Chapter 215: Misfortune Only Seeks the Unfortunate
Old John didn't continue speaking after that.
But Lynn could already guess.
"The surgery fees were also used to pay off your brother's gambling debts?"
Old John nodded.
"I simply couldn't save any money. During the hardest times, Greisha and I didn't know where our next meal would come from."
"Sir Lynn, I haven't had much schooling, and I don't understand grand philosophies, but... but I just don't understand why I work so hard, and Greisha tries her best to help me, yet our lives are still so bitter?"
"And my brother, how can he so brazenly spend the money I painstakingly earned? Doesn't he know that our family simply has no assets to squander?"
"It's not that I don't value family, truly, but I have a daughter to raise. I once promised my wife that I would take good care of our daughter. Yet, Greisha is already so grown, and has always suffered. I can't even cure her leg."
By the end, Old John covered his face with his hands, sobbing uncontrollably.
And Greisha, hidden in the inner room, was already in tears.
Lynn didn't rush him.
Only after Old John's emotions had stabilized did he continue to ask.
"So how did you end up here?"
"One night, that Alfred brat broke into our home. He'd been drinking somewhere and was dead drunk, demanding money from me. I had none to give him, so he told my daughter to sell herself..."
"I couldn't take it anymore, so I fought with him, then moved out of the village and came to Novigrad."
"We've lived here for about half a year. Even though it's in the slums, the feeling of not having to use the money I earn from hard work to pay off my brother's debts is truly wonderful."
"Then one day, Alfred found us again."
Lynn asked in confusion, "How did he know you came to Novigrad?"
Old John shook his head: "I don't know. Maybe because the village we lived in wasn't far from Novigrad, so he guessed we wouldn't go to other cities, only Novigrad."
"But none of that matters. What matters is that when he appeared before us this time, he said he had joined a local Novigrad gang. If we didn't give him money, he'd call his gang brothers to smash our shop."
"At that time, I actually had some extreme thoughts, like just grabbing a knife and fighting him to the death. But then I thought of my Greisha. Without me, she, a little girl, would surely not survive in the slums."
"I... I can't imagine what tragic things she would suffer if I were gone..."
"So I had no choice but to kneel to my brother, begging him to leave us alone. He had already ruined us enough. All the money his creditors took from us before... let it be, it's in the past, I don't want it anymore. I just begged him to stop bothering us now."
"But my words somehow offended Alfred, and he suddenly got very angry and started yelling."
"And then, your companion, the witcher named Geralt, appeared."
Lynn asked, "So, he beat him?"
Old John lowered his head.
"Yes."
"That witcher beat Alfred severely, then left. We haven't seen him since."
"Later, the guards came to inquire about the situation. Even though we repeatedly explained that Sir Geralt only acted to protect us, they still issued a wanted poster... I'm sorry!"
Old John suddenly left his chair and knelt on the floor: "If you want to vent your anger, I understand, but please, only hit me. Spare my daughter."
Thud!
The wooden teacup fell to the floor, spilling its hot water.
Anxious Greisha rushed over, but stumbled.
Just as she was about to fall to the ground.
She suddenly felt a gust of wind.
The witcher helped the stunned girl to her feet, making her stand steadily again.
Only then did he step back a few paces.
As soon as he stepped back, Old John quickly scrambled up from the floor and went to check on his daughter.
"You've misunderstood. I have no intention of seeking retribution. Although a wanted poster was issued for my companion by the City Hall, I believe the City Hall councilors are reasonable and good people. If we explain it properly, they will listen."
"Actually, there's something I'm curious about... When my companion came here each time, did you notice any unusual scent on him?"
Old John and Greisha both paused: "Unusual... scent?"
"Like, the scent of a certain perfume? Did you notice it?"
Lynn said this while looking around the shop.
The reason he asked this was because, with his witcher senses activated, he could "see" a lingering scent of perfume in the shop.
And this faint scent clearly didn't belong to the bakery.
"Before, I hadn't paid attention, but now that you mention it... yes, there seems to be a slight scent of perfume."
Old John nervously rubbed his hands: "Is... is there a problem?"
"No, nothing, forget about that... You just mentioned that Alfred claimed he was part of a Novigrad gang. After he was beaten, did any gang members come to bother you?"
Old John shook his head: "No."
"Good."
Lynn had heard enough here, and in his mind, the true picture of the events was gradually becoming clear.
He took ten crowns from his runic leather pouch and placed them on the table.
"Last question, where does your brother, Alfred, live?"
...
If you were to ask about the characteristics of slum houses, besides being dirty and foul-smelling, they were undoubtedly chaotic.
Unlike houses in other areas, slum houses were haphazard, with all sorts of illegally constructed dwellings packed tightly together, leaving only a crooked, narrow street.
If it could even be called a street.
After countless turns in this winding street, Lynn finally arrived at the house of Old John's brother, Alfred.
It was a shack cobbled together from various mismatched materials.
The house wasn't large, visible from the outside.
It didn't even have a door, just a piece of cloth serving as a curtain.
Standing outside the shack, Lynn activated his witcher senses and could clearly perceive that there was only one man lying on a cardboard box inside.
.....
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