27: A busy night (Monthly ticket for the white-eyed)

With the help of the courtesans, the entire banquet finally began to take shape.

These women, carefully chosen by Bard, were all well-versed in the art of pleasing men and could handle all types of customers.

They either feigned coyness with soft words or smiled sweetly, using every trick in the book to get these men drunk and reveal their true thoughts.

Olaf had a woman on each arm, and the two women of different complexions in his embrace were vying for his attention.

This star-studded treatment greatly satisfied his male vanity.

However, the experienced Arthur was already accustomed to such scenes in a pleasure house.

He secretly scoffed at these Imperial Knights from the capital, who usually regarded Easterners as bumpkins, yet now couldn't see through such a clumsy honey trap.

Just as the woman beside him was about to pour him a drink, Arthur raised his hand to block the cup.

He leaned closer to this courtesan, who was clearly still a novice, and whispered, "I'm the one paying, so getting me drunk won't do you any good."

The woman was quick-witted and immediately understood his meaning, apologizing softly.

Arthur then instructed, "I want you to tease me, but don't go too far, understand?"

The woman nodded, put down the wine pot, and coiled around Arthur's body like a snake, beginning to lightly kiss his neck and earlobe with her cherry lips, occasionally letting out a few seductive moans.

This scene drew glances from the knights, and lewd laughter immediately erupted at the table.

Their hands also restlessly roamed over their female companions, and the banquet atmosphere grew increasingly ambiguous and heated.

Olaf looked at Arthur with interest, then suddenly pushed away the woman beside him and leaned in to ask, "Young Master, do you want to switch companions?"

Arthur had been waiting for this very question, and he readily replied, "Sure!"

What seemed like a simple banquet actually held much deeper meaning.

Although the women attending were called courtesans, everyone knew in their hearts that they were merely prostitutes with a nicer name.

But no matter what, once a companion was chosen, she became your private property for that banquet.

Unless there was a special reason, she would not be easily exchanged.

Arthur did this to ease his relationship with these Imperial Knights and to use the opportunity to extract information about the Barracuda's smuggled goods from Olaf.

After all, among today's intelligence, this was the only piece he hadn't figured out yet.

Additionally, if there was an opportunity, he also wanted to acquire some smuggled goods.

After all, compared to goods on the market, the price of smuggled goods, which cut out the black market middleman, was truly tempting.

The newly acquired woman indeed made Olaf's attitude noticeably warmer.

He leaned over and said to Arthur, "Let me tell you a story, Young Master."

Arthur pretended to be interested.

"You know, one of your slaves is a fellow countryman of mine. Philip, the water bandit."

"I have some impression."

"They all call him Water Ghost, do you know why?"

Arthur shook his head.

"This kid grew up by Weng Lake, and everyone in his village was excellent swimmers.

"But, but Philip, he was the best among that group of fishermen; he was like a ghost in the water, no one could catch him."

"But he still got caught," Arthur intentionally showed confusion.

"Yes, do you know why?"

Arthur didn't speak, even though he already knew the answer.

"The reason is me," Olaf laughed. "What if he's a Water Ghost? He's still a person, and a person has weaknesses.

"I detained his parents and brothers, and put out the word that if he didn't show up, I'd kill one of his relatives every day.

"This trick never fails, especially on those brainless commoners. He showed up the next day, and I caught him with ease."

"That's truly clever," Arthur feigned praise. "The records say he killed a tax official and robbed the lord's tax carriage after becoming a bandit?"

Olaf took a gulp of wine and nodded, "Yes, actually, this kid originally had a chance to become a hero."

"Oh?"

"Before he became a bandit, he led his villagers to drive away a group of water bandits who came to plunder.

"When the lord saw the water bandits defeated, he sent a tax official to collect taxes.

"This kid had the audacity to incite the villagers to resist taxes and even killed the tax official.

"The lord sent troops to encircle them, and he led his people to hide in the lake and maneuver, those soldiers were completely played by him.

"Later, he simply became a bandit, stirring up trouble with a group of people, even robbing the tax carriage. The higher-ups had no choice but to send me to deal with it."

Arthur replied with a fake smile, "They found the right person to handle this matter when they found you."

Olaf raised the corner of his mouth triumphantly, gestured with his cup, and then changed the subject: "Young Master, what do you plan to do with those slaves?"

"Keep the useful ones, discard the useless ones."

"Precisely!" The Imperial Knight Captain fully agreed. "However, as someone with experience, let me give you a small piece of advice.

"Keep that woman, she used to be a noble. To be honest, I've never had a noble as famous as her.

