Chapter 17
The woman in front of Elphis was very beautiful, and seemed to be in her thirties. Her long chestnut hair was neatly tied behind her head, and a strand of curly hair fell on her temples, which could not be tied up, adding an indescribable charm.
The woman was tall, with a cool face, fair skin, red lips, and thin eyebrows that did not make her look gentle, but rather, because of the upturned eyebrows, she looked majestic and sharp.
Her eyes were also blue, but much lighter than Elphis's, more like ice blue.
She was dressed neatly and cleanly, and her clothes were ordinary, in stark contrast to her unattainable face and temperament, and were similar to the casual clothes worn by ordinary people.
Elphis' eyes moved, and his gaze fell on the long sword the woman was carrying on her back - probably for convenience in fighting.
Just based on this majestic demeanor, if the world wasn't wrong, Elphis would have called her a "heroine" on the spot.
Elphis took a second look at the lady because of her contradictory dress and appearance. He looked at the pile of things in her hands, smiled politely, moved aside a step, and let her go first.
However, she did not expect that the other person's eyes were fixed on him. Seeing the young man move, the woman could not help but take a step forward and stretched out her hand to touch his face - to be more precise, her eyes.
Her hands loosened, and all the goods she was holding fell to the ground, but she seemed not to notice and just kept staring at the boy.
Elphis pursed his lips in embarrassment. What the hell...were there tears in her eyes? Was she trying to scam me?
Winster frowned and stood in front of his brother vigilantly.
Elphis instinctively felt that this lady was too proud to do such a thing.
He touched the child's head to comfort him, and went forward to help him pick up his things. "Ma'am, are you okay?"
Here, if a woman wears her hair in a bun, it means she is married, and it is okay to call her Madam.
Cynthia came back to her senses and glanced at the boy's smooth black hair with disappointment, "Sorry, I lost my composure."
She took the goods that he had picked up for her, looked into Elphis' eyes with longing, and couldn't help but say something: "You look a lot like my child..."
Especially the eye color, it is exactly the same.
Although her child had only been with her for three months, Cynthia didn't know what he would look like when he grew up, but she would always remember that cute little face, those big blue eyes, and the same silver hair as his father...
She had imagined many times what her baby would look like if he were still alive.
When she saw the little boy in front of her, all her fantasies were replaced by this face - her child should look like this.
Too bad the hair color is different...
Elphis' heart skipped a beat, but then he thought that there were many families whose children had accidents, and there was no need to think of himself every time such a thing happened.
He didn't ask any more questions, but calmly agreed, "Really? What a coincidence."
Winster didn't like people staring at his brother, as it made him feel like his brother was being snatched away. He tugged at Elphis's sleeve and said coquettishly, "It's hot outside, let's go in."
Only then did Cynthia notice that there was another child.
She saw that the younger boy was dressed very similar to Elphis, and although he was also handsome, his style was completely different from the young boy.
Cynthia asked gently, "Are you brothers?"
Elphis smiled and patted the kid's head, "Yes."
There's no need to explain their relationship in detail to a stranger, just give it a casual mention.
Cynthia was disappointed again, thinking that one of the children looked like the mother and the other like the father.
Alphis walked around the lady and was about to go in to check the accounts, but Cynthia stopped him and handed him a bunch of things in her hand, "Is there anything you like? I can give it to you."
The cold and beautiful face had long since turned gentle and amiable, and her tone was also very soft. Elphis saw that the other party regarded him as a substitute for her child. He felt pity for her, but did not intend to have any further contact with her.
"Madam, you are really kind and nice, but thank you for your kindness. We can't take things from strangers for free."
Elphis said goodbye with a smile and took Winster into the shop.
Cynthia suddenly felt lost, but she could see that the boy was not in the mood to talk more, so she didn't dare to chase him and chat for a while.
