"It is I."
"Seeing is better than hearing. Your reputation precedes you. Please forgive our earlier transgressions, Lord Avanti..."
The male fae's tone suddenly became exceedingly polite, his words circuitous and overly elaborate. However, I caught a glimpse of mockery in the female fae's eyes beside him. A sense of unease settled in my gut as my gaze swept over the barely breathing female fae lying on the ground. I inwardly cursed the male fae's cunning. He was trying to stall for time with pointless chatter, hoping the injured female fae would die from lack of aid.
"I'll count to three. If you're not gone, you'll face the consequences! One... two..."
The male fae shrugged, slowly turned, and with a sneer, he and his kin departed, his black cloak swirling around him.
"As expected of Avanti. I am Tenshu, Commander of the Dark Fae Army. I believe we will meet again in the future."
I ignored him and went to the injured female fae. The other knights gathered around, automatically forming a large circle to guard me.
As I had seen, it was indeed a woman. Although her face was covered in blood, her original beauty was still faintly discernible. This was a good gamble; it would have been a disaster if she had been a "dinosaur."
"Master, let her go peacefully," Amice said, stepping into the knights' protective circle. She carefully examined the female fae's injuries: her left arm was severed, her right eyeball pierced, and blood continuously flowed from both ears, likely due to ruptured eardrums. Coupled with severe internal injuries, saving her life would not only be difficult, but even if she survived, she would be a cripple for the rest of her long life. That's why Amice suggested a peaceful passing.
In that instant, I remembered something I wished to forget.
"Ice coffin," I uttered, not responding to Amice directly. Two accompanying mid-level mages immediately stepped forward. Without further instruction, they cast a water-element ice coffin spell on the female fae, encasing her severely wounded body and severed limb in ice.
"Amice, contact Knight Commander Reanto, the mercenary groups stationed in the territory, and the Black Dragon Knights."
Being a Lord was truly exhausting. After a restless night, I hadn't had a chance to properly sleep. Now, under the blazing sun, I had to go out and find someone. To avoid attracting attention, I didn't bring any guards, opting to wear casual clothes and a cloak as I headed to a public restroom on the southeastern edge of Ferbenley City.
Next to the public restroom stood an unremarkable old house with a sign that read "Shota vs. Loli Hut." Though the house was dilapidated, its occupant was far from ordinary. The owner had a peculiar nickname: "Dying Old Man." According to my secret investigations, this man had been running his shop since the founding of the Wu Luosite Empire. Given that the empire was over 1,600 years old, this implied the man was at least that old. Even I, known for my intelligence and wit, couldn't fathom how he lived so long. I'd once suspected the man might be a humanoid fae, but his appearance was undeniably that of an ordinary old man.
The nickname "Dying Old Man" suited him perfectly.
Upon reaching the entrance, I carefully observed my surroundings, ensuring no one was following before pushing the door open. This man was extremely cautious, and one reason he chose to build his house next to a public restroom was to maintain a low profile. As for the other reason... it was because the adjacent one was the women's restroom.
Unexpectedly, the work counter inside the house was empty. Only a faint rustling sound emanated from the adjacent room.
"Hey, old man! You have a customer!" I unceremoniously kicked the counter, producing a loud bang.
"Whoa! Don't... don't kick! I'm coming... I'm coming!"
A seemingly decrepit old man suddenly rushed out of the room, still fumbling with his trousers. He looked disheveled, yet his movements were light and silent. Besides that, something about him seemed a little odd today.
"Hey, old man, what's that mark on your right eye?" I asked.
"Mark? What... no... nothing... I definitely didn't peek at the fishmonger peeing... absolutely no!"
"..."
No further introduction was needed; this was the familiar "Dying Old Man" who had accompanied my growth. But don't be fooled by his appearance. I can guarantee he's the empire's most exceptional dark merchant and information broker. Perhaps due to his age, lost ancient artifacts, divine weapons, or spells could occasionally be found here. I once glimpsed a long-lost, divine-level, out-of-print secret manual under his counter: the "Kato Eagle Photobook." According to the old man, with his limited wisdom, he had somehow, while on the toilet, comprehended the ultimate martial arts profound truth hidden within: the "Raging Spurt-of-the-Eagle Claw Technique"!
Mind-blowing, wasn't it?
I still vividly remembered his smug expression at the time – that feigned coolness, coupled with his finger-licking gesture. It was simply killer. Fortunately, he'd only mastered his fingers and not his toes, otherwise...
