The Mountain of Ice and Fire

The Little Devil's Misfortune (Part 1)

Arya stared at Bran, as if trying to see through him.

"Bran, the Mountain and Daenerys came to Braavos because Lady Melisandre saw my danger in the flames. They came specifically to save me. In 298 AC, the Mountain was in King's Landing and saved Father Eddard Stark. At the end of 300 AC and the beginning of 301 AC, the Mountain killed the Night King in Winterfell, saving the Stark family and the people of the North. In 301 AC, the Mountain came to Braavos from Westeros on a dragon because someone planned to burn down the House of Black and White, with the goal of assassinating me. They can't kill me with swords or poison, so they decided to use fire."

"I know, the Mountain and Daenerys did come to save you. I also know that someone has indeed planned a fire attack on the House of Black and White."

"Who wants to harm me?"

"The former Bran Stark, he colluded with the Iron Bank's manager, Bernice."

"The former you?"

"The me at that time was not the complete me. At that time, I was still Bloodraven."

"What about your will? What about Bran Stark's will?"

"My will was suppressed by Bloodraven. In this regard, as long as Bloodraven doesn't give up control, I have no way to resist."

"Has your current will returned?"

"The arrival of the Mountain and Daenerys extinguished Bloodraven's last hope. His burning desire to compete for the Iron Throne was extinguished, and he was disheartened. After Jaime and the Imp insisted on leaving him, Bloodraven passed all his abilities to me, allowing my will to regain control of my body. I have now become Bloodraven's true heir, but I myself am no longer Bloodraven. I am Bran Stark. My will controls my body."

Arya, who was staring intently at Bran, believed his words.

As a Faceless Man, Arya has her own unique lie detection skills. It is not easy to deceive a Faceless Man. The skill that Faceless Men are most proficient in is disguise.

"I believe you are Bran Stark." Arya Stark's words as the destined elder of the House of Black and White cannot be said casually. She has to be responsible for her words in the future.

Bran's gaze returned from the ceiling and landed on Arya's face: "Arya, I don't want the Mountain to know that I am a prophet."

"You think this will make the Mountain feel uneasy."

"The Stark family has territory, vassals, the Northern army, and a thousand years of heritage. You are the destined elder of the House of Black and White, and I am a greenseer who knows almost everything. Anyone who becomes the king of the Stark family may feel a little uneasy in their heart."

"The Stark family has never coveted the Iron Throne. The North is our eternal home."

"This is what we truly feel, but the ambitious Mountain may not think so."

"The Mountain will never see the House of Black and White as a threat to him."

"That's because he completely trusts you."

Bran's implication was that the Mountain would not believe him. He hoped that Arya could help him conceal his identity as a prophet, so as not to make the Mountain wary of him.

Arya said sternly: "Bran, I will not lie to the Mountain. If he doesn't trust you, you should earn his trust. Bran, the Mountain came to Braavos this time with the initial intention of saving me, not to seize Braavos. And you, colluded with Manager Bernice, preparing to burn me to death with fire. I will never lie to the Mountain, even if you are my family."

"............" Bran was silent.

"You are a remarkable prophet, you must know what to do to gain the Mountain's trust."

Bran looked at Arya, his expression calm: "Arya, no matter what I do, the Mountain probably won't completely trust me. What Bloodraven once did cannot be erased."

"Then strive to gain six parts of his trust."

Bran Stark's gaze shifted from Arya's face and looked at a certain spot on the ceiling again. He seemed to feel a little embarrassed.

"You must gain six parts of the Mountain's trust." Arya said again, emphasizing her tone, "Compared to what the Mountain has done for our family, it is right for you to make a little effort."

Bran's gaze returned to Arya's face again, and the two siblings looked at each other.

"Okay, I'll give it a try." Bran decided to make a concession.

"What good ideas do you have?"

"The Mountain's wife is Jeyne Westerling, she is a descendant of the witch, and she is also the most powerful blood witch on the continent of Westeros. I will let her test my blood. Words can deceive people, appearances can be changed, but the secrets contained in the blood cannot be concealed or changed. Jeyne will know from my blood that I am Bran Stark, not Bloodraven Brynden Rivers."

"Okay, let's do that." A stone fell to the ground in Arya's heart.

Bran looked at Arya, who had a smile on her face and a clearly relaxed expression, and his gaze became indifferent, as if he had become Bloodraven again: "Arya, the Mountain took Braavos in a hurry, and he has no local people to support him. Braavos needs someone loyal to the Mountain and with great wisdom to temporarily manage it for him. If this person can be from Westeros, it would be more in line with the Mountain's wishes."

