Sing

The early autumn wind blew across the open fields, bringing with it the sweet aroma of ripe fruits. A team transporting food passed through the grass, the wheels crushing the fresh plants and painting them a light green.

The team was a mixed crowd of dark-skinned, strong young men. They whipped the old oxen pulling the carts, smoked homemade tobacco, and talked loudly in their dialect about new things, with occasional loud laughter and coughing, making them look vulgar but full of energy.

One of the men was chatting happily. He spat on the ground and said excitedly, "Sir, are you serious? Are you going to open a trade route for our town in the future?"

The black-robed man who was called "Master" sat next to him and answered with a smile: "Of course, that's why I came here. You can buy anything you want from me. You don't have to go to other towns."

The man was delighted: "That's great. Ya'an is too difficult to get to. It's troublesome to go there once a month. If I can buy these good things in our town, it will save me a lot of effort. Can you help me get a coral wood comb? My wife has wanted it for a long time."

The older man next to him slapped him on the head and said, "What are you thinking about? Do you think you're going to a restaurant to order food?"

The group burst into laughter, and the black-robed merchant calmly waved his hand: "It's okay, as long as you are ready to pay, I can help you get the goods."

The scolded man rubbed his head and thanked him repeatedly: "Then I'll leave it to you. When I hunt again, I'll sell the fur to you. The fur I hunt is of very good quality."

The unscrupulous businessman readily accepted the advice: "Don't worry, don't worry, it's just a transaction between us."

Ronald in front couldn't help but look back. He couldn't understand how they had developed such a close relationship that some of them even wanted to work for a chamber of commerce that didn't even exist, even though it had only been half a day since they got on the bus.

He was confused, while Mason was sitting on his horse, dying. The blond knight rode a big jujube-red horse, with deep and handsome features on his face, and his armor gleaming like silver in the sunlight. He was a mobile heavy killer and a killer of girls' hearts.

The seemingly beautiful scene actually concealed a murderous intention. Although it was not as bumpy as a carriage, Mason felt that the skin on the inside of his thigh had been rubbed raw.

The new town is located in the east of Cross's territory, about a hundred kilometers away from the knight town, and it has to pass through the forest and the river. The road destroyed by monsters is not suitable for carriages. Therefore, in view of the fact that the ox cart is full, Mason can only choose to ride together.

It is a world-class mistake that airships have not spread throughout the streets of human capitals.

Mason looked up at the sky with despair, and simply turned most of his attention to the profiteer, chatting with him while killing time.

They left the knight town in the morning, had a quick lunch and continued on their way. As they got closer and closer to their destination, Ronald no longer paid attention to the conversation behind them, and looked around more and more frequently.

Mason noticed the change in his aura and subconsciously became alert. He opened his eyes wide to observe the movements around him, but unexpectedly, someone patted his shoulder gently. The knight's voice came from above: "Please don't worry, Master Mason. The monsters here have been cleared by the Viscount. We only need to deal with the remaining ones."

Even if the land has been purified, if no one cleans it for a long time, it will still lead to the spread of monsters. During the absence of the two viscounts, Ronald tried his best to eliminate the monsters around the town, but he was not good at attacking, and it was even more difficult to reach such a far place.

As the wheels rolled over the ground, a faint sound of water could be heard from afar, and even ordinary people could sense that the air was gradually becoming darker and heavier. The farmers kept their mouths shut, alert to any abnormality.

Not far ahead, a river appeared before our eyes. The original wooden bridge on the river had broken, leaving only half of it, which had been washed away by the river and was rotten.

The clear river water gurgles and you can see the tiny pebbles on the river bottom and the translucent fish swimming. In this environment, it seems very relaxing and comfortable, like a peaceful painting.

Ronald stared at the river in front of him with a frown. The quieter it was, the more murderous intent it concealed. He took out a piece of dried meat as dry food and threw it into the water. The brown dried meat slowly sank to the bottom and melted at a speed visible to the naked eye, which made the farmers gasp.

"There are monsters down there."

The knight was a bit tricky. He could handle it alone, but if he led a large group, the monsters would definitely react.

The biggest feature that the black fog bestowed on monsters was their variety and distortion. Even experienced bloodline people found it difficult to recognize all the monsters. He looked around, searching for trees that could serve as a bridge, when he suddenly heard a faint reminder.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

He was stunned for a moment, then turned around and looked at the profiteer: "Do you know what kind of monster this is?"

The red eyes on the mask twitched slightly, as if analyzing the pros and cons. After a moment, the profiteer chose to maintain a good relationship. The red pigment melted and flowed, forming a large arc at the corners of his mouth.

"Of course, these should be variations of the bone-eating fish."

Osteichthys...?

