Chapter One

1

The sunlight struggled to penetrate the iron bars of the prison cell and spilled onto the floor. The morning air diluted the musty smell of the previous night in the cell a little. The damp air made the walls covered with mottled moss even wetter. Although the light wasn't sufficient, the moss on the walls still grew lushly.

The prison cells were always noisy in the early morning. The prisoners who had slept all day were bored and kept knocking on the iron bars, creating a cacophony of sounds. The jailers were already used to this. Only two energetic jailers shouted at the prisoners who were making the most noise in the cells and hit the iron bars hard with their long wooden truncheons as a deterrent. The rest of the guards just chatted among themselves and ignored the prisoners' noise. The guards who had been on the night shift all night were now looking forward to their colleagues coming to relieve them. They didn't have the patience to argue with these prisoners.

The prisoners who had been assigned odd jobs in the prison were called out one by one by the jailers. The jailers put light shackles on them and then let them start working. These prisoners had committed relatively minor crimes, were timid, and were easier to order around. Among these prisoners doing odd jobs, there were quite a few who were still minors. They were the youngest group in the prison. If they were any younger, they wouldn't have been locked up here according to the regulations.

In the most remote and darkest cell in the prison, Baz was the only prisoner still sleeping. He had no interest in the prison food that was as unappetizing as dog food because today was the day he was getting out of prison. Baz, a juvenile delinquent with fiery red hair, was the only minor in the prison who didn't have to do odd jobs.

"Bang, bang, bang!" The jailer hit the iron bars of Baz's cell hard, making a deafening noise. "Kid, wake up, pack your things, and you can leave," the jailer shouted. Then, the jailer took the bunch of keys from his waist and opened the cell door.

"Kid, see you around," a disheveled prisoner said.

"Don't take my bed when I come back next time," Baz replied.

"Hey, don't forget to bring me a blanket when you come in next time," another old prisoner also shouted.

"Sure, but you have to pay me for the blanket first," Baz answered unhurriedly.

"Stingy," the old prisoner muttered.

Seeing that Baz was still chatting with the prisoners, the jailer got impatient. He poked Baz's shoulder with the long wooden pole wrapped with iron and said, "Hurry up, stop talking nonsense! Anyway, you'll be back in a few months. You can talk then."

Baz left the quilt and blanket for the other prisoners and then walked out of the cell. Along the way, the prisoners in the adjacent cells greeted Baz one after another.

"See you next time."

"How soon will you be back?"

"Take a message home for me..."

"Come back soon."

The jailer was extremely annoyed listening to these prisoners' shouts. In his eyes, these were all hardened prisoners, the scum of the earth. Thinking of this, he pushed Baz again with the iron-headed wooden pole in his hand and urged, "Hurry up, hurry up."

When they came to the warden's office, the warden glanced at Baz. This was a guy who treated the prison like a hotel and came in and out frequently. The warden thought there was nothing to talk about with him and didn't plan to waste any more words, so he quickly signed Baz's release certificate.

"You can go now, but I know you'll be back soon, won't you?" the warden said casually.

"Yeah, yeah. I hope the food here will be a bit better next time I come in," Baz replied with a grin.

The warden was unhappy to hear this and turned to the jailer and ordered, "Take him out."

The jailer received the order and immediately pushed Baz out of the prison gate. The heavy iron gate closed behind Baz with a clang. Baz shrugged his shoulders, patted the dust off his body, and walked straight towards the city center.

Baz knew every street in the city like the back of his hand, but he wasn't in a hurry to go back to his hideout. Baz strolled around the streets slowly and then casually turned into the hat and clothing store at the south entrance of the street.

There were no other customers in the hat and clothing store. Baz gently tapped the bell in front of the counter. With a series of clear ringing sounds, the small door in front of the counter opened and the shop owner walked out from the low door. When he saw Baz, the shop owner said happily, "Ah, you're out! I forgot today was your release day."

"Get me a new set of clothes and tell the old man that I'm out. I'll take a walk around the street first," Baz said.

"Oh, unfortunately, I don't have your size in stock. There's one that's a bit too big. You can wear it for now," the shop owner said. Then he went through the low door behind him and soon brought out a set of clothes that were seventy percent new.

"Not bad, not bad. It'll do," Baz nodded and said.

