After a moment of hesitation, the door was opened from the inside. A pale and thin girl opened the door. She was petite and looked like she was about 14 or 15 years old, but her tired face made her look like she was in her twenties.
Feng Chou turned around and threw two large copper coins to the child. He was in high spirits as he skipped away.
The girl let Feng Chou into the room. It was a narrow room, about five meters deep and three meters wide. In the innermost part of the room, there were two wooden bunk beds in the corner. One bed was wider and leaned against the inner wall, while the other was narrower and leaned against the left wall.
In the middle of the room, there was a small table. On the table, there were pots of paste, paper boxes, wooden boxes, and some pasted or half-finished matchboxes. There were two small stools beside the table. One of the stools was empty, while the other had a dustpan on it. In the dustpan, there were some finished matchboxes tied together with cotton thread.
Opposite the table, on the lower bunk of the narrow bed, sat a haggard old man. He looked at Feng Chou and seemed to want to say something, but he kept coughing and kept interrupting him.
After a long time, the old man finally stopped coughing. He looked at Feng Chou tiredly and asked, "Sir, I'm dying. I don't know what a dying man like me can do for a noble gentleman like you."
Feng Chou turned around and said to the girl, "Can you please leave for a moment?
I have something to talk to Mr. Chapman about. "
The girl looked at the old man hesitantly. At the old man's signal, she turned around and walked out of the room, closing the door from the outside.
After confirming that the girl had left, Feng Chou said, "Mr. Chapman, please allow me to introduce myself. I'm Leo Baron Amborite."
"As for why I'm here, I'll tell you the truth. I came to you because I'm interested in Viscount Chapman's domain."
"Recently, I've purchased Wood Manor. You must know that it's a knight's domain in the south of Viscount Chapman's domain. During my investigation of this knight's domain, I've discovered something, which led me to make some judgments."
"So I noticed that the ownership of this viscount is still under the name of the Chapman family, which means it's under you, the only direct heir of the Chapman family."
This old man was the second son of the death-seeking Viscount Chapman.
"I'm here to buy this Viscount Domain from you."
The old man lying on the bed seemed to be in disbelief. He asked, "Are you saying that you want to buy Chapman Ghost Castle?"
Feng Chou said, "Yes, I don't just want to buy Ghost Castle. I want to buy the entire Viscount Chapman's domain."
The old man thought for a while and asked, "Sir, can you tell me what you found that made you make such a crazy decision?"
Feng Chou said, "It's actually very simple. During my investigation, I found that the influence of Chapman's Ghost Castle is slowly increasing."
"Fifteen years ago, when the accident just happened, the evil spirit's influence was only within Chapman's domain. The other domains in the periphery only suffered a loss of reputation, but were not substantially affected."
"But today, fifteen years later, the periphery domains, including Wood Manor, which I bought, have begun to be substantially affected. For example, there are frightening wraiths, and the grain in the domain has begun to decrease slightly …"
"We all know that in the north, east, and southeast of Chapman's domain, there are Earl Hall's domain, Viscount Lake's domain, and Earl Hawk's domain. These three lords are all powerful figures in Casablanca, especially Earl Hawk. He's the chief judge of the Casablanca Court of Appeal and a senior bishop of the God of Justice."
"Once these gentlemen's domains are invaded, they will definitely find a way to push the churches and the Mage Guild in Casablanca to eradicate the evil spirit in Chapman Castle."
After listening to Feng Chou's words, Chapman's expression became uncertain.
Of course, Feng Chou knew what he was thinking. He said, "It's a pity that the evil spirit's influence spreads very slowly. So, for Earl Hawk's domain to be significantly affected, I'm afraid it will take at least twenty years."
After listening to Feng Chou's words, Chapman's face showed a trace of a bitter smile. He couldn't wait for 20 years. He was not even 50 years old this year. If he could get the divine treatment and not suffer too much in the following days, then he could at least live to 70 years old. But if he doesn't get treatment now, the serious lung disease will kill him in a year or two. "
He thought for a moment and asked, "How much can you give me?"
Feng Chou said, "One hundred thousand crowns."
Chapman said, "No, sir, that's a viscount's domain!"
Feng Chou said, "That viscount's territory is now worthless."
Chapman said, "No, sir, sir, sir, sir Baron, you can't do that. You have to give me a fief or real estate that can bring me an annual income. You have to give me security for the rest of my life. You and I both know that one hundred thousand crowns won't last long in Casablanca."
Feng Chou thought for a moment and asked, "Fief?
Real estate?
What kind of real estate?
What do you want? "
Chapman said, "If it's a fief, at least a knight's domain with an annual income of more than ten thousand crowns. If it's real estate, the annual income must be more than twenty thousand crowns."
If it was before the trip to the arcane tower, Feng Chou's wealth would not be enough to buy a knight's domain or a real estate in Casablanca. Unless he was willing to sell the dragon bones and adamantine he looted from the tigermen's cave, he would not be willing to do so.
But now, a few hundred thousand crowns were nothing to him. In fact, he had found more than thirty thousand magic gold coins in the warehouse on the third floor of the arcane tower.
Magic gold coins were a large denomination currency created during the Arcane Empire. Its base material was magic gold, which was used to create low-level magic items. Magic gold was mainly gold, mixed with a certain amount of arcane copper and a small amount of mithril to create an arcane alloy.
The ratio of magic gold to gold was 1: 10. A standard magic gold coin weighing ten grams was worth one hundred crowns.
This kind of magic gold coin was still in circulation among mages to this day. They were used to calling it "olan". A standard ten-gram magic gold coin was one "olan".
The thirty thousand magic gold coins were equivalent to more than three million crowns. It was enough for him to buy a few knight's domains in Casablanca.
Feng Chou was not surprised by Chapman's request. Chapman was a noble, so he naturally did not deviate from the normal way of thinking of nobles. In the eyes of nobles, land was always the most important thing, followed by real estate that could bring them a stable income. Cash was neither safe nor useful in their eyes.
Feng Chou thought for a moment and decided not to bargain. On the one hand, a few hundred thousand crowns were nothing to him now.
On the other hand, the evil spirit in Chapman's domain would not take twenty years to be dealt with like Feng Chou said. This deal was definitely worth it.