The Law of the Silent Gentleman

"I never expected to see you two again in a foreign country so far away from Luoerran. What a coincidence."

The bard Lei Xi was invited by Enzo to the second floor of the Silver Seagull Hotel, where he sat comfortably among a pile of cushions and enjoyed the snacks and drinks brought by the proprietress. When the proprietress delivered the food, she looked at the bard without paying attention. After being discovered by the bard, her eyes wandered between Enzo and Giuliano again. What is Enzo doing? The proprietress thought. He already had such a beautiful little apprentice, and he hooked up with a beautiful poet? Is your appetite too big?

The three parties naturally did not understand the confusion of the proprietress. After dismissing this woman who was keen to arrange all kinds of love and hatred between guests, Enzo immediately closed the door and sat in front of Leixi.

"Long time no see, how are you doing?"

"That's it. The two seem to be living well?" Lei Xi looked around the luxurious suite, "Such a comfortable residence, I, a mere bard, can't even think about it."

"You can live with us."

"Thank you, but I've already taken a room at the Quay Hotel."

"What brought you to Xanodia?"

The bard slowly tore the pastry sent by the proprietress into small pieces, and sprinkled it with honey: "Probably the westerly wind that often blows along the coast of Yoder."

"You can tell a joke."

"I have always wanted to travel to the great city-states of the Yords, so I went south with a merchant ship and came to Zanodia. I heard that the climate here is mild, with abundant rain in winter, and it is not as cold as in the north. It's a pretty good place to spend the winter."

"Don't you want to show your talents here, win the favor of a benefactor, and spend the winter comfortably?"

"Of course, for people like us, this winter is the norm."

Bards travel around the world and travel in all directions, and they have never lived in a fixed place, but in winter, the roads are snow-covered and icy, making travel very difficult. Usually bards would look for a nobleman or squire to be the host, so that they could stay in a warm and comfortable castle or manor all winter, without worrying about food and clothing, and display their talents. When spring comes, bards will bid farewell to their benefactors with bulging wallets and start their journey again.

Aristocratic squires also liked to keep an entertaining entertainer in their home. Large and small lords living in the countryside lack entertainment in winter, so recruiting traveling entertainers is the best way. In some countries, winter is the so-called "social season". From spring to autumn, nobles and gentry are busy with industry and business. They would leave their hometowns in the fall for the capital or a large city, and spend months at dinners, dances, and salons. At this time, all kinds of artists are even more thirsty. At the end of autumn, countless circuses, orchestras, singers, jugglers and bards will gather in the city to show off their talents and find business opportunities.

In Giuliano’s hometown of Vanessa city-state, there are even music competitions held in winter. The musician or singer who wins the competition will become the hottest star of the year. No time to catch your breath.

Giuliano understood Enzo's intentions. Rexi is an excellent poet. If he makes his mark in Xenodia, he may have the opportunity to be invited to perform at Fernando's ball. They followed Lei Xi, and they could sneak into the banquet hall openly and aboveboard!

Enzo asked: "Are you interested in forming a band with us? Of course, Giuliano and I don't need a penny for the performance, it's all yours."

Lei Xi showed no surprise at this shocking proposal, and continued to fiddle with his pastry: "You are actually interested in music and poetry? I thought you only cared about your own business."

"This is also a business." Enzo smiled slightly.

Lei Xi raised his eyebrows: "Where are you going to do business?"

"At the ball of Senator Fernando Infançon."

Giuliano was dumbfounded. He thought that Enzo would find some high-sounding excuses to prevaricate or even deceive Leixi, but he didn't expect him to be so direct. Having said that, the silent one must not lie, and Enzo couldn't be deceived even if he wanted to.

"You're going to his ball, why don't you just walk in?"

"Our identities are somewhat inconvenient."

"So you want to join 'my orchestra'. When this Fernando Infonçon invites me to perform, you will go too, right?"

"You're a smart man, I don't think I need to repeat it."

Lei Xi put down the honey pot in his hand: "Then why do you want to help you?"

Enzo pondered for a moment, took out a coin from his pocket, and threw it to Giuliano: "Go to the shop at the end of the street and buy a bag of candies."

"...Huh?" Giuliano caught the coin and looked at the assassin blankly, "Candy?"

"Go."

He gets it. Enzo deliberately dismissed him, not wanting him to hear the next conversation. He is very dissatisfied. Is there anything he can't hear? Can't Enzo trust him? But after thinking about it, Enzo always has his reasons for doing things, and he never does meaningless things. So the young apprentice put the coin into his pocket, and left the room as quietly as a cat. The proprietress downstairs hummed a song while scrubbing the cups and plates, not noticing a shadow slipping past her at all.

