Chapter 24 [Mera's Encounter with Hall]
Hall later recalled countless times the night he first met Mela and was incredibly grateful that he had ultimately chosen to give her a ride.
Although it was a quiet night, and the road was deserted except for Hall and his donkey, a girl suddenly rushed out of the roadside bushes. It seemed rather strange. If it were anyone else, they would probably have hurriedly spurred the donkey away, afraid of getting into trouble.
But Mela was so lucky to run into Hall.
Hall's name was synonymous with being a good-natured man in the surrounding villages. No matter who came to him with trivial matters, Hall would never be impatient and would always help them resolve the issues.
Therefore, although Hall felt that Mela's background was probably a bit strange, he really couldn't bring himself to leave her alone.
After all, Mela looked like she desperately needed help.
Her long, fiery red hair was disheveled and draped behind her, her black linen dress was torn and ripped by thorny branches, and even her shoes were covered in soft, muddy dirt.
Hall was quite certain that it hadn't rained at all in the area within tens of kilometers of the perimeter today, meaning that Mela had come all the way from at least tens of kilometers away.
...It's also possible that he was trying to escape, otherwise he wouldn't have ended up in such a sorry state.
Suddenly, something seemed to move in Mela's arms, startling Hall.
Well, Hall rubbed his eyes, and after confirming that he wasn't seeing things, he looked carefully into Mela's arms several times before finally recognizing that the dark mass was actually a crow.
For some unknown reason, it curled up in Mela's arms, and its dark feathers almost blended into the darkness, which is why Hall initially overlooked its presence.
"Did you pick this up on the road?" Hall couldn't help but point at the crow.
“No, it’s my pet.” Mela shook her head, choosing not to lie to Hall.
Besides the fact that Hall exuded a strong aura of kindness, which made Mela feel that it was okay to tell the truth, she also had a bit of a testing mentality; she wanted to see Hall's reaction.
Mela never expected that after choosing the most secluded path to escape and finally shaking off her pursuers, she planned to take advantage of the night to circle around to the main road and let the men sent by Bishop George and Viscount Fister continue to wander aimlessly in the forest, she would unexpectedly encounter Hall driving a donkey cart home.
If Hall hadn't spoken first, "Sorry, sorry, I didn't scare you, did I?"
Mela would probably cast a sleeping spell on him immediately.
Just in case, Mela didn't want to reveal her whereabouts before fully venturing into the Dark Forest.
"It's alright, I must have accidentally scared your donkey?" Mela said, subtly glancing at Hall several times.
Judging from appearance alone, there was nothing particularly memorable about the man in front of her: brown hair, brown eyes, an overly wide jaw and thick eyebrows. Six out of ten men that Mela had ever seen looked like that.
Judging from the clothes he was wearing, he was most likely a villager from the neighborhood.
"It's alright, it's alright, my Donic isn't such a coward." Hall reached out and patted the donkey's neck, as if to comfort it.
The donkey named Donic was very cooperative, gently exhaling warm breath and quietly watching Mela with its moist eyes.
He showed none of the panic he had shown when he saw Mela suddenly appear.
What a fine donkey! Mela thought to herself.
“However, you just said that the crow in your arms is your pet,” Hall scratched his head. “People who keep crows as pets are not common.”
People initially disliked crows because they liked to eat carrion.
Later, it was because of rumors about witches that a crow was always flying around him.
They would laugh in sympathy when their masters tortured ordinary people, and sometimes they would act as accomplices of witches, gnawing on the people they captured and making the people howl in pain to amuse their masters.
Gradually, crows came to be seen as a symbol of misfortune and bad luck.
However, Horney didn't really believe these rumors.
It's said that witches capture and torture any ordinary person they encounter, and no one can escape their grasp. If this is true, how did these rumors spread?
If the person who spread these rumors survived after meeting the witch, wouldn't that prove that the witch wasn't as cruel and tyrannical as the rumors described?
Therefore, even after hearing Mela say that the raven in her arms was her pet, Hall did not make any unwise assumptions that she was a witch.
Not only that, Hall even offered her a ride: "Young lady, it's so late, it's inconvenient for you to travel alone, why don't you hitch a ride with me?"
"You mean, you're willing to take me with you on the journey?" Hall's reaction was even more unexpected than Mela had anticipated.
She was prepared for Hall to reveal his guard.
“Of course, how can we let a young girl like you walk alone so late at night? That would be too dangerous,” Hall said.
