Chapter 45 The First bl**d
In the corner of the inn, a fat man sitting in the shadows whispered a few words to the attendant beside him. The attendant nodded and went to the bar. “Morode wants to talk to you.”
The big man at the bar frowned and glanced over, then nodded, “I’ll go over in a minute.”
He waved a hand, arranged for a subordinate to sit at the bar, and then walked toward the shadows. He plopped down and said, “Morode, you cunning old fox, you wouldn’t be interested in that little girl from just now, would you?”
The fat man poured himself a glass of wine, looked up at him, and although his face was full of fat, his movements were not as slow as his appearance suggested. “Kofan, that little girl is quite a catch. Many nobles have been fond of this type lately. If you manage to grab her, I can guarantee selling her at that price.”
The overweight Morode extended five fingers and said slowly, “Five hundred Gind.”
“For such a pretty little girl, I believe many nobles with special preferences would be willing to pay that price.”
Kofan furrowed his brow at these words and glanced deeply at him, saying in a low voice, “Do you know?”
“You’re breaking my rules. I won’t do such things in my own establishment.” The fat man chuckled and shrugged, leaning in closer, “You’ve sold me over a hundred women already. Don’t tell me your basement is spotless. Whether to go through with this deal is up to you. I can guarantee that little girl can be sold quickly; many nobles have been looking for girls like her lately.”
Kofan’s expression seemed a bit hesitant as he lowered his voice, “That guy is not easy to deal with; he looks like a Wanderer, with a very high sense of vigilance!”
“No deaths can occur in my place, or the civil guard will definitely come looking for trouble.”
The fat man in the corner gave a strange smile and lowered his voice, “Don’t worry about deaths; we are just merchants, not killers, right?”
“I have a potion I bought from a Wizard. Just dampen a towel with it and press it over their mouth and nose; it will incapacitate them in no time. Wait for that guy to leave; then send someone in to carry the little girl away in a sack. He’s just a foreigner and won’t stir up any trouble here. When necessary, we can…”
The fat Morode made a throat-cutting gesture and said in a deep voice, “Five hundred Gind is not a small amount of money.” “I knew you were thinking of pulling back; after this deal, you could buy yourself a nice little estate.”
Kofan was silent for a moment, gritting his teeth, “Fine. But I need your people to handle it.”
“The price must go up to six hundred Gind. In my years of experience, that little girl is definitely top-notch; when she grows up, she’ll surely be a beautiful woman.”
Morode hesitated for a moment before extending his hand, “You really are a greedy old dog.”
“Deal.”
“Once the goods are sold, I’ll give you the money. Don’t worry; quality goods are always in demand among those noble lords.”
Kofan extended his hand and said firmly, “Alright.”
The big man got up from the table and signaled to a thug beside him, then entered the kitchen at the back.
A tall, skinny man turned around and approached Morode, whispering, “Boss, is it really worth making a move for just that little girl? The guards in White Horse City are tightening their checks, and six hundred Gind is too high. I think she’s worth at most one or two hundred Gind.”
“What do you know!”
Morode frowned, looking at him, “That little girl is a bit unusual.”
“How could you sell her to those old dogs among the nobles? I know that some in the shadows would be willing to pay a high price for such special goods.”
The tall man shivered at those words, suddenly recalling some unpleasant memories.
Women and children trafficked from the Slums in the old district could not all be sold to the nobles of White Horse City, or be sold off as slaves. There are other entities willing to pay high prices for their goods, especially pure virgins and those with special bloodlines. Those who operate in the gray areas of society always have dealings with the Dark Realm, as certain creatures hidden in human society have always been the major contributors to human trafficking.
Not easily attacking ordinary people has long been an unspoken rule in the Dark Realm; many special beings have quietly established trafficking networks.
As long as the transaction is completed, there won’t be any trouble!
If those sold goods accidentally d*e, naturally, there will be buyers to deal with them.
Morode furrowed his brow, looking at the man beside him, and said in a deep voice, “If you have this little courage, how can you earn big money with me? After this deal, we will leave here; the situation is becoming increasingly unstable.”
“If you have a chance, you must take action.”
…
On the second floor, in the room.
Soren placed Vivian down and looked around the room.
He took some things out of his Dimensional Bag, then squatted in front of Vivian, saying seriously, “It’s a mixed bag here; you need to be careful while I’m out.”
Soren handed a dagger to the little girl and said in a deep voice, “Do you remember what I taught you?”
Vivian nodded gently, took the dagger with her little hands, and said softly, “I remember.”
“Don’t worry, brother.”
Soren hesitated for a moment but felt uneasy. Vivian had a natural charm of over twenty points; those with high charm often attracted attention easily. If she were an adult with self-defense abilities, it would be fine, but right now, she was just an eight-year-old girl, which would make her too easy a target for others.
