Castle of Black Iron

Chapter 237: Choices

Translator: WQL Editor: DarkGem

Mature women were both sensitive and compromising. Although Zhang Tie felt a bit embarrassed, the female boss seemed to not mind it at all. After a loud laughter, she started to introduce her products to Zhang Tie like a warm-hearted guide, easily settling his embarrassment. Zhang Tie then finally let out a long breath, making the atmosphere in the store more relaxed.

In the end, he bought a skirt, a pair of leather shoes, and a set of inner wear for Hanna. In total, these only cost him over ten silver coins.

"No need to pay. Just take it as my appreciation for dirtying your clothes and that you took care of me for the night. If you don't feel comfortable doing that, you can invite me for a tankard of beer a bit later! After all, I'm going to close my store soon; let's go back together!"

The female boss looked calm yet seemed to be indicating something, which made Zhang Tie's heart pound.

Zhang Tie was truly the last guest in her store tonight. After packing the items for him, she closed the door with his assistance, and they then left together.

When they left, Linda naturally held Zhang Tie's arm. In a split second, his arm had a sense of a plump and soft side of her breast, making his heart race like a beating drum.

Walking on the streets, they encountered a lot of people's ambiguous glances.

Zhang Tie spent the next hour in a nearby, tranquil beer bar, where he learned of what had happened to this female tenant.

It started when the Norman Empire and Sun Dynasty dispatched their troops towards the Andaman Alliance. Such a huge change truly changed numerous people's fates, including this women's fate.

Previously, she had a happy family. She had a father and a fiancee. Her father managed a family beer distillery in Blapei with her fiancee as an assistant; she had a women's clothing store. Although the distillery was not large, it was well reputed in this area. Her family was well-off. If everything had remained unchanged, this December, she and her fiancee would have gotten married as they had been engaged.

However, everything changed due to this war.

Before the war, her father's beer distillery received many transactions like usual. However, the sudden arrival of the war turned those transaction contracts into terrifying bills. With the exception of the contract that he had signed with Mr. Beise, there were ten more contracts which meant over 1000 gold coins of debt. This amount of debt could completely destroy a well-off family.

On the second day since the Norman Empire dispatched troops towards the Andaman Alliance, the price of grains across Blapei surged several times at once, which immediately led to her father's heart disease. As a result, her dad passed away.

The moment her father's funeral ceremony ended, a group of businessmen heard the news and came to her house to ask for explanations with contracts in hand. She then was forced to sell her real estate and distillery to pay for the debt. Linda even sold her matrimonial house that she had bought using her own money as well as her wedding jewelry.

In the end, she still owed Beise some liquidated damages. However, she only had her one-story store left, which was worth less than 100 gold coins. Even if she sold her store, she would still owe Beise a lot of money, which was a huge sum that a lone woman could not pay off without many years' hard work.

After that, when the woman needed someone's support and comfort, her fiancee declared that he's canceling off his engagement with her. When the man left her, he put it straight that he had not planned to marry her for love but for her distillery. Because he didn't want to live always paying off debts after marriage, he left her.

Linda then moved into that residence on the third floor of Mr. and Mrs. Green house, trying her best to pay off debts while carefully managing her store. At the same time, she had to deal with Beise, who was obsessed with her beauty and had the contract in his hand for an excuse.

The story was very simple, containing no adventurous or stimulative plot. The whole story was about how over 1000 gold coins changed an average woman's daily life and some familiar or obscure faces that appeared in her life. When he brought this mature woman to drink beer for the first time, Zhang Tie was a bit thrilled; he even started to indulge in fantasy. However, after hearing her story, all the fantasies in his mind disappeared, only leaving sympathy...

...

After drinking beer, they went back to Mr. and Mrs. Green's house. The most challenging period was when Linda went upstairs, followed by Zhang Tie. Because of her twisting plump and sexy butt and that pair of beautiful legs below her skirt, the short passage became the most challenging thing that Zhang Tie had experienced tonight. He took a deep breath.

Soon after, they arrived at the third floor.

Linda took out her key and inserted it into the lock of her door. After that, she looked back at Zhang Tie with something special in her eyes. "Do you want to... come in and drink something?"

