Asa took out the knife from under the bed. It was already covered with dust. This weapon, which embodies his father's efforts and blessings and represents his dream, has been lying under the bed for a long time. Bishop Ronis told him not to wear it.
Even in terms of shape, it is not a knife suitable for the status of a priest. Because the knife is a standard weapon of lower-class soldiers and gangsters, a common thing for rough slashing and killing.
He put the knife on his back, and the familiar weight rubbed against his skin through the rough feeling of the linen clothes on his body. He was wearing the most commonly used clothing and equipment for adventurers, as well as salt, honey and herbs, which are essential for survival in the wild.
Everything was carefully carried in his arms. His current state was the same as the night he ran away in Kalendo, but his mood was completely different.
At that time, I was simply excited and excited, but now I don’t know what it was. I seemed a little discouraged and felt a strange sense of relief.
Come out of the hut inside, look around, and look at the weird old man standing there with a dead hand looking at him curiously. He thinks that he will probably never come back again, but he actually looks at this place full of corpses and
There is a feeling of reluctance to part with the strange parts of the organ.
Walking up to Sandro, he sighed. He patted Sandro's shoulder with a half-hug and said, "Goodbye, old man. I will miss you when I have time."
Unexpectedly, Sandro suddenly jumped away like a rabbit that had been stabbed, patted the place where he had been hugged, stared at him and said: "Why are you so disgusting? Is there something wrong with your head?"
"Hey, I just want to say hello to you before I leave." Asa took back his hand.
"Go? Where?"
"I don't know either. I'm probably traveling around the world while hiding from wanted people."
"Aren't you going to do the things Ronis arranged for you?" Sandro rolled his eyes and looked at him.
"I won't do it. I can't do it."
"Go to Widnina's place when you decide to get caught?"
Asa smiled bitterly: "Are you looking for death? I was almost killed by two necromancers a few days ago. I heard a guy named Master Aiden say that all the necromancers except Widnina wanted to kill me.
I really don’t know what my lich classmate did.”
"That guy Aiden..." Sandru was startled. "These bastards turned out to be... I don't know what will happen to Vidnina... Forget it, these are none of my business. Let them go.
Tossing." He sighed and looked at Asa again. "Then you still dare to go out and run around like this? Are you tired of living?"
Asa spread his hands and said: "Anyway, I don't want to continue to do shitty things under Bishop Ronis. I have things I want to do."
"You don't care even if you are wanted by the church or the elves?" Sandro stared at him, his black and white eyes lifeless. "What about being hunted by the guild? Aren't you afraid? In this world, except for Ronis, they probably have a little scruple. Even if
He is an imperial emperor, and in their eyes he is no different from a chicken. He can be killed if he wants. Aren't you afraid of a sissy boy like you?"
"Afraid. Who is not afraid of death?" Asa smiled bitterly, sighed again, and said lightly. "But I know better what I want to do and what not to do. If you want to kill, come and kill me. I am not necessarily easier to kill than an emperor.
.”
Sandro tilted his head and looked at him blankly, his eyes continuing to look like he was dead but not dead. Suddenly he nodded: "So I'm not a sissy anymore, I don't know when I became a man." He raised his head and asked again.
: "But aren't you afraid that I will arrest you, a guy who wants to escape, and give it to Ronis right now? You know that we are friends." He spread his hands and said righteously. "And a person like me who values loyalty must be
You should think more about your friends."
"Oops. I forgot." Asa suddenly woke up and patted his head. Then he frowned and looked at Sandro. "But you are so loyal, you shouldn't betray me?"
Sandro's eyes widened and he said angrily: "You are just a coolie of mine who moves corpses. How dare you talk to me about loyalty?" He turned around and walked into the back room, rummaged around for a while, and took out two things.
Throw it to Asa. "I won't give you any wages for skipping work midway. But seeing as how hard you work, here are two useless things for you. Maybe they will help you live longer."
Asa took it and found a book and another soft object. He opened the book to a page and saw "Analysis of the Principles of Repelling Skeletons and Zombies" written on it. He looked at Sander in surprise.
Lu asked: "This is..."
"This is a book about necromancy that I wrote myself out of boredom these past few years. I never thought of showing it to anyone else. Seeing as you are an honest guy, I gave it to you as a souvenir."
"But...this is necromancy magic..." Asa hesitated a little.
"What saved your life was good magic." Sandro spat out. "Bah, you bastard, do you know what's good or bad? I gave you a souvenir with good intentions and you are picky. If you don't want it, just give it back.
I."
"Yes, of course I want it." Asa quickly put the book in his arms. Indeed, any magic that can be useful is good magic. Under the influence of dark meditation, necromancy magic seems to be the only thing he can practice now.
