First Blood

In the corner of the inn.

A fat man sitting in the shadows whispered a few words to the attendant beside him. The attendant nodded and went to the bar. "Morode wants to talk to you."

The big man at the bar frowned and glanced over, then nodded and said, "I'll be right there."

He waved his hand, arranged for one of his men to sit at the bar, and then walked towards the shadows. He plopped down and said, "Morode. You old fox, you wouldn't be thinking about that little girl just now, would you?"

The fat man poured himself a drink, looked up at him, and although his face was full of flab, his movements were not as slow as his appearance suggested. "Kefan. That little girl just now is good stock. Many nobles like this kind of thing lately. If you catch her, I'm confident I can sell her for this price."

The fat Morode held up five fingers and slowly said, "Five hundred Gold Thalers."

"For such a beautiful little girl, I believe many nobles with special tastes would be willing to pay this price."

Kefan frowned upon hearing this. He looked deeply at the other party and said in a low voice, "Do you know?"

"You're breaking my rules. I won't do this kind of thing in my own shop."

The fat man chuckled and shrugged, leaning his head closer. "You've already sold me over a hundred women. Don't tell me your basement is clean. Whether you want to do this job is up to you. I can guarantee that little girl just now can be sold quickly. Many nobles like this kind of little girl lately."

Kefan's expression seemed a bit hesitant. He lowered his voice and said, "That guy is not easy to deal with. He looks like a Rogue, and he's very vigilant!"

"No one can die in my shop, otherwise the Garrison will definitely come looking for trouble."

The fat man in the corner smiled strangely and also lowered his voice. "Don't worry about anyone dying. We're just merchants, not killers, right?"

"I have a potion I bought from a Wizard. Just dip a towel in it and cover their mouth and nose, and they'll lose the ability to resist in a moment. When that guy leaves, just arrange for someone to go in, and then use a sack to carry the little girl away. He's an outsider here, he can't cause any trouble at all. If necessary, we can also..."

The fat Morode made a throat-slitting gesture and said in a low voice, "Five hundred Gold Thalers is not a small amount of money."

"I knew you were planning to quit. After this job, you can buy a small manor."

Kefan was silent for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said, "Alright. But your people have to do it."

"The price must be raised to 600 Gold Thalers. With my years of experience, that little girl is definitely top-grade stock. When she grows up, she'll definitely be a first-class beauty."

Morode hesitated for a moment, then extended his palm and said, "You truly are a greedy old dog."

"Deal."

"I'll give you the money after the goods are sold. Don't worry, good stock like this is very popular with those noble lords."

Kefan extended his palm and said in a low voice, "Alright."

The big man got up from the table, gave a look to the thug beside him, and then entered the kitchen in the back.

A tall, thin man turned around, leaned next to Morode, and whispered, "Boss. Is it really worth doing this here for just one little girl? The White Horse City Garrison has been checking very strictly lately, and besides, the price of 600 Gold Thalers is too high. In my opinion, she's worth at most one or two hundred Gold Thalers."

"What do you know!"

Morode frowned and glanced at him, lowering his voice. "That little girl is a bit unusual."

"How could she be sold to those old dog-like nobles? I know some things are willing to pay a high price for this kind of special goods."

The tall, thin man shivered upon hearing this, and then remembered some unpleasant memories.

The women and children trafficked from outsiders in the slums of the old city naturally couldn't all be sold to the nobles of White Horse City, or sold as slaves. There were also some other creatures who were willing to buy goods from them at a high price, especially pure virgins and goods with special bloodlines. People who walk in the gray area will never be without dealing with the Dark Domain. Some creatures hidden in human society have always been major customers of human trafficking.

Not easily attacking ordinary people has long been a hidden rule of the Dark Domain. Many special creatures have secretly connected with human trafficking routes.

As long as the transaction is completed, there will be no trouble!

If the goods that have been sold off accidentally die, the buyer will naturally handle them.

Morode frowned and glanced at the man beside him, saying in a low voice, "With such little guts, how can you make big money with me? We'll leave here after this job. The situation has been getting more and more turbulent lately."

"You have to act when you have the chance."

Upstairs, in the room.

Soren put Vivian down and then looked around the room.

He took some things out of his Dimensional Bag, then squatted in front of Vivian and said seriously, "This place is a mixed bag. You have to be careful when I go out."

Soren took out a dagger and handed it to the little girl, saying in a low voice, "Do you remember what I taught you?"

Vivian gently nodded her little head, reached out and took the dagger, and said softly, "I remember."

"Don't worry, big brother."

Soren hesitated for a moment, but still felt uneasy. Vivian had a natural extraordinary charm of over twenty points. People with high charm often easily attract attention. It would be fine if she were an adult with the ability to protect herself, but she was currently only an eight-year-old girl, which made her too easy a target for others' covetousness.

