Chapter 118

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Lian Yun glanced meaningfully at the group of orcs behind him.

Those people once again looked at each other.

Finally, before Lian Yun's patience ran out, a few people stood up, walked forward silently, and pulled open the heavy wooden fence.

Make way for them to pass through.

Lian Yun and his group walked in under their gaze without any shame.

The houses and facilities here are very common, and there is nothing unusual to see.

Lian Yun didn't look at it any further. No one would openly say, "I have a problem."

She stopped and faced the crowd: "Someone who can take charge should come out."

On the surface, these people are like a group of well-behaved sheep, flocking together, polite and fragile. It seems that as long as they are asked to do it, they will do it.

Sure enough, as soon as Lian Yun said this, a woman walked out from the crowd.

But this woman doesn't look like a manager at all.

She lowered her head and looked at Lian Yun cautiously. The apron she was wearing was stained with red sauce.

"Sir...we don't have a village chief here. Everyone helps each other."

The woman spoke in a low voice, as if she was hesitant to speak, but when she spoke, she seemed quite proud.

The group of people behind her gave her encouraging looks, which made her stand up straighter and speak more confidently: "Sir, what can I do for you?"

Lian Yun's eyes darted between them without probing further: "Regardless of whether there's a village chief or not, Bernie's group were sent by you, right?"

The woman's gentle and timid expression changed at these words.

"Bernie? What a stupid thing he did!"

The woman's expression was stern, completely different from just now, but she and the people behind her didn't find it strange.

"That idiot! Oh, sir, if he did something wrong, please don't be angry. You can just kill him to vent your anger... This thing is not worth your anger." After scolding Bernie, the woman immediately put on a pleading and worried face again, looking at Lian Yun sincerely.

"Is that so? But it is said that he cut down the trees in order to allow you to enter the forest."

Lian Yun ignored the mood swings of these people.

"You're lying! That damn thing!" the woman cursed with a ferocious face.

The next second, her knees bent and she almost fell to the ground. "We didn't instruct him to do that. It was the higher-ups who told us to deliver the invitation. Whenever we meet the elves, we must hand over our invitation no matter what."

"Where's the invitation?"

The woman shook her head tremblingly: "No..."

Lian Yun narrowed his eyes: "Are you fooling me?"

"No!" The woman suddenly raised her head. "That's just an order from above. We haven't received an invitation yet. We're just following orders!"

Lian Yun paused for a moment, a smile curling up his lips. "So, 'up there', do you know that you've already told others about the mission?"

The woman was stunned. "They didn't ask us to keep this mission a secret..."

After she finished speaking, she turned back somewhat unconfidently. Seeing the people behind her nodding their heads in support of her, the woman became more certain of her answer.

"Yes! They didn't ask for it."

Lian Yun suddenly became interested again. "So, if 'the higher-ups' don't require it, you can disobey them?"

They nodded.

"Bernie is from your village, right?"

"Yes."

"Why did you treat him like that?"

The group of people took a while to react, looked at each other, and had no idea what Lian Yun meant by "that way".

"Beating and insulting." Lian Yun kindly reminded.

"You're saying this!" The woman suddenly realized something and said with a reasonable look, "Sir, it's really wrong for you to be angry with us for this. This is how it should be treated."

"...Did the higher-ups tell you that?"

The woman nodded naturally.

"So, who is 'up there'?"

They suddenly stopped talking and shook their heads.

It seems that this cannot be said.

"Then..." Lian Yun looked around with burning eyes.

With its well-organized facilities, clean streets, and tidy houses, it can definitely be selected as one of the top ten villages and towns.

"So your village is hiding some secrets."

This incident caused the villagers to be troubled again.

They looked at each other. This question was probably not something they would refuse to answer, but they knew it was very important and did not dare to speak about it easily.

Suddenly, there was a loud bang from the door of a house near the village entrance.

Everyone looked behind them nervously, and when they saw the house where the sound came from, there was a moment of panic on their faces.

