Chapter 652: The Witch and Accident
Leaving the limestone cave, No. 76 took his hand and led him through the dark without slowing. Yorko could barely make out the ground beneath him, but the guide moved with unhesitating confidence. He felt the calluses on her palm — dense and hard, nothing like the soft hands of a hostess. Her build was slight, but the grip was iron. Whatever else her job required of her, she was clearly also a guard. A woman worth training was a woman worth owning. He found himself wondering if Otto might be convinced to part with more Black Letter.
Hill Fawkes was clever enough, but he was his old friend’s man first. And there was something intrinsically limiting about a male guard, a certain dullness to the arrangement. No. 76 would be a much better fit.
Of course, this was idle speculation. The Black Letter wasn’t his money, and 4,000 gold royals was already far past Otto’s intended ceiling. Spending more on a private whim would be the kind of thing that soured a relationship with one of Dawn’s three great families.
Beyond the auction chamber, most of the passages turned out to be natural formations; torchlight brightened in the narrower tunnels and faded in the wider ones. Shafts in the ceiling showed dark sky above. Where the caves widened, the limestone had been converted — rough hotels carved into alcoves, barrel signs hung outside what appeared to be taverns. An underground town, complete in miniature. Without a guide, a man could wander here for hours.
“By the way, how does payment work?” Yorko asked when they were alone in a narrow passage.
“Pass me the invitation letter before you leave the underground, after you’ve confirmed the goods are satisfactory,” No. 76 said. “I’ll complete the procedures. And if you’d like to extend your stay — we have a pub, a casino, hot baths. Black Money provides whatever’s needed, for pleasure or rest.”
“Everything is tallied in the Black Letter?”
“Yes.”
“What if someone wanted to purchase the guide?”
“500 gold royals, paid to Black Money.” She answered as smoothly as if she’d been asked the same question a hundred times, which she probably had. “Did you want to, Sir?”
“It’s not the length of time that makes for good company,” Yorko said, sidestepping the question. “It’s the quality of it. Don’t you think?”
She laughed. “You’re right.”
“May I at least see your face?”
“No.” She shook her head. “A guide may not remove her mask privately — only if purchased. That’s the rule.”
“But you mentioned any service—”
“Of course.” She touched the edge of her painted lips, a gesture that was all flirtation and no concession. “That doesn’t prevent me from serving you, Sir.”
Yorko felt the evening improving.
“We’re here.” She stopped before a wooden door at the far end of a carved passage, the number 76 cut into it matching her own number. “The room divides into outer and inner chambers. I’ll sleep in the outer room. Call me whenever you need anything.”
He opened the door and looked. “This is the outer room?”
The outer chamber was barely large enough for one person, the floor covered with a thin layer of wheatstraw. It was not unlike a stable stall.
“It’s difficult to find appropriate rooms underground,” the guide said, without apology, and opened the inner door.
The inner room was no larger — just enough for a wide bed and two soft chairs.
“Mmm! Mmm!”
The witch from the auction was shackled to the wall, both arms and both legs spread wide, a length of white silk stuffed in her mouth. She struggled when she heard someone enter, terror bright in her eyes.
Yorko’s mouth pressed flat. He’d imagined at minimum a cage in a separate compartment. This arrangement made a very particular kind of evening impossible.
How exactly am I supposed to spend a pleasant night with No. 76 while a bound witch watches from the wall?
The answer was that he wasn’t.
He remembered Otto’s instruction: earn her trust. That was rather more complicated now.
“Does Black Money have other rooms?” he asked. “The kind with additional charges.”
“Certainly. We offer semi-open houses nearer the surface, and rooms adjacent to the underground river.”
The ingenuity of it — carving luxury out of limestone and charging accordingly — was genuinely impressive in a way that also made him want to complain loudly to Otto about it later.
“How much is the cheapest?”
“Three gold royals per night.”
Three gold royals was half a month at a decent hotel in Graycastle’s king’s city. But compared to 4,000 gold royals, it was rounding error. Yorko decided Otto wouldn’t mind.
“Go wait outside for a moment,” he said. “I have something to say to the witch. I’ll call you when I’m done.”
