Mercenaries and Adventurers

Keel put down the pot, then pulled back the algae-headed Parian, who was trying to move away from him.

"Now, can you be honest?"

Shui Zao nodded fiercely. The near-death experience just now really frightened him, but the suffocation of the water pouring on his face made this guy who didn't have much will surrender.

"So, last night, what happened in the Burning Grassland Tavern?" Kiel patted his mouth, signaling him to be more honest, otherwise it would be another round of waterboarding.

"I said, I said." The algae head Parian said tremblingly: "I happened to be in that tavern last night, and the girls came with me in the afternoon, and first went up to the third floor to rest. I have the key there, and I locked them inside the house, for fear of messing with the tavern guy on the same floor."

"continue."

"When it was dark in the evening, some drinkers said that there was a large wave of northerners coming out of the town. Sure enough, not long after, several waves of businessmen from other places came to the tavern to eat and drink. My business does not happen every day, so I was Pay more attention to those outsiders, because they tend to drink too much and live directly in pubs or nearby hotels."

"In the evening, several waves of foreign businessmen left, and soon there was only one table left. They drank very late, and one of them was particularly good. I knew from experience that I would come to work tonight, so I went up to tell Ladies tidy up, and then I will sit on the stairs on the second floor, waiting for someone to come up to stay."

He pursed his lips: "It didn't take long for the last wave of outsiders to leave, leaving one who was particularly drinkable alone, but he didn't last long, and was greeted by the tavern staff to come up to rest. I just I took the opportunity to lean over and asked him if he wanted to serve, and the man agreed directly."

Keir nodded. This was all in line with his expectations, and the rest would depend on the other party's confession.

"I asked him to wait at the stairs, and immediately went to the third floor to call the girls down for him to choose, and that person chose Fanny, and I winked at Fanny at that time, and let her judge the fate of this drunk fat sheep Condition."

Keir interjected: "You can judge for yourself. Did you instruct them to steal the merchant's money?"

The algae head Parian looked around and found that everyone in the shop hall was looking at him: "Yes, but this is only occasionally. I dare not let the locals do it, and neither do the tavern owners. Let me do this. It’s just that rich businessmen from other places dare not cause trouble in unfamiliar places and don’t dare to make a fuss after suffering a secret loss. It’s no problem to keep doing it like this.”

Mr. Pawei was furious: "No problem? You are disgracing the face of our Grass Rat Town! Will people come here next time? What will they say about our town in other places? A place where you sneak on the bed?"

After finishing speaking, he was so angry that he went up and slapped the head of the algae a few times, and kicked it over.

Pawei, the algae head, didn't move, he just shrunk himself back.

Keir comforted Mr. Pawei a little, and let him sit on the leather chair to calm down: "Whoever finds something to drink, let Mr. Pawei calm down."

One of the girls, who was a little older, stood up and said timidly that she was usually in charge of the food and drink in the store, so Kiel waved his hand and asked a soldier to watch her and go to the back kitchen to get some drinks.

"Keep talking." Keel kicked the algae lightly.

Then the other party moved up from the ground and sat down and whispered: "I briefly negotiated the price with the merchant, and let Fang Ni help the drunk guy to go to the second floor. The other party seems to want the middle one. It’s a big room. Well, my business is actually not very good, and that night there was only one customer living on the second floor of the tavern, so I sat for a while, then got up and went to the third floor to let the girls go back by themselves.”

"Is it safe to let them go back like this in the middle of the night?" Keel was a little puzzled.

Unexpectedly, his speech made the girls who huddled together laugh.

Keir was a little puzzled, and Shui Zaotou grinned: "It's quite safe. Besides, whoever meets them will end up being eaten up."

That's right, these girls are not good women. If they really meet other men, they can't rely on them. This Shui Zaotou also has a few thugs under his hands.

Although it is useless compared to them who add blood to their blades, it is still no problem to deal with a few young people in the town.

