Chapter 9 The upper reaches of the river lead to the forest...
The upper reaches of the river lead to the depths of the forest, where the trees are thicker and taller, and the branches grow more luxuriantly. One leaf presses down on another, and the leaves are so close together that not a single gap is left for the light to flow in.
If it weren't for Mela leading the way, Lex might not have willingly stepped into this area that looked so gloomy and oppressive.
I always felt like something bad would target me the moment I stepped inside.
"Why did you stop?" Mela walked for a while, then turned back in surprise when she realized Lex hadn't followed.
“…It’s nothing.” Lex paused for a moment, but still didn’t mention the strange thing that had happened earlier.
Just now, Lex suddenly felt as if he was being watched by a pair of eyes. No matter where he went, even if he inadvertently changed his position and moved in front of Mela, he couldn't shake the feeling of being watched.
I wonder if Mela feels the same way?
Lex slowed his pace, seemingly waiting for Mela to catch up, but actually he secretly glanced at Mela's expression. It seemed that he was the only one being watched, otherwise Mela's expression would not be so calm.
Noticing Lex's gaze, Mela patted his head in confusion, with little force, the same force she usually used to pat Silas.
Because Lex was only twelve years old and hadn't started growing taller yet, he only reached Mela's chest, making it incredibly easy for her to pat his head.
"What are you looking at?" Mela asked.
If Lex were to say he hadn't seen anything this time, Mela probably wouldn't believe him. So he simply pointed to a faint pink streak that was quickly floating across the river, diverting Mela's attention, "There's blood in the river again."
“That means we’re looking in the right direction.” Mela followed the direction Lex was pointing and also caught sight of the faint pink trail of blood.
"Judging from the color, the owner of the bloodstains may be nearing the end," Lex mused.
It's possible that by the time they arrive, they'll only find a fresh corpse.
"Let's keep going." Mela didn't say anything, but quickened her pace, her boots crunching over piles of fallen leaves.
Although autumn is still some time away, there are only so many spots on a branch for leaves to grow. The leaves that can't compete with their companions have to fall to the ground and become nutrients for the mother tree to grow again.
As Lex walked through it, he could faintly smell a putrid odor.
He frowned and subtly glanced around at his surroundings out of the corner of his eye.
As Lex and Mela ventured deeper into the heart of the area, the surrounding trees became visibly taller and more imposing, some requiring several adult men to encircle their trunks. In such an environment, concealing their presence was all too easy.
So Lex urged Mela to quicken her pace, trying to make the owner of those eyes reveal a weakness in his haste. However, whether he was too wary or had lost interest in Lex, Lex could feel the ever-present gaze on him disappear.
On the bright side, perhaps it was just a wild animal passing by?
Lex looked away, pretending to be nonchalant, and started running after Mela.
While Lex was distracted, Mela spotted a figure lying on the riverbank not far away.
Mela instinctively started running and reached the man's side first.
It turned out to be a child, about eight or nine years old, with a slightly chubby face and a few freckles near his nose.
Perhaps because he had been unconscious for too long, and because of the continuous bleeding from the wound on his hand, the boy's face was unusually pale. Mela called him several times, but received no response.
“He’s still breathing, but very weakly.” Lex, who had caught up a step behind, crouched down, reached out to check the boy’s breath, and glanced at his chest, which had almost stopped rising and falling. He immediately made a judgment: the boy was probably unlikely to be saved.
I don't know how such a young child would risk venturing into such a dangerous place as the Dark Forest.
Judging from the boy's clothes, he probably came from a wealthy family and may have brought many servants with him when he came in. But now he is the only one lying by the river. It is likely that the servants either abandoned him when they encountered danger or have already lost their lives.
Lex looked at the boy's tattered clothes again. "These are marks from sharp teeth. If I'm not mistaken, he must have been targeted by some kind of wild beast after wandering into the dark forest."
It's unclear why the beast didn't eat the boy after attacking him, but instead simply abandoned him and left.
Is this considered lucky or unlucky?
Lex's gaze fell back on the boy's arm, which was mostly dangling in the river.
If he were lucky, he wouldn't have been attacked by wild animals, nor would he have suffered so many wounds, leading to blood loss and unconsciousness by the river.
But if he hadn't been lucky, he wouldn't have been able to survive and just happen to fall by the river, causing the blood to float downstream and be discovered by Lex and Mela.
At least after his last breath fades, Lex will bury him in the ground so that he won't be devoured by other wild beasts and left with no intact body.
However, if Lex wanted to dig a hole and bury him, he would need a shovel.
"What do you need a shovel for? Since he's still alive, there's still hope, isn't there?" Mela lazily ordered Lex around. "You carry him on your back, and we'll go back to the cabin. Giving him a healing potion should make him recover."
