Chapter 521

Chapter 144: Reunion

As the moon cast its silver glow over the town, once dark and desolate outskirts of Buckhorn Town now flickered with lights. Carriages of antelopes began to traverse through the lively crowds on the streets, and children ran after them in joyous leaps and bounds. The entire town was illuminated with lanterns and music, creating an atmosphere as festive as a holiday.

The paths leading to the central square were bustling with people. Poets sang loudly, while jesters performed acrobatics, moving from one end to another. They frequently engaged with excited passersby, cheers and applause echoing throughout the streets. The night deepened under the glow of firelight, but it had yet to reach its peak.

The stage at the central square was already set up, with red curtains fluttering in the wind. The most anticipated performance was still half an hour away.

“Don’t run around, Bernie! Don’t you dare!”

Not far from the town center, a young boy burst out of the crowd and rushed to a pastry stall by the roadside. He pointed at his chin, looking up curiously. A young man chased after him, grabbing the boy’s hand. The boy immediately squatted down, struggling: “I want to eat this, just one…”

The young man scolded him, “You’ve already eaten a deer meat pie, no more!”

“Brother, can you buy me one?”

The boy shook his head, stubbornly staring at the pastries, unwilling to get up no matter how hard he was pulled.

At the back of the street, a girl wearing a cat mask held two large bags of sweets and walked among the crowd. She glanced at the small dispute ahead and then looked down at the sweets in her arms, her expression slightly troubled.

… I was too hasty.

Previously, I only thought about getting more compensation from the soldiers and lied that forty pastries had been knocked over. They bought them, and forty pastries fit perfectly into two bags. Holding one bag in each hand, my happiness didn’t last long before I realized that this meant both hands were occupied, so how could I eat?

Would I have to use my mouth?

But that would be too foolish…

“Ryan, you came here specifically to watch the show, right? It’s about to start. Why leave…”

Behind me, several young men spoke in hushed tones.

“Yes, yes, why leave? This is not easy to see… your someone…”

They probably thought the noise around us made it impossible for me to hear them, so they all tried to persuade Ryan to stay.

“Brat, you actually know such a level of girl… damn it, don’t even appreciate good luck… With tonight’s excitement, you should seize the opportunity… Damn…”

“I don’t know what you’re thinking… Ryan, if you go back like this, tail between your legs… we’ll…”

“You dare!”

Ryan’s voice rose involuntarily. He was getting anxious, “You don’t know anything. You just see her beauty… she thinks of you all as little kids. She has bigger things to do and won’t bother with you… What do you know… you only cause trouble…”

His voice gradually softened.

Sigh…

I chose to ignore the conversation I heard clearly behind me, looking down at the bag of sweets and sighing softly.

… I want to eat sweets.

But I don’t want Ryan to carry a bag for me, and I definitely don’t want to squat by the roadside eating. So, let’s hurry to the central square… If everything goes well, the next step will be enjoying the sweets… I hope this moment lasts longer… Maybe nothing should happen tonight… Best…

“Hey, I think I heard the lady sigh…”

“She… did she hear what we said?”

“It’s all your fault, Ryan, yelling so loud…”

“What’s it got to do with me…”

“Look, the lady is walking alone ahead, so obedient… Her dress is beautiful… When was the last time we saw such a girl in our town…”

“I doubt there’s even one in the capital…”

“Seriously, I want to talk to her…”

“Then go ahead…”

“You definitely want to, but why don’t you…”

Speaking of which, Ryan, what’s her name again…

“Not telling you…”

“Forget it, are you still friends…”

“None of you should disturb her, seriously…”

The long night stretched on, with lights spreading amidst the noisy atmosphere. The boy, with a pitiful face, was dragged back by his brother, glancing back at the pastry stall, reaching out his little hand, “One, brother, just one…”

… Something delicious!

My heart tightened, and my gaze swept over to the colorful pastry stall. The displayed pastries were crystal clear, probably made with sheep cheese, adorned with various fruits. A hint of dairy aroma wafted over, making my mouth water.

I want to eat…

Just as the thought crossed my mind, I was already walking towards the pastry stall. The young man holding the boy saw me and paused, then looked back, realizing, “That… Miss, do you want some pastries?”

“Mmm.”

I quickened my pace, responding to him as I walked past him.

Immediately, the young man seemed to catch up from behind, “That one,

It was all unsellable in Deerbrook Town; it had only recently become available… I heard they have large shops in the capital…

“Is that so?”

The taste should not be too bad…

“Miss, I—I haven’t eaten any either… I see you’re holding so many sweetcakes… How about… I go buy some for you?”

