Chapter 828

Chapter 62 – On Foot

That night, the moonlight was enchanting.

After our brief conversation by the campfire, I asked the female swordsman to take some raw deer meat and leave for a moment. I wanted her to find the refugee woman and the children, and give them the meat. She had actually planned to do just that. Instead of eating the deer meat immediately, she carefully wrapped it up and kept it safe, thinking along these lines.

Although she didn’t say anything, I could tell.

I wasn’t worried that she would run away. She couldn’t escape from my grasp — even without the goat cheese, I could share a vision with the crow and monitor her every move.

If necessary, I could even cast an illusion through the crow’s eyes, making her fall into a trance and unable to break free — after becoming more familiar with that strange power, I could do this to anyone.

By then, I might have to kill the female swordsman.

Of course, this wouldn’t be difficult, even if she was a “former” Papal Knight with considerable skill.

Fortunately, the female swordsman was very obedient. She had no intention of escaping, and there was nowhere for her to go. After finding the refugees, she silently handed the deer meat to the trembling woman amidst their frightened and bewildered gazes. Soon after, she returned on her own.

Back at the campsite, she found a spot not too far or close to me, hugging her old sword, leaning against a rock on the hillside, closing her eyes. For a long time, I didn’t know if she had fallen asleep.

Caw—”

The crows’ cries echoed overhead, like the voice of Death in the night.

Under the starry sky, I extinguished the campfire and packed everything up. I placed the remaining raw deer meat nearby and sat on the hillside, looking up at the moon, letting the gentle moonlight wash over my face. I listened to the loud chirping of insects in the valley, the rustling of leaves in the wind, like a serene symphony. Slowly, I drifted off to sleep amid nature’s music.

In my dreams, the honey fruit blossoms in the small courtyard were in full bloom.

The next morning, after a brief rest, we set out again.

I didn’t use any flying means, nor did I have a horned horse beast. So, we walked on foot. It wasn’t far from the Castle of Silence. An ordinary person would probably take no more than three days to walk here. By circumventing a mountain peak outside the valley, one could at least see the silhouette of the majestic ancient castle and the emerald lake beyond its walls — this is what the female swordsman had told me.

“Are you really going there?”

She repeated this question to me three times during the journey. But I didn’t answer.

Interestingly, last night, I told the female swordsman that she couldn’t leave because she had recognized me and knew who I was. I didn’t trust her, so I couldn’t let her go easily. However, after hearing what she had to say, I temporarily decided not to kill her and thought it best to keep her alive for now.

But I couldn’t release her either. I merely told her she couldn’t leave, but I hadn’t given much thought to how I should treat her afterward. It wasn’t because I was lazy, but because I was convinced deep down that as my “prisoner,” the female swordsman, despite appearing obedient on the surface, would certainly make a desperate attempt to escape when she thought the opportunity was ripe.

Perhaps by ambushing me unexpectedly or slipping away while I slept. Her thoughts were never honest, so I didn’t recall the crow made of mud last night, allowing it to circle above the ridge, constantly monitoring her every move.

Surprisingly, nothing happened throughout the night.

The female swordsman truly slept soundly. In the morning, I noticed she had moved slightly, but she woke up earlier than me. Sitting there blankly, she did nothing until I got up. Without saying a word upon seeing me awake, she brought some coarse rope she had somehow obtained and bound the wrapped meat onto her back.

When I prepared to depart, she quietly followed, as silent as a noble lady’s silent attendant carrying her luggage.

I thought she was trying to lull me into a false sense of security—given the female swordsman’s alertness, she should have noticed the crow in the sky long ago, even if she hadn’t necessarily figured out its connection with me. She must have thought I had a way to control her; otherwise, she wouldn’t have been so easily allowed to leave alone last night. It was precisely this thought that prevented her from making any rash moves last night, even after losing sight of me.

She understood my strength and knew I possessed more unknown powers beyond her comprehension. Under such overwhelming force, the female swordsman would never dare act recklessly.

She planned to first lull me into complacency, then use this time to figure out my methods, before suddenly striking back. I originally thought that the female swordsman, harboring such thoughts, would be on high alert from morning until afternoon. With nothing else to do, I tried to analyze her intentions through her actions to pass the dull journey.

However, the more I observed, the more confused I became.

The female swordsman was simply following me, not even speaking to me. Apart from confirming whether we were really going to the Silent Fortress, she didn’t utter another word. She just followed behind me, moving when I moved, stopping when I stopped, and didn’t even ask what I intended to do.

I could tell she was worried, thinking that the Silent Fortress was dangerous and didn’t want to go there, but since I was going, she followed naturally. Except for occasionally taking out a biscuit to eat when hungry, she made no other unnecessary movements.

By dusk, I even began to realize that perhaps she wasn’t thinking about anything at all, her mind controlled by instinct. And instinct—well, forgive me for not understanding what her instinct was driving her to do.

Although we had only spent one day together and had almost no communication, if she had indeed planned to hide herself, lull me, and then strike suddenly before escaping, a single day would certainly not be enough. The female swordsman still dared not make any rash moves, which was normal. I should have been more wary of her potential escape—yet strangely, after observing her for a whole day, she gave me a certain feeling.

Maybe this girl’s mind truly had no unnecessary thoughts. Could she actually be someone who excels at hiding herself?

I couldn’t help but suspect this.

So I waited until nightfall, found a place to settle down under a ridge, and started a campfire. I sat down to roast some meat, and the female swordsman silently sat opposite me, pulling out her last piece of dry biscuit and quietly eating it. Even when the smell of the meat seemed to affect her, she showed no reaction. Finally, I couldn’t contain my curiosity and asked her:

“Do you not want to run away?”

She lifted her head and shook it: “No.”

“Why?”

“You are much stronger than me.” What kind of reason is this? I couldn’t help rolling my eyes. Well, this indeed could be considered a reason.

“How can you be so sure? Shouldn’t you at least try to resist? Aren’t you afraid I’ll kill you?”

“You don’t have any murderous intent.”

“Are you so sure?”

“Mm-hm.”

The female swordsman nodded, lowered her head, and continued gnawing on the hard biscuit. After a few bites, she said again: “I have nowhere to go.”

Her mouth was full as she spoke, and then she saw crumbs on her hand and quickly ate them. Perhaps because the biscuit was too dry, swallowing looked difficult. I thought for a moment and handed her my water flask.

“Following me might help you avenge your mother.” She said this to me as she took the water flask. I laughed: “Why do you think so?”

“I don’t know.”

The female swordsman tilted her head back and drank some water, wiped her mouth, seemed to think for a moment, and added: “Intuition.” Similar to last night’s answer.

“Huh.”

I couldn’t help laughing out loud, tilting my head to look at her for a long time until she averted her gaze and frowned. Then I said to her: “You said your name is Sword Ghost?”

“Anaxilis.”

She looked awkward, returned the water flask: “My name is Anaxilis.” “What about your surname?”

“I don’t have a surname.”

On the afternoon of the next day, I stood on a forest path outside the valley and saw the Silent Fortress in the distance.