"Thirty silver coins, that's a lot of money. But it's also worth it for the sake of good wine. The white-robed guest at the head muttered quietly, reaching out to his waist to touch the money bag. He was astonished by the fact that the red rope that had been used to tie the beautiful purse was left with an empty severed head.

Not only him, but in addition to one of his companions, the money bags of the other three were also missing.

"Kids, those two kids. It was they who stole our purse. After a moment of thought, it quickly dawned on the owner. Those two extremely cute children turned out to be two hateful thieves at all.

Panic, anger, venting...... After a series of actions that the lost and found person should have, the five white-robed guests had to seriously face the reality that the money bag could not be recovered. Dejected, they went to the camel to count their goods after paying the wine bill with the little money they had left. While the money in your pockets is nothing compared to the benefits you get from selling the goods, it's never a pleasure to lose your money bag out of thin air.

"Distinguished guests, I have deep sympathy for what has happened to you. As you are well aware, it is quite noticeable for foreign merchants like you to trade here. Without a few competent bodyguards, there is a good chance that this will happen again. There were many robbers and thieves in those years, and they were everywhere. If you can take a few mercenaries with you, I'm sure your journey will be much safer. ”

These were the innkeeper's heartfelt words of persuasion.

Correspondingly, the adventurers and mercenaries who were drinking in the tavern also changed their calm just now and competed with each other one after another. There are those who pick up their weapons and shout to help the white-robed guests go out to catch thieves, there are those who take off their clothes and armor to reveal the terrible scars on their bodies, and there are those who hold their breath and bulge the muscles on their arms and poke them upwards with knives, saying that they want to engrave a striking mark...... The collision of weapons and metal, and the laughter and scolding of each other suddenly filled the narrow hut of the "Red Bullfight".

With the lesson just now, the white-robed guests also began to understand the current law and order situation of Heya to some extent. Therefore, without the boss saying more, they immediately selected two mercenaries who looked muscular and had outstanding martial arts skills as bodyguards. Although the price of seven silver coins a day is a bit ridiculously high, it is really nothing compared to the loss of all the property and goods. So, the two chosen ones took their weapons and equipment in high spirits, and followed the hapless white-robed guests out of the tavern where they had been staying for a long time.

As soon as a few people left, the originally noisy "red bullfighting" returned to its original calm state again. The tavern owner sat down in his own special seat behind the bar and continued to doze off, while the cousin and the barmaid also hid back in the cellar and continued to untie their clothes to complete the high-level physical exchange. As if they had received a truce from the gods, the mercenaries sat back in their seats, and continued to sip on the few bad liquor in their wooden wine glasses, their eyes fixed on the dilapidated door of the tavern like dogs.

On a gravel path with a back street, two cute children are happily chasing each other.

"Hey! Dong Guoping, how many money bags did you get? ”

"I only got one. Bill, what about you? How many did you get? ”

"Hey, hey! I'm more than you this time, I've got three! ”

"Haha! We had a good day. Let's go back to dinner! I'm dying of hunger. Skop must have been in a hurry. ”

"That's right, Skop will definitely reward us today."

The rich and the poor are the basic elements that make up every city, and they are the integral part of every city in the world. It was the same with Hea. Behind the towering churches and the ornate governor's palace are dark, damp and filthy slums.

Two small children, no! It should be two thieves. Merrily slipped under the wooden bridge at the upper end of the city, and scurried along the rancid black water ditch into a small alley beside it. Twisting left and right along the narrow labyrinthine passages, you soon walked out of the dilapidated houses made entirely of cold hard stones and decaying wooden planks to the heart of the slum. It's a place where the king and the law can't take care of it, and it's also the best hiding place for thieves, smugglers, thieves and those with bloody crimes. Despite its squalor and scattered atmosphere, it still has as much bustle and excitement as the central area such as the square. Old men and women selling all kinds of snacks, all kinds of trading goods from the outside world, and a large number of old and old street prostitutes, all of which are despised by the upper class, constitute a unique commercial and trade landscape in the slums. This is also where one of the most important markets in the city of Hea is located, the Black Market.

Two cute little thieves are very familiar with this place. I saw that while they were happily greeting all kinds of people, they slipped out of the hands of blind old women or partially handicapped old men with swiftness and agility. Although these old people were holding them out of kindness and caresses, the two little ones had obviously developed a strong resistance to this kind of old man's love for their juniors. In a few moments, they had already made their way through the busiest part of the black market and into a low cabin on the west side of the block.

"Skop isn't there? Where did he go? The older boy, Bill, lifted the rag that was covering the door panel, turned to the little boy behind him, and asked.

