Chapter 517

Chapter 140 Disturbance

On the stone path on the north side of the central square, which was currently the noisiest part of the small town, passersby were also bustling about. The lights on both sides of the road were bright, and countless small stalls and shops were set up along the roadside. The cries of vendors rose and fell, blending with the cacophony of human voices, and mingling with the aroma of food, spreading in all directions.

Along this road, apart from various pickled, roasted, and even stewed meats for sale, there were also many stalls selling items such as windmills, shell necklaces, wooden knight carvings, wooden masks, or even more bizarre things.

These items were generally exquisitely crafted, often adorned with colorful patterns and hues. At first glance, each one seemed more beautiful than the last. For those women and children who had not lost their childlike hearts, these things had quite a fatal allure. Young ladies from the Emerald City, wearing flower wreaths, squatted in front of stalls, picking out pretty and cheap trinkets. Children wearing masks ran past them, one after another.

Children frolicked and darted through the crowd, several mothers with makeup chasing after them, occasionally shouting, “Slow down, don’t fall!” As the children ran further away, an irritable aunt could not hold back and chased after them, grabbing her mischievous child and giving him a sound spanking, causing the child to cry out “wah wah,” while the mask fell to the ground and shattered underfoot.

At the end of the chaotic path, near the central square, in front of a sweet cake stall, a slightly taller girl than the children stood, dressed in a white linen dress, her hair tied up at the back, covered by a wide-brimmed hat with lace edges. She wore a wooden cat mask on her face, lifting her little head, her eyes, hidden behind two holes, stared intently at the fragrant Holger sweet cakes on the stove.

The uncle flipping the cakes with long tongs glanced at her, flipped a few more cakes, looked at her again, and then couldn’t help but chuckle: “Little girl, try one? If you don’t like it, I won’t charge you.”

“Uncle, I want twenty.”

The girl said in a muffled voice, taking out a small money bag from her waist and pulling out a silver coin, handing it over. The uncle cheerfully accepted it and said, “Little girl, where are your family members? It’s chaotic tonight, be careful, don’t run around alone.”

Perhaps seeing the gleaming gold coins in the girl’s money bag, the uncle was surprised and gave her a small reminder. He probably thought that the girl was very young, and there didn’t seem to be any adults nearby. It wasn’t safe for her to carry so much money: “Twenty sweet cakes, they’ll take some time to bake. If you don’t mind, sit by the stove and wait until your family comes over.”

After saying this, he turned over the last sweet cake on the stove, suddenly frowning: “Are you from the Nalan Jiade family? Your father is around here, right?”

“…I’m not that young.”

The girl’s sweet voice came from behind the mask, the tone seemingly somewhat dissatisfied.

Soon, the sweet cakes were ready. The uncle counted out twenty pieces, put them in a leather bag, and handed them to the girl along with a dozen copper coins. He still felt uneasy and warned her not to leave, waiting for her family to come. The girl gently shook her head, exchanged a few words with him, and finally left with the bag of sweet cakes, using the excuse that her mother was waiting for her at the square.

“Huh, a lady from some noble family, unaware of the hardships of the world…”

“May the gods protect her tonight…”

Not far away, I could still hear the uncle muttering to himself.

…Quite a worrywart.

The sweet cakes in the bag were still warm. I stretched my right hand inside, feeling around for a moment, took one out, and placed it at my mouth, eager to bite into it. Just as I opened my mouth, I realized I was still wearing the mask, so I used my elbow to push it up to my forehead, revealing my eyes, only to accidentally knock off the hat, exposing my black hair.

I quickly bent down to pick it up, brushed off the dust, and put it back on my head, with the mask under the hat, feeling uncomfortable. I adjusted it, turning it to the right cheek, which felt more comfortable. I took a bite of the sweet cake, closing my eyes and savoring the burst of rich flavor in my mouth.

…Delicious.

It had been a long time since I tasted something this good.

Since coming to Silgaya, I had been following the knights through mountains and rivers, eating rough, salty military rations every day, living outdoors. It was hard to even get a bowl of hot water when the journey was difficult. After arriving in Aletheon, I even had to eat leftovers. Only the dinner at the Silent Castle was relatively sumptuous, but that night, I couldn’t taste anything.

Now, back in the south, eating carefully baked sweet cakes, wandering among the bustling crowd, without corpses and blood, without bones scattered in the wild, the surroundings were brightly lit. Suddenly, it seemed like the barren South, that fierce battle with rolling black smoke and bodies strewn everywhere, was like a dream in broad daylight, ethereal and illusory.

For a moment, I even had the illusion of returning to the capital.

“Top-notch deer meat! Marinated with secret methods, everyone come and try it!”

I walked through the crowded streets, the vendors’ calls never ceasing, and the smell of food filled everywhere. In the distance, the center square, illuminated by torches, was already packed with people. Occasionally, the figures of patrolling knights flashed by, not many, their bright armor hidden in the torchlight and人群中， barely noticeable.

After finishing a piece of sweet cake and picking up another, I started walking towards the square.

Waiting there, of course, would not be my mother—tonight, I had to stay at the place Daniel and the others arranged for me, watching what was said to be the final performance of the troupe of performers here.

