Chapter Seventy-Three

  Lionel Gruck carelessly tossed nine silver coins onto the ground, sneering as he raised his chin at Shep, "Come pick them up, old dog. Want me to let that little dog behind you help out too?"

  Scarface Nors burst out laughing loudly, while mysterious Simon just furrowed his brow and said nothing.

  Lei Ga's anger was burning, his two rows of teeth were almost crushed by himself, and the murderous intent in his black pupils was growing stronger. He knew that at times like these he had to calm down and let Xie Pu handle things, but if he didn't do something about those three damned bastards, the anger in his heart would have nowhere to vent.

  It's just that it can't be done here, this is the Black Crow Tavern, not a slaughterhouse, and we can't dirty the tavern floor.

  Xie Pu saw Leiga not doing anything impulsive again, and his expression was very happy. For him, Leiga's growth was the most important thing, and the ridicule of the other three ants was just a breeze in his ear, not stirring up any waves in his heart. He gave a dry smile to the three slave mercenaries, and casually bent down to pick up the nine scattered silver coins one by one.

  "Good dog!"

  Gruuk and Scarface Nos laughed even more wildly, their shrill laughter fueling the flames of rage that Rega had been hiding deep within his heart.

  Absolutely unforgivable! Absolutely... cannot!

  Xie Pu stood up straight amidst the jeering, and sighed to Gruke: "This gentleman, I think you're not someone who doesn't recognize numbers, so it must be my own eyes playing tricks on me. Otherwise, we clearly agreed that gathering intelligence would cost ten silver coins, but why do I only have nine in my hand?"

  Lionel's face suddenly flushed with a red tide, and Shep's words were clearly scolding him for being illiterate. He said viciously: "Old man, didn't you pick one up before?"

  He wasn't being petty, a single silver coin was nothing to a mercenary slave who made a living by burning, killing, looting and plundering, it's just that he was used to being arrogant every day, where had he ever met an innkeeper who dared to speak to him like this?

  Xie Pu wasn't impatient at all, and with a smile, he replied: "This gentleman, the silver coin just now was something I picked up for free. According to our business people's saying, money on the ground belongs to whoever picks it up. If you see money and don't pick it up, then you're just as foolish as the person who threw it away - right? So, sir, that money shouldn't be yours, should it?"

  Gruk's throat obviously swallowed, then expressionlessly took out another silver coin from the money bag, not throwing it on the ground again, but roughly handed it to Shep's hand, while making a vicious hum in his nostrils.

  "Old man, today is your lucky day. My brothers and I are in a hurry, otherwise, I wouldn't worry about getting my hands dirty by killing someone as insignificant as you - the Righteous Blood Brotherhood doesn't fear getting dirty."

  Gruk paused for a moment and then continued, "Now that you have all ten silver coins in your hand, hurry up and tell us where to find that damned Crow Lord!"

  "Of course, of course—"

  Xie Pu smiled and slowly put away the silver coins, "That damned Crow Lord is neither far nor near..."

  "Stop showing off!"

  Scarface Nuo shouted loudly: "What's the point of saying it's far but not far, and near but not near?"

  "Don't rush, don't rush."

  Xie Pu calmly raised his hand and pointed to the street ahead, "Ladies and gentlemen, you follow this cobblestone road forward, turn left at the first intersection, left again, left again, and then left once more, and then you will understand what I am saying."

  "Let's go!"

  Gruuk didn't think much, immediately flipped over the horse, turned the horse's head around and rushed to the first intersection in front of him. Scarface Nors followed closely behind.

  The mysterious Simon cast a strange glance at Shep, still saying nothing, and drove the black iron cage carriage to catch up with his companions.

  "Boss, you've fooled them all."

  Lei Ga's cunning expression towards Xie Pu was laughable, and his anger dissipated a little. But only a little, for when he thought of the three men's humiliation of Xie Pu, Lei Ga's eyes turned cold and stern.

  "Just letting them get away with it is not enough, I won't let them off that easily. I'll go change my clothes, put on a mask and wait for them at the town council. Boss, please inform Dulandei to bring those three fools to the town council."

  "Not three fools."

  Xie Pu gently shook his head and said seriously: "It's two fools plus one who deliberately pretends to be confused."

  "You're referring to that guy named Simon, right? His behavior is indeed a bit strange, and his identity..."

  Here is the translation:

  "Up to this point, a small wrinkle appeared between Rega's eyebrows. 'Gruk and Nors are genuine slave mercenaries of the Blood Brotherhood, while that Simon is very likely a servant of some noble family in Senrock Castle. Given their low-key actions, it's likely that his master's status isn't low. If I kill the slave mercenaries, perhaps no one will care, but if I kill an upper-class noble's servant on Crow Ridge, it will inevitably lead to revenge. The newly revived Crow Ridge might once again fall into a bloodbath.'"

  "You can think of this point, proving you have grown a lot."

  Xie Pu patted Le Ga's shoulder and comfortingly said: "Act well as the Crow Lord, let them go. Sometimes compromise is just to protect those who care more about you. The power struggle between the upper nobility, it's better for us commoners not to get involved."

