabic sounds. "You still found me."
At the window, a hand suddenly appeared and grabbed the windowsill. A second Far Easterner nimbly flipped over and entered the room.
"It's been a long time." The butcher shop owner who had just flipped over and entered the room, Gu, the man whom Thales had met once before. He stood by the window and patted the snowflakes off his hands. Using the same language, he said flatly, "Senior Brother Teng.
"Chief Teng."
— — —
On the stairs outside the room, the man in gray and the masked girl quietly went downstairs.
"He is …" The girl turned her head and glanced at the room just now. She could not help but ask, "It's him?"
The man did not answer. He only nodded.
The girl's eyes narrowed.
"Father, the intruder he mentioned just now," the girl asked tentatively, "could be mother or my sister …"
"How many?" the expressionless man asked abruptly.
The girl was slightly startled. "Huh?"
"That fellow," the man in gray said coldly, "How many lies did he tell in total?"
"Lies …" The girl was a little puzzled.
"Eleven."
"From the time he stepped into the room to the time we walked out of the room, he told a total of eleven lies," the man concluded softly. His gaze was solemn as he continued, "Nine of them were fatal. If I did not recognize any of them and reacted accordingly to his probing …"
The man suppressed the trembling of his palm. He waved his left hand and caught a drop of blood that had seeped out of the bandage, preventing it from dripping onto the ground. "Then the scene would have been very ugly."
The girl was shocked and blinked. "But he did not say much in total —"
"Lies do not need words to weave," the man in gray interrupted the girl coldly. "These words came from the mouth of a terrifying lady. Remember them well."
The veiled girl froze.
The man did not even look at the girl beside him. His face was expressionless and his tone was cold. "And remember, your mother and sister are both dead.
Do not mention them again. "
Upon hearing that, the girl's shoulders trembled slightly and she clenched her fists lightly.
The man in gray might have noticed the girl's unusual behavior, but he did not react. "Next time, don't let anyone follow you and come looking for you."
The girl lowered her head deeply.
No one could see her eyes clearly.
They walked down the stairs.
"Lucy, why did you come down with the guest?"
Old Brook raised his head from his chair and looked at the girl with the black cloth covering her face. He looked surprised. "And you're wearing a scarf again. Are you going out?"
But the girl ignored him. She only looked at the man in gray.
"Dear guest," Old Brook snapped out of his daze and looked at the man attentively. "Are you going to pay the bill?"
The man in gray nodded slightly and said in a low voice, "Be clean."
Puzzled, Old Brook watched the interaction between his daughter and the guest, not understanding what was going on.
The veiled girl nodded. Under Old Brook's questioning gaze, she walked up to him, opened her arms, and hugged him.
Like a daughter hugging her father.
"What are you doing, Lucy?" Old Brook did not know whether to laugh or cry as he watched his daughter's actions. He hugged her back helplessly, and at the same time, gave the cold guest an apologetic look. "I still have to entertain —"
But he did not manage to finish his sentence.
* Schick! *
Old Brook's expression changed. Hugging his daughter, he shuddered violently!
Old Brook's teeth began to chatter, his face contorted. With great difficulty and shock, he lowered his head and looked at his daughter in his arms.
"Lucy, you …" Old Brook's trembling grew stronger, as though he was enduring great pain.
But nothing could compare to the disbelief, pain, and despair in his eyes.
* Puff! Puff! Puff! *
Old Brook shuddered three more times, each time more terrifying than the last!
His eyebrows were twisted into a bunch, but he could only find coldness and indifference in his daughter's eyes.
The girl loosened her arms and gently pushed Old Booke away.
* Thud! * Old Brook fell limply to the ground, his face filled with despair.
With trembling lips, he looked at the bloody dagger in the girl's right hand.
Dampness and warmth spread from the owner's aching back, soaking his robe and the ground.
'No.
'Lucy.
No! '
Old Brook, who was lying in a pool of blood, pursed his lips and stared at the dagger in the girl's hand.
Amidst the intense pain that almost blurred his senses, he extended his powerless right hand to his beloved daughter.
In a daze, he said in a sobbing tone, "Lucy … No … Why …"
But the girl only looked down at him coldly. Her eyes were filled with disdain and disgust.
"Listen up, my dear father.
"My name is not Lucy. That's just my working name." The veiled girl squatted down gently and moved closer to Old Brook's ear. "My real name is …"
Using a voice that only the two of them could hear, she said,
"Jessica Charleton."
Old Brook's gaze froze.
But he could no longer say anything.
The man in gray stood quietly behind them, not saying a word.
Jessica stood up quietly, glanced at her dagger, and gently shook off the blood on it.
On the dagger, two words appeared on the blood-soaked blade.
YC。
?
? Sorry, the next chapter is the last chapter of the book.
?
?
PS In fact, this chapter is a foreshadowing.
?
????
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
