Yun Zhe did come to collect money, but he also knew that for Ellie, gathering 1,200 silver coins, while not impossible, would certainly take a long time. So he set his sights on Serena. The money was because of her, so asking for it back was perfectly reasonable. Besides, she was a count, after all. I helped her rise to power; what's wrong with giving her a thousand gold coins? No matter how you look at it, I'm the one who's losing out.
Yun Zhe comforted himself, thinking that it was nothing to suffer a little loss when he first came into this world. Suffering was a blessing, and the way of life was to endure hardship before enjoying sweetness.
"They seemed a bit suspicious just now, thinking that Ellie and I were conspiring to deceive people, right..." Seeing Serena and Lorraine looking this way, she couldn't help but feel troubled, "How can I convince them?"
Serena walked slowly over and bowed again. "Sir, I believe everything you say, but the journey to the Paz family is long, and I hope you can accompany me."
Ellie didn't run far. Upon hearing the words "accompanying," her earlier anger instantly turned into anxiety. Accompanying? Accompanying shouldn't be allowed, right? Maybe I should just take advantage of this momentum and drive him away?
Yun Zhe glanced at Ellie and saw her running towards him again. He thought, "I can't let you ruin my plans now." So he looked Ellie straight in the eyes and shouted, "Don't speak!"
Ellie froze, standing there, truly unable to speak.
Serena and Lorraine were both secretly amazed. Just a moment ago they were in a sorry state, how did they suddenly turn the tables and take the lead? Ellie actually didn't dare to say anything.
Yun Zhe pursed his lips. He could see through their thoughts perfectly well, and he thought that Ellie should be able to see them too.
"It won't be long, just a two-day trip at most after the detour. You guys should hurry up and leave before they realize what's happening. I'm not going."
Serena glanced at Yun Zhe and Ellie, and nodded understandingly.
“Oh right, besides a thousand gold coins, I have another request,” Yun Zhe suddenly said.
Serena raised an eyebrow and looked at Yun Zhe. She thought to herself, "Could it be something about protecting Ellie's safety?"
Yun Zhe gave a wry smile. "Let's open another market at the border, the kind that gives elves tax exemptions." After saying that, Yun Zhe pointed to the elven caravan in the distance. "Consider it a way of repaying them for their help tonight."
Serena's eyes lit up; she completely agreed with Yun Zhe's idea. "But not taxing at all seems unlikely," Serena murmured.
"You can do whatever you want," Yun Zhe waved his hand, his tone seemingly full of despair.
Serena jolted awake, suddenly having the illusion that she had just lost a qualification. Or rather, that she had failed his test.
The feeling was so clear and intense that she couldn't help but shout, "I agree, a market that gives elves complete tax exemption..."
Yun Zhe waved his hand without turning around.
Serena took two steps to catch up, then suddenly felt regret.
Her father often taught her brothers to be broad-minded and not so focused on money. Each time he did this, she would giggle uncontrollably, finding it laughable that her brothers could never seem to grasp such a simple concept.
But just now I was mocking the person who wanted a thousand gold coins for being greedy. Then I started calculating taxes, and thinking about it carefully, wasn't I just too focused on money?
Indeed, if my brothers were here, things might be different now. Thinking of this, I couldn't help but think of my eldest brother's last handwritten note, my father and mother, the tragedy that befell our family, and the thought that I might really not be as good as my eldest and second brothers... and tears involuntarily streamed down my face.
She was a naive girl, always pampered by her family. She never imagined going through these things, much less inheriting the family's will and becoming its last banner...
I'm so tired.
Serena suddenly fell to the ground, and Lorraine rushed forward to help her up. Looking at her tear-streaked, sorrowful face, Lorraine felt a sudden pang of pain in her heart.
"Say what you want to say."
With the taboo lifted, Ellie was speechless.
Ellie knelt on the ground and hugged the exhausted Serena. "Help her?" Ellie asked softly.
Yun Zhe tapped the hood, where his ears were. He backed away, giving a wry smile, "You said it before."
Ellie's eyes were filled with disappointment and helplessness, and she could only remain silent. She bent down to take care of Serena.
Yun Zhe sighed and was about to turn around when he suddenly heard the sound of rapid hoofbeats.
Six people and seven horses appeared in everyone's sight.
A commotion arose among the elves. Lorraine lunged at the group, shouting, "Arthas is back! Don't be afraid, don't be afraid! They're on our side, they're on our side!"
Arthas dismounted, and one of his men followed suit. Lorraine saw the man and rushed forward to embrace him. It turned out that the five men who had come with him were the very guards who had covered Serena's retreat.
"Are there only five left?" Lorraine looked at the others, all of them injured and in a sorry state.
Arthas patted Lorraine on the shoulder. He had just arrived, and although the situation was better than he had expected, he couldn't understand it at all. He looked at Serena in Ellie's arms and asked Lorraine, "What happened to Serena?"
Lorraine sighed, and Arthas, sensing something was wrong, suddenly became serious. Seeing this, Lorraine quickly said, "Just exhausted, nothing serious." She then briefly explained the situation.
Arthas breathed a sigh of relief and told Lorraine about his situation. "I rode my horse out to the outer circle and waited for a long time without anyone chasing us. I had a bad feeling and was heading back when I encountered Nightfire cavalry. I thought these cavalrymen might be scouts. If we wiped them out, wouldn't that prove we were heading in this direction? I was fighting the cavalrymen," Arthas pointed to the five men behind him, "when they came rushing out of the woods and together we took care of those Nightfire cavalrymen."
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