  "It's no good."

  In Lei's black pupils was a stubborn glint, "No matter what kind of master he has, I will make them pay the price."

  "You'd better think it over carefully, this isn't just about your personal grudges," Schepp warned.

  "I know what I'm doing." Rega's tone was unmistakable.

  Xie Pu opened his mouth to speak, but ultimately just nodded. "I'm really getting old and confused, trying to use the experience of a tavern owner to teach you how to be a lord."

  "Boss, I——"

  Shepard waved his hand, interrupting Legolas' explanation. "I didn't mean to blame you for this. In fact, the Crow Lord should indeed have the demeanor of a Crow Lord, and these are precisely what I couldn't teach you. Since you've already made up your mind, then I'll go find that long-legged lass to pass on the message."

  After finishing speaking, he turned around and walked towards Dulan's house.

  Lei Ga gazed at Xie Pu's departing back, and silently said in his heart: "Boss, even if it means destroying the entire Crow Ridge, I will never allow anyone to humiliate you like that!"

  He gritted his teeth and quickly returned to the attic, put on the black magnificent robe specially made for him by the United Council, grabbed the crow sword, wrapped a black scarf around his face, and then... he stopped, letting out a deep sigh.

  The magnificent robe was indeed a good fit, but the luxurious craftsmanship made Rega feel somewhat unaccustomed. The long and wide sleeves were adorned with feather-like patterns, and on the chest, a silver-thread embroidery of a raven spreading its wings to fly was stitched. The entire robe felt comfortable from inside out, yet Rega, who was accustomed to wearing tattered coarse clothes, suddenly found himself in this noble and mature attire, and he didn't know which leg to step forward with first.

  If he wore the lord's finery and was forced to be humble, it would only suppress the arrogant and domineering mercenary slaves of the Blood Vow.

  But if he directly changed back into his original clothes, the disguise would become meaningless, and his true identity and age would be exposed. The dignity of the master of Crow Ridge would also be impossible to maintain, and in the end, those three bastards would still find a way to exploit the weakness.

  "Wow!"

  Just as Leiga was frowning, a crow flew in from the window and landed on his shoulder, like a heavenly soldier coming to his rescue.

  Ever since losing to Lycan, this black bird with a strong sense of self-esteem was deeply stimulated. It flew to the dense forest to practice hard during the day and ignored Lycan when it returned at night. This is the first time it has stood on Lycan's shoulder again in this period of time.

  The weight of the crow's trampling on his shoulder made Lega's heart suddenly feel solid.

  "Big Brother Crow? Are you going with me?"

  "Wow!"

  Lei Ga smiled heartily, "Great, let's two brothers work together to get justice for our boss. However, unfortunately I won't be able to show my face..."

  Lei Ga pointed at the mask on his face.

  "Wow!"

  The crow flapped its wings lightly, revealing a face full of ferocity.

  "Hah, right, your face alone is enough to scare them to death."

  Lei Ga's eyebrows also furrowed along with Wu Ya's expression: "Alright, let them witness the ferocity of the Crow Clan's leader!"

  After finishing speaking, Lei Ga led the way with an air of majesty, walking down from the attic and heading in the direction of the town council...

  After turning left, left, left and left again, Grukk and the others had gone in a big circle and were back in front of the entrance to the Stormcrow Tavern.

  "I knew it, we've been played by that old guy!"

  Scarface Norris drew his cavalry saber and snarled, "Hold up, Captain Simon, I'll just go cut off his head and be right back!"

  "Come back!"

  Gulu's face turned gloomy, "If anyone is going to chop, it's me! Damn it, playing with birds has reached my head!"

  Ximon had long expected this situation and was thinking about how to comfort the two fools, so that the prisoner's carriage could leave Crow Ridge early. Suddenly, he saw a tall-legged girl walking towards them with a gentle and elegant pace.

  He raised an eyebrow and smiled: "Please calm down, both of you. Someone is coming, let's ask her where the Crow Lord is."

  Dàobāo's face turned pale with fright, his eyes bulging out of their sockets, and the anger that had filled his chest just moments before was completely gone.

  "Wow, in such a poor and remote place, there's actually such a beautiful woman!"

  Guluke also said with a lustful smile: "Can't find that old guy, let's just use this little beauty to relieve our fire first!"

  As they spoke, the two jumped down from their horses in perfect tacit understanding and rushed towards Du Lan's encirclement.

  "I am a member of the Wuyaling San Village Joint Council and the current village head of Chen Ni Village ——"

  Dulan's voice was cold as ice: "You are being rude to me, do you want to openly defy Wuya Ridge?"

  Simon hastened to urge his horse to intercept Gruuk and Nors, lest they do something foolish and be unable to extricate themselves from Crow Ridge.

  "It's actually Village Chief, I'm so sorry!"

  Ximón gave a sidelong glance to his restless companion, then turned back to Duran and said, "We are a band of slave mercenaries passing through Crow's Spire, seeking permission from the Lord of Crows to pass through."

  "Then come with me."

  Dulan's enemies turned around, leading them towards the town council. "The Crow Lord will surely treat you well..."