"If you don't want her, you can sell her to me; I'd be happy to take her."

Arthur suppressed his disgust and shook his head, refusing: "Sorry, Captain, I'm quite interested in her too."

"Hahahaha, great minds think alike. You like this kind too, right?"

Arthur didn't want to continue the topic and quickly changed the subject: "Is her family very influential in the capital?"

"Of course! The Cromwell family, their ancestor was the prime minister of the 'Drunkard' Emperor. Without him, how could the status of merchants have risen so quickly?

"After the civil war ended, their family was not only not purged but also gained a seat in the council. Unfortunately, by her generation, there were no male heirs left, only a woman."

At this point, Olaf squeezed his companion's buttocks hard, "What use can a woman possibly be?

"Women, well, they only have two uses: for men to vent and for the family to procreate. Other than that, they should just obediently listen.

"Oh, right, do you know what crime that foolish woman committed? You might not even believe it when I tell you."

"Wasn't it treason? The records say she colluded with imperial remnants," Arthur asked, feigning ignorance.

"Treason? Hahahaha!" Olaf laughed so hard he leaned back and forth. "Young Master, you truly are naive.

"A noble from a merchant background, a family that has sought many benefits for merchants, do you think they would betray the council?

"What's more, she's just a woman, what kind of trouble could she stir up? To tell you the truth, her crime was merely helping many women escape their husbands."

"What kind of crime is that?" Arthur snorted lightly.

"Hehehe, I don't agree with that," Olaf frowned slightly. "Women are men's property.

"She took away our property without our consent, that's robbery.

"What's worse, that bitch even taught those women how to sue their own husbands."

"So she angered the real power holders," Arthur interjected.

Olaf patted Arthur's shoulder, "Ah ha, you're catching on. You're also a powerful figure, Young Master…"

As he spoke, the Imperial Knight Captain pinched the woman's face, "When someone threatens your power and property, you have to deal with them quickly…"

With a sharp crack, Olaf slapped his female companion to the ground.

The entire room suddenly fell silent, everyone looking at Olaf, who was still grinning sinisterly.

"Only then can you protect everything you have!" The Imperial Knight Captain uttered the last sentence.

He raised his fist, intending to strike again, but Arthur grabbed his wrist.

"Don't let her spoil everyone's fun," Arthur said, winking at another courtesan.

The woman understood and quickly helped her companion out of the room.

Olaf laughed, pulled his hand free, and sat back down, "Young Master, I heard you're worried about procuring supplies?"

Arthur paused slightly, then responded with annoyance, "Indeed, those things are really not cheap; they cost me a lot of money."

Olaf's eyes darted around, "I'm truly sorry, I killed quite a few of your slaves, and buying a new batch will probably cost a lot of money, right?"

Arthur waved his hand, "It's fine. Unruly livestock should be killed, otherwise, keeping them around will only bring disaster."

"Good! I like people like you," the Imperial Knight Captain laughed loudly. "Unlike those merchants and nobles who haggle over every penny and act like the world is ending if you kill a few of their slaves.

"I think I have a way to compensate you for some of your losses. The Barracuda's chef used to run a restaurant in Deepwater City, and his cooking is quite good.

"Young Master, would you do me the honor of dining on the ship tomorrow night?"

Arthur heard this and smiled, "One meal won't solve my problems."

"Haha, don't be so impatient, trust me, this meal will be worth it."

Arthur shrugged, "It can't get any worse, so why not?"

"Then it's settled, tomorrow for dinner, we'll meet at the docks."

Just as he was speaking, a tavern attendant entered from outside and whispered a few words to Arthur.

"Ah~ apologies, Captain, I have some matters to attend to," Arthur said with regret.

Olaf made a gesture of invitation, "Don't forget our agreement, Young Master."

"Of course. Bard, take good care of our guests."

"Don't worry, Young Master, I'll make sure everyone has a good time!"

Arthur rose and walked out of the private room, finding Airo waiting at the corner of the hallway.

"Sounds lively," the female rogue teased.

"Spare me, in the time it took to eat dinner, I wanted to kill that guy three times. Any good news?"

"I asked around the black market, and you were right, someone has indeed been heavily purchasing Purple Night Dew recently."

"The purchaser's appearance, age, any information that could help find this person?"

"I only found out she's a woman."

Arthur sighed, "That narrows our search by half."

"You're sometimes annoying, you know? And you have no patience. She didn't go alone; she had a companion."

"Did you find out any information about that companion?"

"Uh-huh, from an old madam at the Pink Pig Brothel, cost me two silver coins.