Mela could tell that Hall was sincere in what he said.
She did indeed want to borrow his car for a ride.
If Mela hadn't been used to climbing mountains since childhood and possessed extraordinary physical strength, she probably would have collapsed from exhaustion after running very far from White Pine Town.
If Silas's wings hadn't been injured, Mela could have had it carry her directly to the Dark Forest.
Unfortunately, that despicable informant, in order to prevent Silas from tipping off Mela, captured him in advance and locked him up.
Silas struggled mightily, bending the cage bars with his teeth, and squeezing through the narrow gaps, breaking his wings in the process. Finally, he managed to escape to the mountains and find Mela, telling her never to go back. Bishop George and Viscount Fister had sent hundreds of knights to capture the witch hiding in White Pine Town.
Upon hearing this, Mela disregarded everything else and, while they remained in town intending to catch her when she returned, fled with the injured Silas in her arms.
It was thanks to Silas that Mela bought herself precious time; otherwise, it's uncertain whether she could have shaken off her pursuers so easily.
"Thank you." Thinking of the pursuers who might not have given up, Mela didn't hesitate any longer. With one hand still holding Silas, she braced herself on the edge of the wooden cart with the other, and jumped up to sit on the back of the cart.
Her legs dangled in mid-air, swaying slightly as the wooden cart moved forward.
"Haha, you're welcome." Hall laughed twice and urged Donic to pull the wooden cart forward in the original direction.
“I don’t know where you’re planning to go, but it’s so late now, why don’t you come to my place and rest for the night?” Hall invited Mela.
He could take Mela to where she wanted to go when it was light tomorrow.
However, considering his own situation, Hall felt he should explain to Mela in advance, "Well, I'm currently living alone. But don't worry, my parents' old room is empty and very clean. You can lock the door when you move in."
This way, Mela wouldn't have to worry about her safety staying in a strange man's house.
"No need." To everyone's surprise, Mela refused Hall's offer.
She was also thinking of Hall's best interests.
Assuming the pursuers hadn't given up, they could very well follow the trail all the way to Hall's village, or even directly to Hall's house. Mela thought it best not to cause Hall any trouble.
Good people should always be rewarded, right?
"So where are you planning to go?" Hall hesitated for a moment, then thought that he might as well go all the way tonight and simply take Mela to where she wanted to go before going home.
Anyway, there's enough food left for the chickens, ducks, and geese at home, so he shouldn't starve to death if he comes home a day late.
“What if I said I wanted to go to the Dark Forest?” Mela’s voice drifted from behind Hall.
Donic continued walking, his wheels rolling over the mud, leaving two deep ruts. Hall, who was holding the rope tied to Donic, suddenly stiffened.
Did he hear that right? Where did she say she was going? The Dark Forest? That terrifying and perilous Dark Forest?
*
Hall finally agreed.
Even though he had a vague idea that Mela's identity might not be as simple as he imagined.
"She must be a witch," Hall thought.
But he didn't sense any danger from her, and she didn't seem to be trying to capture and torture him as the legends suggested.
Wait a minute, maybe she's planning to wait until the Dark Forest to make her move?
Hall swallowed nervously, not daring to make any loud noise lest Mela notice something amiss.
Hall could have easily come up with an excuse to refuse Mela.
However, when she thought about how this place was at least five kilometers away from the Dark Forest, and how without his help, Mela would have to walk five kilometers on her own two legs, probably wearing out her shoes completely.
Hall couldn't help but soften his heart.
Maybe things aren't so bad, and Mela isn't a witch at all? Or perhaps she's a rare and wonderful witch.
Hall tried to comfort himself.
When they came to a fork in the road, Hall pulled on the rope in his hand, causing Donic to turn around and head towards the path leading to the Dark Forest.
"We should be able to reach the vicinity of the Dark Forest before dawn, and then..." Hall thought to himself, "Let's part ways then."
He would absolutely not dare to enter the Dark Forest.
But before he could figure out how to tactfully discuss their separation with Mela, Mela took the initiative and said, "Let's separate then."
Mela didn't necessarily want to make things difficult for Hall.
Meeting Hall, and having him willing to take her to the vicinity of the Dark Forest, was already an unexpected stroke of good luck.
"That's wonderful..." Hall was so happy that he blurted out what was on his mind.