Baz picked up the clothes, went into the fitting room, and soon came out neatly dressed. Baz looked especially energetic in his new outfit.

Walking on the streets and alleys, Baz looked at the pedestrians around him. He had been in prison for three months, and the people outside had already taken off their thick winter clothes and put on light and close-fitting spring clothes.

"Baz, is it you?" A voice suddenly came from behind.

Baz turned around and saw Jayne, the quick hand under Beta on South Street.

"Been away on a long trip for three months, huh?" Jayne said with a smile.

"Yeah, I almost didn't recognize the way back," Baz said. He was just wondering about the current situation and took this opportunity to inquire about it.

"Oh, a new store has opened in the south of the city. I heard the stuff there is good. All silk and leather," Jayne said.

"Thanks. I'll take a look around," Baz said.

"Have a good time," Jayne said and then left.

Upon getting the news, Baz immediately made his way towards the south of the city. He knew this city as well as the palm of his hand. Just as most shops were aware of his identity, Baz was equally familiar with the situation of every store, including what was sold there, what the shopkeepers were like, whether the clerks were vigilant or not, and what kind of customers frequented them, and so on. So, without much guidance from Jayne, Baz quickly located the newly opened store. As expected, the shopkeeper of the new store didn't recognize him. However, the fact that two of the clerks were locals gave Baz some confidence. He planned to observe carefully inside the store first to see if there were any opportunities.

Baz was well aware that when it came to this kind of thing, he had to act quickly. He needed to lock onto a target before the two clerks noticed him and then make a hasty retreat after getting what he wanted.

This store dealt in high-end goods like perfumes and jewelry. Just as Jayne had said, the customers coming in and out were either wealthy or noble. They were all dressed in silk garments or wrapped in precious furs, flaunting their luxury. Their carriages were parked right in front of the store, and servants closely followed them. Under such circumstances, it was truly not easy to make a move.

Nevertheless, this was no obstacle for an old hand like Baz. Taking advantage of the lack of attention, he quietly slipped into the store, quickly made a round inside, and when he came out, there were already two money bags in his pocket. He had a bountiful harvest.

Baz couldn't be more satisfied with such a result. He nimbly dodged into the alley beside the street. After looking around to make sure there was no one around, he took out the money bags and happily counted his gains for the day. As for the two empty money bags, Baz wouldn't keep them on him. He simply tossed them into the alley.

Patting the pocket full of coins, Baz walked contentedly towards his hideout.

The moment he stepped into the alley in front of the hideout, he was immediately spotted.

"Baz, it's really you!"

"Welcome back!"

"Jayne said you were back. I didn't believe it at first..."

"How was your luck today? Jayne said you went to the south of the city."

Hearing this, Baz slapped his pocket hard. The clear and loud sound of coins colliding came from the pocket. This sound was more persuasive than any words and immediately made everyone understand that he had a good harvest that day.

"Great job! A good start on the first day. Good luck!"

"Baz, you're really amazing!"

...

Amid the laughter and the crowd's surrounding, Baz smoothly returned to his hideout.

The hideout was a three-story building located in a deep alley. Compared with other three-story buildings in the city, it had nothing distinctive. Its structure was simple and crude, as long as it could accommodate people. Because the alley was too deep, sunlight could hardly penetrate it, and the light inside was very dim. The small rooms were filled with all kinds of clutter, in a mess, looking not much different from prison cells.

But in Baz's heart, this was his real home.

"Is it Baz?" With an old-sounding inquiry, a short old man slowly walked downstairs. His head was slightly bald on top, and his grayish-white hair hung sparsely on both sides of his cheeks. His beard was also sparse and unkempt. He was wearing a set of old black clothes and trousers, with the edges and corners already rubbed shiny, indicating that they had been around for quite some time.

"Welcome back," the old man said.

"You're still alive," Baz replied with a grin.

"If I died, there would be no one to hold a welcome party for you," the old man joked with a smile.

"If you died, we'd have welcome parties every day," Baz continued to tease.

"Alright, no more joking. You had a pretty good harvest today, right? Hand it over!" The old man said, stretching out his hand, clearly waiting for Baz to turn in his gains.

Baz grabbed a handful of coins and put them into the old man's hand.

"That's not enough. We haven't bought the wine for tonight yet," the old man said, shaking his head.

