Dual wielding volcanoes, killing through the west

“Once the Pinkerton detectives move in, their food, clothing, and lodging must be provided to them first. This place is just a trading post and doesn’t produce much in the way of daily necessities.”

"At that time, I, as the person in charge, will probably have to endure round after round of questioning from them. I will be too busy to take care of you. You will have to find your own accommodation, food, and clues. If you insist on staying, this path will be visibly difficult."

"It's better than..."

"How about we change our approach and entrust this case to Pinkerton Detectives? If it really is a gang crime, the kidnapped child will surely be rescued along with the case."

"This is just my personal suggestion. What do you think?"

Chapter 286: Authority Is Power

"Uh... this, this..."

Thomas hesitated.

He wasn't a particularly resolute person to begin with, and his daughter's disappearance left him in a state of turmoil, fueling his impulsive and hot-blooded nature.

But Custer's words were like a bucket of cold water poured over his head.

The disappearance of a princess from the Duchy of Luxembourg, a political scandal, the arrival of Pinkerton detectives… none of these sound like things an ordinary person could possibly handle. Even a mere Orlock Holmes could terrify him; if he were to encounter Pinkerton detectives and they accused him of obstructing the investigation, shooting him dead, who would he turn to for justice?

For a moment, he was persuaded by Castor.

Yes, they've already considered all the downsides of leaving it behind. Why not just leave everything to the Pinkerton detectives who are coming soon? If they solve the case, won't Penny still be able to come back to you?

Thinking this, he was almost about to nod in agreement immediately. Whether it was cowardice or fear, Castor cleverly seized the moment when his heart wavered.

However, this moment of loosening was immediately replaced by a resolute voice.

"Thank you for your kind offer, Mr. Caster."

A cold voice came from behind. Zhang Renfeng spoke, seizing the only potentially important point in his words, "So, you agree that you won't interfere with our operations in any way?"

Castor was taken aback, but soon a smile returned to his face, growing brighter and brighter like spring flowers. "From the very beginning, I have hoped to cooperate with you all. It all depends on how much consensus we can reach."

“Very good then.” Zhang Renfeng nodded, then stood up. “I will keep my men in line and not cause you any trouble. You’d better keep yours in line too.”

Having said that, he felt there was no need to stay any longer and turned to leave.

“Wait a minute, Mr. Zhang.” Caster slowly stood up from behind the table and said with a smile, “Do you know? I once conducted a very interesting experiment.”

Although this was not the occasion for storytelling, Zhang Renfeng remained standing, giving him ample respect.

“In an empty room, I put a plate of peanuts on the table. Then I invited three children in. When they first came in, they were just ordinary kids. They played and laughed with each other, just like any other children.”

"Then, I told the three children, 'You've come here today with a mission. What mission do you have?'"

“I appointed a child as the judge and said, ‘The remaining two of you each write a story, and this little judge will decide whose story is good and whose is bad. The person with the good story will receive a $50 reward.’”

"And so, in that instant, the relationship between the children changed; it was no longer the pure and innocent one. The two being assessed tensed up instantly, racking their brains for a story. Meanwhile, the child who was assessing others smiled easily and sat down, crossing his legs."

"It wasn't just their attitude; even the words they used to speak to each other changed. The two children were humble, respectful, and even a little obsequious. The little judge, on the other hand, became arrogant. In the end, it didn't matter whose essay was better. My focus wasn't on that; do you know where it was?"

A strange smile appeared on Caster's face as he stared at Zhang Renfeng, as if trying to see right through him. He said leisurely, "After a while, the two children began writing their stories. The other child, who was acting as the referee, sat leisurely opposite them, his hand naturally reaching for the bowl of peanuts!"

"However, when they first entered, the three children were unsure of what was going on, and none of them touched the bowl of peanuts. Once this small power dynamic was clarified, the hierarchy and status of superiors and inferiors were clearly distinguished."

"Don't you find this contrast strange?"

For a fleeting moment, the smile on his lips faded, and he uttered a sentence that left a deep impression on Zhang Renfeng.

"Authority Is Power!"

"The power dynamic completely changed these three children. Because one child controlled the distribution, he could decide where the $50 went. Therefore, the other two children had to curry favor with him, flatter him, and even do things for him if necessary. The power generated by this structure was enormous and irreversible."

Castor resumed his usual squinty smile. "I've noticed that you're not one to care much about authority, but you'd better remember how destructive that power can be. Especially the Pinkerton detectives; they're products of authoritarianism."

"This advice is free, it won't cost you a penny, and I hope it will be helpful to you."

----

"She seems to be a completely different type from Angelo."

In the makeshift camp, the warm glow of the campfire illuminated everyone's faces. Xiaomei chewed on a piece of dried meat and muttered, "I'm starting to miss that guy. At least I know that just looking at his face makes me want to punch him."

