The next morning, Yun Zhe was in a very good mood, so much so that Ellie curiously asked him if he had had a good dream last night. Yun Zhe smiled without answering, and asked her if she knew where he could buy a good crossbow bolt, a hundred or two, because he wanted to practice his crossbow skills. Then he specifically instructed Ellie to find historical records about the ten-year war between humans and elves.
Upon hearing this, Ellie reached out to Yun Zhe, "Crossbows are very expensive; two gold coins aren't enough."
Yun Zhe frowned. "Are crossbows really that expensive?"
"A meal costs the price of an arrow, and a crossbow bolt costs about three copper coins."
One silver coin can only buy ten? One gold coin only buys 120? Yun Zhe was a little overwhelmed. "Are crossbow bolts really that expensive?"
Ellie nodded. "This is the price of a regular crossbow bolt. Special crossbow bolts cost six, seven, eight, or nine copper coins each."
"Where are the bow and arrows?"
"Bows and arrows are cheaper, one or two copper coins each."
Yun Zhe scratched his head, "Go to the carriage and get some silver coins later, and buy a hundred of them."
"You want to practice crossbow shooting?"
"It's not just crossbows, I also want to learn some swordsmanship. We encountered mercenaries yesterday, and I thought about it all night. We still can't rely on our physical strength to overpower them, that would be too easy to expose us. Knowing some swordsmanship feels necessary."
A hint of tenderness flashed in Ellie's eyes, followed by a questioning look: "You threw all the silver coins into the carriage?"
"What's wrong? Aren't they helping to look after her?" Yun Zhe saw Ellie's expression and suddenly realized that he might have made a huge mistake.
Ellie sighed, "They won't care. If it's lost, it's lost."
Yun Zhe lunged towards the first floor, then stopped abruptly. He tried to sound calm, but his voice still trembled slightly as he said, "Go ahead and pack as much as you can. Don't make a fuss. I guess everyone thinks the carriage isn't safe and won't put anything valuable on it, so the items are actually safe. We'll move them around a bit tonight."
Ellie wanted to say something more, but then she thought Yun Zhe's words made some sense, so she hummed in agreement and went downstairs to have breakfast.
The people in the carriage had all woken up long ago. The middle-aged knight and the ranger went out first to scout the situation, while the young man dressed up simply and went out to get some food.
Two young girls sat in the carriage, looking at each other, their faces dirty, and suddenly burst into laughter.
The laughter startled Ellie, who had come to collect the money. She listened curiously for a while, but finding nothing unusual, she jumped onto the carriage, filled a large bag with money, and rode away.
The more well-dressed of the two girls quickly stopped the younger-looking girl from laughing. She listened carefully and heard a rattling sound from the car next to her, as if someone had jumped off. Then everything went quiet.
"Is that the car over there where Yang and the others sleep?" the elegantly dressed girl asked in a low voice.
"Yes, someone just went by?"
"It seems so. They'll let us know when they get back."
"Serena, don't worry. They probably forgot something and came back to get it. Besides, we're just hiding temporarily, and we're not petty thieves. Don't worry."
Ellie, who was behind the carriage, listened and pondered. The thirteen-year-old girl who inherited Donic's business seemed to also be named Serena. Could it be such a coincidence? Ellie listened for a while longer. The two girls were relaxed at the moment, making it easy to glean useful information from their minds. After confirming their identities, Ellie stopped listening. This information was important; she needed to discuss it with Yun Zhe.
Seeing Ellie return, Yun Zhe thought to himself, "Oh no, could it be that all the money is gone?" Before his heart could even ache, he saw Ellie slip into the house, close the door tightly, lock the window, and press herself against Yun Zhe.
"What's she doing, getting so close and closing the doors and windows? Does she have a crush on me?" Yun Zhe's mind raced with all sorts of thoughts, but he didn't push Ellie away. It's always nice to have a pretty girl close to you.
"We're in trouble," Ellie said, which immediately broke Yun Zhe's guard.
"Could it be that all the money is gone?" Yun Zhe's voice trembled slightly.
Ellie rolled her eyes. "Don't just think about money."
"A thousand silver coins, how could I not be tempted!" Yun Zhe interrupted Ellie, his voice rising an octave.
“The money is still there,” Ellie interrupted Yun Zhe impatiently, “but there are more troublesome things than that.”
Yun Zhe thought for a moment, "You've been targeted by that bald guy from yesterday?"
"Oh no, the Earl is in our carriage..."
"Who? Which count? What count?" Yun Zhe was completely confused.
“The Countess who inherited the title of Earl of Donic, that thirteen-year-old girl,” Ellie patiently prompted.
Yun Zhe sat back on the bed, thought for a moment, then suddenly glared at Ellie and asked, "What do you want to do?"
Ellie was taken aback, startled by Yun Zhe's expression, and then her expression became unfocused. "I don't have any ideas... I just wanted to tell you."
Yun Zhe sighed, rubbing his forehead with one hand. As a member of the Pas family, supporting his lord's decision was perfectly reasonable. However, doing so would be tantamount to getting involved in a political struggle, and Yun Zhe had never been good at politics. He'd even had his roommate help him with his international politics thesis in his junior year over a meal. Besides, political struggles had always been a dangerous business in Yun Zhe's mind.
"What do you want to do?" Yun Zhe deliberately avoided looking into Ellie's eyes and asked leisurely.
"I don't know, I couldn't have imagined how things would turn out. I'm wondering if I should go and ask what happened?"
"Don't you want your patriarch to protect her, take her to your territory, and then escort her back to inherit the earldom?"
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