Anderson’s vision was now completely dark.
His eyes were blindfolded, his hands and feet tightly bound so he couldn’t move, and his mouth was sealed shut with glue.
Now, he could only rely on his ears to sense the outside world.
After revealing the location of the Dragon Egg to the kidnappers, they, fearing Anderson might try some trick to double-cross them, had brought him straight to the site.
Anyone daring to pull a stunt would be slaughtered on the spot!
Anderson was currently sitting inside a carriage. Soon, the voice of a black-haired man reached his ears:
“Confirm that the Dragon Egg hasn’t been damaged. Store it properly, then immediately transport it out of Deya City!”
Feeling the carriage jostle, Anderson guessed that the Dragon Egg had already been loaded inside. Sigh, he felt somewhat guilty toward the Priestess for failing to provide good after-sales service.
But guilt aside, if he managed to survive this, he had to run away immediately. Otherwise, he would gain yet another Debt Holder.
After all, the Priestess had spent over a thousand Gold Coins—she wouldn’t let him off so easily…
“Who’s there!”
Suddenly, there was a commotion outside. Anderson pressed himself against the carriage wall to listen.
The black-haired man’s voice sounded again, making Anderson freeze for a moment:
“Priest?”
Why did this guy say “Priest”? Wait, could it be Truth who had arrived?
No, no, if something happened to Truth, her family would surely be furious. And the force backing that black-haired man was not to be underestimated either.
Hopefully, there wouldn’t be any conflict between them— otherwise, being caught in the eye of the storm would mean a miserable death for Anderson!
Anderson guessed that the kidnappers must be from the Harin Family of Watchtower Fort, a dominant power on the border. He wondered if Truth’s family could stand on equal footing with them.
Listening more closely to the next conversation, Truth’s voice was too soft, so Anderson could only catch fragments:
“Precious item? Looks like Truth already knows the Dragon Egg was taken. Is she angry… hmm? Not angry at all, but speaking very respectfully. Could it be she knows she can’t stand up to these guys?”
Normally, if Truth’s family was comparable in strength to the Harin Family, she would have revealed her identity and kept the Dragon Egg herself, and her Shadow Guards would have immediately brought reinforcements.
It was common for a powerful family’s heiress to have several Shadow Guards.
But Truth did not do that. Instead, she said things like “Bon voyage” and other blessings.
It seemed she knew she could not fight the Harin Family and could only watch helplessly as they took the Dragon Egg away. Sigh…
The carriage shook again; Anderson felt it start moving. Then, his blindfold and sealed mouth were roughly torn off.
Opening his eyes, he saw the black-haired man sitting opposite him, with a huge treasure chest beside him—the Dragon Egg was probably inside.
“You didn’t try any tricks. That’s not like you.”
The black-haired man laughed, his mood bright after successfully retrieving the Dragon Egg.
“Since this is settled, when will you let me go?”
Anderson only wanted to take the money and run. Fortunately, before this, he had transferred all his Gold Coins elsewhere to launder the money.
But he was also certain of one thing: the black-haired man would never let him go so easily!
“Heh, we’re just getting started. Let me introduce myself: I’m Evans, working for the Harin Family.”
Evans extended his right hand, but seeing Anderson’s hands were still tied, he awkwardly withdrew it and continued:
“We’re very interested in your Dragon Egg trade. We want you to tell us the details—where your supply comes from, and where it goes.”
So that was it. It seemed the excuse he had made up earlier worked:
“You want to know? Fine, I’ll take you to our Leader. He can tell you more.”
….…
Two hours later, when the alley beneath Anderson’s home returned to silence, an anxious figure in Priest’s robes hurried out:
“Gone?!”
Tia bit down hard on her thumb, her face full of disbelief.
After comforting Suna, she had rushed here to complete the Hermit’s first mission: retrieve the Dragon Egg.
But after searching Anderson’s home and the alley over and over, she couldn’t find the Hermit’s precious Dragon Egg anywhere.
“It’s really gone… but this was Hermit’s first task for me!” Tia nervously bit her thumb until it bled.
Had it been stolen? No, no, no— how could something belonging to the Hermit be so easily taken by mortals? Or was she just too weak to see the Dragon Egg?
Forgive me, Master. Tia was utterly useless— she couldn’t even complete such a simple errand…
Soon, Tia began to entertain thoughts of atonement through death, slapping her own face repeatedly:
“Why can’t I find the Dragon Egg? Why, why…”
Why?!
As if the slaps cleared her mind, Tia suddenly thought of another possibility:
“Wait, what if the coordinates given by the Hermit didn’t actually have a Dragon Egg? Maybe He wanted me to go find one myself?”
After all, how could an existence like the Hermit give such a simple task?
Then there was only one answer!
“This is actually a test from the Hermit!”
Tia nodded firmly, instantly accepting this inspired excuse as truth, and stepped out of the alley with determined strides.
“It’s just a Dragon Egg. I’ll go to the nearest Dragon’s Territory and bring one back to the Hermit!”
……
Evans’s carriage smoothly exited Deya City and sped toward the Mist.
Since they needed to pass inspection, Anderson had regained his freedom. But if he tried to jump out of the carriage, Evans would quickly shoot him full of holes with crossbow bolts.
“Turn right in 500 meters, then follow the Edge of Mist all the way. We’ll enter through a narrow northern entrance.”
Anderson pointed at the window, speaking confidently.
He had just been rattling off to Evans about his smuggling routes in the Mist, boasting about smuggling five or six Dragon Eggs a year from faraway Wangsheng City— highly profitable.
There were still two Ordinary Fire Dragons waiting in the Mist for their final payments!
This definitely made Evans eager to personally visit the “Smuggling Base” Anderson mentioned.
And that was exactly what Anderson wanted!
Once inside the Mist, it would be his turn to take the lead. With his knowledge of the Mist’s terrain, his chances of escape would greatly improve. Besides, he still had Hamsters and the others backing him up!
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