Chapter 35: Let Him Die Quickly

"Uncle Yule, you really are a talent." Arthur gave a thumbs-up and praised him.

Javier and he had disguised themselves to head north to track down Cyril and his son Yuehan; after nearly twenty days, they finally found them.

The hardships and twists need not be mentioned; in short, they were found.

Looking at Javier's exhausted expression, one knew it certainly hadn't been easy.

Yule confirmed that they were hiding in a farmhouse near Meiren Jishi, protected by a group of gamblers.

Because there were many of them, Yule and Javier had to return to bring reinforcements.

Arthur guessed that, in reality, Cyril and his son were being held captive by the gamblers.

It was just unclear whether the gamblers knew the pair possessed a massive fortune of seven hundred Gold Dragons.

This matter had to be resolved quickly, otherwise, the money wouldn't stay in Spinach Layman's hands.

If Cyril and Yuehan were found by then, but Arthur's money was gone, that would be no good.

"Pick five agile and skilled elite soldiers; we are setting off now," Arthur ordered Javier.

Javier received the order and left.

Yule, meanwhile, looked at Arthur with longing, his face revealing a childlike, expectant gaze.

"Rest assured, you won't be short of armor, it's just that it can't be bought right now. When we have time later, we'll go to King's Landing to pick out a proper set, and you can also get me a Greatsword and a larger Hammer," Arthur said.

Yule shot his nephew a look of disdain, said nothing, and walked away huffily.

Arthur's meaning was by no means 'maybe next time,' it was just that it was truly impossible to buy any right now.

If one could buy armor in a backwater town like Meiren Jishi, then the entire Westeros would not be far from chaos.

After some preparations, the eight of them set off, riding horses toward their destination.

……

Looking at the white-haired old man sitting on the floor in the corner with a dagger stuck in his stomach, Arthur actually felt a bit sorry for him.

After a gallop that lasted an afternoon and half the night, they arrived at the farmhouse.

Coincidentally, the gamblers had all gone out to party.

Unfortunately, Cyril had already been stabbed with a dagger and was languishing in wait, and not a single copper coin was found in the entire farmhouse.

"Where is your son Yuehan? Where is my money? Speak quickly," Arthur barked sternly.

But pity was just a thought; the lost Gold Dragons were real, and the original owner had likely died because of Cyril, so he certainly wouldn't be soft-hearted.

The torchlight reflected the congealed blood on the ground; the old man slowly opened his eyes, saw Arthur and the soldiers behind him, and said feebly, "It is you, Little Lord."

Because Cyril had served Arthur's father and Arthur through two generations, he addressed Arthur as Little Lord to distinguish between father and son.

"What is the use of honorifics now? Are you trying to win sympathy? Don't think I will forgive you." Arthur, of course, didn't buy that.

He was a ruthless person, and one had to strike hard when dealing with wicked servants.

"I am very sorry, ugh..." He pressed his wound, trying hard to stop the bleeding, though he knew it was futile.

"I am truly sorry for stealing your money, and the poisoning was also a moment of madness on my part; I shouldn't have done it, I shouldn't have." Cyril admitted some things intermittently.

But Arthur didn't want to hear any of this at all. "My money, my Gold Dragons, where are they? Speak quickly."

"They were taken by Yuehan; he took them to gamble." It was unclear whether it was regret or pain on Cyril's face, but his complexion was poor.

"You all see, shouldn't I put another sword through him?" Arthur asked Javier beside him.

"I don't think it's necessary; he is not far from death," Javier disagreed.

"I actually think putting another sword through him is better, to prevent this old thing from recovering after we leave." Because the family's seven hundred Gold Dragons had been stolen, Yule also found Cyril an eyesore.

"Little Lord, just like your father, you are an upright man. Can you listen to my confession? So that I, this sinner, may feel better when I die," Cyril requested weakly.

Seeing him in such a dying state, the Lord had no desire to finish him off with a sword.

"Why should I listen to your nonsense?" Arthur ignored him and turned to ask Yule, "Where should we go to find Yuehan?"