The woman lowered her eyes and looked at the food and special gadgets she had bought for her lost baby, and stuffed them into the space ring on her hand as usual, hoping that one day she would find her child and give him all the gifts she had bought for him over the past decade.
If Elphis turned his head and saw a bunch of things suddenly disappearing, he would probably never question the existence of magic again.
He was just wondering why the lady didn't buy a basket to carry her things... maybe she wanted to save money.
The young man who was collecting money at the counter saw Alphis coming over and immediately smiled, "Al, the money and accounts earned a few days ago are still in the storage room. I just heard from Master Will that you will stay in the city tonight. Big brother invites you to have dinner at Uncle Gray's house!"
The young man who called himself the big brother was called Colin. He was one of the workers in the specialty store. He was tall, strong and hardworking. More importantly, he was literate and could keep accounts, so he was hired by Elphis.
However, Elphis felt that he was too young and it would be too conspicuous for him to be a boss, so he had been making his fortune quietly. Gray and Moon were in charge of the tavern and hotel, and Uncle Will was in charge of the specialty store, so Cole always thought that he was a fellow villager trusted by Master Will.
Without the protection of a legal contract, he didn't worry about being sidelined and having his profits taken away by his boss. On the one hand, everyone was counting on him to come up with more money-making ideas, and on the other hand, he was not incapable of using harsher means of revenge...
When Elphis heard Colin say he would treat him, he couldn't help but smile, "I'll treat you. I always stay in a small place in the countryside and have no place to spend money. Let me experience the feeling of squandering."
Colin waved his hand and said, "Go away, how much money can a child have? Go over and settle your account."
The young man was hesitant to speak - my employee took the salary I paid him and went to my pub to treat me to a meal?
Hiss, my conscience hurts a bit...I'll give him a raise next month!
After chatting for a while, the two brothers unlocked the door and entered the storage room compartment as if they were familiar with the place. Elphis counted the inventory and checked the accounts, while Winster sat in front of a box of coins and counted the money.
The afternoon passed by leisurely, and during dinner, Colin even ordered an extra portion of pudding for them - children, after all, like sweet things.
Elphis/Winster: Not really, thank you.
When it comes to sweets, Winster only likes to eat the cakes his brother makes for him. The cakes are soft, sweet and covered with a layer of tempting jam. They are delicious in themselves, and since his brother only makes them for him, they are doubly delicious!
When Elphis was thinking about what new dish to teach Moon, he suddenly thought of cake, which could be sold at a higher price.
His knowledge of cake making was limited to a video he saw when he was bored in his previous life. Because the steps looked tiring, he still had some impression of it. As for why it was tiring... it was because when people beat the egg whites into buttercream, they didn't use a machine, they beat it by hand.
Elphis hesitated for a moment...he was pretty free anyway, so he did it!
He first made a manual egg beater with a bamboo stick, and then stirred it frantically. By the time the egg white turned into a creamy consistency, his head was already dizzy and he had no idea how long it took.
I added eggs, milk and sugar to the white wheat flour, poured in the hard-earned cream and mixed well. Then I borrowed Uncle Tony's oven and spent quite a while, but luckily the finished product tasted pretty good.
Elphis thought it was just okay, but Uncle Tony took a bite and was amazed! If such a delicacy can be sold in large quantities, what is the point of bread? !
Unfortunately, he has seen all of Al's processes and he knows how to do it, but... well, he's old and his arm strength is not as good as before. Forget it, let others earn some money.
Elphis and Winster shared a cake, and decided not to give this useless food to Moon. The boy thought bitterly that when he made a lot of money in the future, he would hire a lot of workers to make cakes. One gold coin per piece would not be too much, right?
However, the future is better than he imagined. How could the current Elphis imagine that he would have to hire low-level wind magicians to whip the cream in the future, and the price would increase several times. There would be a large number of stupid and rich people in the royal city... No, it would be the dignitaries who knew how to appreciate delicious food and gave him money.
