Westminster Bank

Chapter 35: Chapter 32: Virgin

The baron used a key to open the iron door to the basement. Baron wanted to enter first, but he paused and chose to bring up the rear instead.

Only after confirming no one was behind him did he follow them into the basement.

The basement was a dark corridor lined with wooden doors on both sides. A torch flared to life as the iron door opened, and the air was filled with the smell of medicinal herbs. The scent reminded Baron of a traditional Chinese medicine clinic from his past life.

The baron walked ahead. With every door he opened, he would introduce the herbs behind it—their place of origin, their medicinal value, and even the major port cities and buyers for them.

They were meticulously sorted, with each door revealing a single type of herb. Some were dried, while others had yet to be.

Baron was surprised to see a preservation method so similar to the traditional Chinese medicine of his past life being used here.

The baron explained that this ancient preservation method had been passed down from Feinan in the East...

"Isn’t Mr. L one of the Feinan People?" he asked.

Facing the suspicious gazes of Yalilan and Andre, Baron concocted a story without batting an eye. "I’m a half-breed. My father and mother met during the second War of Faith..."

He then briefly but powerfully recounted a moving love story, the general plot of which was a patchwork of famous works like *Hamlet*, *King Lear*, *Country Love March*, and *The Legend of Zhen Huan*.

The story caused the gazes of the three people present to shift from initial suspicion to sympathy.

The baron said sorrowfully, "I never imagined Mr. L had such a past. Back in your homeland, your mother must still be waiting for your return."

"There’s no need to speak of the past. To me, it was but a minor hardship."

Baron’s steps were steady, his expression blank.

He could hear it. He was getting close... very close to the sound of a child’s sobbing.

He stopped in front of a wooden door.

Yalilan and Andre also stopped at the same door.

The three exchanged a look. Baron and Yalilan wordlessly turned to Andre.

The famous Bounty Hunter from Fude City, Andre Dewey, codenamed "Overbearing Hunting Dogs," remained silent for a moment before grinning and pushing the wooden door open.

WHOOSH—

A sharp screech startled the three, and their Alchemy Circuits instinctively gathered on their skin. But the chubby baron stepped into the room before any of them.

He looked at the shattered glass window and exclaimed, "Oh my... it seems the storeroom window is broken... My manor is in Mundra’s wind belt. It’s quite common for the wind to pick up at night..."

"It seems the crying we heard earlier was just the wind then," Yalilan said apologetically. "We misunderstood the baron."

Wind poured through the cracks in the window, creating a sound like a child’s cry.

Piles of various herbs had been blown and scattered across the floor by the wind. Baron crouched down, picked up a gray fruit, and examined it in his hand.

The baron smiled and explained, "That’s a tree fruit native to Mundra. When ground into a powder and used with Calming Grass, it can treat malaria."

Baron nodded, tossed the fruit into his mouth, and then pointed to a messy mural on the wall that looked like a child’s doodle. "Lord Baron, and what are these?"

It was a doodle of stick figures. There was the outline of a person, with a faint, flower-like mark on the shoulder.

It had its arms open, as if about to embrace something.

Baron leaned down and touched the doodle, realizing it seemed to be made with some special pigment. It was deeply embedded into the wall and couldn’t be rubbed off.

"Just some pranks from former servants..." The baron glanced out the window. "It’s getting late, and the wind is strong. Allow me to arrange a place for you all to rest."

The next morning, after breakfast, the baron was at the entrance to bid farewell to Baron and his companions.

"Lord Baron..." Baron said in a low voice, "I apologize for the trouble I caused you yesterday... I was only acting on Mr. Andre’s orders..."

"I understand the rules of Demon Hunters... As thanks for Mr. L’s contribution to the peace of Mundra, I have decided to have Hira serve as your exclusive maid for the duration of your mission here."

The baron stroked his handlebar mustache and pointed. Hira, holding a suitcase, was standing charmingly in front of Baron’s horse, enduring the teasing of the rough-looking Demon Hunters.

"She will be responsible for your daily needs and will ensure you get to taste the finest local Mundra cuisine."

In truth, the baron had intended to simply give Hira to Baron. However, he had learned that the maid sent to attend to Baron in his chambers the previous night had been dragged into the kitchen by the Demon Hunter for an intense session—of cooking several dishes. So, he changed his tune. ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com

Baron nodded. ’As long as it’s not black bread and dry potatoes, it’s an improvement,’ he thought.

"Mr. L, now that Feinan has closed its borders, returning to your homeland is indeed a very difficult matter," the baron said with a smile. "But if you need help, I believe Lord Liuxia might be willing to assist you."

"Liuxia?" Andre exclaimed suddenly. "You don’t mean *the* Liuxia from Steel City?"

