Compromise

Before long, several children were dragged in by the gang enforcers. When they saw their boss, who had looked so imposing when he left that morning, now stripped naked and slumped limply in his seat like a dog with a broken spine, they froze.

The little pickpockets below could not hide the terror in their eyes.

A youth with a pair of prominent buckteeth swept his gaze over the scattered enforcers standing around him. The instant he entered, he turned and ran, but how could the enforcer beside him let him escape?

The club in the enforcer's hand swung straight toward the back of the youth's head. In the past, they would have shown a little kindness to these hens that laid golden eggs.

After all, if they injured them, no one would make money. They would be the ones to suffer later.

But the regime had changed. Those eager to make an impression before the new boss and prove their loyalty would never give up such a perfect opportunity.

"Don't kill him."

An old man with one crippled leg stood beside the constable. Seeing that his underlings were about to kill the boy, he immediately shouted a warning.

The men under him probably thought this was merely an attempt to make an example of someone. After all, the few who had been brought over were the little pickpockets who had stolen the most in recent years.

They had naturally received greater privileges before. By rights, these people could also be considered the former boss's closest followers—the same former boss who had now lost half his life.

While the enforcer hesitated, the youth with the prominent buckteeth ducked low, slipped around the people beside him, and darted through the crowd like a loach.

The gang enforcers could not catch him for a moment.

Chaos erupted. The other two children immediately sprang into action, but before they could move, an arrow pierced Buckteeth as he rolled across the ground and ran toward one of the walls.

The arrow passed through the youth's calf. With a cry of pain, he sprawled on the ground. He crawled forward in terror, only for the constable behind him to grab his collar and haul him up.

One blow from a club knocked the youth unconscious. The remaining two little pickpockets instantly shrank their necks, like two quails being watched by hawks.

"One is still missing. Where did Heka go?"

Fat Pig's bloodshot eyes swept over the three people before him. The undisguisable brutality in them made it clear that although he was not the direct cause, he had suffered terribly, and the culprit was among these children.

A young man with one crippled leg timidly stepped out from the crowd and answered in a low voice.

"I've already sent someone to look for him. He'll be here soon."

"You were responsible for watching him before, weren't you? Why wasn't he with you?"

Every eye instantly focused on the young man. He touched the pocket filled with copper coins, his heart bitter.

It was only a five-day vacation. He had thought it would be no big deal. After all, ordinary little pickpockets had to hand over money every day. If they had nothing to give, they would be whipped, or even have their legs broken and be thrown into the street as an example to others.

But for a high-ranking pickpocket like Heka, who had people specifically assigned to supervise and protect him, it was common to go several days without bringing anything in and then return with one huge haul.

That was why the young man had agreed to give him five days off. But now it was the sixth day. Heka had not returned, and trouble had arrived first.

He had been praying the whole time that this matter would not involve him. He never expected that it would after all.

"Five days ago, Heka's ugly little lackey bought a jar of salt near the salt shop. The last time anyone saw him was five days ago."

Gangs filled the vacuum of power. As one of the largest gangs in Seapeak Port, the Graytooth Gang maintained a tight grip over those beneath it. Before long, Heka's movements had been reconstructed.

"Since it's been confirmed, let them go."

The former boss of the Graytooth Gang, sprawled in his chair, swept his gaze over the three little pickpockets trembling before him. Perhaps he had thought of his own daughter, because he showed a rare bit of mercy.

"Maybe the little brat who didn't come simply died. A few children die in the streets every month. It's perfectly normal and no great matter. Once I find what I'm looking for, I'll naturally let them go."

The constable waved his hand, and the few constables with good instincts followed the gang enforcers inside to search the dilapidated room belonging to the little pickpockets.

Elwin followed behind the enforcers and entered the room at the back, where a faint stench wafted through the air.

There was no door, only a filthy scrap of cloth whose edges had already frayed into threads. One side of the room was covered with filthy bedding spread across the floor, while the other held wooden buckets filled with excrement.

The two constables clearly did not want to go any farther. Even imagining their boots stepping inside made them feel the indescribable urge to vomit.

Their superior behind them merely stroked his beard before extending five fingers toward them.

Fine. Fifty silver coins. They still had to do the job.

The two constables drew their longswords and stood one in front and one behind inside the room that was supposedly a dormitory but looked more like a pigsty.

Several gang enforcers were pushed inside and began searching one by one for the bloodstained money pouch the gentlemen had mentioned.

The searched bedding was tossed behind them. Just as one gang enforcer was about to shake open a bedroll that was slightly swollen, a pair of hands stopped the enforcer, whose head had grown dizzy from the stench.

Father Elwin gently lifted the sheet. Inside was a tiny child.

He picked the child up. The entire body was still trembling.

"He's sick."

Elwin spoke calmly. The enforcers around him immediately moved away, keeping their distance from the priest holding the sick child.

Disease was the most troublesome thing here. If they caught something through carelessness, then in this place where no one would care for them, their companions could only steal everything they owned before they died a miserable death.

Elwin carried the child, who was little more than a skeleton, out of the room. He then walked over to the constable and openly displayed the child, whose bones protruded beneath a thin layer of simple cloth.

After confirming that the priest had found nothing, the constable immediately lost interest in this corpse-in-waiting. Unfortunately, the two men who came out afterward merely shook their heads.

"Take all of them."

The constable's palm circled over the three children, Fat Pig, who had lost half his life, and the young man with the crippled leg. He looked like a chef out shopping, casually selecting the day's ingredients with a finger in front of a fishmonger.

Clearly, he did not plan to interrogate them here. Thirty gold coins was too much—enough to drive these people mad.

The risk of information leaking during an interrogation here was too great.

At present, only a few of his colleagues, his superior, and the priest beside him knew about this matter. He did not want unforeseen complications, allowing wild dogs to rush in and snatch the food that belonged to them.

"Is there anything else you wish to instruct us on, Father?"

The constable watched his men stuff rags into the mouths of several people before turning to the competitor beside him.

As far as he was concerned, the other man had come simply hoping to take a share of the profits from this affair. In truth, he rather liked him.

At least in this matter, the man's straightforwardness was much better than the disgusting duplicity of many priests, who acted one way in public and another behind people's backs.

"I'm taking him with me. No more children will appear here after this."

The constable raised his brows as he looked at the man before him. He had no idea what Elwin was planning. Did he think the thief was not among these four people and intend to search the place from top to bottom?

"The gang has never supported idlers."

"That's fine. The church can support them.

"For the next two years, they won't get involved in this kind of business. I'll keep this matter to myself and won't interfere again, in Velandil's name."