After having dinner with Brother Colin, Elphis took Winster for a walk. The combination of old European houses and Chinese lanterns looked a little awkward to him, but he soon got used to it.
The next day, Elphis bought new clothes and some new books for the family of three, and then rode home with Winster.
——
The weather is getting hotter and hotter. Recently, people no longer need to boil water to take a bath or wash their hair. The scorching sun has heated the originally freezing river water to a suitable temperature. When the sun sets, sweaty men go to the river in groups to wash their bodies.
Elphis is not a germaphobe, but he also doesn't like taking a bath with a group of rough uncles and a few noisy children.
He would take Winster, or go alone, to a deeper place upstream to find some quiet time and swim a lap. If he was lucky, he could catch a big fish with his bare hands and bring it back to cook.
One day, Elphis went to pull weeds and water his vegetable garden. When he came back, he saw his sensible brother cooking dinner.
It was very hot next to the firewood, so the boy picked up a palm-leaf fan to fan his younger brother who was cutting vegetables.
Winster smiled sweetly, "I'm not afraid of the heat. Brother, go to the river and wash yourself. You can come back in time for dinner. If you go too late, the water will be cold."
"You're not going?"
"I've boiled some hot water for Grandpa, so I can just take a shower at home."
"Is that so? Then I'll have to trouble my best brother in the world to stay here and cook by himself."
Winster squinted his eyes and rubbed his brother's hand on his head, like a handsome and clingy big black cat.
Alphis took his change of clothes and went to the river. He felt much more relaxed since he had someone to help with the housework. Unfortunately, Winster was completely different in front of him and in front of outsiders. Except for him, no one knew how well-behaved and considerate his child was.
The water surface was sparkling and clear, and the young boy went into the water with only his shorts on, chasing a big fish for fun.
As the water moved, the water plants at the bottom of the river swayed a few times.
The aquatic plants here are not long, so there is no risk of entanglement, so Elphis dared to swim down. As he got closer, he suddenly caught a glimpse of a third color besides the muddy soil and green aquatic plants - it was as if he saw golden light next to a big rock?
The water plants swayed and the golden color flashed away, but Elphis did not intend to treat it as a mistake. What if someone really dropped a gold coin into the river by accident?
He was not rich enough to be too lazy to pick up a gold coin, so he swam to the surface to take a breath, then dived again to check.
Pulling aside the water plants, the boy's eyes lit up - although this thing was buried in the river soil with only the head left and he couldn't see what it was, it was definitely valuable!
Elphis didn't see the whole thing and didn't know what it was. He could only tell from the part exposed from the river soil that it was an exquisite silver object wrapped and decorated with golden patterns. It was a cylinder slightly thicker than a baby's wrist, just right for him to hold in one hand and pull it out.
Fortunately, the current in this place was weak, and Elphis was able to stand firmly and exert some strength. Unfortunately, after pulling for a while, the treasure didn't move at all, which showed that it was pressed very hard.
He went ashore to rest for a while, then went down again and laboriously moved the stone that was pressing on the treasure.
Fortunately, it only weighs about twenty pounds, so he can still move it by himself.
After moving the stones, he got a stitch in the side again and swam up again. This time, he waited until his strength had almost recovered before he dared to go into the water and continue to swim.
He didn't want to dig the treasure out by digging the soil. Not only would it be dirty, but it would also make the water turbid and affect his vision. So Elphis could only hold the edge of the treasure and pull it out.
The boy's palm had just been rubbed by the rough stone, but only scratches were visible, not serious. At this time, he was tightly holding the thing with delicate golden patterns, and the wound had been squeezed to produce traces of blood.
However, he did not notice at all that the blood from his palm did not spill into the water, but seeped into the treasure he was holding tightly, leaving no trace.
Elphis finally pulled the treasure out completely, only to notice that it was a stick-like thing about one meter long. Without taking a closer look, he hurriedly swam ashore.