"What's going on?"

The woman took a few steps back and whispered to others, but Lana heard it all.

"I, I locked her up with those things. There's no way she can escape!"

The woman was very disappointed: "You must have not locked it properly! This is bad. How are we going to explain this to these people?"

"No need to explain." Lanna said in a low voice.

"Open the door."

The woman raised her head in panic and waved her hands repeatedly: "No, no."

Lian Yun pressed on: "Is it Honey?"

"!" The woman became even more panicked: "How do you know!"

Her expression said it all. Lian Yun said no more and winked at the orcs behind him. They immediately rushed forward, forcibly separated the crowd and made way for Lian Yun.

Lian Yun walked all the way to the door under everyone's panicked gaze.

She heard a faint but urgent cry for help from inside: "Let me out!"

It's a little girl.

Lian Yun reached out and turned the door handle, but it didn't move.

She frowned and knocked on the wooden door a few times with her knuckles bent. "Are you okay?"

There was a sudden silence inside the door. After a few seconds, "Who are you?"

They realized that the girl's voice had calmed down, and she must have recognized their unfamiliar voices and became wary.

Lina took a few steps forward and stuck to the door: "Don't be afraid, Bernie asked us to rescue you."

"Bernie!" The little girl grasped the key words accurately and was very excited: "He asked you to come? Is he okay?"

"He's fine, but what about you? How are you going to get out?"

The little girl cried, "They locked me and the abandoned beast in here. We finally opened the door to the basement, but its horn was broken off and we couldn't open it..."

Lian Yun listened to the little girl's intermittent description. Although he didn't understand what the "abandoned beasts" and "horns" in her words meant, he could roughly infer their situation.

Lian Yun turned around and found the woman again in the crowd: "Come here and open the door."

The woman gritted her teeth and shook her head stubbornly: "I can't."

This was the first time he said something other than a request or a refusal.

Lian Yun raised an eyebrow: "Why?"

"It's said above! Traitors like her should be punished!"

So they locked a little girl in a basement with some monster?

Facing the serious and hostile gazes of Lian Yun and the others, the woman shrank her neck and stammered, "This, this is punishment."

After that, the people around her nodded in agreement.

This actually gave her the courage to sacrifice herself: "That's right! We can only obey orders. Even if, even if you use force against us, it will be useless!"

oh?

Lian Yun really didn't want to use violence before figuring out the whole story.

Especially this group of people who seemed to be unyielding.

but……

"Isn't it enough as long as it's a punishment?"

The woman was stunned.

"Does 'the higher-ups' have regulations on what form of punishment should be imposed?"

"without……"

"So, is it okay to punish her after she gets out?"

The series of questions confused the woman.

She, who always followed the rules and regulations, suddenly didn't know how to answer these flexible questions.

She subconsciously wanted to seek the opinions and support of those around her, but they, like her, looked confused or lost in thought.

And the result is undeniable.

"There's no need to rush for punishment right now." The woman gritted her teeth and stated her decision.

She came forward, pulled a rusty key from her pocket, and walked to the door.

At this moment, a keyhole suddenly appeared under the handle of the plain wooden door.

Lanna said solemnly, "It's hiding magic."

Lian Yun immediately asked, "Do you have a magician here?"

The woman quickly shook her head: "No, no, no, this was obtained by someone sent from above to cast a spell."

"In every house?"

"Yes. The keyhole is only visible when each fixed key is brought close to it."

As she spoke, the woman had already opened the wooden door. She pushed it and stepped back, and the door opened.

Lina couldn't wait to go in, but unexpectedly a thin figure flashed through the crack of the door and rushed out.

"ah!"

The little girl bumped into Lina.

Lina rubbed her nose: "My name is Lina, and your name is Honey?"

The little girl also rubbed her forehead and smiled through her tears: "Yes, my name is Honey."

