The setting sun shone through the gaps between the branches and leaves, making the river surface sparkle, and also outlining the silhouettes of the boatmen on the tugboat. Four or five boatmen shouted and carried the last few carts of ore on the boat in baskets and poured them into the cargo hold. Then they propped up the bamboo poles and prepared to leave the shore.
Hawke leaned against a big tree beside the dock, looked at the scene, took the last few puffs of his cigarette, and was about to throw the cigarette butt on the ground, but after a moment of hesitation, he walked to the shore and flicked the cigarette butt into the water.
Several months of camp life had changed everyone to some extent. Those strange magicians did not leave their marks on the slaves' faces, but they left strange ideas in every slave's head. For example, he himself would probably never forget those fire prevention and theft prevention regulations that he had memorized by heart.
Hawke waved goodbye to the boatmen and headed for the warehouse. He knew it was time, and everything would end tonight. He didn't care what Lorenzo would do tomorrow, or what would happen in the camp. He only cared that he had finally raised enough money for the journey, had prepared the carriage, and a new life was beckoning him at the end of the night.
Hawke went into the warehouse, moved away some debris piled in the corner, scraped off a layer of dirt on the ground with a shovel, and lifted a 30-centimeter square wooden board, revealing a small hole filled with several bags.
What you pay for always comes with a reward. This is what he got for working for Lorenzo.
There were ten gold shield coins, thirty silver spear coins and some scattered copper shields in the deerskin bag.
In the bag was his collection of clothes, which he had secretly bought from the town of Floro: a rough cowhide cape, a linen tunic, breeches, a thin leather belt and low-top leather boots, which was the typical merchant outfit in the West.
In the narrow leather bag was a dagger more than ten centimeters long. There were no blacksmiths in Floro Town anymore, as they had all become workers at the Huaxia Steel Plant. Hawke bought this iron dagger from a foreign merchant for a silver spear, and the merchant himself had already replaced it with a refined weapon made in Black Mountain.
Just as he was moving the bags out, he heard footsteps outside, and several people were approaching. Hawke hid behind the shelf and looked out from the warehouse, only to see a man in plain clothes and four guys from the guard camp walking not far outside the warehouse.
Hawke secretly cursed his bad luck, but he knew that there was only one door leading out of the warehouse, and he would not be able to escape no matter what if he was blocked at the door. He thought for a moment with a stern face, took out a palm-sized pottery jar from the hole, and threw it towards the open space at the entrance. The pottery jar smashed on the ground, and some transparent liquid flowed out of it, like a broken kettle.
The sound of the pottery jar breaking made the people outside nervous. The leading man took out a pistol, and the soldiers of the guard camp raised their crossbows and spears and rushed into the warehouse.
When they rushed into the warehouse door, they saw Hawke standing at the innermost part of the warehouse, with his head stretched forward, revealing a large part of his throat, and a dagger in his hand against his neck.
"Stop! Don't move! If you take another step, I'll... stab your throat!" Hawke shouted.
The leading man was about to lead his men to rush forward and talk again, when he saw Hawke take a step forward, the dagger moved, and blood flowed down, "I said, don't move!"
"Wait a minute." The man held his arm horizontally to block the soldier behind him. He said slowly, "Hawk, don't be impulsive. We are here to investigate the situation. What are you doing?"
"Hey, with so many of you coming to my house, how can I have a good ending? Being tortured and beaten to death in prison, or being hanged on the rack according to a crime, that will be my final outcome, right?" Hawke said in a hissing voice.
"That's nonsense. We always act according to evidence. Just follow me and tell me who you have contacted recently in the camp. I can guarantee that you will keep your life!" The man promised, "I will never let you escape. It's a joke to threaten us with your own life. Even without you, the worst that can happen is that we will spend more time to dig out those bad guys. Don't waste your time. You will only lose your life in the end."
"I was just asked to help people. I don't know what they are going to do!"
"Then you should explain clearly to absolve yourself of the crime, right?" The man yawned after saying this.
"I, I don't want to go to your place! I can make a deal with you." Hawke said in a panic, "As long as you agree to my request, I will tell you those names now."
"What do you want, what do you request?" The man secretly exchanged a glance with the people from the guard camp. The other party seemed a little tired and shook his head at him, indicating that they were unable to capture Hawke.
Hawke pretended to ponder for a while, then slowly said, "After I tell you everything, you have to let me leave here and be free! Otherwise, I will never let you know anything even if I die!"
The man shook his head vigorously, whether to refuse or just to wake himself up, "We... we must take you to the intelligence team and find out... everything. It's hard to explain here..."
Hawke glanced at the broken pottery jar at the man's feet. The liquid on the ground had dried up. Looking at the staggering people, he slowly put down the dagger and said, "I don't think it's necessary. You are tired. You should rest."
As soon as he finished speaking, several people fell to the ground and fainted.