"That would be..."

Before Baron could ask, Yalilan explained for him: "Liuxia Ruskin, one of the vice-chairmen of the First Hunter’s Guild, a Silver Demon Hunter, and the person considered most likely to become the Elector of the Gillian Duchy in the upcoming selection ceremony."

Baron Camberra said politely, "I happen to be one of Chairman Liuxia’s sponsors."

...

In Mundra Town, at the Blood Church, it was a day of worship, so there were far more people coming to pray than usual.

Sister Teresa stood demurely beneath a stone statue of the Blood God, guiding the Little Nun Olivia and her sister Sessi as they offered the Divine Holy Blood—which was actually just wine—to one worshipper after another.

As for how Baron knew, it was because he had also queued up to receive a cup to go with his breakfast of black bread. After crossing over to this world, Baron had found that his appetite had grown much larger.

Right now, the only ones in the church were the nuns, the worshippers, and Baron, who was eating his breakfast.

Yalilan had taken some people to search the surrounding area for traces of the Blood Demon. Although Blood Demons don’t appear during the day, the daylight might allow them to discover things that were hard to spot at night.

After the Holy Blood was distributed, Sister Teresa and the few other nuns in the church led the believers in singing a Holy Song.

The singing was quite good, and the lyrics were ancient and mystical.

But the gist of it, as summarized by Baron, was:

Blood God, please wake up. Blood God, why aren’t you waking up yet? Blood God, are you awake? Blood God, if you’re awake, could you at least make a sound?

After receiving the Holy Blood and singing the Holy Song came the Blood Ceremony.

It involved a believer confessing their sins, after which Teresa would prick her own finger with a needle and use the blood to draw a swastika symbol on the penitent’s forehead.

Baron noticed that the ones who came forward to confess were all old, weathered peasant women.

Some of them would start crying as they spoke, and the other nuns would pat their backs and comfort them in soft, gentle voices.

The confessions of a few of these peasant women caught Baron’s attention.

It must be said, it wasn’t that Baron was intentionally invading their privacy. It was just that after his Spiritual Sense had reached the level of a Dragon Knight, in addition to the physical enhancements and his larger appetite, his five senses had also become freakishly sharp.

There were things he didn’t want to hear, but he passively overheard them anyway.

He bit into his black bread, sipped his wine, and listened to the peasant woman’s confession, his mouth going, CHEW CHEW CHEW:

"Sister... I confess that I have killed..."

"Auntie Nanali, you’re an honest woman who is devout to God. How could you have killed someone?"

"I see the smiling faces of those children... and how they looked when they died... They’ve come for me..."

Baron’s mouth went CHEW~ CHEW~ CHEW. Another peasant woman pushed her way forward.

"They’re here... They’re finally here... May the Blood God forgive me..." free𝑤ebnovel.com

Baron’s mouth went CHEW— CHEW— CHEW. Yet another peasant woman stepped up.

"It was... it was us who killed them... We shouldn’t have... But during that famine, if we hadn’t done it... how would my family have survived..."

Baron’s expression turned serious. He stopped chewing.

Only when Hira came over with the milk she had prepared for him did he manage to swallow the dry black bread.

He then looked at Hira. The young maid’s expression seemed a little off today.

Hira’s face was beet red. She put down the milk jug and pulled a large, colorful bouquet of flowers Baron couldn’t name from her apron.

"It’s the flowers I lost before... I asked someone from the village to buy them from Fude City... Twenty Copper Coins... That’s almost half a month’s salary for me..."

Then, as if remembering something, she quickly waved her hands and said, "Mr. L, please don’t misunderstand, I don’t have any other intentions... I’ve said too much. It’s because I soiled the lord baron’s flowers, this is the punishment I deserve..."

The maid’s face was as red as a fiery cloud. Her voice rising in pitch, she said, "It’s not a punishment! I am honored to be able to give flowers to Mr. L! Goodbye!"

She gave a flustered bow and scurried away in a panic.

Baron stared at the bouquet on his plate, lost in thought. ’Twenty Copper Coins is almost half a month’s salary. That adds up to only four Silver Coins a year. The baron is a bit of a cheapskate,’ he mused.

Despite his thoughts, he picked up the flowers solemnly and put them away carefully.

Only after the young maid, who had been peeking from a corner, left with a blushing face did he let out a satisfied burp.

...

When the confessions ended, the believers either went their separate ways back home or stayed behind to wait for the midday Holy Communion.

Sister Teresa came and sat down beside Baron. She picked up the flowers, took a light sniff, and asked nonchalantly:

"Mr. L, do you like virgins?"

Baron, who had been chewing, froze.