Fortunately, when he cautiously turned his head to try and check Mela's expression, he found her preening the feathers of the raven in her arms, as if she hadn't heard what he had just said.
Noticing Hall's gaze, Mela looked up and gave him a puzzled smile.
"It's nothing, I just wanted to get Donic a carrot," Hall said, offering a blatant attempt to cover up his mistake.
Fortunately, he did have half a carrot hidden in his pocket, which he took out and fed to Donic.
It was also hard work for it to carry him on the wooden cart for a whole day and night.
When they were about five or six meters away from the Dark Forest, Donic's hooves stopped.
Looking at the gloomy and oppressive forest in the distance, Hall said hesitantly, "We've arrived at the Dark Forest."
“Thank you.” Mela hugged Silas, jumped off the wooden cart, and thanked Hall again.
"No, no need, good luck." Hall was so nervous that he didn't realize he had used a respectful term for Mela, and hurriedly urged Donic to turn around and head back.
As Mela watched Hall's departing figure, she softly recited a spell. If Hall ever encountered trouble and needed her help in the future, this spell would bring him to her.
Although Hall never imagined that he would one day need the witch's help.
*
Hall, panting heavily, briefly recounted what had happened after he left the Dark Forest.
He was pushing his wooden cart home when he met a little girl named Minnie from the village.
"Minnie, why are you running to such a dangerous place?" Hall rarely put on a stern face. Behind him was the Dark Forest. Although he could go in and out unharmed with the witch's permission, Minnie was different.
If she were to rush in out of curiosity, she might encounter danger.
“Uncle Hall, I know that you come here every month,” Minnie said.
Hall's expression changed, as if Minnie's words had caught him off guard.
But after years of enduring pressure to make deals with Mela, he had developed considerable courage and could at least keep his composure for now, fooling a child like Minnie.
"Hey, Uncle Hall won't lie to you, there are many good things on the outskirts of this Dark Forest, firewood, mushrooms... they're all treasures. But this is a place only adults can come to, you understand? If children easily approach here, they'll be carried off and eaten by wild beasts."
“None of that matters, Uncle Hall. I came here specifically to see you.” Minnie’s face showed undisguised anxiety.
"What happened? Tell me, and Uncle Hall will definitely help you." Hall squatted down and wanted to pat Minnie's head, which had two braids.
Minnie gripped his arm tightly. "Uncle Hall, Uncle Howard took Aunt Joanne away. I heard him. He wants to take Aunt Joanne to see the Lord."
“He said that Aunt Joanne’s face had been ruined long ago, and that she must have made a deal with a witch to become so beautiful now.”
"He was willing to put aside his own family and expose Aunt Joanne."
Upon hearing Minnie's words, Hall's hand slipped off Minnie's head, his eyes wide with disbelief, as if he couldn't believe his own brother would do such a thing.
What talk of sacrificing family for the greater good? Howard is probably just after the lord's bounty. If it can be confirmed that Joanne is connected to the witch, Howard, as the one who exposed her, can get a full twenty gold coins as a reward.
"No, no, I won't let him do that." Hall dropped the wooden cart and turned to run home.
Minnie, however, held onto his hand tightly, stopping him. "Uncle Hall, if you go back like this, what if Uncle Howard hands you over to the lord along with him? You're Aunt Joanne's husband, and you know about her deal with the witch. If you don't report it, the lord will have you beaten to death."
Yes, yes, Minnie was right. Hall's angry mind calmed down a bit, and then he rushed into the dark forest without looking back.
He was going to find Mela, thinking that Mela would surely have a solution.
However, he didn't know the exact location of Mela's cabin. Mela also said that for a kind-hearted person like him, knowing too much was not a good thing, so she always only allowed him to trade under the tree.
Therefore, it wasn't until the moon was high in the sky that a disheveled Hall finally knocked on the door of the cabin.
Fortunately, thanks to Mela's spell, Hall wasn't targeted by any wild beasts along the way. However, he was in a hurry and ran recklessly, stumbling and falling several times.
He was covered in mud and grass.
"So, is there any way you can help me?" Hall looked at Mela expectantly. He knew how to make a deal with Mela, and immediately added, "No matter how much money it costs, I'm willing to pay it, even if it's all my wealth."
Upon hearing this, a smile appeared on Mela's lips. "A solution? Of course there is, it just depends on how you want to do it."
Since Hall was a regular customer, Mela thoughtfully offered him several options to choose from.
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