Chapter 21: Dust Settles

【You look at the man before you, an unusual expression unconsciously appearing in your eyes.】

【"Daofeng" Yawen notices your gaze; he raises an eyebrow and asks you with a smile if you have heard of him.】

【You truthfully state the news you have gathered: who hasn't heard of the famous agent of the Red Brotherhood?】

【The people in the room laugh loudly. One of them tells you with a face full of mockery that "Daofeng" Yawen is merely one of the Red Brotherhood's agents in Boshi Cheng, and the other is the proprietress of the Lvteng Jiuguan, Suofiya Furen, and that the business here is primarily run by Suofiya Furen.】

【You look at Suofiya Furen in shock. You cannot fathom how such a beautiful woman could be a venomous shrew with a heart like a snake and scorpion, because you know that the Red Brotherhood does not just traffic in Elves; they do anything for money, and they can sell anything.】

【Suofiya Furen looks at your surprised face and says with a beaming smile that since you already know some things and can be considered half one of their own, the mission can be told to you in advance.】

【As it turns out, the whole affair was still caused by you. The female Elf you rescued at the Beard Gang was a trade item the Red Brotherhood was offering to Governor Jiastes. Now that this female Elf has been rescued by you, the goods were not delivered into Governor Jiastes's hands, so the transaction is not considered complete. To make up for this mistake, and also for the sake of the Red Brotherhood's business in Boshi Cheng, Suofiya and the others must find two more female Elves to deliver to Governor Jiastes.】

【In fact, they are very fast. Within half a month, they have already contacted a seller: the Ebony Gauntlet, who hunt Elves year-round. The task you need to do this time is very simple: just head to Imel near Dunfeng Baolei and bring back the reserved female Elves.】

【You find it strange: why not let the Ebony Gauntlet deliver the people? Suofiya says with a playful pout that Elves are a hot commodity and it is a seller's market, so there is no room for you to be picky. Moreover, precisely because they are in high demand, they are easily coveted by others, so only the five of you will go to complete the transaction—go quietly, return quietly, and as fast as possible.】

【You nod in understanding. Soon, Suofiya arranges a room for you and tells you mysteriously that you can ask her for anything you need—anything.】

【Two days pass in the blink of an eye. After staying honestly in your room for two days, you follow "Daofeng" Yawen and set off on horseback, carrying your own noble gauntlet longsword and the composite bow and arrows Suofiya prepared for you, under Suofiya's slightly mournful gaze. He is the leader of this team.】

【From Boshi Cheng to Imel, it only takes one day by fast horse. Starting in the morning, you travel with two horses per person, riding hard, and arrive at the village of Imel on the afternoon of the second day.】

【This village is very close to the Noldor Forest. Many villagers have been shot by Elves when going to the edge of the forest to hunt or cut wood. Here, the bad blood between Elves and Humans is simply too numerous to count. You do not care about this; you know this is just about survival, and there is no right or wrong. You rest here for one night, and the next day you leave the village to head to the location agreed upon with the Ebony Gauntlet.】

【The Ebony Knights are waiting there early. In fact, they are not just your supplier; they do not only sell Elf slaves, as many Elf weapons and Elf goods are also within the scope of their trade.】

【While "Daofeng" Yawen is negotiating with the leader of the Ebony Gauntlet about the Elf slaves, you take a fancy to a Noldor Composite Bow. You inquire about the price and take out a small bag of diamonds, but the merchant trading with you does not take it immediately. Instead, he says with an exceptionally bright smile that if you are willing to take out another bag of diamonds just like it, he will not only include a quiver of Noldor arrows, but the Noldor Elf Horse behind him can also be sold to you together.】

【Clearly, this shrewd and sharp-eyed merchant saw the other bag of diamonds in your bosom. You do not hesitate and hand all the diamonds to the merchant, believing you have taken advantage of a great bargain.】

【In fact, what you do not know is that Noldor Elf Horses are far from being as easy to sell as Elf slaves. These horses are too difficult to tame; many people buy them back only to find they cannot ride them at all, and can only look at them.】

【Not knowing this, you mount the Elf Horse. Your immense strength and superb horsemanship tame the horse instantly. You ride the horse around while pulling and releasing the Noldor Composite Bow while in the saddle.】

【Your actions attract the attention of many, especially "Daofeng" Yawen, who has already finished negotiating the Elf slaves with the Ebony Knight leader. He watches you with a deep frown, but does not make a scene here; instead, he takes the Elf slaves and calls for you all to leave together.】

