In the winter of 1465 in the Su calendar, night.

The cold wind of the Odin Ice Sheet in the far north blew across Wudalian Island, and Berelli shivered in the cold wind under the cover of night, and there were few people in the streets and alleys. Occasionally, the Royal Dragoons in short black cloaks and silver spears rode by, the crisp sound of horses' hooves stirring up some of the creatures that haunted the night.

The cold wind was like a whip in the hands of giants, whipping the entire city fiercely. Most of the city was immersed in deep darkness, and all the citizens who followed the rules were already asleep with the howling of the wind.

But to the west from the Palais du Victory, the heart of Bolelli, through the Champs-Élysses, known as the 'Pearl of the Continent', and along the Avenue of the Green and the White River to the end of the Avenue of the Fleet, there is a large area of brightly lit buildings. Hundreds of highly specialized colleges are gathered here, including the First University, the Second University and the Fifth University, the Imperial Army Academy, the Naval Academy and the School of Architecture, the Imperial Administrative College and the Seminary of the Liberley.

In just thirty years, countless elite talents have been cultivated here, adding a steady stream of fresh blood to the empty empire after the war. Driven by these elites, the vast empire is like a awakened lion domestically in the easternmost part of the continent, and its powerful national power makes the entire western continent tremble.

This is the best era of the empire, and it is also the worst era of the empire, this is the most enterprising era of the empire, and it is also the most extravagant and corrupt era of the empire.

The lights flickered in the buildings of the university town, some people studied hard in the teaching buildings and libraries, the neighing of war horses and the sound of cavalry guns clashing in the grounds of several military academies were heard from time to time, and in the workshops of the industrial colleges, there was a continuous high-pitched and piercing sound of metal knocking that stimulated people's eardrums at any time.

In this era of lack of nightly entertainment, ordinary citizens would go to bed at night, but here in university towns, the bustle doesn't stop until 12 o'clock at night. The vast university town is like a vibrant heart, where youth and blood are brewing and fermenting, and elite students are accumulating strength and enthusiasm for the future of the empire.

But just as there are always shadows in the sun, there are always three or five unusual characters in such an enthusiastic college town.

Just when his classmates were angry about the rise of the empire, Lin Qi walked out of the gate of the Fifth University. Several fourth-year students on duty at the school gate saw his face and turned their heads at the same time, as if they didn't see this third-year accounting student who had left the academy in violation of the night ban.

Qin Yun had just completed his sixteen-year-old coming-of-age ceremony last month, and he had been studying at the Fifth University Academy for three full years.

A middle-aged man stood on the street corner opposite the Fifth University, hiding most of his body under the cover of an acacia tree. He wore a wide-brimmed gold-rimmed tricorn hat, a short brown cloak in the same fashionable style as a dragoon, and a pair of leggings made of black satin from the East tightly strangled his long legs, highlighting the angular muscles on his legs. Undoubtedly, this leggings made of black satin are also the most popular style in Berelli in the last three months.

The strong chewing muscles drove the gums to squeeze the mixture of tobacco and betel nut hard, and the strong and stimulating taste made Enzo energetic. Like his hat, cape and leggings, chewing a mixture of tobacco and betel nut is a fashion trend that has only recently become popular among the middle and lower classes of Berelli.

Qin Yun also looked left and right, he walked quickly across the street, and his sturdy figure disappeared into the shadow of the acacia tree.

Qin Yun looked back at a few fourth-graders standing in front of the school, and then specially selected those complex and winding alleys to walk through, and soon left the brightly lit university town and came to the old northern town of Bolaili City, where the security was the most chaotic.

When passing through a certain courtyard gate in a nameless alley, Qin Yun learned a few cat meows in a strange voice.

The courtyard door opened silently, and four stout figures joined the small team, and they followed Lin Qi more than ten meters behind.

To the north of Berelli, the mighty Seine River flows silently. The thin ice collided with each other on the surface of the river, which was more than ten miles wide, making an inaudible crunching sound. Along the banks of the river, dozens of artificial piers protrude out like arms, the dock district of the northern part of Berelli, and the most feared chaotic area of the Berelli region, where all the villains and villains gather.

In the northernmost part of the quays, near the confluence of the Saine and Mana rivers, there is an old tavern.

From the narrow muddy road, past several tattered steps, the tavern's main entrance was made of two heavy stone slabs, mottled with paint and greasy dirt. On the left and right of the tavern door were two large flower pots, in which were several shriveled and dead saplings, a dead mouse tied to a branch on the left, and a viper's bone hanging from a branch on the right.