"Can a healing potion really save even such an injury?" It wasn't that Lex doubted the potion Mela made, but even if the cardinal of the church came in person, he could only shake his head at the boy who was barely clinging to life and say that he couldn't save him.
He could be embraced by death at any moment.
“I don’t know if other witches’ healing potions have the same effect, but the potion I make will definitely save his life,” Mela said confidently, raising an eyebrow.
Even if it's just to witness the effects of the medicine that Mela mentioned, Lex is determined to carry her back to the cabin.
Fortunately, the other person was just an eight or nine-year-old boy, and Lex easily carried him on his back, returning to the cabin with Mela.
*
Silas was patiently waiting in the house for Mela and Lex to return.
They waited and waited, until the sun had already set, but they still hadn't seen the two people.
Silas grew impatient and flew out, circling the cabin incessantly.
After a while, Silas realized this wasn't a solution, so he flew back to the rooftop and tried to spot the familiar red hair in the distance.
Hey, Silas actually spotted Mela walking towards the cabin.
Although they couldn't find Lex, the forest was so dense and Lex was just a kid who hadn't fully developed yet, it was normal that Silas couldn't find him. Anyway, he was definitely near Mela.
Mela's return means Lex must be back too.
Silas flew excitedly toward the path in front of the cabin, only to bump into Mela and her two companions at the end of the path.
Wait, one, two, three, why are there three people? Silas stared at the strange boy on Lex's back with suspicion. "Mera, why did you bring back another injured little boy? Isn't one Lex enough?"
Lex: "..."
Lex ignored Silas and continued walking forward.
On the contrary, Silas, unaware of his unpopularity, took advantage of his ability to fly, flying from one end to the other, looking the boy on Lex's back up and down, and clicking his tongue twice: "This is more seriously injured than Lex was back then."
"With the healing potion, this injury is nothing." Mela waved her hand, signaling Silas not to block her way.
When they got back to the cabin, Lex needed to put the boy down. He first glanced at Mela's rocking chair.
“No!” Mela noticed Lex’s gaze and immediately objected.
Mela made Lex, who was injured, sleep in her rocking chair because she had no other choice. Looking around the whole cabin, Mela couldn't find anywhere else to put him down; there wasn't even a clean corner.
Now, Mela had specially cleared out a corner for Lex so that he would have a place to sleep, and after Lex tidied it up, it was just big enough to fit a whole blanket.
Mela thought it would be perfect to put the boy she had just found on Lex's blanket.
Fine, since Mela calls the shots in this little cabin, Lex gave in.
It was just a blanket.
It's not like it's his bed in the palace, so there's nothing wrong with giving it up.
Here, Mela took out a bottle of healing potion and looked at the boy lying flat on the blanket, wondering how to get him to drink the potion.
"Fine, you can handle it." Mela shoved the healing potion into Lex's hand, successfully passing the problem on to him.
What good ideas does Lex have? Can't drink it? Then force it down your throat.
So, under the watchful eyes of Mela and Silas, Lex forcefully pried open the boy's mouth with his hands, uncorked the bottle, and poured all the medicine in.
Then, with lightning speed, he shut the boy's mouth and pressed his chin firmly, refusing to let go even as the boy began to cough violently.
Although Lex's method was a bit rough, it was undeniably effective. After a while, the boy stopped coughing and swallowed all the medicine.
"Are we going to keep guarding him like this?" Silas, who was watching from the sidelines, asked.
“It’s not us, it’s you.” Mela denied with a smile. “Lex is going to cook dinner for us, and I’m going to plant the pearl grass I picked into the prepared flower pots. I can only entrust the task of watching over him when he wakes up to you, Silas.”
"Keep a close eye on him."
Mela left after saying that.
Lex also started walking around the house, busy preparing dinner.
Silas, who was standing on the blanket, couldn't help but jump forward twice, almost stepping on the boy's face. "Hey! Hey! Silas has things to do too, that's why he doesn't have time to watch the child!"
Unfortunately, no one paid attention to Silas's protests, and Mela completely ignored Silas's words.
What could Silas possibly have to do?
Ever since Mela got Lex, Silas has been cleverly pushing all the work that was originally his to Lex to do. Now he has become the most idle bird in the cabin, eating and lazing around all day, or lying on the windowsill like a lord, pointing fingers at Lex.
If it weren't for Mela's sake, Sylas would have been taught a good lesson by Lex long ago.
*
Bucky smelled the aroma of food.
As the aroma entered his breath and was inhaled into his lungs, Bucky inevitably felt a burning hunger in his stomach.
An unbearable hunger forced Bucky to open his eyes abruptly, trying to find the source of the aroma.
Then he found himself in an unfamiliar environment.
The soft blanket beneath him, the bright kerosene lamp hanging overhead, the tall cabinets against the walls almost reaching the ceiling, the red-haired woman sitting at the dining table eating, and the crows talking and arguing with the blond boy... Wait, what is all this nonsense? Is he still dreaming?