A series of magic. He still remembers clearly how when he encountered Master Aiden, he was hit by lightning and thunderballs flying all over the sky, and then hit him like a rain of lightning and thunder balls, sending him running around. In the future, if he still only relies on the lowest
A level of rotten fireball, even carrying a hundred World Tree Leaves with you is not enough.
Asa looked at the other thing again. It was a soft piece of flesh with twisted facial features that seemed to have been condensed by melted wax. It was actually the mask he used to hide from the Duke when he first arrived in the royal capital. Since then
After the Duke lifted the wanted order against him, he forgot to throw this thing away. Unexpectedly, Sandro put it away.
"You damn old man, you didn't give me this good thing earlier." If the book on necromancy only surprised him, this thing simply made him ecstatic. He brought this thing with him.
, as long as old man Sandro didn't say anything, no one would be able to recognize him except for the limited number of people, including the bishop, Duke Mlac. But he had always forgotten this most important thing, and he had asked Sandro to give it to him when he remembered it.
He could have run away long ago.
"These things of mine are not for sissies." Sandro said calmly. As if he suddenly remembered something, he stretched out his hand to Asa. "By the way, show me the wood-chopping tool on your back.
look.".
Asa took off the knife and handed it to Sandro. The old man looked at it, stretched out his thin and pale fingers and flicked the knife, and it made a sound of gold and iron. "Well. It's really good. It's all used."
It’s a good thing made from Kalundo concentrate. But it looks like it was just made by a good blacksmith without any other processing, right?”
"Well, it's my father." Asa replied.
"Your father?" Sandro nodded and walked into the back room with the knife. After a while, there was a sound of rummaging through the cabinets and he came out with a small bottle. He said to himself: "I just realized today that your knife is such a good thing.
, there is a magic experiment I have always wanted to do. Do you mind."
"Hey..." Asa was a little worried. "Don't break it."
Sandru didn't say a word. He just used a knife to clear a clear space on the stone platform, bit his finger, used his own blood to draw a small magic circle on the stone platform, and placed the knife in the center. Then he put the vial
Unscrew it, and a magical wave with a bit of blood smell comes out.
Asa saw what looked like two animal fangs in the vial, frowned and asked, "What are those?"
"The teeth of a vampire count. These things are not easy to come by. Killing that monster made my head hurt." Sandro murmured in reply. Then he put two teeth on the blade, and then used a
Pressing it with just one finger, he began to mutter a low-pitched incantation.
The entire magic circle began to emit a faint light. Asa could vaguely feel that the extremely huge magic power was condensing and vibrating within the magic circle. However, it was barely emitted from the small space within the magic circle. As Sandru's spell
As he chanted, the magic power in the three-foot-square semicircular space became more and more intense, and the two teeth held by Sandro's fingers actually began to slowly soften and melt.
The bloody smell contained in the teeth filled every space in the big house, completely covering up the smell of corpses that originally occupied this place. I don't know if it was an illusion, but Asa could vaguely hear waves of sharp and miserable howls. This sound was also
It was both real and illusory, but it made his heart shake, as if it was echoing directly in people's minds and souls.
The magic power in the magic circle became stronger and stronger, and the small space seemed to be squeezed into a rough sea. The vampire's two teeth had completely melted into a piece of white liquid flowing on the blade.
Although it was actually inaudible, Asa felt that the roar coming from nowhere seemed to destroy the entire big house. He looked at Sandro in confusion, only to find that this old god was always there.
The old man was already covered in cold sweat, and his face was white and transparent in his beard and tangled hair.
But Asa didn't dare to say anything at will. In this case, interrupting the spell casting was no longer a question of whether there would be something wrong with the knife.
Finally, the shrill scream quickly weakened. The white liquid formed by the melted teeth on the blade also seeped into the blade like water from a sponge.
"Take your hand." Sandro shouted in a deep voice. But before Asad could react, he found that his hand had somehow reached Sandro's hand. Sandro's fingers that were originally pressed against his teeth closed.
He gently picked up a small piece of meat in the center of Asa's index finger. A heartbreaking pain came and the piece of meat had left him.
The splattered blood actually made a hissing sound when it fell on the blade, like dripping on a red-hot iron plate leaving a dark mark. The strange howling sound also completely disappeared. The magic power in the magic circle
At the same time, it was poured into the blade.
Sandro staggered, and Asa quickly stretched out his hand to support him. He stretched out his hand to wipe his sweat and sighed: "I'm really old..."
After taking a few breaths, Sandro pushed Asa's hand away and stood still, saying to him: "Pick up the knife and take a look."
