If something went wrong, in this pitch-black darkness, he probably wouldn't even have a place to hide.
However, the rich merchant promised that as long as he ensured no one from Rhodes Island escaped, he would receive a tenth of the two carts of goods after they were confiscated.
His previous business had been completely destroyed by the Catastrophe. If he didn't have a new source of income, he would probably end up working in a factory for the rest of his life once everything was over.
But with this wealth, he could make a comeback, and perhaps even become a prominent merchant, riding on the coattails of Wolumonde's reconstruction.
It was for this reason that he took such a great risk to hide in this corner. For this stakeout, he even specifically went back and changed his clothes, just to avoid being recognized by the other party.
At this moment, he was still completely unaware, diligently watching the direction of the inn.
But he didn't notice that, not far above his head, two figures suddenly appeared.
Rope pointed to the man below, indicating that he was the scout she had discovered.
Kanna nodded, then, like a floating piece of paper, she jumped behind him without attracting any attention from the other party.
"Hey, brother, what are you looking at?" After confirming that the target was within reach, Kanna reached out and patted his shoulder.
"Don't touch me, I'm busy with something..." One second he was impatiently shaking his shoulder, trying to dislodge the hand on it, the next second he remembered there was a wall behind him. Although he wasn't pressed against the wall, the gap in between was too narrow for an adult to squeeze through.
And most importantly, he could swear on his name that from the moment he squatted there until just now, there was absolutely no one behind him.
When he turned his head to see what was behind him, the last thing that came into view was a pair of seemingly soft, pink fists.
A few minutes later, in the inn's kitchen, accompanied by a splash of cold water on the man's face, he gradually woke up from his unconsciousness.
Before he even opened his eyes, he heard the clanging sound of metalwork in his ears. In his daze, his mind was a bit confused; wasn't he on a stakeout? How could he be hearing the sound of blacksmithing?
When he opened his eyes, he saw a young girl not far away crouching in front of a stove... holding a piece of glowing red steel with a pair of iron tongs.
He tried to stand up but found himself tied to a very sturdy stool.
The sound of his movements made the girl turn her head.
"It seems TV shows aren't wrong; a bucket of water will wake you up no matter how much you pretend to be asleep. Oh, right, what should we do next?" The girl raised her head and didn't look at him, but rather at a spot behind him.
"Hmm, let me see the script. You should first whip him, then, even though he's flayed, he still won't talk. Next, you press a branding iron onto him, and then he passes out, and we can proceed to the next game."
A voice, which sounded like it belonged to a very young girl, came from behind him and entered his ears.
Although the voice sounded soft and pleasant, her words made him feel as if he were naked on the Ursus ice fields in winter, a chill seeping into him from outside to in.
"Huh! Do I have to whip him? That's so tiring, and besides, we don't even have one here. How about we skip this part?"
The girl in front scratched her head with a troubled expression, as if the younger voice had given her a huge problem.
However, upon hearing the girl's words, the man felt as if he had seen an angel. At this moment, he understood that he had probably fallen into the hands of those Rhodes Island people, and he had now become their plaything.
But the next second, his eyes widened, and his whole body desperately leaned back, because the girl he had considered an angel just a second ago was now walking towards him with steel that felt like it was about to melt into liquid iron.
"Let's just brand him directly, it's so much simpler."
"Help!...Don't come any closer!...Please... I'll confess, I'll confess everything..." Watching the branding iron getting closer and closer, the man's tears and snot uncontrollably gushed out.
"Confess? Confess what? If you confess, what will I play with?" Hearing his willingness to confess, the girl frowned, clearly very displeased, as if her toy wasn't developing in the way she expected.
"No, no, no! My lady, just ask whatever you want to know. Anything I know, I won't hold back..."
Seeing the girl's arm slightly bent, as if she was displeased with him and was about to press the branding iron onto him, the man desperately struggled while begging the girl for mercy.
"Alright, since we can't play the unyielding warrior, let's play interrogation!" At this moment, the soft voice from behind came again.
"Boring!" Under his lucky gaze, the girl in front threw the branding iron back into the furnace, and then looked at him with an ill-intentioned expression.
He felt that if he said one wrong word, the girl would not hesitate to retrieve the branding iron from the furnace and thrust it into his arms again.
Because of this, the man confessed very smoothly, not only revealing everyone who conspired to seize Rhodes Island's property, but also clearly detailing how these individuals planned to divide the assets afterward.
As soon as he finished speaking, he felt a sharp needle inject into his neck. Within a few breaths, he lost consciousness again.
The moment the man fell unconscious, Nian instantly transformed from a crazy beautiful girl back to her usual self.
"Hahaha. That was great! I acted pretty well, didn't I?"
Not far away, the few people standing behind the man clapped in unison. "Indeed, you acted very well. With your skill, you're on par with Miss Wanshengsheng."
The saying that women are natural actresses is absolutely true; even a "god" like Nian performed flawlessly.
"Did you record this guy's testimony? I don't want to do this again."
Nian walked past the man with a look of disgust, because this series of stimuli had not only made him lose control of his expression, but he also couldn't hold it in below. A very nauseating stench now emanated from his position.
"No problem, all the names of the personnel involved, their identities, and the action plan are all here." Folinic raised the paper and pen in her hand, indicating that she had just recorded everything the man said.
"The recording is also fine! I specifically started recording from when he began to expose himself. Besides his words, there's no sound of any of us in it. It can be used as a perfect confession when sent to Sephyrin." Rope held up a recorder in one hand and gave a thumbs-up with the other.
"Very good, then let's leave this place. It's too smelly, I can't stand it!" Kanna waved her hand and led everyone out of the kitchen.
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