vrcanaries Chapter 10 Advisor
Chapter 10 Advisor
This time, Li Wei was sitting inside the carriage, and the Baron and Baroness were naturally there as well, though the atmosphere was a little awkward.
They're not idiots; if you just follow the logic of how things unfolded, you can see it clearly.
The Baron looked on in disbelief; this was truly outrageous.
Someone actually went out and killed someone for thirty crowns. Even though he marked three to five people, a human life is only worth ten crowns. Human life isn't that cheap.
Li Wei was quite embarrassed. To encounter something like this while out working, well, the Baron is truly enviable.
"Stop staring at each other like idiots, how about we have a drink to quench our thirst?"
The lady took a bottle of wine and three glasses from the wine cabinet in the carriage, and poured half a glass of wine for each of them.
She took a cup and handed it to Li Wei with both hands, her eyes full of admiration. As the wife who had been "saved," she found Li Wei more and more pleasing to the eye, and he was even more handsome if he wasn't a bald man.
"Lord Li Wei must have come after hearing the shouts. Despite being poorly equipped, you didn't back down when facing five fully armed soldiers. You really have the spirit of a knight."
After Li Wei bowed slightly and accepted the gift politely but without obsequiously, his wife thought to herself, "He probably isn't a farmer's son."
But this scene made the Baron jealous. Although he knew it was impossible for his wife to have fallen for the pretty boy in front of him at first sight, he was still unhappy. He thought to himself, "I used to be a very chivalrous person, before I went bald."
He twitched the corners of his mouth and quickly took over the conversation, making conversation as if he had nothing to say.
"What brings Lord Li Wei here so early in the morning?"
"I've taken on a job: dealing with the bandits here."
"This... Lord Li Wei is truly a man who hates evil like poison, hehe."
Are you desperate for money? Guess if I believe you.
Li Wei explained simply.
"No, it's just for twenty crowns."
I'm just a mercenary who only cares about money; I'm always looking for work.
The Baron exclaimed in surprise.
"....twenty???"
He was making plans in his mind.
Those guys who risk their lives for money, even the village chief takes such a hefty kickback, how much more ruthless must the common folk take for the little things they can do?
No wonder my herb-collecting quest is taking so long. Should I ask someone else to give me the quest?
Li Wei, however, continued to use the same lies he had told before to cover things up.
"The bad luck I had earlier meant I lost everything except what I had on me; I didn't even have a single copper coin left."
The baron looked Li Wei up and down, a hint of pity in his eyes. "You're really desperate for money."
The lady gently slapped the baron and said to Li Wei.
"So you haven't eaten yet, sir? If you don't mind, we have some smoked meat here."
"Of course, thank you."
"Hehe, you're welcome."
Inside the carriage, the Baroness kept trying to smooth things over and ease the tension, while Li Wei ate his food, but it tasted like wax because of the ashes.
After waiting for more than an hour, the carriage arrived at the village. The baron first sent his guards to inquire, and then, after hearing the report, the baron, with a dark face, led Li Wei and three guards into the village chief's house.
The village chief, who was sitting at the table keeping accounts, was startled.
"His bill is settled, pay up."
Even though the Baron was leading the group, the village chief still took out the money bag he had prepared and gave it to Li Wei as payment, since he was just an outsider.
The baron ignored how much the village chief had paid and instead asked...
"Old Hunter, how many herbs have you collected?"
"Sir, we've already acquired nearly half of them."
What is the purchase price offered by herbal medicine dealers?
"Twenty coppers, sir."
"I'll give you twenty coppers anyway, so why are the villagers willing to sell to the herbalist but not to their lord? I have to spend twenty-five coppers to buy it from the herbalist myself?"
"...Perhaps the growth cycle of the herbs is just too coincidental."
"Drag him out and lash him fifty times."
"Spare me, sir! For the sake of my thirty years of service to your family."
"Actually, it doesn't matter how much kickback you take, what matters is whether you complete the task. Take him away, and don't spare him a single whipping."
The village chief was dragged out amidst pleas for mercy, followed by women's screams, young men's questions, and children's cries—a complete mess.
The lord glanced back at the unmoved Li Wei and sighed.
"I'm sorry you had to see this. I'll make up the difference."
Li Wei simply nodded slightly.
"I understand."
The village chief crossed a line with his simplistic philosophy of governance.
Not only did they take kickbacks, but they also made the villagers prefer to sell to outsiders, forcing the lord to buy from outsiders at high prices, and the mission was only halfway done.
This shows that his exploitation had become so severe that it had damaged the lord's finances and authority.
The mistake wasn't in embezzlement, but in the fact that greed led to the failure of the mission and undermined the foundation of the regime.
The baron's punishment was intended to reiterate a feudal rule: you may eat, but you cannot eat to the point that I lose money;
You may exploit, but you cannot allow my people to escape my control and trade with others.
Ultimately, the balance between efficiency and loyalty was broken, and the village chief became a sacrifice to uphold the lord's authority.
Amidst the hateful glares of the village chief's family, his son even made a throat-slashing gesture at Li Wei. Li Wei glanced at him indifferently and then followed the Baron out.
The village chief's son dared not hate the baron, but he had the audacity, and a great deal of audacity, to hate outsiders.
Sometimes, the hatred that can lead to life-or-death situations is just that simple and brutal.
Stepping out of the room, the Baron stretched at the doorway and looked around, asking questions.
"Li Wei, what are your plans for the future? Where are you going?"
Li Wei himself wanted to ask the question of where they could go, but he still gave a normal reply.
"Set up camp outside, keep taking jobs and save some money."
The Baron smiled, turned around, and patted Li Wei on the shoulder.
"Aren't you planning to leave anytime soon? Since you have nowhere else to go, how about becoming my swordsmanship consultant? You all act all high and mighty, bragging like crazy, but you took you down with a single sword strike."
"Why? I'm not that strong. A few people could easily hack me to death. You probably don't even consider me a threat."
The Baron smiled calmly.
"Why so many whys? Do you think I would let a guy who can kill my guards like a chicken run rampant in my territory?"
I've seen plenty of guys with that kind of look in their eyes. They don't even know what they're supposed to do. They just find some excuse and headfirst into something, not caring about their own life or anyone else's.
I don't want to hear that one day you've been angered by someone and slaughtered their entire family.
He patted Li Wei on the shoulder again.
"Let's go. I'll have someone arrange a room for you. I've had enough of the smell here, and I believe you have too. Be my advisor; you won't suffer if you're good at swordsmanship or anything else."
"it is good."
Following the Baron deeper into the muddy path, past a wooden checkpoint separating a village, the road turned dry and dirt, built on a small hillside. A little further up was a proper small stone fortress.
There were guards standing watch above and below the city gate, and behind the gate was a stable. Several saddled horses were tied up in an isolated room outside the stable, while horses were neighing in the next stable, and there seemed to be quite a few of them.
"Stop looking, go take a shower and change into some proper clothes. I'll have someone prepare a room for you."