Crying Face Mask

The wind in late autumn blows through the fallen leaves, bringing with it the sweet aroma of ripe fruit. Small bunches of red coral fruit dot the bushes. This sweet-sour fruit is very popular with children. It is a hot commodity in the town of Cross.

However, there were few children in the new town, so Mason was able to get a small bag of freshly washed red coral fruit. He thought for a few seconds and ran happily to find Ronald.

As the new town's armed force, Ronald has been very busy. Because the caravan was out in the morning, the pioneers had a day off. When Mason found him, the knight was exercising alone in the open space behind the house.

He took off his shirt, revealing his tight muscles and scars. The deepest one went through his back, and it was obvious that the situation was extremely dangerous.

Sweat soaked his wheat-colored skin, glistening with a crystal light. The knight held the sword in both hands, repeating the boring chopping, and his movements were very standard.

Mason stood by and watched. After finishing a set of training, the knight let out a long breath and turned to look at him.

"How come you have time to come see me today?"

The young man held up the bag of red coral fruit in the same way as Xianbao.

"I haven't chatted with Mr. Ronald for a long time. Today we have some free time. Let's take a break together?"

"OK."

Ronald readily agreed, and the two sat in the shade to eat red coral fruit. As they ate, Mason's eyes fell on the other's sword.

A unique translucent blade, a light golden hilt engraved with griffins and bauhinias, a longsword made by the god of war Harrison himself, and the saber of the glorious knight Christine.

Traveling through time always makes people feel dazed. The friend I met yesterday has become a legendary figure today. Knowing the ending when I open the book can make people feel mentally exhausted.

The boy's cheeks bulged as he spoke incoherently, "It would be great if I could really control everything."

"Why do you say that?"

"There are many things in the world. If I had the power, I might be able to save some people and things...Alas!"

Before Mason finished speaking, he put his hand over his head in pain. He never expected that the knight would hit him on the head, and his eyes widened. The other party withdrew his hand and looked at him seriously with his deep blue eyes.

"This is a terrible thought, Mason. Never regret your weakness. If you have the power to save one person, save one person; if you have the power to save a hundred people, save a hundred people. Be just, but don't expect too much from the result."

"oh..."

Mason muttered. Ronald sighed, rubbed the boy's forehead, and his expression softened.

"I don't think I've told you my story. The Dabernaar family is an ancient family. We believe in loyalty and justice. My father, mother, and clansmen all died for their ideals. I followed them to learn how to fight since I was a child, and witnessed my companions die in front of me again and again, until it was my turn to pick up this sword."

"...It was a painful time. The important people kept leaving me, and I was left alone. I kept wondering, why am I so weak? They left [Harrison's Longsword] to me, am I really worthy of holding this sword?"

Mason blurted out: "Of course! You are the best knight of this era!"

No one in Cross County would question that Ronald was an excellent knight. He smiled and answered gently.

"Thank you for the compliment."

"At first, I was actually very pessimistic. What's the point of trying? The black mist is so terrible that it will swallow everyone. I am fighting an enemy that I can't win. This emotion reached its peak when I found out that my only remaining relative was plotting to kill me in order to get the position of head of the family."

"The tradition of Dabernaar is that children need to prove their abilities when they reach the age of sixteen and personally obtain the bloodline that suits them. Several clansmen with ulterior motives took the opportunity to kill me and take the sword away. In the critical moment, it was the two viscounts who saved me. Since then, I have followed them, and it has been more than ten years now. Mason, I should actually thank you, you have changed me."

The boy looked up blankly: "Huh?"

"...You may not know this. You have been very weak since birth because of the Black Mist Curse. Everyone said that this child was hopeless. But the two viscounts were unwilling to give up on you. They kept running around and tried their best to find a solution. When Mr. Canaan came to the castle and you opened your eyes for the first time, I felt happy from the bottom of my heart."

The knight's gaze gradually drifted away, as if he was recalling something that happened long ago.

"Before you woke up, you were just a...stranger to me? Sorry, I probably shouldn't say that. You were lying on the bed at that time, and you didn't communicate with me at all except that you were still breathing and in pain."

