After leaving the imperial capital, the travelers came to the end of the vast plain, passed through a pass, and finally arrived at the destination of this trip, the deep forest canyon.

It is a land of mystery from ancient times to the present day, with abundant rainfall and a dense fog shrouded in mountain streams all year round.

That evening, two wagons arrived in a town in the valley, and a wooden sign outside the fence had a large line written in red paint:

"Welcome to Fog Pines."

A bearded man with a double-barreled shotgun on his back stood on the watchtower, and when he saw a carriage approaching, he shouted in a rough voice:

"The carriage ahead! Stop it! ”

The bearded man walked down the wooden ladder of the watchtower with a kerosene lamp and asked:

"Where did it come from? What are you doing here? Asking, he took the shotgun in his hand, opened the safety, and pulled the hammer.

The coachman replied, "We are merchants from Fort Midknight, the imperial capital, and we have come here to do business and visit by the way." ”

Hearing that the other party was a businessman from the imperial capital, the bearded man Rao's tone became a little more polite, but he still held a gun and remained vigilant at all times.

"Hi, hello guests, Lords of Fort Midknight, we are the militia of Fog Pine, please accept our routine inspection, it will not delay you for too long."

At this moment, two other militiamen came out of the roadside sentry box, carrying kerosene lamps in one hand and loaded pistols in the other, and one of them asked: "Which of your two cars is in the lead?" ”

"Don't be nervous, guys! Please put down your guns, we are all decent businessmen! Baron Victor smiled and jumped out of the car, and he opened the doors of the two carriages so that the militia could see what was inside:

"Let me introduce you, this gentleman in a wheelchair wearing gold-wire glasses is the son of the head of our Chamber of Commerce, Young Master William.

As you can see, our young master's legs and feet are not very convenient, so don't let him get out of the car. ”

"Alright then, no need to come down."

The militiaman held a kerosene lamp to shine into the car, and when he saw that William's clothes were made of extremely elaborate materials, he immediately realized that this young master in a wheelchair was indeed a rich man with status, and his tone became respectful:

"Hello, Mr. William from the Imperial Capital, are the other people in the car your men?"

William Einfurt straightened his collar and said, "That's right, it's all my people, you can see the two coachmen, the big man is my personal bodyguard, the two girls next to me are my personal maids, and the two young men in the car in front are my two assistants, who are responsible for tally and sorting out accounts on weekdays." ”

The militia nodded and continued to ask, "Did you carry cold weapons and gunpowder weapons?"

"There were a few guns in the suitcase, and a few swords, all for self-defense, just in case."

"Hmm...... You can keep your swords, but you must turn in your gunpowder weapons. ”

"We have a gun license, would you like to show it to you?" Baron Victor asked.

"You don't have to take it out, our mayor has stipulated that outsiders are not allowed to bring gunpowder weapons into the town, and they don't school if they have a permit

If you are going to stay in the town tonight, you must follow our town rules, and when you leave, we will return all the guns and ammunition to you. ”

"Alright then!" Baron Victor, "Coachman, go and unload the guns in the trunk and give them to these militia friends. ”

"Thank you for your cooperation, big man, you guys are very happy, and you don't have to salivate a lot of our saliva." The leading militiaman beckoned to his partner: "Go and check their luggage, put the guns and ammunition in the bag and collect them." ”

Seeing that her precious guns were all taken, Princess Edgar's face became extremely gloomy, and her lilac eyes shone in the darkness.

Young Master William hurriedly held her hand and said, "We are guests, it is better to abide by the rules of others." ”

After putting away the guns and ammunition in the trunk, the bearded militia leader looked into the car and commanded his men:

"You two, go up and search the carriage to see if they have any pistols on them."

Seeing that Princess Edgar was about to get angry, Victor hurriedly stopped the militia: "Please wait! ”

The militia leader frowned, put his finger on the trigger of the shotgun, and said aggressively: "What's wrong?" Big bodyguard, are you trying to find fault? ”

"Gentlemen, we don't like to be searched by others, can we be accommodating and give some face?"

