thefictionvixens Chapter 11 The Right to Sleep with Others
Chapter 11 The Right to Sleep with Others
One, two... fifty-three...
There are six silver coins and sixty-seven copper coins remaining.
Henry never imagined that in just five days, he would lose one-seventh of his fortune.
Following the curator's instructions, he acquired a complete outfit, especially the palm-colored cotton coat with the back hem reaching his calves, which he was quite proud of.
But including food, lodging, and intelligence expenses, the total cost was less than fifteen silver dollars.
The remaining large silver coin was stolen by someone.
This was the curator's responsibility; he only told Henry that there were "many temptations" outside, but not that there were "many tricks."
Henry finished his meal and left the inn.
It was still early, but he dared not slack off.
He must find Natalie; he absolutely cannot let the curator down.
Henry inquired along the way, asking if anyone had seen a thin girl go anywhere.
Everyone shook their heads. The only useful information was that they saw a short man walking southeast towards Poseidon Avenue.
Henry had no choice but to follow this lead and track down the short man.
Natalie is indeed very short, and if she had inherited half of her mother's genes, Henry's days in the library would have been even more restless.
So he comforted himself, thinking it must be Natalie.
This is a hotel located alone in the middle of the road. A large crowd has gathered at the entrance, waiting for more people to join them.
I heard that the journey ahead for dozens of miles is very chaotic, with bandits frequently appearing, so no one dares to travel alone.
Henry recognized the faces of these men; he had asked them for information just last night and paid them a keg of beer, but had received no new leads.
Henry therefore did not go to them, but immediately set off alone on the main road.
He had no time to linger; if things were chaotic ahead, it meant Natalie wasn't safe either, and he needed to hurry.
By afternoon, Henry could see thick smoke rising from a small fishing village from a distance.
As Henry stealthily approached, he heard cries, insults, and sounds of rape coming from all directions.
Henry saw a longship with a diagonal cross flag moored in the distance and knew that the place had been plundered by pirates.
Perhaps Henry was afraid of bandits, but not pirates, so he went into the village.
He quietly approached a wooden house on the edge of the building and, through a gap, discovered a person lying in ambush behind the closed door.
This is it.
Henry picked up a long, dry bundle of straw, went to the door, kicked it open, and then stuck the straw inside.
"Ah ah!"
With a loud shout, an axe swung down from the blind spot behind the door, cutting the straw.
The man holding the axe realized that his trick had been exposed, and he met Henry's gaze in horror.
Henry threw away the straw that was in his way, and the moment the man pulled out the axe embedded in the floor, Henry kicked the man over.
Henry picked up the fallen axe and closed the door.
The man knelt in the dark room, kowtowing and begging for mercy:
"Master! No, please don't kill me!"
"Where is this?"
"Cod Village, home to the densest cod population along the coast of the Ancent Continent."
Will soldiers patrol here?
"This is the edge of the two barons' territories. They only come during tax season and ignore the village at other times."
No wonder, Henry thought to himself, I was wondering why these pirates were so carefree.
Pirates only ever used one tactic: blitzkrieg.
Before the defenders could even detect it, it appeared out of nowhere, quickly seizing supplies and vanishing like smoke before reinforcements arrived.
They should have dragged the woman onto the deck, not dragged her in the street; that was highly unusual.
If they knew beforehand that there would be no reinforcements, that would make sense.
Henry's curiosity was satisfied, and he immediately asked the question that had been urging him:
"In the past five or six days, have you seen a little girl come here? She's not tall and has a slender figure."
"Young lady? Sir, you're not joking, are you?"
Do I look like I'm joking?
Henry held the axe to the man's neck.
"Master! No! I was just thinking that if there were only one little girl, she definitely wouldn't have made it this far. God, please bless her so that she wasn't sold into a brothel."
"What about people like that?"
"Hmm... one young man did come by..."
"A kid?" Henry frowned. "Are you sure he's a boy?"
"I'd bet my wife's right to sleep with a man for a month that it's definitely a man. I've spoken to him, and if it were a woman dressed as a man, I would definitely have noticed."
Henry's eyes were filled with disappointment.
The trail went cold.
He had assumed the short man was Natalie, but it turned out to be a boy!
Kid...
Ok?
Henry quickly recalled and organized the information in his mind.
He immediately slapped his forehead hard with his palm, cursing under his breath.
The curator was right; I really am a blockhead.
The only thing Natalie left in the room was her hair, but why did she have to leave that in particular?
The fact that she didn't want people to see her long hair suggests that she didn't want people to discover that she was a girl.
Therefore, I shouldn't have asked anyone about a certain "girl's" whereabouts in the first place; I should have asked the "boy" instead!
Natalie and her mother often practiced makeup, and their cross-dressing skills were so superb that it was difficult for outsiders to tell them apart.
Unfortunately, Henry wasn't interested in the fat woman curled up on the bed shivering, otherwise the man in front of him would have been lonely for a whole month.
Henry wanted to slap himself.
Fortunately, he feels that he hasn't gone in the wrong direction so far.
"Where did that kid go?"
"Three days ago, a trading ship docked in the village, and he boarded it."
"Which direction is the boat heading?"
"Heading south."
Henry put away the axe, got up, and went to the door.
Before leaving, he left behind some advice, which he considered as intelligence fees:
"You're lucky. The pirates, having vented their anger, have no interest in your wife. If you honestly hand over your money, saving your life shouldn't be difficult."
Henry stepped out of the house, no longer hiding, and walked straight onto the main road of the village.
Now that Natalie has boarded the ship, Henry must take a boat to catch up with her.
Right now, there's a boat in the village!
He carried an axe in one hand, exposed to the pirates' view, and strolled leisurely toward the ship.
Soon, pirates noticed him and surrounded him with weapons.
"Kid, are you looking for death?!"
The person drawing the bow in the distance was laughing happily.
Henry stopped and shouted, "The shrimp go out of the water, the octopus set sail!"
The man's playful expression vanished, replaced by a serious one: "Which river? Which stream?"
Henry remained calm and repeated, "When the shrimp go out of the tide, the octopus set sail."
The pirates muttered a few words to each other, and one of them ran away.
A moment later, a middle-aged man with a stubble-covered beard and a sharp, clean-cut appearance was led to the opposite side of Henry.
Without any warning, he kicked Henry hard in the stomach, and Henry immediately fell to the ground and dry heaved.
Henry was relieved that he hadn't eaten in a short time and immediately stood up despite the pain.
At this moment, the person asked:
"You were looking for me?"
"Are you the boss here?"
"Yes."
"I want to join you."
He laughed: "Don't think you're something just because you know a few words of Hainanese. Everyone standing here knows them."
"My name is Henry Gijano Panza."
The person opposite him was immediately surprised, then smiled with narrowed eyes: "I didn't expect Joachim to have left behind a seed."
"You need me," Henry said coldly.
"My boat has no shortage of shrimp."
The man parted his lips, revealing a broken upper jaw tooth and premolars.
"But it's quite interesting to think about being able to order around a Gijano."
Henry breathed a sigh of relief; trying to remain calm was much more tiring than he had imagined.
But it's not over yet.
He still needs to move forward, traversing the brutal path constructed of blades and arrows.
As they passed the octopus, the other person said:
"Don't get any funny ideas, or I'll use you as bait."
Before nightfall, the ship weighed anchor.