"I'm glad you still remember me." Farrell looked at the other person with complicated eyes, hatred, but also seemed to be memories of the past.
"Farrell, I didn't expect to see you here again today. This is really a good thing. To be honest, after sending you away that year, I have been worried about your future life." Ansaldo is worthy of being a governor. He still had an angry look on his face when facing Xiao Chen, but when he saw Farel standing beside Xiao Chen with neither servility nor arrogance, his face immediately calmed down. "I wonder if Lisa and your child are okay? At that time, your son was less than one year old and was only as big as my arm."
"Lisa is dead. But I have two children now. They have become good craftsmen." Farrell was a little uncomfortable with Ansaldo's enthusiasm. "I must ask you one thing. This question has been in my mind for a long time. Tell me, did you sell me to Viscount Moraton back then?!"
"My old friend, why do you think so? I just helped you find a place to go. How dare you suspect that I sold you out?" Ansaldo showed a shocked expression. "Have you become a slave in Viscount Moraton's place?"
"Well, that's not the case. But it was almost like a slave. Moraton never allowed me to go out and kept me locked up in the castle to make things for him. What's the difference between this and being a slave? If I hadn't escaped, I would have been locked up for life." Farrell's tone was not as certain as before.
"If I had sold you, he would have branded you a slave, so you would have nowhere to go if you tried to escape. I didn't know the real Moratton was such a shameless person, and I never thought he would do this to you later. In the previous transactions with me, he looked like a respectable nobleman."
"Are you serious?"
"Yes. How could I sell you? How could I sell my friend as a slave? How much money could I get? Even if I wanted to sell you, I would not sell you with your family." Ansaldo explained, "This is because I don't know people well. I am sorry for this, my old friend. Although elves are arrogant, they are more reliable than humans in this regard. It's just that you don't like them."
"If I hadn't been unable to settle down, Lisa wouldn't have died of illness on the road."
"Oh, that's a shame, but I think it was Lisa's death that made you feel so sad. You feel guilty and you also think others are responsible, right?" Ansaldo asked.
"This..." Farrell was a little uncertain.
"Listen, Farrell. We can talk about the past slowly." Ansaldo carefully glanced at Xiao Chen, who was a few steps behind Farrell, and asked Farrell: "Are you working for China Tower now?"
"I'm a member of the China Tower. This is the place where I finally settle down after many years of instability." Farrell's temper was dampened by Ansaldo's words, and now he seemed more amiable.
"There seems to be some misunderstanding between me and this gentleman from the Tower of China. I think we can have a good talk." Ansaldo said.
Xiao Chen watched this scene from behind Farrell. Although most dwarves are said to be honest and rough, this definitely does not include the nobles and merchants. This Ansaldo does not seem to be a stubborn person, so he might be a good entry point.
"I am just accompanying Chairman Xiao Chen here. If you have anything to say, please talk to him." Farrell said.
Ansaldo walked out from the guards who surrounded him, stopped the guards from following him, and walked up to Farrell alone. He patted Farrell on the shoulder, walked past him, and walked in front of Xiao Chen.
Ansaldo asked seriously, "Sir Xiao Chen? I heard that the Tower of China had a fierce battle with the Empire two years ago. Some of the mountains bordering our Empire are nominally in your hands. I know you are very powerful. Even the Purple Eagle Empire, which claims to be the strongest in the continent, was defeated by you. However, you have not had any contact with our Dwarf Kingdom until today. The first time you met, you attacked our fleet and blew up our warehouse. What do you want to do?"
Ansaldo's performance impressed Xiao Chen. Xiao Chen could see the violent fluctuations in his mental power, but at least on the surface, the dwarf governor had calmed down and spoke in a logical manner. However, Xiao Chen was prepared. He took out an image crystal and said, "Governor Ansaldo, I have evidence that you were the first to act."
The image crystal projected a bird's-eye view on the ground. It was the deck of a dwarven warship, with many dwarves busy preparing weapons, firing cannons and explosive barrels. Ansaldo didn't know how the other party took this picture, but he was very familiar with his warship and knew that this must have happened on the sea.
"They didn't attack before you hit them," Ansaldo said.
"It's like a swordsman challenges a swordsman master, but before the swordsman can draw his sword, he is killed by the master who strikes later. This only means that the master is very skilled, not that the swordsman is not a stupid challenger." Xiao Chen put away the video crystal and threw it to Ansaldo. "As for bombarding that warehouse, I know very well that there is no one there. I don't mean to threaten you, that's unnecessary, but as a responsible opponent, I have to let you know clearly that the result of blindly confronting is that the entire port will become that warehouse."
Ansaldo's face turned pale when he heard this. He tightly grasped the image crystal in his hand. The other party's meaning was very clear. The so-called first strike, then strike later was just a moral statement. In the face of absolute strength, whether to use these statements depends on the other party's mood. Giving him the so-called "evidence" will not change anything.
The ruins of the warehouse that were still smoking clearly told him what would happen if he didn't cooperate. Ansaldo secretly looked at Xiao Chen and quietly clenched his fists.
Farrell said: "Lord Xiao Chen is a great magician at the pinnacle level, and a kind but decisive leader. Anyone who cooperates with him will have very good results. In fact, from the beginning he just wanted to talk to you."
Hearing the word "Great Magician", Ansaldo's hand loosened again. Even if he got this close, he was only a high-level warrior and probably wouldn't have any chance of subduing this human.
Ansaldo said: "Then please follow me. We can go to my governor's palace and have a good talk about what you have always wanted to talk about." (To be continued)