Chapter 50: Haunted House

This manual was recorded in quite some detail; not only were the area, location, and price of the houses recorded very clearly, but it even used lines to draw simple house structures, which could be called thoughtful.

As Wayne looked through it, he suddenly discovered that the marked price of one house was quite low, only about one-third of other houses of the same level, and the area was large, and the location was quite remote, which quite suited his wishes.

So he asked:

"Mr. Peter, I wonder what the situation is with this house? Why is its price much cheaper than other houses?"

"Hmm, which one is it?"

Upon hearing this, Peter looked at the one Wayne pointed to, and then his face changed, showing some hesitation.

He raised his head, saw that Wayne seemed really quite interested, thought about it, and still didn't want to offend this client. After all, many people already knew about this matter, and it couldn't be hidden, so he said:

"Mr. Wayne, to tell you the truth, there are some problems with this house."

"Before this, it has already had two buyers, but during the process of living there, various unexpected accidents always occurred."

"For example, having nightmares at night, always being tripped for no reason, items falling from high places and injuring them, etc. In the end, the buyers all ran to the town hall to make trouble, making it known to everyone that there was a problem with this house."

"In order to reduce the negative impact of this incident, the town hall took back this house and hoped to dispose of it at a low price."

Saying this, Peter looked at his expression and added:

"Of course, as the price for disposing of it at a low price, the buyer must sign a contract with the town hall, and after the purchase, they cannot go back on their word."

Listening to administrative officer Peter's description, Wayne's first reaction was that a ghost, a small ground spirit, or a curse was at work.

Of course, there were countless monsters in this world, as well as all kinds of ghosts and demon gods, even Witchers couldn't recognize them all, maybe there were other reasons.

But no matter what, if it was just a small problem, with his Witcher abilities, he could completely solve it. This would not only save a large sum of money for nothing but also obtain an ideal house, killing two birds with one stone.

Although the manual marked the price of this house as only two thousand orens, for the sake of safety, Wayne still decided to investigate secretly first to see if he could solve it, and then decide whether to complete this transaction.

Subsequently, he and administrative officer Peter exchanged information about other houses, but most of them were expensive and not very cost-effective.

These newly built houses were all prepared for those wealthy merchants, nobles, or powerful people, mostly with large areas and luxurious decorations, which ordinary commoners could not afford.

Peter was also anxious about his performance. Seeing that Wayne's temperament was not like those commoners, and he had the appearance of someone who didn't lack money, he was so patient in explaining so much to him.

"Then that's it for today. Thank you, Mr. Peter, for explaining it so thoroughly to me."

"I will consider it carefully in the next two days. After making a decision, I will come to the town hall to find you. At that time, please ask Mr. Peter to handle this procedure for us personally."

There were several administrative officers in the town hall, and whoever sold the house and land, the performance would be counted as theirs.

Seeing Wayne being so sensible, Peter also nodded with satisfaction and very friendly sent him to the entrance of the town hall.

And seeing Wayne and the administrative officer inside the town hall talking happily, the two guards at the entrance didn't dare to continue to make things difficult for him and obediently returned his weapon.

Getting back his steel sword, Wayne looked at the sky. It was almost the time he had agreed with Geralt. He didn't run around anymore but strolled on the street near the entrance of the town hall.

After waiting for about half an hour, he finally saw Geralt and Dandelion, the two guys, walking towards him with drunkenness on their faces, arms around each other's shoulders, followed by the mare Roach and that little donkey.

Looking at their appearance, he didn't know which tavern they had gone to drink at, or if they had been drinking with women.

After the three met, Dandelion laughed and, quite mysteriously, pulled Wayne's arm and whispered:

"Hey, Wayne, you didn't go play with us, you really missed out."

"We first went to a tavern to drink, and later when playing Gwent, we met a noble baron."

"He lost to Geralt in cards, losing more than a hundred orens, and then bet to take us to a private club."

"It's called the Queen of the Night. The girls inside, oh my! Every one of them is top-notch, no matter their figure or beauty, they are hard to see outside."

"However, the consumption inside is also too expensive. Just this afternoon, we spent at least two hundred orens."

Two hundred orens, one-tenth of a house.

Wayne was a bit speechless listening. This guy Dandelion was simply a bad friend. This afternoon, he had spent almost all the little reward Geralt had worked so hard to earn.

Looking at Geralt's expression of still wanting more, Wayne didn't know what to say.

As long as the two of them felt it was worth it, seizing the day was also a kind of life attitude.

As for the Queen of the Night, Wayne, who had played the game, knew very well that the owner of this brothel was Geralt's future friend, Regis's old lover, and also a higher vampire. And many of the girls in the Queen of the Night were also vampires, possessing the ability to charm humans. No wonder they could make Dandelion so unforgettable.

After chatting briefly, Wayne took the two of them to Old York's Fox Tavern and enjoyed dinner right in his inn.

The food eaten was the big wild boar brought back from the abandoned farm. Wayne specially cooked, using a large amount of wild boar meat to make a big meal of hot pot and barbecue.

He invited everyone he knew to enjoy it, and everyone ate until their mouths were oily and called it satisfying. He even specially called the thin boy Alex.

For this orphan who had lost his relatives, he was prepared to observe him to see his character. If this child knew what gratitude was and what loyalty was, Wayne would spend some effort to cultivate him.

And after dinner, when a few people were chatting, Wayne also told Geralt his decision.

"Geralt, I plan to stay in Wyzima this year to accept contracts, and when winter comes, I will return to Kaer Morhen."

Geralt, who was originally drunk, was stunned when he heard this. A look of confusion appeared on his face, and he asked:

"Why did you make this decision, Wayne?"

Wayne behaved very calmly and said very rationally:

"There are many things I need to learn, Geralt, so I want to start my practice in Wyzima, a place that is relatively safe, has many contracts, and requires dealing with all kinds of people."

"Here, not only can I exercise my various abilities as a Witcher, but I can also learn how to survive in this world and how to get along with people of various races."

Geralt nodded upon hearing this, then silently picked up his wine glass and took another sip of strong liquor.

To be honest, he would rather have Wayne follow him to carry out those monster-hunting contracts in the countryside and wilderness than have this young apprentice stay in a complex place like Wyzima.

But the two or three years of getting along made Geralt know that Wayne was a rational and intelligent young man. He always had his own plans, and his combat power was not inferior to that of an ordinary Witcher.

As a companion, he couldn't interfere too much in Wayne's life, nor would he treat Wayne as a sixteen or seventeen-year-old child.

There was silence at the wine table for about a minute, just when Dandelion was about to tell a few jokes to ease the atmosphere.

Geralt exhaled gently and said:

"Fine, since you have already decided, Wayne, just do it according to your own ideas."

"I will also stay here for a month or two. When I am sure that you can adapt to life here, I will leave and go to other places to look for contracts."

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 51 =====