Lina hurriedly introduced Lian Yun and Lan Na to her: "We heard the news from Bernie and rushed to rescue you. The uncles from the orc tribe are also here. Don't be afraid, they won't dare to bully you now."

Honey had a pair of doe-like eyes, her gray-brown pupils flashing with a timid light. She looked up at Lian Yun with joy and nervousness: "Thank you, thank you."

She knew that this sister was the one who had just talked to her outside the door, and she felt a liking for her at first sight.

"Honey, right?" Lian Yun bent down slightly, looked at her at eye level and smiled.

"Can you tell us why you were locked up?"

Hearing the question, Honey's nose felt sore: "Because, because they want to send the abandoned animals away! I don't want them to leave. If they are sent away, they will definitely die!"

The little girl choked up as she spoke: "Please save them!"

When the woman heard the little girl's first words, she wanted to rush over and cover her mouth, but was stopped by the orcs around her.

The woman wanted to curse, but was stared back at by the blond man's cold death stare.

He could only stand there, stamping his feet and staring at Honey fiercely.

"You damn girl! Not only did you sabotage our village's mission, you also became a traitor! Shame on you! Shame on you!"

Honey was determined to cling to Lian Yun.

If he could even save her, then abandoning the beast would definitely be no problem!

The little girl stubbornly turned her back to the villagers and wiped away her tears with her sleeves: "Sister! Please save them!"

Lian Yun glanced at the expressions of the people around him, and became more and more certain that this so-called "abandoned beast" was probably the secret of this village.

She calmly patted the little girl's back and gently asked, "What is an abandoned beast?"

The little girl pursed her lips and once again pushed open the wooden door that had trapped her for a long time.

At the back of the cabin, in front of the staircase leading to the basement, lay a little animal, barely breathing.

Its appearance is very similar to a deer.

Brown fur, delicate and soft short hair, slender and flexible limbs, and long gray-white horns on the head, which had been broken at this time, and horrifying crimson blood was flowing from the broken horns.

The other broken half, with the upper end shaped like a flat and curved petal, was still inserted into the keyhole of the basement door.

Those doe-like eyes that looked exactly like Honey's were now slowly shedding tears, just like Honey's.

With tears streaming down her face, Honey knelt before the "abandoned beast" and wiped away its tears: "Don't be afraid! Nuonuo, someone is here to save us!"

"Is this the abandoned beast?" Lian Yun asked as he found the medicine and handed it to Honey.

Honey took the potion with great joy: "Yes! There are still many abandoned beasts in the basement, but they are all tied up and I can't untie them."

Lian Yun nodded, asked several orcs behind him to stay here to guard, and sent some outside to prevent the people in the village from escaping.

Lina stayed to comfort the friend she had just met, while Lian Yun took Lana down the basement stairs.

The basement was pitch black, and only the light from Lian Yun's body could illuminate a small area around it.

She watched her feet and stopped in time when she saw something other than darkness appear at her feet.

That seemed to be the foot of an abandoned beast.

The two brown hooves were tied together tightly and randomly with hemp rope, and the tied abandoned beast seemed to have given up struggling.

Lian Yun squatted down, bringing the light on his body closer to the ground.

She saw the beast's face.

It looked bigger than the one above, and its beautiful and pure eyes were also silently shedding tears.

Lanner checked it carefully: "It's not hurt."

Its two front legs and two hind legs were tied up tightly. Its more gorgeous horn had been broken at some point, and blood was oozing out of the uneven gap.

Lian Yun couldn't help but frown: "Apply medicine to it."

Lanna agreed.

At this moment, the heavy footsteps of orcs were heard on the stairs.

The two of them looked up and saw the orc coming down with a torch in hand. "The basement is too dark. I found a torch for you..."

The orc's serious face suddenly froze, as if he saw something he had never seen before.

Lian Yun turned around.

In the extremely narrow basement, piled in front of her were dozens of dying abandoned animals.

