Chapter 119: Collecting Money, Meeting Ms. Feiniya Again

Afterward, Jier and Mr. Bantuolisa arrived at the office next door. As a Senior Steward of the Merchant Guild and the highest administrator of the 【Golden Sickle】 Merchant Guild in Duoen Town, he possessed an independent office. The room had a heavy door made of solid wood, and Mr. Bantuolisa was the only one who possessed and carried the key to open it.

Upon entering, Jier could see that the entire office was luxuriously decorated; expensive tapestries were hung everywhere on the sturdy stone walls, and multiple portraits of the Merchant Guild's president were displayed in sequence along the walls of the room.

The entire room was constructed from solid rock, making it basically impossible to break into. The internal ventilation and lighting relied on expensive Magic Power mechanisms to operate. Basically, when a person was in the room, whatever happened outside would not affect the person inside.

Along one wall, there were also towering bookshelves and places to store Scroll documents, densely packed and filled with important documents of the Merchant Guild.

Here, Mr. Bantuolisa took a specialized withdrawal document, signed his name, and used the special Magic Power ring on his hand to leave a special mark invisible to the naked eye.

Just because it was invisible to the naked eye did not mean Jier could not perceive it.

The two soon walked out of Mr. Bantuolisa's office and arrived at the floor below the Merchant Guild, in a room that was equally sturdy—this was the Merchant Guild's financial disbursement room, which handled medium-scale monetary affairs directly.

Even as the Merchant Guild's highest local person in charge, Mr. Bantuolisa had to use the formal documents he had written himself to withdraw money.

Larger-scale capital flows generally did not involve the circulation of physical Gold Coins, but were instead handled through the mutual trust system established between Merchant Guilds and Merchant Guilds specifically responsible for monetary work.

As for smaller-scale withdrawals, they were not handled here, but at another place for withdrawing money next to the Merchant Guild hall. The business there was very busy; many debtors managed by the Merchant Guild could, after finishing a period of repayment work, come here directly with the certificates and documents issued by the Merchant Guild's grassroots Stewards and Shop Assistants to collect the money they were owed.

Some personnel from other Merchant Guilds that had business dealings with the 【Golden Sickle】 Merchant Guild could also collect relevant cash coins in the hall, accompanied by a Steward from within the Merchant Guild.

Inside the heavily guarded room's small opening, after Mr. Bantuolisa handed in the document he had just written, the Merchant Guild personnel inside carefully verified the authenticity of the document and brushed it with a special potion where the document had Magic Power fluctuations. The potion reacted with the Magic Power, revealing Mr. Bantuolisa's unique personal mark on the previously blank space of the document.

The Merchant Guild personnel inside the room did not care at all that the person withdrawing the money outside was Mr. Bantuolisa; they only recognized qualified documents, not the person themselves. Even if Mr. Bantuolisa clamored about his identity, the people inside the room would not give him the money; instead, they would activate the alarm within the Merchant Guild, causing the internal guards and hired thugs to rush over urgently.

Two full large bags of coins, as well as a leather money bag containing a smaller bag of coins, were pushed out. The money bag was clearly stamped with the mark of the 【Golden Sickle】 Merchant Guild, letting anyone see at a glance that this was money taken from the 【Golden Sickle】 Merchant Guild.

"Count it on the spot, Knight Jier. If you say the money is insufficient after leaving here, we won't acknowledge it, haha."

The old gentleman even made a joke. Don't look at the fact that a large sum of cash was withdrawn this time; for someone in his position, money was no longer the problem. The problem was how to transform the Merchant Guild's financial strength into other forms of power.

For example, the batch of surrendered Soldiers Jier brought this time could be bought by the 【Golden Sickle】 Merchant Guild, and after settling them and arming them, they could be directed to attack some of the surrounding Bandit Groups.

This was the armed force that Duoen Town urgently needed right now.

There were quite a few people in town, and Caravan guards and shop-hired thugs skilled in combat were countless, but those people were only good at bullying the weak when they had the upper hand. Asking them to take the initiative to attack Bandit Groups that were more numerous and whose movements were more elusive simply wouldn't work.

Duoen Town had already tried this point. Many people, compared to head-on confrontation, preferred to sell the town's plans to those Bandit Groups. After all, money is money wherever you earn it. Many of the shop thugs in town were originally just Bandits who had nothing to do after their Bandit Groups disbanded; they were just returning to their old trade.

Although the true combat ability of Jier's group remained to be verified, it could be considered a good help to the town.

Although Mr. Bantuolisa would rather find a way to hire Jier to help them solve the troubles around the town, he also knew that this was obviously unlikely. Jier had already said several times that he was going to pursue the whereabouts of his hometown's army and was unlikely to interfere in matters here.

