Secret Deal

When the soldiers saw the door open, they tried to barge inside without a single word.

"Stop right there!"

Aiya's brow arched as she glared at the soldiers.

"Who gave you permission to search this place?"

"It was General Bill's order!"

"Bill? Did he not tell you that Lord Byron and I are on very good terms?"

The soldiers froze, exchanging glances before their leader looked up at Aiya.

"And you are?"

"My name is Aiya. I am merely a common courtesan."

"A courtesan dares to obstruct a military order? You must have a death wish!"

The leader was about to say more when a companion behind him pulled at his sleeve.

"Boss, I remember this Aiya. She is the most celebrated socialite in Moonrise City."

In any era, such women were figures of vibrant influence.

They could associate with high-ranking administrative officials above and laugh with underworld bosses below.

Their sphere of influence within a city was often substantial.

Furthermore, many secret deals were conducted through such socialites.

One could say that such a person was not someone a lowly captain could afford to offend.

A single word from her could cost him his life.

The leader was stunned, and as he looked at Aiya again, cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

"This..."

For a courtesan, the most vital skills were observation and quick wit; it was their livelihood.

They noticed even the slightest change in expression.

Seeing the difficulty on the leader's face, Aiya knew she had the upper hand.

"This bedchamber of mine—not to mention you, even your direct superior Bill would not dare take a single step inside."

Aiya's expression turned icy as she took a step forward, her presence overbearing.

"The fact that you actually want to search my room... you certainly have a lot of nerve!"

"I... this subordinate... I..."

The leading soldier was paralyzed with fear, not knowing what to do.

The soldier behind him tugged at his coat again and whispered in his ear.

"Boss, how about we go back and ask General Bill? She is right. I remember her; this woman is very powerful. Many noble elders and such have dealings with her. Let us not go looking for death."

The leader raised his hand to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead and stole another glance at Aiya.

"This... this subordinate was unaware. I have caused offense. I will leave immediately."

Without waiting for Aiya's reaction, he turned and led the soldiers back downstairs.

Seeing this, Aiya couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, while the Madam standing beside her was full of pride.

Watching the soldiers retreat in disarray, the Madam put her hands on her hips.

"Hmph! Mere common soldiers daring to offend us. I was truly worried your necks weren't stiff enough to handle it!"

She played the role of the person riding on someone else's coat-tails to perfection.

"I say, Aiya, you are fine now, but what about the business downstairs? Is today's trade ruined? Oh, Madam... your Madam relies on this to support the household! Boohoo!"

It had to be said that when it came to acting, those raised in such places were true masters.

The Madam turned her head and began to cry as she spoke, tears pattering down her cheeks.

As they hit the floor, they didn't splash but rather rolled into small pink balls of powder.

Looking at the Madam's face, several tear tracks were clearly visible, leaving paths across her heavily powdered white face.

"Madam, do not worry yet. I will fix my makeup and head down shortly. Go down first to stabilize the situation so today's guests do not feel neglected."

"Ah, I will go down now. You must be quick; our business depends on you."

"Rest assured, Madam, I am going now."

"Good, good!"

Watching the Madam leave, the smile on Aiya's face slowly hardened.

She turned back into the room and scanned the seemingly empty space.

In two steps, she reached the bed and whipped back the quilt, revealing a bashful-looking Izzy.

He looked like a young girl caught in a compromising position.

"Oh my... I have been discovered!"

Aiya raised a hand to her forehead, a vein throbbing at her temple.

Watching Izzy roll around on the bed like a loach, she usually wouldn't mind his antics, but today was different.

Taking a deep breath to calm herself, Aiya spoke.

"Izzy, explain to me exactly what is going on. Who is that woman? What kind of trouble have you caused this time?"

"It is nothing... just doing a bit of small business."

Izzy's body, which was twisting like a loach, stiffened as he answered cautiously.

"Small business? Hah!"

Aiya let out a cold laugh.

"Small business would cause General Bill to lead troops here to search for someone? And that woman, who is she exactly?"

Izzy climbed out of bed, looking at Aiya with a speechless expression.

He spread his hands.

"If I said I did not know either, would you believe me?"