“Yes, Sir.” No. 76 withdrew, pulling the door closed behind her.
The moment he moved toward her, the witch’s struggling intensified. He stopped, shrugged his coat from his shoulders, and draped it across her body.
“Listen to me. I was sent here to rescue you. As long as you don’t make noise, no one will hurt you. Everything will be fine.” He kept his voice slow and even. “Nod twice if you understand.”
She went still. She stared at him for a long moment — not believing, just measuring. He repeated it, a little more softly, watching her face. She was very beautiful, with a young girl’s quality to her features that was not his preference.
She nodded.
He reached out and worked the silk free from her mouth.
“Who are you?” she said, after a small cough.
“Someone here to help you.” He sat on the edge of the bed. “Do you have a name?”
“Amy.” A pause. “If you’re here to save me, why won’t you let me go?”
“What if you run? I don’t have another 4,000 gold royals if they catch you again.” He spread his hands. “Staying chained keeps you safe and raises no suspicion. I’ll release you tomorrow once we’re out. All right?”
“Really?” Suspicion hadn’t left her eyes.
She’s gullible enough that someone reported her, he thought, and yet she still looks at me like that. He kept his expression patient.
“Not only that — I’ll take you somewhere witches gather. Companions, safety, no more hiding.” He stood. “Wait until morning. Can you do that?”
“Wait — where are you going?”
“To enjoy my evening.” He grinned at her.
He turned toward the door to call No. 76 back.
And then a sound came from the outer room — a dull impact, and the heavy fall of something solid, and then silence.
“No. 76?” he called.
Nothing answered.
Chapter 652: The Witch and Accident
Translator: TransN Editor: TransN
When they were leaving the dark limestone cave, the guide held Yorko’s hand and they walked straight into the cave with ease.
Yorko could hardly see the ground, but the guide did not even slow down. Moreover, he could feel that No. 76 was no weaker than himself. The bumpy calluses on her palm totally did not match her slender body. Other than serving the guests, she was probably also be treated as a guard for the underground exhibition. It would be nice if such a person could be purchased from “Black Money” as cultivating one was not easy.
Although Hill Fawkes looked smart, he definitely would not follow him forever as he was still the man of his old friend. Not to mention that it would be a little… boring for a man to be his guard. It would be more appropriate to replace the man with No. 76.
Of course, Yorko was simply thinking about it. After all, the Black Letter did not belong to him and 4,000 gold royals were far more than Otto’s budget. Spending an additional amount of money privately would probably cause a fall-out with the Luoxi family, which was one of the three families.
After entering the cave, Yorko realized that most of the channels were naturally formed and the light of the torch seemed brighter due to the narrow terrain. Moreover, the dark sky could be faintly seen through many of the shafts at the top of the cave. The crisscrossing paths led into the deeper limestone caves where some were already transformed into hotels, while others were hung with barrel signs, just like an underground town.
It seemed necessary to arrange a guide for each customer or it would be very time-consuming to even look for a room.
“By the way, how do I pay for this auction?” Yorko softly asked while there was no one else around.
“You can simply pass the invitation letter to me before you leave the underground, after you confirm the goods are fine,” No. 76 said with a smile, “I’ll complete the rest of the procedures for you. You can also visit our pub, casino and hot tub. ‘Black Money’ provides any services, both for fun and relaxation.”
“Is all the money written down in the Black Letter?”
“Yes.”
“What if someone wants to buy the guide?”
“You just need to pay 500 gold royals to ‘Black Money’,” No. 76 smoothly answered as if she was accustomed to such questions and asked, “Sir, do you want to buy me?”
“Getting along is not about how long we’ve spent together, but how much fun we’ve got,” Yorko avoided the question and said, “what do you think?”
“You’re right.” She chuckled.
“Anyway, may I see what you look like?”
“No way,” No. 76 shook her head and said, “Unless you buy the guide, the guide isn’t allowed to privately take off their mask. It’s the rule of ‘Black Money’.”
“But you mentioned that you can provide any services…”
“Of course,” No. 76 touched her red lips and flirtatiously said, “it doesn’t hinder me from serving you, sir.”