"Should I keep an eye on him?" Alana asked. "He might reveal something."

Zhang Renfeng pondered for a moment, then shook his head. Without sufficient intelligence, such a move was far too risky. They were essentially walking into a carefully woven web; they could only observe silently and wait for an opportunity.

"That Thomas is really something, he actually gave up after being told off a couple of times."

“The pressure ordinary people face in this kind of situation is different from ours. It’s normal to want to give up, right? Who would want to mess with Pinkerton Detectives, that kind of behemoth?” As he said this, Xi Enyi glanced at Zhang Renfeng unintentionally.

Such a guy, who can make his way in and out of the Pinkerton detective circle seven times, is naturally an outsider among outsiders and is not within the scope of this discussion.

With nowhere to stay in town, they had to set up a makeshift tent on the mountain. It was as basic as it could possibly be.

Fortunately, we brought the chief with us. He cut down a few branches, picked some leaves, and piled up the collected wild grass to make a place where we could sleep and eat. But that was all.

“So what do we do? Continue searching in town tomorrow morning? We'll have to leave before the Pinkerton detectives arrive,” Mei said. “If he can identify the scene, maybe there’s still a glimmer of hope…”

“After so many days, we definitely won’t find her if we just keep searching,” Zhang Renfeng asserted. “The traces have long since disappeared. We can only start by looking for clues about why she disappeared.”

As darkness fell, it was best to wait until at least tomorrow morning to make any plans. He'd start with the people at this trading post, although… judging from Castor's words, probably not many would be willing to help him. They were all intimidated by the large spider at the center of the web, afraid to make the slightest move.

Zhang Renfeng tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep.

During the day, the image of the little beggar's empty sleeve flashed through his mind.

Chapter 287: When you're out in the world, you have to earn your own face (Part 20)

"ah----!!"

Today, Fengxi Harbor woke up even earlier than usual, utterly terrified by a heart-wrenching scream.

Zhang Renfeng was never a deep sleeper, and even on the haystack, it was difficult for him to fall into a deep sleep. The commotion in the town quickly woke him up. The temporary camp they had chosen was on a hillside near the trading post. All the trees there had been cut down, and from a distance, it was bare and offered no cover. Even the few branches that made up the camp were picked up from the ground.

The only advantage might be that it allows you to overlook the town and keep track of people's movements at all times.

From the sight of the crowd, Zhang Renfeng immediately knew that something must have happened, and he had a bad feeling.

"Zhang, you haven't had breakfast yet." The chief handed over a can of roast beef. "Have something to eat."

"It's too late!" Zhang Renfeng took the can, put it in his satchel, and fastened his belt. "I'll go see what's going on."

……

Tick. Tick.

In early spring, especially near the river, the weather is quite cold.

One night is enough to turn a drop of blood from bright red into a despairing black spot.

The riverbank was crowded with people.

People were talking sparsely about something. There was fear in their tone, but more than that, it seemed like they were just watching a spectacle—such scenes weren't the norm here, but they weren't uncommon either.

Zhang Renfeng pushed through the crowd, and the moment he truly witnessed it all, his pupils instinctively contracted. He was thankful he hadn't eaten canned beef and had run straight here. Otherwise, seeing this scene might have made him vomit.

In fact, quite a few people vomited at the scene; it was truly horrific.

It was a man, nailed to a cross in a posture reminiscent of Jesus' crucifixion. But the cross was angled, perfectly suspending his hands and feet. Whoever did it did it with practiced skill, almost like a butcher hanging a piece of pork with an iron hook.

Except for the part above the neck, the outer skin was peeled off very precisely, just like clothes.

His expression wasn't ferocious, just numb. That's what happens when the pain exceeds the limits of what a human can endure.

“Oh, Thomas…” Zhang Renfeng sighed and murmured, “You shouldn’t have continued staying in the hotel.”

That being said, this otherwise refined city dweller naturally couldn't possibly live in the same harsh, makeshift camp as his group. He hadn't slept for days, and wanting a softer bed and pillow wasn't exactly a fault. To lose his life simply because of one night of sleeping too much—perhaps all one can do is sigh and say, "It was fate."

"Did you hear that?"

"Ah, that's him! I know him... He's been wandering around town for the past few days, saying he's looking for his daughter. Apparently, she got lost at the trading post, and now even her father is gone... Ugh, what bad luck!"

"Yes, I told him to leave immediately. But he wouldn't listen. What a tragedy. If he had left sooner, this might not have happened."

"That damned Ramsay Bolton, may God curse him!"

"Shh!! Keep your voice down, if he hears you, you might be next!"

……

A variety of languages ​​reached Zhang Renfeng's ears, leaving him with mixed feelings. They were about a hundred or two meters from the trading post, and apart from the cold iron tracks, there were no other man-made structures nearby.

