Author: 冬瓜茶仙人 / Winter Melon Tea Immortal
Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/
Chapter 53
Although the harsh winter had ended, it was still a while before the true warmth of spring. In the chilly spring wind outside the city, Charlie finally couldn’t help but cover his mouth with a handkerchief and sneeze.
Erica’s complexion also looked rather pale. The cold wind outside the city was so strong that it could penetrate fur coats. For the sake of mobility, they hadn’t dressed too heavily.
Fortunately, they had chosen a hidden spot that allowed them to see the road junction while slightly sheltering from the wind, and the tree trunks nearby provided some relief from the chill, allowing them to warm up beside their horses.
“What method do you think the doctor will use to monitor the Baron?” Erica’s face was pale from the wind. Her tidy, short hair was somewhat disheveled by it.
“I don’t know,” Charlie pondered for a moment, then honestly said, “Dr. Salman… It’s hard to say. He’s mysterious, and although he seems to be a good, honest, and brave person, I also think he hasn’t told us everything.”
Erica nodded.
She could sense that Salman’s sense of justice was genuine, but in their conversations, it was apparent he held back some details about himself. This didn’t necessarily indicate a suspicious nature, just that he was a rational person—after all, who would fully open up to strangers they had only known for a day or two?
Erica even suspected that if Dr. Salman himself had discovered Mistress Daisy’s matter, he would prefer to solve the problem independently rather than form a partnership with them.
But what resources could a bachelor who had sold his possessions to leave town, and who typically kept to himself use to challenge someone like Mistress Daisy, who was intertwined with the powerful?
Could it be that Dr. Salman was a hidden wealthy man?
Using money to gain power was something Erica (and the Duke alike) was confident in, but Dr. Salman said he had a better way to enter the Baron’s estate without leaving traces while looking for clues and evidence, and at the same time also monitor the suspect.
Using magic to achieve this would require considerable magical power, something an unregistered mage like Erica could do, but Dr. Salman had made it clear that he knew nothing about magic.
How could a physically weak surgeon accomplish all this? Both the rabbit-headed shopkeeper and Erica were curious.
However, they weren’t the type to overstep bounds. Since Dr. Salman clearly didn’t want to elaborate on his capabilities, they were willing to leave the intelligence work to him and instead stayed ambushed outside the city, deciding to follow the guests to the castle.
Dr. Salman didn’t betray their trust. Half an hour later, as the sound of horse hooves approached, Charlie peeked out from behind a tree trunk and saw Salman in a gray cloak riding towards them. He quickly joined Erica to greet him.
“The cloth merchant will be the first to leave the city,” Salman said, slightly out of breath. “Then, every quarter hour, the bank manager and the theater owner will depart, with the Baron leaving last, using a carriage rented from the bank, without any crest.”
His complexion looked a bit off, either due to fatigue from the rush or because the actions of these individuals indeed confirmed what Charlie and Erica had suggested.
“Their actions are even kept secret from their families, using the pretext of the girls’ school’s charity. The servants who accompany them are experienced, first taking them to the theater owner’s private salon in the city, then leaving through a back door in different carriages. Fifteen minutes later, the first carriage will exit the city suburbs.”
“We’d better wait until the last carriage—the Baron’s—before following,” Erica quickly said. “Mr. Charlie has previously entered and exited the castle without being noticed, which means its security is not as tight as the royal palace or the bank, so there’s no need to split our forces and sneak in separately.”
Both agreed.
But waiting in the woods in such weather was no easy task. They had to wrap themselves in cloaks and keep stamping their feet, but it was impossible to get warm—since they couldn’t make a fire to brew tea, as the smoke would reveal their position.
Erica then took a small bottle of liquor from the saddlebag of her horse and sat down with her back to the main road, cross-legged.
“Have a bit of liquor. It’ll warm you up,” she said. “We better find something to distract ourselves—how about each of us tell a story?”
Both Salman and Charlie, neither of whom were particularly robust, had been chilled to the bone, so they agreed.
The rabbit-headed shopkeeper took the first sip of liquor, thought for a moment, and said, “In Maplewood, there’s an old carpenter with not a single book in his home, but somehow, he always has endless stories to tell. One autumn, I traded him a smoked fish for a story about three brothers.” The rabbit-headed shopkeeper fumbled for his pipe but didn’t light it. He leaned against the tree trunk as he spoke.
“Once upon a time, there were three brothers who were very poor, barely able to eat each day. Unwilling to live in poverty, they resolved to become the strongest and wealthiest men in the world. So, they ventured into the world together, seeking their fortune. They climbed many mountains and crossed many rivers.
Along the way, they arrived at a town with a general store. The owner had no children and offered, ‘I’m old and want an heir. If you stay, you can be my sons.’
Thus, the eldest brother stayed to inherit the owner’s wealth.
The second brother and the youngest brother, though realizing they could live comfortably in the town, decided their ambitions were greater and left. They continued on, encountering a forest where a beautiful girl’s horse had stepped into a hunter’s trap.