Yorko felt even more excited.
“We’re here. This is your room.” No. 76 brought him to a wooden door at the end of the cave carved with ‘No. 76’, the same as her number. “The room is
divided into the inner room and outer room. I’ll sleep in the outer room tonight. You can call me whenever you need anything.”
Yorko lifted his eyebrows and asked after he opened the door, “This is the outer room?”
The cave was narrower in the front and wider at the back, and the outer room was only big enough to accommodate one person. It was probably similar to sleeping in the stable, as the ground was only covered with a layer of wheatstraw.
“After all, it’s difficult to find a suitable room under the ground.” The guide indifferently waved and opened the second room door for him.
Additionally, the inner-room was not spacious either. It could not accommodate anything other than a big bed and two soft chairs.
“Mmm! Mmm!”
Yorko saw the witch he bought from the auction once he walked into the house. She was firmly cuffed by the iron hoops on the wall with both her arms and legs opened wide while her mouth was stuffed with a piece of clean white silk. She struggled with fear once she saw that someone walking in.
He was immediately scolding “Black Money” in his heart while twitching his lips twice. He thought that the house was at least divided into several compartments with a cage especially used to imprison the slaves, but it turned out to be so shabby.
“How could I enjoy a long night with No. 76 in this case?”
“Performing a live porn in front of a witch?”
“Give me a break. It’ll be even worse than directly doing anything to her.” Yorko frowned even deeper when he thought of Otto’s order to earn the witch’s trust.
“Does ‘Black Money’ have other rooms? I mean those with extra charges,” he helplessly asked.
“Considering some of the customers have higher requirements of the room, we also offer the semi-open houses which are closer to the ground and rooms next to the underground river.”
The way that businessmen make money was indeed outrageous.
“How much is the cheapest room?”
“Three gold royals per night.”
“This price is enough to pay for a half-a-month stay at the hotel in the inner city of the King’s City.” Yorko unspokenly criticized. “However, this amount is nothing as compared to 4,000 gold royals. Otto Luoxi shouldn’t mind. Consider it as a processing fee.”
“You go out and wait for me for a moment,” he pondered for a while and said, “I have something to talk to the witch about. I’ll call you when I’m done.”
“Yes, sir,” No. 76 said respectfully and left the room.
As Yorko took off his coat and walked toward the witch, she struggled even harder and looked terrified.
He sighed while covering her body with his cloth and said, “Listen, I’m entrusted by someone to come here to save you. As long as you don’t make any noise, no one is going to hurt you. Everything will be fine. Please nod twice if you understand.”
The witch stopped struggling and stared at Yorko for a long while as if she could not believe what she had just heard.
The ambassador had to repeat it as softly and slowly as possible. The witch was very beautiful, but the childish little girl was really not his cup of tea.
She finally nodded this time.
Yorko was relieved and he reached out to remove the silk cloth from the witch’s mouth.
“Who’re you?” she asked after coughing slightly.
“Someone who has come to save you,” Yorko sat down on the bed and asked, “do you have a name?”
“Amy,” she paused and said, “Why don’t you release me if you’re here to save me?”
“What if you run away? I don’t have another 4,000 gold royals to buy you again if you get caught,” Yorko opened his arms and said, “You’d better be chained for safety and it’ll prevent raising any suspicion. I’ll set you free tomorrow after we leave, okay?”
“Really?” Amy suspiciously asked.
“She’s so gullible. No wonder she was discovered and reported,” he quietly thought. “She’s lucky to bump into me this time.”
“Not only that, I’ll introduce you to a place where the witches gather. There are a lot of companions waiting for you. You don’t have to keep hiding,” Yorko stood up and said, “So, you just need to patiently wait until tomorrow. Do you understand?”
“Hold on, where are you going?”
“I’m going to enjoy a sweet night, of course.” He grinned.
When Yorko was just about to call for No. 76, There was a sudden noise in the outer room along with the noise of heavy items muffling. It happened very quickly and the outer room returned to silence after a few seconds.
“No. 76?” He probingly asked but no one answered.