【On the way back to Boshi Cheng, the atmosphere is very heavy. You notice the other four people surrounding you intentionally or unintentionally. They have discovered that something is wrong with you. Of course, even a fool could figure it out: a young man who wants to get ahead in the wealthy district actually spent a huge sum of money to buy a considerable amount of Elf goods. If they couldn't see the problem with that, they would be unworthy of their status as core members of the Red Brotherhood. However, they have not yet taken any excessive actions against you, perhaps because they do not yet understand your goal.】

【You certainly know they would realize something is wrong. In fact, you have been getting used to the speed of the Elf Horse and letting the Elf Horse get used to you as its new master. At this moment, you feel you are familiar enough, and your killing intent no longer needs to be suppressed.】

【Before the terrified eyes of the two people in the rear, you nock a Noldor arrow onto the Noldor Composite Bow, aim at them, and shoot one arrow at each.】

【With just two arrows, before they even had a chance to flee, you took their lives. Subsequently, you draw your weapon against the Brotherhood member approaching you from the right and shoot an arrow, once again taking a sinful life. Now, only "Daofeng" Yawen remains.】

【"Daofeng" Yawen, hearing the screams, pulls his steed to a halt. He knows he cannot run; no matter what, the horses raised by humans cannot beat an Elf Horse in speed.】

【He looks at you cautiously, asking if there is some misunderstanding.】

【You hold the Noldor Composite Bow and, without relaxing in the slightest, tell him to dismount, otherwise, you would not mind shooting his horse dead and then shooting him.】

【"Daofeng" Yawen dismounts with an ashen face and stands on the ground. He still does not understand what kind of grudge you, the child of the neighbor of Paul's relative, could possibly have against them.】

【Watching "Daofeng" Yawen dismount obediently, you gently retract the Noldor Composite Bow in your hand and draw the noble gauntlet longsword from your waist. You tell "Daofeng" Yawen it is best not to resist, otherwise, it will be difficult to even have a quick death.】

【Then you ask your own question: why exactly was there a bounty on the young man who just returned from abroad? A crestfallen "Daofeng" Yawen, while repeatedly calling it a misunderstanding, answers your question.】

【It is not just the Red Brotherhood in Boshi Cheng that received this notice; all hunters, assassins, intelligence organizations, and slave traders across the entire Pendor have received this bounty. This bounty comes from King Ulric, and the reward is a noble title and a fief the size of a village, which has driven countless people mad.】

【The main initiator of the Red Brotherhood is the agent in Xiongshi Cheng. "Daofeng" Yawen only had a small business dispute with the Xiongshi Cheng agent, "Moon Shadow" Sifute, recently, and in Boshi Cheng, he was just helping out casually. He never expected to kick such an iron plate as you.】

【As everyone knows, Red Brotherhood members from different regions look down on each other. Because of business issues, sending assassins to kill each other is a common occurrence. They are not under each other's command and have no common philosophy; their only creed is money.】

【As for why Ulric issued the bounty on you, "Daofeng" Yawen does not know. He only knows that King Ulric wants a young man who recently arrived in Pendor dead or alive.】

【He does not know, but you certainly know what is going on. As the former ruler of Pendor and the bloodline of the Pendor royal family, you are naturally hated by Ulric, because his family was your family's vassal hundreds of years ago. In terms of bloodline and legal right, you inherently suppress Ulric.】

【His ancestor Alfred was merely a duke of your family before the Blood Terror. During the Baccus Empire's invasion, he held up the banner of resistance against the Empire's invasion, but after that, instigated by the Lion Knight Order, he shamefully usurped the country. He is the first king of the current Lie Shijing. You do not need to think too much about the "why"—the moment you were born, you were Ulric's great enemy.】

【"Daofeng" Yawen looks at your inscrutable face, and a cold, gleaming dagger slowly slides out from his right sleeve. The blade has an abnormal color; this is a poison blade.】

【Many might think the term "Daofeng" (Blade Edge) is used to describe the gorgeous curved blade at Yawen's waist; in fact, this poison blade is the true face of "Daofeng".】

【Actually, you did not let your guard down while lost in thought. You saw the dagger flickering with an unusual light and did not give Yawen any chance. Just as he grabbed the hilt of the dagger, your longsword slashed across his neck. You muttered, "Why bother?" to yourself, then searched him for a while. It is a pity he did not have much money on him, but you found a map on his body. Looking at the terrain, it seems to be in the mountains near Lion City. You do not pay it much mind and put it away.】