After catching his breath for a while, he finally had the energy to wash off the mud covering the treasure. When the full appearance of the object was revealed, even Elphis, who had seen countless exquisite handicrafts in modern times, couldn't help but be amazed - his intuition was right, this was indeed a treasure!
The exquisite scepter is 1.5 meters long and is mainly made of silver. There is only a smooth spot in the middle for the user to hold it. The rest of the area has intricate and delicate carvings with clear and smooth textures.
The silver color gives it a restrained elegance, while the golden decoration that wraps around the main body like a vine blatantly displays the dignity of the scepter.
The golden vine is only as thick as chopsticks, and is wrapped around the silver body together with a few hollow leaves. The gold plays a perfect decorative role without taking up too much of the scepter to make it look ostentatious and noble. It complements the silver color and creates a sense of elegance and luxury.
The top of the scepter is inlaid with a fist-sized milky white diamond-shaped gem, and two slightly larger hollow golden vine leaves are crookedly attached to the gem, like decoration or protection.
Elphis admired it carefully for a while and suddenly realized a problem - this treasure was buried so deep in the mud at the bottom of the river, and no one knew how long it had been here?
Moreover, even if Lisai Town was hundreds of years old, it was still a remote place, and it was unlikely to produce such a valuable object. This meant that the scepter was washed up from somewhere upstream, and it was not certain whether it had stayed in other sections of the river for a long time...
Even if you fall into the water and are washed here directly, the water flow here is gentle and the mud at the riverbed is relatively stable. It is basically impossible for mud from other places to be washed here in large quantities and then sink to the bottom of the river.
That can only mean that the staff was inserted diagonally into the mud, and over the years, the soil increased, burying it deep, and even a large stone was added in the middle to press on it.
Is this possible? It would take years to bury it at such a depth. Gold and silver items would change color if they were soaked in water for such a long time.
However, not only did the scepter not change color, after the mud was washed off, it looked as good as new, and was even brighter than other gold and silver items.
Wait a minute... Real gold and silver don't have this kind of color, right? Or do the craftsmen in this world have a unique waterproof polishing technique?
The doubt about the material did not stay in the boy's mind for too long. He weighed the scepter in his hand. Was it an illusion? It seemed much lighter than when he first pulled it out...
When I swam up with the staff just now, I felt like I was dragging a drowning adult, but now I feel that the weight is just right and it fits the hand very well.
Emmm, maybe it was an illusion after being exhausted in the water.
Originally, Elphis was planning to sell it for money, but now he changed his mind.
I don’t know which powerful person this thing belonged to... Now it’s mine. I’ll take it back and hide it as a family heirloom, hehe!
The boy put on his clothes, put on his straw sandals and prepared to go back.
He also noticed the scratches on his hands, but since there was no blood, he didn't take it seriously.
Elphis grasped the scepter again, and felt a slight stinging pain on the wound. He continued walking without frowning, and was too lazy to check it, so he didn't know that the small abrasion was oozing out... no, to be more precise, drops of blood were being sucked out.
When Elphis held the scepter in his hand, it was equivalent to immersing it in the dense light element surrounding the young man.
There was light flowing from the engravings, and the gem on the top was emitting a bright white light. Elphis caught a glimpse of this abnormality: "???!"
What the hell!
He was immediately horrified and threw the thing away! The next moment, his head ached as if he had been attacked. His consciousness fell into darkness without any resistance and he fell heavily to the ground.
The scepter that was thrown not far away flashed white light and turned into an exquisite wristband, wrapping around the wrist of its new owner.
——
Pastor Kawen fanned himself with a palm-leaf fan and stretched his neck at the door of the chapel, waiting for the child who came back late. "Al came back really late today. Was he delayed by something?"
The sun, which had already moved to the horizon, dyed the clouds in the sky red. Seeing that the sun would set soon and the sky would get dark, Winster couldn't help but frown - his brother had never come back so late.
It was just a small thing that was not in line with my brother's usual habits. He would chat with anyone he met on the street.
