The Mountain of Ice and Fire

"Who is it?" Varys heard his voice tremble slightly in the darkness.

The voice was hollow, tense, and distorted.

"Don't be afraid, an old friend," a voice said softly, with a mocking smile.

It was Littlefinger.

Varys's heart immediately calmed.

Littlefinger!

According to Varys's observation and understanding, Littlefinger didn't belong to anyone. Littlefinger had no major power supporting him, nor did he have any allies. His loyalty, profit-seeking, and words belonged only to Littlefinger himself.

"Littlefinger, what are you doing in my room?" Varys's voice regained its composure.

"Waiting for you!"

"Waiting for me to do what?"

"I've been asked to come and ask you for a favor."

Varys put on his clothes, reaching for his bedside, but the short crossbow was gone.

He kept a short crossbow hidden by his bed.

Varys had no martial skills. He needed to protect himself, and besides his mind, he felt he also needed a short crossbow.

What if something unexpected suddenly happened? Having a short crossbow by the bed was better than nothing!

Although he had many little birds, none of them could protect Varys. The little birds were only responsible for gathering information. They had no martial skills, no armor, and no short swords. They were also a group of children with secret identities that couldn't be revealed. If he wanted to learn the tactic of dogs tearing apart shadow lynxes, it would require advance planning and a secret ambush.

In the Red Keep, at this moment, Varys had no way to suddenly gather a group of little birds to help him tear Littlefinger apart.

Fortunately, Littlefinger wasn't a military general either. His brothels also generated a lot of income. Varys and Littlefinger were colleagues in the court, living in harmony, disliking each other, but without any grudges.

But today, Littlefinger's appearance broke the long-standing tacit understanding of 'live and let live' between the two. Varys sensed that the balance between them had been disrupted by some invisible force.

"Littlefinger, what is it?"

"Lend me a little blood."

This sentence was too threatening!

Varys couldn't see clearly if Littlefinger was holding his short crossbow in the darkness.

"Are you going to kill me?"

"No, no, no, I'm most afraid of seeing blood. Someone asked me to get a little blood from you. I was also forced to come, my mouth is full of bitterness, and I had no choice but to ask you."

"How do you intend to take the blood?"

"Light the candle, there's a small knife on your bed, a glass bottle, half a bottle of blood is enough."

"The Mountain sent you!" Varys's voice was strange.

He clearly remembered the night the Mountain came to King's Landing a few months ago. On Visenya's Hill, in the tavern next to Master Tobho Mott's blacksmith shop, Littlefinger went to see the Mountain and had half a bottle of blood taken from his finger. The waiter in that tavern was one of Varys's little birds.

"Give me blood, and we'll all be happy. What you did in the secret passage tonight, who you met, to be honest, has nothing to do with me, and I have no interest. I only ask you to give me half a bottle of blood, I'll be very grateful." Littlefinger's determined tone and pleading words were full of irony.

Varys lit the candle. Sure enough, there was a finger-length glass bottle on the bed, with a small knife beside it. He raised the candle and saw Littlefinger in the opposite corner, very calm, holding his short crossbow, the bolt already loaded. Littlefinger only needed to move his finger slightly to kill him.

Varys's white robe and fat couldn't compare to the protective power of armor, and at such a distance, the crossbow bolt could easily pierce armor.

"I'll give you blood!"

"Thank you very much!" Littlefinger's mocking voice was full of playful laughter. "Lord Varys, my life is in the hands of others, please don't blame me."

"A sorcerer?" the eunuch laughed. He picked up the knife, cut his finger, and let the blood flow into the glass bottle. "Lord Petyr, my manhood was cut off by a sorcerer, so I had no choice but to become a eunuch. I was very young then, wandering the streets of Lys across the Narrow Sea, living by petty theft. Lys is a gathering place for dark sorcerers."

"One day, a sorcerer took a fancy to me, saying he wanted to take me as an apprentice. He gave me good food and drink and bought me new clothes, so I happily followed him. When night fell, he tied me up and cut off my manhood with a knife. He threw my manhood into the flames, and a monster covered in red crawled out of the flames, like a monkey but not a monkey, with terrifying fiery eyes and sharp claws."

"That's terrible!" Littlefinger gently adjusted the position of the short crossbow. Holding the short crossbow without firing was also tiring his arm.

"Dark sorcerers are indeed terrifying, there are blood sorcerers, blue-lipped sorcerers, red-robed sorcerers, and black-robed sorcerers. If possible, I would never want to come into contact with any sorcerer in my life. They possess some kind of mysterious and evil power. Is the blood enough?"

"More than half a bottle, that's enough. Please put the lid on, tighten it, then put the knife and the small bottle together, step back, and our trouble will be over," Littlefinger laughed.

Varys did everything as he was told.

Littlefinger walked over with the short crossbow, first putting the small bottle into his pocket, then putting the knife into his pocket. "Lord Varys, are we still good friends?"

"Of course, there's no better time than now."

"Then I'm relieved!" Littlefinger slowly retreated with the short crossbow.

"Lord Petyr, I have something you would definitely want to see."

"Oh, what is it?"

"The ending of the story of a dark sorcerer cutting off the manhood of an innocent little boy."

"Oh, I would very much like to see that."

"Lord Petyr, if I'm not mistaken, the person who took half a bottle of my blood must be a blood sorcerer, and you were also once forced by the Mountain to take half a bottle of blood. Although I don't know what the relationship is between the sorcerer and the Mountain, sorcerers with mysterious and evil powers are not invincible. I think we may have a common enemy. Are you willing to have a blood sorcerer use your blood to play tricks?"

"I don't want to at all!" Littlefinger's tone was very firm.

"That's right, come on, maybe a large wooden box in my guest room can give you and me courage and confidence!"

"I've already looked through your guest room, there's no large wooden box!" Littlefinger's short crossbow was raised again, pointing at Varys.

"I can do magic, Lord Petyr, just like my thousand-pound stone bed can automatically rise."

"Oh, then let me see it!" Littlefinger made way, holding the short crossbow, and let Varys walk out of the bedroom. The two of them came to the guest room one after the other.

Varys pressed on the wall, and the ground beneath the wall trembled slightly. The floor separated, revealing a black coffin. The black coffin didn't have any abnormalities at first, but suddenly, rapid breathing could be heard from inside.

A living person was locked in the coffin.

Littlefinger's eyes were very vigilant, his face slightly pale.

He never knew that Varys had a coffin buried under his guest room, and that a living person was inside the coffin.

The lid of the coffin was very thick, with a movable wooden board in the middle, with a copper buckle hanging on it, and a lock on the copper buckle. Next to the lock was a small nail, with a key hanging on the nail.

Varys looked back at Littlefinger: "Lord, sorcerers are terrifying, but they are also very ordinary mortals. They are no different from us, a small knife can kill them, and a coffin can lock them up. Do you need me to open the movable wooden board to see this dark sorcerer?"

"I would very much like to!"

"Then you have to be prepared, the time I've kept this dark sorcerer who cut off a little boy's manhood in the coffin hasn't been short. He eats, drinks, and shits in the coffin, the smell won't be very pleasant when the movable wooden board is opened."