"It is better to stay here; these gamblers only have this one place to go, and they will return sooner or later. They should be at the casino in Meiren Jishi right now; there are soldiers stationed there at night, so it's not easy for us to enter," Yule suggested.

Arthur affirmed his uncle's view. "Then we shall rest here; after riding horses all the way, I feel very tired, let alone you all."

The others, hearing Arthur's order, went to find comfortable places to prepare for a rest.

When the gamblers returned, there would be a fierce battle; it wouldn't do to not have their condition adjusted.

Arthur also found a chair and sat down; he had a bit of a 'Lord's burden' now and was unwilling to lie on the ground and sleep like the soldiers.

"I grew up with your father, we..." Cyril was muttering in a low voice; Arthur really wanted to go over and punch him twice to make him shut up.

But Cyril's miserable state made Arthur abandon that thought.

Why bother with a dead man?

Yes, in Arthur's heart, this was already a dead man.

Cyril didn't care whether the Little Lord was listening or not and kept speaking intermittently.

His biological clock also kept Arthur from sleeping, and he actually finished listening to Cyril's words.

In general, one sentence could summarize this old man's life.

Do not bully the young for being poor, do not bully the middle-aged for being poor, do not bully the elderly for being poor.

Later, there might be sequels such as 'The Dead Are Supreme,' 'The Grave Robber's Tears,' 'The White Walker's Head-Shake,' and so on.

"When I accepted the mediocrity of my parents and also accepted my own mediocrity, I did not accept the mediocrity of my son Yuehan, and so..."

Cyril began to recount things about Yuehan again, and Arthur actually listened to the end.

Well, this was also a tragedy.

He actually felt a bit of sympathy for the old man.

Cyril and Arthur's father grew up together; one was a noble, while the other was a servant.

Although Arthur's father was not unkind to Cyril, Cyril just couldn't accept his fate.

But there was no help for it; his birth had already been determined.

Coincidentally, the two had sons in almost the same year, and so Cyril had another idea.

If he couldn't do it himself, his son surely could!

So he saved money to send his son Yuehan to study with the Septons, and also sent his son to Meiren Jishi to practice martial arts with the Free Knights.

Unfortunately, not all Septons are kind, and the Free Knights, also known as wandering knights, are not all good people either.

Yuehan quickly learned bad habits and became depraved.

In comparison, the original owner was much more brilliant: tall, handsome, upright in character, and his father actively saved money for him.

This plunged Cyril into deep agony.

His parents were inferior to others, he himself was inferior to others, and his son was even more inferior to others.

What was even more painful was that Arthur's father was very good to him and Yuehan.

"Even if he had hit me twice or cursed at me, I would have hated him, hated these damned nobles."

Whenever Yuehan did something wrong and was caught, it was Arthur's father who stepped in to mediate and bail him out.

Every act of kindness Arthur's father showed them was like a needle piercing Cyril's heart.

Until the old lord passed away.

"But the old lord was so kind and upright that I couldn't find a single memory to harbor hatred. I am truly lost, not knowing what exactly made my life like this, and I don't know who I should hate."

"My life was supposed to just go on like this, continuing to serve you until I died of old age. But the debts Yuehan owed kept growing."

"I didn't want to steal from the Little Lord to fill Yuehan's holes, and Yuehan is just an idle good-for-nothing."

"But he is my son after all, and when he said he would have his hands cut off if he couldn't pay back the money, I just..."

"I am truly sorry, I shouldn't have done this."

"When I heard you were still alive, my sense of guilt lessened a little."

"Yuehan took some money to pay off his debts. I intended to return the rest to you, but I didn't expect Yuehan to stab me and steal all the Gold Dragons."

"After saying it all out loud, I feel I can die with a bit more peace of mind."

"Little Lord, I know that my son and I are deeply sinful and beyond forgiveness, but I beg you, let my son die quickly when his time comes; this may be the only thing I can do for him."

PS: Seeking recommendation votes and monthly tickets.

(End of chapter)