The former lord of Crow's Perch had favored a distinctive design: reaching the main entrance of the inner keep required climbing a long flight of stairs.
So just inside the entrance were the reception rooms and guest rooms on a raised floor.
This greatly reduced the dampness in the living quarters of both host and guests, though Fringilla had now ruined that design.
The basement level, which housed the keep's storerooms and kitchen, was actually at ground level.
Chen Xu hadn't eaten properly for the past two days. He went down to the kitchen and asked a kitchen maid for a bowl of soup.
One taste filled his mouth with a rich, creamy flavor.
The soft chickpeas had an excellent texture, and the onions and celery complemented them perfectly.
-------- Cheese and bean soup Calories: 985 kJ --------
Hunger was the best seasoning. Dipping bread into the soup, he ate a full three times his usual amount.
After asking around, he learned that this kitchen not only served as the mess for the baron's entire personal guard, but also prepared the baron's daily meals. The quality was surprisingly high.
This was a habit the baron had retained from his military campaigns:
Officers and soldiers ate from the same pot, united from top to bottom.
"Good cooking." Chen Xu scooped up the mashed beans at the bottom of the bowl with his bread and gave a heartfelt thumbs-up.
The cook thanked him nervously and offered him a clean napkin.
Crow's Perch was too small. The story of this disabled man beating the baron senseless had spread like a virus; even the people in the outer town probably knew.
"When's dinner?"
Chen Xu wiped the corners of his mouth and asked the cook.
"The baron and his guests have already had their dinners brought up. The guards' meals are all here. We're about to send those out too."
The cook pointed at a pile of portioned-out soup and directed the kitchen hands and maids to carry out stacks of plates.
Chen Xu left with the meal delivery procession and encountered a little maid carrying a small tray at a turn in the stairs. "Hey, wait. What's your name?"
"Gretka, sir." The little girl wore her hair in braids, her chubby little face adorable.
She skipped as she walked, spilling soup from the bowl.
Chen Xu recognized her. She was the little girl Ciri had rescued from the Trail of Treats.
"Hello, Gretka. I'm Pro." He ruffled the girl's hair. "You're so little, and you're helping out too?"
"I like working. If I work, I get food." Gretka looked up innocently. Chen Xu took out two crowns and pressed them into her hand.
"You're doing great! I've got a job I need help with too."
He picked a booger and flicked it into the soup bowl. "In a moment, whoever I talk to, take this tray to him."
-------- Booger cheese and bean soup Calories: 913.01 kJ --------
The little maid grimaced in disgust, but gave in to the temptation of gold coins.
Two crowns could buy so, so many tasty things!
It wasn't as though she was killing someone for money. She was only five or six and thought it was merely a prank by the baron's guest.
Night had just fallen, and Crow's Perch was brightly lit and bustling with noise.
With Nilfgaard backing them and no pressure from the war, the baron's men ran rampant through Velen. They could well be called the most carefree bunch in these troubled times.
Apart from the few men at key posts, everyone was boasting, drinking, playing cards, and enjoying themselves.
"Hit him with a right hook, you fucking..." A large crowd of guards cheered around two extremely muscular, shirtless men trading blows.
Several Chosen Ones were among them. Chen Xu slipped over and pretended to cheer, startling them into retreating several steps.
"What do you want now?"
Chen Xu was now the baron's guest. Unless they wanted to give up their current [Soldier] status, they could only suppress their murderous intent for the time being.
"I found you such a good quest. Why aren't you taking it?" Chen Xu asked with a smile, openly admitting his intention to send them away.
"In your dreams! Crow's Perch is our turf." A Chosen One named Randall stepped forward to confront him, showing signs of replacing Zhaotian Zhi as their central figure.
This commoner hadn't shown any great combat strength before. He had practically been chased around and beaten by Zhaotian Zhi.
Now he had merely gone up one level, barely reaching the standard of the four of them.
I still have the advantage.
"You might have gotten lucky and met a few special characters, but remember, strength is what ultimately counts on the battlefield."
The other Chosen Ones nodded in agreement.
The scene of Chen Xu relying on NPCs to kill Zhaotian Zhi earlier that day was still vivid in their minds, leaving them feeling it was terribly unfair.
They were clearly the "natives" who had descended into Crow's Perch, yet they had suffered oppression at the hands of an outsider.
After that inspiring speech, anyone who didn't know better might have thought they were the [Commoners] about to turn the tables.
"I gave you a chance. You didn't appreciate it." Chen Xu smiled faintly and turned toward the organizer of the fistfights, leaving the Chosen Ones exchanging looks.
The wounds Penny and Sethis had inflicted had yet to heal. He would never repeat that mistake.
"What did he mean?" a short Chosen One asked uneasily.
"He's bluffing. Pah!" Randall stared fixedly at Chen Xu's retreating back.
"From now on, wherever he goes, we follow. Whatever he does, we finish it before him! I'm going to steal every opportunity and connection that bastard has!"
He cursed viciously, then suddenly felt someone gently poke his waist from behind.
"What!"
"My lord, your dinner." Gretka timidly held up the tray.
"You spilled so much again!" Randall snatched the tray away. "You idiot!"
His ferocious expression startled Gretka.
"If you don't want it, give it to me. I'm starving." The short Chosen One reached to grab it, but Randall raised his hand and swung it out of reach.
"In your dreams! Fuck off."
Chen Xu watched from a distance as Randall gulped down the booger soup, confirming that these fellows had no habit of inspecting their food.
He was considering poisoning them again, but currently lacked suitable potion ingredients.
Besides, he had only just secured the major quest in Crow's Perch. If he were exposed, his losses might be greater.
There was no perfect crime. He couldn't forget that Geralt, witcher and master detective, was currently in Crow's Perch.
Excited cheers suddenly rose around him. The fistfight had ended.
Chen Xu told the organizer he wanted to compete, but couldn't trigger a quest.
It wasn't because his right arm was disabled, but because Zhaotian Zhi had already beaten all the champions in the other circuits. Only Velen's overall champion remained-the Sergeant.
Their match had originally been scheduled for tonight, but Chen Xu had already cut Zhaotian Zhi down.
To challenge the Sergeant now, he would have to wait for the other circuits to crown new champions, then defeat each of those regional champions before qualifying.
These Chosen Ones hadn't left him so much as a drop of soup.
Helplessly, he left the inner keep and went to thank Fergus, the dwarf at the smithy.
The dwarf had tried to save Chen Xu that afternoon. Though he hadn't succeeded, Chen Xu couldn't fail to appreciate the gesture.
"Don't mention it! I didn't accomplish anything anyway." Fergus waved a hand, then asked after his old friend. "How's that old bastard Willis doing?"
"...All right. Like you, he's working for the Nilfgaardians. Fixed wages, no worries about food or drink."
With the words on the tip of his tongue, Chen Xu suddenly lost his nerve and habitually used [Deception].
People needed hope in troubled times. The living didn't need to learn of the deaths of their friends and family.
So he thought, never actually noticing that lying had already become second nature to him.
"That's good, that's good!" Fergus breathed a sigh of relief and spoke a little more easily.
"Well, have a look and see if there's any armor you fancy... Almost forgot, you're in the trade too."
Noticing the bright silver armor Chen Xu wore, the dwarf enthusiastically pitched his other products.
"We have top-quality runestones and glyphs. I see the rune slots on your armor are still empty.
"Two percent off for a friend! Don't tell anyone!"