The son-in-law of Mr. Hachishaku

Chapter 268 Prophet means knowing everything

Wilun, located in West Temeria, is known as the most backward province in Thailand.

Even in peaceful times when there were no bandits and deserters, Willen was a poor place where no one wanted to go. The inaccessible swamps, poor villages, and rude country bumpkins are probably the only impression people have of this place.

Not long ago, a large-scale battle broke out between Nilfgaard and another northern kingdom [Redania] in Velen. Both sides fought to the death, but in the end there was no winner.

Redania temporarily withdrew its troops to lick its wounds, while Nilfgaard waited for reinforcements from home.

It is foreseeable that war will soon come to this land again.

Prior to this, except for the large number of ghouls and various scavenging creatures, the overall situation in Velen was relatively stable.

"Everyone is almost dead, so wouldn't it be stable?"

Li Ang looked at the big tree full of corpses hanging on the roadside and said sarcastically.

Geralt shrugged without comment.

The two left Vizima five days ago and officially set foot on the land of Velen this morning.

Li Ang slowed down his horse and said, "Yennefer should have been asked to help me open a portal alone. It would have saved me at least five days of wasting my life."

Geralt argued: "I suggested that you fly over directly. You don't agree, so you can't blame me."

Li Ang snorted coldly: "Come on, you just want to experience the feeling of riding a dragon."

Geralt, whose thoughts were exposed, laughed and said, "Who wouldn't want to?"

After talking about all this, White Wolf got down to business: "The information given by Yennefer said that we are going to the Crossroads Tavern to find a Nilfgaardian spy. He has information about Ciri."

Li Ang said: "If you have time to find a spy, you might as well ask the omniscient prophet."

Geralt teased: "I'm just asking for your opinion, Lord Prophet."

"You must be discerning." Li Ang pretended to close his eyes for a while, then opened his eyes and said: "The secret agent named Hantrick is dead, and the war has attracted the Wild Hunt. Let's go directly to the local area. Just Lord Bloody Baron."

"Besides, you have an old friend in Willen, and she seems to be in some trouble."

The demon hunter asked in astonishment: "Are you kidding? Do you really know?"

Li Ang said with a smile: "You all respect me as 'Master Prophet', of course I have to show some real skills."

"Okay." Geralt raised his eyebrows: "Who is the old friend you are talking about?"

Leon explained: "The sorceress Keira Metz, because of the persecution of spellcasters by King Redania Radovid V, she had no choice but to flee to a village in Velen."

Geralt suddenly realized: "I do know her, but we are far from being old friends."

"So you don't plan to help her?" Li Ang asked.

Geralt thought for a moment and decided: "We'll see what happens later. Let's go to the lord you mentioned first."

"By the way, who gave this strange title of Bloody Baron? Nilfgaard or Redania?"

Li Ang said with profound meaning: "In a war, whoever has more people is the lord."

Geralt immediately understood: "It seems that he is a warlord leader who has made himself king."

"It's not accurate either." Li Ang explained: "Nilfgaard doesn't have enough troops to completely control a place as big as Velen, so it temporarily handed over management rights to the Bloody Baron. Anyway, Velen is a poor place and there is nothing to be gained. How much oil and water.”

"But the title of Baron was indeed self-proclaimed by Philip Strenger. He used to be just a low-level officer in Temeria."

"Philippe" Geralt muttered the Baron's name, and then sighed: "The prophet's ability is so convenient! With you, my tracking skills are completely useless."

Li Ang looked at the demon hunter with a strange expression: "What kind of prophetic ability? This information can be found out by just looking for a local."

Geralt was stunned for a moment: "Ah this."

"Let's not talk about this anymore. Let's continue on our way."

Crow's Nest is a simple fortress in the center of Velen. It has high wooden walls, solid iron gates, and towers. It once belonged to the former lord of Velen.

When Nilfgaard invaded, the former lord knew he was outmatched and fled with his family.

Later, this place became the lair of the Bloody Baron and his men.

After boarding the wooden bridge over the moat and passing through the gate guarded by soldiers, Leon and Geralt came to the village outside the fortress.

The villagers here take care of the Bloody Baron's estate and gain the Baron's protection.

As a result, their lives are far more comfortable than those of other war-torn residents of Velen.

Based on this alone, Geralt analyzed:

Although the Bloody Baron has a terrifying reputation, his character is not too bad.

In addition, bounty announcements everywhere in the village attracted the attention of the witcher.

"It seems that the Baron's wife and daughter disappeared not long ago. This may be an opportunity for us."

Li Ang joked: "You are not useless at all, White Wolf."

