Chapter Twenty-Five: Capture

  (Second update, 98 collections so far, still owe two more updates)

  Joni brought Odara and the patrol to the Lost Tavern, a cellar tavern with big rats.

  Since completing that task, Johnny has never been to this tavern again. What is a tavern? A place where you can eat and drink. Having witnessed the half-eaten bacon and the very stingy boss, Johnny was deeply worried about the food safety here.

  But today he didn't come here to eat.

  "Sir, order these men to guard the perimeter of the tavern, then I'll go in with you and ask the questions," Jony said to Odara.

  Audrey didn't know what this kid was going to do, but he could feel his sincerity. So he gave the order and walked into the Lost Tavern with Johnny.

  "Boss, business is good?" Johnny greeted the meatball.

  The old boss looked up and saw Johnny, somewhat puzzled, as if he hadn't recognized him. But when he saw Odala behind Johnny, his face twitched, and then a bright smile appeared: "Hey, isn't this Lord Odala? What wind brought you here? Would you like to have something to eat? Our store..."

  "Alright, we're not here to eat," Joni interrupted the boss's hospitality. "Did you know there have been a series of murders in town recently?"

  "I knew, such a big thing, of course I've heard about it. Ah, I don't know which damned thief, so cruel, I heard that only two shops in the workers' district can operate..." The boss chatted on, his face as usual.

  "Heh heh." Johnny interrupted him again, grinning, "The boss's wine cellar, didn't any more rats get in later?"

  "Cellar? Mouse? Ha ha, what are you talking about, sir? Our cellar has never..."

  The third interruption, but this time with a short blade.

  "Cut the crap, it was me who helped you kill the rat back then. I'm warning you, one more lie and I'll slaughter you!" Johnny's eyes widened, the knife tip pressed against the boss's thick neck. Odala stood by, watching silently. It wasn't even lunchtime yet, and the hungover customers had all gone home, leaving only these three in the tavern.

  "Now." Johnny sheathed his knife, still wearing that slightly exaggerated smile. "Take us down."

  The old man swallowed his saliva and looked at O'Dara for help, but this was of no use. O'Dara simply nodded: "Do as he says."

  Helpless, he could only lead the two of them to the entrance of the wine cellar, stretching out his hand to open the wooden door, and then...

  Then with a thud, he knelt down and burst into tears: "Sir, this has nothing to do with me! They forced me to do it!"

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  The whole incident suddenly became clear from this chubby's complaint and description.

  When this meatball first became the owner of the tavern, he wasn't a meatball yet. At that time, he wasn't just a simple tavern owner either; he also had a very promising part-time job - smuggler.

  Tabriz is a commercial city, so the gate tax and commodity registration are naturally unavoidable. What to sell, how much to sell, everything is clearly recorded in the clerk's notebook, and taxes are paid according to quantity when leaving the city. If you don't sell anything, you still have to pay the toll, one for entering the city and one for leaving the city.

  The noble lords were ruthless in collecting taxes. Some nobles even collected floor tax - any goods that fell to the ground belonged to the local lord. Earl Darius was not so extreme, but he would not let go of the money that should be collected.

  So the profit from smuggling became even greater.

  The boss and several like-minded partners rented a wine house, dug a tunnel, and connected it directly to the outside of the city. The exit of the tunnel was hidden in the woods, so no one had ever discovered it. The smuggling business lasted for many years, and the people involved made a small fortune. Later, everyone got tired and felt that this kind of tunnel-digging work was too suffocating. So they divided the remaining funds and went their separate ways. The boss stayed in the wine house, living an easy life, and grew a plump body like a meatball.

  Until five months ago, a former partner came to the tavern and found him. For both of whom had changed, there was quite a bit of twists and turns. But in the end, they still got in touch. Without a doubt, that partner is now a member of the Wild Wolf Mercenary Group. He promised a large sum of money, saying he wanted to borrow the passage for a while. It wasn't a big deal, so Fatso readily agreed. Letting his former partner go through the passage again, he found no signs of collapse. So he paid the deposit and said he would be notified when the time came.