"Old bloodsucker," Baz cursed with a smile. Nevertheless, he still took out all the money in his pockets and finally turned his pockets inside out to show that he had handed everything over.

"Go take a bath first. Old Pi has already brought some clothes that fit you. They're a bit old, but the style is really nice," the old man said.

Baz smiled and agreed, following the old man's arrangement to take a bath. You know, a hot bath was a pleasure that couldn't be enjoyed in prison. In the past three months, Baz had at most just rinsed himself with water that was a bit warmer than cold water. So as soon as he returned to the hideout, the first thing that came to his mind was to soak in the bath and relax.

Once he got into the bath, Baz was completely immersed in it and forgot about the time. By the time someone came to call him, it was already getting dark.

Baz put on the new clothes. The old man was right. Although the clothes were a bit old, the style was really nice. It was a pity that this set of clothes was only suitable for wearing on an occasion like today. If he wore them on the street, it would be too conspicuous and easy to attract attention.

Dressed neatly, Baz walked into the hall. Everything had already been prepared in the hall. There was a big wooden barrel placed on the table in the middle, emitting an alluring aroma of wine. Baz hadn't touched wine for three months. For him, wine was the second thing he had planned to enjoy thoroughly after getting out of prison. It was really appealing.

As for the food, although it couldn't be called a luxurious feast, it was quite sumptuous. There was sizzling roast meat, fragrant roast chicken, big and fat fish, and a pot of tender stewed mutton. For Baz, who had eaten prison food for three months, it was an extremely tempting spread.

However, Baz wasn't in a hurry to start eating. He first tasted each dish and then poured himself a full glass of beer. Then he sat by the door, watching the younger brothers return to the hideout one after another.

The news of Baz's return had clearly spread among this group of people. Before it was completely dark, the younger brothers rushed back one by one. Each of them would warmly greet Baz when they saw him sitting by the door drinking beer.

In no time, the hideout became lively.

The hideout at night was Baz's favorite place. Although Baz wasn't very old, among these "golden fingers" (a nickname for thieves), he was the foreman and had quite a lot of prestige.

The old man was named Pam, and he was the boss here, in charge of this group of "golden fingers" who made a living with their skills.

Baz was thinking to himself that he didn't know how many new younger brothers had joined in during these three months. Now, roughly calculating, there were at least thirty or forty people in the hideout. Judging by this trend, it seemed that, just like two years ago, they would have to separate some people and set up a new hideout in another city to make a living.

Baz watched the younger brothers who were eager to return to the hideout one by one, and secretly wondered. Just now, the old man had told him not to drink too much wine as there was something to talk to him about later.

Could this matter be about asking him to lead a group of brothers and go out to set up his own business?

Baz couldn't help falling into deep thought. He had known the old man since he was six years old. Since then, he had been following the old man to pick pockets and steal on the street. At first, he served as a lookout, helping to gather information. Later, he gradually became a go-between, responsible for transferring the stolen goods. Finally, he became a "golden finger" and directly stole things. In a blink of an eye, twelve years had passed, and the hideout had split up and reunited four times.

Those former foremen had already split out long ago. Among them, some were quite successful and had established themselves firmly outside, but some were unlucky and got into trouble.

If he was also split out, what kind of fate would be waiting for him? Baz kept thinking about it in his heart.

If there was really a split of the hideout, who would be willing to follow him? And which place would be suitable to open up new territory?

South Port was the best nearby dock, but the security there was too strict. The second foreman who split out before had run into trouble in South Port. Baz still remembered the miserable scene when he quietly went to collect the body of that person. It was really tragic.

Luxembourg had the most wealthy people, but it was the earl's territory. Not only was it strictly managed, but they also had to be on guard against wars all the time. It was not easy to make a move there either.

Piton and Bart were too poor. They couldn't support so many people at all.

Baz frowned as he thought about it. He felt that splitting out at this time was really not a good opportunity, but there was nothing he could do. He could only take one step at a time and play it by ear.

Just when Baz was lost in thought, a younger brother came over with a basin of roast meat and said with a smile, "Boss, if you don't come over soon, all the delicious food will be snatched up."

Baz gave a wry smile. He thought to himself that it was true. At this time, they should enjoy the present day as much as they could. They could make other plans when they were really at the end of their rope. This was the usual attitude towards life for these "golden fingers". At worst, they could just go back to prison. They wouldn't starve to death with food and accommodation provided in prison.

