Chapter 38: Paint
"I'll bring the mer to your, my lord," Ryan bowed and tried to walk away, but the guards around him started to follow him. Gulping, he gazed at the young lord. "You can be assured, my lord. I will bring the hybrid to you."
"Yes, I'm assured alright; that's why my guards are all following. What if you had a sudden impulse to run? Won't I lose my dear hybrid because of that?" the young lord chuckled playfully.
Ryan gritted his teeth. They would have just turned and left when the gates were covered with guards. He wouldn't have acted cocky and approached this man. It was all his fault. Now, because of him, his brothers are also in danger of losing their fortune.
"Come on, stop dawdling," Han Guiling smirked widely. "Or else, would you also like to play with this lord~"
"Disgusting bastard…" Ryan gritted his teeth loudly and walked out.
Han Guiling's eyes narrowed. He slightly waved his hand, and a few men dressed completely in black appeared out of nowhere. "Keep a watch on him. Looks like he has more precious things than he had let on. Oh, and make sure my mer is completely undamaged and well. I don't want this man to do anything to it out of spite."
The men in black nodded silently and dashed out of the window.
"Master, do you really intend to bring mers into our household? I have heard rumors that they are a force to be reckoned with. What if it attacks us?" the close servant who was silently observing all this spoke up.
Han Guiling gazed at his personal servant with a small sigh. "Do you really think I would have asked for the mer for that reason?" he massaged his aching forehead. "The new king of the mer kind is imposing upon all major cities to submit any mers they find. If we can give these mers to him, we can have the trade routes cleared out for us."
The Han family was the most prestigious merchants in the past. But since the mers had established their homes in their trade route, they had been constantly creating troubles for them, and soon the family declined.
The once flourishing Han family in the main city was pushed back so much that they had to move to a rural city of Hui. It was such an embarrassment.
Of course, as the inheritor of the Han family, he wanted to reestablish that glory. Now he was given that chance, and he would do anything to try to trade again.
"I've heard East India has a very special cotton. I bet it will be a great hit here," he pulled out the map and gazed at the trade routes. Soon, these oceans will be filled with their ships. He could really envision it.
"What if the mer king does not give in?"
"Then we will kill the mers. What use are they if they can't even be used as trade materials?" Han Guiling glanced at his personal servant. "I have heard eating mer meat can make you immortal."
Ryan was pushed out of the gate followed by the Han family guards. He had thought he would be able to give tail and run, but these guards were very cautious. They had tied a rope around his hands to make sure he would not just run off.
'Fuck this… I hate these men in power…' he walked over to the inn.
The carriage was still at the same place they had left it, and two of his brothers were sitting outside.
"Boss!"
"Brother!"
They both shouted, but as soon as they noticed the guards behind him, they pulled out their swords and rushed towards them.
"Stop!" The guards swiftly placed a sword on Ryan's neck. "One more step, and your boss will be headless."
Ryan gulped, peering at his brothers. "Listen to them."
"Brother, what happened? You said you will scout around... how did you..."
"Just listen to them and give them the hybrid," he gestured to the carriage and winked. The guards do not know that the lord had asked for the mer as well. Might as well trick them into thinking they only had a hybrid.
"The hybrid. Bring him out."
One of his brothers caught his wink and frowned. He moved to the back of the carriage and pulled out the unconscious hybrid.
The guards quickly walked up to him and pushed him out of the way.
"Hey!"
"There are more mer corpses here!" the guards shouted to the others.
"Apprehend the carriage."
"No!" the kidnappers tried to fight them off but were overpowered. Soon, all four of them were bruised up and tied like sausages.
They were tossed into the back of the carriage along with the mer corpses and driven into the city. The city guards initially stopped them, but as they saw the Han family guards, they let them in without a word.
Ryan in the back felt them move into the city. "Fuck… I fucked up... sorry, brothers."
"What happened?"
"I was trying to hitch a deal, but that lord had other ideas…"
"It's all because of this hybrid that we are caught."
"I think it was bad luck… I heard mers can curse people."
"Shit!"
Ryan kicked the unconscious half-mer. "I… I hope the lord doesn't kill us..."