  Things took a slight turn. Apparently, that former partner forgot to close the exit door when he came back, so there were rats coming through the hole into the wine cellar, which led to Johnny's first bucket of gold and everything today.

  When a group of men in various attire, armed with sharp blades, descended upon the Lost Tavern from all directions, the boss only then realized that the money seemed to be hot.

  "The one who led them was a young man, probably about your age, sir." The boss described the scene in detail. "Although he was the smallest among them, I felt that he was the most dangerous. When his eyes looked at me, I felt as if I had been stared at by a poisonous snake. He thanked me for my cooperation and gave me a bag of gold coins. At that time, I didn't think much about it. Later, when they came back covered in blood, I became a little scared and asked them what they had done without thinking. The young leader rushed to the front, held a knife against my neck, and said: 'If you dare to tell anyone about what happened here, hehe, we don't mind killing one more person.' I was very scared at that time, nodded my head in agreement, and promised not to tell others. It wasn't until the next day that I knew the entire artisan district had been slaughtered. I wanted to report it, but I was afraid of their revenge, and besides, I would be considered an accomplice if I said anything. So I didn't say anything."

  "What then?" Johnny asked.

  "They came again later, just last night, without notifying me. By the time I heard the noise, they had all come in. It was still that young man who led them. This time he didn't give me any gold coins, but instead said with a smile, as if joking with friends: 'This time it's buy one get one free, right?' I smiled and was about to negotiate when he suddenly turned serious and said: 'I'm not negotiating with you, got it?' Then he started fiddling with his knife while staring at me. I was very scared and didn't dare speak. Then he led the others out, only returning in the middle of the night, still covered in blood, and warned me again. And then, and then you all arrived."

  The boss finished speaking, burst into tears and hugged Johnny's leg, shouting: "Really has nothing to do with me! Really, I was forced to!"

  Looking at the trite plot unfolding before his eyes, Joanie turned around and asked O'Dara: "Sir, what punishment will he receive according to the law?"

  Audrey stroked her chin: "Harboring and conniving, knowing but not reporting, plus the smuggling case, tsk, I don't understand how Taburi City is regulated, burning at the stake or hanging? Anyway, they'll both end up dead."

  What strict laws indeed.

  Jiang Li lowered his head and said to the boss: "You see, your fault is quite big. However..."

  The boss seemed to see a glimmer of hope for life and stared at Johnny with a pair of shining eyes.

  "If you cooperate, it's not like I won't be able to plead for you." Johnny said with a warm smile, as if he were an angel saving the world.

  "You say, you say, I'll agree with everything you say, I'll tell you everything!"

  "Alright then, take us to the entrance of the cave first."

  The boss opened the wooden door, lit a torch and walked ahead, saying: "Gentlemen, just ahead is the entrance to the underground tunnel. Those people came from there..."

  A sudden change occurred, and a crossbow bolt pierced his thick throat, blocking his mouth.

  "Our boss said that if you dare to betray, we'll get rid of you." A cold voice came from the corner, accompanied by the sound of swords being drawn, "You two stay here too."

  Joni stared at the corpse in front of him in surprise as it slowly fell to the ground, exchanged a glance with Oudala, shrugged and retreated to the back.

  First was the crisp sound of metal striking, then the dull thud of fist meeting flesh. Finally, Odara grabbed the attacker by the scruff of his neck and called out to Johnny: "Take him back to the castle for questioning, let those patrolmen clean up here. Heh heh, let me stay here, this little guy is night-blind."

  Joni shook his head, unexpectedly catching a big fish. This guy must know more than that fat guy. Thinking so, he turned back to look at the rotten meat on the ground.

  "At least this way it's quicker."

  Having said that, he followed Odala and walked towards the exit.