"How do I know! The two of us came back together, and it would be strange if I knew where he went! Dong Guoping sat on a small bench made of bamboo, and said angrily. Along the way, he was touched the most often, although he knew that those old men and old ladies did not have any malicious intent, it was entirely because of his cute appearance that he couldn't help but want to pull over and kiss a few bites. But if his pink little face is kissed by those wrinkled and stinky mouths full of black and yellow rotten teeth every day, I am afraid that no one can accept such "cordial treatment". No way, who told us to be so handsome by nature?

Just when Dong Guoping was sitting there thinking about which way to come back tomorrow in order to completely avoid the entanglement of those old people, the dilapidated wooden door panel "creaked" open. A short figure in a black robe appeared in front of the two of them with the voice. Seeing him, the two thieves who were still full of frustration just now suddenly came to their senses. They greeted each other.

"Master, this is mine, hehe! I stole three purses today! Bill looked at the results of the battle from under his clothes and shoved them into the shriveled hands of the black-robed man.

"Huh! Good grades. The black-robed man smiled and turned to the other side: "Dong Guoping, what about you?" How many did you get? ”

"One, I only got one." Dong Guoping replied in a milky voice.

"Oh! In that case, Bill has surpassed you today. Hehehe! I'm afraid you'll have to be the last one to eat dinner, and you'll have to wash the dishes by the way? ”

"Master, open it up and take a look first! Don't jump to conclusions! Dong Guoping, who was a small ghost, flashed his two beautiful big eyes, and looked at the black-robed man slyly with his signature innocent eyes.

Such a request would be allowed, and it would be a necessary way for thieves to check their harvest. Soon, with the acquiescence of the black-robed man with a slight smile, the two thieves respectively pulled the rope tied to the money bag. All the secrets were suddenly revealed to the three of them.

"Three gold coins, four hundred and sixty-four silver coins, thirty-six bronze coins, and ninety-two slots." That's the total result of Bill's three purse bags combined.

"Twenty-two gold coins, two rubies, and a gold ring." This is Elmond's obtainable item.

Comparing the two and the next, it is clear which is more and which is less.

"Hell, it's you winning again. Why is it like this every time? I can't compare to you......" Bill said sullenly. He couldn't laugh at the thought that the dinner was gone, and that he had to wash a lot of dirty dishes. The original excitement has long since flown away.

Dong Guoping sat happily on the sidelines and looked at the black-robed man with hope, waiting for the reward he was about to give.

"According to the old rules, Bill was supposed to be washing the dishes today. But! Thanks to your good results today, you got the usual week's results, especially Elmond, and got a lot of valuable gems. Hehe! So! Today's dishes don't have to be washed. You can also take a day off in the evening to go out and have fun. ”

The two little ones who were rewarded jumped for joy, and such a good thing is rare. As the black-robed man turned, he brought out a plate of food that had been prepared from the hidden closet. The love of the two children was also transferred to this.

Tender lamb roasted to a brown, delicious small fish fried to a crispy crisp, freshly picked green vegetables, and hot couscous bread with a large vanilla cake for sweets. The dinner menu is so tempting. The two children cheered each other, and then hurriedly concentrated on the annihilation of the food.

"Dong Guoping, tell me, why did you only take a money bag today?" The black-robed man they called Skop smiled and looked at his apprentice who was eating vigorously, and asked softly.

Dong Guoping, who was fighting with a piece of mutton, stopped chewing in his mouth when he heard this, grinned with a child's unique naughty expression, rubbed his slightly bulging little belly, and said happily: "It's very simple! Because that person is the one who takes the lead, he must have a lot more money than the average person. ”

"No, that's not what the master taught us, the master said last time, generally rich people don't bring too much money when they go out, but on the contrary, their servants will have a lot of them." Little Bill managed to pull his mouth out of a loaf of bread almost the size of his head. With a face full of crumbs, he asked vaguely with a mouth stuffed with food, "Am I right, master, am I right?" ”

"That's right!" The black-robed man looked at the two lovely disciples with a smile in his eyes, and then asked Dong Guoping, "Then why did you choose the master?" ”

Dong Guoping did not stop his movements because of answering questions. I saw him grab a fatty grilled fish in front of him, tear off a piece of oily tender meat from it and stuff it into his mouth, and then he said contentedly while chewing: "What the master said is right, but that kind of situation is generally for nobles with big heads and good family backgrounds. But today, these people obviously do not belong to this type, and judging from their words and actions, they are just some businessmen who form a team, so there is no need to be so ostentatious. So! Hehehe. ”

"Do you hear that? Bill, Dong Guoping is right, and this is indeed the case. Remember, there are many things in this world that you can't just hear someone say about them. You have to experience it for yourself to get a useful and valuable experience. This is knowledge that no one can impart to you. Do you understand? This is the difference between you and Dong Guoping. Look at him, he only needs to judge to be able to beat you casually, you have to come on! Use your brain, use your eyes to discover the truth, and use your heart to explore the world, this is what you must learn to be a thief. The black-robed man nodded in satisfaction at Elmond's answer, and turned to the other disciple to follow the instructions.