Especially those scoundrels involved in human trafficking; every city has its human trafficking ring as an important source of income for the gray area.
Nobles, slave black markets, even Vampires.
As a Thief, Soren was well aware of the operations in the gray areas, so he always tried to keep Vivian in his line of sight. He was very cautious about this world; possibly due to his past as a Thief, he had seen too much darkness, always feeling that the people he encountered were from the Evil Faction. This was a dark and chaotic era; the law was often just a facade, and it was more the inner beliefs and morals that restrained people’s behavior.
Ironically, these two things were the hardest to determine!
Soren needed to go to the Adventurers’ Guild to scout for information and see if he could find someone to join him. He had some Gind on him, and he might need to visit some special places to meet certain people to purchase some forbidden weapons at a high price.
The journey to Leaffall City was not going to be smooth.
At this time, it was inconvenient to take Vivian with him, but Soren felt uneasy not having her with him.
“Brother.”
Vivian reached out her little hand and grasped Soren’s hand, as if knowing he was worried, she said softly, “I’ll just stay in the room by myself when you go out.”
“I promise I won’t run away!”
Soren hesitated for a moment, then nodded, “Alright then.”
“I’ll go out to gather some information and see if there are any other ways to leave.”
“You stay here and don’t run around. I’ll be back in half a day at most; tomorrow I’ll think of a way to find a place to stay.”
As Soren’s figure left, the two men downstairs at the inn exchanged glances immediately.
The fat Morode made eye contact with the skinny man beside him, then handed him a bottle of potion.
“Be quick.”
He whispered to the tall, skinny man, “I’ll be back there to support you. After the grab, go to the old place; I’ll find a way to contact the buyer.”
“Won’t Kofan be angry if we move now?” the tall man asked.
Morode shot him a glare and said, “That old dog would sell even his own sister for money; as long as the money is there, who cares that much?”
In the room.
Vivian was bored playing with the dagger. If Soren were here, he would surely be surprised, because the little girl was able to perform tricks with the dagger, a method he had practiced before to increase finger dexterity during his boredom.
“I really want to grow up quickly!”
The little girl tilted her head while spinning the dagger in her palm; because her hands were small, the difficulty was even higher than when Soren first did it. Although the speed was not as fast as Soren’s, she didn’t make any mistakes because if she did, the dagger would cut her fingers.
Clang, clang, clang!
There came a knock on the door from outside.
The little girl stood up alertly, hid the dagger behind her, and called out loudly, “Who?”
“The inn attendant.”
A man’s voice came from outside, answering, “The boss sent me to bring food.”
Food?
A hint of doubt appeared on the little girl’s face as she muttered, “Do they still deliver food for free here?”
Most inns only cover accommodation; food must be bought at the bar in front.
Vivian gripped the dagger in her little hand, furrowed her brow, and opened the door to peek outside.
Indeed, it was a tall, skinny man holding food with a towel next to him.
The little girl let out a sigh of relief in her heart, slightly shifted to the side to hide the dagger, and softly said, “Please put it on the table.”
The tall, skinny man took a look inside the room and couldn’t help but smile. He quickly entered the room and closed the door, then picked up the towel and lunged at Vivian.
In an instant!
The little girl bent down to dodge, and just as the man rushed in and closed the door, she felt something was off. When the tall man approached her with the towel to cover her mouth and nose, Vivian instantly took out the dagger, raised a finger, and uttered a strange monosyllable, followed by a burst of brilliant light in the room.
A splash of bl**d sprayed around.
The tall skinny man, momentarily blinded by the bright light, lost his target, and as he bent over to pounce, Vivian slashed the dagger across his right eye socket, rendering it useless on the spot.
A repressed scream rang out.
The tall man covered his eye socket and fiercely grabbed at the little girl.
Though Vivian had already dodged, she was ultimately small and weak, and delayed just a beat after wielding the dagger.
—Lightning Shock.
The skinny man, ready to grab and choke the little girl, suddenly began to tremble all over, a spark of electricity jumping from Vivian’s fingertips, and he convulsed as if having a seizure, his grip on the little girl’s arm weakly loosened.
A sharp glint appeared.
Vivian immediately lunged with the dagger aiming for his left eye, piercing straight into his eye socket.
The tall man’s body stiffened for a moment and then became motionless.
The little girl showed a hint of terror on her face. She glanced at the bl**d on her palm, and with a clatter, the dagger fell to the ground.
But.
She quickly took a deep breath, then reached for the dagger, peeking out to confirm that no one else had been alerted before immediately grabbing her things and running out of the room. As she reached the inn’s lobby, the little girl suddenly stopped, then turned and slipped into the backyard through a small dog hole.
Not caring about the mud all over her body, Vivian sprinted outside after emerging from the dog hole.