Geralt responded unceremoniously: "Shut up, you pretentious prophet."

The two of them were bickering as they came to the iron gate at the entrance of the fortress.

The soldier standing guard immediately shouted: "Who is it? Stop!"

Geralt stepped forward and answered: "We are witchers from elsewhere. We saw the baron's bounty announcement and wanted to see if we could help."

The soldier said coldly: "I believe what you say? You think I'm a fool!"

His arrogant attitude made Geralt frown.

Li Ang even sarcastically said: "It's unclear whether the Baron's character is good or not, but the quality of his men is quite poor."

"Are you looking for death?" The soldier immediately drew his weapon.

Fortunately, another older soldier next to him stopped him: "Don't be impulsive. The Baron is going crazy thinking about his wife and daughter. It's better to let them in. Anyway, there are many of us, so we are not afraid of them stirring up trouble."

The young soldier thought for a moment, then turned around and said, "Open the door."

Immediately afterwards, the guards on the tower pulled up the iron grille door.

"I'm keeping an eye on you. Don't be unhappy when you get in, understand?" The young soldier said another harsh word before letting the two of them in.

This group of people used to be Temerian professional soldiers. After Thailand was destroyed, they neither wanted to lay down their weapons and become obedient citizens, nor were they willing to join the guerrillas to help their motherland resist the invaders. He can only be a bandit who dominates the mountain under the leadership of the bloody baron.

A sergeant took Leon and Geralt to a small courtyard full of flowers.

Baron Philip was talking to two Nilfgaardian officers.

The empire is willing to hand over the management of Willen to him, in exchange for the need to turn in a batch of supplies every week.

Seeing outsiders arriving, the Nilfgaardian officer said goodbye.

After they left, the baron, who was wearing a blood-red robe and had a big beard, spat disdainfully: "Look at those two guys, they are both unwilling to stay for a cup of tea, and they have the nerve to brag about how rich their country is all day long. culture."

Geralt's impression of Nilfgaard was not very good either, so he continued:

“Rumors may not be consistent with reality, especially rumors about outsiders.”

Baron Philip raised his head and laughed: "Haha, you are right! Just like the demon hunter is not a machine that only knows killing as rumored."

"I know who you are, and I can guess why you are here. Let's go inside first."

It can be seen from here that the Baron's character is very forthright and not sloppy at all.

Leon and Geralt followed him to the mansion behind the courtyard.

As soon as they entered the house, Phillip asked the two of them to find a place to sit, and then started looking for drinks everywhere.

"Ah, so you're here! Do you want a drink?"

Geralt looked at Leon, saw him nodding, and said, "Then it's better to be respectful than to obey." The baron poured a glass of vodka for each of them, while he blew into the bottle.

"Hahaha! It seems that we have a good temper."

"Well, the king is dead, and the marshal is missing. Temerians don't know who to honor when they drink these days. Damn it!"

Li Ang raised his glass and said, "Respect yourself and the people in front of you."

"That's not a bad idea." The baron took a swig of strong wine and then wiped the corners of his mouth with his sleeve: "I almost forgot to introduce myself, Philip Strenger, but the old haters around here call me the Bloody Baron."

Apparently he wasn't very happy with the title.

Geralt felt the same and said: "Geralt of Rivia, the old haters call me the Butcher of Blavikan."

The Baron found a chair and sat down: "I said I know who you are, otherwise how would you have the chance to stand here and talk to me. But I haven't heard of the guy next to you. Let me introduce you."

Li Ang replied: "Li Ang, an ordinary ordinary person."

Geralt revealed his background: "The old haters like to call him the card master of White Orchard."

The Baron suddenly became interested: "Then you must be very good at Gwent. Do you want to play a game?"

After saying that, he felt that the timing was wrong and hurriedly changed his words: "Forget it, let's go too far. What do you think of Willen?"

Geralt thought for a moment and said politely: "Not satisfactory."

Li Ang was more direct: "It's terrible. How can a place that even the Nilfgaardians look down on be a good place?"

When the baron heard someone talking about his territory, not only was he not angry, but he agreed with it.

"correct answer!"

"If anyone gets lost here, it will be difficult to find them. Many people have lost their loved ones here, some have lost their wives, some have lost their daughters."

Geralt always felt like he was hinting to Ciri: "What exactly do you want to say?"

Li Ang didn't want to watch what they were doing, and said straight to the point: "Stop trying to hide each other's feelings. We will help you find a wife and daughter. You give us your black horse."

After hearing this, the baron asked in surprise: "Aren't you here to find that girl?"

Geralt was equally confused: "Who is Uma?"

