The Virtuous Dark Witch

Chapter 22

"A mountain of gold?" Merlin looked confused and turned to the little one still standing at the door. "Where is this mountain of gold?" Even Thea frowned—how come she didn't know their family had a mountain of gold?

Hain sighed deeply as she glanced at the two of them. "Fine, pretend you didn't hear what I just said." Influenced by different civilizations, the generation gap between them was destined to be hard to bridge. But just as she stepped into the shop, her beautiful aunt gave her another big shock.

"After we finish dealing with the Moon Glow, we should go to the King City to check on those shops sometime," Thea walked toward the stairs. She stepped on the wooden step with her left foot, pressed down hard to make sure it was solid, then pulled her foot back. "We don't want the witch power to fade over time and let bugs eat all the wooden things in the shops."

King City… several shops? Hain heard a tapping sound—it was her heart bleeding. One sentence kept echoing in her head: their family's several shops on Wangfujing Street in the capital were empty… empty…

"We really should go take a look," Merlin smiled softly as she looked at the familiar decorations in the shop. The Desi Witches were really not cut out for running businesses. "Let's rest upstairs for a while, then go out again at noon." With that, she turned to go upstairs.

"Wa… wait!" Hain was still processing what she had just heard. "Be honest with me—how many shops does our family have… that are empty?"

What kind of question was that? Thea didn't understand why the little one looked so heartbroken. She replied, "All of them." Was there something wrong with that?

Although she had guessed as much, Hain really didn't want to accept the truth. She held back her sadness and asked one more question. "H - how many shops? Are they all in locations like this?"

"Thirteen," Thea answered straightforwardly. "This shop has the worst location." She roughly guessed what the little one was thinking. "Darling, you're still too young to understand how hard business is. Especially for a family like ours that sells dark weapons—it's even harder."

How hard could it be? Hain patted her chest, feeling a tightness there. She was full of frustration.

"You'll understand when you grow up," Merlin waved at little Hain. "Let's go upstairs."

She understood now. Hain wiped her little nose. "You go first. The black crow is still in the carriage." The dark weapons made by the Desi Witches were famous for being powerful, and the shop was in a great location. If it still ended up closing, the problem must be with the "people."

“Alright.”

After Thea left, Alexander Stirling had the bed to himself, but he tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep. The woman's scent filled the room, making him both nostalgic and repulsed. He wanted to go back to his own room, but his body was honest—he lay on the bed, not wanting to move.

It wasn't until the scent in the room faded completely that he got up, picked up his clothes from the floor, and put them on. He returned to his room on the third floor, opened the wine cabinet, and took out a bottle of blood. He didn't even get a glass—he pulled out the cork and took two sips directly. Alexander wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, his eyes showing tiredness. It was a tiredness of the heart.

He shook his head, smiled bitterly, and took another sip. He turned to go back to the inner room to rest, but stopped after taking two steps. His eyes sharpened as he felt the breeze blowing into the room. Alexander slowly turned to the window—the glass window was wide open, and the windowsill was empty.

He appeared at the window in a flash. The sky was clear today, but this room was shaded from the sun. He checked the stone frame of the window. Elena was gone, along with the iron chains that had locked her. But Alexander was sure that she, seriously injured, could not have escaped on her own. His blood - red eyes narrowed slightly. “Interesting.”

The sun was high in the sky. Hain led Merlin and Thea back to the gem shop they had visited earlier. Luckily, the white-bearded shopkeeper was there. The shop was as busy as it had been at night. Hain couldn't help but turn to look at the two behind her, feeling a lot of resentment.

Was it easy? She was only ten years old, and she already had to take responsibility for supporting the family.

The white-bearded shopkeeper remembered Hain well. After all, in all his years running the shop, she was the only one who had tried to sell a Blood Rose Glass Card. When he saw the three of them enter, he put down what he was doing and greeted them immediately. "Honorable ladies, it's a pleasure to serve you."

Hain put on a sincere smile and took out a Blood Rose Glass Card. "Grandpa, do you still mean what you said last time?"

When he saw the Blood Rose, the white-bearded shopkeeper's eyes lit up immediately. He nodded quickly. "Of course." He knelt down on one knee, meeting Hain's eyes. "Honorable young lady, are you going to sell me the Blood Rose?"

"Yes," Hain had originally planned to sell two, but after asking about the price of grain, she decided to sell only one. "I got this from Count Alexander Stirling. It's exactly the same as the one I used to pay off the debt before."

"I know," the glass card he had gotten the day before had already been sent to King City. Today's card was an unexpected surprise—he wanted to buy it for himself. "May I ask how much you want for it, honorable young lady?"

How much? This stumped Hain. She looked at the white-bearded shopkeeper, thought carefully, and finally decided to let him name the price. "Grandpa, I only have this one." Give me a fair price—no one cheats anyone, an equal trade."

Merlin and Thea, standing behind the little one, had no intention of speaking. They watched the little girl with smiles on their faces.

The white-bearded shopkeeper was also in a dilemma. He looked up at Merlin and Thea, and when he saw they had no objection, he sighed in relief and dared to make an offer. "Two thousand gold coins. Do you think…"

"Two thousand five hundred gold coins," a sweet but slightly arrogant female voice cut in. A silver-haired woman who had been looking at jewelry in the glass cabinet turned to Hain and the others. She had paid attention since hearing about someone buying and selling Blood Roses yesterday. She had planned to wait a few days, but she didn't expect the person to come today.

The white-bearded shopkeeper frowned. "A Blood Rose is worth ten thousand gold coins. Since this honorable lady has offered a better price, I'll also offer two thousand five hundred gold coins."

But before Hain could speak, the silver-haired woman hurried to say, "Three thousand gold coins. No matter how much you offer, I'll add five hundred more."