Having figured this out, Baz put aside his concerns and joined the crowd competing for food. After all, today's banquet was held to celebrate his return to the hideout. He was the protagonist of this banquet. If the protagonist didn't get to eat good food and was still hungry, that would be really inappropriate and embarrassing to tell others.

Baz always kept the old man's reminder in mind. Although he enjoyed drinking beer, he was still constantly aware of moderation. After all, this barrel of wine was meant for forty or fifty people to drink, and it was barely enough. So even if Baz wanted to get drunk, there wouldn't be enough wine for him.

Fortunately, there was enough food to fill the stomachs of these people.

The hideout was as noisy as usual. In this place, every day seemed like a festival. Because everyone here knew very well that they should enjoy the present to the fullest. As for what would happen tomorrow, they would worry about it when tomorrow came. For them, who could get through the day smoothly, that in itself was worth celebrating.

There weren't usually so many delicious dishes. Now, with beer to add to the fun, everyone was even more overjoyed and couldn't stop having a good time.

When everyone was full and had drunk their fill, Baz didn't forget the old man's instructions. He walked straight up to the third floor and pushed open the old man's door.

The old man's bedroom was the tidiest room in the whole hideout. There were several paintings hanging on the wall. Baz knew very well that behind those paintings was where the old man hid his things. Along the west wall, there was a row of bookshelves. Baz had always been puzzled about why the old man brought so many books back.

Baz knew the old man's background like the back of his hand. The old man didn't have much learning. At most, he could recognize a couple of characters and barely read the official notices. He wasn't like that Audrey who knew so much knowledge. So these books were just for show.

Seeing that there was no one in the bedroom, Baz casually took a book from the bookshelf. Reading wasn't Baz's favorite pastime. He would rather sleep with his head covered than read a book. However, he was particularly interested in these books that the old man used to put on a front and wanted to see what kind of books they were.

Baz looked at the cover of the book. It said "On the Relationship between Divinity and Rationality". Baz had no idea what divinity was or what rationality meant. He was completely confused. He opened the book and started reading it. But after just a few lines, he felt dizzy and his head was in a mess like a tangled ball of yarn.

Baz quickly threw the book back onto the bookshelf and thought to himself that this thing must be beyond the old man's understanding. For the old man, this book was like a book from heaven. He definitely couldn't understand it either.

Just when Baz was thinking wildly here, the door opened and the old man walked in from outside.

"What do you want to talk to me about?" Baz asked straightforwardly.

"Ah, it's not a big deal. Just a small matter," the old man said as he turned around to close the door and then carefully peeked out of the window to make sure there was no one outside.

After making sure that there was no one on the stairs either and that all his subordinates were having a great time eating around the dining table, the old man then closed the window casually and drew the curtains.

Seeing this series of actions by the old man, Baz understood in his heart that it definitely wasn't as simple as the old man said. It was definitely not a small matter.

Sure enough, seeing that there was no one around, the old man was still not quite at ease. He leaned close to Baz and whispered, "The boss asked us to find a new face. He should be good-looking, smart, but a bit timid and easy to control."

"A girl?" Baz asked.

"No, a boy, two years younger than you, and looking clean," the old man said.

"Is it for Audrey again?" Baz immediately realized what was going on. This kind of thing had happened twice before. It must be that Audrey was going to use a new face to pull off a big deal again.

"Why doesn't Audrey go and find someone himself?" Baz asked.

"This matter can't be known by too many people. Audrey can't show his face conveniently. He's the brain, good at making plans, but when it comes to doing the actual work, it depends on you and me. Only a few people know about this matter. Besides the boss, Audrey, it's only you and me. You're tight-lipped, and the boss trusts you a lot, so the task of finding someone is given to you," the old man explained.

"Give me a scope. Don't find someone who is recognized by the target we're going to hit. That would be troublesome," Baz said. His worry wasn't unfounded. There had been such a mishap a few years ago. They found a stand-in, but the servant of the other party recognized him. Those two unlucky guys were still locked up in prison.

"Just look around here. Don't ask about anything else. Find someone with a clean background and no burdens," the old man instructed.

"How much time do I have?" Baz asked.

The old man thought for a while and said, "Three days."