Ronald quickly recalled the information about this monster. They were small, transparent, fragile fish that appeared in groups and often cleaned up the garbage left by other monsters. As long as you can find them, ordinary people can kill them one by one. They are not a threat at all.

As if he could see through Ronald's thoughts, the profiteer shook his head and stretched out a bandage from his sleeve and dropped it into the water.

A few seconds later, the water surface suddenly began to ripple violently, and the waves kept hitting the bandage, but it didn't damage it at all. This greatly angered the monster in the water, and the surging waves rushed to the shore, and the bandage rolled up, raising a transparent wave in the air -

No, that's not waves.

The transparent substance was wriggling like a solid substance, falling from the sky with a crackling sound. It looked like waves rolling continuously, but with the excellent eyesight of the bloodline, Ronald could clearly see countless transparent bones in it.

The huge number of bone-eroding fish almost merged with the water flow, and the original river width was doubled. Even if a wooden bridge was built on the water, the monsters would bite the hardest wood into pieces as soon as the waves hit it, and the people on the bridge would eventually fall into the water and die.

For a moment, everyone's scalp tingled, staring at this scene in a daze, not daring to move. The only thing left was to pull the bandage that had been used to catch the fish school away and then casually take it off and put it back into the sleeve of the profiteer.

Ronald suddenly had an idea and felt that the other party was not doing this to show off: "Do you know how to solve them?"

If he had a human face, the black-robed merchant would have smiled a brilliant smile with eight teeth: "Sir Knight, this will be charged separately."

The honest and loyal knight was about to agree, but the young master he was holding suddenly interrupted: "If we can't get through, the new town can't be built, my parents' promise will be in vain, and you will lose more."

The businessman tried to refuse. The boy stared at him and added calmly, "So, since we will be cooperating for a long time, why don't you give me a discount?"

The scarlet pigment solidified slightly, and the boy continued: "Cooperating with us will definitely make you more money. You know how much benefit it has to have a good relationship with the lord."

As he spoke, the numbers in the profiteer's vision changed rapidly, the quantity kept falling, and finally settled at half the price. The words of rejection that were originally blurted out turned into a humble and low-key agreement.

"Of course, I believe our goals are the same, so this time it's only half price. Dear young master."

Ronald stared at this scene in a daze, his mind was a little confused. He had never done business with unscrupulous merchants before, so he didn't understand the meaning behind this sentence. It was not until he paid the money that he realized how much money he had saved. Suddenly, the look in his eyes when he looked at Mason changed.

The latter pretended to be embarrassed and lowered his head, thinking that if he had not been here, Ronald's underwear would probably have been stolen by unscrupulous merchants.

The deal was done. As Robbie disappeared, bandages continued to flow out of the black-robed merchant's sleeves, falling on the water to form a bridge with scarlet patterns spreading across it. The knight blurted out, "Isn't this Oreius's ability!?"

"It looks like you two know each other? He's one of my close customers. We've done a lot of pleasant business together."

The profiteer found time to answer him. After the solid bandage bridge was built, he smiled and bowed: "Please, everyone. It's safe."

Looking at the snow-white bridge, the others did not dare to move for a moment. The linen-haired boy fearlessly stepped onto the bridge, his tense face revealing a hint of nervousness.

"Let's go, we can't be trapped here forever."

Sometimes you have to admit that when everyone is hesitant, even if it is just a child who stands up, it is convincing enough, not to mention that he is the descendant of the lord.

The townspeople chose to follow him. The stalled oxcart slowly moved forward, crossed the river amid the fierce sound of water, and continued forward.

Ronald, who was the last one to fall behind, looked back and saw the snow-white bandage slipping back into the sleeve of the black-robed merchant. The merchant was standing on the river bank, walking as if nothing had happened, and keeping up with the main force with a mysterious and brilliant smile on his mask.

"What a strange bloodline..."

He commented softly, turning his head to look at the boy, his eyes revealing undisguised joy.

Rather than worrying about profiteers, he was more happy that his young master had made great progress and was even able to fight for the territory. He was truly worthy of being the descendant of the Viscount!

Compared to him, Mason sighed to himself, feeling a little tired.

The rest of the journey was haunted by monsters, the road was intermittent, and was blocked by creeping plants from time to time. The knight drew out his long sword, and the translucent blade was clean and pure, shining in the light.

The blond knight looked solemn. Harrison's long sword was unsheathed and would surely be invincible. He would cut all obstacles in two with one sword, cleanly and neatly, and open up a safe path for the rest.

Seeing that he could handle it himself, Mason did not ask the profiteers for help. Otherwise, it would be a real test for their wallets.

After chopping off the deformed head of the last beast, Ronald let out a long breath. The thick black blood slowly rolled down his armor, revealing a sense of awe and heroism. He wiped his face with the back of his hand, turned around and smiled at everyone: "We are here."