"Because you are the Viscount's beloved child, I will do everything to protect you. But other than that, I don't know what you like or what kind of person you are. You are just a responsibility to me."

"And now, I know that you are brave and strong. You are willing to take the initiative to solve problems when you encounter them. Even though you are loved, you are still willing to work with the townspeople. You will not refuse training because you are tired. You are smart and know what you want to do. You are mature and don't look like a child who has been unable to move since childhood."

Mason put a red coral fruit in his mouth with a guilty conscience, trying to look innocent. Ronald was immersed in his own thoughts and did not notice this little difference.

"...You are more than just a responsibility to me now. You are someone who deserves my care and protection, just like the Viscount and the others. You have done a great job, Mason. Your existence has saved many people, so there is no need to rush to grow up."

Well, actually he had done a lot of things when these people didn't notice. But Mason didn't hate the feeling of being cared for. The boy blinked and buried the secret in his heart. Seeing his well-behaved appearance, Ronald's expression softened. He hesitated for a moment and mentioned another thing obscurely.

"After the first snow of winter falls, the road between Newtown and Crosstown will become very difficult to travel. Do you want to go back and take a look?"

"The two viscounts may seem a little strange to you, since you haven't been around each other much before. But they miss you very much. The last time I went back, they kept asking me if you were doing well."

Mason's eyes flickered. He was not used to occupying someone else's child's body for no reason and calling him "Mom and Dad". The knight seemed to see through his hesitation and did not urge him. He ate the red coral fruit peacefully.

When he ate the sixth pill, the boy sitting next to him nodded and said, "When the caravan comes next time, I will go back to Cross Town with you to see my parents."

"Good boy."

Ronald ruffled his hair with his clean hands and stuffed the last red coral fruit into his mouth. Mason's face turned red, and he was really treated like a child. He ran away and jumped up from the ground in a hurry.

"I'll go see how the wood is stacked!"

This boy is shy.

There weren't many people in the new town, so everyone knew exactly where the work was going. The firewood had already been piled up a few days ago, so why did he need to go there to check?

Ronald couldn't help but laugh and shook his head, then stood up and continued practicing swordplay.

Mason's words did have the implication of running away, but they were not entirely an excuse.

The wood used for heating must be dry wood, otherwise it will burn out black smoke. In the town of Cross, every household will build a fence specifically for storing wood, so that it can be taken and used at any time.

Xinzhen didn't have the technology at the moment, so they just piled the wood together and built a shed to protect from snow and rain.

Mason wanted to see something else. He specially ordered a small house to be built next to it, and someone would be responsible for watching it every day when winter came to prevent fire or collapse.

The townspeople sweated as they built the frame of the cabin, the logs needed to be trimmed, the surfaces polished, and the furniture placed inside.

The excess wood would be sharpened and sent to the railings for reinforcement, to protect against wild beasts in winter.

"It's a waste to stay indoors all winter. At least we need to ensure that every household has thick clothes and blankets. If that's not possible, we can ask Cross Town for some support. We're all going to call our parents home, so it's not shameful to borrow some things."

Mason arrived at the Erosion Fish River, where Roland was leading people to deal with the waste poles in the field. These things could not be used to make medicines, and they also contained a lot of pollution. For safety reasons, they needed to be completely removed.

Mason joined the team without hesitation. He deployed the absorption form of [Mother of Incubation], and transparent spore tentacles fell on the fields, and the waste stalks contaminated by the light absorption were broken into powder.

Roland was already accustomed to the unusual behavior of this young nobleman, so he greeted him with a smile.

"Good afternoon, Master Mason. Have you decided what you're going to plant next spring?"

"I intend to adopt your previous proposal."

Roland had previously made a list of polluted plants suitable for growing in New Town. One of them looked like a pea flower, which released a pungent powder from its flowers and was a good material for medicine. Mason thought this was good.

The two discussed the next crop, and Roland brought good news: "I wrote to my friends in the north before, and they mailed me some edelweiss seeds. This flower melts when heated, and is an excellent fusion agent."

Mason's eyes lit up when he heard this: "We can plant some."

