Chapter 105 Branch
As soon as Eston West City came into view, Andrei and the Winchester clerk resumed their previous mode of interaction, which showed unfamiliarity from head to toe: distant, silent, and they didn't even meet each other's eyes.
Their destination was the medical clinic in the east of the city. This gray-black building, constructed entirely of brick and stone, could almost be called a "rare and magnificent masterpiece" of its time—although if the lich from another world saw it, he would probably think it was inferior to even a small hospital in a rural county. However, in this magical medieval world, this building was already a major architectural achievement—three floors above ground and two floors underground, solid and sturdy, yet exuding a cold and solemn aura.
The above-ground part is a clinic for treating patients, while the underground part is the Kingdom Knights Forensic Institute, morgue and medical black magic laboratory for dissecting the deceased.
The front door is divided into two parts. The front door connects to the area upstairs where the dying and the wounded are treated, while the back door leads to the underground where the deceased's last stop before returning to an endless and lonely end.
Here, the dead will lie on the dissection table, using the clues left on their bodies to silently make their final accusations to the living.
Tall, heavy draft horses stopped in the backyard of the infirmary, and were immediately greeted by the stationed knights of the Kingdom. The knights respectfully led the deputy commander's horse, unloaded the cart, carried the body, and filled out the handover forms... They were well-trained and well-behaved, a stark contrast to the idlers in the larger group.
Andrei seemed to be lost in thought, and secretly glanced at Winchester who was chatting happily with the knights.
A moment later, Easton West City's exclusive coroner, Duckett Wen Melo, walked out from the back door.
The coroner also wore the attire of a bird-beaked doctor, but Dr. Melo's was made of white canvas covered with a glossy wax layer, making him look like a white dove. He took off the bird-beak mask, revealing a square face that was old but not without elegance and grace.
"Ah, Winchester Clerk, what challenge have you brought me today?" The white-haired old gentleman nodded politely to the clerk he knew well and turned to the somewhat unfamiliar knight. "This... if I'm not mistaken, you must be our new Vice-Master of the Knights."
"Andre Lu Huntington, at your service." Andre saluted the old doctor. "Please perform a routine autopsy on these two bodies. According to our preliminary diagnosis, the cause of death is likely poisoning."
"Alright. Leave it to me." Dr. Mello glanced at the signed handover form. "I believe you're most interested in the poison test report?"
"You really understand me." Winchester smiled.
"As usual, I'll leave it on your desk in two days." The old gentleman nodded to them both and said, "See you later."
That's it.
"I have to go back to the regiment and submit a report," Winchester said. "I will return to Ranchalo on my own later."
"Okay." Andre said coldly. In fact, he had already read Winston's report. It was a concise and understated account of two clumsy thieves who were caught for setting fire but failed and then committed suicide by taking poison out of fear of punishment. It did not mention a skeleton who had made great contributions.
The two parted ways. Andrei, holding the reins, turned to watch his brother heading north. He quickly suppressed the worry in his eyes and rode south of the city.
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The brewery remained the same, its door stuck in its frame, dusty and deserted. As a legal tenant, Andre had long since obtained a spare key from the lich. He opened the back door with familiarity and quickly found the vinegar jar in the kitchen.
"One jar is too heavy to carry... why not two?" He weighed the jars, found a long, strong rope, and tied the two jars together. This way, the two jars could be tied to the horse's back, one on each side, keeping the weight balanced and allowing the horse to run smoothly.
Andre had previously rented the cart from the Knights—a perk inherent to the Kingdom's knights: they could rent it for a low fee when not on official business. Since the return trip involved official business, transporting a corpse, this trip could be considered official business, freeing the rental. After filling out the handover form, the cart was considered returned, and a dedicated person would naturally take care of its collection and cleaning, freeing Andre from any further worries.
When returning to the witch village of Lanchalo, Diego no longer needed to pull the cart, but only needed to carry two vinegar jars. This little weight was nothing to a heavy draft horse, so the black horse spread its hooves and galloped all the way, rushing into the forest in the afterglow of the sunset.
He came back just in time. In the afternoon, Jiang Youyi purchased a batch of supplies for the opening of a branch from the dwarf craftsman Tuks and was preparing to start cooking.
Andrei, carrying two vinegar jars, walked to the familiar warehouse and saw the lich's food stall, like a slime splitting and multiplying, splitting into two. A large pot simmered something on each of the four stoves. Jiangyou was in charge of the right stall, while the little witch Meili was in charge of the left one.
"Has the store expanded?" he asked.
"Since we're opening a branch in the Witch's Forest, we have to be well prepared for operations," the lich said with a grin. "This snack kiosk is so convenient, I love it! I'm planning to take one back to the workshop. We have a lot of customers at night, and we don't have enough stoves, so the best solution is to add a snack kiosk specifically for the branch."
If you want to do your work well, you must first sharpen your tools. Now that Jiangyou has a full wallet, he will naturally continue to invest and expand production.
This afternoon, she not only bought a lot of beef, but also bought a snack kiosk from Tux and ordered two sets of pots and knives, all made of fine gold. Tux worked hard all afternoon and just finished the job.
On the chopping board beside Jiangyou now lay an adamantine Chinese kitchen knife and an adamantine boning knife, the drawings of which she had drawn herself, based on memories from a past life. According to the dwarven craftsman Tux, adamantine is an exceptionally durable and indestructible metal, even withstanding the intense heat of dragonfire. Its excellent thermal conductivity makes it ideal for making pots.
As a kitchen knife, it's a bit heavy, but it's sturdy and easy to use! I don't worry about the blade breaking no matter what I chop with it, so I can be very confident.
——Of course, the material is good and the price of this thing is also very attractive. It cost Jiangyou two gold coins!
It hurts to spend the money, but holding it is incredibly practical! Jiangyou even asked Lolisa to go back to Mr. Beaver and ask them to make two sturdy tree stump chopping boards—the kind every household used to chop meat and bones, and they were so reliable they could be used anytime!
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