Except for the addition of the blood stain, the knife seemed to have no changes. But as soon as Asa took the knife, he could feel a strange magical power flowing in the blade. It was probably because of the addition of his own blood. This magic
The fluctuations seemed to maintain a strange rhythm with his own breathing and heartbeat. What was originally just an ordinary knife has now become a magical weapon.
He had only heard of magic weapons before. It required the most advanced blacksmith to cooperate with a senior magician during the smelting process, and to add precious magic raw materials to make the magic power permanent in the weapon. Some
The best magic weapons are priceless. But Sandro actually made one on his own in just a moment, which is simply unbelievable.
"You brat are very lucky. I just imagined this magic, but I didn't expect it to work right away." Sandro looked at his work and nodded feebly. "Not bad, not bad."
Asa held the knife, feeling the flow of magic power inside. Then he looked at the book and mask in the other hand, and a strange impulse arose in his chest. He looked at the listless Sandro, and suddenly turned towards him
Bowed: "Thank you... for taking such good care of me."
But Sandro's spit almost hit his face. "Don't be so stupid, no one is looking after you. Get out of here."
Asa looked at this weird old man and smiled bitterly, and said, "If I am free in the future, I will come back to see you."
Sandro looked at him carefully from top to bottom again, nodded, shook his head again, and murmured: "Well, actually, when I first saw you, I thought you were just a cheap coolie..."
Who would have thought that so many things would happen later... It's really unpredictable. But forget it, don't think about it. Just do your own thing. Get out... Oh, by the way, you
Why don’t you go say hello to Ronis?”
"Forget it. I think this will save you the trouble." Asa smiled bitterly and shook his head. "And I heard that Bishop Adela came from the Holy See today. Bishop Ronis is probably busy."
"Bishop Adela?" Sandro was stunned after hearing the name. He raised his head and squinted his eyes and thought for a while. "It seems like I heard someone mention this name...a strange feeling." But in the end, he seemed to
I didn't think of anything, I just lowered my head and frowned and said to Asa. "Well... after you leave, don't come back even if you are free. I always feel that something is a little strange..."
"What's weird?" Asa asked.
"There's nothing for you to be surprised about." Sandro waved his hand. "If you want to get out, just get out."
He walked out of the big house and came to a hillside outside the royal capital city, looking back at the endless houses. Although this place seemed to have many unpleasant memories for him, he thought that after leaving, he would never come back.
Actually I still feel a little reluctant to part with it.
What are you reluctant to part with... Asa sighed.
Evening. In the Duke's Mansion.
The young female Assistant Secretary of Finance had just finished reviewing the last batch of documents today and stood up to walk around. She had been sitting at her desk working since the morning, and it had been more than ten hours now. She had searched all over the empire.
There will never be a more dedicated and conscientious official in the bureaucracy than her.
Not only that. Her ability is equally astonishing. In just a few months, the empire's financial balance, which had been in chaos, slowly became organized under her arrangement. Her outstanding ability was recognized by all officials in the court.
recognition, coupled with her father's influence and intentional or unintentional means. Although she is still an assistant minister in name, many major financial matters are already handled by her personally. The old minister of finance is happy to leave the work to this outstanding junior.
By the way, she can also express to Duke Mrak that she really has the intention to abdicate in favor of a worthy person. As we all know, she may be the finance minister of the empire in a short time.
For the convenience of working, and because she was not well-off as a daughter, she simply set up her office in the Duke's Palace. Of course, this also had Duke Mrak's intention. Her daughter was in charge of the entire empire's finances in her own home. In fact,
There are extraordinary conveniences in nature, and it has to be said that it is a huge enjoyment mentally.
This approach seems to be a bit based on the truth. However, Xiaoyi's work was indeed done very well and was impartial and fair, which left people speechless. The most important thing is that with the Duke's current power and status, he
There is no need to be afraid of what people will say anymore.
Gossip is terrible, and a good reputation is necessary, but that is only true when there are competitors and you need to win the favor of others and numb the opponent's feelings. When the momentum is already the same, even if it is not covered by one hand,
When the sky can block most of the sky, there is no need to spend extra effort to erect any memorial arches. Of course, the Duke is by no means the kind of shallow person who is complacent once he gains power and is afraid that others will not know that he can control the wind and rain.
Disciple. He is very measured.
However, the Duke was really overjoyed that his daughter could actually have the opportunity to embark on an official career, and showed such strong ability, ambition and political desire. Father and son are always involved in battle. He does not have a son, but he has such a capable person.
My daughter is definitely gratifying enough.
I often hear others praising her as a tiger father with no dog daughter, but Xiaoyi herself often smiles bitterly secretly. Maybe everyone thinks so, and so does her father, but in fact it is not the case.
