Chapter 210: Chapter 209: It’s okay for women, not for men, no amount of money will do!
“You all understand then,” Macbeth took a deep breath, “participating in the swordsmanship competition isn’t tough, and generally, it’s not very dangerous either. Since there are separate categories for adults and youths, you won’t likely face any strong opponents. You just need to perform normally.
You’d better make it to the finals, because Hu Fu will definitely show up then. As for the semifinals and quarterfinals, it’s hard to say. Of course, it would be best if he shows up earlier, so I can make my move sooner and we could head back to the academy earlier.”
“Understood,” Richard, Nancy, and Raymond nodded again.
“Alright,” Macbeth spoke. “I’ve told you everything you need to know, and tomorrow, I’ll take you to participate. Tonight, just rest well. After dinner, you can go back to your rooms and sleep.”
By then, it was already pitch dark outside, and Richard and the others had almost finished eating. When they heard Macbeth’s words, they immediately stood up, ready to go to the second floor where Macbeth had already reserved the three best rooms in a previous arrangement.
“Oh!” Just as Richard and his two friends walked a distance, Macbeth suddenly remembered something and called out.
“Hmm?” Richard, Nancy, and Raymond stopped and looked at Macbeth with slight confusion.
Macbeth smiled mysteriously and reminded them, “During the break in our meal, I specifically told the innkeeper to arrange something. Thus, there will be a small gift for you in your rooms. I hope you’ll like them.”
“Hmm?” Richard, Nancy, and Raymond looked even more puzzled, exchanged glances without any clue, and with a bit of curiosity, ascended the stairs.
“Tap tap tap,” they reached the second floor, paused in front of the three adjacent rooms, and briefly discussed who would take which room.
“This one for me?” Richard pointed at the first room.
“Okay,” Nancy nodded and pointed at the second room, “Then this one for me.”
“I’ll take the last one then,” Raymond had no objections.
“Good night.” They said good night to each other, opened their room doors, and entered their respective rooms.
At the same time downstairs at the dining table, Macbeth was putting the last bite of orange marmalade into his mouth when he suddenly froze, realizing he had overlooked something.
“Gulp,” swallowing the orange marmalade, Macbeth furrowed his brow and muttered, “Did I forget to tell them which rooms they should each take? Speaking of which, won’t this cause confusion? No good, I need to calculate the probability they entered the correct rooms now. One, two, three…”
“Half? One-third?” After calculating for a while, Macbeth still couldn’t determine the probability exactly, but one thing became certain, he covered his face with a hand, unable to help himself from saying, “It’s all ruined, all the carefully prepared gifts are ruined, this just isn’t fun at all.”
“Boss!” Macbeth dropped his hand from his face, somewhat eager to remedy the situation, and called out loudly.
“What can I do for you, sir?” A middle-aged woman hurried over—she was the owner of the inn…mom, and she came to Macbeth and bowed slightly, politely asking, “What is it, sir? Is there something dissatisfying you? Please tell me, I’ll make it right.” For the innkeeper, Macbeth was clearly a valuable customer, not to be neglected.
“Um, no,” Macbeth glanced at the innkeeper, his eyebrows raised, he then asked somewhat puzzled, “Where is the previous owner?”
“Ah, that drunkard? He was sneaking drinks in the cellar just now and has already passed out drunk,” the innkeeper said with a look of apology.
Macbeth nodded, seeing no reason to be suspicious. Even when he had secretly asked the owner to arrange for “small gifts” earlier, the man hadn’t been drinking but still reeked of alcohol, with his face flushed a purplish-red, obviously a result of his chronic drinking. With that in mind, it made sense for him to pass out drunk. But now… how could he remedy the arrangement of the small gifts if things kept going wrong …
Oh well, might as well wait.
“Speaking of which… if things keep going wrong , it might actually become more fun, haha…”
Macbeth thought to himself, smiling.
The lady owner on the other side cautiously spoke up, “Sir, did you instruct my drunkard husband on anything? If so, tell me, and my worker can do it for you.”
“No need,” Macbeth waved his hand and said, “It’s better this way, no, it’s even better.”
“Um…” the lady owner confirmed, “Are you sure you don’t need it?”
“Hmm?” Macbeth looked at the lady owner in confusion and then furrowed his brow, “No need, I’m a decent person.”
With a squeak, Richard entered the room and quickly glanced around.
The room was large, a suite that not only had a place to sleep but also spaces designed specifically for bathing, dining, and writing letters. Compared to the cabins on the grand ocean liner, it was like heaven and earth. In some ways, coming out with Macbeth had its benefits.
As for the small gift Macbeth had mentioned… Richard glanced at the table, saw nothing laid out, and didn’t think much of it. It was probably hidden in some corner or another inconspicuous place, typical of Macbeth’s style. However, he wasn’t curious about the small gift and didn’t particularly want it; it was essentially ignorable.
Stepping towards the bathing area, Richard was preparing to fetch some water to wash his face and hands and wake himself up, ready to plan his research for the evening. After all, traveling had delayed his studies.
But as he approached the wooden partition that served as the so-called “Bath Room,” Richard suddenly stopped.
His gaze passed through the partition as if he sensed something.
A thought crossed his mind and the “Pearce’s Nerve Sensitivity Technique” from the No.1 Ring was activated, enhancing his perception swiftly. Then, Richard clearly sensed something behind the partition.
A person, or rather a humanoid creature, was lurking behind the partition, struggling to control their breathing silently, motionless, yet poised to pounce.
As soon as someone entered the “Bath Room,” the figure would jump out quickly.
Richard raised his eyebrow and stepped into the “Bath Room” confidently. As expected, accompanied by a swooshing sound, a figure lunged at him. A magnetic voice exclaimed, “Beautiful lady, I am your little gift, I’ve been waiting for you a long time… Bam! Ah!”
At the end of the magnetic voice, there was a powerful sound of a fist hitting a body, followed by a scream.
The lunging figure screamed as it flew backwards, landing in the empty bathtub with a “bang,” while crying out in pain and struggling to get out.
After a while, the figure finally climbed out of the bathtub to reveal a young man, bare-chested and with only a loincloth covering his lower body.
“Beautiful lady, you shouldn’t be so violent. You should be more gentle, rest assured, I too will be gentle…”
The man complained a bit, lifted his head, and suddenly met Richard’s gaze.
He first froze a fraction, then his eyes gradually widened, became round, and his mouth opened. In the next moment, he crossed his arms over his chest, looked at Richard with a terrified face, and trembled as he spoke:
“You… don’t come any closer, this… this is not what we agreed on! I don’t do just any job, women, yes, men, no! Absolutely not, no amount of money would make it okay! No!”