As for why he was there, there are many different opinions.

Zhang Renfeng stood there for a while, then pushed through the crowd and slowly stepped forward.

"Hey, wait a minute! What are you doing?" A balding middle-aged man suddenly spoke up, then looked around suspiciously before lowering his voice, "You're from out of town, right? Don't touch this corpse. That's not right."

not good?

Zhang Renfeng looked suspicious. "Death is the greatest tragedy, and one should be laid to rest in peace. He was from Baiju Town. Even if we don't take him back to Baiju Town, we can just dig a hole and bury him on the spot, right? Such a tragic death, doesn't he deserve a funeral?"

The balding middle-aged man looked around, seemingly wanting to say something. But his friend immediately tugged at his sleeve, giving him a warning look, and he shut up.

A cold and bleak morning breeze blew by, ruffling the oil-slicked river surface.

Zhang Renfeng felt a chill in his heart; he had never felt this way even in the dead of winter.

He immediately pressed further, "Does this kind of thing happen frequently in Fengxi Port?"

"Not often, it's just..."

Seeing that everyone seemed hesitant to speak, he decided to be blunt: "Was it Rams who did it? Do you know where he lives?"

Upon hearing this, all the onlookers who had been eager to cause trouble looked apprehensive, and some who dared not cause trouble had already slipped away.

The balding man pondered for a long time, his eyebrows furrowing almost to the sky, before finally sighing and saying, "Young man, take my advice: go back to where you came from. Don't jump into a fire pit! This isn't some Western gunslinger novel; you saw what that guy did..."

"What are you all doing here? Disperse! Disperse! Don't you have any work to do this morning?"

A piercing sound rang out, and the crowd scattered like birds and beasts.

The balding man felt a sense of panic, as if he had been caught. He shrank back, and after seeing who was behind him, he gave Zhang Renfeng a "good luck" look, quickly turned around, and hurried away.

"Ah, it's you?" Orlock curled his lip and smiled disdainfully, then looked up at Thomas, whose body was in a terrible state. "It seems things aren't going too well. Now, your employers are all dead."

“You should have accepted that $2000 yesterday.”

"What's going on?" Zhang Renfeng asked calmly.

“This kind of thing happens all the time. You know Ramsay? He’s based around here near my Roglinburg. This is his masterpiece.” Orlock tapped the slanted cross, making a dull thud. “He was also known as ‘Little Ramsay’ because he liked to skin people.”

"Your employer is probably planning to leave tonight. We found his horse not far away, and the saddlebags were all taken. The horse is too thin; I guess Rams wouldn't want it."

Orlock scoffed, "He's the only one among you with a brain. He knew to leave even though it was impossible. Too bad he chose to set off at night, and he was unlucky enough to run into Rams and his group. So he was interrogated, skinned alive, and hung here... That's it."

……

"What are you doing?" Orlock noticed that he wasn't listening to him at all, and was even taking out a dagger and slicing it back and forth on the diagonal cross. He couldn't help but get annoyed and said, "Stop! This is something Rams set up. He hung it here to dry his 'prey.' Taking it down casually is disrespectful to him and will anger him!"

"You damned country bumpkin, even if you haven't heard of the Ramsay Bolton gang, you should at least know about his masterpieces, right?!"

……

"Even if you haven't heard of the Red Center Gang, you should know about their masterpieces, right?"

Indeed, when you're out in the world, you have to earn your reputation yourself.

The moment he finished speaking, Orlock was instantly silenced, as if struck by a powerful spell. He couldn't utter a single word from his chattering mouth.

His face showed horror, his eyes widened to the maximum, and he was speechless.

"Boom-"

The body was unloaded and fell to the ground.

“If that little rascal asks, remember to tell him.” Zhang Renfeng took off his outer garment and covered the horribly mutilated corpse. He turned to Orlock, looking down at him like an iron tower, casting a huge and imposing shadow. He said, word by word, “If you have any objections, come find me directly. We’ll talk face to face.”

Chapter 288: Door and Lock, Lock and Door

With the last shovelful of soil, as it crumbled and covered that inhumanly pale face, Xiaomei could hardly say whether she felt a sense of relief.

Because she discovered that she felt absolutely nothing.

Six months ago, let alone seeing them, even just hearing my father recount how those corpses left on the grasslands, their faces torn beyond recognition, and how vultures pecked at their eyeballs, would have kept me up most of the night.

And now, the living person she spoke with just yesterday is now a bloodied corpse, skinned from the neck down. Yet, she can help shovel dirt without even breaking a sweat, her mind preoccupied with other things.

“They met with us yesterday afternoon, didn’t even get a bite to eat, and were killed that night… What an undeserved disaster.” She couldn’t help but worry; the current situation was far from optimistic. “Mr. Hongzhong, it’s obvious that this is aimed at us; he wants us to back down.”