Steam Old Days: The Extraordinary Begins with a Corpse Collector

"Garret is working for the Viscount?"

Wesley visibly froze upon hearing the news.

He looked at Crown with a puzzled expression.

Seeing Wesley's reaction, Lyndon couldn't help but become interested.

"Of course, I wouldn't lie." Kron shrugged, then turned and pointed to the distant mountains. "The entire Dark Oak Forest is nearly fifteen square kilometers. How could just a few of us possibly keep watch over it?"

"Besides, sealing off the forest is a big deal. How many people around here depend on this forest for their livelihood? If they cause trouble and come to the Viscount's manor gates, the Viscount can't possibly shoot them with a gun, can he?"

As Kron spoke, the hounds behind him lay down on the ground, resting their chins on their front paws, their eyes half-closed, but their ears standing straight up.

"So the Viscount took in the surrounding residents, whether they were mushroom pickers, woodcutters, or old hunters like Garrett. As long as they were willing to come, they were all incorporated into the forest ranger team and paid thirteen pence a day. Anyway, after the forest was closed, they would have no livelihood, so at least they would have something to eat."

Wesley didn't reply; he just stared blankly at the brass buttons on Crown's green hunting suit.

"What? You still don't believe me?"

Kron chuckled as he looked at Wesley's bewildered expression.

He turned to his men and ordered, "You! Go to the guard post and call Garrett over. Tell him I need to speak with him."

A young guard responded and jogged towards the guard post.

Watching his men leave, Crown continued to persuade Wesley, "Hey Wesley, don't keep dwelling on the bad things of the past. The Viscount is treating us very well now!"

Wesley scoffed, picking up a small pebble from his feet and muttering under his breath, "But I haven't seen him say anything about the rotten things his dad did..."

As he spoke, he plopped down on the grass next to him.

Wesley hugged his knees, his eyes fixed on the hunting dogs behind Crown.

The hound also rolled its eyes, glanced back at Wesley, and let out a comfortable purr.

Kron brought over a leather water bag and handed it to Wesley: "Would you like some?"

Seeing that Wesley remained silent and didn't even blink, Crown shook his head helplessly.

"Do you want it?"

Kron looked at Lyndon and shook the water bag.

Lyndon wiped his lips.

"I'm a little thirsty, have some."

Lyndon pulled Crown to sit on the grass opposite Wesley.

Seeing that nothing had happened, the others returned to the stone bridge.

On the grass, Lyndon and Crown took turns sipping water from their leather water pouches.

During the journey, Lyndon asked Wesley about it out of curiosity.

"Friend, why was Wesley so excited when he heard Garrett had joined some kind of watchdog?"

Kron sighed, plucked a blade of grass from the ground, and put it in his mouth.

He recalled, "That was back when Mr. Sutcliffe was still alive."

"Satcliffe?"

"That's the Viscount's father, Sutcliff, the Viscount family name."

"Hmm, and then?"

"Then... Mr. Sutcliffe didn't treat us well. He levied heavy taxes, had a lot of connections, and was ruthless... In short, Wesley had a very bad impression of the Sutcliffe family."

"It's not just him, is it?" Lyndon suddenly said.

He noticed that Crown was speaking hesitantly, as if he was hiding something.

Lyndon already had the answer in his heart.

"It's probably because you're all dissatisfied with that so-called Mr. Sutcliff, but since his son came up and gave you benefits you didn't have before, you've forgotten the injustices and humiliations you suffered and continue to be slaves to this family."

Lyndon's words were very sharp, showing absolutely no respect for Crown.

Kron scratched his head awkwardly, unsure of what to say.

"Actually, the Viscount is really good to us..."

"So what?" Lyndon interrupted Crown. "He is still your master, and you are still your servants. Everything you have now is just charity given to you by him for some reason. If he wants to take it back, you will be penniless in no time."

"But now there is a man who is unwilling to forget the humiliation he suffered, and you want to make him like you, a man who feels ashamed to even mention his past."

With that, Lyndon stood up and looked down at Crown: "In that case, you seem even more pathetic."

Kron was speechless. He picked up his water bag and tried to stand up to be at eye level with Lyndon, but he felt powerless.

Suddenly, two figures appeared in Lyndon's field of vision.

They came running from a distance, their steps light and quick.

Lyndon recognized the first figure; it was the young guard.

Behind the guard was a lean, middle-aged man.

He had high cheekbones, slightly sunken eye sockets, and a pair of gray-blue eyes.

The men were dressed in the same dark green hunting outfits and carried the same double-barreled shotguns on their shoulders; the only difference was that their hats were not adorned with pheasant feathers.

"Captain, Garrett reporting for duty!"

Garrett stood ramrod straight, carrying a gun on his back.

Kron was speechless at this point; he simply pointed at Wesley across from him.

Garrett turned his head and saw Wesley sitting on the grass.

"Wesley?"

"Garret".

The two called out each other's names almost simultaneously.

Garrett rushed over to Wesley, who had just stood up when he was tightly embraced by two strong arms.

"I thought you weren't coming back!"

Garrett patted Wesley on the back.

He let out an excited growl.

"I told you, I would come back once I found my daughter," Wesley said calmly, suppressing his emotions.

"You found Giselle?!"

Garrett released Wesley, but his hand remained gripping Wesley's arm.

He shook Wesley with delight.

He only stopped shaking when Wesley nodded.

"I remember Gisele was already a big girl; she even brought me mushroom soup before!"

As Garrett thought about the past, the corners of his mouth couldn't help but turn up in a smile.

"If I weren't still working, I really would like to go back and see her."

No sooner had Garrett finished speaking than Crown, who was sitting on the ground, chimed in, "Okay."

"Captain, what did you say?" Garrett didn't understand what his captain meant.

"I said, you can go back now, and I won't deduct your salary."

"real!"

Kron nodded.

"That's great! Thank you, Captain."

Garrett bowed gratefully to Crown and then prepared to leave with Wesley.

"There is a horse-drawn carriage."

Wesley grabbed the excited Garrett and pointed to the carriage beside him.

"You rented a carriage? That's fine, that way you won't have to walk."

Garrett then climbed into the carriage.

Wesley and Lyndon followed closely behind.

"Huh? Who is this?"

Looking at the unfamiliar face in front of him, Garrett couldn't help but ask.

"Lydon, Lyndon Copperfield."

Before Wesley could introduce him, Lyndon extended his hand to Garrett.

"I am a guest invited by Wesley."

"Oh! Is that so!" Garrett nodded. "Judging from your accent, you don't sound like a Wiltling, are you from Luton?"

"It's very close. I'm from Chongqing."

"No wonder, it sounds like that to me too."

During the journey, Garrett suddenly noticed that Wesley had not said a word since getting in the carriage.

So he wanted to find some topics to talk about and liven up the atmosphere.

"Wesley, what do you think of these clothes? Feel the fabric, it's so nice."

Garrett patted his clothes and, by pulling Wesley's hand, wanted to share his joy with his friend.

"This was given to us by the Viscount, and he even pays us a salary every day. This is much better than what I used to do by hunting."

Garrett spoke at length, completely oblivious to Wesley's increasingly somber mood.

Finally, Wesley couldn't hold back any longer. He gripped Garrett's hand tightly, as if he had gone through a huge internal struggle before finally speaking.

"Garret".

"What's wrong, Wesley?" Garrett finally noticed that Wesley's expression was off, and he thought that Wesley was not feeling well.

But then Wesley said, "Why are you working for the Sutcliffe family?"