【You come before the two bound female Elves, remove the gags from their mouths, and then, after waiting for them to finish their hysterical venting, untie the ropes binding them. You tell them that besides the two of them, you also rescued another Elf and are going to pick her up now.】

【You give them two choices: the first is that they ride horses back to their forest themselves—you cannot escort them because you have more important things to do, as the lives of Paul's family and Freya are in your hands; the second is that you will find a safe place for them to stay near Ahuen, and in one to two days at most, you will come to find them.】

【Your current location is already some distance from the Noldor Elf forest. If these two female Elves walk back themselves, they will likely face grave danger, so they choose to trust you.】

【Afterward, you gather two sets of clothes from the people you shot for the two female Elves—after all, their beauty is far beyond what "a beauty that brings disaster" can describe—and at the same time, you hand them two weapons.】

【Having received the weapons, they clearly trust you even more. You pick a few horses at random and, ignoring the corpses on the ground, leave the place.】

【Ahuen is a village located half a day's distance from Boshi Cheng. It is also very close to the Noldor Elf forest, but it is at the edge of the forest, and that place is not safe for Elves.】

【You find a large, leafy tree in a small grove near Ahuen for them, leave plenty of supplies, and hide them there. You tell them never to come down during the day and that everything must be handled in the dead of night. You emphasize: everything. At the same time, you board the extra horses at the inn in Ahuen; you know you will still have use for these lovely horses.】

【When you return to Boshi Cheng alone, it is already noon. You do not enter the city, but disguise yourself and find a child at the city gate who makes a living as a guide. You take out a silver coin and a Dinar, and tell the child to find Mr. Paul at the Fengrao Jiuguan and say that his shareholder is waiting for him at the city gate, hoping he can bring the sister boarded there to see you. Then you hand the silver coin to the child and tell him that when he brings Mr. Paul out, this gold coin will belong to him.】

【The child has never encountered such a big deal in his life; he nimbly takes the silver coin you handed over and runs toward the city at top speed.】

【Soon, a covered, fully enclosed carriage stops beside you. The driver is that guard who was sleeping in the tavern; he is Paul's younger brother. Compared to Paul, his brain is not particularly good, but he knows a few moves of swordsmanship, the very sloppy kind, and Paul is just supporting him.】

【You hear Paul's voice coming from the carriage, hand the Dinar to the child who came along, and the child leaves happily. Then you follow the carriage and leave the city gate of Boshi Cheng.】

【Paul brings that female Elf out along with his wife and children. He knows that if you called him out in such a way, something must have happened. Shrewd as he is, he took all his assets, closed the Fengrao Jiuguan, and "rented" a carriage to run out.】

【You look at him and his family and laugh. You have truly started to like this clever man.】

【You briefly explain what happened on the road and tell him that if he is willing, he can wait for you at the entrance of Ahuen village; if not, he can leave after leaving Freya behind. At the same time, he can take the bag of diamonds in Freya's arms. Freya no longer needs that bag of diamonds to trust you; in fact, that was just your way of fooling a child. No matter where that bag of diamonds is, it is actually under your control.】

【Paul listens to your words, ponders for a while, and indicates that he will wait for you at the entrance of Ahuen village. Freya in the carriage asks you anxiously why you are not going with them. You tell her gently that you still have some things to handle and not to worry, as you will catch up soon. Freya does not quite understand, but she nods to indicate that she will also wait for you at Ahuen.】

【You watch Paul and the others drive the carriage away. One hour later, you return to the gate of Boshi Cheng again. You take out a document prepared beforehand and a small bag of Dinars searched from Yawen's body, and hand them to the guard captain at the city gate.】

【You tell him you are a subordinate of Suofiya Furen from the Lvteng Jiuguan. This document can prove your identity. It is not convenient for you to go in right now, but you have an urgent message that needs to be delivered to Suofiya Furen, and you need him to help pass the word.】

【He certainly knows Suofiya Furen. He takes out the document and confirms your identity—the document is, of course, real, as Suofiya Furen specifically had it issued by the Governor's office to facilitate your return to the city with the Elves. He asks why you returned alone.】

【You tell him that you were attacked on the road, and Yawen said the attackers have considerable influence in the city, so you cannot go in. If Suofiya Furen wants to know more information, she needs to go to the inn in Ahuen, where you will be waiting for her.】

