It was one in the morning. Everything was quiet and peaceful everywhere else, but here at Water Dock, things had only just warmed up. It was the most chaotic time of the day, when all kinds of colorful characters began to show up.Renee had come to Water Dock on her own, with nothing but a "top-secret" map of the area that she had bought at a high price from the second-hand market. She headed straight to Carmine Pawnshop.Water Dock had indeed lived up to its reputation. It was every bit as much of the lawless, "no man's land" it was rumored to be, where burning, looting, robbing, and killing took place at almost every corner. Anything that was too sickening to be found in civilized society was nothing but a normal occurrence here. It was truly a dreadful place to be.The whole area of Water Dock was actually not that large, but it was divided into three main zones—upstream, midstream, and downstream.The upstream area was at the outermost edge. It was relatively the most "normal"
The old man raised his eyebrows, and with a half-smile said, "You are the granddaughter of Liliana Schneider, the heroine of North City, correct?"The smile on Renee's face faded. She became serious in a heartbeat as she asked, "How did you figure that out?"If he had guessed her name correctly, she could still have assumed that the old man must've loved reading gossip about famous people. As Stefan's ex-wife, her name and face were considerably recognizable. But the old man managed to guess her grandmother's name, and that was nothing short of amazing, because the Everheart family never publicly announced that the woman her grandfather married was the one and only Liliana Schneider from North City!"It looks like I got it right." The old man stroked his beard, then asked, "Do you believe in my skills now?""If you figured that out based on your fortune-telling skills," Renee clasped her hands together, "then you must be the master of all master fortune-tellers! I humbly bow to you
"A gift?" Renee stopped and turned around, looking at the old man with interest.How lucky could she be today, to receive a gift from such a legendary person?!She glanced at the old man's stall. Any one of those items was either priceless or incredibly rare—she could easily make a fortune selling any of them!But the old man had no intention to give her any of his wares. Instead, it was something that he carried with him. "Take this silk handkerchief, young lady. One day, it will give you much-needed guidance."The old man then stretched out his branch-like arm towards her, handing her a finely crafted silk handkerchief."This silk handkerchief…" Renee was astonished when she saw the pattern on the handkerchief.There was a phoenix and some red spider lilies embroidered on the handkerchief, it looked similar to the pattern she saw on the quilt her grandmother had left her all those years ago. Perhaps it might even have been made by the same person. It's a shame that the quilt
"Of course I don't! Why the hell would I ask you if I knew?!""Since you're so clueless, then allow me to educate you. We are Carmine Pawnshop's men. Since you're here in Water Dock, I'm guessing you can't be such an idiot that you've never even heard of Carmine Pawnshop, right? So, are you going to get out of the way now?""Ah… so you guys work for Carmine Pawnshop, huh?"Renee pursed her lips and nonchalantly added, "But how could such a reputable pawnshop act like thugs and gangsters? How could they resort to murder over such a small matter? You sent out a whole gang of burly men just to look for one woman? Is this the kind of man that the Carmine Pawnshop's boss really is?"Those words were simply outrageous. The men in the black suits were instantly enraged. They raised their clubs, eager for Renee's blood, and threatened, "She can insult us, but if she dares to insult our boss, then she needs to be put in her place!""Go ahead," said Rene with an anticipating smirk. "Put me
Renee spread out her arms and in a helpless tone replied, "I'm sorry. What I'm pawning is too hard to show. All I can do is make a guarantee that your boss will definitely take a liking to it. You should take a plunge and give me a chance. If he really likes it, he might even give you a generous bonus."Chase raised his eyebrows. He was beginning to find this woman more and more fascinating. Based on her outlandish courage alone, he knew that she wasn't one to be underestimated. Perhaps she really did have something interesting to pawn?"Okay. I'll take a gamble based on your spunk and confidence. People like us in this line of work need the courage to make a bet every once in a while. I'd gladly introduce you to our boss, but…"His gaze shifted from Renee and fell on the woman cowering behind her. He smiled and continued, "I must insist on letting us handle this woman ourselves. Please don't meddle with our business and hand her over."Renee turned around and glanced at the woman
"You said you have a son, and that he will become an orphan once you die. Is that true?""That wasn't a lie," the woman's smile became even more bitter now. "I do indeed have a son who's seriously ill. He needs a lot of money for the treatment. That's the reason I stole from Carmine Pawnshop, that's why I broke their rules. But I guess without me, my son wouldn't really be orphaned since he still has his father…""That's fine, then."The heavy burden weighing on Renee's heart lifted a little. If anything really happened to this woman, at least her child still had his father, so he would not be totally alone and abandoned in this world."Still, his father is now married to his former mistress, and they have another son who's turning a month in a few days, so I fear that he would have no time to take care of my son…""Then…"Renee suddenly became distraught again. Just as she was about to say something, Chase coldly urged the man, "Stop wasting time! Take her away!"The man in the
Renee found it weird, but because she still had an important business to attend to, she had to leave the matter there.With Chase leading her, she passed through the whole of Water Dock unimpeded and finally arrived at the center of the downstream zone, where Carmine Pawnshop proudly stood."So this is the legendary Carmine Pawnshop?" asked Renee as she stood at the door. She looked up at the gilt letters proclaiming its name on the door plaque and very bluntly commented, "It looks so… ordinary!"From the outside, the pawnshop looked like any other mansion. It just looked too "normal" and not at all befitting the "lawless land of heinous crimes" reputation that Water Dock had garnered over time. In fact, it looked too simple and clean if anything.Renee found it hard to believe that such a mundane building had been hiding priceless treasures from all over the world that inspired great fear and trepidation in the hearts of many!"What did you expect?" Chase turned around and smiled
Just then, a beautiful woman meekly interrupted them and announced, "The boss has returned tonight, Mr. Cheever, but he is extremely busy, so he said not to disturb him if there's nothing urgent.""Really?" Chase's eyes lit up. "That's great! Where is he right now? What could make him so busy? Did he find something precious?""Um… Boss is in the kitchen. I think he's… busy cooking."The woman smiled awkwardly."Cooking?!" Renee felt like cursing them all. She turned to Chase and asked, "Is this what you mean when you told me your boss is always so busy with a million things to do every day?!""Well…" Chase could hardly believe it himself. But to mend the situation, he shamelessly suggested, "I guess our boss must've found some rare precious pots to try!""..."Before she came here, she assumed that Carmine Pawnshop was a hellish place where fearsome demons gathered, but she realized that it was more of a house full of comedians! Even their boss—the infamous Midnight Demon—seemed