Arya nodded: "Yes. The Mountain and Daenerys came for me and did not bring strategists or generals, nor did they bring an army. The members of his newly recruited Ian mercenary group are complicated, and there are no confidants in the newly surrendered navy fleet yet. I'm afraid the Faceless Men have to send people to help the Mountain guard the Iron Bank."

"The Mountain came to save you, you can secretly arrange for the Faceless Men to guard the Iron Bank for him. If something happens to the Iron Bank and the Faceless Men come out to stop it, the Mountain will be grateful to you and the Stark family after learning about it. This is also a reward for the Mountain coming to save you."

"Okay, I accept this suggestion. I will arrange for my junior sisters to disguise themselves as ordinary soldiers and infiltrate the mercenary team in the military fortress to secretly guard the Iron Bank for the Mountain."

"There is one more thing you can do, and it will also be a small favor for the Stark family to repay the Mountain."

"What is it?"

"In Exeter, the southernmost part of Braavos, the Little Devil is hiding drunk in a brothel. He wants to wait for Braavos to calm down before quietly taking a boat to escape from here, and the Mountain needs him as a helper."

"Capture the Little Devil to be the governor of Braavos?" Arya's eyes lit up. When the Mountain saw Bran, he specifically asked if the general who captured Bran had seen a dwarf. The Mountain also meant to find the Little Devil.

"Arya, the Sea King system in Braavos will definitely be abolished by the Mountain, and arranging a capable and benevolent governor to take over Braavos is a good idea. Little Devil Tyrion Lannister was once the prime minister of King's Landing. He is a good talent in terms of government affairs, military affairs, courage, and knowledge. At present, the Little Devil is the Mountain's best choice, and the Little Devil also knelt down and swore allegiance to the Mountain in the Mountains of the Moon."

Arya completely agreed with Bran's statement.

"Is the Little Devil not very willing to follow the Mountain?"

"His original intention was to live a free and drunken life, and he didn't want to be restrained by the Mountain, let alone get involved in politics. Of course, there is also an important reason. The Mountain killed Cersei, Tywin, Kevan, and drove away Jaime, Tommen, and Myrcella, forcing Jaime's family of three to wander to the East. In the Westerlands, the Lannister branch loyal to the Mountain occupied the Little Devil's home—Casterly Rock—with the Mountain's tacit approval. The Little Devil and Jaime can be said to be homeless because of the Mountain."

"If the Little Devil doesn't want to work for the Mountain, even if I capture him, I'm afraid he will escape again."

Bran's indifferent gaze became gentle, with a hint of a faint smile, this is Bran's expression: "The Little Devil is a person who cherishes his life, and he is also a spendthrift who spends money like water. He actually knows that with his height and martial arts, he cannot find a good job on the continent of Essos. The money on him is also very limited. At most a week, he will be dragged out of the brothel and thrown into the sewer, and he will be bullied by the thieves and hooligans on the street. As long as you make him desperate before he leaves Braavos, he will obediently return to the Mountain and honestly be a governor or a royal courtier."

Bran's words made Arya nod frequently.

In Braavos, it is a very, very, very simple matter for the House of Black and White to make a drifter with little money desperate.

*

The most remote place in Braavos is not the rocky islands on the east side near the sea, nor the desolate islands on the northernmost side, but Exeter on the southernmost side. It is not logical for the place near the mainland to be the most remote, unless the place near the mainland is inconvenient for transportation.

Braavos is an island city-state, and the southern peninsula is connected to the mainland. The connected part has hundreds of miles of swamp. In the swamp, in addition to poisonous snakes and leeches, lizards and mosquitoes, there are no people for hundreds of miles. Even the most experienced locals cannot cross this swamp.

People inside Braavos cannot get out, and people outside cannot get in. Also because of this unique land environment, the most prosperous and lively place in Braavos is the port and islands on the west side, and the most desolate and remote place is the southernmost place bordering the mainland—Exeter.

The Little Devil is hiding in a brothel in Exeter. He plans to sneak away quietly after the Mountain's conquest of Braavos is completed and everything is slightly calmer.

He takes it for granted that the Mountain's people cannot find this remote place. Apart from the honest locals, even mercenaries are unwilling to come here.

But he was obviously wrong.

