28. Tinderbox

Remembering the little match girl who sold matches for 1000 points or a tinderbox, Pi Min couldn't help but ask, "Didn't we already buy matches?"

"Yes. But I also want what the little match girl wanted." The man smiled broadly, looking eager to try.

Seeing that he was determined to steal the tinderbox, Pi Min quickly tried to dissuade him: "Think about what happened to those two people who were against me last night. I suspect that the boss of this instance might have some kind of moral fastidiousness. He himself can be a piece of trash, indulging in drinking, gambling, whoring, and all sorts of evil deeds, but he would absolutely not allow his bride candidates to have even the slightest moral flaw. We'd better not do anything like stealing."

Unfortunately, the man didn't take it to heart: "Then I'll reason with him and find a way to persuade the butler to give me the tinderbox."

How can we persuade people with reason?

"You just watch."

After saying that, he grabbed her hand and ran off again.

The castle's butler was busy with his work, and the two of them followed behind him looking for an opportunity. It wasn't until evening that they finally found a chance to speak to the butler alone.

Pi Min was still eagerly waiting to see how the man would try to reason with her, but to her surprise, the man's first words were: "I want your tinderbox, name your price."

She said it so sweetly and clearly.

He still looked completely self-righteous and determined to win.

Pi Min was surprised, while the butler laughed.

"You want my tinderbox?" Fred, the white-haired butler, curled his lips into a smile, his wrinkled face forming a chrysanthemum shape. Unfortunately, it did not evoke any sense of kindness or friendliness; instead, it reminded one of a witch from a fairy tale, only bringing terror and dread.

After the butler finished speaking, he took a metal object out of his pocket. Judging from the man's brightened expression, this must be the legendary tinderbox.

She had always thought that the tinderbox in fairy tales was a box, but she never expected that the real tinderbox was actually a metal cylinder that looked like an ancient Chinese fire striker, with a chain connecting the cylinder to the lid, and even decorated with gorgeous gemstones.

It turns out to be a primitive version of an ancient lighter!

The butler chuckled and shook his head as he played with the tinderbox in his hand: “Miss is too kind. This tinderbox has special significance to me, and I wouldn’t sell it for any amount of money.”

"Really not selling?" The man raised an eyebrow, his eyes already carrying a hint of threat.

"Really not for sale!" Unfortunately, the old butler still shook his head.

After saying that, he prepared to turn and leave.

Unfortunately, he froze on the spot after taking only one step.

Because the beautiful woman in the yellow dress behind him had already spoken coldly: "The former number one player on Karno Star, Lady Oriana's former lover, the Night Butcher Fred, why are you still in this instance?"

The white-haired old butler turned around and met the smiling gaze of the beautiful woman with big, wavy hair.

"Let me guess why the little girl wants your tinderbox?" In the old butler's view, the beautiful woman in the yellow dress with her exquisite makeup and fiery red lips seemed like a demon spitting its tongue at him. "Could it be that she discovers her mother mysteriously disappears every night and appears in your room?"

These few words contain a surprisingly large amount of information.

Pi Min had read the story of the tinderbox, so he knew what the soldier in the story did to the princess with the tinderbox. Upon hearing this, he instinctively covered his mouth with his hand, revealing an expression of having just heard something juicy.

If she, a mere bystander, reacted this way, the person directly involved would naturally react even more strongly. The once calm and collected old butler now had bloodshot eyes, and his face was filled with murderous intent as he stared at the man.

"Who are you? How do you know about me?"

The voluptuous beauty, who had easily grasped the butler's weakness, became increasingly smug: "You don't need to know how I knew. Just give me the tinderbox."

After saying that, he smiled and extended his hand to the old butler.

Is this what he meant by persuading people with reason?

Pi Min glanced at the smug man beside her, then at the butler who was clearly on the verge of exploding not far away, and suddenly felt terrible.

It was already evening, and the already gloomy sky seemed even more hidden. At this moment, the butler was completely concealed in the shadows of the castle, with only his bloodshot eyes fixed on the voluptuous beauty who held his weakness in her hands.

The scene looks exactly like an enraged beast about to launch its final counterattack.

Pi Min was mentally prepared to defend herself. However, to her surprise, the butler, who had been poised to attack, suddenly relaxed and softened his tone: "I can give it to you. You have to promise me that as long as I give you the tinderbox, you have to keep it a secret for me."

The man readily agreed: "No problem. I just want the tinderbox you have; I have no interest in being a hero."

After he finished speaking, he reached out to take the tinderbox.

The soldier in the fairy tale's tinderbox is greedy, untrustworthy, and a lecherous criminal who kidnaps a princess. Pimin simply cannot have any expectations of his moral compass.

She didn't think the other party would compromise so easily.

Sure enough, just as the man's fingers were about to touch the tinderbox, a cold glint flashed in the butler's other hand, and a dagger pierced the man's chest with lightning speed.

