Eastern Traveler

The moment returned to when Lin Qi had just concluded his deal with Cripple. The tavern's heavy wooden door was shoved open, and a group of men draped in black silk cloaks entered with strange, measured steps. Howling cold wind squeezed in behind them, and its bone-piercing chill swiftly spread through the sweltering tavern. The burly men who had been sweating profusely, shouting and roaring, all set down their cups and looked over.

"Tut, wealthy lords!" A shifty-eyed man greedily swallowed.

Cloaks of black silk—silk from the East. In the Gallic Empire, it was precious stuff only noble masters could enjoy. Even ordinary nobles could not afford the exorbitant price of a bolt of silk; only great nobles could use silk to make clothing. As for lesser nobles, owning a pair of silk stockings was enough to boast about.

"Heh, rich fat sheep!" Several muscular men with arms as thick as ordinary men's thighs watched the group with great interest, their greedy eyes constantly sweeping over them. In the middle of the night, a group of guests in silk cloaks had actually come to The Cripple's Shop in the dock district. It was like a flock of lambs walking willingly into a wolf's den—how could that not set people's minds racing?

Especially when these guests looked so frail they could barely withstand a gust of wind!

They all wore peculiar hats, round hats over a foot tall with flat tops, each bearing a poisonous lizard carved from black jade. Compared with the burly men in the tavern, every one of them looked exceptionally small and slender. Even the tallest among them was only around six feet tall, utterly incomparable to the towering seven- and eight-foot brutes in the tavern.

What made hearts race even more was that these dozen-odd travelers were all pale-faced pretty boys, their complexions as deathly white as corpses. The young man leading them was particularly so; his face was white to the point of near transparency, faintly tinged with an unhealthy bluish cast. With physiques like that, with faces like that, they were plainly a pack of sickly weaklings. The tavern's tough men were confident that any one of them could easily deal with these wealthy "lordly fat sheep."

With light steps that made soft rustling sounds as they moved, the nineteen pale-faced, smooth-skinned, beardless young men slowly entered the tavern. The last two men shut the heavy oak door behind them, keeping the howling wind outside.

The young man at the front coughed softly, extended his right hand from beneath his cloak, and vigorously wiped his nose with a snow-white silk handkerchief. A flash of gems and gold passed before their eyes. Nearly every one of the several hundred burly men in the tavern stood up at once, staring excitedly at the young man's right hand—what an expensive hand it was! Every finger was covered in rings: nine gold rings in all, each set with large gemstones and fine jade!

Enormous rubies, dazzling sapphires, rare and precious emeralds—there were even two deep-hued Tiger Eye Stones. These gems were worth a fortune; Berely City's noble masters would throw away thousands of gold coins for them without batting an eye! Especially those two Tiger Eye Stones, said to possess miraculous effects for men, allowing them to be high-spirited in bed and invincible in battle—those alone were worth ten thousand in gold!

Fat sheep—fat sheep the likes of which they had never seen before! Even plundering a merchant ship at sea would not yield as much profit as one of this young man's fingers!

Lisa, the serving girl nearest the tavern door, burst into laughter. Carrying a gust of fragrance with her, she pounced on the young man and pressed his head into her ample breasts. Lisa wore only a thin bra over her upper body, leaving more than half of her two white breasts, each as large as an ordinary child's head, exposed. She embraced the young man passionately, while her right hand habitually reached for his crotch.

This was Lisa's signature move at The Cripple's Shop. Whether sailors from ships, dockworkers, or tough men from every trade and walk of life, once Lisa teased them with this routine, they would generously offer her every copper coin in their purses!

But this time, Lisa had made a colossal mistake. The young man had never dreamed that the moment he stepped into The Cripple's Shop, he would suffer such a fervent "attack" from a woman! Faced with Lisa's bizarre moves, a man usually alert beyond measure failed to react at all.

Lisa successfully rubbed her breasts against the young man's face several times, and her soft white hand reached his crotch. Her five fingers gave a gentle squeeze, but all she touched was thin, smooth silk clothing. Beneath it was empty—there was nothing at all!

"You!" Lisa cried out in shock! What was wrong with this young man? Was he a woman disguised as a man? How could he not have that thing?

"Wretched whore, your entire clan deserves execution!" The young man twisted his body and broke free of Lisa's passionate embrace with a burst of strength. A scorching slap split across Lisa's face, sending her flying seven or eight steps away. The slap was immensely powerful. As Lisa's body flew through the air, a spray of blood had already burst from the corner of her mouth, with several large teeth flying out amid the blood.

"Heh, Easterners!" The bearded Blackbeard, who had just been raising his cup and roaring with the pirates under his command, pushed through the crowd and slowly approached the young man who had struck her. Speaking in halting Eastern speech, he sneered, "This isn't a place for you to run wild. You dared to injure the beautiful and adorable Miss Lisa. I think you should give her sufficient compensation!"

All the burly men greedily watched the young men, their eyes filled with malice.

Other than the young man who had struck Lisa, the men behind him all stood motionless with their waists slightly bent, holding the humblest and most respectful posture possible. Their eyes were even fixed on the ground before their toes. Ever since entering the tavern, they had not moved a muscle, maintaining that surely uncomfortable posture.

The young man who had injured Lisa gave an arrogant sneer. He raised his head slightly and sneered in a voice both hoarse and shrill, "A wretched whore. If she dies, she dies. What is she worth? Not only him—even all of you, heh heh!"

Blackbeard stopped several yards away from the young men. As he had steadily approached them, he had sensed danger. A danger even greater than when he had suddenly encountered a Five Great Linked Islands berserker warship in the Northern Ice Ocean two years ago! Blackbeard trusted his instincts. This small group of seemingly frail young men was extremely dangerous—perhaps even deadly.

Damn Easterners!

Only well-traveled sailors knew how many dangerous people and things existed in the East.

These nineteen young men gave the same impression as the poisonous lizards crouching atop their hats: silent and still, yet deadly enough.

After an awkward cough, Blackbeard wanted to retreat.

Just then, Cripple emerged soundlessly from behind the bar.

"This is The Cripple's Shop. You are all my guests. And guests are not allowed to raise a hand in The Cripple's Shop."