Hearing this time limit, Baz felt a big stone in his heart had been lifted. He knew that although this matter was a bit troublesome, it wasn't impossible to handle. So he didn't ask any more questions and turned around to leave the old man's room.

Baz's bedroom was beside the corridor between the third floor and the second floor. Except for the old man's room, his bedroom was on the top floor. This place had always been where the foreman of the "golden fingers" lived.

Baz returned to his bedroom which he hadn't been back to for three months. Opening the door, he saw that the bedroom was fairly clean. It seemed that the old man had already ordered someone to clean it.

Baz's room wasn't much different from where the other "golden fingers" lived downstairs. It just had an extra table and wasn't as damp. Overall, it wasn't too different from the prison cells he was used to living in.

Baz casually took off his coat, put it on the table, and then lay down on the bed. Maybe it was because he had drunk beer before, or maybe it was because he was too excited today. Lying on the bed, Baz didn't feel sleepy at all. His mind was constantly thinking about the matter the old man had just told him.

Baz knew in his heart that the boss must be planning a big operation. After all, every operation personally carried out by Audrey in the past had brought quite rich rewards. Maybe if this operation was successful this time, there would be enough funds to keep the current hideout running, and the matter of splitting the hideout might be postponed.

In fact, from the characteristics of the person the old man asked to find, Baz could roughly guess what kind of operation Audrey was going to carry out. During his years as a "golden finger", he had witnessed similar things several times.

Baz speculated that Audrey must want that new face to pretend to be the son of a recently deceased wealthy person or something like that, so as to inherit a large sum of money logically.

Thinking that during the period when the newcomer was playing the role of the heir, he could enjoy so many good things that Baz might never be able to enjoy in his life, Baz couldn't help feeling envious. He could only imagine that kind of fun.

However, if Baz were really asked to play such a role, he would definitely not agree. Baz had heard about this kind of operation many times. Those newcomers really lived a luxurious life when they were playing the role of the heir. But when the matter was over, they became useless burdens, and extremely dangerous ones at that.

Although the boss didn't like the extreme method of killing people to silence them, it was often the simplest way to deal with things, so it was still frequently adopted. Even if some newcomers could narrowly escape being killed, the boss would send them to a very far place.

Those obedient newcomers, if lucky, could get a small sum of money to barely make a living. While those who were disobedient and hard to control were either silenced or sold to foreign black market merchants as slaves. It was said that the newcomers trained by Audrey were quite sought-after "commodities" in the eyes of those foreign black market merchants.

Just thinking about these things, Baz unconsciously fell asleep.

When he woke up the next day, the sun was already high in the sky. Baz put on his coat and walked downstairs. He saw that the leftover food from last night's welcome party had been piled together and cooked into a pot of stew. Usually, for the "golden fingers", this kind of stew was already a rare delicacy.

However, Baz didn't have the mood to taste it today. He ate a few mouthfuls casually to fill his stomach and then walked out of the hideout.

When it came to finding new people, Baz was quite proficient. Quite a number of the "golden fingers" under him were originally found by him from the slums.

But according to the old man's requirements, it was very difficult to find such a suitable newcomer in the slums. The children who had lived a life of hunger and cold in the slums for a long time were always full of fear towards life. Just like Baz himself, they were full of distrust towards everything around them and it was hard for them to meet the requirement of being "timid and easy to control".

What Audrey needed was a clean-looking and good-looking newcomer. For Baz, it wasn't that difficult to find such a person.

There were quite a lot of child laborers in the city. Most of them were children from families who came here from other places to make a living. The lucky ones could find a job that could fill their stomachs.

Among them, the number of such child laborers in the south of the city was the largest. This was because South Port was nearby. It was the most prosperous town in this area and also the largest dock in the south.

There were many shops and restaurants in South Port. Those children who were good-looking and smart could easily find a job as a waiter in a restaurant or get a position in front of a counter in a shop.

Working in a restaurant, at the very least, they could fill their stomachs. If they did a good job, they could occasionally receive some tips. If they worked in a shop, they were even luckier. A skilled clerk was just one step away from becoming a shopkeeper. If they worked hard for more than ten years, they might be promoted to the position of the second shopkeeper.

So these children could be regarded as the lucky ones among the poor children. They were full of beautiful hopes and yearnings for life. Baz thought that he should be able to find the kind of newcomer Audrey needed among them.