"She said a girl recently entertained a guy covered in strange tattoos.

"That guy was very rude; he stuck his finger in the girl's other hole.

"The girl refused because that was a different price, so the guy beat her up."

Arthur interrupted, "Don't you think some of the details are a bit too specific?"

"Did I mention you have no patience? Anyway, I had the girl describe the guy as best as she could.

"Brown whip beard, no hair, about six feet tall. Most importantly, this…"

Airo pulled out a piece of paper with several symbols drawn on it.

Arthur took it and looked, frowning, "Slaughter, death, blood…"

"You recognize these symbols?" Airo was very surprised. "I had the girl recall them as best as she could and draw them."

"Painted Warrior," Arthur explained. "From those forest tribes.

"None of that is important. What's important is why a Painted Warrior would be in Wolf Den City? These tribesmen really hate cities."

"We can follow this lead," Airo said.

Arthur leaned out and looked into the private room, "Tomorrow I'll talk to the Sheriff. Hey, are you hungry?"

"Are you planning to feed me and make me your blood servant? I've heard rumors about you, but this is a bit…"

Arthur rolled his eyes, "I thought of a way to both fill you up and disgust those guys. Do you mind blood with a hint of wine?"

Airo laughed and also leaned over to look into the private room: "How many of them are there? When do I make my move?"

"Eight people in total, wait until they're all drunk. Oh, and don't scare the courtesans."

"Don't worry, I'm a professional at this. By the way, I've met your new bodyguard."

"Drax? What do you think?"

"I've drunk orc blood, it's coarse and very fishy. I imagine he'd be the same," Airo replied seriously.

"I must have accumulated too much bad karma to encounter oddballs like you."

-----------------

It was late, and the moonlight was strong.

Airo leaped down from the second floor of the Jumping Frog Tavern, landing on the ground like a cat.

After landing, she first cautiously surveyed her surroundings, then whistled towards the alley opposite.

Arthur and the orc emerged from the shadows. Before Arthur could even ask about the situation, the orc suddenly stiffened, abruptly shielding Arthur behind him.

Immediately following, a cold glint flashed, and a short sword thrust directly at Arthur.

The orc was quick-eyed and quick-handed, blocking the blow with his forearm. The sword pierced into his flesh, lodging in the bone.

The excruciating pain made the orc let out a muffled roar.

He ignored the bleeding wound and quickly grabbed the attacker, who was trying to retreat, with his other hand, lifting him up and then slamming him hard onto the ground.

Then, he pulled the short sword from his forearm, preparing to end the opponent's life.

But the descending short sword was blocked by Airo's dagger, and the female rogue quickly pleaded, "Wait, spare his life."

At this moment, Arthur finished chanting, and light enveloped his staff, instantly illuminating the surroundings.

He looked at the attacker groaning on the ground, and after seeing his appearance, he looked up at Airo in surprise.

"I can tolerate you taking things and leaving, but I don't understand why you would collude with the Amn Empire's number one wanted criminal to assassinate me."

Airo put down her dagger and explained, "Listen to me, Arthur, this is a misunderstanding, a huge misunderstanding."

She also placed her hand crossbow on the ground, raising both hands, "He saved my life, and I promised to help him with something…"

"To kill me?"

"No, it's not like that," Airo shook her head. "Two of his former subordinates became your slaves, and he originally wanted to free them.

"And I thought he should talk to you, maybe you could pardon his crimes and let him go with you to Qingfeng Valley."

Arthur frowned deeply, his eyes full of suspicion, "Your way of talking is very special. You know who he is, right?"

Airo nodded, "Jessica Hus, the Noble Killer, Aum's number one wanted criminal."

"Since you know his identity, why would you think I'd sit down and talk with a Noble Killer?"

Airo forced a bitter smile, then suddenly said, "A life for a life."

"What?"

"My life for his life," Airo said firmly. "Without him, I wouldn't have survived last winter.

"I know this sounds ridiculous, but I think you'll be willing to talk to him.

"Keep him, Arthur, he can be of great help, he's much more useful than I am."

Arthur quickly chanted a spell, and a pure milky-white energy enveloped the orc's injured arm.

As the light dissipated, the continuously bleeding wound also disappeared.

The orc flexed his arm; no matter how many times, Arthur's magic always surprised him.

"Take him," Arthur pointed to the wanted criminal on the ground.

"Are you sure, Arthur?" the orc asked.

"Sure." Arthur then turned to Airo and said, "I'm very disappointed in you!"

"I know," the female rogue nodded. "I'll make up for all of this."

"You'd better!"