Bill nodded thoughtfully.

"Actually, what the master said is not entirely right." Dong Guoping was suddenly a little embarrassed, and the speed of chewing food in his mouth gradually slowed down. I saw him wink innocently at the black-robed man and said, "Master, I targeted those people first." At the dock, I saw the leader open his pocket and stuff money in. ”

“……”

After eating, the two little ones giggled and went out to play, leaving the black-robed man alone in front of a large pile of oily dishes.

"Really, is there a master like me? I have to eat and pull, and I have to wash the dishes and clean up the house...... Is! Shaking his head helplessly, the black-robed man stood up from his chair with a wry smile and slowly cleaned up the miscellaneous items scattered all over the ground. No way, who calls himself a word first?

"Squeak", the wooden door opened, but it was not the two little ones who came in, but Kanson, the owner of the "Red Bullfight". Nowell.

"Skop, you old fellow. What, it's another person washing dishes? I said, why did you suddenly change sex now? I think when we were a few old brothers together, you didn't want to do this job! "The tavern owner is obviously an old acquaintance of the black-robed man.

"What can I do? Alas-

In a short time, the black-robed man had already cleaned up the qiē in the house. Instead, he took a bottle of wine and two glasses from the closet and placed them on a tattered wooden table. The table was rotten, and only three legs remained. If it hadn't been for a stick of wood that I got out of nowhere, I am afraid that it would have become a pile of firewood waiting to be burned.

"Say it! What's the matter with me? The black-robed man unscrewed the black lid of the wine bottle with great force, carefully poured half a glass of viscous fuchsia liquid into each of the two copper wine glasses that had just been wiped clean with the corner of the black robe, and handed one of them to the tavern owner sitting opposite. The latter took the cup, and with a satisfied expression, poured it all into his mouth as if it were a bottomless abyss. Then he shouted with a full face: "Good wine, only in Skop." Rogan is here to drink such delicious wine. ”

"You damn old fellow, every time you come to me under a different name, you cheat on drinks. For the sake of the almighty thief god, please don't come back next time. Damn, you're a tavernkeeper! He doesn't drink his own wine, but he wants to come to me to fool around. Really, how can there be such a reason? It's been eight lifetimes of bad luck to know a friend like you! The black-robed man said hatefully.

"Hey, hey, hey, it's not that I don't give you a drink, and every time I ask you to go to my place, you don't go yourself, who is to blame?" The tavernkeeper licked his fat lips vigorously, as if trying to swallow the little drops of wine that had been accidentally spilled on them. The two eyes stared greedily at the slightly black and inconspicuous wine bottle, as if it were a beautiful woman who had stripped naked and was teasing him in various seductive poses.

"Humph! How can you drink all that garbage? Your so-called signature beer is okay to coax the uninitiated, as for me-" Saying this, the black-robed man gently raised the wine glass in front of him with a rather elegant movement, and slowly took a sip of the liquid contained in it. Then, with an extremely comfortable expression, his eyes were slightly closed, and he asked, "Say it!" What do you need my help with when you come today? ”

"Huh! You're wrong. I'm here today, not because I need you to help me, but because I'm here to help you! The tavern owner with a reddish face said.

"Oh?" The black-robed man was a little puzzled.

"Looks like you're really old." Canson. Nowell sighed: "Skop, do you remember our agreement ten years ago? ”

The black-robed man was silent, apparently already understanding the meaning of his old friend's words.

"At that time, a few of us picked up Dong Guoping outside the Black Whispering Forest, when he was still a baby. Now, the decade has passed. It's my turn to raise him, right? There was no hint of the usual signature smile on the tavernkeeper's face. Now he is simply a judge with a stern expression.

"I know, but you also know that Elmond has lived with me for so many years. In addition, he was too young at that time to impart much knowledge at all. I'm worried about ......" In the face of his friend's reasonable request, the black-robed man's expression was a little helpless, and he could only express his concerns bluntly.

"Huh! I understand your struggle. I didn't say I had to take him away from you, did I? I mean, we should take on the task of teaching him in the next two years. After all, at that time, according to the agreement, Kasan would come and take him away. We can't keep it if we want to. It is better to take this opportunity to quickly teach him all our things. ”

The tavernkeeper's building yì is obviously and has an appetite for the black-robed man. However, he quickly thought of another question: "So, should you also bear the cost of Elmond's child support?" You know, I've been ...... all these years."