Having anticipated this, Pi Min raised her foot and kicked the butler's knife-wielding hand. However, she underestimated the skill level of this important NPC in the dungeon. Even with the "Human Decomposer" aura, she was still far from being a match for him. Despite her full-force kick, it felt as if she had struck a steel plate, only slightly deflecting the dagger.

"clang--"

Fortunately, there was no sound of a knife cutting into flesh; instead, it sounded like a knife striking some kind of metal object.

It was clear and melodious, yet dull, and it was also a hollow object.

Pi Min turned around and realized that the knife had actually struck the man's fake chest. She had no idea what the fake chest was made of, as it made such an absurd sound; she was both amused and exasperated.

The old butler, who had been so confident of winning, probably never dreamed that things would turn out this way, and the murderous expression on his face suddenly cracked.

While he was still in a daze, the man had already snatched the tinder box that the butler was pretending to hand out from his other hand.

"Got it, thanks!" Only after he had stuffed the tinderbox into his pocket did he belatedly reach out and touch the large hole in his chest where the dagger had just pierced him.

"You're asking for death!" Having missed his first attack and lost the tinderbox, the steward finally flew into a rage.

With a flick of her wrist, the dagger was now aimed at the man's fair, jade-like neck.

The man leaned back to dodge the dagger, reached under the skirt and pulled out a diamond-encrusted sword hilt. With a flick of his wrist, he held a Western-style longsword.

With the longsword in hand, the tide of battle turned instantly.

The man was clearly trained; in just a few rounds, the dagger slipped from the butler's hand and clattered to the ground.

"Butler, you're being too stingy. It's just that I borrowed your tinderbox. There's no need to be so angry. I've already promised to keep your secret."

Upon hearing him mention the tinderbox, the butler, who was already furious, became even angrier and pounced on him again like a raging lion.

On one side was a beautiful woman, wielding a long sword, exuding a heroic and valiant air; on the other was a hunched-over old man with white hair. One was shrewd and confident, the other was furious and exasperated. The two were worlds apart in terms of presence.

The butler casually grabbed a lamppost from beside him and swung it at the wavy-haired beauty. Surprisingly, the seemingly slender longsword, which appeared fragile enough to snap easily, displayed extraordinary resilience. It not only blocked the lamppost's attacks but even managed to find openings to strike the butler.

In just a few rounds, the old butler's sharp suit was torn to shreds and hung on his body like a rag.

"Wow, nice body!" the man whistled and grinned.

Pi Min then noticed that, unlike the butler's white-haired appearance, the man's body under his clothes was muscular with eight-pack abs and smooth, shiny bronze skin. This was definitely not the physique of an old man with white hair.

She had initially been skeptical of the man's words, but now she believed them completely. Why would a man disguise himself as an old man and infiltrate an ancient castle?

The butler then noticed the strangeness on his body and paused in his attack. After confirming that no one else was around, he breathed a sigh of relief.

Pi Min thought he would press on and continue his attack, but to her surprise, the butler pulled out a grenade from thin air, bit off the pin, and threw it hard in the direction of the man.

"Go to hell!"

After seeing what the other party had thrown, Pi Min gasped.

no!

Isn't this a medieval dungeon? Aren't we supposed to be forbidden from using firearms? What is this?

By the time she came to her senses, she had already taken a step forward and kicked the grenade away.

There was absolutely no five-second delay as rumored; it happened the instant the grenade was kicked away.

A loud "boom" rang out in mid-air, shrapnel flew everywhere, and the smoke and dust blurred everyone's vision.

Pi Min was so frightened by the series of unexpected events that she turned pale, but the man remained calm. He shielded her with his body while grinning foolishly at her, a smile sweeter than honey.

"You're even willing to do something this dangerous for me, so I know you love me to death, you're hopelessly in love with me!"

"Shut up!" Is this the time for romance? Pi Min immediately glared at him, annoyed.

When the smoke cleared, the butler was found lying on the ground, barely alive.

Pi Min had been wondering why the other side had suddenly used firearms, but now he realized that the other side was already at its last gasp.

"What are you going to do with him? Is it possible to kill people in this instance?"

"Tie them up first, then we'll talk."

Just as the two were discussing how to deal with the steward, a little girl suddenly ran out from a corner of the castle. Although she had changed into a proper outfit, her features were still recognizable as those of the little match girl from before.

The two men were wondering what the little girl wanted to do when she appeared in front of the butler, spreading her arms in a protective stance.

"You are not allowed to hurt my father!"

Wow, I've stumbled upon another juicy piece of gossip.

The two looked at each other, their eyes widening in surprise.

Ignoring the butler's age and looking only at his facial features, the little girl does indeed resemble the butler.

Pi Min was both amused and exasperated: "Am I morally corrupt? Why am I so happy to know that the Earl is being cuckolded?"

The man dressed as a woman beside her smiled and patted her shoulder: "It's okay, I'm the same."

The two exchanged a knowing smile, realizing they were both equally gleeful.