Chapter 121 The most handsome man, and also the most...
The blood flowed slowly, meandering like an arrow pointing somewhere.
A stronger wind suddenly came from above us, blowing our hair all over the place. The familiar golden carriage drawn by eight white horses was flying towards us—the Elf King had actually come!
I had a bad feeling. "Follow me and charge! Don't stop!" I grabbed one in each hand and led the dark green-haired girl and Aifu towards a large black rock that looked like a sword.
The girl with dark green hair and Aifu screamed at the same time, and in a flash, the three of us disappeared into the stone.
The Great Black Stone also disappeared.
The guards who were about to give chase were all dumbfounded; the earthquake had inexplicably stopped in its tracks...
My long-dormant superpowers helped me, and we broke out of the Elf Realm.
When I breathed in the fresh air mixed with dust, I knew I had entered the main continent.
This is indeed a shortcut.
“I remember now,” Eve said with a hint of excitement. “A high-ranking nobleman once told me that there is a shortcut to the outside world in the secret realm, but it is extremely difficult to find. This is because the exit is always changing, and once someone passes through, the exit will immediately close and will not reappear for a long time. Only the Elf King can identify where the exit is.”
I had no time to listen to what she was saying; I was only cautiously observing the high mountain we were on.
We are now on another high mountain. The fog is very thick, and everything around us is white. It has also started to drizzle.
We first tore off the hems of our skirts and used them to bandage the wounds from the sharp rocks on the mountain before carefully making our way down the mountain.
We walked for two or three days before finally emerging from the mountains. During the day, we trudged through the arduous journey, and at night we lit a campfire, taking turns keeping watch and sleeping to endure the long, cold nights.
Although it was tough, I experienced a long-lost sense of freedom.
"What's your name?" I asked the girl with dark green hair.
"Imerra".
“What a typical slave girl’s name.” Eve covered her mouth and laughed. When I glared at her, she shrugged.
Imera didn't seem to care and said frankly, "Yes, that's a slave girl's name, my mother's name. She died right after giving birth to me, so my father named me after her. Both my parents were slaves and lived on Solomon Island. Some time ago, there was a slave riot, and my father died in the riot. I was captured and was originally bought by a wealthy man at an auction, but his wife beat me half to death and then sold me to slave traders. The slave traders happened to be picking a batch to take to the Elven Realm, so they took me with them."
"What a rollercoaster ride!" I exclaimed.
“It’s alright,” Imera said. “I’m much better off than many female slaves; at least I’m still alive.”
As we talked and walked, we had already crossed quite a few small hills. The next day, we could vaguely see the small villages at the foot of the mountains, and we couldn't help but feel excited, so we quickened our pace.
Finally, before sunset, we reached the foot of the mountain and walked for a kilometer or two before arriving at a small village. Perhaps due to its remote location, the village was sparsely populated, but the villagers were simple, honest, and hospitable. An elderly woman in her seventies took us in for the night. Her husband had passed away long ago, and her son and grandson had all moved to town, leaving her all alone.
On a cold night, the old lady stoked the fireplace and laid out bedding for us. We were extremely grateful.
We lied and said that we were originally traveling with our family, but we got separated from them by robbers on the way and ended up wandering here.
"Where are you from?" the old lady asked.
“The Eastern Territory,” Eve blurted out; she was originally from the Eastern Territory.
"The Eastern Territory is so far away from here," the old lady sighed as she served us the cabbage soup she had just cooked.
"Is this place near the western border?" Imera asked.
“It’s still quite a distance from the Western Border, but much closer than the Eastern Border,” the old woman said. “It’s strange, our place is very remote, but recently we’ve been seeing a lot of outsiders.”
"Oh, what kind of outsider?" I asked.
“There were two women, a man, and a little girl,” the old woman recalled. “They said they came here to escape the war.”
I immediately thought of Di Yaruo and her group. "Do you know where they went afterward?"
"They went straight to town after daybreak."
As dawn broke, we left the small village and headed to the town. Eve asked me, "Are you going to find Princess Diya, the princess of the largest royal city in the Western Frontier? Do you think she's trustworthy?"
"You know her too?" I was slightly surprised.
“Who doesn’t know her?” Eve smiled knowingly. “Before her uncle took over her father’s capital, she was very famous in the upper echelons of the Western Regions. She’s basically slept with all the young and handsome men. She’s not particularly good-looking, but she’s managed to sleep with every man she wanted, thanks to her status as a princess and her shrewdness.”
"She's really capable," I exclaimed in admiration.