"I would believe a ghost before I believed you!"

"Then just hand me over! At worst, it is just a death sentence!"

Izzy looked desperate, his fake performance almost overflowing.

Seeing that Izzy wouldn't even answer her question and was instead playing the rogue.

Aiya clutched her chest in anger.

"You! Fine, you stay right here. I will deal with you when I return."

As she spoke, she cast a meaningful glance toward the bed.

"And that little 'girlfriend' of yours can wait here as well!"

When she said those last three words, Aiya almost ground them out through her teeth.

"Whoa! Shhh, do not talk nonsense. She is my employer, not a girlfriend."

Izzy quickly explained, and the moment the words left his mouth, Aiya froze.

A faint blush appeared on her elegant face as she blurted out, "Are you serious!?"

Her voice jumped an octave, catching Izzy off guard.

"Huh?"

Aiya seemed to realize her loss of composure and cleared her throat, lowering her voice again.

"Cough! I am asking... was what you just said true?"

"She is my employer. Truly just an employer. It has absolutely nothing to do with being a girlfriend."

Izzy put away his smile and answered with a serious face.

Aiya studied Izzy up and down for a long moment before finally nodding.

"I will believe you for now. You better explain everything clearly when I return."

"Mhm."

"Also, do not leave the room. Most people would not dare search my quarters, understood?"

"Understood, understood. I am sorry to trouble you again."

Izzy spoke with some embarrassment, but Aiya merely pursed her lips, chiding him almost flirtatiously.

"It is not the first time. Honestly, can you not just live a quiet life?"

"Hehe!"

"Wait here. I will be back soon."

"Mhm."

Soon, the room returned to silence.

Izzy walked to the door and listened carefully to the sounds outside.

After confirming no one was there, he returned to the head of the bed and lightly tapped the frame.

"Do not make a sound. It is safe for now."

Luo Li was hidden within the bed frame. It seemed that in this era, many people liked using secret compartments to hide things or people.

Her current location was a hidden space beneath the bed.

The space was very small, basically only enough for one person to hide.

Within this secret compartment, there were also some books.

Beside them sat two large leather trunks, about half the height of a person.

It was so crowded that she didn't even have room to move.

"I understand."

She responded in a whisper, and then Luo Li's gaze naturally fell upon one of the books.

Leaving a book in a hidden compartment felt out of place no matter how one looked at it.

Although it wasn't good to touch others' things without reason, she still picked up the book.

The book had no cover and no name.

Luo Li opened the first page in confusion, using a faint trace of holy energy to illuminate the text.

After reading a few lines, she closed the book.

A look of realization flashed in her eyes.

This wasn't a book at all; it was a ledger!

Furthermore, this ledger did not belong to the brothel. The names, dates, and events recorded within were different.

The names seemed to be real, but the events were recorded in coded language.

Clearly, it was a register for certain secret deals.

She hadn't expected to see such a thing in a place like this.

The first entry recorded the accounts of the Cavendish family, with the trading partner being the Borgia family.

【Sheep, two thousand, one hundred thousand gold coins.】

Two thousand sheep, no matter how valuable, would not be worth one hundred thousand gold coins.

Therefore, it was certain that "sheep" was a code name.

Luo Li wasn't familiar with the other families, but she knew the Cavendish family all too well.

After all, she had personally manipulated things to give that family their monopoly.

Indeed, they were the head of the slave trade, and the "sheep" passing through their hands...

If there were no surprises, it should mean humans.

However, slave prices generally weren't that high.

Based on average prices, each of these so-called "sheep" would cost fifty gold coins.

Equivalent to five hundred thousand!

At this price point, these were definitely not ordinary slaves.

The Cavendish family actually had such secret deals with the Borgia family?

Slave trading was legally permitted, so there was no need to use hidden ledgers.

In that case... one could imagine that this was absolutely not a legal or regulated slave trade.

Or perhaps, one party required the transaction to be kept secret, which resulted in such a high price.

The Cavendish family had no reason to hide it because they controlled the slave monopoly.

All slaves required the Cavendish family's approval to be sold.

Then the only possibility was the Borgia family.

