Free Web NovelChapter 365: 365 Chapter The Abandoned Runaway Girl_1
In the lower district of Silvertown, at the Clover Inn, a young girl anxiously waited in her room.
The door and windows of the room were closed shut, the curtains tightly drawn over the windows. Only a sliver of the afternoon sun penetrated the room, casting a dim, oppressive atmosphere. The girl sat on the bed, hugging her legs, with no intention to lie down and rest.
A sudden knock on the door made the girl’s shoulders tremble with fright.
The knocking sounded four times, paused, then two more knocks followed, and then four more... it continued in this set rhythm. freewebnσvel.cѳm
The girl, whose nerves had been on edge, let out a sigh of relief—it was the prearranged secret code.
She immediately got out of bed, put on her shoes, and ran to open the door.
A middle-aged woman with short hair slipped through the partially opened door, then swiftly shut it behind her.
"How did it go?" the girl asked impatiently.
The middle-aged woman stared at the girl for a moment, then shook her head, "I’m afraid it won’t work, the train station is also being watched."
The girl’s expression immediately dimmed, "Are you sure?"
"Believe what you want, but if you’re not afraid of dying, you can try heading to the station now," the middle-aged woman replied expressionlessly. "I’ve been on the streets for too many years; I can sniff out when something’s off with people."
The girl fell silent for a moment, then tentatively asked, "Then... shall we take a coach out of town?"
"Take a coach? Have you forgotten what we rode here on? If I hadn’t realized the coachman was off, your journey would have ended prematurely, my dear," the middle-aged woman said coldly. "There are only a handful of places where you can rent a coach for long distances, and if they anticipated our stopover here, they’d surely have locked down all possible exits from the city by now, with a bounty on your head. Even if we were to take a coach, you’d have to bribe those with freight carts and have them hide you among the goods... but then again, they probably thought of that too."
"So what are we supposed to do?" the girl asked desperately.
"I don’t have many ideas... You could try disguising yourself again and head for the train station when it’s crowded; it’s risky, those bounty hunters are quite professional and have good eyes," the middle-aged woman pondered. "Or you could rent a house here, hide for the long term until things blow over, or buy some time to find other people who can help you... but you can’t count on me for that, I don’t have the connections. But whatever you do, you can’t stay at this inn any longer; they have too many people, and they’d eventually stake out this place."
"Doesn’t that mean I’ll be trapped here?"
"Stay hidden! Once they suspect you’ve left and then move on, you’ll be able to leave. But if they are patient enough to keep the net spread here, they won’t have trouble finding you."
"They’re sure to be patient," the girl worriedly cast down her eyes.
"I think so, too. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have followed us all the way here," the middle-aged woman spoke calmly. "But that’s all I can think of. You better make a choice fast, and I’ll help you set it up—that’s the last thing I can do for you."
The girl was stunned when she heard the last sentence. She suddenly lifted her head, staring blankly at the middle-aged woman, "What do you mean by that?"
"It means exactly what it sounds like, once this is arranged, our employment relationship is over," the middle-aged woman said sternly. "You don’t need to pay the final payment, I’ll only take the deposit."
"How can you do this!?" the young girl’s eyes widened in shock.
"The compensation isn’t excessive, getting you here has actually been quite cheap," the middle-aged woman replied indifferently.
"That’s not what I’m talking about! You haven’t taken me to the place yet," the girl’s voice rose unconsciously, "Are you going to leave me here now!?"
"Keep your voice down! How many lives do I have to take you to your destination?" the middle-aged woman sneered, "Those who have been playing hide and seek with us all the way, they are the Gistas secret police, right?"
The girl stood, wide-eyed and frozen in place.
"I guess you’ve known about this for some time now," the middle-aged woman said blandly, "I won’t delve into the things you’ve kept from me, and you shouldn’t cling to me either, it’s only fair."
"I, I..." the girl stuttered, "I’m in the wrong here, I’m sorry, but I really had no choice... I... can compensate you with a little more money, just name your price, please. At least get me away from here, I’ll figure something out myself afterwards!"
The middle-aged woman stared at the girl for a long while. The girl, now driven to a dead end, seemed completely inexperienced with these situations from their interactions so far. If let go now, her death was almost certain.
With a long exhale through her nose, the middle-aged woman shook her head, "Girl, I have no idea what you’ve done to get those secret police to chase after you so relentlessly. Judging by your appearance, you couldn’t have committed any earth-shattering big crime. I’ve heard about their style; either you know some secret you shouldn’t, or you yourself are a secret that shouldn’t be known."
The girl pursed her lips, remaining silent for a while, just about to speak when the middle-aged woman raised her hand to interrupt her, "No need to answer, I get the picture. What I’m saying is I’m just a Bounty Hunter, working as your bodyguard for money. Making money in this business, risking life is fine, but getting killed is out of the question! I haven’t sold you out to them because of any moral reasons, but because I fear they might silence me afterwards! Honestly, I do feel somewhat sorry for you, but because of you, I’ve already gotten into quite some trouble myself, now I need to look out for my own safety! Clinging to me is useless, I don’t have the ability to protect you. That we’re still alive after getting here is already incredibly lucky, I don’t want to push it further!"
Despair instantly swept across the girl’s face as she lowered her head in tears, sobbing softly for a while.
The Bounty Hunter watched her for a moment and then shook her head, "I’ve spent some time in this city before, rented a room in a tavern. It’s a relatively hidden place, I’ll help you ask about it."
Having said that, she walked to the door. Hesitating as her hand touched the knob, she turned back around, "You said you’re not from Gistaston, right? Then let me give you one more piece of advice..."
The girl lifted her face, her eyes blurred with tears.
"If you’re truly out of options, steal something valuable, or take a knife and rob a jewelry store..." the Bounty Hunter said slowly, "get yourself thrown in jail."
The girl’s eyes widened. ƒrēewebnovel.com
"Don’t be surprised. When it comes to hiding from enemies, what place is safer than a prison? It’s not an uncommon strategy in the underworld. When pushed to the edge, it’s better to be in jail than dead on the street. If your secret isn’t something that can be made public, it’s not easy for you to be extradited..." the Bounty Hunter continued slowly, "Even if it just buys you some time. There’s only one women’s prison in this city, I spent a few months there for a previous offense, and to be honest... the conditions aren’t that bad. Anyway, it’s up to you."
With that, she opened the door and left, leaving the girl standing alone in the room.
