"The sixth temporary morgue of the parish? I've heard that name before..."
Huggins told Rousseau, “That place has long been abandoned. I’ve seen it from the outside, and both the architectural style and the size of the land are perfect for running a hotel.”
Rousseau was a little worried: "But even so, we still can't get the operating rights there."
Huggins shook his head: "Have you forgotten that the Battle of Tyro is about to begin? Although that mansion belongs to the church now, it won't be long before His Majesty's army takes Tyro and it becomes the Holy King's property."
"If it's about the operating rights, I have a past relationship with Alfonso, the commander of the Knights. If I plead for him, he should give me that favor."
“But we have to act quickly. I’m sure there are a lot of people eyeing that house, and the major chambers of commerce in Muxi might even be our competitors.”
Rousseau sighed: "My lord, if you hadn't given up those properties in Muxi, our lives wouldn't be so difficult now."
Huggins suddenly became serious: "Rousseau, listen to this, all the businesses in Muxi City are His Majesty's favor to us."
“In the past, we served His Majesty, and that's why he turned a blind eye to our business dealings in the city. Now, we've been exiled for our poor handling of the Muxi City rebellion. It's already a blessing that His Majesty hasn't punished us. We absolutely must not interfere in the city's affairs again.”
"I see."
Huggins patted Rousseau on the shoulder: "You can rest at home and recuperate. I'll go to the Earl's mansion tonight to take a look. If the interior decoration and furnishings meet the requirements, I think the hotel can officially open in just one or two weeks."
Rousseau asked, "You mean to go there tonight? Will there be any danger?"
Huggins laughed: "I found out beforehand that the church's soldiers withdrew several weeks ago."
After offering Rousseau a few more words of comfort, Huggins, dressed neatly, came out of the inner room and said to Rousseau's mother, "Don't worry, everything will be alright."
Rousseau's mother, the old woman who always looked kind and gentle, carefully took out a badge engraved with a dragon head from her bosom and softly said, "May the Holy King protect you."
Late that night.
Donning a black cloak and a half-mask, Huggins carefully made his way along the wall to the side door of the Zicker mansion.
Crouching down, Huggins turned over the soil and found two faint tire tracks.
“Isn’t this place deserted?” Huggins muttered to himself. “But the ruts are new, and the cargo being transported… is very heavy. Could it be thieves stealing things?”
Using his enhanced abilities, Haskins determined a foothold, climbed over a gap in the side wall, and arrived in the mansion's garden.
To his surprise, the garden was not overgrown with weeds as he had imagined; instead, there were withered plants everywhere.
Huggins frowned, gazing at the ancient mansion that seemed like a sleeping behemoth in the darkness, and stood there for a long time.
He climbed up the low wall, then followed the gaps in the wall to the attic, where he found a broken window and carefully climbed inside.
As he stepped into the attic of the old house, a familiar scent filled Huggins' nostrils, but he couldn't quite place it.
Lighting the tinderbox in his pocket and the torch he carried, Huggins went up the stairs from the attic to the third-floor corridor. The clutter everywhere made him mutter, "Looks like those bastards in the church have already cleaned out all the valuables."
Portraits of the mansion's former owners hung on the walls, appearing particularly eerie in the dim firelight.
“A few years ago, these people were still prominent nobles in the city of Tyro.” Huggins shook his head: “Now, they’re probably all just a pile of bones.”
Following the spiral staircase, Huggins arrived at the first-floor hall. The grand layout and well-preserved decorations made him very satisfied with the mansion.
“It won’t cost much to completely transform this place. Once His Majesty’s army conquers the city, it will soon prosper, just like Silver Ring City.” Huggins sighed in relief: “This will at least give Rousseau and his people a way out.”
Just as he was about to leave, some small and strange sounds came from underground.
“I remember there was a wine cellar and a basement below. Later, it was converted into a temporary morgue.”
Huggins circled the first floor and finally found the entrance to the basement at the end of a corridor in the side hall.
Looking at the iron lock on the basement door, Huggins first put his ear to it and listened for a while, then used his power-enhancing ability to remove the rusty lock.
Pushing open the iron gate, the pungent stench of corpses that hit him made Huggins take several steps back.
"If we really want to open a hotel here, dealing with the corpses inside will be a huge problem."
Huggins muttered something and pulled his collar up to cover his mouth and nose.
Entering the dimly lit cellar, stretchers used to transport corpses, scattered clothing, and fragments of human limbs and bones were everywhere. But Huggins found it strange that after walking for a long time, he had not seen a single intact corpse.
After navigating a long underground passage, Huggins arrived at the very center of the underground wine cellar—an ingeniously designed elevator.
Looking at the complex and enormous elevator platform in front of him, Huggins clicked his tongue in amazement: "I never imagined this place would be so big."
Upon closer inspection, Huggins discovered some problems.
This elevator platform doesn't seem to be part of the original structure of this old house at all; it looks more like a piece that was hastily completed a month ago.
There was a sentence written on the sign on the elevator platform. Huggins held up his torch and looked at it carefully. It turned out to be two sentences: one in Latin and the other in the language of the Southern Empire.
Huggins didn't know many Latin words, but he did recognize this one.
"Living towards death."
As soon as he finished speaking, a tremendous wind pressure swept towards Huggins from the darkness.
Having already put himself on high alert, Huggins rolled forward, barely dodging the attack from behind, but the torch in his hand fell to the ground.
Looking at the enemy's massive silhouette in the darkness, Huggins, who had lost his sight, said with frustration, "If I had known this would happen, I should have gotten a night vision ability back in Twilight City."
With a deafening roar, the ground where Huggins had been standing was smashed into a large crater by the attacker.
With his honed reflexes, Huggins pushed off with both feet and narrowly avoided the attacker's second strike.
Feeling the impact of the flying sand and gravel, Huggins opened his eyes wide and thought to himself, "What great power!"
"Stop! Marcos!"
An aged voice came from the direction of the elevator, stopping the attacker's actions.
Upon hearing this voice, Huggins turned his head in disbelief.
"Myris?"
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