In the end, Ed chose a commonly used smuggling transportation route.
After losing the detection advantage of the one-eyed spider, he did not have the guts to bet that he would not run into a large group of ghouls.
If the confrontation between him and the bookstore owner, Mr. George, was a case of ignorance and fearlessness, then this time it was just a case of head cramp.
Compared to ghouls, at least these gangsters can still communicate.
Due to Ed's leg injury and Tia's unconscious condition, the march had to be kept at a slow pace. Along the way, he listened carefully to the movements around him, praying not to bump into anyone he shouldn't meet.
Click. The subtle voice still came from behind.
"What is that sound?" the shrill voice stopped and asked with his ears pricked up.
The clear and smooth loading sound was not deliberately hidden - the other party deliberately let us hear it.
The agents of the Divine Bureau would not be so bored as to use such tricks to scare people, and the people of the Nirvana Order were naturally resistant to guns.
There is an 80% chance that they are members of the Woodcutter and Fishing Gang, and the remaining 20% are support teams sent by forces such as the Holy Church and the Royal Society, or simply others who want to fish in troubled waters. he speculated.
"It's the cocking sound of a lever-action rifle."
Ed explained helplessly, raised his hands and shouted into the darkness:
"Come on out, Derek, I know it's you."
Judging from their current coordinates, those who can catch up with them from behind are most likely to have been in the area near the underground palace.
Therefore, Ed speculated that it was 'Scar-Eyed' Drake who led people to break away from the East Area team after Tia fell into the collapsed tunnel, and turned back along the smuggling tunnel, and he happened to be hit by him.
This is really bad luck... You must know that the smuggling channel is not a straight line. The nodes in it extend in all directions, and it is definitely a small probability event to be encountered.
A wisp of cigarette fire appeared in the darkness. Drake walked out of the darkness, holding a rifle. The black muzzle of the gun was pointed at Ed's eyebrows, looking like he was coming with bad intentions:
"Hey, this is really interesting. The crows from the Divine Adjustment Bureau are actually mixed with the madmen from the Nirvana Order."
"...I heard that Andro hired a new guy on the day he died. He had black hair, black eyes, and happened to be left-handed. You don't have any clue, right?"
"Don't be like this. I remember you praised me just now for being a pretty nice person. There are so many left-handers like this in the world, how can you be sure it's me?"
Ed could only raise his hands slightly, showing a harmless smile.
"Do you dare to swear you didn't do it?"
"Of course, if it's really me who did it, let the Holy Spirit punish me and let someone shoot a hole in my head with a gun."
"Hmph... That's such a pity. I was still thinking of finding a chance to treat you to a drink."
Drake put away his gun and pointed it at the rock wall above his head. With his other hand, he took off the black blindfold on his eyes, revealing an ugly and ferocious scar:
"Did you see that? This eye is Andro's good deed. I just wish I couldn't kill him with my own hands."
Phew, Ed breathed a sigh of relief...
…
"Follow this road, take the first fork to the left, climb up the ladder and you'll reach Flea Alley."
After wandering underground for a long time, Scar-Eyed Drake stopped and pointed the way to Ed:
"I suggest that your two new friends with pointed ears buy a set of second-hand clothes there to change into, and then go to the dock area to take a private whaling boat out to sea. They are always short of manpower, and generally do not know the background of the crew. Too picky.”
"Thank you, Derek."
"Don't thank me. We will be enemies again next time we meet. I don't want to have anything to do with Crow."
"Yeah..." Ed sighed, "Speaking of which, why did Andro blind one of your eyes?"
"It's a long story, for a stupid reason - we used to have a good relationship until one time I was drunk and made a joke that went a little too far. Then he flipped the table over and broke two of my front teeth. "
He opened his mouth, revealing his golden front teeth:
"It should have ended like this. But I couldn't swallow this breath until one day I caught a good opportunity and left that scar on his face."
"I was thinking at that time that I finally felt comfortable. But I didn't expect..." He paused for a moment.
"I didn't expect that you would accidentally fall into his hands one day?" Needless to say, Ed could guess the story behind.
"Yeah..." Derek admitted frankly, "After that, we became enemies, the kind that would never stop fighting. In order to prevent us from biting each other like mad dogs, the superiors sent him to run the blood honey factory. , you should know what happens next.”
"...until I learned the news of his death, I suddenly felt like I had woken up from a drunken state: Over the years, apart from missing a few front teeth and losing an eye, I had gained nothing, but I still had a lot of success. Always having fun doing it.”
Derek's remaining eyes were filled with helplessness, and he murmured:
"If you ask me, hatred is an addiction, more addictive than blood honey."
"I'm afraid that's true."
There is no way for both parties to forgive each other, it is like an unsolvable problem. Only the blood of one side can end the hatred.
"Can Tia come with me?" Ed asked tentatively.
"You can leave, but Lady Tia must stay. This is the order from above. You have to see people alive, and you have to see the corpse when you die, otherwise I will die worse than Andro."
All right. Ed knew in his heart that since he bumped into Derek, the matter of taking Tia out of the Woodcutter and Fishing Gang had been ruined.
In addition to Drake, there were five or six Beyonders from the Woodcutter and Fishing Gang in front of him. Once they started fighting, he had no chance of winning.
Besides, even if Tia is brought out, where can she go now?
For a remnant of the elf royal family, the Divine Bureau is 10,000 times more dangerous than the gangs of woodcutter and fishermen. He had seen those lists and records, and just hoped that Tia would not appear in those files.
Maybe she can also follow the fat and thin duo to the New World to find compatriots, but there are also dangers there. Even if she is a true descendant of Elustian, a bloodline without authority is worthless and will only lead to more disasters.
After much thought, continuing to stay in the Qiaoyu Gang was actually the safest choice.
In addition, he also wanted to hear Tia's wishes:
"I understand. Can we talk again? Just treat it as a conversation between relatives before leaving."
