The Condition

Enzo and Yu Lian rushed to Father Balin's side almost simultaneously, grabbing him by the shoulders from either side and violently dragging him into the room, then slamming him to the ground. A crisp shing of a blade being drawn echoed. Lin Qi, from who knows where, pulled out a gleaming, single-edged great axe and angrily pressed it against Father Balin's neck.

Father Balin opened his mouth in a terrified, desperate attempt to yell for help, but Gram had already nimbly sat down on his belly.

The terrifying pressure made Father Balin's eyes widen. He let out a pathetic breath, all the air squeezed from his chest, rendering him unable to shout. Gram grunted and shifted his weight, and Father Balin's waist immediately let out a groan of spinal bones buckling under the strain.

Yu Lian turned and kicked the door shut. Lin Qi slowly bent down, his grim face coming within half a foot of Father Balin's. Father Balin, pressed down by Gram, had a purplish complexion, gasping like a fish out of water. However, Gram's nearly four hundred pounds of weight crushed his chest, preventing him from drawing any air.

"The Knights of the Round Table took Vik?" Lin Qi asked slowly.

Father Balin looked pleadingly at Lin Qi, his throat emitting an unpleasant gurgling sound. He was just an intermediary. He had some connection with the various delinquent student groups in University City, and he was merely a messenger. Feeling the cold edge of the axe on his neck, Father Balin prayed fervently to the gods of the heavens to send down judgment and strike these villains dead!

How could a law-abiding good student, an elite of the Empire's future, privately keep such a weapon in his room? If Father Balin wasn't mistaken, the great axe in Lin Qi's hand was specifically used by butchers in slaughterhouses to deal with large livestock. One swing would definitely cleave a person in half!

This was a dormitory at Fifth University. Why would something found only in a slaughterhouse be here? Even with Father Balin's extensive experience, his mind couldn't process this for a moment. Especially when the axe was pressed against his neck, Father Balin's thoughts froze completely.

Gram chewed on a hard-boiled egg with a crunch, crunch. He carefully observed Father Balin's complexion. By the time Father Balin's face turned from purple to almost black, Gram slowly stood up and cautiously sat on a wooden stool. He had to be careful; ever since he'd sat on Lin Qi's bed and collapsed it half a year ago, leading to Lin Qi beating him up, he had become very cautious and careful.

So, it was really fortunate that he hadn't broken Father Balin's ribs with that last press.

Father Balin gasped sharply, letting out a strange whistling sound. After coughing violently a few times, he stammered, "It has nothing to do with me, you know, nothing to do with me. I have no dealings with those hooligans from the Military Academy. Father Aisen is the assistant priest for the Military Academy; I have no connection with those low-life scum."

Lin Qi stared at Father Balin with a dark expression. He ignored Father Balin's sputtering and sneered, "If I chopped you into eighteen pieces and threw you into the Seine River at midnight, within a single night, you'd float for hundreds of miles downstream. And then, there would be no more Father Balin in the world."

Father Balin's face turned deathly pale. He stammered, "This, this is murder!"

Lin Qi blinked and sneered, "Wrong. This isn't murder; it's an accidental drowning."

Father Balin almost burst into tears. Both scared and angry, he whispered furiously, "Chopped into eighteen pieces, how is that not murder?"

Lin Qi nodded as if suddenly enlightened. He scraped the rough axe blade against Father Balin's fat, greasy neck and sneered, "I see. Really, if you accidentally fell into the water, you wouldn't be in eighteen pieces. So, how about we get you drunk, knock you out, and then throw you in the river?"

He let out a strange chuckle, and Lin Qi's grim face continued, "A person who's completely drunk and knocked unconscious, would they still be able to swim?"

Two streams of tears rolled down Father Balin's face. He wailed softly, "But Mr. Lin Qi, we're friends, we're friends!"

Lin Qi sneered a few times and firmly shook his head, "No, we're not friends anymore. As of last night, we're not friends! So, you'll accidentally fall into the river. Even if the constabulary finds you, it'll be ruled as accidental death while drunk and wandering!"

Father Balin blinked a few times, miraculously stopping his tears. He looked at Lin Qi thoughtfully. After a moment of contemplation, he slowly nodded, "That Talisman, I'm sorry, I brought the wrong one. That one wasn't made by the Arch-Bishop of the diocese himself. But please believe me, I didn't intentionally deceive the esteemed Mr. Lin Qi; I just grabbed the wrong one while drunk."

With a deep sigh, Lin Qi nodded. "Yes, you brought the wrong one. But I almost got myself killed by Master Ke Cha's fireball!"

Father Balin held up three fingers. "Three hundred Atonement Talismans, at cost price, you understand!"

Lin Qi gritted his teeth and glared at Father Balin. "Three hundred Atonement Talismans, three thousand copper coins. After deducting costs, my profit is only a mere ten gold coins. My life is only worth this much? Two thousand Atonement Talismans, at cost price, you understand!"

Father Balin glared at Lin Qi through gritted teeth, roaring in a low voice, "Two thousand? Too many non-church-produced fake Atonement Talismans suddenly appearing on the market, do you know how much trouble that would cause? One thousand at most, or you can kill me! Also, I want half the profit! Otherwise, you can still kill me!"

Lin Qi put away his great axe. The heavy, menacing weapon vanished as if by magic. Enzo and Yu Lian, with smiles on their faces, helped Father Balin up. One thousand non-church-printed Atonement Talismans – that was a pretty good profit. Father Balin was now their money god, so of course, they had to treat him with respect.

Clapping his hands lightly, Lin Qi gritted his teeth and sneered, "Alright, now, dear Father Balin, please tell me, how did those despicable, shameless, lowly bastards capture Vik? And what were their conditions?"

Father Balin wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and grabbed a bottle of wine from the table, gulping it down haphazardly.

With a satisfied burp, Father Balin narrowed his eyes.

"How they captured Vik, I don't know the process."

"But their conditions are not simple. Lin Qi, they want several of your Iron Fist Brotherhood leaders to go to the alley behind the Sword and Beauty Tavern at midnight tonight to negotiate with them." Father Balin's expression was grim. "They want you to bring enough gold coins!"

Lin Qi's mouth twitched. The Sword and Beauty Tavern was a regular haunt for the Military Academy students.