Especially those human traffickers, who are a major source of income in the gray area of every city.

Nobles, **houses, slave black markets, and even vampires.

As a Thief, Soren knew too well the things done in the gray area, so he always tried to keep Vivian from leaving his sight. He was very wary of this world, perhaps because he had been exposed to too much darkness as a Thief, and always felt that the people he met were from the evil alignment. This was a very dark and chaotic era. Laws were often just for show, and what constrained people's behavior more was their inner faith and morality.

And these two things were precisely the most difficult to determine!

Soren needed to go to the Adventurer's Guild to inquire about information and see if he could find someone to travel with. He had some Gold Thalers in his hand now and might need to go to some special places to contact certain people and buy some prohibited weapons from them at a high price.

The journey to Fallen Leaf City was not peaceful.

It was inconvenient to take Vivian with him at this time, but Soren was not at ease leaving her behind.

"Big brother."

Vivian reached out her small hand and held Soren's palm, as if knowing he was a little worried, and said softly, "When you go out, I'll stay in the room by myself."

"I promise I won't run around!"

Soren hesitated for a moment, then nodded and said, "Alright."

"I'll go out and check the situation to see if there's any other way to leave."

"You stay in the room honestly by yourself and absolutely don't run around. I'll be back in half a day at most. I'll figure out a way to find another place to stay tomorrow."

As Soren's figure left, the two men downstairs in the inn immediately exchanged glances.

The fat Morode gave a look to the thin man beside him, then handed him a bottle of potion.

"Be quick."

He whispered to the tall, thin man, "I'll be behind to support you. Go to the old place immediately after you succeed. I'll find a way to contact the buyer."

"Will Kefan be angry if we act now?" the tall, thin man asked.

Morode glared at him and said in a deep voice, "That old dog would even sell his own sister for money. As long as he gets the money, who cares about anything else?"

Inside the room.

Vivian was boredly playing with a dagger. If Soren were here, he would definitely be full of surprise, because the little girl could actually make the dagger dance, a technique he used to practice when he was bored to improve his finger dexterity.

"I really wish I could grow up faster!"

The little girl tilted her head and spun the dagger in her palm. Because her hands were small, it was more difficult than when Soren did it. Although her speed wasn't as fast as Soren's, she didn't make any mistakes, because if she did, the dagger would cut her fingers.

Clang, clang, clang!

There was a knock on the door from outside.

The little girl stood up alertly, hid the dagger behind her back, and said loudly, "Who is it?"

"The inn's attendant."

A man's voice sounded from outside, answering, "The boss asked me to bring the food up."

Food?

The little girl showed a hint of confusion and murmured, "Do they even provide free food here?"

Most inns only provided lodging; food had to be bought at the bar in the front.

Vivian held the dagger with her small hand, frowned, opened the door, and glanced outside.

Indeed, it was a tall, thin man carrying food, with a towel placed next to it.

The little girl couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, slightly turned sideways to hide the dagger, and said softly, "Please put it on the table."

The tall, thin man glanced at the room, a smile appearing on his face. After quickly entering the room, he closed the door and immediately picked up the towel next to him, lunging towards Vivian.

In an instant!

The little girl bent down to dodge. The moment the other party quickly entered and closed the door, she felt something was wrong. When the tall, thin man picked up the towel and covered her mouth and nose, Vivian instantly pulled out the dagger, raised a finger, and uttered a strange single syllable. Immediately after, a strong light burst forth in the room.

A splash of fresh blood.

The tall, thin man, whose vision was completely white, lost his target. As he bent down to pounce, the little girl swung the dagger, slashing across his cheek and right eye socket, instantly blinding one eye.

A suppressed scream rang out.

The tall, thin man covered his eye socket with his hand and fiercely grabbed towards the little girl.

Although Vivian had dodged, she was still small and weak, a half-beat slower. After swinging the dagger with all her might, she couldn't dodge in time.

Lightning Jolt.

The tall, thin man, who had already grabbed the little girl and was about to choke her, suddenly trembled all over. A spark of electricity jumped at Vivian's fingertip. The tall, thin man convulsed as if having an epileptic seizure, and the hand that was holding the little girl's arm weakly loosened.

A cold light flashed.

Vivian instantly stabbed the dagger into the other party's left eye, directly piercing into the eye socket.

The tall, thin man's body stiffened for a moment, then became motionless.

A look of horror appeared on the little girl's face. She looked at the bloodstains on her palm, and the dagger clattered to the ground.

However.

She quickly took a deep breath, then reached out and picked up the dagger. After quietly glancing outside and confirming that she hadn't alarmed anyone else, she immediately grabbed her things and ran out of the room. Before reaching the inn lobby, the little girl suddenly stopped, then turned around and slipped into the backyard, crawling out through a not-so-large dog hole.

Ignoring the mud all over her body, Vivian ran out after crawling through the dog hole.