Last night’s four-person discussion did not last long. In fact, before I arrived, they had already made plans in their hearts. While I was eating many sweet cakes, they sorted out the church’s actions in the northern region for me. Before it got too late, they instructed me to rest well and then left.

I was arranged to stay in a room prepared for priests in the underground prison. The bed was hard, but it was enough to sleep.

I slept well. Upon waking this morning, I changed into simple clothes worn by commoners and followed the priest guiding me to Deer Town. Here, I intended to find something to eat and wait quietly for nightfall.

The underground prison was located on the west side of Woodward Forest, only a few hours’ journey from Deer Town. Last night, due to my chaotic thoughts and poor mental state, I didn’t ask Daniel more questions. In the morning, I learned they had set out during the night and arrived here first. So, in a casual conversation, I talked with the guide priest.

From him, I learned that the underground prison we came out of was built by the Church over two hundred years ago, as Daniel said, specifically to imprison powerful evildoers, including some second-stage members of the Door of Truth. In fact, during these two centuries, it is rumored that many heretics died there. However, those were events from long ago.

The West Continent has not seen a large-scale war of faith for a very, very long time. Since twenty-one years ago, when the Sword Saint beheaded the “Great Demon” in the East Continent, the notorious evildoers like the Clown became scattered. In the subsequent six months of cleansing, one after another disappeared.

The priest was nearing sixty and was a veteran member of the Church. He had participated in the eradication campaign in the East Continent back then. According to the old priest, he had killed at least eight or ten heretics. At that time, heretics ran rampant in the East Continent, using violent means to wreak havoc. Mentioning the Door of Truth would make ordinary people in the East Continent tremble with fear.

At that time, the members of the Door of Truth were all strong and domineering, led by the Great Demon. They virtually ruled everything in Epirasta until the Sword Saint personally led the attack, destroying their main base. In the subsequent six-month manhunt, almost none of those members survived—until recently, the old priest thought the Clown was also dead.

In the following twenty years, both East and West Continents were peaceful, and traces of heretic activities were hard to find. People, especially those in the West Continent, the young people of our generation, almost no longer knew anything about the Door of Truth. Of course, this was partly due to the Church’s efforts behind the scenes, but without heretics, people’s lives indeed became much more stable.

The great enemy of humanity was left only with the monsters of the Abyss.

The old priest mentioned a monster that appeared here a year ago. The chasm was actually not far from the location of the underground prison. If one wanted to take a look, they just needed to cross the mountains to the south. The scorched earth, corroded by the abyss, lay behind the mountains. As we walked towards Deer Town, we were moving further away.

I planned to go see it after everything was settled.

Since last night, a question had been swirling in my mind.

That was…

If this underground prison was so close to the chasm, it meant that the “clinic” Angel mentioned, which the Door of Truth abandoned after the appearance of the Abyss, the place where I suffered, was actually under the Church’s watch all along.

No one discovered it.

No one saved me.

“…Ha—”

Swallowing the sweet biscuit in my mouth, I took a deep breath.

My head started hurting again…

No, I shouldn’t think about these things now…

Rubbing my temples lightly, I raised my head to look northward into the night sky… There, in that direction, was the village where Grandma Claire lived, the place that first accepted me.

Grandma must still be waiting for Barry and for me to return…

…If we act tonight, I must ensure that the Clown and all threats are eliminated here.

Not a single one should be left.

“Hey, you’re walking like you’re burping! Do you have eyes?”

Suddenly, a rebuke came from a distant part of the crowd, sounding as if someone was shouting while drunk. Then came the cry of pain from another person. I frowned and looked in the direction of the sound, seeing that the crowd on the east side of the road seemed to be dispersing in shock, with fighting sounds coming from there…

Was someone causing trouble?

I turned my head to look around but saw no sign of the patrol knights. Tilting my head in thought, I held a bag of sweet biscuits and squeezed through the crowd toward the source of the commotion.

“Damn it, a bunch of punks, daring to block Grandpa’s way…”

“Let me go!”

“Say sorry, and I’ll let you go…”

“Hahaha—”

“What are you doing! Look at that armor, isn’t it from the Silgaya soldiers! Getting drunk and causing trouble, bullying a bunch of half-grown kids…”

“Don’t shout, mind your own business…”

“The soldiers are beating people up!”

“Who will go get a knight lord…”

“Move aside!”

A small head poked out from the crowd缝隙. I clutched the bag tightly to prevent the sweet biscuits from spilling out. After stepping out, I straightened my hat and focused on the direction of the crowd—several flushed soldiers had surrounded a group of young men. One soldier was pulling someone’s hair and laughing as he slapped them.

“Come on, apologize, louder…”

“Soldiers, they are still children, they don’t know any better…”

People around tried to intervene, but were stopped by other soldiers. The young man being beaten had a red face and an angry gaze, unwilling to submit despite not daring to fight back. Other young men stood by, wanting to help, but were threatened by the soldiers: “Stand still, who dares to move… Damn it, I’ve been working day and night to help disaster victims, finally got some rest, and now I’m drinking when I encounter troublemakers. A bunch of half-grown brats, thinking they can bully others here. Have you ever seen a dead person…”

Ah…

I hate drunks, those stinking men… Hm?

Suddenly, I saw a face among the young men, anger surging, and was slightly stunned.

Isn’t that face a bit familiar…