Chapter 38: A Shallow Grave

Got it!

Faced with the five bright red money bags placed before him, a flash of excitement shone in Gery’s eyes. He stepped forward, reaching out to grab these money bags, but at that moment, a dark figure blocked his way.

“You?” Looking at his brother, Gery frowned involuntarily.

“What are you trying to do?”

“I think this gentleman is right, big brother,” The brother who had always been quiet and silently following behind him now stood before him with an unsettling gloominess.

“We should count the money clearly now, then divide it.”

“What’s there to divide?” Gery frowned. In fact, after seeing those five money bags, he had noticed the problem. Originally, he had planned to deal with this matter later, but now it seemed his brother obviously disagreed with his view. Gery furrowed his brow, looking towards Julian. He saw that the noble wrapped entirely in black cloth was still examining those corpses, not paying attention to their situation.

“Alright, let’s leave here first, don’t cause any trouble. We can divide this money when we get to a safe place.”

“No!” To Gery’s surprise, his brother, who had always obeyed his orders, chose to refuse this time, contrary to his usual behavior.

“I want to divide it now.”

“You…”

“Brother, I know what you want to do,” The thin dark figure stared at Gery, his eyes flashing with a light never seen before.

“You want to go home, be a rich man, let our parents see that we’re not useless good-for-nothings. Yes, that’s your choice, but it’s not mine. I don’t want to go back to that damn place, damn wooden huts, damn farmers, and all that damn stuff. I long for the outside world, I long for those prosperous cities, and those beautiful girls. Yes, not those country bumpkin farm women, but beautiful, noble young ladies like the one lying over there! And I don’t want corpses, I want living people!”

Gery looked at his brother in surprise, as if seeing the hidden side of him for the first time today.

“So I don’t plan to go back with you. I want to continue living in this city. Before, I had no money, but now I do. I have money, I can learn from old Browne, open a shop in the rich district. I have skills, I have ability, and now I have money too. I can definitely live better than now!”

“Then how do you plan to divide it?” Gery frowned, looking at the other with some displeasure.

“It’s simple, big brother, you take two bags, I’ll just take three… I think that’s fair.”

“Fair my ass!” Hearing this, Gery no longer cared about Julian’s presence and shouted angrily.

“Why should I only take two bags!? I’m your big brother, don’t forget, you’ve survived these years by following me and listening to me! Alright, considering you’re my brother, I can give you two bags, four hundred gold coins, that should be enough to fulfill your dreams, right?”

“Dream on!” Faced with Gery’s proposal, the dark figure spat coldly.

“Don’t forget, big brother, you already took a hundred and fifty gold coins as a deposit from that gentleman earlier. Now you want me to take four hundred gold coins, while you take seven hundred? On what grounds?”

“You think all that money is mine?” Gery’s face grew even darker. He began to feel his brother was really not knowing his place.

“Do you know how much money I’ve spent these three days for this commission, bribing those damn guards, the night watchmen at the cemetery, and how much money I spent renting this damn warehouse and cart? You think all this doesn’t cost money?”

“How much could that cost?” Gery’s brother obviously sneered at his brother’s words.

“Didn’t you always boast in front of me that you could handle those people even without spending money? Don’t talk business, talk relationships, that’s what you said, brother. Alright, I don’t know how much money you spent, but you definitely took more than me, so I want those three bags of gold coins now, not one bag less!”

“Bullshit!” Gery slammed the table hard.

“You really think you’re something? Let me tell you, if it weren’t for me, you bastard would have been a corpse in a stinking ditch long ago! I’ve had enough of your stupidity and ignorance. Look at your pathetic state, every time we go to work, your courage is as small as a mouse’s, you jump and run faster than a rabbit at the slightest sound!”

“Nonsense!” Faced with Gery’s anger, his brother obviously couldn’t accept it.

“I’m always the one going into the tombs, I’m always the one handling those stinking corpses, what have you done? Don’t you just stand aside watching me work? Don’t think I don’t know what you’re thinking, in your eyes, I’m just useful labor, right! You don’t dare hire others to do this kind of thing, but you don’t have to worry about your own brother betraying you, that’s what you think, right! It’s been like this since we were kids, when you wanted to do something, you always made me do it, and you just stood aside moving your lips. Don’t think I’ve forgotten it all!”

“You…” Gery raised his hand angrily, pointing at his brother. He gritted his teeth, growling in a low voice, but faced with the burning angry eyes of the dark figure, he fell silent for a moment. His originally unpredictable expression became calm again.

“Forget it, this is the last time we do this business. As you said, you’ve worked for me for so long, I indeed haven’t given you any benefits… Alright, let’s divide it as you said. I’ll just take two bags, you can take the remaining three bags.”

Saying this, Gery stepped back two paces. He took two bags of gold coins from the table, then walked aside to open them and began carefully checking. Noticing his brother’s unexpected behavior, his brother was stunned for a moment, then also smiled, turned around, and opened the three remaining bags of gold coins on the table. Under the lamplight, those shining gold coins swayed with an intoxicating brilliance.

“So much money, it’s the first time I’ve seen so much money…”

The man reached out, trembling with excitement, trying to touch these gold coins. Then, his movement stopped.

A sharp, keen dagger pierced his body, mercilessly plundering his life. The man opened his eyes in surprise, struggling to turn his head back. Then, he saw his brother standing behind him, who had appeared there at some unknown time.

“Although I’d like to finish you off in one go, I think there’s something I should tell you first…” Gery leaned close to his brother’s ear, gritting his teeth and speaking in a low voice.

“You’re just a waste. Without me, you’d never be able to do anything well. You’re just a good-for-nothing failure!”

Hearing these words, the man’s eyes widened. He turned his head to look at his brother’s face, then revealed a cold smile.

A cold wind blew past.

Gery was greatly shocked. He tried to pull out the dagger stuck in his brother’s back to deliver a final fatal blow to this annoying fellow, but at this moment, his brother had already turned around. His right hand’s short knife flashed a gleam in the darkness, accurately piercing into Gery’s neck. Blood splattered, and Gery didn’t have time to make any move before his neck was pierced by that short knife. He stared blankly, swayed two or three times, then fell to the ground with a heavy thud. The man also collapsed to the ground, his legs giving way. He struggled to raise his head, looking at the now dead Gery, revealing a ferocious smile.

“Without you, there’s still one thing I can do well, brother…” The man whispered softly, then turned around, reaching out to grab the gold coins on the nearby wooden table.

These are all mine, these are all mine!!

The man could no longer feel the pain from his back wound. Instead, a light, floating feeling filled his body. It was a strange comfort, as if one could float towards the sky.

As long as I have this money, I’ll be a rich man…

The outstretched hand fell to the ground like a puppet with cut strings, while on the man’s face, that happy, hopeful smile still remained.

But those lifeless eyes told everything.

“Is it over?” Julian strolled to the corpses of the two brothers, looking at them with a hint of regret.

“What a pity, I had already warned you.”

Saying this, Julian sighed regretfully, shrugged his shoulders, then took back the money bags.

“Well then, it’s time to do the real work…”

After putting the last money bag into his bosom, Julian muttered to himself, then reached out to grip the sword hilt and drew his sword.

The black blade flashed with an eerie brilliance under the lamplight, and with Julian’s movement, a bright red light emanated from the sword body.

“Time’s up, it’s time to wake up, princesses.”

With Julian’s words, the red light that had been swirling and entangling the black sword blade suddenly burst forth.