Maybe it was because the townspeople talked too much today that my brother wasted his time. Or maybe he met someone who needed help. After all, my brother is so kind...
After thinking about many possibilities and guesses, Winster became more and more uneasy.
The child said to Kevin, "You eat first, I'll go find him."
Then he ran to the section of the river where Elphis liked to swim.
Winster ran very fast all the way, feeling uneasy in his heart - this was the emotion he would feel every time he didn't know where his brother was. He was afraid that he wouldn't be able to find him, and he was even more afraid that his brother had an accident in a place he didn't know.
This is also the reason why Winster would ask Elphis where he was going every time he went out alone to do something. Perhaps he realized that the child was insecure, so Elphis did not mind it and later took the initiative to report every time he went out.
Already approaching the river, Winster's pupils suddenly shrank and he ran towards the young boy lying on the ground in front of him.
Winster lifted up Elphis's upper body and called him a few times anxiously, but the boy was in a deep coma and could not be woken up by just calling him a few times.
I quickly checked my brother's body. Apart from some scratches on his palms, there were no other injuries - no bumps on his head, no snake or insect bites on his body. My brother was cautious and would not eat poisonous wild fruits. He showed no signs of illness today...
Winster had no idea why his brother fell into a coma!
Naturally, he noticed the wristband on Elphis' wrist that he had never seen before. It was a flat piece of metal, one finger wide, mainly silver with golden patterns as decoration, and a circle of milky white jade in the middle.
Winster always thought that the gray clothes at home were not worthy of his brother. He should be more suitable for wearing the softest and most gorgeous clothes in the world and wearing the most exquisite and expensive accessories. However, his brother would never waste money on these things, so this wristband that was obviously very valuable came very suddenly... It was obvious that his brother had not even seen it when he went out.
No matter how suddenly it appeared, it was just an ornament, but Winster instinctively felt that something was wrong with it.
But the wristband was only slightly larger than the wrist and there was no way to take it off. I didn’t know how my brother put it on.
Winster was very scared. He couldn't help but think of the insults the villagers had said to him and the faces of the dead people... He didn't care about those people, but was he going to kill his brother now?
All these thoughts flashed by in just a few moments, and the child gritted his teeth to suppress the panic and fear that were about to overwhelm him.
His brother just looked unconscious and his complexion was fine. He should feed him magic potions quickly. Those potions were very powerful and would definitely wake his brother up!
Winster helped Elphis to stand up, with his back to him - and then he actually carried a young boy who was taller and heavier than him on his back, and jogged back steadily.
Pastor Kevin was watering the four-color flowers planted next to the chapel, and waiting for his two children to come home for dinner.
Seeing a figure coming, the old man squinted his eyes and looked, Ouch - why is Al being carried on his back? Did he break his leg?
He hurried forward to meet Winster, "Al, Al! What's going on?"
Winster replied with a stern face: "My brother is unconscious for some reason."
The two men put Elphis on the bed. Winster took out the box of potions, but he didn't know which one to use on his brother.
He hesitated for a moment. There was no visible external injury. Perhaps it was a sudden illness? Winster fed Elfs an internal healing potion.
Pastor Kevin was worried and felt sorry for the child who had never been sick before and suddenly suffered, but he was not as anxious and nervous as Winster.
In his opinion, Al was not seriously injured, had no fever, and his breathing and heartbeat were stable. He might have just fallen and hit his head, causing him to fall into a coma. It was not a serious injury, and Al would wake up later.
Kevin said this to Winster, who looked very distraught, but it did not comfort him at all. The child still looked very scared.
The old man was very pleased. The two brothers had such a good relationship.
Winster knew his brother liked to be clean, so he changed his muddy outer clothes, washed his hands and face, and dried his wet hair. He straightened every strand of hair...
When the moon was at its zenith, his brother still hadn't woken up. Winster's heart sank even more. He selected from the few kinds of potions and fed his brother another antidote.