…

Eh?

I was quite startled, my steps halted, and I turned around to see among the crowd, the young man seemed to have mustered his courage, his freckled face flushed red. In the moment our eyes met, he looked away uncomfortably: “Um, I don’t mean anything by it, I just want to… you’re Ryan’s friend, and Ryan is my brother, I—”

“Wah!”

The little boy next to me suddenly burst into tears after a brief moment of stunned silence: “You didn’t buy anything for me! Brother, you didn’t buy anything for me! Wah—”

He cried as he ran off.

He disappeared into the crowd in a flash.

“Hey!”

The young man was also flustered, giving me an awkward smile as he hurriedly turned to chase after his brother: “I’ll buy them, buy them! Don’t run! Don’t go back and tell Mom—”

“…”

I watched the young man disappear into the crowd, feeling rather speechless.

… What a lousy person.

“What happened?”

“Why did he run off?”

Ryan and several other young men came over to inquire. I shook my head lightly, not wanting to waste words on such trivial matters: “Go check, be careful not to lose the child.”

The young man’s figure was still visible in the crowd, but the boy, being too small, was buried in the crowd. If he walked further, he might get lost.

Ryan and several others also went to look for him. They met up with the young man at a distance, exchanged a few words, and their faces showed signs of panic… Alright, the person really got lost.

I turned to glance in the direction of the square.

The crowd there was growing larger, and the performance would start soon. Although I wanted to hurry and take my seat to eat the sweetcakes, the current situation made me uneasy.

What if the child really gets lost…

“Annoying…”

This is really…

Standing by the roadside with two bags of sweetcakes, I looked up at the night sky. Soon, a raven, almost blending into the night, spread its wings and landed on my shoulder, drawing the attention of countless passersby.

“Go find that boy.”

I whispered softly. The bird let out a scream and flapped its wings, flying into the sky and heading west along the road.

This stupid bird has gotten more obedient lately…

No need to shout, just looking up at the sky for a while, it understands that I am calling it.

Its head doesn’t seem like that of a bird at all.

But this does not stop me from thinking it is stupid.

Following the stupid bird to the west side of the road, not far away, Ryan and several others also arrived, saying someone saw a boy running this way. So they all went to search. Leaving the road, they passed through a narrow alley, and ahead was a small residential area with a few old stone-and-wood houses standing tall.

“This is the way back to your house, right?”

“Lil’ Bernie will really go home and tell on you, hahaha…”

By now, there were fewer people around. Most of the town’s residents had gone to the central square. The houses were dark except for one distant house with a faint light, and the air was faintly mixed with the smell of livestock manure.

“At this hour, you’re still joking? What if my brother isn’t here? What if he’s been kidnapped by bad people… I heard a little girl went missing a few days ago, and she hasn’t been found yet…”

“Then why did you provoke your brother? If not for you—”

“Alright, stop talking, let’s look for footprints…”

“The road is so muddy, full of human footprints and animal droppings, you won’t find anything…”

“Let’s go back home… Ah, now we definitely won’t get a good spot, really annoying…”

“Ga—”

The raven screamed in the night, circling overhead before flying toward the two houses with lights.

“Huh, that bird…”

“Follow me.”

I whispered softly to them: “The bird is mine.”

“Oh…”

Several young men nodded blankly, somewhat confused. After I took a few steps forward, Ryan noticed they were still dazed and reminded them: “Come on, follow her.”

After passing two stone-and-wood houses and turning down a muddy path, the house with the light was right ahead.

It seemed to be a farmhouse.

The mooing of cows, the hooves of animals, several red-feathered chickens running past from the fence, in front of the house covered with thatched roofs, a large pen seemed to be housing a lot of livestock. As I approached, I could smell a foul odor, and I couldn’t help but cover my nose.

“Ga—” A goat’s bleat echoed, and the cheese fell onto the eaves of the house, grooming its feathers under the pale moonlight.

Below the house, the torches flickered, intertwining with the moonlight from the sky, casting shadows of two figures, big and small, in front of the wooden fence.

“He’s there!”

“Lil’ Bernie—”

Several young men rushed over.

The small figure turned at the sound, and at the same time, the slightly larger figure, kneeling with knees together in front of him, gathered her scattered long hair and slowly stood up.

“Look, your brother is here.”

I heard the voice like a gentle breeze.

In the flickering firelight, I clearly saw the face of the figure.

It was a woman.

A silver-haired, blue-eyed woman, beautiful as the stars.