Casting spells

"What?! Really? Who did it?"

"It is said to be a 13-year-old boy named Benny!"

"God of justice! A 13-year-old boy became the ruler of a beggar's nest? Is there anything wrong with my ears?"

"Hush! You'd better watch your tone of voice! You know, he killed hundreds of people overnight, he's just as ruthless as a monster."

"That's right! And after Benny came to power, his gang began to produce some unheard of medicines, and many nobles and businessmen flocked to them."

……

In the most luxurious hotel in Neverwinter - Moonstone Mask, many guests were talking about what happened that crazy night not long ago.

Neither the nominal ruler of the city, Lord Nasir, nor the Nine Guardians of Neverwinter who were loyal to him, expected such a situation to arise.

So much so that when they wanted to talk to the underground king of the Beggar's Nest, they didn't know where to find each other.

No one knew it at all. After establishing an effective control system, Zhang Cheng quietly moved out of the beggar's nest, bought a house in the port area with a new look, and used a more concealed method to ensure that no one could easily find him. Own.

There is no doubt that he took advantage of the misunderstanding of people's inertial thinking.

After all, almost all the gang leaders in the past would place their lairs in the Beggar's Nest, and use the large number of poor people and the intricate sewers to hide, so most people would mistakenly focus on the Beggar's Nest instead of other urban areas.

Standing on the balcony on the second floor of the new house, Jesse looked down at the busy sailors and coolies, and asked without looking back: "This is your plan? To hide it from everyone's sight?"

"That's right! I'm not those stupid idiots who like to show off their prestige in front of the weak and make others respect themselves by venting violence. The real gang should be like a shadow hiding in the dark, and everyone knows its existence, but But I can't find where it is. If anyone dares to betray, then this shadow will quietly dispatch and execute the informer. What we should use is fear, people's fear of the unknown, not bloody and brutal violence " Zhang Cheng sat on the sofa and replied casually.

"Sounds reasonable. Where did you learn this?" Jessie walked back into the house with light steps, picked up a bottle of good rum from the cabinet and poured himself a glass.

"Books, as the carrier of knowledge, as long as you are smart and patient enough, you can find the answers to almost all questions from them." After finishing speaking, Zhang Cheng threw aside the parchment scroll he had just finished reading.

Obviously, what was written on this piece of paper was nothing else, but the profits of the Beggar's Nest Gang in the recent period.

Thanks to the formula he provided, in just two weeks, the profit from buying the potion has reached [-] gold coins. If the raw materials were not limited, the scale could continue to expand.

"Reading?" Jesse rolled his eyes angrily. "Please forgive me! I will start to feel drowsy after reading too many words, and I will fall asleep within a few minutes at most. By the way, recently there is a mage named Mandan who is looking around for your whereabouts."

"Mandaen?" Zhang Cheng subconsciously frowned.

"Yes! It is said that he lives in the Black Lake District and has a quite luxurious manor. He is the kind of bastard who is so rich that he never gives to the poor." Jesse said the information he had obtained without thinking.

After Zhang Cheng patiently listened to the content, the corners of his mouth immediately turned up slightly: "Interesting! Send me a message, that is, I will wait for him at Shidi's Tavern in the dock area at ten o'clock tomorrow night. Also, don't forget to maintain Good order, no matter who dares to break the rules I set, his head will be cut off and hung in the highest place of the beggar's nest."

"Don't worry, those poor people have been frightened by you, and they dare not do anything out of the ordinary. But I don't understand, why are you targeting the Temple of the God of Justice? You must know that those priests and paladins are not easy to deal with. "Jessie drank the wine in the glass in one breath, and then asked with a full belch.

"If you want to completely control the beggar's nest, you must first extinguish the hope of the poor and make everyone realize that no one or god can help them. Unfortunately, the existence of that temple is equivalent to the last in the dark. There is no light, so we have to destroy it. Well, go about your business, if there is nothing important, it is best not to come to me in the dock area.” Zhang Cheng waved his hand, indicating that Tieflin can leave.

"understand!"

Without further ado, Jesse put on the hood, gently pushed open the bookshelf on the wall, got into a pre-dug tunnel, and entered the intricate sewer.

After a while, she got out from the corner of a house in the Black Lake District and ran straight in the direction of Mandan Manor.

