Chapter 3 "Your Highness, I'll take care of it later..."
"Your Highness, I will take care of drawing away the pursuers later. You can continue to hide in this tree hollow. Don't worry, this tree hollow is very well hidden, they will definitely not find you."
Even in the face of such a critical situation, Knight Commander Cherk remained as calm as ever.
However, hearing the approaching hoofbeats, Cherge had to quicken his pace, instructing, "But the tree hollow is not a place to linger. Once you've confirmed there are no other footsteps or hooves nearby, remember to turn back immediately. If I manage to shake off the pursuit, I'll come back to find you right away."
“Okay.” Lex nodded solemnly. “Take care of yourself too, and make sure you come back safely, Chern.”
Chergle gave Lex a familiar smile, then stood up, nimbly mounted his horse, and galloped off in another direction without looking back.
Soon, the heavy sound of horses' hooves approached. Lex could hear many people moving around not far from the tree hollow. He couldn't help but breathe even softer and slow down his blinking, afraid that these pursuers would discover that he was hiding in a tree hollow that was only concealed by bushes.
However, just as Cherge said, the hiding place he found for Lex was very well hidden, and the pursuers did not stop at all, continuing to chase in the direction Cherge had left.
As the sound faded into the distance, Lex stayed in the tree hollow for a while longer, making sure that the pursuers had all been led away by the hoofprints left by Cherk. Only then did he hurriedly push aside the bushes and run out, retracing the path he and Cherk had taken.
As the eldest son of the current King Nurenger IX, this is the first time Lex has found himself in such a predicament.
Although his mother, Queen Lillylles, died of illness when Lex was six, and his father quickly married a new queen, showing indifference to his eldest son's affairs, no one dared to treat Lex lightly as the first in line to the throne.
Therefore, Lex continued to enjoy the luxurious life of the court, with the wisest prime minister as his teacher and the bravest knight commander instructing him in martial arts.
He lived up to expectations and grew into a satisfactory crown prince.
However, just three days ago, the little prince born to the Queen was given a newborn baptism.
The incident occurred at the banquet that evening. Lex was drugged and taken out of the palace by villains who planned to stage a scene where the Crown Prince had sneaked out of the city to play and then tragically died.
Fortunately, Knight Commander Cherge, who had noticed something was wrong, discovered Lex's disappearance in time. He did not make a fuss, but secretly tracked him outside the palace and finally managed to rescue Lex from the villains.
Before Lex and Cherk could return to the palace to discuss how to expose the Queen's conspiracy, they were suddenly confronted by hundreds of pursuing soldiers.
Unsurprisingly, they were also sent by the Queen, determined to completely eliminate Lex, the stumbling block preventing her own son from ascending the throne, tonight.
Although Cherge was brave and could take on ten men at once, he still had to protect Lex and couldn't guarantee that he could safely escape the encirclement with him.
So Cherge pulled hard on the reins, turned around, and decided to evade the pursuit first.
The horse ran for a day and a night, but the number of pursuers behind it did not decrease at all.
Lex guessed it was probably because the Queen had given a death order, and perhaps even demanded that the pursuers bring his head back to report.
“Your Highness, if we continue to flee like this, we will surely be caught,” Cherge said.
"Then what do you suggest we do?" Lex asked trustingly, ready to agree to whatever solution Chelger proposed.
In fact, Lex now has no choice but to trust Chelge, who is willing to risk his life for him.
“Come with me.” Cherge suddenly reined in his strong black horse and led Lex to a bush.
As Cherge moved, the bushes were parted, revealing a small tree hole. It wouldn't be easy for a tall, strong adult man like Cherge to fit inside, but a boy like Lex, who hadn't yet grown tall, could squeeze in by curling up.
Cherk told Lex to hide inside and keep quiet, while he rode away on horseback to lure the pursuers away.
Lex stumbled back as he ran, silently praying that Cherk would escape his pursuers unharmed.
Unfortunately, fate did not tip in Lex's favor. Before he had escaped far, he encountered a small group of pursuers who had suddenly turned back.
Lex spotted them and immediately sped up, running into the dense, overgrown forest, hoping to use the terrain to escape.
Fortunately, the group of pursuers were not on horseback and could only grumble and curse as they chased after Lex. One of them even tripped over the vines on the ground.
Lex dared not relax. Even though he tasted a metallic sweetness in his throat as he ran, he gritted his teeth and dared not stop for a moment.
But the distance between them was gradually closing. Lex even accidentally got hit in the shoulder by a stray arrow and staggered. A gray-black despair gradually crept into his heart. Could he really escape?
To Lex's utter despair, he found himself running haphazardly into the vicinity of the Dark Forest.
Although it is all dense forest, the Dark Forest is shrouded in shadow for some reason. Even just approaching the outer edge, one can feel a chill that makes one shiver.
Not to mention the legends that the Dark Forest is not only home to countless ferocious beasts, but also to an evil witch and her cannibalistic monsters. Even the kingdom's bravest warriors dare not venture into it alone.
However, Lex had no choice.
He could either stop there and be captured, which would surely mean death; or he could venture into the dark forest, where, as long as he didn't encounter the witch or the giant beast, he might have a chance to survive.
With that thought in mind, Lex simply closed his eyes, covered his head, and plunged into the dark forest.
The silver moon hung high, but the dense darkness followed like a shadow, and the footsteps behind him grew ever closer. The pursuers were relentless, as if the gleaming tips of their blades would cleave him down at any moment.