It was their family that required the secret transaction.

Looking at the two leather trunks, they might contain black money.

After thinking it over, Luo Li placed the ledger back where she found it.

Now was not the time to deal with these matters, and even if she wanted to.

She could go directly to the Cavendish family.

After all, she currently held the lifeblood of the Cavendish family in her hands.

Once their monopoly was revoked, the Cavendish family would collapse instantly.

However... one thing was strange.

In the entire Kingdom of the Moon, there were many places to buy and sell slaves. The Borgia family didn't rely solely on a major city like Moonrise City to survive.

Why would they conduct such illegal transactions in Moonrise City?

The hotel where Luo Li had stayed previously was clearly renovated with a huge amount of money.

This indicated that the Borgia family was not short of money.

They didn't need to resell slaves, especially since slaves at fifty gold coins each wouldn't be profitable.

It seemed that no matter how one looked at it, the Borgia family had no reason to engage in such trades.

Unless... unless they bought these slaves for some unspeakable secret.

Human experimentation?

Or perhaps, selling them to some faction that had to remain hidden?

Thinking about it, to conduct such a trade in Moonrise City, these slaves would inevitably have to hide their identities.

But with over two thousand people, how could their identities be hidden?

It didn't seem like a normal situation at all.

Wait!

Moonrise City was one of the ports of the East Continent.

If these two thousand people were sent away directly, where would they go?

To Seaview City?

There seemed to be no need for that, as the Cavendish family also had influence there.

That meant they weren't going to Seaview City.

Departing from Moonrise City, aside from going south to Seaview City, there was also the route north.

And there were only two destinations to the north.

One: the Great Wall.

Two: the demon island.

Could they be sold to the demon island?

Luo Li sucked in a breath of cold air.

If these slaves were intended for the demon island, then there was indeed a need for secrecy.

And as for such transactions...

She continued to flip through the book, and one transaction after another appeared before her eyes.

Besides transactions similar to "sheep."

There were also transactions regarding "fishing floats."

And transactions for "bear skins."

Luo Li mainly looked at the trades related to the Borgia family.

Their transactions involved many things, basically all written using code names.

If fishing floats were ships, then what were bear skins?

Armor?

Bear meat?

Raw metal materials?

Thinking back to the demon elites, almost every one of them wore armor.

With the production capacity of the demon army, it was absolutely impossible for them to have so much armor.

Moreover, the builds of demons were often taller and larger than humans or beastmen.

The captured armor, unless it was custom-made and reworked, could not be worn by demons.

In other words... if these transactions were as she suspected.

Then this Borgia family was likely one of the informants for the demon race.

Although there might not be any demons within the Borgia family itself.

This trade must carry enormous profits.

Otherwise, the Borgia family wouldn't go to such great lengths.

Thinking of this, Luo Li took a deep breath and put the book down.

The sound of a door opening and light footsteps came from outside.

At the same time, Aiya's gentle voice drifted in.

"It is fine now. The soldiers have withdrawn."

Hearing Aiya's voice, Luo Li didn't rush out, but waited for Izzy's voice.

It wasn't until Izzy lifted the bedsheet and opened the door to the secret compartment.

Only then did Luo Li feel at ease.

She looked up at Izzy, who smiled and nodded.

"Come out. Since Aiya says it is fine, then it should be fine."

Luo Li nodded and stepped out of the secret compartment, turning her gaze toward Aiya.

She hadn't looked closely before, but seeing her again, even Luo Li herself couldn't help but be a bit stunned.

She was truly a beauty as pure as a lotus.

Every smile and gesture carried a charm that would make a man's heart flutter.

Izzy sat on the edge of the bed and closed the compartment before turning to Aiya.

"Aiya, this is my employer, Miss Li Luo."

Li Luo...

"Hello, Miss Li Luo. My name is Aiya."

"Li Luo."

Luo Li gave a simple introduction, but Aiya merely looked at her with a smile.

"Miss Li Luo must be a noble, right? Such delicate skin and noble air are not often seen."

Aiya stared intently at Luo Li.

"What is Miss Li Luo's family name? Perhaps I could notify your family to come and get you."