Behind him, a town loomed in the overgrown grass and dead leaves. Vines climbed up the wall posts to the rooftops and tangled with the treetops.

The remaining buildings all showed signs of being corroded by unknown things. Mason touched one of the doors out of curiosity, and the rotten wooden door collapsed with a creak, which scared him.

Dark fog, monsters, and time have eroded the life of this town, making all the wood so fragile that it breaks at the slightest touch, and rats and cockroaches can be seen roaming around from time to time.

Fortunately, the townspeople who came were all smart and capable. They immediately picked up the tools on the ox cart, cleared a piece of land according to their custom, and set up simple tents for the night.

Mason was about to help, but the townspeople hurriedly sent him back, telling him not to do anything, as they should chop wood or gather grass.

Soon, warm flames were burning in the night breeze, and unscrupulous merchants blended into the crowd without anyone noticing, selling them ale from who knows where.

Ronald quickly stopped them: "Drinking alcohol is prohibited during work hours, especially please do not sell alcohol of unknown origin to the townspeople."

The profiteer said righteously: "How can this be called of unknown origin? This is what I just brewed!"

The blond knight was a little confused: "...Is this something that can be brewed immediately?"

"You don't understand, my Lord Knight. This is a beer specially brewed to reward the hard work of the townspeople. Drinking it will definitely make you more energetic."

The profiteer winked at him, and the big men who were buying ale rushed forward, shouting, "Yes, yes, this is all to celebrate the reconstruction of the new town, right?"

One of them even punched the knight's breastplate and shouted, "Give our Lord Ronald a drink too. I'll pay!"

The cup was a wooden beer cup, and a full cup of orange-yellow liquor was poured, with a thick layer of snow-white foam on it, and it was directly delivered to Ronald's mouth. The knight was in a hurry to refuse, but he could not resist the enthusiasm of the townspeople and had to take it.

He was about to speak when he glanced at the young master and his expression suddenly became serious: "I can drink, but you can't let the young master drink! You guys are not allowed to persuade him to drink!"

Young Master Mason, who was sitting next to him, froze for a moment, and raised his head with an innocent expression. The two townspeople who were planning to take advantage of the situation and get him drunk also turned around, looked at each other, and decided to stop pretending. They slapped their thighs and shouted back, "You're already in your teens, and you haven't even had a drink. If you tell anyone, you'll be laughed at again!"

Others chimed in: "That's right, my son has been soaking in a wine barrel since he was three years old!"

"A man who has never drunk is not a real man!"

"Is beer alcohol? It's a drink for children. I won't get drunk even if I drink a few barrels of it!"

"Since Master Mason is not allowed to drink, then Lord Ronald should get a few barrels, right?"

The noisy crowd was not polite at all and began to pour wine for Ronald generously. The blond knight opened his eyes blankly, his blue pupils full of confusion, like a golden retriever who was at a loss in the crowd.

After much hard thinking, in order to protect the safety of his young master, the knight silently picked up a glass of beer, raised his head and drank it all, triggering a round of cheers.

Sorry Ronald, your sacrifice is doomed to be in vain.

Mason, who knew nothing about his performance, picked up the wooden cup guiltily. The alcohol content of beer in this era was very low, with a hint of wheat. It had a unique taste when tasted in such an atmosphere.

One of the farmers who persuaded him to drink grinned and said, "How is it? It tastes good, right? It's exactly the same as the one in our town tavern!"

Mason took a sip in silence, probably because he had bought it from the tavern.

Even he himself forgot how many things he had exchanged along the way. As long as he got the ordinary items, the profiteers could immediately analyze and copy them. Therefore, the beer was inexhaustible. When these drunkards woke up tomorrow morning and faced their empty wallets, they would probably regret it collectively.

But now, who cares!

The women in the team cooked and made soup with vegetables brought from home. It was already late today, and Ronald went to the nearby woods while setting up the tent and killed two wild deer and brought them back for everyone to eat.

The aroma of roasted meat filled the air, making people salivate. Even with just a little salt sprinkled on it, it was still roasted to golden brown. A greedy person approached and tried to steal a piece, but was slapped away by the spicy cook.

Her eyes widened as she kept cursing in her dialect until the other person ran away in shame with his tail between his legs, causing everyone to laugh.

The cook put her hands on her hips and looked around in shock, but when she saw that no man dared to look her in the eye, she snorted coldly and cut off the most delicious piece and sent it to Mason.

Mason was stunned. The cook looked to be in her twenties, with freckles all over her face. She was at her brightest and most cheerful age. She spoke straightforwardly, "Master Mason, this is for you."

Mason hesitated for a moment before taking it and whispering his thanks. The cook laughed, rubbed his head with her oil-free hands, and praised him, "Our young master is better than those stinky men. They never brag about my food."

A farmer behind him muttered, "You only let Tommy praise you."

