Black Sail
Chapter 214: CCXIV. Depression Blade Technique

Chapter 214: CCXIV. Depression Blade Technique

Liszt had already lost forty Golden Dragons.

The stalling strategy was set in motion—sending a subordinate to call back all the key members who were messing around outside, each to receive three hundred Golden Dragons to pocket for now, with the rest of the money’s distribution pending, allowing a month’s time to discuss the specifics of the partnership shares.

When Furry’s girlfriend flipped Reyn’s feet over, toppling his mundane reverie with her fluff and jade-like pads not yet finished attending to him, Reyn had come back directly.

Upon hearing it was about getting money, everyone was exceedingly eager, except for those who had fought alongside Emperor Cang, Emperor Yu, Emperor Hong, and the apocalypse-bringing courtesan—Jiuyi Emperor—all of whom had returned.

The others had no objections to this plan; the old core system simply wasn’t enough anymore, necessitating an industrial upgrade.

Seeing the card game in progress, Morison, Archer, and Shadi joined the gambling fray.

With the arrival of these three gents, there were nothing but snickers, as if the God of Wealth had come again.

Claude came too, bringing the coffee shop manager—or rather, his fiancée.

"Is that Tani standing outside the door?"

The bespectacled manageress felt someone familiar, asking Fen as she hadn’t seen Tani for so many years, noticing how greatly she had changed.

"Yes."

Fen, seeing several rich players with poor card skills arriving, didn’t mind playing a bit longer.

Wolman didn’t allow Swan to play anymore; he was less straightforward than most—while no cheating had been detected, if he wanted to cheat, he’d do so without anyone being the wiser, after all, it’s not cheating if you don’t get caught.

Swan was speechless; did he really need to cheat against these blind, bungling players?

Cheating was a required course in the Thief Guild, starting with pushing limits in numerical games and memorizing backboards before even discussing cheating techniques like double dealing, dealing from the bottom, middle-pile manipulations, sleight of hand with cards up sleeves, marking cards with potions and fake hair—these tricks could elevate the game to an art form for the insiders. For outsiders, it was a guaranteed loss; for insiders matching wits with cheating techniques, sometimes it already ascended to the artistic.

Whereas these cavemen all placed their hopes on luck, winning effortlessly without cheating.

Liszt hesitated upstairs, taking his time to come down.

He carried the burden of an archetypal first boyfriend.

Tyler’s full name, Tyler Francis.

Despite Tyler now being the big boss of the Triad Gang, it was said that his father was once a noble from a small country, but had fallen on hard times. By Tyler’s generation, they were barely scraping by, always short on money, deeply in debt, exploited ruthlessly by others—as the saying goes, "The land always yields new oxen and horses, ripe fish and fruit fill my belly."

Later on, Tyler got ruthless, becoming a pirate around the same time as the Turbid River Dragon, Hened—though slightly afterwards.

Discovering the strategic location of Heaven Port, he didn’t mix it up in the dangerous Narrow Sea Golden Waters, where nations frenziedly issued privateer certificates leading to chaotic brawls; with rapid changes akin to seasonal systems. Those missing out on Grandmaster within a season were often devoured by winners, the low ranks simply erased, gone for good.

Tyler played it safe in the East Sea Domain, lurking until the present day. With the Soul Absorption strike, he’d butchered countless pathetic figures, finally emerging as one of the top four dominators.

Therefore, after becoming prosperous, Tyler still upheld noble values in raising his daughter strictly; she had the typical missy demeanor—slightly willful but not overly so—otherwise, she was top-notch in all other aspects.

And as Tani’s first boyfriend, Liszt had his reservations.

What if Tani snidely remarked upon seeing him,

"Hey, isn’t this the pirate? Haven’t seen you in years; gotten pretty shabby, huh?"

Damn!

Aiming to become a venerable artiste.

Liszt didn’t know why Tani had come to him; strictly speaking, she was still his girlfriend, as they had never formally ended their relationship. The first year she went to study in Aran, she still sent him letters, though they eventually led to nothing.

He never cared much about his looks; in the heart of winter, he donned the standard pirate’s uniform—a waterproof black rubber boot, lantern trousers, and a tattered fleece-lined wool coat.