Leon first explained to the witcher: "An ugly and deformed dwarf, Baron Philip won back from a Novigrad businessman. With Gwent, he is now a daily entertainment toy for the Baron's men."

Then he explained to the Baron: "We probably already know the girl's location. We only want Uma now."

"This is him..." Philip pointed at Li Ang and was speechless for a long time.

Geralt said helplessly: "Aside from Card Master, we prefer to call him Prophet."

"Really!" The Baron stood up from his chair excitedly: "So you know the whereabouts of my wife and daughter?"

Li Ang spread his hands: "Look at you, if you hand Wu Ma over to us, then I will know."

Although the Baron was excited, he had not completely lost his mind: "Find them, and Uma will be yours."

"Happy cooperation!" Li Ang turned to the demon hunter: "It's time to get to work. Go to the two ladies' rooms to look for clues."

"Ah!?" Geralt asked in confusion: "Why does it still have to do with me?"

The baron also asked: "Shouldn't the prophet use magic or something?"

Li Ang first said to the demon hunter: "In order to give you a sense of participation." Then he looked at the baron: "If you don't tell us the truth, naturally I won't be able to make an accurate prediction."

When he said this, Phillip's expression gradually solidified, and finally he slumped in the chair: "You really know everything."

Li Ang smiled and asked: "Do you want to say it yourself, or let him check it?"

Phillip hesitated for a long time and murmured: "I'd better speak for myself."

"Ana and Tamara were actually not missing or kidnapped, but ran away from home. I was very worried about their safety, but I wanted to save face, so I declared them missing."

"Run away from home?" Geralt asked, "Why?"

Li Ang looked at the bottle of wine in the baron's hand: "Alcoholism brings violence. You beat her, right? I mean your wife."

Phillip lowered his head in frustration: "Yes, I didn't know she was already..."

"She is pregnant." Li Ang became more and more aggressive: "Because you were drunk and violent, which caused her to miscarry, and your daughter also hated you because of what you did, so one night, they disappeared from the world."

Phillip nodded with difficulty: "Yes."

Geralt stared at Leon dumbfounded.

Li Ang looked like he had the pearls of wisdom in hand, folded his arms and said, "Do you have anything else to ask?"

Geralt quickly asked: "Why did he domestically abuse his wife?"

Li Ang obtained the Baron's consent before answering: "Anna cheated on her. When the Baron found out, he killed the adulterer. So Anna fell in love with him and often deliberately stimulated him when he was drunk."

Geralt's eyes widened now.

I originally thought that the baron was at fault, but it turned out that the baron's wife was not a good bird either.

The most pitiable among them is probably their daughter.

The baron covered his face with his hands at this time, looking like he was unwilling to face reality.

"I was deeply in love with her and we met when I was a nobody."

"To be able to achieve my current status, I have her by my side every step of the way."

"However, since the war started, I often couldn't go home, and she and I were estranged. Three years, three whole years, even after I came back, she never broke off contact with that man. In the end, she even took her daughter with me. The money went to the adulterer."

"I was drunk and impulsively stabbed the adulterer to death."

"Although Anna came home with me, she still couldn't forget that man. It took two years of stumbling like this. One day I couldn't bear it anymore."

"You all know what happened next."

Geralt looked weird, he could endure cuckolding for five years.

The world is really big and full of wonders.

Li Ang refused to comment on this, because he himself is a scumbag, so he has no right to interfere in other people's emotional lives.

"Where is the aborted child buried? Take us there."

Philip now has great trust in Leon and feels that he is the savior of his wife and daughter. He has no idea what rejection means, let alone asking for the reason.

"Okay, Sir Prophet, wait a moment, I'll go get ready."

After that, he gathered himself and adjusted his demeanor to prevent his subordinates from seeing the clues.

After the baron left, Geralt asked: "What do you think of him? Is he worthy of our help? If he is really a heinous bastard, then I suggest you go ahead and snatch the dwarf you want back."

Li Ang smiled: "I will only tell you two things, and you can judge the rest by yourself."

"First, the real origin of the name Bloody Baron is that when he attacked the dye factory, he accidentally knocked over the red dye and dumped it into the river."

"Second, Anna did not miscarry because of domestic violence, but because she did not want to be pregnant with the Baron's child and took the initiative to make a deal with the witch, which was equivalent to inducing labor through magic."

? ? ? ? ?

Geralt felt like his brain was going to burn out: "Why didn't you say anything just now?"

Li Ang looked at him strangely: "Why do you say this? Will this kind of thing help us find Shiri?"

　There is one more chapter, it will be very late, no need to wait

　　

　

(End of this chapter)