Chapter 173
Creak----
The wooden door was pushed open, making a rather unpleasant sound.
"Zuo Jian?"
Laurentina looked at Zuo Jian with some confusion, seemingly not understanding why he would suddenly behave in such an impolite way; he wasn't usually like that.
"The house is empty."
He spoke from the Zuo Jian, simultaneously sharing his senses with Laurentina, thus answering her questions.
It wasn't just this house in front of us; all around, scattered around, almost every few houses, there was an empty building devoid of any sign of life.
However, judging from their external structure, they are not uninhabited... at least not for a very long time.
There used to be a lock here.
He crouched down and reached out to touch the groove on the door that was originally used for locking; there were still traces of rust around it.
"The family took the lock with them before they left."
Why is a lock necessary?
Skadi seemed somewhat confused and asked...
"Perhaps it's for the next house..."
Or perhaps it's simply to commemorate the fact that this family once had a cozy home of their own.
"Where are they planning to go?" Laurentina asked unconsciously, looking at Zuo Jian's Zuo Jian figure.
"Have no idea..."
Perhaps it doesn't matter where they go, as long as they remain in Victoria, their Tarans identity will only lead to discrimination.
Even so, they still held a glimmer of hope, believing that rather than welcoming an unknown new Earl, it would be better for them to leave and find a new place to live.
Compared to the former, at least the latter seems to have their destiny in their own hands—but is it truly in their own hands?
Perhaps leaving Victoria would allow them to start a new life, but he was well aware of the conditions in the wilderness. Could a family like theirs really afford the cost of equipment like a land vehicle? If they had to walk through the wilderness... the image of the Sarkaz skeleton he had seen by the roadside flashed before his eyes once more.
Moreover, without professional detection equipment, they might unknowingly enter an easily infected area filled with Originium dust.
Perhaps fate has never been in the hands of most people.
"Let's go, Laurentina, we need to hurry."
"They've arrived."
The three continued walking towards the Earl's mansion, which was not far away.
Soon, with their tireless footsteps, the entire mansion came into view.
Meanwhile, an elderly man who looked fairly energetic was standing at the door, wearing an ill-fitting suit, seemingly waiting anxiously for someone.
Upon seeing Zuo Jian, he quickly stepped forward, bowed, and inquired.
"You... you are..."
"Dragonblood Duke, or Dragonblood Earl? How did your superiors inform you?"
"You... you..."
Zuo Jian looked at the trembling old man and seemed to realize that his words had been a bit too hasty.
After a moment of contemplation, he adjusted his tone and posture, then patted the old man on the shoulder.
However, this action clearly startled the other party.
"Master... Master?"
"I am a friend of Earl Warwick, sir. There's no need to be so nervous. I know quite a bit about the Earl."
"Mr. Warwick's... friend?"
Seeing the doubt in the old man's eyes, Zuo Jian pretended to reach into his waistband, but actually used his blood to mimic a letter with contents.
"This is the letter he left for me, sir. Please take a look."
"Letter?"
The old man took the letter with some surprise, then opened it and glanced at its contents.
"The Earl told me long ago that his actions might provoke retaliation from some people who are extremely hostile to the Tarans, but he is not afraid of death. His only concern is his daughter... and the Tarans people in his territory."
"He even sensed that he might die in the future, so he asked me to let him inherit these things that he could never let go of after his death."
Zuo Jian patted the old man on the shoulder again.
"If I'm not mistaken, you're the old butler Warwick often mentions, aren't you?"
"Ah... yes... yes... Sir... the day Lord Warwick had his accident, I was out helping him purchase supplies. He was worried that the original supplies wouldn't be enough for everyone..."
"I know, butler, so I am very proud to have such a wonderful friend as Warwick. I am truly proud, and therefore, I must live up to his trust in me."
Zuo Jian patted the butler on the shoulder again and said.
"So, could you please find a way to inform the people in the territory? Tell them that the newly appointed Earl is a friend personally entrusted to him by Warwick."
"I... I understand, sir..."
Go ahead.
Zuo Jian smiled and watched the old man leave, clutching his letter tightly.
"When did you meet that... Earl Wosha?"
Laurentina spoke softly from behind him.
"I had never met him before. In fact, when I first saw him, there was only a corpse that hadn't completely cooled down yet."
After hearing this, the former almost instinctively asked, "So what did you say...?"
However, after she finished speaking, Laurentina saw an anxious old man in the distance, the letter in his hand glaringly obvious.
"Really... yes... this is the Zuo Jian I know~"
She laughed and pounced on Zuo Jian's back, almost causing him to lose his balance.