Enzo stood by the window, watching Giuliano disappear into the crowd. The sky in the southwest was gray, with dark clouds pressing over. It's going to rain. Lexi absently sips the fresh juice.

"To be honest," Enzo said without looking back, "it is no coincidence that you are here. You follow us."

"That's not the case. You're thinking too much."

"What is your purpose?"

"I am a bard who writes legends, where there are stories, there is me."

"Is there a story going to happen in Xanodia?"

Rexi covered his mouth with a cup, but Enzo saw a smile in his eyes.

"I seem to be in it already."

Enzo sat down in front of him and pulled his holy emblem from his clothes. He untied the chain and laid the holy symbol flat on the palm of his hand. "Gods above, I will not lie, you can trust my sincerity."

"I am an unbeliever."

"yes?"

Lei Xi smiled, but did not answer.

"Back to the original question. Would you do us this favor?"

"Then I can only say: Why should I help you?"

"All the money belongs to you, and I can pay another sum."

"Money doesn't mean much to me." Rexi leaned forward. His smile reminded Enzo of a poisonous snake. "I know your purpose. Wherever you go, there will be blood everywhere. You live by death."

"Killing is our job. You just have to help us get in."

"But I will be regarded as your accomplice."

"You won't." Enzo said firmly, "because we won't be caught."

"Never think you can predict everything, businessman."

"You write the legend, and with us, you can see for yourself how the story unfolds and ends."

Leixi put down the cup and touched the tips of his fingers. "Heroes have legends. You are not heroes. You are just killers. You have no legends."

Enzo suddenly felt that the holy emblem in his palm became heavy.

"So what do you want?"

Lei Xi looked at his holy emblem curiously, and seemed to want to touch it, but hesitated again. "I'm an unbeliever. I really want to know, do you really communicate with your so-called 'gods'?"

"certainly."

"What kind of **** is your god? I've read Erice Iniesta's book... ah, she's such an interesting person. She said that a killer is like a tool, a weapon, and a person kills people with a knife , it is this person who should be punished, not his knife. Therefore, the assassin should not be punished if he kills someone. But Alice also said that the murderer should be punished, and it is not necessary to break a knife. Therefore, the person who killed the assassin You should not be punished as homicide. What do you think? Whether your philosophers or gods, they don't regard you as "human beings" at all, but as a convenient tool to use at will and discard at any time. In this way Such a philosopher, are you still willing to respect her? Such a god, are you still willing to serve him?"

Enzo's eyes darkened: "This issue has been discussed by many people throughout the ages. I suggest you read Ioannis Marens's..."

"I don't want to know other people's opinions, I just want to know yours."

Enzo gathered his fingers and held the cold holy emblem. No matter how long he touched the holy symbol, the metal never caught human heat. "This is our way of life," he said. "In the eyes of the gods, all people are tools, pawns."

"And you are actually willing to worship such a god?"

"You can't use the moral standards of mortals to measure the gods. There are people in this world who are not even as good as a tool. Compared with them, we have already counted. God is not the perfect existence in your imagination, since They are opposite twins, so it is impossible for every **** to be perfect. Each of them has flaws. Look, that's the way the world works."

"That sounds really pessimistic."

"The ancient empires respected the Dragon God, and like the Dragon God, they also believed that there was an indescribable mysterious force in the universe that controlled the fate of everyone. Isn't this also a kind of pessimistic fatalism?"

Lexi laughed again. This time his smile was sad.

"So you only use yourself as a tool?"

"Yes. Just a murder tool."

"Then it doesn't matter if I use this tool?"

"Do you need me to do anything for you?"

"It's not you." Rexi pointed at Enzo, "It's your apprentice Giuliano."

Hearing Giuliano's name, Enzo's expression was not as calm as before. "What do you want him to do? He's still learning, he can't stand on his own..."

"Oh, I believe you have trained him very well." Leixi's voice became deeper and deeper, and finally it almost became a whisper, "I have discovered the relationship between you a long time ago. Your training is not only in swordsmanship, yes Is it? I believe this little friend has received your 'careful guidance' in every aspect."

Enzo was noncommittal.

"In this case, let me taste the fruits of your hard work."

"you…!"

"Let him stay with me for one night," Lei Xi said, "I will agree to your request."

Enzo stared silently at the bard. Outside the window, there were dark clouds, a strong wind whizzed past, the waves on the bay were heaving, and the boat was pitched and swayed accordingly. The autumn storms of Xanodia are approaching.

A flash of lightning flashed across the sky, illuminating Enzo's side face, and at the same time submerging the other half of his face into boundless darkness.

He gripped the holy symbol until the metal edge hurt his palm.

"make a deal."