Winster stayed by Elphis' bed, staring blankly at his brother, whose brows were relaxed and his face was peaceful. He looked like he was simply asleep.
The child put his hand under his brother's nose and felt his clear, steady breathing, but the stone in his heart was still hanging high in his heart, not letting up at all.
In the silent room, Winster's voice was hoarse and broken: "Have I finally brought you bad luck... Brother, please..."
Don't be in trouble...
"Hmm..."
Hearing the noise, two people stood anxiously beside Elphis' bed, wondering if he was going to wake up? !
What made them even more anxious was that Elphis looked extremely painful. He covered his head and groaned continuously, but never opened his eyes.
Seeing that his brother had bitten his lower lip until it bled, Winster quickly took a clean cloth and put it in his mouth to prevent him from biting himself again.
Fortunately, this situation only lasted for a while, and then it returned to its previous sleeping state.
After a night, Elphis still didn't wake up, and Pastor Kevin was getting very anxious.
The unconscious teenager even began to talk in his sleep, sometimes mumbling something.
Winster and Pastor Kaven could occasionally catch a few words, but they could not understand what they meant. However, they noticed that Elphis's brows were slightly furrowed and his eyes occasionally moved under his tightly closed eyelids, so they guessed that he was starting to have a nightmare.
The old man called Al several times distressedly, but it didn't work to wake him up. He touched Alphis's hair lovingly, his eyes showing worry, "Oh, how did he get possessed?"
Winster didn't say anything and had no intention of comforting the old man. He silently fed his brother a relaxing and calming magic potion, and then ground some fruit puree to feed Elphis.
Be it potion or food, both are difficult to feed. They are worried that the person who cannot swallow the medicine on his own will choke, but they have to feed him. If Elphis does not wake up for a few days, are they going to watch him starve to death?
After feeding him the medicine, Winster no longer stayed by his side, and he did not dare to get close to Elphis anymore - his brother was a lucky man, he was kind and excellent, and he grew up in the church, so he would definitely be protected...
As long as he stayed away, would bad luck stop haunting his brother?
That afternoon, all the children who came to learn from Pastor Kavan knew that Elphis was in a coma. The teachers had no interest in teaching, and the students had even less interest in learning. A group of people crowded around the patient's bed in a noisy manner.
"Al, Al?"
"Wu... Brother Ai'er, please don't die—"
"Bah! What are you crying for?"
The children, both big and small, were making a lot of noise, speculating about what was happening to their brother/brother Al, and asking their pastor grandfather when he would wake up.
The younger ones put their hands on Elphis' arms, and some imitated their parents' care for them and put their hands on El's brother's face, trying to comfort his brother who seemed to be having a nightmare.
Winster stood at the door, looking at the crowded room, his lips tightly pursed, his brows unconsciously frowned - that was his and his brother's room!
Even though he didn't like outsiders coming in, Winster had no power to drive them away. He knew that his brother was always tolerant of children and wouldn't mind such things.
The children at the periphery moved slightly, leaving some space through which the patient could be seen, and Winster saw those childish kids touching his brother's face and arms.
He finally couldn't bear it anymore and said coldly: "Come out, there are too many people, the air in the room is turbid, it's not suitable for the patient to recuperate."
In fact, he only wanted to say the first three words, but these annoying little ghosts would only argue with him, so he said a few more words.
Some of the younger ones pouted when they saw Winster, but no one dared to say anything. For some reason, they were always a little afraid of this guy...
Everyone looked at each other. Pastor Kevin said a few words to comfort them and advised everyone to go back first. Only then did the children push and shove away.
Winster looked at his brother silently at the door and asked Grandpa Kevin to stay here. He did not go into the house and turned to the kitchen to cook porridge.
Afterwards, the children who returned home told their families that Elphis was in a coma, and many people came to visit him throughout the afternoon.
