"Who?" Varys heard his own 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's the little finger.
Varys's heart settled immediately.
Little finger!
According to Varys's observations and understanding, Littlefinger belongs to no one. He has no powerful backing, no allies, and his loyalty, interests, words, and actions belong only to Littlefinger himself.
"Littlefinger, what are you doing in my room?" Varys' voice regained its composure.
"Wait for you!"
"What are you waiting for me for?"
"I've been asked to ask you for a favor."
Varys changed his clothes, and when he reached for the headboard, the crossbow was gone.
He hid a short crossbow by his bedside.
Varys had no martial arts skills, and to protect himself, he felt he needed a crossbow in addition to his intellect.
What if something unexpected happens? Having a crossbow by the bedside is better than having nothing!
Although he kept many little birds, none of them could protect Varys. The little birds were only responsible for gathering intelligence; they had no martial arts skills, no armor or short swords, and they were a group of children with secret identities that could not be known to others. If he were to learn the fighting style of a pack of dogs tearing apart a shadow lynx, he would need to plan ahead and launch a secret attack.
At this moment in the Red Keep, Varys has no way of suddenly gathering a flock of little birds to help him bite off his little finger.
Fortunately, Littlefinger was not a military man, and his brothel was quite lucrative. Varys and Littlefinger served in the same court, and while they disliked each other, they had no personal grudges.
But Littlefinger's appearance today shattered the long-standing tacit understanding between the two. Varys sensed that their balance had been disrupted by some unseen force.
"Littlefinger, what's up?"
"I'll lend you some blood."
That statement is extremely threatening!
Varys couldn't see clearly whether Littlefinger was holding his crossbow in the darkness.
"You're going to kill me?"
"No, no, no, I'm terrified of blood. Someone told me to take some of your blood. I was forced to come here, my mouth is full of bitterness, and I have no choice but to beg you."
How do you want to get the blood?
"Light the candle. There's a knife and a glass bottle on your bed. Half a bottle of blood is enough."
"The Mountain sent you!" Varys's voice carried an unusual tone.
He clearly remembered the night a few months ago when the Mountain came to King's Landing, in the inn next to Master Tob Mort's blacksmith shop on the Visenia Hills, where Littlefinger went to see the Mountain and had half a bottle of his finger blood taken by the Mountain. That inn's waiter was one of Varys's little birds.
"Give me blood, and we'll all be fine. What you did in the secret passage tonight, who you met—honestly, it has nothing to do with me, and I have no interest in it. I only ask that you give me half a bottle of blood, and I'll be eternally grateful." Littlefinger's resolute tone and pleading words were full of irony.
Varys lit a candle, and sure enough, there was a glass bottle about the length of a finger on the bed, with a small knife next to it. He raised the candle and saw Littlefinger in the opposite corner, completely calm, holding his crossbow with the bolt nocked. Littlefinger only needed to twitch his finger to kill him.
Varys' white robes and fat were no match for the protective power of his armor, and at such a distance, crossbow bolts could easily pierce his armor.
I'll give you my blood!
"Thank you very much!" Littlefinger's voice was teasing and full of mischievous laughter. "Lord Varys, my life is in someone else's hands, please don't blame me."
"A wizard?" the eunuch chuckled. He picked up a knife, cut his finger, and let the blood flow into a glass bottle. "Lord Petyr, my manhood was cut off by a wizard, so I had no choice but to become a eunuch. I was very young then, wandering the streets of Ries City across the Narrow Sea, living by petty theft. Ries City is a gathering place for dark wizards."
"One day, a wizard took a liking to me and said he wanted to take me as his apprentice. He fed me well, drank well, and bought me new clothes, so I happily went with him. That night, he tied me up, cut off my penis with a knife, and threw my penis into the fire. A monster covered in red crawled out of the fire. It looked like a monkey but it wasn't a monkey. It had terrifying fiery eyes and sharp claws."
"That's terrifying!" Little Finger gently adjusted the position of the crossbow. Holding the crossbow without firing was quite tiring for his arm.
"Dark wizards are indeed terrifying. There are blood wizards, blue-lipped wizards, red-robed wizards, and black-robed wizards. If possible, I would never want to come into contact with any wizard in my entire life. They possess some kind of mysterious and evil power. —Is blood okay?"
"It's more than half full, that's enough. Please put the cap back on, tighten it, then put the knife and the bottle together, step back, and our troubles will be over," Littlefinger said with a smile.
Varys did as he was told.
Littlefinger walked over carrying a crossbow, first putting the vial into his pocket, then the knife: "Lord Varys, are we still friends?"
"Of course, nothing could be better than this."
"Then I'm relieved!" Littlefinger slowly retreated, holding the crossbow.
"Lord Petyr, there is something I know you would very much like to see."
"Oh, what is that?"
"The ending of a story about a dark wizard cutting off the genitals of an innocent little boy."
"Oh, I'd really like to see that."
"Lord Petyr, if I'm not mistaken, the person who took half my blood must be a blood sorcerer. You too were once forced to take half your blood by the Mountain. Although I don't know the relationship 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 let a blood sorcerer use your blood to play tricks on you?"
"I don't want to at all!" Littlefinger said firmly.
"That's right! Come on, perhaps a large wooden box in my guest room can give you and me courage and confidence!"
"I've already checked your room, there's no large wooden crate!" Littlefinger raised his crossbow again, pointing it at Varys.
"I can perform magic tricks, Lord Petyr, just like my thousand-pound stone bed can rise up on its own."
"Oh, then let me see it!" Littlefinger stepped aside, carrying his crossbow, and led Varys out of the bedroom. The two of them went to the guest room one after the other.
Varys pressed down on the wall, causing the floor beneath to tremble slightly. The floorboards split open, revealing a black coffin. At first, the black coffin appeared normal, but suddenly, rapid breathing could be heard coming from inside.
There was a living person locked in a coffin.
Little Finger's eyes were very wary, and his face was slightly pale.
He had no idea that there was a coffin buried under Varys's guest room, and that a living person was inside the coffin.
The coffin lid was thick, with a movable wooden board in the middle, on which hung a brass buckle, and a lock. Next to the lock was a small nail, with a key hanging from it.
Varys turned to Littlefinger: "My lord, wizards are terrifying, but they are just ordinary mortals. They are no different from us; a knife can kill them, and a coffin can imprison them. Do you need me to open the wooden plank to see this dark wizard?"
"I really want to!"
"Then you'd better be prepared. I've kept this dark wizard who cut off a little boy's genitals in a coffin for quite some time. He eats, drinks, and relieves himself in the coffin. Once the movable wooden board is opened, the smell isn't very pleasant."