Hawke picked up a piece of cloth from the ground, covered his mouth and nose with it, and used the shovel at his feet to scoop up a shovel of soil and cover the pottery jar from a distance. He did this several times until all the water marks were covered. Then he walked to the fallen people.
This can of sleeping potion was the reward he asked Lorenzo for. It was said that an elephant would be knocked unconscious by the potion. All that was needed was enough time. Fortunately, his life was worth a little, so he bought some time.
Hawke took the pistol from the man, looked at it for a while, and put it back in his hand. He knew that he was just a small character who knew some information, and arresting him was to reduce the number of fish that slipped through the net, but if he took this precious magic item, the magicians would not let him go. At that time, it would be a chase to the death.
He finally picked up a standard steel crossbow of the guard team, hurriedly picked up the bag in the small pit, and quickly left the warehouse.
Half an hour later, Hawke had changed into the small businessman's clothes and came to a valley. A flatbed oxcart was parked there. A farmer-like man was leaning against the car and looking around.
Seeing Hawke, the farmer came forward. Hawke checked the car and looked at the food piled on it. He took out a gold coin and handed it to the farmer, who put it between his teeth, bit it, and nodded, saying, "All of them are yours. If you are caught, don't give me away. Otherwise, as long as you are alive, I have plenty of ways to kill you."
Hawke sneered and said, "What good will it do me to betray you? Go away now."
As soon as the farmer left, Hawke put his belongings in the car and prepared to leave immediately. The intelligence team came to arrest him today, which meant that Lorenzo's affairs had been exposed in advance. Staying here for one more minute would increase the danger.
He sat on the shaft, ready to whip the oxen, when he saw a dark shadow flash before his eyes, and a feather arrow was nailed to the shaft, with only a small section of the whip left in his hand.
Hawke felt cold sweat pouring down his face like a waterfall. He froze on the shaft, not daring to move. This was completely different from the scene in the warehouse. At that time, he was in the dark and the enemy was in the light. Now the situation was completely reversed. He believed that if he ran away, he would be pierced through the head by an arrow within five steps.
There were footsteps behind him, and the sound of something heavy being dragged. Hawke raised his hands above his head, waiting motionlessly for his fate to come.
As the man came into view, Hawke recognized him as Cole, a half-elf archer hired by the Black Mountain magicians, and the body he was dragging was the body of the farmer who had just left. Just as Hawke imagined, an arrow pierced through his eye, killing him instantly.
"I have to admit, you're a smart man, Hawke." Cole threw the farmer in front of Hawke, the arrow stuck on the ground, and more red and white things came out of the farmer's head.
"I'm just a useless little character. Everything I do is just to survive." Hawke was about to put down his hand when he saw Cole pull the arrow out of the farmer's eye and put it against his throat. He could even feel the slippery feeling of the brain.
Cole smiled, reached into Hawke's clothes, took out his deerskin purse, weighed it, and put it in his arms, "You want much more than just surviving."
"In this world, in a strange place, if you don't have money you can't be a human being, you can only be a mouse." Hawke sighed.
"There's more than one option. You can also learn from him. Dead people don't cost any money," Cole said.
"Please tell me what you need and I'll do my best."
"Aren't you going to fight back? I watched your entire performance in the warehouse. It was amazing. Maybe you still have a chance today."
"You are different from them. They are just some inexperienced fools, while you are an experienced mercenary. I will not joke with my life." Hawke looked at the arrow and swallowed hard. "If you want a list, I can give it to you. A list of everyone, and no one will be left out. I also know some of Lorenzo's secrets, and I can tell you. As long as..."
"As long as I spare your life?"
"No, you won't let me go. You either kill me or take me back to report. Even if I survive, I will have to spend the rest of my life in the mines." Hawke shook his head. "I want to be loyal to you. You always have some things that need a helper to do. Whether it's gathering information or trading with others, I can save you a lot of effort."
"From a free businessman to a shady servant. You've lost a lot in this deal." Cole laughed jokingly.
"People need to know how to admit defeat. There is no greater loss than death." Hawke lowered his eyes.
"But I'm just a mercenary."
"You are much more than a mercenary."
"Hmph, people who know too much will die quickly." Cole's smiling face quickly turned gloomy.
"I'm at most five minutes away from death. Can things get worse?" Hawke gritted his teeth and looked at Cole.
"Huh, that's really interesting." Cole sneered, "I won't be leaving Black Mountain anytime soon, and you're a fugitive here. So many people know you. What else can you do except get recognized and caught?"
"No." Hawke slowly grasped the arrow at his throat with his hand, and Cole narrowed his eyes and looked at him.
Hawke used his shaking hands to put the arrow tip against his left cheek, poked it hard, and then slashed it to the right, dividing his face into two parts with a bloody wound. He raised the arrow to his forehead and continued to slide it. After a few low screams, he actually grinned and revealed a devilish smile, "You see, this way no one can recognize your servant."