"continue."

"Yes, yes. I let the girls go first, so I went down to the tavern on the first floor and ordered a glass of ale. I saw the tavern clerk going back and forth several times carrying hot water to the second floor. I knew that the businessman was going to take a bath. Originally I'm also worried about whether Fang Ni can get money while the other party is drunk, but if the other party sweats in the shower and hangs up, it will be troublesome."

Keir touched his chin: "It should have happened a while later?"

Shuizao looked up at Kiel, a little surprised: "Yes, after drinking, I went to the resting place for the girls on the third floor to lie down, and we went back together after Fanny succeeded. As a result, not long after I lay down, Fang That girl, Ni, had blood on her hands, and ran up with some businessman's clothes."

"What did she say?" Keel asked with wide-eyed eyes. Although the possibility of the other party continuing to lie cannot be ruled out, the other party's confession is still important information last night.

After all, there are only a few parties involved.

Shuizatou hesitated: "She was terrified and incoherent. I saw blood on her hands, and thought she had a fight with the businessman over the theft. But Fanny said no, someone killed the businessman."

Um?

Kilmon was gone, why did a new character appear, but his mind felt like a piece of cold ice had been smashed, and the **** immediately confirmed his vague judgment and what Shui Zaotou said.

Indeed, a third person appeared and killed the businessman Shillong. Just don't know if it was murder or an accident.

But he still glanced at the businessman Ou Luobi not far away. The guy looked shocked, not pretending.

"Talk about this carefully!" Keel said seriously.

Shuizaotou also knew that the relationship was very important, so he nodded, and after thinking about it for a while, he continued: "I was also a little panicked at the time. After all, my affairs are actually trivial, and I have never been involved in such matters. I also let Fanny, tell me carefully."

"Fanny said that the businessman seemed to have come from a long way away, so he was tired from the journey. She recommended that the businessman take a bath and take the opportunity to have a good rest. The man agreed, and called the tavern boy to the house. The tub was filled with hot water. Fanny simply made out with the businessman on the bed."

"When the water was ready, the businessman paid for the tavern clerk, and then Fanny helped the man wash up. The clothes and other things were placed on the bed outside the curtain. It was fine at first, but in the middle of the wash, there was a sound outside, The businessman didn’t take it seriously when he was drunk, but Fanny was a little scared, thinking it was a big weed rat from the sewer crawling out from the corner of the house, so she woke up the drowsy businessman, and quietly asked the businessman to go out and have a look.”

"And something happened."

"When I opened the curtain, I found that it wasn't a big weed rat, but a masked man in black was looking for valuables in the businessman's clothes. Although Fanny was a little scared, she just hid behind the bathtub. Very excited, as far as Fanny said, the businessman scolded, saying that there is an army or something."

Keir snorted. Generally speaking, such words can already scare ordinary people away.

"But the man in black didn't care, and still put the valuables in the businessman's clothes into the other's bag. It seemed that the other party said something, but Fanny didn't hear it clearly. So the businessman rushed to hit the other party, but the result was not at all. No opponent. Fanny didn't see what was going on, but in an instant the businessman fell to the floor."

"She was frightened and yelled. The man in black was also startled, grabbed the money bag, opened the door and ran away."

"And then?" Keel asked hastily.

"Then Fanny saw that the other party ran away, and immediately stepped forward to check on the businessman's situation, but." Speaking of this, Shui Zaotou shrugged his shoulders and glanced at Kiel and the others, the meaning was self-evident.

If people were still alive, Keir and the others would not have come here.

Keel slapped Algae Head's messy and slippery head: "Keep talking."

Swallowing the algae-headed Parian, he continued: "Fanni was also in a daze at the time, seeing the merchant dead in a daze, but she still followed my instructions and gave some of the merchant's clothes that seemed to be quite valuable. He picked her up, turned around and came to look for me. I was also shocked at the time, and I didn’t expect such a thing to happen. I also panicked, so I took Fanny and walked back.”