When Bran Stark decides to find him, everything becomes easy. And when the Faceless Men want to make a person desperate in Braavos, that person is destined to have only one ending: tragedy!

When the Mountain, Daenerys, and hundreds of warships from Pentos entered the port of Braavos, the Faceless Men sent by Arya also arrived in Exeter.

In Braavos, where there are people, there will be two things: rats and prostitutes. No matter how remote this place is.

*

An ordinary-looking young man walked into a brothel in Exeter.

A woman stepped forward, warmly took the young man's hand and walked into the courtyard, leading the young man to the owner's counter.

In this remote place, you need to pay before entering the brothel to avoid disputes afterwards.

When an old woman in the counter asked the young man for money, the young man took out an iron coin and gently placed it on the counter.

An ordinary iron coin with a blurred and badly worn head.

The old woman and the woman next to her immediately changed their faces.

"All men must die." The old woman and the woman were trembling, folded their hands together to pay their respects, their eyes flickering, looking down at the ground.

"All men must serve" the young man said softly, "A dwarf with a scar on his face, a broken nose, and a Westeros accent."

"He is in another brothel."

"I want him to be desperate in Exeter, with no money, no one to take him in, no food to eat, no wine to drink, beaten up, slightly injured, and finally thrown into the sewer."

"Yes." The old woman and the woman bowed and agreed together.

*

The Little Devil was awakened by a noisy sound. He opened his eyes and saw a gray ceiling. His head was still a little sore, dizzy, he had drunk too much inferior wine, but he instinctively reached for the wine skin on the bedside, but touched an empty space.

"Dwarf, get up." A woman's voice was rough and barbaric, unfamiliar, and full of malice.

The Little Devil sat up. The woman who was serving him was gone. A black, thick woman was glaring at him.

"Where is my Shae?"

Of course there is no Shae here, but the Little Devil is still thinking about Shae. He calls the woman who accompanied him last night Shae, just for the pleasure of talking about it.

"There is no Shae here, dwarf, please go to the outside counter to pay, time is up."

"I already paid yesterday, and also, don't call me dwarf, I am your patron, please call me Lannister Giant." The Little Devil laughed. His sense of humor has always been there.

Lannister Giant, this is Shae's favorite compliment.

"Lannister Giant?" The black woman glanced at the little caterpillar between the Little Devil's legs, snorted coldly, with a look of contempt. She began to make the bed.

"Hey, get out, I'm still here?"

"Pay, today this place belongs to you."

"I have paid for a week."

"You didn't pay for today."

The Little Devil closed his mouth. He decided not to argue with the stupid woman. He got up, started to put on his clothes, and then he was stunned.

His money bag was gone.

The Little Devil was stunned.

His gaze shifted from the dirty wall in front of him to the black woman, who picked up the bedding and gave him a fierce look, as if he was her husband's murderer.

The Little Devil was speechless. He knew that he couldn't explain this matter to this black, stupid woman. He swallowed the words that came to his lips. This decision was very wise.

He decided to find the proprietress, who was a local with some culture and education, a mouthful of snow-white teeth when she smiled, and a very kind person.

Fortunately, he had already paid for a week's room and board. He looked at the wall, his sword belt and short sword were still there, these things were all good stuff and could be exchanged for some coins.

How unlucky, did last night's Xuenie take his money bag? Looks unlikely? Did a thief enter the room last night?

Sure enough, the people in the remote places are the most barbaric!

The Little Devil put on his clothes, tied on his sword belt, and brought his short sword out. Now these things are all his wealth.

"Hey, patron." In the counter, the proprietress waved to him warmly, and his Xuenie from last night was also in the counter, smiling sweetly at him.

The little devil perked up and walked over, “Boss, you really need to discipline your servants. They need to be polite to their patrons and not speak loudly in front of me. I also don’t like her calling me a dwarf. – Good morning, Sherry.”

The proprietress nodded, smiling and revealing a set of beautiful, pearly white teeth. “Patron, I understand. I will severely punish the maid who cleans the rooms. However, please pay for today’s room and board.”

The little devil chuckled. “Boss, don’t joke around. I’m hungry. Tell the kitchen I want freshly baked bread, a portion of ham, a large bowl of carrot soup, and honey. Remember, no coarse, black bread. The money I’m paying is for the best enjoyment this place has to offer. And wine, Sherry, fill it up for me.” The little devil handed the wine skin to Sherry, who was always smiling sweetly behind the counter.