Even more mind-blowing, right?
"Lord Avanti... what brings you here today?"
"Do you think I came just to see you? I'm just here to have this appraised." I produced an elegant, long box and gently placed it before the old man, opening it to reveal a shimmering red ribbon. The moment the old man saw the ribbon, his eyes instantly glowed with a greenish light... oh, I almost miswrote that; it was a brilliant light. He eagerly snatched it up for careful appraisal.
The more he looked, the more excited he got, and the old man's hands started to tremble slightly, making me think his Parkinson's was acting up.
He carefully took out a magnifying glass and examined it closely, muttering "Good," "Good," "Good" three times. "A treasure among treasures! This belt is made from a full strip of aged red dragon leather, and the buckle is cast from titanium, guaranteed never to wear out. And the leather is soft yet tough, with beautiful, uniform scales. If I'm not mistaken, it's from the most precious dragon's snout. Oh, how did you even manage to engrave such intricate patterns on titanium, such a hard material? Hmm, even the inside of the belt is lined with the finest silk, so the wearer won't have their neck chafed. Excellent! Truly a masterpiece crafted by the Empire's Chief Alchemist."
"Hehehe... no need to flatter me. I'm just the Empire's most low-ranking alchemist, just like you, a ninth-rate black market merchant."
Seeing that the old man had a death grip on the belt, I knew I'd hit his weak spot.
"How about selling it to me for 500 gold coins?"
"No, it's not for sale. I just brought it to show you."
The old man's face indeed fell, his eyes still fixed on the belt. I pretended to take the belt back, but the old man stubbornly refused to let go.
"I'll offer... 700... no... 800 gold coins... how about it? Or is there anything you want? You can pick anything in this shop to trade for it."
"Hey, let go! 800 gold coins? Are you senile? I'll give you 800 gold coins, you sell me a belt!"
"Alright, you let go first! I'll buy it for 1200 gold coins. Let go!"
"You old geezer, what do you need it for? You don't have a dog at home, what do you need this dog collar for? What! You're choking!"
"You yellow-haired kid, I was playing with bitches... no... I was raising dogs before you were even born!"
Damn it, if someone walked in now and saw two grown men fighting over a collar, we'd lose all face.
It took a lot of effort for me to get the exquisite collar back and put it back in its box. I moved the box to the left, and the old man's eyes followed to the left. I moved the box to the right, and his eyes followed to the right.
I couldn't resist tracing a star in the air, and the old man's eyes followed, tracing a star.
That's pretty fun.
It's no wonder. Rumor has it that this old man established an underground "beauty dog" family in a place called Yawu, and he himself is the patriarch of that family. This "dog belt among dog belts" naturally held an exceptional appeal for him.
"That's enough, old man, enough laughing for now. I actually came to you today because there are three very important things I need your help with."
As I spoke, the old man's eyes remained fixated on the box in my hand. Sigh... this guy...
"How about this then? If you can help me, I'll let you have this collar."
A "ding" sound came from somewhere, and the old man, who had been in a trance, suddenly snapped back to reality, instantly putting on an earnest, sly smile at me.
"What are your commands, Lord? As long as this old man can do it, even if it means going through fire and water, being smashed to pieces, or even dying from exhaustion, I will not hesitate."
"Hehehehe... it won't be as serious as dying from exhaustion, at most just being smashed to pieces. I want you to help me with three things. The first is to procure the items on this list."
I handed him a list. He didn't look, and it was fine, but once he looked, his eyeballs almost popped out.
"You... you're not joking, are you? New green emeralds, golden pearls, special grade E steel. Everything you want is the highest-grade rare material. And... there are even divine artifacts like the Ring of the Water God, forbidden items that can't just be bought. Collecting everything on this list would cost at least 30,000 gold coins, enough to buy a third of a city!"
"A third of a city? Isn't it a quarter? Did the rest go into your stomach?"
His trick exposed, the old man just gave two dry laughs as if nothing had happened. He truly lives up to his reputation as a first-class black market merchant; his thick skin is also first-class.
"Four days. You have four days to get this done. Deliver it to my home in four days, and I'll transfer the money to your account."
"Four days? Urgent?"
"Of course, otherwise why would I bother you, old man? Hmm, the second thing is much simpler. I want to use your intelligence network to send a message to the Orc race. As for what the message is, I can only tell you later. And the third thing is I want you to draw a map to the Dark Fae tribe. That should be easy for you, right?"