【The officer thinks for a moment, weighs the weight of the money bag in his hand, and tells you that he will do this favor and you should go back and wait for news. After saying this, he takes two men and walks toward the city.】

【You do not head to Ahuen, but wait for Suofiya Furen at a position five hundred meters from the city gate of Boshi Cheng.】

【Half an hour later, that guard from the Lvteng Jiuguan you are familiar with drives a carriage out of Boshi Cheng, followed by a dozen light cavalry, heading toward Ahuen.】

【You know that Sophia will most likely come out; even if she is clever, it is impossible for her to guess that your target is them, and since the two Elves are still in your hands, she must come out regardless to confirm the safety of the cargo.】

【You ride the Elf Horse and follow right behind them; you do not want to start a massacre near Boshi Cheng, as this is not like last time at night, and it is easy to attract the attention of others during the day. No matter how strong you are, you cannot kill an entire army alone, especially since the top-tier combatants here are not necessarily weaker than you.】

【Soon, you feel the time is ripe; you take out the Noldor Composite Bow again and drive the Elf Horse to catch up with Sophia's carriage convoy.】

【To you, this battle is nothing more than a simple massacre. The speed of the Elf Horse ensures you can catch up to anyone here, and with the performance of the Noldor Composite Bow combined with your superb archery, you can accurately shoot enemies over a hundred meters away while mounted; if you dismount, this distance can extend to three hundred meters. You are already somewhat weary of such slaughter; after all, killing Humans is not the same as killing Orcish.】

【After killing everyone, you arrive near the carriage; you hear the voice of Suofiya Furen, a sweet, soft, and alluring voice that sounds somewhat panicked as she asks you why you are doing this, when she has clearly been helping you all along.】

【You tell her the truth, and she falls silent. After a long while, she begs you to give her a way to live, saying she can work for you; she has powerful connections in Boshi Cheng and possesses a large amount of capital, so if you want to restore your country, she would be very useful.】

【It is clear that the intelligence Suofiya Furen has obtained is far more than that of Yawen. You ignore Suofiya Furen's pleas, simply raising the Noldor Composite Bow in your hand and saying softly once more, "I cannot let you go." Through the carriage curtain, you shoot and kill Suofiya Furen inside with one arrow.】

【After waiting for a moment, you lift the carriage curtain and see Suofiya Furen, who is holding a Crossbow and has already lost her life. You sigh, lower the curtain, and ride the Elf Horse away.】

【When you arrive at Ahuen, it is already near dusk; Paul's family and Freya are waiting for you in the carriage.】

【You ask Paul what his plans are, and Paul says his business is completely ruined; even if you killed Suofiya Furen, it cannot stop the crazy revenge of the Red Brotherhood members. He asks if he can follow you and work for you.】

【You have grown fond of this clever man, so you take out that bag of diamonds and tell him that if he is willing to follow you, he can open a tavern in Long River Town in Lie Shijing; if there are no accidents, you will head there soon. The boss takes the bag of diamonds and leaves; in fact, this bag of diamonds is worth more than his entire net worth, but in the past, he would not have dared to take it.】

【You and Freya watch Paul's family leave; you know this clever man will surely take care of himself and successfully head to Long River Town. Now, you and Freya must go find those two female Elves and head to the forest of the Noldor together.】

【By the time you and Freya find the two female Elves with a few horses, it is already night. Unexpectedly, they all know each other and chatter away for quite a while; feeling helpless, you have to interrupt their reunion and tell them your plan for what comes next.】

【You intend to enter the forest from the edge of the forest near Woerwen, and with one person and two horses, you can definitely arrive there before dawn, then enter the depths of the forest to return them to the Elf Patrol you might encounter.】

【Speaking of this, you joke that you hope that after sending them back, you can safely leave the forest instead of becoming fertilizer for the forest with arrows stuck all over your body.】

【Upon hearing this, Freya pats her trembling chest, claiming she will guarantee your safety. You glance at this silly little girl, wondering where she gets her confidence—could it be that she is the daughter of Aldaria and Yishilandi? Even if she were, the hatred between Humans and Elves cannot be settled by one or two lives.】

【It is not that you have never thought about getting on good terms with the Elves, but in your memory, wanting to get on good terms with the Elves is truly extremely difficult, far from something that can be resolved by saving a few Elf captives.】

【Although you do not believe a word the little girl says, you still express your gratitude to Freya, and then, you head in the direction of Woerwen.】