As for hiring mercenary groups to solve the town's troubles, that would certainly have been possible in the past, and the Merchants would have done so long ago. Unfortunately, it was not possible now; some mercenary groups with trade and fame had long been attracted by the war between the Southern Province Noble Coalition and neighboring countries.

Compared to such large-scale warfare, the hiring tasks of a small town managed by a Merchant Union had no appeal at all. Even if these Merchants were to offer several times the usual hiring pay due to the situation, it would be the same.

After all, for those mercenary groups, the team's fame in society was far more important than making money.

By making a name for themselves on the battlefield, they could continue to obtain hiring orders from all over the place in the days to come. But giving up the opportunity to become famous just to earn a sum of money would only lead to them being called stupid guys.

Jier counted the coins in the money bags on the spot; not a single one was missing. The amount of over two hundred Gold Coins and five Silver Coins gave him a proper reward for letting those surrendered Soldiers go and enduring their presence for this period of time.

"Very good, the money is fine. Do you want to come and participate in the Dwarf product sale I'm hosting tonight? There will definitely be some Dwarf gadgets you haven't seen before that will interest you. And the Dwarves haven't priced those things very high; spending money to buy a couple to play with isn't bad either."

Jier put away the money bags, temporarily hanging the heavy money bags on his belt, and then recommended the Dwarf sale.

"That's fine, but I've heard about the conflict between you and Deripari. Please forgive him; this poor guy has recently become the target of ridicule by all the Merchant Guilds. Many people are now waiting to see how you will find trouble for him."

Mr. Bantuolisa hesitated: "If possible, he is a decent man after all, especially since he is someone in our circle. Please give him a chance and let him think of a way to get through this difficulty."

Jier narrowed his eyes while walking downstairs, waving his hand to let the subordinate Warriors waiting in the first-floor hall follow him, while whispering to Mr. Bantuolisa: "Then what about my rights? What about my reputation? A simple commission to collect the bounty on Mountain Wolf Bani, and it's not like I didn't give him enough commission fees, yet he still managed to mess it up for me."

Casually handing the two heavy money bags containing one hundred Gold Coins each at his waist to two subordinate Warriors to hold, Jier stopped at the entrance of the Merchant Guild and turned to the old gentleman who had seen him off to the door: "A person who cannot control their own desires cannot accomplish great things."

"But a person without strong desires also lacks the motivation to accomplish great things. Knight Jier, your interests will not be damaged, and we will think of a way regarding your reputation. Tonight, I will find someone to have Deripari go to your Dwarf sale. We will all go as well, not only to see those rare Dwarf gadgets but also to properly handle this matter."

Old Mr. Bantuolisa said at the end.

The two parted ways. Old Mr. Bantuolisa immediately arranged for his subordinates to contact several Senior Stewards of the Merchant Union of the same level in town and wrote a separate letter to be delivered to the 'Gaunt Aolier' who was trying to hide.

Jier, on the other hand, returned directly to the 【Gold Coin Jingle】 Inn with his people.

But on the way, he was stopped by an unexpected person.

"Look, isn't this our valiant and young Knight Jier? Although he mistakenly trusted a Merchant, causing everyone in Duoen Town who is well-informed to know that your judgment isn't very good, while 'Gaunt Aolier' continues to be driven by greed, messing up something that shouldn't have been messed up."

Meeting again, Ms. Feiniya-Duozeisiya was clearly in good spirits. She was wearing a bright dress and jumped down from a carriage by the side of the road.

Jier saw at a glance that the coachman pulling the carriage was a mute, and there were no obvious marks on the exterior of the carriage. Clearly, Ms. Feiniya was about to take the carriage in and out of the Underground Black Market to handle business.

"Oh, you are..."

Jier, on the contrary, did not recognize who the person was at first. It was no wonder; the last time Jier rescued this lady, she had been deeply hurt by her old lover and his henchmen, and she had been quite disheveled at the time.

After not seeing her for a while, this lady was not only full of spirit but also dressed much more exquisitely. Although she was not as extravagant as the wives of some Senior Stewards of the Merchant Guilds in town, it was not cheap either. Clearly, she was in possession of a considerable amount of wealth.

Ms. Feiniya was momentarily stuck because Jier didn't recognize her. On the contrary, Jier recognized the Maid who was in the same carriage as the lady at a glance. Although she was also dressed exquisitely, the difference from when she was rescued last time was not great, so Jier recognized her instead.

"Oh, I remember now, you are that lover of Mountain Wolf Bani, right? Is it Ms. Feiniya? Did I remember correctly?"

Jier smiled, and Ms. Feiniya also smiled reluctantly: "It seems that Knight Jier didn't keep the person you rescued in your heart at all, which makes me very sad. As for that man, he is already a name of the past. After all, he is already dead, and grievances, relationships, and the like are not important to you and me now."