"I had a feeling at the time, on the way back, yes, the murderer must be staring at the two of us in the dark of the street. I didn't dare to detour in the town, so I just grabbed Fanny's arm The two fled back into the shop."

Keir raised his chin towards the store door: "So you just shut the door tightly and hid in the store with the others? What about that Fanny? Who is it among you?"

After speaking, Keir looked at the girls next to him.

But beyond his expectation, the girls shook their heads and said unanimously in a low voice: "Fanni asked the boss to arrange to go out and hide."

Turning to look at the algae head Parian: "Where is she? When did she leave?"

"Someone asked me to stay in a ranch outside the town. I have a relationship there. I am all my own. It is very safe. I left in the morning when the gate of the town opened. I asked the girls to wear roughly the same clothes and went out for a while. For a moment, Fanny also sneaked away among the crowd with one of my subordinates."

At this time, Mr. Pawei was happy: "Although you are a waste, you can do this well. You don't lose face to the men in Weed Rat Town."

Keir didn't expect this guy to arrange for Fanny to go out to take refuge. Sure enough, Scar Parry said that this person looked like a waste, but it was more reliable.

"Where is the specific place? Fanny is an important witness, and we must find her."

Shuizaotou hesitated for a moment but said: "It's the Jingshui Ranch on the edge of Jingshui Lake outside the town. I have a cooperative relationship with a ranch steward there, so I asked Fanny and one of my men to take refuge there. Wait Come back in a few days."

"Ah, Jingshui Ranch, I used to play there when I was a child." Mr. Pawei said proudly: "Jingshui Lake is very beautiful. When the weather is calm, it is like a mirror that can reflect the sky. There are often related churches there. The congregation held a ceremony. It’s just that when it rains, the surface of Jingshui Lake will skyrocket and its size will double, otherwise the town might have been arranged to be built by the lake.”

He looked at Keir: "If you want to find that girl in the past, I can help lead the way."

Keir smiled at the other party: "Then thank you for your kindness, it couldn't be better."

"It's nothing, the place is not far away, and I can just come back at night. With these smoky things in the town, I have to rely on the beautiful scenery to cleanse my spirit."

He said things that others couldn't understand, sipped his drink, and talked to Lubis, the baron's personal guard in Kiel's group, about the beauty of Mirror Water Lake.

Something happened here, and Keel then asked from the mouth of the algae head Parian where the clothes of the businessman Xilong brought back by Fanny were.

The things were in Shuizaotou's room on the second floor of the red house. A few pieces of clothing with a little value were stained with a small amount of blood, probably from Fanny's hands, and they were still spread on Shuizaotou's desk.

Naturally, this thing was confiscated, and the algae head was naturally taken away. After all, he violated the rules of the town and had to be thrown into prison. He could only be freed after his cronies paid the fine.

The two soldiers carried the algae head Parian and walked directly to the prison in the town, while Kiel and his party came to a nearby restaurant.

It was noon, and after running around for a while in the morning, the group of them needed something to eat.

-

There are many shops in the center of the town, all of which are for foreign merchants. Naturally, there are many restaurants.

Unlike taverns where you drink and sell food, these restaurants are specially operated for people who come and go to eat. This is also a store that only appears after the local economy and scale level reach a certain level.

No one would open such a shop in a small place. After all, the farmers who farmed the land cooked and ate at home, and the nobles and their relatives of some status also had their own special chefs, and basically they would not go out to eat.

A restaurant is a place for people who are not good at cooking and have a certain financial ability to eat.

Therefore, compared to the Northwest Province with a small population, the town of Grass Rat, which is on the bustling business road, has this kind of special dining place.

Like other local architectural styles, they are tall and spacious buildings built with mud bricks and wood. The signboard at the door shows a large pot with various ingredients stewed.