The cook's face flushed, and she turned around and yelled back angrily, "What are you talking about?"

The onlookers were so amused that they fell backwards and Mason couldn't help laughing. The remaining cooks shouted and started to serve the food. The laughing townspeople gathered together and everyone got warm vegetable soup, roast meat and black bread.

Taking advantage of this time, Ronald, with his hair disheveled and his helmet off, finally escaped. He hid beside Mason in a panic and breathed a sigh of relief.

Mason silently handed the barbecue over and said, "Thank you for your hard work."

Ronald waved his hands: "Nothing, it's just that everyone's enthusiasm is beyond my imagination."

He doesn't act like a bloodline man, so people in the territory are not afraid of this viscount. Sometimes they even do things that are not respectful enough to him, which is even a bit scary.

The knight took a bite of the barbecue with lingering fear. Mason secretly hid the wooden cup he had just drunk to the side, for fear of irritating the knight's sensitive nerves.

None of the townspeople, who were having a good time, noticed this. They were talking, bragging, talking, laughing, and a burly farmer finished his soup, scooped up the bowl with a spoon and started singing.

"Hey hey hey hey--hey hey hey--I came from the knight town and saw a pretty girl!"

"She invited me to her house and gave me ale and bread!"

The rest of the people understood: "Oh my god - oh my god - her fingers are thin and long, her hair is like the sun, she stole my heart at the first sight!"

"We love each other, whether in the haystack or in the meadow! Hey, my good girl! I will marry you and wear a beautiful necklace!"

The cooks who were chosen as the singing targets spat but were not really angry. They were not the carefully selected beauties in the city, with chapped palms and rough skin, but their singing was full of passion like fire, and their confidence and straightforwardness were fascinating.

"The next day the girl told him, 'I don't want your necklace, I have my own ring. I am a shepherd girl, born in the clouds. If you want to marry me, go pick the red clouds in the sky to make clothes for me!'"

The men sang: "On the third day I will go to the horizon! I will pick the most beautiful red clouds and give them to my wife as a dowry. I want her to wear rings on all ten fingers, I want the sun to live in my house, and I want my beloved girl to be my wife!"

The black-robed merchant blended into the group without anyone noticing, singing with them until they were hoarse. By the time Ronald noticed him, the firelight had illuminated everyone's faces red. He stared at the white mask in disbelief, wondering how the other person had gotten in.

How did he start singing along so naturally?

"Oh my god - oh my god - her fingers are thin and long, her hair is like the sun, she stole my heart at the first sight!"

"We love each other, whether in the haystack or in the meadow! Hey, my good girl! I will marry you and wear a beautiful necklace!"

The duet was so loud that it filled the air. Ronald tried to hold back and explain himself, but finally gave in to the deafening volume and started shouting too.

"Actually, they are not like this usually! They are just too excited today, please don't mind!"

The boy's eyes lit up and he shouted back just as loudly: "Why should I mind?"

His voice was inconspicuous in the chorus, and he smiled into Ronald's ears: "I think you sing it pretty well. What song is this?"

"It's a folk song about a couple falling in love, and the man goes through many tests before marrying his beloved wife."

The two were whispering to each other when a dark shadow appeared in front of them. They were startled and looked up. It was the cook who had just delivered the barbecue.

A feeling of guilt as if they had been caught surged in their hearts, and the two of them greeted each other with dry smiles. The cook stared at them with an unhappy look on her face.

"Why are you hiding here instead of coming to eat?"

Is there anything more serious for a chef than finding out that others don't eat the food you cook? Of course not!

Under the order of the cook, the duo had to leave their safe little corner and plunge into the crowd. When the townspeople saw them, they immediately cheered and made room for them. After drinking, everyone would masturbate when they saw the young master.

Mason was touched so hard that his hair was all blown up into a bird's nest. His arms were stuffed with so much food that he couldn't even fit it in, which fully demonstrated people's concern. Ronald quickly pulled out the wooden cup that was about to go in, and shouted angrily.

"Don't serve wine to Master Mason!!"

"Okay, okay! I heard it, I heard it!"

The townspeople gave perfunctory responses at once, and Ronald's mouth twitched. He had to place his last hope on Mason.

"Master Mason, you must resist temptation - gulp..."

The person next to him took advantage of the situation and gave him a big gulp of beer. The spicy taste went to Ronald's throat and eyes, and his ears and cheeks immediately turned red. Before he could open his mouth for the second time, the beer rushed into his mouth.

The last scene the knight saw was a blur of excited faces and countless wine glasses. A black-robed merchant was happily passing wine among them. The sound of coins dropping to the ground was continuous and non-stop, making the bandages of the wine passers-by a little excited.

Sorry, Ronald.

My conscience hurts a bit, but it feels so good to collect the money.