“Indeed,” Eve said, her tone tinged with jealousy. “She wasn’t favored before, and her birth mother disliked her, only loving her two younger sisters. So when Prince Bernard was imprisoned in Black Castle, and the various countries were choosing a gravedigger, her birth mother sent her to the place of death. Everyone thought she would die there, but she came back unharmed, even more powerful than before. Her birth mother had been dead for over a year, and her two younger sisters were completely under her thumb. I heard even her stepmother couldn’t get the better of her. Everyone’s saying, ‘How did she become so powerful?’”
“She must have been a formidable person to begin with.” I recalled her performance during her prison break.
"Who knows?" Eve said noncommittally.
We entered the town in the afternoon, and there weren't many people around. We bought a casual winter coat from a young girl selling pancakes at a stall and put it on. The town is quite underdeveloped; there are no clothing stores, and it's too late to order custom-made clothes, so we had to buy them directly from someone. The young girl only had two winter coats, but she helped us buy another one from a neighbor.
To my shame, the little girl's clothes were too small for me, but they fit Imella and Aifu perfectly. The neighbor's clothes were a bit big on me, but they were still more comfortable than the little girl's.
Pretending not to see the sneer on Eve's lips, I asked the little girl if she had seen two women, a man, and a little girl. Coincidentally, the little girl had seen them.
"After they bought a few sesame cakes from me, they headed northwest, probably to the western border, but that road is not easy to travel," the little girl clicked her tongue. "There is a desert there, with powerful tribes and bandits."
Having spent most of my time in castles, palaces, towns, and islands, I have no idea what real life for ordinary people is like.
It wasn't until I left the town and entered the wilderness, seeing beggars, refugees, and homeless people fighting with dogs for food, that I realized how bad the world was.
I made a quick decision and changed into men's clothes, disguising myself as a man. Imera and Eve did the same. Changing clothes wasn't difficult; a pale-faced, ragged old woman, upon hearing that I wanted to change, immediately told her son and husband to change their clothes for us. Our winter clothes, though old, were at least intact, unlike theirs, which were torn in several places and covered in patches.
After the three of us "turned" into men, we received far fewer stares, and we made our way to the desert without any obstacles.
Before entering the desert, Imera asked me, "Sister, why are you going to see Princess Diya?"
"She's smart; maybe she can help me find what I need."
I have a gut feeling that Di Yaruo must know something I don't know that can help me return to modern society and perhaps even break free from that endless cycle between the two worlds.
I think I no longer belong here; going back is the best option.
Maybe when I get back I'll write a romance novel to tell everyone that the male protagonist in the novel isn't as wonderful as they imagine, and that if they insist on being together, they'll pay a high price.
Men are never driven by love.
The most handsome man is also the most ruthless.
After entering the desert, the number of people gradually increased, mostly refugees. A casual inquiry revealed that the Eastern and Southern Borders were engaged in a fierce battle over a newly discovered silver mine on the border. The Eastern army was extremely powerful, repelling the Southern army several times, which affected the surrounding villages and towns, forcing civilians to pack up and flee.
They were closer to the western border and relatively safer, so they all fled there. Entering the western border was impossible, as were the villages and towns not far from it, because they were simply not open to refugees. Only the deserts, farther from the western border, would reluctantly take them in. Although living conditions were harsh, they were able to settle down.
Along the way, almost every small oasis I could see was occupied by refugees and filled with tents of all sizes.
As darkness fell, we found a tent where only women and children lived and asked to stay the night. Of course, we offered money. Imera and Eve had taken some money with them when they escaped. Imera took out a few copper coins and said that we were actually women. The women were overjoyed and readily agreed.
The tent was small, so we all slept huddled together. The woman slept on one side, holding her two children, while the three of us squeezed onto the other side.
Around midnight, a commotion came from outside the tent. Rubbing my sleepy eyes, I was about to sit up when the tent flap was suddenly pulled open. The unpleasant smell of alcohol mixed with the stench of blood rushed into my nostrils.
Imera and Aife were also awakened. Before they could react, they heard a woman scream: "Husband, catch them! They have money on them, and they're women!"
We were terrified and tried to escape the tent without even putting on our coats, but were caught by several men who laughed and grabbed us like eagles catching chicks.
"Honey, you did a great job! They can make a lot of money!"
It turned out to be a trap set specifically for outsiders. The seemingly single woman, sitting in a tent with her child, was being very kind to travelers and refugees, but she was actually "fishing" to see which fish would fall for her trick.
We were tied up by several men and thrown outside the tent.
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