The bearded militiaman spat on the ground and said impatiently:

"Son, don't look at your size, Lao Tzu's guns don't have fucking eyes.

I suggest you be smarter, there are hundreds of militia in the town, and the gendarmerie knights are patrolling the area, don't do anything stupid, that will not be good for you and me. ”

Victor has been handling cases outside all the year round, and he is much more tactful than the princes and princesses in dealing with people.

I saw him smile all over his face, and said to the militiamen: "I don't mean to make trouble, it's just that our young master doesn't like to be searched, if you are willing to make it convenient, he will be very grateful." ”

On the side, Victor's big hand quietly reached into the money bag, he took out three silver coins, stuffed them into the hand of the militia captain, lowered his head and said into his ear: "Take this!" If you don't pay respect, brothers, please have a drink! ”

The other party took the money and immediately put down the gun, stuffed the silver coin into his pocket, and his face became very pleasant:

"Hehe, it's because of this that I especially like the merchants from the imperial capital, who are much more generous than those poor ghost hillbillies!"

He waved his hand and ordered his two men to step away:

"Okay, the inspection is over, your carriage can pass, welcome to Wusong Town, I wish you all the best in business and have a good time!"

The makeshift wooden fence was removed one by one, and two wagons entered the town.

After moving away from the militia post, Prince Constance could no longer hold back:

"Victor, what the hell is going on? This is obviously our domestic town, how can it be more tense than the border checkpoint? ”

Baron Victor looked quite relaxed, with a pipe in his mouth, and slowly exhaled a puff of smoke, saying:

"The population in the valley is not only sparse, but also scattered, and policing has always been a big problem.

Most public officials are reluctant to go to remote places, and forcing too much manpower will cause great waste, so they have been making do. ”

Prince Maxim looked out the window: "Good fellow! The people in this valley are really fierce, and every Rao has a fierce murderous aura in his eyes, look at the militiamen in overcoats, all of them carry guns on their backs and knives in their waists. ”

"There is no way to do this, and the task of maintaining law and order in the valley cannot be completely dependent on the police department, but can only be supplemented by the local militia and the volunteer sheriff, supplemented by a small number of gendarmerie knights.

With such a large valley, this is not at all managed, so the security here has always been terrible, so we must always keep a low profile and try not to attract attention. ”

Prince Constance uneasily closed the curtain, wiped his glasses, and said:

"I now regret my decision to travel in micro-service, I should have asked the army to come with me to escort me."

Maxim pouted: "In that case, I would rather not come to the brigade school and I just want to have a good time, think about it, more than a hundred soldiers accompanied me, each of them is the eyes and ears sent by Her Majesty the Mother to monitor me, then how dare I indulge in a carnival?" ”

"Makes sense!" Baron Victor smiled: "Don't worry, with me and Edgar here, let's get ready to get off, the destination has arrived." ”

As the coachman tightened the reins, the two carriages stopped in turn.

The crowd dismounted from the carriage one by one, and Princess Edgar rolled up her sleeves and easily carried William down.

In front of him was an old-fashioned, three-story building, somehow in the thick fog and moonlight, the house looked particularly eerie.

The mottled and moldy façade was wet, and a few crows covered in pitch-black feathers landed on the cracked window lattices, their round eyes staring at passers-by and making an unsettling "whoa-wah" call.

The innkeeper walked up to them.

It was a kind-looking old man, gray-haired, wearing a dirty tuxedo, with a severe hunchback, and slumping like a prawn.

The old man coughed a few times and said, "Distinguished guests, welcome to the Black Crow Inn in Foggy Pine Town.

Please park the carriage next to the stable in the backyard, our stableman will take care of your horses, please leave me with your luggage, and I will help you carry it. ”

Baron Wickingstranghald looked at the old man's severely deformed back, shook his head, and said, "You just lead the way, or let's move it ourselves." ”