Chapter 633

Chapter 18 The Small Town in the Desert Part 2

When I turned back, those women had already walked far away at the end of the road. Judging by their direction, they were indeed heading west of the town. They all had jars on their heads, seemingly for water. I guessed they might be going to the oasis to fetch some water and then cross it to get water from the Red River.

That should be the only source of water around here…

This town probably survived generation after generation by relying on the water from the Red River. The townspeople’s daily needs were all tied to that river, and the oasis was also crucial for survival. Otherwise, such a desolate place would be impossible for ordinary people to live in…

Even for Dongzhou, this area should be considered extremely remote and impoverished… The surroundings were endless yellow desert. It’s unlikely that any wagons could enter. The lack of mirrors suggests that even the nearest town might require days of walking. Harsh environments and climates made the circulation of goods very difficult.

This was an isolated small town…

No wonder Elina hid here. Without satellite positioning, it would be like finding a needle in a haystack for the church to locate such a small town in the vast desert…

I gently shook my head, trying to calm down my emotions. I stopped looking at those women who had gone far away, feeling it wasn’t worth arguing with them. I continued walking in the direction I came from.

After walking a short distance, I saw five or six children running out from behind the earthen houses. Two of the children held purple vines as if they were fighting, but it was hard to tell if they were playing or being serious. Regardless, they hit each other quite forcefully. Other children followed, watching the commotion. When they saw me, they all stopped what they were doing and started following me sneakily.

“Black hair, black hair…”

The children followed me, jumping and clapping their hands excitedly. Older ones occasionally ran ahead, stopping to watch me pass by, as if they were seeing something rare. One child suddenly screamed loudly behind me, trying to scare me.

How audacious…

I didn’t want to pay attention to them, but after several repetitions, I finally felt annoyed. I suddenly turned around, making claw-like gestures with my hands as if I was about to eat them, and let out a loud “Wah!” to scare them. The sudden action startled the children, and they fled in panic.

“Haha…”

I felt relieved and couldn’t help but laugh.

These children reminded me of Ryan and his little followers…

But compared to Ryan back then, these children here seemed much younger. Perhaps they had heard about my identity as the “heir.” They might have been truly scared, as they never returned after running away. I was happy to enjoy the peace and walked back to the earthen house. From afar, I saw an old, thin man puffing on a pipe at the door.

Ah.

It was the mayor, old Robert…

I slowly approached. The old man saw me and tapped his pipe on the ground, quickly standing up and pinning it to his waist. “L-Lady…”

What kind of strange title is this?

Why call me like this? I don’t understand.

It feels so awkward…

I rolled my eyes, not saying anything first, and walked straight up to him.

I need to correct him…

Let her call me Queen Lady then.

“I heard you went out. I was a bit worried and came to check… Uh, cough, cough… Spit!”

The old man spat on the ground, wiped his nose, and rubbed his hand on his robe. He looked at me with a nervous smile. “Um, are you looking for something? If you need anything, just say, and I’ll make sure to get it for you…”

“Food.”

I wrinkled my little nose and said immediately.

What was I about to correct just now?

Forgot…

“Okay, okay, no problem. I’ve already arranged for it. My lady, please wait in the cellar. It will be there soon, very soon…”

The old man seemed to be waiting for me here. Upon seeing me, he visibly relaxed and waved his hand as if to leave: “My lady, please stay in the cellar and don’t wander around; there’s danger out there. I wouldn’t lie to you. Please don’t go anywhere…”

He slowly descended the stairs, taking a few steps away. Suddenly, I called out to him again: “Wait.”

“…Hm?”

Old Robert turned back.

I asked him expressionlessly, “Did you say there was a knight… named Nao?”

“Ah… Yes, yes.”

The old man replied, his withered and rough face turning serious: “About half a month ago, two knights came here. One was a red-haired woman, and the other was a very thin old man… They claimed to be knights from the church.”

Red-haired woman? Thin old man?

Knights?

It felt strange…

“I saw their knight badges, but I couldn’t tell if they were real or fake. But seeing that they were dressed like knights, I took them around town at their request… saying they needed to verify the population, so I gave them a list of the townspeople.”

Verify the population?

They weren’t verifying anything. They were looking for someone.

“Afterwards, they asked if anyone had plans to migrate, because living conditions here in the desert are tough… After I refused, they left not long after. But I always felt something wasn’t right… My lady, those knights might come back. It would be safer for you to stay in the cellar.”

“…Hmm.”

I frowned.

Two knights…

A woman could be ignored, but there was also an old man…

Not to mention how such a strange group managed to cross the desert to find this place, just the two of them dared to act recklessly. Could they be the Pope’s knights…

Tsk, troublesome…

Regardless, Old Robert’s warning was not wrong.

Given my current state, I should indeed be more cautious… For now, the priority is to avoid being discovered by any church forces until I regain my strength and return to Xizhou.

“Sigh…”

There was definitely more the old man was hiding about the knights, but he didn’t want to talk about it. I couldn’t get much more out of him now, so I might as well make another shallow attempt.

So I thought for a moment and jumped to another question: “Elna, what kind of… relationship does she have with you all?”

I already knew about Elna’s relationship with the townspeople from my notes. I didn’t know if the old man had read that book, but I wanted to hear what he would say, to see if he would lie to me.

Most importantly, I wanted to subtly probe and understand from his words what the people in this town were actually doing.

“Elna, Miss…”

I looked at the old man. Seeing him ponder for a moment, he then put on his usual honest smile: “She, although not born in this town, her mother, Yilena, grew up here… Like Miss Elna, Yilena was once the most beautiful girl in town. Later, she got married… Oh, to Elna’s father, a strict man to the core… Yilena went with him. Unfortunately, many years later, only Miss Elna returned…”

As he spoke, Old Robert’s smile faded.

“We consider her one of us. I watched her mother grow up, and this is where they both belong. The house behind you was originally Yilena’s, Miss Elna lived there for a few years… Her grandmother died early, and her grandfather passed away when he was young. Now, this house is all hers! Cough, cough…”

The old mayor bent over and coughed a few times before continuing: “My lady, I don’t understand what you want to know. I don’t really understand your relationship with Miss Elna either… Miss Elna has had a hard life. She might have acted a bit too aggressively sometimes, but she had her reasons… She’s not a bad child, it’s just this world—”

The old man paused, not finishing his sentence.