To tell the truth, Zhang Tie's heart really raced uncontrollably at once.

"No, thanks, it's too late, you need to have a rest!" Zhang Tie smiled as he looked at this beautiful and weak woman who had to be firm. He was then moved. "Don't consider Beise's affair any more.

You don't owe me anything, so don't feel stressed inside. I don't lack money. Additionally, I won't stay in Blapei for too long. I'll move to the rural area tomorrow and come back here only once a week. If you have any problems and need my help, you can leave a slip of paper or a letter through the space under my door, I will see it when I'm back!"

Linda just gazed at Zhang Tie with intricate eyes, not knowing what to say...

"Good night!" Zhang Tie smiled as he waved his hand and went upstairs.

As a mature woman, Linda had an irresistible allure. For Zhang Tie, it was happiness to conquer a woman; however, he didn't want to find a chance for happiness from a woman's bad luck. Neither would he like to turn it into a threat and exchange for his assistance. Therefore, he left.

Several minutes later, Zhang Tie and Linda almost simultaneously walked in to their own washrooms and took a bath. As the residences on the third and fourth floor had the same structure, the two washrooms were only separated by a floor. So, Zhang Tie heard the sound of Linda taking a bath downstairs. At the same time, Linda heard Zhang Tie taking a bath upstairs too. Right then, both of them started to imagine how the other one was taking a bath without wearing any clothes. They then both had a weird feeling...

This night, both tenants on the third and fourth floor couldn't sleep well.

...

The same night, in Blapei, when someone found it hard to sleep by rolling left and right on the bed, someone else didn't sleep at all.

Major Franca was one of those people who didn't sleep at all.

If you had to use a word to describe the efficiency of secret police in the Norman Empire, it was "terrifying". After barely a bit more than twenty hours, a complete personal record of Zhang Tie was put on the desk of Major Franca. It was so detailed that even Zhang Tie didn't know some of it. At least he had not seen his original birth certificate in Blackhot City.

There was a thick pile of documents about him. Besides those, there was another pile of documents in front of Major Franca—all the studies about "Post-Lightning Strike Savant Syndrome" that he could collect from the difference engine in the National Archives of the Norman Empire using his own privilege.

Would people become extremely powerful after being struck by a lightning bolt? Would one form the Iron-Blood hidden strength after being struck by lightning bolt? Would one not be afraid of the toxicity of blue frost after being struck by a lightning bolt? Would one master excellent spear throwing skills after being struck by a lightning bolt? All the above questions might belong to a mysterious region that nobody could figure out.

However, could one be able to kill people by letting them remain still after being struck by a lightning bolt? Obviously not possible! However, according to the autopsy report and the on-site survey, Major Franca was clearly told what had happened. With the exception of one person who had shown resistance before being killed, all the other spies and saboteurs of the Sun Dynasty had been standing still, waiting for someone to thrust his dagger into their hearts with eyes wide-open. They didn't resist nor struggle at all. Neither had they been poisoned.

How could that person do that? How could a first lieutenant who was almost as weak as an average person after recovering from his heavy wounds force them to stand still and wait for him to kill them after being abducted by them? What was more, he was afraid of being recognized by others and chose to slip away while giving up on honor and reward.

The only reason was that the person didn't want to tell others of what he had done so as to protect his cover for it was far more important than the reward he would win. Now that he could force others to stand still and wait for him to kill them, the question to be asked should be whether his other talents were from a different cause as well, the ones such as not being afraid of the toxicity of blue frost, suddenly forming Iron-Blood hidden strength, and suddenly becoming extremely powerful...

'Being struck by a lightning bolt was only a lie that he used to bury his own secret. What if I can get his secret...'

...

Major France didn't sleep the whole night as he immersed himself in the piles of documents and words. Once dawn arrived, his sharp eyes like those of a wolf radiated a wisp of bloody brilliance because of excitement, as if he'd discovered a treasure.

After reading those documents through the night, he burned them all in a fireplace. Additionally, he mashed those ashes with tongs before leaving the room.

The only problem was that they were in Blapei and under the control of the Iron-Horn Army while that person was a small first lieutenant of the Iron-Horn Army who had won an iron-blood medal.

This would be a bit troublesome...