This made the white-bearded shopkeeper angry. “You…”

"In that case," Hain blinked her big eyes, lifted her little foot, and stepped past the white - bearded shopkeeper. "I'll name the price. Eight thousand gold coins—no less a single coin." This woman was rich, and she had come to her door voluntarily. She wasn't going to be polite.

The expression on the silver-haired woman's face froze. She pressed her lips slightly, then nodded and said in a trembling voice, "Alright, eight thousand gold coins." Anyone who could casually take out two Blood Rose Glass Cards to sell was someone she couldn't afford to offend.

Hain held out her hand. "Cash on delivery."

At that moment, Thea was the most complicated. What had all her years of hard work been for? It turned out that one glass card could solve everything. She wanted to cry. "Sister, can you tell me something happy?"

Merlin glanced at her. "Why didn't you think of selling glass cards before?"

"Mother," Hain looked at the several notes in her hand. "Come here and help me check if these can be exchanged for money."

Merlin stepped forward when she heard this, glanced at them, and nodded. "Yes, these are fixed-value gold coupons issued by the Moslin Bank." The Moslin Bank was backed by the eight Andro Ancestors, so the gold coupons it issued were trusted by the world.

"Good," Hain handed over the glass card, then carefully folded the gold coupons, put them into the hidden pocket of her skirt, and covered them with her little hand.

The silver-haired woman had felt distressed at first, but when she touched the Blood Rose on the glass card, she thought it was all worth it. She then walked past Hain and left the gem shop without saying a word.

At that moment, Hain was in a great mood. She turned and waved. "Goodbye, beautiful lady." Unfortunately, the beautiful lady didn't want to see her again—she didn't even look back.

After watching her leave, Hain's eyes curved into a smile. She pulled out another Blood Rose Glass Card from the other hidden pocket of her skirt. Immediately, all the customers in the shop had the same expression—their eyes wide open, their mouths slightly agape. Even the white-bearded shopkeeper, who looked very depressed about losing the glass card, was stunned. "Ho… honorable young lady."

"Two thousand gold coins," Hain really wanted to thank him. If it weren't for him, she wouldn't have gotten rich today. Eight thousand plus two thousand was exactly ten thousand gold coins.

The white-bearded shopkeeper stared blankly for a long time before coming to his senses. "No, no, no. Two thousand gold coins is too little. I'll offer the…"

"No, just two thousand," Hain held out the glass card. "Do you want to give me coupons or gold coins?"

"W - would you like coupons or gold coins?" The white-bearded shopkeeper took the glass card with trembling hands and twisted it unconsciously. Had Count Alexander Stirling been robbed by this little one?

He thought for a moment. "Give me one thousand five hundred gold coins in coupons, four hundred and ninety-eight gold coins, and two thousand silver coins." When they returned to the West Sea Forest, she wanted her father to forge some more silver needles for her.

"Alright, I'll get them for you right away."

After leaving the gem shop, Hain put her hands on her hips and took a deep breath. The air felt so fresh today. Merlin and Thea acted as coolies, carrying the gold and silver behind her.

They went to the grain market and bought some grain. Hain then asked about seeds. When the shopkeeper saw she was a big customer, he didn't hesitate. He told a slave in the shop to take care of things, then led them to the seed shop at the back of the street. "Our master has a caravan. No matter what seeds you want, even if we don't have them in the shop, you can leave a message and we'll find them for you."

"Good," Hain turned to look at the two beside her. Seeing them looking calm, she felt powerless. Listen to how they did business—didn't they get any inspiration?

Thea was still thinking about the glass cards and didn't notice the little one's gaze at all. Merlin, however, was confused. "Why are you buying seeds?" None of them knew how to farm.

Hain said angrily, "To try the taste."

After looking at the seeds, Hain wasn't surprised—they were all very common: wheat, corn, and so on. She bought a sack of each, then paid. Merlin told the shopkeeper to send the grain and seeds outside the West Sea Forest.

When he heard "West Sea Forest," the shopkeeper's movements stiffened. "A - alright, just send them outside of the forest, right?"

“Why? Do you want to go in?" Thea laughed.

The shopkeeper shook his head quickly. "No, no. I just wanted to ask if there would be someone to pick them up?"

Merlin smiled. "Just leave them outside the West Sea Forest. Please arrange for someone to send them as soon as possible." The shopkeeper breathed a sigh of relief when he heard this. "Alright, please rest assured. I'll arrange for the slaves to load the grain right away."

With the grain taken care of, the three of them detoured to buy some food and an iron birdcage. When they returned to their own shop, it was almost dark.

After eating a little, Hain carried the birdcage upstairs. She entered her small room, first checked on the black crow to make sure it was okay, then took out a silver needle. She looked at the dull black crow and said, "You owe me two gold coins and one silver coin."

She used witch power to melt and attach the silver needle to the birdcage, then put the black crow inside. Hain jumped onto the windowsill, ready to continue what she hadn't finished. She crossed her legs and closed her eyes. The wisp of witch power she had hidden in her Zhongji Acupoint that morning was still there, safe and sound. She drove that wisp of witch power to continue moving downward. As expected, her meridians began to ache.

Luo Xi… Luo Xi…

A delicate little girl lying in a pink canopy bed slept restlessly. There was a voice calling her—someone who seemed to be in great pain. Luo Xi… Luo Xi… A… a prince was floating in the silver water…

"Ah!" With a terrified scream, the little girl sat up abruptly, hugged the quilt, kicked her feet, and moved back repeatedly. She panted heavily. "Blood… there's blood everywhere."

Her back touched something soft. As if remembering something, she quickly waved the pillow away, revealing a blood-red amber as big as a child's fist hidden under it. She pounced on it, trembling all over. After feeling the warmth of the amber, her heart gradually calmed down.