Their limbs were tied up and they were piled up like garbage. Those who were pressed down were no longer breathing.

Their eyes are open, the living ones are still shedding tears, and the dead ones are still unable to close their eyes.

When the firelight suddenly appeared, the abandoned beasts that were still breathing all rolled their eyes to look for the source of the light.

Some are filled with despair, some are filled with sadness, and some are numb after struggle and resistance.

Lian Yun was shocked when such complex emotions appeared in the eyes of the monster in front of him.

Almost at the same moment, she thought of the monster that Miao An described to her when she was about to leave the forest.

"Gentle and kind."

If it were before, she would only believe that there could be so-called "goodwill" in a unique individual monster like Xiaobai, one in a million.

But now, she completely believed what Miao An said.

When they, who are full of trust, kindness and innocence, are deceived by humans, the mental journey they go through, even for a second, is no less than theirs.

Such despair made it easy for Lian Yun to see how they had trusted those humans without reservation before being betrayed.

"Why……"

The orc holding the torch covered his mouth and his voice began to tremble.

As a race that is shocked by and has an affinity for monsters, they absolutely do not want to see such a scene.

Lian Yun said calmly, "Carry them out... No, untie them first, then take them out."

She pinched the bridge of her nose and let out a short sigh.

She didn't want Lina to see this scene.

The orc understood and immediately took two steps up, revealing half of his body, and waved his hand to call his companions to come down to help.

Without alarming Lina.

Lanna drew his sword and walked up to them.

I thought they would panic, but after what Lian Yun just said, they seemed to understand and there was a hint of gratitude in their eyes.

Lian Yun breathed a sigh of relief, but at the same time he also truly felt that they trusted humans too much.

Just a few helpful words can make them feel grateful.

She squatted down and said softly, "I'm here to save you, don't be afraid."

Then Lanna swung his sword and cut the ropes that bound its limbs.

Feeling relieved, the abandoned beast immediately kicked its hooves and tried to stand up, but its numb and weak muscles caused it to fall to the ground again and again.

Lian Yun could feel that its emotions had stabilized very quickly.

It was not in a hurry to escape, but it was eager to stand up.

With unremitting and continuous persistence, it soon stood up.

It stepped onto the steps with its front legs, turned its head and bowed deeply towards Lian Yun. The next second, it looked at its companions.

Lian Yun understood instantly.

It is making room for its companions.

Lian Yun suppressed his emotions and nodded at it: "I understand, I will send them up as soon as possible."

After hearing what it wanted, it didn't stay any longer, turned around and walked up the stairs.

And in front of Lian Yun, there were dozens of abandoned beasts.

Lanna carried the body of the last abandoned beast to the open space outside the house.

The glow of the setting sun spread across the earth. In the gray and yellow tones, the abandoned animal carcasses were lined up in rows on the streets, tragic and heroic.

The abandoned animals that survived knelt beside their loved ones, crying silently.

"Is there no one to explain this?" Lian Yun looked indifferent.

"What's the mission assigned to you by 'the higher-ups'? Kill them in the basement?"

"Um?"

No one dared to move under Lian Yun's cold gaze.

Lian Yun became more and more certain.

They are not puppets like Bernie, who have few thoughts of their own and only follow orders without asking whether it is right or wrong.

They are people! Real people!

The guilt and caution on their faces showed that they really knew what they were doing.

The woman clasped her hands together and muttered something sadly.

Lanna once again heard her ridiculous prayer -

"God, kind and compassionate God! We were only following your orders... Please bless us!"

"God?" Lian Yun sneered, "Your God wants you to hurt the abandoned beast that trusted you so much, right?"

"If you worship cold-bloodedness and cruelty as your gods, there is no need to mention 'kindness'."

As the woman finished speaking, she began to tremble from the inside out.

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The author has something to say:

Even though I've been doing experiments all afternoon! I'll still be hugging my computer and wrapped in a cotton jacket! I'll be updating twice a day in the hallway!

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