"More than that. The edelweiss is very beautiful and poses little danger to ordinary people as long as it doesn't melt. Town residents can come and see it."

The boy suddenly had an idea: "We can treat this as a festival."

"Holiday?"

"Yes, every festival has a special meaning, and Newtown should have its own festival. Every time the edelweiss blooms, people in Newtown will come here to watch and drink wine together to reward themselves for a year of hard work."

Mason responded immediately: "It's called the Edelweiss Festival!"

“Velvet Festival...”

The townspeople who were dealing with the waste poles immediately started to discuss quietly. Roland chewed on the name carefully and nodded.

"In that case, I plan to open another field, and it will look better then."

Mason supports it unconditionally. After viewing the flowers, you can pick them and sell them for money. Isn't this a great thing?

Four days later, the caravan returned to Xinzhen as promised.

The polluted plants on the truck disappeared, replaced by cloth, linen, salt, tools... The mountains of resources are staggering, and no one else would be able to achieve the same brilliant results.

The profiteer nodded to Mason who came to greet him like a hero returning from a triumphant victory, and almost raised his hand to welcome the cheers and applause of the crowd. Bai Manlian beside him took it for granted. In his opinion, it would be absurd if the master could not get such a brilliant victory.

In contrast, we can see that the entire caravan was visibly respectful towards the profiteers.

After the caravan passed by, the curious townspeople asked in a low voice what had happened. The friendly caravan members smacked their lips and spoke in a very solemn tone.

"Listen to my advice. It is better to offend Lord Ronald than to offend Mr. Merchant. If you offend Lord Ronald, at most you will be scolded, but if you offend Mr. Merchant, you will lose everything."

How to break a ruble into two halves?

One only needs to look at the merchants in Ya'an city who were underpriced by unscrupulous businessmen to understand this.

When the black-robed merchants walked out of the commercial street, no merchant behind them could laugh. The caravan left Ya'an in a quiet and strange atmosphere, and everyone could empathize with those merchants.

Ordinary people would bargain a little more when buying things, but unscrupulous merchants would sell at cost price. Not only that, he also made sly comments, making all the merchants blush.

A blacksmith who was proud of his craftsmanship came to his house in person because of his evaluation, but left after one minute with his face covered. The caravan members looked at his distraught figure with sympathy, and their respect for the dishonest businessman went up a level.

This is not difficult for the unscrupulous businessman. As long as he sees the goods, he can quickly analyze their value from the small words that jump out of his vision. Even the Lord of All Things and All Powers will not be able to cheat a single rouble out of his pocket.

Mason ordered the supplies to be sent to the Chamber of Commerce, which was currently serving as the warehouse for the new town. The price was that someone had to look after the store when the profiteer was away.

Yes, Mason really planned to take Bai to Partington this time. A profiteer always needs some helpers in Partington, and Bai's performance in the new town is good, so just take it as a reward for him.

The profiteer announced this to Bai after moving the goods. Although he had sensed the signs before leaving, after getting permission, Bai wanted to tell the whole world about it.

As long as I can be with my master, I am happy no matter where I go. But if I were to say what I want to do most, it would be to become my master's trusted weapon.

He doesn't want to be a pet that wags its tail at home, but rather wants to go out with the other person to face the storm, even if it means destruction.

"Don't worry."

As if he could read his thoughts, the profiteer laughed softly, with undisguised joy and appreciation in his laughter.

"From today on, you will be my assistant."

The black-robed merchant took out two things from his sleeves and handed them to the other party.

It was a black robe and a white mask with a wrinkled crying face painted in red paint. Bai put on the mask without hesitation. From the outside, he looked exactly like the profiteer.

These were all common items, without any special functions, but Bai felt extremely satisfied.

The profiteer neither praised nor commented on him. After he calmed down, he said, "Let's go."

A black hole appeared under the two people's feet, swallowing their figures.

When he reappeared, the magnificent scenery appeared in Bai's vision. Seeing the beloved jewel in the palm of the hand right in front of everyone's eyes inevitably aroused infinite desire, and Bai was no exception.

He gazed at the beautiful city in a trance, thinking that one day he would use it as an ornament for his master's crown.