Thinking of this, Baz decided to set off for South Port. Although South Port was near Lair, it was actually seventy kilometers away from Lair. For ordinary people, this was considered a long trip and they definitely had to prepare luggage in advance and bring enough money.

However, for a top-notch "golden finger" like Baz, these were unnecessary. He had his own ways and didn't need to prepare like ordinary people at all.

Baz walked out of the city gate at a leisurely pace and strolled along the road leading to South Port. He was waiting there for the stagecoaches heading to South Port.

As a major dock, South Port had numerous stagecoaches going there every day. As long as one was quick and nimble enough to quietly climb onto the luggage rack at the back of the stagecoach when no one was looking, the rack filled with luggage could block the coachman's view perfectly, and one wouldn't be noticed at all. In this way, it was easy to hitch a ride on the coach bound for South Port.

The route from Lair to South Port was really busy. Before long, Baz heard the "creaking" sound of the wheels rolling on the road and the rhythmic hoofbeats coming from the distance behind him, getting closer and closer.

Baz quickly hid behind a big tree by the roadside. You see, the coachmen of the stagecoaches didn't like minors walking alone on the road, because they all knew that nine out of ten of these kids wanted to hitch a ride, so they would pay special attention to such children.

Baz knew the trick well. He quietly hid behind the big tree and waited patiently for the coach to pass by. At the moment when the coach brushed past the tree, Baz seized the opportunity and nimbly and quickly jumped onto the stagecoach.

Baz comfortably enjoyed the feeling brought by the galloping coach. He watched the trees on both sides of the road quickly recede backwards, the strong wind blowing against his face, and occasionally the coach would bump a little due to the uneven road. This experience was rather interesting. To be honest, if he wasn't afraid that the coachman would notice something unusual, Baz really wanted to shout out loud to vent the carefree feeling in his heart.

Baz had once dreamed that it would be nice if he could also own a stagecoach in the future. If he took the route from Luxembourg to South Port, which could be regarded as a golden route, after deducting all kinds of expenses every day, he could probably earn four or five silver coins. Calculated in this way, he could earn 1,800 silver coins in a year, which was equivalent to 180 gold coins. If he worked like this for five or six years, he could earn back the money for buying the coach. Moreover, if it was well maintained, a coach could be used for about ten years. Whenever he thought that he could earn nearly 200 gold coins every year, Baz couldn't help getting excited.

However, Baz also knew in his heart that this was just his wishful thinking. After all, a coach cost seven or eight hundred gold coins, which was definitely not a price he could afford.

Baz had never thought about using his "spoils" (stolen property) to buy a coach. He knew very well how stupid it would be to do so. The old man knew every theft case that happened on the street like the back of his hand. He even knew exactly how much money the owners had lost. It might be okay to pocket one or two gold coins occasionally, but anything more than that would be impossible.

Baz had witnessed several times that the lightest punishment the old man gave to those "golden fingers" who didn't follow the rules was to cut off their fingers. If anyone dared to resist or even try to escape, the bottom of the big river east of Lair would be their final destination. Their fate was really tragic.

In this place, no one could hide anything from the old man, and no one could escape the kill order issued by the boss. Under the boss, there was a person who made everyone tremble with fear, and that was Herbert.

Just thinking of Herbert would make even a fearless and audacious guy like Baz shiver involuntarily. Herbert could be said to be the strongest assassin in the entire Kingdom of France. Once he targeted someone, no one could escape his pursuit and would surely die.

Precisely because of this, the boss had been able to sit firmly in his position for thirty years. Although the United Guild in South Port and the Lord of Luxembourg knew in their hearts that the lair of the Thieves' Guild, whose influence covered most of the southern part, was in Lair, this medium-sized southern town, they never dared to launch a large-scale suppression operation. After all, no one wanted to lose their lives inexplicably while sleeping.

Moreover, no thieves' guild from other places had ever been able to establish a firm foothold in the south, which was also due to Herbert's prowess. So, in this place, any attempt to deceive the boss or the old man was extremely stupid and was simply courting death.

Perhaps the only way to raise the money to buy a coach without breaking the rules was to split off and become independent after the hideout was divided. However, Baz also knew in his heart that after the split, there would be a host of problems, and maybe his situation would be even more difficult than it was now. It was really a headache.