Half-step Purgatory

Durin stroked the black cat on the armrest of his chair, sitting on the black leather sofa. Through the glasses perched on his nose, his gaze passed over the long table in front of him and settled on the man kneeling on the carpet:
"I understand, you've made money in Naples, your business has been very successful, and you've led a happy life. You've had those secret police, friends in both the law and the underground, and even the Royal Family speaking on your behalf."
"You don't need a friend like me, I know that. You're afraid of owing me a favor, and you don't want to get involved in troubles."
"But now you come to me and say, 'I beg you, Mr. Durin of the Corleon family, please help me seek justice, so that my life and my family will not suffer and sink into despair.'
Yet, in your eyes, I was nothing more than a second-rate artist involved in movies and music. Even at the brink of death, you still show me such disrespect, not even willing to call me by my title... Keeper of Secrets."

Durin's Diary

Lin Ruyi, in the end, couldn't say much; after all, a young lady from a minor family couldn't manage the affairs of the Mo Family.


However, she still provided Durin with quite a bit of information about Chang Tang and the Eastern Land. Having heard that Durin had territories in the Adriatic Sea, cleansed pirates, and even established new commercial ports, she seemed very pleased, "Being able to serve you is also a pride for our Lin clan."


In Chang Tang, Grassland Elves are called dwarf demons or domestic demons—because the large clans of Chang Tang like these small but agile elves who manage burly servants easily.


Changtangians might even accept a domestic demon as a member of the Hall of State, as long as he or she truly has the ability to serve the public.


So, many times, a marriage between a young clan member of a domestic demon clan who understands the rules and a family from Chang Tang is not something unexpected.


Chapter 148: Territorial Expansion