Lex opened his eyes abruptly, his gaze meeting the pointed roof of the wooden structure. The black kerosene lamp was being swayed by a passing night breeze, and a soft, rhythmic swaying sound echoed in the quiet night.
Apart from Lex, who was awakened by a nightmare, the other person and bird in the room were still sleeping peacefully.
Lex faintly heard distant roars of beasts, but he wasn't worried that any foolish wild animals would actually break into the cabin. In the dark forest, there was no safer place than the witch's house.
I wonder how Cherk is doing.
Back in the capital, Prime Minister Fernández, upon learning of his disappearance along with Chergg, must be losing sleep at night.
If he cannot return quickly, his father, at the urging of the Queen, will surely be eager to make his youngest son the new crown prince. Then, it will be much more difficult for him to reclaim the throne than it is now.
Chaotic thoughts danced wildly in Lex's mind, like fireflies that he couldn't catch. Even when he forced himself to close his eyes, a fluorescent light still flickered before his eyes, making it difficult for him to fall asleep.
The next day, Mela noticed that Lex looked listless, as if he wasn't feeling well.
Strange, Lex's wounds are healing, so he should be getting more and more energetic.
Mela pondered for a long time, resting her chin on her hand, but couldn't come up with a reason.
"Mera, Mela, Ducwato's here to trade with you again!" Silas yelled as he flew toward Mela, clutching a leaf in his claws.
“I’ve told Ducwato so many times not to try and fool me with just a random leaf. If the leaf is gnawed by bugs and the writing on it is illegible, I’ll pretend this deal never happened. If he doesn’t get what he wants, he can’t blame me.”
Mela impatiently tugged at the leaves. "Alright, let me see what he's planning to buy from me this time."
"Ten bottles of healing potions, and they have to be used tonight?" Mela exclaimed in surprise. "Could he be seriously injured?"
Considering that even Lex's arrow wounds weren't serious enough to warrant the use of healing potions, how badly must Ducwato have been injured to buy ten bottles of healing potions from Mela in one go?
"Oh my god!" Silas exclaimed. "What happened to Ducwato? He absolutely can't be hurt!"
Lex, standing to the side, looked puzzled. Who was Ducwato? He seemed to frequently make deals with witches and had a close relationship with them.
He seems like some kind of dangerous person.
After all, when people get sick or injured, they usually seek help from pharmacists or priests; you never hear of anyone seeking help from a witch when they are injured.
“You’re right. Ducwato absolutely cannot be hurt. He still owes me a debt of three gold coins. What will happen to my money if he dies? Even if I were a witch, I couldn’t chase after the Grim Reaper.”
As she spoke, Mela ran to a cabinet against the wall and began rummaging through it, making a series of sounds as bottles and jars clattered together.
"Half a bottle of dandelion powder, three stems of magic mustard, six pairs of toad ears, half a jar of morning dew..." Mela, holding various bottles and jars, opened the lids and poured them all into the black crucible.
"Lex, go fetch me a bucket of stream water and pour it in," Mela ordered.
Lex had no choice but to carry the bucket to the creek.
Fortunately, there was a babbling brook not far from the cabin. The water was so clear that you could see the shapes of the stones at the bottom.
Lex poured the full bucket of water he had brought back into the pot.
Then he saw a layer of eerie blue firelight suddenly light up, almost scorching his shoes.
Lex jumped back in fright and stomped his feet on the ground several times.
"Hehe," Silas couldn't help but laugh out loud when he saw this. "You idiot Lex, this isn't the kind of flame that burns wood, it won't burn you."
Lex looked closely and found that the part of the shoe that had been scorched did not actually show any signs of burning.
This is truly unbelievable.
Lex couldn't help but look at Mela, who was standing in front of the crucible, calmly stirring the ingredients and preparing the potion.
"What are you looking at?" Mela noticed his gaze and raised an eyebrow as she asked.
She thought Lex was worried about eating food laced with something, "Don't worry, healing potions are more expensive than transformation potions, I'm not going to waste a single drop."
However, Lex is also injured and looks listless today. Should we give him a spoonful after we cook it?
Mela fell into deep thought.
Well, since she's such a kind-hearted witch, I'll give Lex a spoonful of healing potion too. Even if it's diluted with water, since it's free, he shouldn't expect the same effect as the one he paid for.
However, Lex did not understand Mela's good intentions and frantically shook his head, refusing the spoonful of medicine Mela offered him.
He had heard what ingredients Mela had added before: toad ears, the stems of blood-sucking magic mustard, was that something a human could eat?
Even though Mela confidently claimed that this was her specially made healing potion, with excellent effects and high sales, Lex firmly stated, "No need, I believe my injuries can heal on their own."
Even if he was in a hurry to recover from his injuries and escape the Dark Forest, he would not drink such a strange potion.
"Fine, if you don't want to drink it, that's fine too." Mela didn't insist. She poured the liquid from the spoon back into the pot, stirred it until the color was even, and then divided it into ten bottles of healing potion.
"Silas, hurry up and deliver these ten bottles of healing potions to the tree where Ducwato and I agreed to trade." Mela put the potions in a basket and let Silas carry them away.
Before leaving, she reminded Silas, "Remember to tell Ducwato that even if he dies, he must pay back the three gold coins he owes me before he dies, or I will curse him to be reborn as a pig in his next life, a pig that will never have enough to eat and will only be thin and bony from hunger."
Upon hearing this, Lex felt goosebumps rise all over his body. Was this the witch's curse? How vicious indeed.
Even if they turn into pigs, they still can't get enough to eat. This is even more torturous than killing them.
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