They rescued the girl, only to learn she was a princess. The second brother returned her to the palace, and the grateful king married her to him. The king had another unmarried younger daughter, but the youngest brother, believing that marrying the princess would bring wealth and status, still felt his ambitions were greater and left alone.
During his travels, he accidentally fell into a valley and met a demon sealed away there. The demon promised that if he broke the seal, it would serve him for thirty years. However, the youngest brother didn’t trust the demon, asking, ‘With such power, you could kill me at any moment. What guarantee do I have that you’ll obey me?’
The demon had no choice but to cut its heart in half and give it to him, saying, ‘Eat my heart, and henceforth, I must drink a cup of your blood each month. If you die, I can’t drink your blood and will fall into a deep sleep.’
The youngest brother said, ‘Let me go back and think about it.’
The demon waited a long time in the valley before he returned, agreeing to break the seal. Once free, the demon grabbed the youngest brother, smugly saying, ‘If I eat you, that half-heart will return to me, and I won’t need to serve you.’
The youngest brother replied, ‘I knew you would renege. I never ate that heart. If you kill me, you’ll never find it.’
The demon was tricked and had to abide by the deal. Unbeknownst to it, the youngest brother had returned and married the king’s younger daughter, having a child whom he had eat the half-heart.
The three brothers worked together to hide the child where the demon could never find him, thereby controlling the demon, gaining countless treasures and an army, truly achieving their great ambitions.”
The rabbit-headed shopkeeper had a great voice. If he wanted, even the menu in the tavern could sound captivating, and time would pass without notice.
The story was a bit long, and both listened intently. If not for Erica being alert enough, they might have missed the two carriages that passed by during the storytelling.
After hearing the story, Dr. Salman pulled out a pocket watch to check the time.
“The theater owner could appear at any moment,” he said, adjusting his glasses. “Shall we continue with the stories? We might be running a bit short on time.”
Erica thoughtfully said, “We still have at least a quarter of an hour—since we’re close to the main road, we can stop immediately once we hear the baron’s carriage approaching. Anyway, we are to follow behind him.”
“What Erica said makes sense,” the rabbit-headed shopkeeper said gently. “I would also like to hear your stories.”
Dr. Salman thought for a moment, “Alright, then I’ll also tell a story.”
He adjusted his glasses and took the wine jug.
“This story is also long, and I might not be able to finish it.
Once, there was a poor couple who had a son, but that year a natural disaster struck, and they harvested no crops at all. So, having no other choice, the couple placed their son in a wooden basin and let it float down the river.
The basin drifted into the forest and was rescued by four forest nymphs. They led a very lonely and boring life, so they adopted the orphan and taught him painting, poetry, and horseback riding in the forest.
Over a decade later, the orphan grew into a charming young man, and surprisingly, all the nymphs fell in love with him. But the young man was unaware of the nymphs’ affection. He fell in love with an orphan girl he met in the forest while she was picking mushrooms.
The two quickly fell in love and wanted to get married and then travel the world. Before their wedding, the young man invited the girl into the forest to introduce her to his foster mothers and to say goodbye together.
The four nymphs were shocked when the young man brought his lover before them. The nymphs appeared happy for them on the surface but were actually burning with jealousy.
The young man asked his foster mothers to bless his love, and the eldest nymph, reluctantly, wished for him and the girl to love each other forever. Even if they were separated by time and space, they would fall in love instantly upon seeing each other again.
The nymphs prepared fine wine and food, trying hard to persuade them not to travel, claiming the forest was the safest place.
The girl, sensing the nymphs didn’t like her, didn’t drink their wine.
That night, the young man, having drunk the wine, slept very heavily, but the girl stayed awake. When the moon rose, she woke the young man, expressing a bad feeling that if they didn’t leave that night, they would never be able to leave the forest.
The young man told her the nymphs were beautiful and loving, but as they left the room, they heard a fierce argument in the living room.
The eldest nymph, for giving them the blessing of true love, was locked up by the other angry nymphs, who also planned a plot to kill the girl and cast a spell to make the young man forever forget the girl.”
He paused here, intending to drink, just as the sun had set and it had gotten colder.
Suddenly, the rabbit-headed shopkeeper stood straight up and made a “shh” gesture to them.
“I’ve been counting, and the last carriage is here,” he said in a low voice.
Although they only heard half the story, the three quickly buckled their cloaks and mounted their horses.
Dr. Salman, holding the reins, saw that Charlie and Erica still looked somewhat disappointed. He smiled gently and said, “It’s not a story with a happy ending, so don’t look so sad. If you really want to hear it, I promise to find time to finish it for you, but now is not the time. The Baron’s carriage has already passed.”
Erica nodded. “Yes, there are more important things to do than listen to stories—let’s go now and be careful. It’s best if they don’t spot us before we reach the castle.”
The author has something to say:
The stories aren’t just fillers.
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