Winster knew how much his brother was loved, and he couldn't possibly chase away every wave of people who came... If his brother woke up and knew that he had behaved so rudely, he would probably be unhappy...
Fortunately, adults would not make noises or stir-fried things like children would, so Winster could still accept it. He also hoped that someone could determine the cause of his brother's coma.
On a hot summer day, Winster sat in front of the boiler and watched the fire. His whole body was soaked with sweat, but he seemed to feel nothing... Or rather, he was deliberately suffering to punish himself...
A pot of porridge took most of the afternoon to cook, and was added with finely chopped meat and vegetable leaves, turning into a paste that did not look very good - Elphis could only eat this kind of food that did not require chewing.
Winster prepared other dishes and waited for Pastor Kavan to finish eating before asking him to help feed his brother some porridge.
The old man watched little Winster clean up the pots and pans and didn't notice anything unusual.
After a while, Winster stood at the door and asked him to stay in the room tonight and keep an eye on his brother.
Kevin nodded, "Of course, little guy, grandpa will stay with you to guard Al."
Winster held the door frame with one hand, and was silent for a moment. When he spoke again, his voice was even lower: "Thank you for staying here alone. I will go to the forest and follow the place my brother went yesterday to see if there is any possibility of finding the cause of my brother's coma."
Calvin was shocked, and immediately criticized him with a serious face: "That won't do! What if you also encounter an unclean thing and get possessed by it? And you're going there at night. How can you enter the forest at night?"
"Mr. Will said that if Al doesn't wake up by tomorrow, he will take him to the city. I want to ask them to buy a purification potion, but I don't know if there is such a precious potion in Raphael City..."
Kevin suspected that Al was corrupted by dark forces and fell into a nightmare. He even told the townspeople that it would be best for everyone not to enter the forest until Al woke up and figured out the reason for his coma.
As for those whose minds are eroded by the power of darkness, unless they are extremely lucky to have the help of a light wizard, they can only be healed by purifying potions containing light elements.
However, the magic medicine shop in Raphael City only sold potions commonly used by civilians. It did not stock the precious purification potion - there was no need to spend a large amount of money to buy it, and no one in this small place could afford it.
After hearing Kevin's concerns, Master Will decided to go to the City Lord's Mansion to ask. If there was still no result, he would take Al to the big city.
Calvin told the child about the decision everyone had made, hoping to reassure him, but for some reason Winster was extremely stubborn. He left a message saying he would be back the next morning to cook, then went to the church next door to get a lantern and flint and ran away.
Pastor Kevin, with his old bones, was unable to catch up with the man at all, and in the blink of an eye he didn't know which direction the man ran.
The old man sat in front of Alphis' bed with a bitter face, "Little Al, grandpa can't control Winster. This kid is too reckless. When you wake up, you must talk to him in a good way..."
After Kevin finished his rambling, he began to pray, hoping that the God of Light would send down his divine light and drive away the evil forces from this place.
Winster was not lying to Pastor Kavan. While there was still daylight, he did walk along his brother's previous route and jumped into the river to swim twice, but he did not find anything abnormal.
After searching in vain, Winster did not go home, but returned to the strange yet familiar cave - he had to stay away from his brother...
The child, who had grown a lot and was completely different from the child he was more than a year ago, curled up in a pile of leaves.
He was obviously much stronger and could appear in front of people openly. He had food and a home, but now he felt a fear that he had never felt before, which kept him awake at night.
Winster stared blankly in the dark cave for a long time with his eyes open. The child did not move. He seemed to have lost his reason and blocked all emotions, which made him look like he had lost his soul.
Suddenly, a faint warm light appeared at the entrance of the cave, and it was getting closer and closer to him...
"I heard from Grandpa that you ran into the forest. Since you didn't come home so late, I knew you were here."
The handsome boy with silver hair and blue eyes was holding a lantern, smiling. He was not angry at all towards the child who ran away from home. He seemed to be quite happy to see the precocious and sensible Winster acting like this.