There was a black wooden board hanging crookedly on the stone door, and only with all his eyes could he barely make out the messy handwriting on the wooden board—the lame shop!

Walking into the slate door, there is a large flat field in front of the tavern, and on the left side of the flat field are two rows of stone houses, which are full of stout men sleeping at the moment. They may be wandering sailors at the docks, porters at the docks, gatekeepers at certain warehouses, or they may be good men who make various livelihoods in the docklands. The dull sound of snoring echoed through the wide stone house, and from time to time someone said a few words of sleep, and let out a thick, low laugh.

To the right of the flat field is a row of cattle pens, in which nearly 100 cows and horses are standing quietly and grazing on the few dead grasses. There are a few simple flatbed carts and four-wheeled carriages parked in a mess near the livestock pen, and a few horse-drawn carriages that look inconspicuous but are actually very particular about materials and craftsmanship are parked there.

Facing the main gate, there is a three-story stone building. The dim lights flickered in the stone buildings, which made these stone buildings even more gloomy and gloomy. On the right side of the stone building, there is a stone staircase that extends underground, and if you walk down this stone staircase for a few meters, you will reach an underground tavern.

The three-story stone building on the ground floor is an inn attached to this tavern, and even criminals wanted by the Empire can find their most comfortable accommodation here if they can pay the money. The underground tavern is the main place of operation of the owner here, and even if it is late at night, it is still brightly lit and full of people.

Walking down the stone steps, pushing open a thick old oak door, the smell of hot wine is almost rushing people to the face.

Behind the oak doors is a huge bar large enough to accommodate hundreds of people. Leaning to the west is a row of wine cabinets, and several fancy women are standing behind the wine cabinets, smiling insolently. A group of drunken drunkards were lying on the wine cabinet, laughing at the women with the same unbridled hype.

There is a circular wooden platform in the middle of the tavern, three scantily clad girls are twisting their bodies vigorously on the wooden platform, dozens of red-faced men are dancing around the wooden platform, shouting slogans excitedly, and the powerful feet are trampling on the rough stone floor, making a uniform 'pop' loud sound. From time to time, a few excited men took out shiny copper from their pockets and threw them on the wooden platform, and the three dancing girls writhed their bodies more and more feverishly, their long hair fluttering around them, and their crimson lips and shining eyes were releasing boundless heat, which made those men almost explode with excitement.

The lame man stood in the corner behind the wine cabinet, holding a huge copper wine glass in one hand and a white cloth in the other, grinning and wiping the glass vigorously, wiping the cup inside and out. He had a large cigar cigarette smuggled from overseas in his mouth, and faint green smoke kept coming out of his mouth.

The lame man is the owner of the lame shop, and his original name is rarely known, and everyone calls him lame. Just like his father, his grandfather, his great-grandfather, and his older ancestors, they were all called lame, and they were all cripple shop owners.

On the wall behind the wine cabinet, a two-foot-square portrait hung on the smoky and dusty wall. It was a large man, wearing a red cloth scarf, his left hand was broken at the wrist, with a sharp iron hook on his wrist, a machete in his right hand, and his left foot was cut off at the knee, and he was fitted with a prosthetic leg made of iron. The big man had a fierce face, and a colorful parrot stood above his head.

The person in the portrait is the first generation owner of the lame shop, that is, the cripple does not know the ancestors of more than several generations. Legend has it that the first owner of the lame shop was an island leader who once crisscrossed the seas, but the lame man kept telling others that his ancestors were from a well-behaved scholarly family.

There was a burst of laughter in the tavern, and a black-bearded man wearing a black tricorne with a thumb-sized white skull badge on the brim of a long oak table in the corner of the tavern stood up with a smile and raised a glass the size of a human head.

Sitting around the oak table were more than twenty bare-chested stout men, all with rough and savage faces, and each of them exuded a bloody and hideous energy from their bones. They grinned loudly and shouted cheers while raising their glasses. It's a bunch of thugs through and through, and every hair on their body is branded with the word 'thug'.

The wine glasses collided with each other, and the pungent bad wine spilled all over the table. The big men drank to their heart's content, giggling and boasting about their gains in the latest 'big deal'. They bragged and boasted, so that everyone in the tavern knew that they had just ransacked a sea ship, killed everyone on board, and turned all the cargo on board into their spoils.

The only loss of a big deal with a lot of money is their old buddy Old Jack, who was unfortunately stabbed through the lower abdomen.

Qin Yun pushed open the door, and the lame man glanced at him and handed him the letter.

Qin Yun read the letter and left here, and immediately packed up and left the school after returning to school.

This book was first published from 17K, the first time to see the genuine content!