Bach was in a state of unprecedented confusion.
He remembered that shortly after entering the dark forest, he was unfortunately attacked by wild beasts.
It was a lame wolf.
Although it was unknown what animal had bitten its foot, the wolf's attack on Bucky was still very agile. Bucky pulled out a dagger he had bought specifically for self-defense and waved it wildly, trying to scare the wolf away.
Not only did the wolf not get hurt, but it also made the wolf realize that he had a weapon that could harm it. Before Bucky could react, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his wrist; it had been pierced by a sharp beast tooth, leaving two deep, bloody holes.
"Ah!" Bach couldn't help but cry out in pain, and the dagger he was holding fell to the ground.
Having lost his weapon, Bucky had nothing left for the wolf to fear. The wolf pounced with increasing ferocity, tearing Bucky's clothes to shreds with its claws.
Bucky thought he was about to die in the wolf's jaws, but for some reason the wolf suddenly stopped, sniffed around, and then ran away as if it had encountered its natural enemy.
Before he could even feel relieved to have escaped, Bucky was covered in wounds. He had fallen to the ground and curled up to protect his vitals as much as possible, and now he had no strength to stand up.
No, to prevent the wolf from returning, Bucky gritted his teeth and used the last bit of strength to keep crawling forward.
Not far ahead was a fairly wide river, more than enough to drown a Bachi.
Even drowning in the river is much better than being eaten by wolves.
Unfortunately, just as Bach's hand touched the icy river water, before his lips could even curl into a smile, everything went black and he fainted.
How come he woke up in a completely different place?
"Oh, you're awake." Silas was the first to notice that Bucky had opened his eyes and sat up, looking around in confusion.
“He woke up faster than I expected.” Mela also turned her head and stared at Bucky thoughtfully.
Lex, though surprised that Bucky had actually been revived, maintained his composure and continued to slowly enjoy the still-steaming pumpkin soup.
Pumpkin is naturally very sweet, and when combined with cinnamon powder and cream, the texture becomes exceptionally smooth and creamy.
As soon as it was served, it received unanimous praise from Mela and Silas.
"Who are you? Where is this? Did you save me?" Bachi asked in a series of questions.
At the same time, his gaze involuntarily fell on Lex.
Blonde hair is a symbol of the Nurenger royal family.
Why would someone from the royal family be here?
In response to Bucky's question, Mela casually raised an eyebrow. "I thought everyone knew that only witches dared to live in the dangerous Dark Forest."
"Are you a witch?" Bucky exclaimed. Yes, who else but a witch would build a small cabin in the dark forest and keep crows that symbolize evil?
Not to mention that this crow can speak human language.
“That’s right, I am the witch Mela. This is my little cabin. I had Lex carry you back and, incidentally, revive you.” Mela nodded.
In front of people meeting her for the first time, Mela always maintains the composure befitting a witch, as if everything is under her control.
However, the next second, Mela's tone became lighter, "By the way, it cost me a whole bottle of healing potion to wake you up, for a mere eight silver coins. How about that, as payment for saving you, isn't that a bargain?"
Upon hearing those familiar words, Lex, who was ladling soup nearby, paused. He had reason to suspect that Mela used the same words to everyone she saved.
But Bucky actually nodded and thanked Mela with a grateful look on his face.
However, he touched the money pouch that should have been tied around his waist, gave an embarrassed look, and asked cautiously, "Excuse me, Miss Witch, my money pouch is missing. Could I pay the rest of the money next time I come?"
"Pay in one lump sum?" Mela pondered the words, then raised her eyebrows high and a charming smile bloomed on her lips. "Oh, so you're a guest who came specifically to see me."
Her excessive beauty was awe-inspiring, which is why Bucky had kept his eyes slightly lowered, avoiding direct eye contact with Mela.
But the witch sat under the lamplight, smiling at him. Her stunning beauty was softened by the gentle colors, as if she were radiating a pearly glow, like a work of art that one could admire from afar.
So much so that Bach was momentarily stunned.
After a long while, he finally came to his senses and stammered, "Yes, yes, Miss Witch, you guessed right. I came here specifically for you."
Bucky's words made Lex put down his spoon and look over.
"Oh? What brings you here?" Mela asked curiously.
“I’ve heard that the potions made by witches are full of magical effects, and I would like to buy a bottle of medicine from you that can cure my sister,” Bucky explained his purpose.
"What illness does your sister have?" Mela pressed. How could she possibly produce the medicine that Bucky wanted without knowing the illness?
“She…she has developed delusions, and every day she imagines that her fiancé has disappeared in an accident. But we all know that the man eloped with his lover with the money he swindled from her.”
When the scumbag who deceived her sister was mentioned, a look of disgust flashed in Bucky's eyes.
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