When Winster saw the person coming, he opened his eyes wide in shock. He sat up suddenly and stared at the other person in a daze. After a moment, he stammered, "Brother... I'm sorry..."
The child forgot why he was apologizing, he just said it instinctively.
Elphis ignored the apology. He bent down slightly, held out his hand to the child, and said in a very gentle voice: "Let's go home with your brother."
For some reason, Winster completely forgot about his decision to stay away from his brother. He tightly grasped the hand in front of him, feeling extremely tired and aggrieved for some reason, so he rubbed his little face against the warm palm. Just by doing this, he felt greatly comforted.
Suddenly, the boy whose hand was grabbed asked with a smile: "Why are you still crying?"
Winster was startled, he raised his head and saw the water stains on his brother's hands. He pursed his lips embarrassedly and wanted to wipe his brother's hands clean with his sleeves, but for some reason, the water stains always remained on his palms.
Then the transparent water stains gradually turned into black liquid, which was particularly obvious on the white hands, but Elphis acted as if he didn't see it and still smiled gently.
Winster's heart tightened, and he tried harder to wipe his brother's hands clean, but he watched helplessly as the black liquid ignited into flames.
He couldn't feel the heat, but the flames quickly engulfed one of the boy's arms and spread to his entire body!
Winster was terrified. He hugged his brother, but the black flames had no effect on him and only wrapped around the fair and handsome boy.
The stubborn kid showed such a pitiful and helpless expression for the first time. He tried to beat the flames and choked with anger, "Get out! Don't burn my brother! If you come to me, I am the disaster and misfortune! I am the one who should be punished! Why do you want to hurt my brother!!!"
Elphis, who was burned by the strange black flames, seemed to be unaware of it. He was still smiling gently, as if he thought Winster, who was slapping the flames on his body, was just throwing a tantrum.
Until the flames engulfed his limbs, torso, and the young boy's smiling face that still carried a youthful and childish look...
"elder brother--"
Winster suddenly opened his eyes and sat up. He was in a trance for a moment, and when his heartbeat gradually returned to normal, he realized that he had fallen asleep without knowing when.
Although he knew it was just a dream, the child became even more uneasy.
Suddenly, a cry was heard in the dark and quiet cave, and the emotions that had been suppressed for a day finally vented a little...
Samuel was awakened by surging emotions. After he received the new memories, he wiped his face with two fingers, and his deep black eyes stared at the cool water stains on his fingertips - he had never thought that one day he would want to kill himself!
If I had known that staying here would make 'Winster' so stupid and weak, I should have continued to unlock his memory and let him leave here!
The Dark God, who didn't know how to write "patience" in his previous life, felt aggrieved again. He only regretted that there was no strong enemy here to fight with him to vent his dissatisfaction.
Samuel narrowed his eyes, thinking of the culprit who made him feel suffocated every time he woke up - what was going on with that little brat?
——
Completely different from what everyone thought, Elphis was not only not having a nightmare, but was also watching an epic fantasy blockbuster.
After he fell into a coma, when he regained consciousness he found himself standing in a silver space, surrounded by many tiny white dots of light floating in the air, especially around him.
Without the energy to explore what the white spots that penetrated his body were, Elphis looked warily at the man with black hair and gray eyes standing opposite him—
He was a man who was probably in his forties, with a resolute face, deep features, and black hair neatly draped behind him, revealing a full forehead.
There is dark blue stubble from below the ears to around the mouth, but he doesn't look sloppy at all. Instead, he has the charm of a mature man. The slim hooded robe perfectly reveals his strong physique.
In general, he is the type of guy who can make girls scream with coolness by posting a photo online.
Judging from his appearance and temperament alone, this person looks like a strong leader.
This strange man with an extraordinary aura was looking intently at the young boy opposite him with his sharp gray eyes.
Soon, the man noticed something and his already serious face frowned, becoming even more intimidating.
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