"Hey... what are you doing all of a sudden...?"
Chapter 8, Concern from Zuo Jian
"So, what are you planning to do now?"
Laurentina released her grip and stood beside Zuo Jian, curious about his next move.
"Next, I think... I'll try to make up for some of the things that might have happened because of my lateness... things that haven't yet turned into a tragedy."
Zuo Jian finished speaking, he gestured for the two of them to push open the gate of the Earl.
The heavy iron gate slowly opened under his push, allowing the three of them to step into the grounds of the mansion.
Compared to the Duke of Wellington's mansion, Warwick's residence as Earl's home seemed rather modest.
This aligns with Zuo Jian's initial assessment of Warwick.
"Come in."
Having already been here once, Zuo Jian's movements as he stepped onto the steps leading to the main entrance and turned the doorknob appeared exceptionally smooth.
Laurentina glanced at Skadi beside her.
The latter stared in disbelief at the mansion, which was far larger than the one in Londinium, and was momentarily speechless.
"Shark... where is this...?"
"Our new base for the foreseeable future..."
Laurentina, holding Skadi's hand, followed Zuo Jian.
As expected, she knew Skadi wouldn't have the same resistance as Zuo Jian had imagined. After all, he thought that moving from the big city of Londinium to this somewhat remote territory would inevitably cause some discomfort.
Logically speaking, this is indeed how a normal person should behave.
But... they're both Aegir.
In reality, for Laurentina and Skadi, there was not much difference between Londinium, the Duchy of Wellington, or the land they were standing on at this moment.
In their minds, these places are inherently remote and underdeveloped...
In their eyes, the territories of Londinium and Warwick were not much different; they were simply slightly larger and slightly smaller backward areas.
Rather, the place they lived in in Londinium was even smaller than this.
"That Shark... here... here..."
Skadi looked around curiously, then nervously spoke to Laurentina.
"What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"
She was somewhat surprised, not expecting Skadi to actually...
She wasn't as indifferent to her surroundings as she thought!
In her eyes, this place should theoretically be no different from Londinium, right?
"No... I want to know... um... is there a flush toilet here?"
"?"
"?"
In an instant, Laurentina, Zuo Jian, stumble and almost fall.
"... I think so... So you care about this..."
Laurentina rubbed her forehead, never expecting her compatriot to say something so astonishing... No, she was Skadi who had followed that guy Ulpian on many missions.
Thinking about it this way, it seems to make a lot more sense.
"Because... because..."
Fortunately, Skadi was somewhat aware that the problem she was asking was a bit... embarrassing to talk about, so she hesitated a little while pointing her fingertips at each other.
"It was very uncomfortable when I was in the wild before, so I still wanted to ask..."
"In the wild? Oh, I suppose so—"
Laurentina paused, realizing that Skadi's words did seem to make sense, though she hadn't noticed it herself... Come to think of it, after Zuo Jian merged with her, her body had basically gotten rid of those... normal physiological needs, so it was reasonable for her to subconsciously ignore them when thinking about problems.
"If nothing unexpected happens, the basic amenities for living here should be complete, or you can go and find an empty room that meets your needs now."
Zuo Jian turned around, clearly noticing Skadi's concern.
"However, two of these rooms appear to have been occupied. If they still don't meet your requirements... I'll have someone install some basic living facilities."
"Alright, then I'll go check out the surrounding rooms with the Orca first. What about you?"
"I'm going to check out the surroundings and take care of some things."
"Um..."
Laurentina nodded, and just as she was about to take Skadi's hand, she turned back and called out to Zuo Jian.
"Um... Zuo Jian! Are you sure your consciousness is alright?"
"Of course there's no problem, don't worry. It was just an accident before, how could anything happen to me?"
As if offering some comfort, Zuo Jian smiled and responded to Laurentina.
Then, as if she had received a satisfactory answer, Laurentina finally breathed a sigh of relief, and then led Skadi deeper into the house.
Zuo Jian watched the two gradually leave, then turned around and, following the steps he remembered from before, walked to a half-open door.
He stood outside, pondered for a moment, and then pushed open the door.
The interior of the study was completely visible to him, but his gaze remained fixed on the floor in the center of his eyes.
Has the body been moved?
Looking around, Zuo Jian slightly enhanced his sense of smell. At this moment, he realized that the smell of blood in the air had become extremely faint, and the dark red bloodstains on the floor were almost invisible to the naked eye.
"It seems Victoria has sent officials to investigate Warwick's death."
He crouched down and slowly rubbed the floor.
However, it is clear that the death of a duke is no small matter, yet the current situation has been hastily decided by those "officials."