She has no desire for power at all. She may not be the most capable, diligent, or great official in the world, but she is definitely the most helpless.
She seemed to have everything. She had status, status, a home, a husband, and relatives. But in fact, she knew best that she had almost nothing.
She is not the kind of person who is suitable for her own life circle at all. The only meaning of her husband and home in name only is restraint and shackles from the beginning. Although she also has a father, the Duke's actions are enough to make her
Any child shudders, and even the smallest feeling of closeness can no longer arise.
Fortunately, she finally had a career. After risking her life to save the emperor, she faced many rewards and only asked for a position so that she could legitimately escape from the role of a noble lady.
And she really did it. She has a smart mind, and her long-term adventurous life abroad has made her well aware of the sufferings of the common people. She can immerse herself wholeheartedly in her work and try her best to do everything in her hands.
Good. When you are too busy and have no time to worry or think about anything, you will indeed feel much better. And when you achieve results and look back at those achievements, you do seem to have a sense of satisfaction. She slowly found
I have regained my focus in life, and even have some goals and fighting spirit. I feel that the work I am doing may help thousands of people eat more, live more comfortably, and this country can be better. This kind of
The sense of fulfillment and accomplishment is truly satisfying
But in the dead of night, when she had to stop working and rest, she couldn't help but feel lonely and unknowingly wonder: How is he now?
Xiaoyi walked to the balcony of the room and stared at the stars in the sky. For some reason, the night sky tonight was particularly clear, just like the beautiful starry sky he saw on the wild highlands with him. He sighed deeply and remembered again.
I remember those days in Oufu. Those carefree and happy times...but these have passed forever.
I don’t know if I was too tired from work, but my mind was a little dazed. I seemed to hear his footsteps again. The sound of the burlap shoes rubbing on the ground, the unique rhythm slowly approaching, even the tip of my nose seemed to feel him again.
That body odor with a bit of sweat... Xiaoyi couldn't help but close his eyes, intoxicated by this hazy hallucination like smoke and mist.
"Such stars are really rare in the capital. But how can you see them if you close your eyes?"
Xiaoyi opened his eyes suddenly and turned around. He saw him standing next to her.
He was no longer wearing the white robe of a priest, but the same ordinary coarse clothes as before, his hair was a little messy, and he still carried the weird-shaped knife on his back. Just like when he was in Eufu.
She was extremely surprised, but she didn't dare to move, and she didn't dare to confirm whether the thing in front of her was an illusion caused by her thoughts or real.
Asa put his hand on her face, caressed her face and sighed: "You have lost weight again...Didn't I tell you not to be picky about food?"
Resisting the urge to throw herself into his arms, Xiaoyi took a hard step back and asked, "Why are you here? Why are you like this?"
"I'm leaving." Asa looked at her with a smile and said lightly.
"Go? Where are you going?"
"Travel around the world, like I told you before."
"Didn't the bishop arrange so many things for you? Didn't you do it?"
"No more."
"How can that be done? Those are very important things, how could you just walk away? Moreover, the bishop has great hopes for you and has arranged such a good opportunity for you. Everything he has done has also been
It’s for you. Now that you leave..."
"But those are not what I want to do. I have made up my mind to leave here and never come back." Asa took a step forward.
"Never come back again?" Xiaoyi looked at him.
"Yes, I will never come back." Asa hugged her in his arms. "I came to see you tonight."
"What are you doing, let go..." Xiaoyi struggled hard, but his arms were held tightly.
Finally she could no longer struggle and fell onto his shoulder, tears welling up in her eyes. "When you leave..." her voice was choked with sobs and she couldn't speak.
Now that you are gone, what will my previous giving up mean?
Asa lowered his head and found her lips. He already felt...
The door to the room opened with a bang. The Duke appeared at the door, his eyes like daggers.
Asa turned over and jumped off the terrace, disappearing into the darkness after a few jumps.
"Father..." Xiaoyi backed away in panic. It had been a long time since she had been so flustered.
Duke Mrak quickly walked up to the terrace and glanced a few times in the direction where Asa disappeared. He still had a very friendly smile on his face, but his eyes could already blow his hair off. "I originally wanted to come and ask my daughter for some advice.
Financial matters, but I didn’t expect that there would be uninvited guests so late, and I heard some very interesting things... But there are still some things that I don’t quite understand, Xiaoyi, can you tell dad? Hahaha
…”
Such an affectionate title of dad, like her father's happy laughter, has disappeared from Xiaoyi's memory for a long time. Now she hears it again after more than ten years, but it only makes her feel as if she has fallen into an ice cave, and every pore in her body is numb.