……

Two and a half hours later, an unsigned note finally reached the mage through the guards and stewards.

"The guard said that it was sent by a man covered in a cloak. Judging from his body shape, the other party should be a woman." The old butler explained politely.

"I know who she is, and I know who she's working for." Mandan narrowed his eyes, and released a flame, burning the note cleanly.

The old butler seemed to have noticed something, and asked cautiously: "My lord, is that child named Benny really yours..."

"Shut up! This is not something you should meddle in!"

Before the butler finished speaking, Mandan immediately yelled loudly, with an expression of anger and shame on his face.

"As you wish!" The old butler hurriedly bent down and bowed. "However, I need to remind you that so far, you have not had an heir who can inherit the family business, so an illegitimate child is actually a good choice. At least Master Benny has proved his talent, hasn't he?"

"I said it! Shut up! You don't have to worry about my business! As for Benny, I have to meet with him before making a decision. You must understand that his mother is just a lowly commoner, and she followed me behind my back." Another man ran away. I'm not even sure if that child is mine or not." Mandaen was obviously a little irritable today, kicked over the vase in the corner, and then went straight to his bedroom.

Seeing this scene, the old housekeeper couldn't help sighing softly, knelt down and picked up the scattered pieces on the ground, and muttered to himself: "Great god of nobility, please bless Master Benny, don't let him Living outside. Otherwise, the family may perish because there is no heir."

Chapter 9 and Ten Mandaan

A day passed in the blink of an eye, and the Sheedy Tavern in the dock area once again welcomed countless sailors toasting and drinking, as well as some guys who looked very cautious.

As the largest lair of the Smugglers Alliance in the entire Neverwinter City, this place is not just a place for merry-go-round, but also a place for secret transactions.

Anyone who wants to avoid high taxes and buy cheap goods will gather here, and there will even be auctions every once in a while, using a token called smuggler coins to bid on rare magical weapons, equipment and potions.

It can be said that Xidi Tavern is like a parasite lying on the economic artery of Neverwinter City and sucking blood. The more it sucks, the less tax money the city will receive.

But none of this has anything to do with Mandan.

The reason why he came today was just to meet someone, a boy who gave him a headache.

Gromin, the loyal half-orc guard, followed closely behind, pushing back those bastards who wanted to take advantage of it with extremely fierce eyes.

The two walked around the entire tavern twice like this, one behind the other, and finally found a relatively short figure in an inconspicuous corner.

Due to the dim light, Mandaen couldn't see the other person's face clearly, but he still took the initiative to approach him and asked in an uncertain tone, "Are you Benny?"

"That's right! Nice to meet you, Your Excellency." Zhang Cheng took off his hood, revealing an immature face.

"What's the matter with your eyes?" Mandan frowned subconsciously.

"You ask this?" Zhang Cheng lightly tapped the blindfold on his left eye, and replied with a smile, "I had a little accident and lost one eye."

"Why don't you go to the temple and let the priest heal it for you? With the wealth you have now, you can't even get this little money out, right?" looked up and down.

Although he was mentally prepared before coming, he still couldn't help but feel a strong aura now, as if the person sitting in front of him was not a 13-year-old boy, but a clever, cunning and dangerous element.

Zhang Cheng smiled and shook his head: "Why must it be cured? What is lost is lost. It can remind me of the mistakes I made and always remind me not to repeat the same mistakes. I only need to pay for one eye to get such a huge return. Isn't it worth being happy?"

"You are smart and precocious. You are even better than I imagined. But before we really start today's conversation, I hope to do a magic test to prove our blood relationship." Mandan offered with a complicated expression the first requirement.

Because he understands that if he can't confirm that the other party is really selfish, then none of the following conversations will be valid.

"Yes!" Zhang Cheng nodded in agreement.

Without a doubt, he knew who the mage sitting in front of him was, and based on the boy's remaining memory, he deduced that the other party was probably the boy's biological father.

Mandaen, who was used to selfishness, was obviously not very considerate of other people's feelings, so he took out a white crystal, cut his finger with a dagger, dripped a drop of blood on it, and pushed it to Zhang Cheng: "Come on! You are also on it with the first drop of blood!"

Don't think that this is some ancient blood-dropped confession!

Quite the contrary!