Screw it, he thought. What could they do, eat him?

Liszt made his way down to the first floor.

Old Wei had Ben tidying up tables and benches. Tomorrow was the 28th, with no business at all. Everyone on the island was at home for the family reunion—who would go out for a good time?

Aside from the year-round working girls of Heaven Port and the restaurants catering to the New Year’s feast, just about everyone would close up shop for a while.

Old Wei was also preparing to close his business for a week, leaving only the back door open, as the core members of Black Sail still needed to come back to sleep in the inn. This year’s annual banquet would probably be the same as before, held on the second floor.

Mr. Archer would make an extremely rare show of his life’s learning, allowing everyone to taste the ultimate royal cuisine that only the Gion King could enjoy.

Just as Liszt was coming downstairs, he spotted a graceful figure at the door, sheltering from the snow, with her back to the door and standing about 175 centimeters tall.

As a highly educated person returning from studying abroad, her silhouette alone spoke volumes about her fashion sense, with a beautifully tailored over-the-knee flared coat, a black corset to one side, and the glossy fur trims on her high boots that were clearly not from any ordinary Magic Beast. Wearing a black beret, her chestnut wavy hair fell to her mid-back.

"Tani?"

Liszt tentatively asked.

Ben, the Shadow Messenger of the Thief Guild, cursed Liszt a thousand times in his heart after working here for so long, knowing that Liszt had a wife who scored a hundred out of a hundred, and one hundred and one. Now here was a young lady delivered to his doorstep. Did you give her some special "Ye Zi" that she can only buy from you?

Ben was naturally morose and began to speculate as such.

Seeing his hands idle, Old Wei hit him with a feather duster he was using to clean the tables.

"Fuck!"

Ben considered himself quite the badass, but now here he was, putting up with nonsense in this backwater. Watch out, he might just unleash his Depression Blade Technique.

"Focus on the job," Old Wei said, believing the inn indeed needed someone else to look after the place when he couldn’t step away, trusting this youngster with the responsibility.

Startled by the familiar voice, Tani turned her head around.

Liszt clenched his fist, hard.

Such a transformation.

Before, she gave off the vibe of a gentle-natured, noble lady, but now she had become an elegant, literary young woman.

Taylor’s family genes were exceptionally strong; even at his age, with one blind eye, he could still be picked out as a handsome older man. And with his estate, the wife he chose would also be from a fallen noble family.

In the Western Continent, the theory of bloodline was widely accepted, especially after the research results from the Northern Prison came out, leading super-first-class families like Astalia to sponsor online influencers to endorse them.

"Mm."

Tani smiled without showing her teeth, merely grinning enough to reveal two shallow dimples, her blue eyes as tranquil as the reflection of the summer sky on gentle waves.

"It’s been so long since I’ve seen you. How is Aran?"

Liszt forcibly found a topic; he knew full well how Aran was doing—those running the trains surely couldn’t get any sleep.

Tani tucked a lock of chestnut hair behind her ear. She wasn’t here for pleasantries with Liszt, for a few strained exchanges followed by a complete cooling of their relationship was not what she desired.

Though Taylor had arranged for a tutor-cum-bodyguard, those mechanical Magic Puppet-like beings hardly counted as human. Being alone abroad, her social skills had significantly improved.

A conversation amidst such atmospheres could only become more awkward.

Before Tani could speak,

"Why are you standing out there like a fool? It’s so cold, you’ll catch a disease. Come in quickly."

Liszt just wanted to quickly send her off. That woman Meredith threatened him using Sharon, who knew when she would drop a bombshell? From now on, he had to treat this sister well, even if it meant doing it ten times a day, he’d force down medicine if he had to.

And now another Tani.

The mad woman might chop him up into bits and use Necromancy to turn him into some kind of automatic weapon; after all, she wouldn’t want to part with him.

For someone as badass as himself to end up as a cannon, that would be way too tragic.

"No need, I’ll just say a few words and leave quickly. I haven’t written to you in so long, aren’t you mad at me?"

Tani’s presence now was that of a woman capable of standing on her own.

Even in winter, Liszt felt a cold sweat down his back.

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