Jier nodded: "But it's a pity that the bounty regarding him made me a laughingstock in Duoen Town; things shouldn't have been like this. Please come to the White Stone Pass Church of the God of the Dead for the Church Priest to testify to the death of Mountain Wolf Bani, find witnesses to prove that it was I, Qiao-Jier, who killed that guy, and then according to the bounty from previous years, find the Merchant Guilds and individuals who issued the bounty one by one, collect those bounties, and deposit them in the Merchant Guild, waiting for me to come here next time to collect the money."

"What a simple process, and I even gave a portion of the total bounty as a reward; things shouldn't have developed like this." Jier sighed.

A smile appeared on Ms. Feiniya's face: "Who told our good Knight to trust someone he just met, handing such a simple task that tests human nature and character to a guy with the nickname 'Gaunt Aolier'? If only our young Knight had trusted me, this poor woman, a little more back then."

"The one who was personally rescued by him, and who subsequently gave him rewards for the rescue several times, demonstrating good credibility and morality?"

Jier secretly spat. He didn't think that the old lover of Mountain Wolf Bani would be a pure, innocent soul. Being able to hang out for many years with such a cunning and vicious Bandit, and helping him handle stolen goods and collect information, as a black-market shop owner—whoever believes you will be the one to suffer a big loss.

Although Ms. Feiniya did indeed promise and finally gave the reward she said she would, and the Beans she gifted also filled the hungry stomachs of the Refugees, and even a lot of the fine rations for the Tianxuecao were those Beans, which was a big help.

But Jier would not believe such a 'Black Widow'.

Look, from having nothing when she was rescued to now riding a carriage to handle business in the Underground Black Market, and being dressed exquisitely—how much time has passed? Clearly, this lady's ability is also not small. In terms of personal ability, she is a cunning, vicious, and capable person who is no less than Mountain Wolf Bani.

If she had really believed in her own feelings for Mountain Wolf Bani back then, she probably wouldn't have needed to be rescued by Jier at the time.

"Haha, just joking. After all, in my absence, wanting to get those victims who issued the bounty to acknowledge the death of Mountain Wolf Bani, and that it was I who killed him, requires the person handling the matter to have a certain social status in Duoen Town."

Jier shrugged: "Such a thing can only be handled by a few Senior Stewards of the Duoen Town Merchant Union. Ms. Feiniya, it's not that I don't trust you, but your situation at the time was not good; you needed to rest and lie low, rather than taking on such a task that you couldn't handle."

Ms. Feiniya puffed up her cheeks angrily: "Then what are you going to do, Knight Jier? Give that 'Gaunt Aolier' a beating? Or endure this matter and wait for that stupid and greedy Merchant Guild Senior Steward to slowly raise the money and slowly pay you back?"

"Neither. I have already released the news that if that Steward does not appear tonight, I will directly destroy the Merchant Guild building of the 【Wealth Fruit】 Merchant Guild in Duoen Town, and destroy the home of this Mr. Dundeer-Aolierga-Deripari. Although this will offend people and I will certainly not be able to get this money back, at least it will let the people of Duoen Town know that I am not a guy who is equally stupid and easy to bully."

"They can still breathe!" Ms. Feiniya added.

"Right, they can still breathe." Jier shrugged.

He continued: "At the same time, several Senior Stewards of the Merchant Union will likely help that guy out this time. Although I don't know how they will handle this matter, with their status and wealth, it shouldn't be difficult. By the way, I have a group of Dwarves under my command; I ran into them a few days ago. They are going to hold a temporary sale of Dwarf goods here in Duoen Town. Are you interested in going to take a look?"

"Dwarf things?" The first things that came to Ms. Feiniya's mind were some thick, bulky buildings and armor.

But it wasn't until Jier explained that she realized Dwarf things were not actually crude, bulky, or ugly; on the contrary, they were full of exquisite precision and were outstanding in their artistry.

"Sure, I'll go take a look after I finish my business in a while, I promise I won't break my word," Ms. Feiniya said in the end.

She boarded an unmarked carriage, and under the silent start of the coachman, the carriage turned a corner ahead and drove away.

Jier watched the lady ride away in the carriage, guessing that her ability to regain power so quickly most likely had to do with the Underground Black Market.

Had she latched onto another powerful man? Jier felt that was likely not the case; after all, the betrayal by Shanlang Bani was a painful lesson that would be enough for any ordinary person to experience once. Ms. Feiniya was a smart person, and smart people would not walk down a road where they had encountered danger once before.

Then it most likely had to do with the lair of Shanlang Bani that no one had ever found.

After all, when Jier killed Shanlang Bani, it was not at the other's lair, but at a temporary spot for monitoring and plundering passing Caravans.

In the true lair of Shanlang Bani, there must be a large amount of unprocessed lost goods hidden away. And those valuable goods could be sold in the Underground Black Market without questions asked about their origin.

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