Gun of Ashes

A new day has arrived. Pushing open the window, Old Dunling is shrouded in a misty haze, with a breeze bringing a sharp chill.

Lorenzo leans against the window, allowing the cold wind to hit him, waking his sleepy consciousness.

The cold winter is approaching again, unclear how many more cold rains Old Dunling will see before the frost sets in.

Early in the morning, two carriages had stopped at the door: a pitch-black carriage from the Purification Mechanism and another bearing the Stuart family’s emblem. Both groups were surprised by the other’s presence, seeing Red Falcon stepping off the carriage and saying something towards the Stuart family carriage.

No one expected that Lorenzo would become such a sought-after individual. Today was the meeting with the representative from Jiuxia, and both groups wanted to take him with them. So which carriage should he choose?

He didn’t ponder long, got up and dressed, reaching for his sword bag but hesitated due to today’s meeting, and eventually left with only a walking sword.

Before he could push open the office door, he heard Red Falcon’s angry curse.

”Lorenzo, what the hell are you doing!”

Red Falcon stood at the door, visibly angry. It was agreed that he would bring Lorenzo, but suddenly someone came to snatch him away. Normally, Red Falcon could manage such people, but it was the Stuart family’s carriage this time.

With Red Falcon’s colleagues being either dead or injured, they started to heavily rely on Red Falcon due to the severe manpower shortage, coupled with his excellent recent performance. Arthur seemed inclined to promote him.

Given these circumstances, Red Falcon had learned some information he shouldn’t have, such as the Stuart family’s strong sponsorship. Though he didn’t understand why Stuart would suddenly invest or why Queen Victoria agreed, he knew about these investors.

These folks couldn’t interfere with the operations of the Purification Mechanism but deserved some respect. Red Falcon felt it would be challenging to send them away.

”The highest bidder wins.”

Facing Red Falcon’s fiery rant, Lorenzo appeared indifferent.

”Do you think you’re worth a lot?”

”Aren’t I?”

Red Falcon glared at Lorenzo for a moment, but had no good solution for dealing with this guy, and could only turn around and walk toward the Stuart family’s carriage.

After all, he was familiar with Lower City District, feigning arrogance and pretending to be a villain was second nature to him.

The coachman looked at the angry Red Falcon, seemingly uninterested in dealing with him, merely pointed to the carriage behind him, indicating Red Falcon shouldn’t bother him.

Red Falcon yanked open the carriage door, ready to throw some harsh words, but found himself speechless.

”Good morning, Red Falcon, is there something you need?”

Selyu put down her book and looked up at this stunned fellow.

”No... nothing, got on the wrong carriage.” Red Falcon said dryly.

”Hello! Goodbye!”

He quickly slammed the carriage door shut and walked away without looking back, glancing sideways at Lorenzo, and silently climbed onto the pitch-black carriage.

Watching the embarrassed figure of Red Falcon, Lorenzo nearly burst into laughter; they would all end up at the same place anyway, so it didn’t matter who he went with... though it was somewhat different.

They all belonged to the same faction, yet under closer distinction, they also belonged to different banners.

Getting on the carriage, Lorenzo was somewhat surprised and asked.

”Where’s Oscar?”

He recalled that since Oscar clung to Selyu, he had never left, seemingly afraid of being abandoned.

”He’s no longer a Nation-Builder, no need to take on these duties. According to Oscar, he’s retired and now immersed in writing.” Selyu had arranged everything neatly for Oscar.

”At his request, I’ve invited a few editors from publishing houses.”

”Oh oh oh, so, is Oscar really going to amaze the literary world?” Lorenzo was delighted; such an arrangement was incredibly thoughtful.

”No, he tied those editors up.”

”Huh?”

Selyu cleared her throat, imitating Oscar’s tonality.

”Those damned fools don’t understand appreciation; I must correct their tastes.”

Lorenzo’s expression turned awkward; Oscar had a somewhat vengeful aura. It seemed these editors had rejected his manuscripts quite a bit.

”And then?” Lorenzo asked.

”I don’t know, he closed the door.” Selyu shrugged and continued.

”But Oscar assured he wouldn’t break the law nor cause trouble for the Stuart family.”

”That’s good.” Lorenzo breathed a sigh of relief.

”Of course, if something unexpected happens, he will handle it cleanly.”

Lorenzo nearly choked on his saliva, seriously looking at Selyu, who also nodded seriously; she wasn’t joking.

”I didn’t expect Oscar to have this side.” Lorenzo said.

”He has many identities; in fact, he’s also an excellent captain and pirate, and even was a bandit for a while.” Selyu said.

”Ah?”

Selyu was surprised by Lorenzo’s astonished expression, ”I thought you knew all this. Isn’t he your mentor?”

”But... this...”

Lorenzo was momentarily at a loss for words; in his impression, Oscar was just a failed writer. Yet, this guy’s first half of life was actually... exciting?

”Haven’t you read his book? It’s all written in ’The Life of Oscar Wilde.’”

”I thought that was nonsense!”

”To be precise, it’s real experiences plus some artistic embellishment,” Selyu accurately explained.