The meal at noon was paid for by the businessman Mr. Orobi. He kept thanking Keir and the others, and of course Mr. Pawei who had the meal together.

Orobi took special care of Mr. Pawei, the confidant of the local lord, and seemed to want to have a relationship with him besides investigating the murder.

Kiel noticed that Orobi gave something to Mr. Pawei, and that person accepted it calmly.

The freshly baked soft mixed wheat bread, paired with the delicious local stewed lamb, really whetted Keel's appetite.

A local edible grass seed powder is added to the bread. Not only is it not unpalatable, but it tastes like a grassy fragrance. What's more, there is actually stuffing in the middle of the bread. According to Mr. Pawei's introduction, it turns out to be pure white mushrooms unique to spring in the wild pastures.

This kind of small, round mushroom can only be found by breaking through the covered grass. It is not only delicious, but also will make people more energetic after eating it.

This led everyone to order a large plate of stewed broth of this mushroom to try.

In addition, everyone has a large plate of stewed mutton in front of them. These sheep breeds that only eat the freshest grass have a unique taste that is not available in other places.

You have to eat local grass to be fat and tender. Those sheep that are transported to other places by merchants will lose that taste after they can't eat local grass.

Even the sheep that only ate local forage and hay all the way were still a little bit worse after arriving in other places.

They are all eatable guys, and they didn't think about saving some money for Orobi, so they all let go of their stomachs and ate it. Among them, Kiel ate the most, even though he didn't eat it because of the monster meat. Hungry, but not hungry and unable to eat have two meanings.

Although he wasn't hungry, his stomach was empty after all, and it wasn't because he didn't eat much in one meal, it was because he didn't eat much in the past few days, so his stomach was very empty, so he ate the most. One person ate the amount of food for two people .

After eating, everyone discussed the matter of going out of the town to take back Fanny, who arranged for Shui Zaotou to take refuge.

"I think you guys have to have a fight."

Mr. Pawei leaned on the chair and said with great interest: "Because there are horse bandits, the ranch is built outside the town. It does not exist because of the pity of the horse bandits. It is a force that can resist the attack of the horse bandits."

"Although there are not many horse bandits who come to make trouble because it is close to the town, the ranch is not easy to talk about. Even if I go there with you, if you want to take people away, you still have to fight with those herdsmen. It is inevitable. UU reading book www.uukanshu.com”

Kiel looked at Lubis, the baron's personal guard, and said, "I don't plan to follow later."

"What?" Lubis looked at Kiel suspiciously. Kiel was the leader of the team. Even though he was young, everyone didn't feel that Kiel couldn't afford it. He had done a good job before, especially It was something that the slippery and dishonest algae head Parian told me just now.

"It's no trouble bringing people back from the ranch outside the town, and you can't fight, right?"

Rubis smiled slightly: "Of course."

"Then I'll leave this matter to you. I plan to ask that Paris again. I always feel that the other party has some concerns and has not explained some things. The same is true for the tavern owner Scar Paris."

The two guards glanced at each other: "Did they lie?"

"It's possible, but it's not important. What's really important is that I feel like they're hiding something that's hard to say. A man, a man in black, ran into a guest room in a tavern to steal. How could he just be found out? , killing people neatly?"

Keir stretched out both hands, and opened one hand up and down to make a gesture of picking up something: "Steal property."

With the other hand, he played with the iron table knife for cutting a large piece of mutton on the table, and then stabbed suddenly, with a neat and crisp movement: "Kill one person."

Then he looked up at everyone on the table: "I don't think you don't understand which one is more important between the two?"

Everyone's face became serious.

"Why do you want to kill people? Is it because you are overly frightened? Or do you act instinctively? Do you not care? Or is it just like this?"

Kiel pierced a piece of mutton with a table knife and slowly put it into his mouth to chew. The delicious and salty juice left from the corner of Kiel's mouth and landed on the armor on his chest.