Chapter 159 Late Love
1 I know that I have spent too much time pursuing things that seemed full of hope but were actually so unrealistic, and I missed too many warm and beautiful things.
For example, Tenaia, in my opinion, must be the compensation God gave me after I lost Xiaoya. Maybe she just likes that boy named Orius Luca instead of me, and I exist in Orius Luca's body, controlling his body and will. What I can't be sure of is that I am him, and he is me. How to recognize myself now is probably the most important thing.
After saying goodbye to Fred, Aresio and his group, I took Andrew with me. No, it should be said that Andrew took me with me because I forgot how to get there.
Andrew told me that this road first reaches Ludinan, and then it takes a long time to reach the legendary Genoa, and then you can find Tenaia.
Speaking of Ludinan, it reminds me of another woman, the poor, kind Anais.
"I don't know how she is doing now." I muttered to myself, thinking of the bread she handed us. It was really delicious, although it might make the poor mother and daughter suffer from hunger. "It's time to visit her. If possible, I want to take her with me. There is no destiny of a savior, nor the so-called chosen one, so it is always possible to do my best to make a woman no longer suffer."
Well, I made up my mind. At this moment, I felt like I had caught the light in my previously confused life, and instantly I had a direction to move forward. In my opinion, this is the meaning of my rebirth here.
After searching all our pockets, Andrew and I only managed to scrape together less than five denarii and a few copper coins. Apart from the bread, we really had no other money to squander.
"Originally we could hire a carriage to take us there, but now we have no choice but to walk!"
With the little money left, Andrew and I spent a little money to buy two pairs of leather shoes. We also bought a kettle and some bread, and then set off in a hurry. The weapons in my hands had been thrown away long ago. It would only cause unnecessary trouble for me at this time.
"Okay, my friend." He simply packed his bag and looked at the road ahead. He had arrived at the resting place, but he hadn't had a good rest yet and he had to set off again.
But this time, it was indeed much easier and safer than the route from Agrippina.
Because of the defeat and surrender of the Burgundians, Aetius' Gallic expedition came to an end. It had lost its military purpose, so the tens of thousands of soldiers became border guards on the spot, responsible for maintaining stability in the recovered areas.
There were very few pedestrians along the way. The most common people were soldiers patrolling back and forth on the criss-crossing dirt roads. No one really wanted to be a bandit, as that was a more dangerous business than being a rebel.
After all, we are just a small character, not as famous as Aresio. We don’t have to worry about anyone recognizing us along the way, not to mention the almighty Senate.
Another five days passed, and although the life of sleeping outdoors was extremely tormenting, I began to have great confidence in my current physical fitness, because after so long, I was still able to stay healthy. You know, in this era of backward medical conditions, a small cold might be enough to take a person's life.
The first place we arrived at was the forest where we were ambushed. The road seemed to have been abandoned long ago, with sparse grass growing on the ground. Without any trace of people, the wild birds hiding in the branches dared to stick their heads out and sing, and their deep voices echoed in this deserted forest.
The sound of the birds makes people feel creepy, coupled with the piles of bones. No one cares about the bodies on the ground, no one even buries them, but chooses to forget and abandon them. When I stepped on this land that was once full of killings, I couldn't help but shudder, because I still saw the killing and blood of that day. It was too cruel, and it still makes people shudder when I think about it now.
I didn't know where the other road was, so I just stepped over the bones and continued forward. In just half a day, Andrew and I arrived at Ludinan, the city I had not seen for nearly half a year. Over Ludinan was an endless dark cloud, and it looked like a heavy rain was about to fall.
The walls of Ludinan had been repaired and no traces of war could be seen. The only thing that could prove that the war really happened was the cross on the main road leading to Ludinan. The Burgundians crucified on it had long since rotted and turned into bones, but the punishment did not end there. These bones kept telling the civilians in and out of Ludinan: This is the fate of going against Rome!
Passing through the forest of corpses, the gate of Ludinan appeared before us.
"Think back, hundreds of people died when they passed through this city gate." I said, looking up at the dark hole on the city gate with lingering fear. The boiling oil poured out from there once took more than a dozen lives. Fortunately, at least, it didn't take my life.
Despite the depressed feelings and the strange looks from the soldiers guarding the city gate, Andrew and I walked into this slightly more lively city.
After the siege of Aetius and the looting of the Huns, Ludinum took half a year to recover, but in fact it did not recover much. The majority of the houses were still destroyed and abandoned.
There were few pedestrians on the road, and the ground was covered with garbage. No one cleaned it up. It was desolate, and the trauma caused by the baptism of war would probably take many months or even years to recover.
It was getting dark, and the dark clouds above were getting lower and lower. A flash of lightning illuminated the empty and almost silent city in an instant, and a heavy rain was approaching.
"Let's go to a hotel and look for Anai tomorrow."
Andrew nodded in approval of my proposal, and we immediately found a relatively large hotel nearby, spent two denarii to buy a relatively small room, and squeezed together, barely enough to move in. The hotel owner saw our embarrassed appearance and naturally knew that we had no money, so he naturally had no complaints about our service attitude.
"There are only the last three denarii left!" Andrew said distressedly, holding the three silver coins in his hand.
"Keep this little money and see if there's any cheap bread later. If we hold on a little longer, we'll be able to go home!"
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“Cuckoo…”
I was pumping air into my stomach, but then my stomach started to protest.
"Oh, it turns out my stomach doesn't listen to advice." I rubbed my stomach, sighed, and pulled Andrew, who was also hungry, to the bar.
"Boss, another drink!"
Before we could say anything, we heard a loud bang, and the entire wooden tabletop was shaken violently. However, even with such an extremely impolite behavior, the hotel owner nodded and bowed, not daring to say a word.
"Who is it?"
Andrew and I turned our heads curiously, and we both exclaimed, "Levi!"
(End of this chapter)